2021-2022 Western University of Health Sciences (Lebanon, Oregon)

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I interviewed 11/13 and find out 12/3. I feel like this might be me too :( Hope you get off of it and there is a lot of movement!
Congrats on the interview! Who knows, you have a good chance of being accepted! I just think I really messed up the interview. Here’s hoping for movement!! 🤞

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3rd year COMP-NW student here, if anyone has questions about rotations or what it was like pre-covid etc feel free to ask. Best of luck with the application cycle!
I might be thinking a bit ahead, but do you have any recommendations on Anki decks or other study resources that you've found beneficial throughout your 1st and 2nd years at COMP-NW? I've heard about AnKing but feel a bit in the dark in terms of what resources I should take advantage of/look into. I found a lot of success during undergrad using flashcards but with the sheer amount of information in medical school, I feel like making my own would take WAY too much time :eek:

Also, what do 3rd/4th year rotation placements look like? I've seen the maps available on the COMP-NW website and have noticed that rotations seem to span throughout Oregon with a few in Washington. Is our placement location something we have a say in? Or is it more up to random chance where you end up being placed? Thanks!
 
I might be thinking a bit ahead, but do you have any recommendations on Anki decks or other study resources that you've found beneficial throughout your 1st and 2nd years at COMP-NW? I've heard about AnKing but feel a bit in the dark in terms of what resources I should take advantage of/look into. I found a lot of success during undergrad using flashcards but with the sheer amount of information in medical school, I feel like making my own would take WAY too much time :eek:

Also, what do 3rd/4th year rotation placements look like? I've seen the maps available on the COMP-NW website and have noticed that rotations seem to span throughout Oregon with a few in Washington. Is our placement location something we have a say in? Or is it more up to random chance where you end up being placed? Thanks!
Anki: Your class will likely make decks. Some people do Anking decks 1st year, but I think it's kind of pointless. You can start it second year, and just keep up on r/medicalschoolanki for updates etc. I'm in the 2024 class and our class, as well as the class above us, have their own Anki FB groups that include Lebs and Pomona so you get a lot more people participating in deck creation. There is a current 3rd year who gave us 2nd years access to his amazing decks, but as classes change/lectures are redone that deck will be less relevant to you guys. I would also say that just because you loved flashcards in undergrad doesn't mean it will work as well for you in med school. My roommate was apparently obsessed with Quizlet throughout her undergrad work, but she didn't start using Anki again until second year. As for other helpful resources - I'm huge on Boards and Beyond. It was the only outside resource I used first year. A lot of people love Ninja Nerd on Youtube (which is freeeeeee). Second year you'll have a lot more things you'll want - but I wouldn't worry about that just yet. You'll get a lot of opinions from a lot of people on that front. You'll even have to attend mandatory lectures about the different board prep. Oh! You can also get a cheap/used copy of First Aid. Keep an eye out once the class FB pages are made. People often sell books there. Protip: Get your First Aid spiral bound at Fedex or Staples.

(edit to add: DO NOT BUY ANYTHING AHEAD OF TIME- SGA will get you discounts. Also look into stuff like professional organizations like the AMA that can sometimes have good deals on board prep.)

Rotations: I can't speak on 4th year because I'm not there yet. We just did our 2nd year mock lottery for our 3rd year rotations though. Essentially you have a primary location, but you can have specific tracks all over. For me, I'm going to be primarily located in Portland and my furthest required rotation will be in Gresham which is only like 45 minutes away from where I'll be living. Other locations include Astoria, Tacoma, Bend, Samaritan (mainly Corvallis/Lebanon/Albany), Roseburg, Southern Oregon, Salem, Eugene and a couple others. This year we got a huge excel sheet that had enough specific rotation tracks for every student. Those tracks were broken up into primary location, and then each track in each location had a different rotation order. Specific rotations may or may not be in that primary location. For example, a primarily Bend track may have you do your surgery rotation in Eugene, or family med in Kallispell, MT. A Samaritan track may have you do OB in Lincoln City. At COMPNW, we try to do a "mock" lottery where each student picks a couple tracks they think would work best for them and then the class tries to come to an agreement and place themselves. Each class does this a bit differently. The other option is the true lottery where you rank each specific track and then an algorithm places you. Lebanon has only been doing the mock for a couple years. Just a comment, it's good to remember that rotations change all the time. So just because my furthest rotation is currently in Gresham, between now and next year all kinds of things can happen. Maybe I'll have to do a rotation in Corvallis? Preceptors get burned out, people leave jobs, people have babies... all kinds of things can affect your rotations. So, while it's nice to plan... it's important to remember things are also not guaranteed. You will have rotations though, and from what I understand the order of your rotations won't change.
 
