2021-2022 Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences (PNWU-COM)

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OOS applicant interviewing this Friday the 21st. Any advice?
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jkfuturedoc14 said:
I have a silly question but just want to be sure! Do you get summers off for years 1 and 2? I'm getting married at the end of June 2023 and just want to make sure my date works in case I get the A. Thanks in advance!
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Hi sorry for the late reply!
Summer after 1st year we get it off. Not sure about 2nd year yet as that will be prepping and taking COMLEX etc.
 
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just had my interview today! It was a nice experience. The students and staff were really nice!
 
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PNWU starts classes in mid August. Also, I am a current first year student and am more than happy to answer any questions and/or give you my honest opinion of the school. Feel free to send me a message and congrats on your acceptances/good luck in the application process!!
 
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Hello! I'm a current OMS1 here, let me know if y'all have questions.
 
pre-mednerd said:
When does PNWUCOM start classes?
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Early to mid August.
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As a current student, I would strongly advise against attending PNWU if you have any other options. While the community is nice, the school is incredibly inhumane to it's students. Most medical schools have classes from 8-1 daily, but PNWU perpetually subjects students to curriculum 40 hours a week. We are required to attend in-person lectures with quizzes multiple times a day, often occupying 6 hours of the day. They do not teach to boards and overwhelm us with unnecessary information, while neglecting to teach what is tested on boards. The average amount of time for dedicated board prep at most medical schools is 6-8 weeks and PNWU only offers 2 weeks, despite the fact that 20 students failed their boards last year with over 3 weeks of dedicated. This year, there will undoubtedly be more because they are forcing us to take boards before we are ready and with insufficient study time. Part of me thinks that they are doing this because they want us to fail, so we have no choice but to go into family medicine. All of our concerns about insufficient time for boards have fallen on deaf ears and our schedule continues to be packed 40 hours a week right up until boards, which does not include the 30+ hours of studying that has to be done on top of that to really learn the material. After talking to friends at other medical schools, I have learned that PNWU is an outlier and makes this process much harder than it needs to be. Yes, medical is supposed to be hard, but PNWU makes it much worse than the norm. If I had known what I know now, I would have gone elsewhere. If you have options of other schools, I would highly recommend doing thorough research and ask the other schools 1. How much dedicated board study time they give and 2. What the schedule looks like during the week. Ps if you call the school, they will try to lie and say that we are given a month-our last system exam is one month before the deadline they have imposed, but we continue to take exams and finals up until May 5th, with a deadline to take boards by the 30th of May. If you want to take USMLE (which is highly recommended), this leaves 2 weeks of board prep. This resulted in test spots being taken up in Yakima because the testing site is small, and now many students have to travel to Seattle. I personally had to spend an additional $1200 for an Airbnb in Seattle as a result of this and they did not for one second consider how this would impact us.

Rotations are another place where PNWU is not transparent. Students were placed in Idaho and then 2 weeks later were told that that site was shut down. The western Montana site that they continue to list has been down for 2 years now. Current third years were placed in Spokane, and then sent to Prosser for certain rotations, which is a 3 hour drive away. The sites in Oregon are completely up to the student to set up with very little support on actually acquiring core rotations. Our rotations are unstable because our school only pays $100/week to our preceptors, while UW pays $500/week. Many students believe our tuition is going to the new PT program they are trying to establish here, and faculty have been vague about our financial allocations. I have been seeing PT advertisements, yet they have not built another building and have blocked off rooms that were once for PNWU-COM students.

I would like to finish this by saying that many students have not posted on here because there have been severe repercussions to students who have spoken out when their identities have been revealed, which is why you are not seeing more of these. I have talked to several students who have wanted to post out of a feeling of obligation, but are scared. If this is your only A, I would still accept. For me, I know that as soon as I am done with this school, I will be much happier for it. Hope this helps you all make the best decision you can.
 
