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I had to email the school requesting a notification if anyone cancels.
*2016-2017 Washington State University Application Thread
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I had to email the school requesting a notification if anyone cancels.
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I wonder why some of us got both of them, and others did not. Maybe they only sent out reschedules for people after a certain date to try to move them forward?
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They probably don't want to reschedule people multiple times if possible. They may ask for rescheduling as each date approaches. If they are shifting people, we can probably expect this to happen for different cohorts a number of times.
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This is for anyone for already interviewed. What is your impression of the school?
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I loved the school. The faculties were very passionate, innovative, and experienced. The lecture rooms, anatomy labs, and the curriculum overall seem to incorporate a lot of technology. And the campus is so clean and modern-looking (especially with the snow, the ambiance is just amazing). In general I felt like I would really enjoy studying there.
I liked how they emphasized the importance of work-life balance. All of the vice deans themselves had really cool hobbies and told us they want us to be happy studying at their school, and become happy doctors. They kept saying things like "you come first, family/friends next, then your work." And although I want to be someone who truly enjoys work and is passionate about my career, I also want to enjoy life outside of school and hospital. So I felt like their philosophy matched mine.
They seem to care a lot about the students' wellbeing and very open to feedbacks. There was a lot of energy and excitement on the interview day. I think y'all will love the school too
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Those all sound like great attributes for a new school.I loved the school. The faculties were very passionate, innovative, and experienced. The lecture rooms, anatomy labs, and the curriculum overall seem to incorporate a lot of technology. And the campus is so clean and modern-looking (especially with the snow, the ambiance is just amazing). In general I felt like I would really enjoy studying there.
I liked how they emphasized the importance of work-life balance. All of the vice deans themselves had really cool hobbies and told us they want us to be happy studying at their school, and become happy doctors. They kept saying things like "you come first, family/friends next, then your work." And although I want to be someone who truly enjoys work and is passionate about my career, I also want to enjoy life outside of school and hospital. So I felt like their philosophy matched mine.
They seem to care a lot about the students' wellbeing and very open to feedbacks. There was a lot of energy and excitement on the interview day. I think y'all will love the school too
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Couldn't have said it better myself! Exactly my perspective and impression of the school on interview day. I'd also add they are hoping you come in with an open mind , and I think being more laid back and flexible will be a requirement for going to a brand new med school.I loved the school. The faculties were very passionate, innovative, and experienced. The lecture rooms, anatomy labs, and the curriculum overall seem to incorporate a lot of technology. And the campus is so clean and modern-looking (especially with the snow, the ambiance is just amazing). In general I felt like I would really enjoy studying there.
I liked how they emphasized the importance of work-life balance. All of the vice deans themselves had really cool hobbies and told us they want us to be happy studying at their school, and become happy doctors. They kept saying things like "you come first, family/friends next, then your work." And although I want to be someone who truly enjoys work and is passionate about my career, I also want to enjoy life outside of school and hospital. So I felt like their philosophy matched mine.
They seem to care a lot about the students' wellbeing and very open to feedbacks. There was a lot of energy and excitement on the interview day. I think y'all will love the school too
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Does it seem like the administration is organized and has a well thought out "master" plan?
In my opinion yes, part of that comes from my impression from the interview and part of it comes from them receiving preliminary accreditation in the first place, where I know the LCME reviews the "master plan" and wouldn't have granted accreditation if they didn't have a good one, so I have some faith in that system. That said, I would say a lot of details are up in the air still, so it's important to be okay with some unknowns for now, but after interview day I feel confident these unknowns will be thoughtfully worked out over time.
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I can vouch for all these positive impressions of the school! I went in admittedly skeptical and I left thinking it would be a tough choice between UW and WSU (yes, I anticipate many of you will have something to say about that!).
The faculty were passionate and engaged. Most importantly, they really sold the idea of a new medical school as a uniquely positive experience. I remember one of the faculty members saying that she was a teacher in earlier life, went to med school as an older student (I think she said in her 40's), and since has developed curriculum at multiple medical schools - she said that the curriculum at WSU is her "dream" curriculum as a teacher/doctor. I thought that was a pretty unusual perspective and it inspired me to have a lot of faith in the development they're been working hard on. Another faculty mentioned how integrated their curriculum will be and how the faculty will be meeting together to make sure their lectures are all cohesive in terms of content and feel (down to things like power point formats in lectures). This might sound like a no-brainer but I don't think it's as common as it ought to be.
In terms of clerkship sites, they seem well established in Spokane. They already have a variety of sites lined up and are working on more. Additionally, they already had numerous sites lined up in all of the foundation locations (Vancouver, Tri-Cities, and Everett in addition to Spokane). They said they're working on getting more. They also mentioned that the person in charge of this area worked with UW previously in helping establish clerkship sites for WWAMI so I imagine this person knows what he/she is doing.