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Anki: Your class will likely make decks. Some people do Anking decks 1st year, but I think it's kind of pointless. You can start it second year, and just keep up on r/medicalschoolanki for updates etc. I'm in the 2024 class and our class, as well as the class above us, have their own Anki FB groups that include Lebs and Pomona so you get a lot more people participating in deck creation. There is a current 3rd year who gave us 2nd years access to his amazing decks, but as classes change/lectures are redone that deck will be less relevant to you guys. I would also say that just because you loved flashcards in undergrad doesn't mean it will work as well for you in med school. My roommate was apparently obsessed with Quizlet throughout her undergrad work, but she didn't start using Anki again until second year. As for other helpful resources - I'm huge on Boards and Beyond. It was the only outside resource I used first year. A lot of people love Ninja Nerd on Youtube (which is freeeeeee). Second year you'll have a lot more things you'll want - but I wouldn't worry about that just yet. You'll get a lot of opinions from a lot of people on that front. You'll even have to attend mandatory lectures about the different board prep. Oh! You can also get a cheap/used copy of First Aid. Keep an eye out once the class FB pages are made. People often sell books there. Protip: Get your First Aid spiral bound at Fedex or Staples.

(edit to add: DO NOT BUY ANYTHING AHEAD OF TIME- SGA will get you discounts. Also look into stuff like professional organizations like the AMA that can sometimes have good deals on board prep.)

Rotations: I can't speak on 4th year because I'm not there yet. We just did our 2nd year mock lottery for our 3rd year rotations though. Essentially you have a primary location, but you can have specific tracks all over. For me, I'm going to be primarily located in Portland and my furthest required rotation will be in Gresham which is only like 45 minutes away from where I'll be living. Other locations include Astoria, Tacoma, Bend, Samaritan (mainly Corvallis/Lebanon/Albany), Roseburg, Southern Oregon, Salem, Eugene and a couple others. This year we got a huge excel sheet that had enough specific rotation tracks for every student. Those tracks were broken up into primary location, and then each track in each location had a different rotation order. Specific rotations may or may not be in that primary location. For example, a primarily Bend track may have you do your surgery rotation in Eugene, or family med in Kallispell, MT. A Samaritan track may have you do OB in Lincoln City. At COMPNW, we try to do a "mock" lottery where each student picks a couple tracks they think would work best for them and then the class tries to come to an agreement and place themselves. Each class does this a bit differently. The other option is the true lottery where you rank each specific track and then an algorithm places you. Lebanon has only been doing the mock for a couple years. Just a comment, it's good to remember that rotations change all the time. So just because my furthest rotation is currently in Gresham, between now and next year all kinds of things can happen. Maybe I'll have to do a rotation in Corvallis? Preceptors get burned out, people leave jobs, people have babies... all kinds of things can affect your rotations. So, while it's nice to plan... it's important to remember things are also not guaranteed. You will have rotations though, and from what I understand the order of your rotations won't change.
Thank you so much for the detailed reply! Your explanation has given me a lot more insight :) I'm glad that COMP-NW has lectures that cover board prep - I think that's the area I'm most concerned about getting ahead on as early as I can. I'll check out AnKing, Ninja Nerd, and definitely make a FB account so I can stay up to date too.