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wishingiwentelsewhere said:
As a current student, I would strongly advise against attending PNWU if you have any other options. While the community is nice, the school is incredibly inhumane to it's students. Most medical schools have classes from 8-1 daily, but PNWU perpetually subjects students to curriculum 40 hours a week. We are required to attend in-person lectures with quizzes multiple times a day, often occupying 6 hours of the day. They do not teach to boards and overwhelm us with unnecessary information, while neglecting to teach what is tested on boards. The average amount of time for dedicated board prep at most medical schools is 6-8 weeks and PNWU only offers 2 weeks, despite the fact that 20 students failed their boards last year with over 3 weeks of dedicated. This year, there will undoubtedly be more because they are forcing us to take boards before we are ready and with insufficient study time. Part of me thinks that they are doing this because they want us to fail, so we have no choice but to go into family medicine. All of our concerns about insufficient time for boards have fallen on deaf ears and our schedule continues to be packed 40 hours a week right up until boards, which does not include the 30+ hours of studying that has to be done on top of that to really learn the material. After talking to friends at other medical schools, I have learned that PNWU is an outlier and makes this process much harder than it needs to be. Yes, medical is supposed to be hard, but PNWU makes it much worse than the norm. If I had known what I know now, I would have gone elsewhere. If you have options of other schools, I would highly recommend doing thorough research and ask the other schools 1. How much dedicated board study time they give and 2. What the schedule looks like during the week. Ps if you call the school, they will try to lie and say that we are given a month-our last system exam is one month before the deadline they have imposed, but we continue to take exams and finals up until May 5th.
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Hi! Thanks for sharing this. I'm actually debating between PNWU and another school I got into. I'll be visiting both in March to make my final decision and honestly hearing this makes me really concerned. Can other current students talk more about their experiences? Do other folks have similar experiences with PNWU?
 
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Same I just got accepted. I expected over call though.
 
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Accepted! They did call me, but I missed it because I was in spin class :rofl:. They left a detailed voicemail and followed up with email though!
 
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wishingiwentelsewhere said:
As a current student, I would strongly advise against attending PNWU if you have any other options. While the community is nice, the school is incredibly inhumane to it's students. Most medical schools have classes from 8-1 daily, but PNWU perpetually subjects students to curriculum 40 hours a week. We are required to attend in-person lectures with quizzes multiple times a day, often occupying 6 hours of the day. They do not teach to boards and overwhelm us with unnecessary information, while neglecting to teach what is tested on boards. The average amount of time for dedicated board prep at most medical schools is 6-8 weeks and PNWU only offers 2 weeks, despite the fact that 20 students failed their boards last year with over 3 weeks of dedicated. This year, there will undoubtedly be more because they are forcing us to take boards before we are ready and with insufficient study time. Part of me thinks that they are doing this because they want us to fail, so we have no choice but to go into family medicine. All of our concerns about insufficient time for boards have fallen on deaf ears and our schedule continues to be packed 40 hours a week right up until boards, which does not include the 30+ hours of studying that has to be done on top of that to really learn the material. After talking to friends at other medical schools, I have learned that PNWU is an outlier and makes this process much harder than it needs to be. Yes, medical is supposed to be hard, but PNWU makes it much worse than the norm. If I had known what I know now, I would have gone elsewhere. If you have options of other schools, I would highly recommend doing thorough research and ask the other schools 1. How much dedicated board study time they give and 2. What the schedule looks like during the week. Ps if you call the school, they will try to lie and say that we are given a month-our last system exam is one month before the deadline they have imposed, but we continue to take exams and finals up until May 5th.
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Hi, I thought lecture was not mandatory unless there was a quiz?
 
kobeforever24 said:
I'm visiting in March. The faculty was really nice about letting me reach out to schedule a date I had in mind.
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So you contacted them and let them know you wanted to visit? My only concern is that they wanted a deposit by 2/16 and I was try to rush to visit before then.
 
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Thought I would just share my recent schedule for some direct visualization of what it's like. Mind you I am an OMS1.
The first picture is last week. I literally only had to be on campus for the FM exam(in red) and the Labs on Wednesday and Thursday.
Some people had FM things scheduled in the pink blocks but this week for me I didn't need to be on campus for them.

1644095246120.png

This week I have four "interactive learning sessions" which have quizzes at the end of them and are mandatory to attend, they are based off last weeks material to emphasize and help clear up any confusion about the material. Some of these are conducted better than others but for the most part I find them helpful.