I got the sense that this would be an especially great place for someone with self-motivation and inspiration. For example, one interviewee asked if there would be a student-run clinic. A faculty member responded "yeah... if you start it!" Then went on to say that there is space for a clinic, but it obviously needs students to found and run it. For a go-getter, what a great opportunity it would be to not only volunteer in a student run clinic but to also be one of the founders of the clinic. The flip side to this is that it may not be a good fit for someone who prefers to have things be established and ready to go, which is also a completely valid wish.
I agree with the emphasis they placed on student well being. This is something that's important to me in choosing a school so their emphasis on the importance of balance stood out to me.
Overall, very positive experience. I encourage all of you to go in to your interviews with open minds.
The faculty were passionate and engaged. Most importantly, they really sold the idea of a new medical school as a uniquely positive experience. I remember one of the faculty members saying that she was a teacher in earlier life, went to med school as an older student (I think she said in her 40's), and since has developed curriculum at multiple medical schools - she said that the curriculum at WSU is her "dream" curriculum as a teacher/doctor. I thought that was a pretty unusual perspective and it inspired me to have a lot of faith in the development they're been working hard on. Another faculty mentioned how integrated their curriculum will be and how the faculty will be meeting together to make sure their lectures are all cohesive in terms of content and feel (down to things like power point formats in lectures). This might sound like a no-brainer but I don't think it's as common as it ought to be.
In terms of clerkship sites, they seem well established in Spokane. They already have a variety of sites lined up and are working on more. Additionally, they already had numerous sites lined up in all of the foundation locations (Vancouver, Tri-Cities, and Everett in addition to Spokane). They said they're working on getting more. They also mentioned that the person in charge of this area worked with UW previously in helping establish clerkship sites for WWAMI so I imagine this person knows what he/she is doing.
I got the sense that this would be an especially great place for someone with self-motivation and inspiration. For example, one interviewee asked if there would be a student-run clinic. A faculty member responded "yeah... if you start it!" Then went on to say that there is space for a clinic, but it obviously needs students to found and run it. For a go-getter, what a great opportunity it would be to not only volunteer in a student run clinic but to also be one of the founders of the clinic. The flip side to this is that it may not be a good fit for someone who prefers to have things be established and ready to go, which is also a completely valid wish.
I agree with the emphasis they placed on student well being. This is something that's important to me in choosing a school so their emphasis on the importance of balance stood out to me.
Overall, very positive experience. I encourage all of you to go in to your interviews with open minds.
Having interviewed for both WSU and UW Spokane cohort, I can attest to much of what has been said above. I got a generally disinterested feeling from UW, as if they felt they didn't need to sell the merits of their program to us. On the other hand, the excitement at the WSU was overwhelming. If I were making my decision based solely on the energy levels I felt in the two interviews, I think WSU would win hands down.
However, going in the WSU interview I really had one large concern, which was whether or not WSU could provide a comparable level of clinical opportunities, both in the first two years and the clerkships of year 3 and 4, to that of UW. Unfortunately, they didn't do a great job making me feel any better about the situation. The clinical experience that UW students receive in year 1 and 2, being either in a clinic or the hospital every single week, was to me a more important factor than the facilities or curriculum. In addition, I worry that with WSU 3 year students being stuck at a single site, their quality of clerkship may be lacking. It would probably be an ok situation if one were assigned to Spokane or even Everett, but I am concerned that the other two sites may not have adequate resources to give a clerkship experience comparable to that of UW.
All this being said, I think WSU is still going to give a phenomenal education to all those who are lucky enough to attend, and I truly hope that my concerns are proven wrong, because our state needs many quality doctors as possible.
Finally, going through both interview I felt at times a feeling of mistrust and even dislike between the faculty and staff of both schools. Though understandable, it is a feeling that we as students at both WSU and the UW Spokane Cohort should both avoid and help to overcome. I hope that we can use the fact we are both in Spokane not as a reason to compete and undermine each other, but as an opportunity to come together as medical students and work for good causes and change in our shared community. But that's just my two cents on the matter
However, going in the WSU interview I really had one large concern, which was whether or not WSU could provide a comparable level of clinical opportunities, both in the first two years and the clerkships of year 3 and 4, to that of UW. Unfortunately, they didn't do a great job making me feel any better about the situation. The clinical experience that UW students receive in year 1 and 2, being either in a clinic or the hospital every single week, was to me a more important factor than the facilities or curriculum. In addition, I worry that with WSU 3 year students being stuck at a single site, their quality of clerkship may be lacking. It would probably be an ok situation if one were assigned to Spokane or even Everett, but I am concerned that the other two sites may not have adequate resources to give a clerkship experience comparable to that of UW.