Given that some of the rotations are a ways away from Corvallis/Lebanon area, is it typical for students rotating to apply for temporary housing? Or are you expected to drive yourself to your rotations that may be an hour or more away each day? I guess I'm just assuming most students that go to COMP-NW live relatively close to the school in the Corvallis/Albany/Lebanon area (similar to where I plan to live).
 
Thank you so much for the detailed reply! Your explanation has given me a lot more insight :) I'm glad that COMP-NW has lectures that cover board prep - I think that's the area I'm most concerned about getting ahead on as early as I can. I'll check out AnKing, Ninja Nerd, and definitely make a FB account so I can stay up to date too.

Given that some of the rotations are a ways away from Corvallis/Lebanon area, is it typical for students rotating to apply for temporary housing? Or are you expected to drive yourself to your rotations that may be an hour or more away each day? I guess I'm just assuming most students that go to COMP-NW live relatively close to the school in the Corvallis/Albany/Lebanon area (similar to where I plan to live).
Yea, I wouldn't worry too much about board prep. I felt the same way when I started, but realistically STEP 1/Level 1 are pass/fail now and first year you have so many other things to worry about. I think researching the pros and cons can be helpful, and also understanding that certain things that work for some people are not gonna work for you. One of my best friends cannot stand Boards and Beyond, but I totally love it. Also, things like Pathoma and Sketchy are going to be totally useless to you first year, but SUUUUPER important second year.

So, yes, for the first two years most people live very close to campus. For third and fourth year that changes and only about 1/3 of the class stays in the Lebanon/Corvallis area. You're going to need a car and you do drive yourself to rotations. As for rotations and housing, it depends on the location. Some hospitals have temporary housing you can apply for. I think Lincoln City and a couple other sites have temporary student housing. Otherwise what seems to happen a lot is students ask to stay with other students who are based in the location of a given rotation. My roommate and I have an extra bedroom, so we've been renting it out to 3rd and 4th years who are not based in Corvallis/Lebanon and need a place to stay during a rotation down here. The choice will be yours though for how you want to deal with rotations that are about an hour away. I actually thought I was going to have two rotations that were about an hour each way when I chose my track, but at this point those sites have changed where one is in Gresham and the other is in Portland. My plan was to just listen to podcasts on the way to my rotation site.
 
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got the acceptance call today! interviewed 11/13
 
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Has anyone else from the 11/13 interview not heard back yet? Or has anyone who has heard back been waitlisted or rejected?

Trying to figure out if the radio silence means bad news or just "no update yet"
 
I got my acceptance call on Friday!! Interviewed on 11/13!
 
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Has anyone else from the 11/13 interview not heard back yet? Or has anyone who has heard back been waitlisted or rejected?

Trying to figure out if the radio silence means bad news or just "no update yet"
I interviewed 11/13 and haven't heard anything yet either. Not even an email! Slightly confused haha
 
3rd year COMP-NW student here, if anyone has questions about rotations or what it was like pre-covid etc feel free to ask. Best of luck with the application cycle!
Is there technically a "home program" at COMP-NW? If I'm understanding things correctly, all of the rotations are done "away" from the school. I may be mixing up terminology.

I got my acceptance a few weeks ago (forgot to post here with an update, sorry folks), I had interviewed in August. Now that I am accepted (yay!) I am starting to think about how I need to start narrowing down the specialties I am interested in so that I can shadow/join clubs/start research early in med school. My current interests are: FM, Psych, PM&R, Anesthesiology, and Urology (which I listed in order of increasing competitiveness, at least as far as I can tell). Does Western have good rotations/options for these specialties, from your experience or the experience of your peers that you have heard about?
 
I interviewed 11/13 and haven't heard anything yet either. Not even an email! Slightly confused haha
They should've given you a timeline which you can expect to hear back from them (they did that for me). If not, or if you missed it, I would just shoot the folks at admissions (Chris or Shauna?) a short email asking them when you can expect to hear back from them. They were always helpful with my questions.
 