We also have an anatomy exam Monday, labs and an US lab this week.( this was an idea brought by a fellow student saying that US proficiency would be useful and it eventually was incorporated into the curriculum). I do have FM things I need to be on campus for this week but they don't take up the entire block of pink, just a few hours of it.

1644095400170.png

I have friends in several other schools and our curriculum does seem to be somewhat more rigorous but not by a lot. I think OPP being in a COM adds significantly to the load compared to MD schools. Our school also tries to emphasize more of what you actually encounter practicing medicine than what is just covered on boards. But via my conversations with my friends I don't think our load is drastically different.

This is just my opinion and the second year who posted above is valid to have their opinion. That's their experience and it shouldn't be discounted but so far that has not been my experience. I did choose PNWU over some other schools and I am happy with my choice.
 
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Lectures are not mandatory unless there's a quiz or exam. They often broadcast live lectures online using Panopto if you don't want to go to class. I am an OMS 1 here as well. We do have an Osteopathic principles class every Wednesday which is mandatory, 3 hour lab, and a cadaver lab which is about 4 hours if it's a long lab or sometimes shorter.

Congrats to those who are accepted!
 
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Does anyone know when the background check is due? I have to wait until payday because it costs $150.
 
potato_soap said:
Does anyone know when the background check is due? I have to wait until payday because it costs $150.
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If you look at the self service, you have over 100+ days. I'm sure that's until about May-ish when most schools require you to send in all your stuff.
 
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I’ve noticed that the Facebook group has 150 members in it already. Do people join that group even if they might be attending a different school? (Really what I'm wondering is if the class is already full and if the waitlist movement is going to be small this year)
 
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Just received a secondary last week after sending primary in October. Is there any point of completing it
 
swimmergirl96 said:
I’ve noticed that the Facebook group has 150 members in it already. Do people join that group even if they might be attending a different school? (Really what I'm wondering is if the class is already full and if the waitlist movement is going to be small this year)
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highly likely that some students might be considering different programs too. I'm still considering my options and honestly being in the FB group has been helpful. You get access to current students who can provide you with a personal experience regarding PNWU.
 
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swimmergirl96 said:
I’ve noticed that the Facebook group has 150 members in it already. Do people join that group even if they might be attending a different school? (Really what I'm wondering is if the class is already full and if the waitlist movement is going to be small this year)
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Frequently upper classmen will join the groups as well just to answer questions and get to know people.
And yes people will definitely leave if they get accepted somewhere else
 
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Hi y'all! For those that received II, how long did it take to receive a confirmation?
 
Just withdrew my A here - I hope it goes to one of you! Best of luck to everyone still waiting!
 
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Have any March interviews heard back yet today?
 
Haven’t received the official email, but my self-service updated to *WL. Interviewed on 2/25. Congratulations to everyone who received an A.
 
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D0ingitsoon said:
Haven’t received the official email, but my self-service updated to *WL. Interviewed on 2/25. Congratulations to everyone who received an A.
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Still plenty of hope with a WL spot! DOs see a lot of movement.

My portal hasn't been updated yet
 
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Can anyone comment on how many PNWU graduates matched/didn't match into a residency this cycle?
 
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During the interview, for the session discussing a topic with a small group of applicants, is this another interview? Is it a discussion of health policy? Any advice is much appreciated.
 
I believe that is the group portion of the interview. Many schools like to throw this in to see how well you can engage with other students - to simulate a case discussion during med school and beyond. This is part of your evaluation process.
 
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Update: Class of 2022 matched rate of 99 % to residencies. 141 out of 142 matched plus 12 out of 14 last year.
 
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Will there be a GroupMe or something for the incoming class? I would love to get to know everyone better and find a roommate! I feel like FB is hard to get conversations going.
 
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coolcat1 said:
Will there be a GroupMe or something for the incoming class? I would love to get to know everyone better and find a roommate! I feel like FB is hard to get conversations going.
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I get what you mean. It is really quiet on the fb page.
 
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coolcat1 said:
Will there be a GroupMe or something for the incoming class? I would love to get to know everyone better and find a roommate! I feel like FB is hard to get conversations going.
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I feel the same! Maybe we could just start a group me and share it on the FB page?
 
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