All this being said, I think WSU is still going to give a phenomenal education to all those who are lucky enough to attend, and I truly hope that my concerns are proven wrong, because our state needs many quality doctors as possible.
Finally, going through both interview I felt at times a feeling of mistrust and even dislike between the faculty and staff of both schools. Though understandable, it is a feeling that we as students at both WSU and the UW Spokane Cohort should both avoid and help to overcome. I hope that we can use the fact we are both in Spokane not as a reason to compete and undermine each other, but as an opportunity to come together as medical students and work for good causes and change in our shared community. But that's just my two cents on the matter
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My thought is if WSU has extremely limited clinical opportunities I can always look at becoming a visiting student at another school or teaching hospital for a few months my 4th year. I'd want to see how things evolve at WSU though.
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No offense, but being the first graduating class of a medical school means everyone should probably do away rotations (even for specialties that otherwise don't require them). Residency directors have no clue how good WSU will train you, so doing away rotations at highly ranked schools and getting letters of recommendation from their faculty will help you alleviate this concern.
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But also remember that the faculty at WSU have experience from other well regarded schools so I think that also helps. Either way I do want to do a rotation elesewhere.
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I know that. However, as a current 4th year applying for residency right now I wanted to just drop a little knowledge to help everyone achieve the dream residency they want even while attending a new medical school. WSU isn't a medical research powerhouse. The names of their faculty members are likely only going to be known by people they worked with physically (either medical school, residency, fellowship, or as an attending).
In medicine, there are actually surprising few doctors and many of them know people in their field. It's always nice to get a letter from someone that a program director or interviewer knows personally. Big name medical schools tend to have that because their faculty members publish and go to national conferences to speak at. Even if they don't know your letter writers, they can fall back on how residents from your medical school have done in the past (which with new medical schools they can't do). So if you go here, take that piece of knowledge and do away rotations at those big name places. Try to get 1 or 2 of your letters from places like that so it alleviates the unknown of the type of physician WSU will produce.
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It certainly can't hurt. My main focus for residency is to do well on my Step 1 because I do want to go into a speciality surgery residency.
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And my other goal is to publish research before I graduate WSU. They do require a capstone project so this could fit in with their curriculum nicely.
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I wonder what system admissions used when looking over apps and sending out interviews. I'm a competitive applicant and submitted my secondary 11/22. Did the rest of you submit before that?
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I submitted around the same time. As long as you got it in before Dec. 1st you should be considered.
I submitted mine November 15. Havent heard anything from them. I know their system had an issue with my primary but Im not sure what they are using on secondaries.
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I had interviews at both schools and cannot agree more. The enthusiasm for the curriculum at WSU was almost too much at times. There was a lot of "we're gonna have this, and this, and this..." and I can't help thinking what the actual reality of all of these technologies and classes will be.
I am still excited to have the chance to go here and have my fingers crossed!
Unfortunately they did mention on March 15th the AMA requires them to have enough acceptances sent out to fill their class. This was why I asked for an earlier interview date as it is an advantage to interview sooner. Plus they have rolling admissions.
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I wonder if that's why they sent those earlier date emails out..
During my interview I was told UW Spokane uses the one at WSU
The first round of acceptances will still happen in feb correct? Just wondering if they updated recent interviewees to anything new/different
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Hmm that'll be interesting.. Do we have 24/7 access to the lab and facilities at WSU?
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That's certainly an interesting idea to bring up. At the UW interview they did mention how unwilling WSU was to work with them. I wonder if that will end up hurting UW Spokane students.
Fingers crossed for sharing.
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They did not say.
Yes we do, our badges will give us 24/7 access to the lab if I'm remembering correctly
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So by the end of February then?
Remember when I told you guys "end of February"?
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This was posted when I thought they were all out too but I'm just repeating what I was told Friday .... personally I'd be surprised if they were still inviting
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I know, I was just going back to what was that, 3rd/4th week of dec. when they kept saying "this is it, by friday, by the end of the week" and thought it was funny
What's up Brad
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What's up Brad
YOU LOVED BRAD. And then you totaled him..
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Have you interviewed?
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Yes
Hopefully someone interviewing tomorrow let's us know
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I would imagine they'd need to give some acceptances in February if they are required to accept 60 students by March 15th.
During our interview session on Saturday they mentioned that the admissions committee would be getting together around 2/21 if I remember correctly. I would assume the offers would go out soon thereafter.
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So I just posted this in the OHSU thread, but my understanding is they aren't required. If you look at the actual aamc traffic rules policy, it starts with "the AAMC recommends that"
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We were actually told on Saturday by the Assistant Dean for Admissions and Recruitment that they are required to meet the 60 offers by March 15th.