I might be thinking a bit ahead, but do you have any recommendations on Anki decks or other study resources that you've found beneficial throughout your 1st and 2nd years at COMP-NW? I've heard about AnKing but feel a bit in the dark in terms of what resources I should take advantage of/look into. I found a lot of success during undergrad using flashcards but with the sheer amount of information in medical school, I feel like making my own would take WAY too much time

Also, what do 3rd/4th year rotation placements look like? I've seen the maps available on the COMP-NW website and have noticed that rotations seem to span throughout Oregon with a few in Washington. Is our placement location something we have a say in? Or is it more up to random chance where you end up being placed? Thanks!
Sorry been crazy busy finishing up my rotation.

Puddlinka’s post is pretty much accurate. I used Anking, and just unlocked cards pertaining to the material learned and/or boards and beyond first year. Anking was critical to me second year cause every card for Pathoma, sketchy, pixorize, etc is done for me.. I like easy. I would wait till you get in it to decide what works for you though

Definitely dont Buy anything yet, you have no idea what is actually going to work for you till you’re in it.

Rotations are everywhere. They try to keep you in one location (core site) for the year but it’s not possible. You do get a say in your core site. I was lucky enough to get all 3 of my elective rotations (rotations I pick in specialities I want to do) at my core site otherwise I would only have 4 out of 11 rotations at my core site. So your next question is what do you do for housing when you move around like that? I stayed with family one time, one hospital gave me housing for the month (a room in an apartment), the others I will rent a room or stay with a classmate.
I have to assume it’s pretty much the exact same for every DO school right now.
 
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Is there technically a "home program" at COMP-NW? If I'm understanding things correctly, all of the rotations are done "away" from the school. I may be mixing up terminology.

I got my acceptance a few weeks ago (forgot to post here with an update, sorry folks), I had interviewed in August. Now that I am accepted (yay!) I am starting to think about how I need to start narrowing down the specialties I am interested in so that I can shadow/join clubs/start research early in med school. My current interests are: FM, Psych, PM&R, Anesthesiology, and Urology (which I listed in order of increasing competitiveness, at least as far as I can tell). Does Western have good rotations/options for these specialties, from your experience or the experience of your peers that you have heard about?
Technically I guess Corvallis Samaritan may be considered our home program but no we don’t have an affiliation with a hospital. Only 1/3 of the class gets rotations in Corvallis/Albany the rest of us pick a different city (core site)

We have a ton of great rotations with great docs in all those specialities you may just have to move around a bit to do them. Portland will be your best bet to do all of them in one city though.

What I love about COMP-Nw is I 100% know I could match in a competitive speciality if I wanted too. The tools for your success are eminence. I’m attempting to match in a moderate competitive speciality and know I will
 
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Has anyone gotten a call today? I thought they were releasing decisions from early December, but I'm not positive
 
got the call!!! got the A. Around noon PDT. Interviewed 12/4
 
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Ahhh, got the alternate. Thought the interview was solid - oh well!
 
Just received an interview invite tonight. The only available slot is one day in January. Is this normal, or will more dates be added after the holidays?
 
Just received an interview invite tonight. The only available slot is one day in January. Is this normal, or will more dates be added after the holidays?
+1 I only see one date as well, but I’m going to take what I can get.
 
3rd year COMP-NW student here, if anyone has questions about rotations or what it was like pre-covid etc feel free to ask. Best of luck with the application cycle!
What is it like to live in Lebanon? Is it close (under two hours) to any good/difficult hiking? I've heard it's close to the cascades but that seems to be a 3+ hour drive to get to the trailheads. How often do you go to other towns to access stores like target, malls, etc.? How far away are they?
 
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What is it like to live in Lebanon? Is it close (under two hours) to any good/difficult hiking? I've heard it's close to the cascades but that seems to be a 3+ hour drive to get to the trailheads. How often do you go to other towns to access stores like target, malls, etc.? How far away are they?
Lebanon is actually pretty centrally located to everything. There’s a Costco, mall, target, etc within 20 min of campus (Albany). College town (Corvallis) is also 20 min away with some of the best breweries and food in oregon. The coast is an hour and 15 min away (Newport), and skiing and the cascade mountains are only 1.5 hours away (Hoodoo/sisters). Bend which is the outdoor and brewery center of oregon is less than 3 hours away from Lebanon and closer to 2.5. There are amazing hikes on the coast and the cascades all less than 2 hours away, very easy day trips.
 
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Lebanon is actually pretty centrally located to everything. There’s a Costco, mall, target, etc within 20 min of campus (Albany). College town (Corvallis) is also 20 min away with some of the best breweries and food in oregon. The coast is an hour and 15 min away (Newport), and skiing and the cascade mountains are only 1.5 hours away (Hoodoo/sisters). Bend which is the outdoor and brewery center of oregon is less than 3 hours away from Lebanon and closer to 2.5. There are amazing hikes on the coast and the cascades all less than 2 hours away, very easy day trips.
I will add to this. Lebanon itself isn't a very impressive town. It is pretty rural, and old. The nicest part of it is the new school and hospital area of WesternU. It is a good school but I suspect they got the land for cheap due to its location. Remember that you are there for really only four years, and really of that you are only there for your first two years, and third and fourth year you will be doing rotations and such. Even the first two years you will be doing blended classes with some in person and some online. So don't feel like you are STUCK living in Lebanon proper, if you're like me and don't enjoy rural settings. I myself am making plans to live likely in a surrounding town and commute in for school whenever I need to. There are drawbacks with this, one of which is that I may not get as close interaction with others who will be living in the apartments across the street from the school. I am hoping I can circumvent this by being very friendly and involved.
 
Lebanon is actually pretty centrally located to everything. There’s a Costco, mall, target, etc within 20 min of campus (Albany). College town (Corvallis) is also 20 min away with some of the best breweries and food in oregon. The coast is an hour and 15 min away (Newport), and skiing and the cascade mountains are only 1.5 hours away (Hoodoo/sisters). Bend which is the outdoor and brewery center of oregon is less than 3 hours away from Lebanon and closer to 2.5. There are amazing hikes on the coast and the cascades all less than 2 hours away, very easy day trips.
Thank you so much for the info! What ultimately drew you to comp NW? Do you have anything (bad and good) that you wish you would’ve known before attending? Do you feel comfortable in your ability to match into whatever speciality? Is primary care pushed?
 
Thank you so much for the info! What ultimately drew you to comp NW? Do you have anything (bad and good) that you wish you would’ve known before attending? Do you feel comfortable in your ability to match into whatever speciality? Is primary care pushed?
I’m 100% driven to serving the underserved and rural areas of oregon. This is my home. Going to NW was everything I wanted.

I believe I can match in anything I want to match in and NW will help me do it. Btw, primary care is no way pushed. You can be a urologist or a family care doc, they will help you succeed in your dreams but the best part is they will be honest with you, if for some reason you have poor chances of achieving your goal they will help you pick a new goal or work to improve your application to make you a better applicant. I love where I ended up.
 
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Does anyone know if it’s required to be on campus this upcoming year? How feasible is it to commute from Portland?
 
Does anyone know if it’s required to be on campus this upcoming year? How feasible is it to commute from Portland?
Personally, I wouldn't try to live in Portland. Salem is doable. Not sure about scheduling for next year, but the expectation is you will have to be on campus at least 2 days a week. Last block for the 1st years had them on campus 3 days a week. Second years are on campus 2-3 days per week. Expectations can also change throughout the semesters. For example, we were taking didactic exams online and that switched to in-person exams mid-semester that increased time needed to be down in Lebanon. My husband lives in Portland, and I split my time between Lebanon and Portland. There are many weekends I don't go home to Portland. We live in SW, but it's a 2.5 hour round trip. You can download audio files of lecture and listen to them on the way, but I wouldn't do that for a first pass. I think there have been people who commuted, but none that I know of in the 2024 class.
 
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Personally, I wouldn't try to live in Portland. Salem is doable. Not sure about scheduling for next year, but the expectation is you will have to be on campus at least 2 days a week. Last block for the 1st years had them on campus 3 days a week. Second years are on campus 2-3 days per week. Expectations can also change throughout the semesters. For example, we were taking didactic exams online and that switched to in-person exams mid-semester that increased time needed to be down in Lebanon. My husband lives in Portland, and I split my time between Lebanon and Portland. There are many weekends I don't go home to Portland. We live in SW, but it's a 2.5 hour round trip. You can download audio files of lecture and listen to them on the way, but I wouldn't do that for a first pass. I think there have been people who commuted, but none that I know of in the 2024 class.
Thank you!!
 
If i want to send an update letter, do i upload it to portal?
they don't accept any. i did the mistake of uploading one and it was gone the next day. Then I saw it says only submit updates if they request them. I emailed to ask about updates and they said they do not take any unless requested.
 
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Just cancelled my interview and withdrew my application - good luck to all of you! I hope one of you gets my spot!
 
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Does COMP give students an ipad or is it expected that you buy one?
From what I recall during the interview you have to buy one, but you can also use one you already have given that it meets their requirements.
 
Also waitlisted just now. The notification says that they are unable to offer a place in the class because the applicants accepted prior to my interview date have confirmed their intent to attend the school and the class is currently filled.

It's anxiety-inducing being in that limbo, but at least I don't have to worry about the non-refundable deposit before I hear back from other schools and weigh my options!
 
Also waitlisted just now. The notification says that they are unable to offer a place in the class because the applicants accepted prior to my interview date have confirmed their intent to attend the school and the class is currently filled.

It's anxiety-inducing being in that limbo, but at least I don't have to worry about the non-refundable deposit before I hear back from other schools and weigh my options!
For sure! Out of curiosity, when you went to accept the waitlist offer, did it actually say "alternate offer" instead of waitlist? My "offer letter" said waitlist, but my offer response selection said alternate, so I was a bit confused there.
 
For sure! Out of curiosity, when you went to accept the waitlist offer, did it actually say "alternate offer" instead of waitlist? My "offer letter" said waitlist, but my offer response selection said alternate, so I was a bit confused there.
Same. The letter info said waitlist, and the response was an alternate offer. Was looking at the Pomona thread (more people there lol) and someone got in a week after being put on the alternate/waitlist. Idk if there's a difference, if it's tiered, but it's out of my hands now o_O
 
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@snowcrawler85 Thanks for being willing to answer questions. What's the housing situation like in Leb? How early do you need to be to find a great option for first year? Are lease terms in the area typically cyclical (i.e. do leases usually turn over at a specific time of year)?
 
@snowcrawler85 Thanks for being willing to answer questions. What's the housing situation like in Leb? How early do you need to be to find a great option for first year? Are lease terms in the area typically cyclical (i.e. do leases usually turn over at a specific time of year)?
There are two complexes right near school but several townhomes and houses in Lebs you can rent that get posted to the FB page once it gets opened. You can be put on a waitlist for lodges, but no waitlist (just have to call daily to see if someone gave notice) at Cascade Ridge. However, they won’t even start taking names till 30-60 days out from start of school. Finding housing is a little stressful but remember most second years leave to go to rotations in June so apartments will open up. I lived at the lodges when I was there and it was really nice. Leases for there were one year starting when you signed it and rent increases on that date yearly.
 
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There are two complexes right near school but several townhomes and houses in Lebs you can rent that get posted to the FB page once it gets opened. You can be put on a waitlist for lodges, but no waitlist (just have to call daily to see if someone gave notice) at Cascade Ridge. However, they won’t even start taking names till 30-60 days out from start of school. Finding housing is a little stressful but remember most second years leave to go to rotations in June so apartments will open up. I lived at the lodges when I was there and it was really nice. Leases for there were one year starting when you signed it and rent increases on that date yearly.
There is actually these townhomes right across the parking lot from school (350 N 3rd St, Lebanon, OR 97355 - Townhouse for Rent in Lebanon, OR | Apartments.com) you should 100% keep an eye on if they become available because they are the most amazing places and they tend to be where several student room together
 
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@snowcrawler85 thank you for the heads up!

Another few questions if I may:
1. how did you find the grading system (as opposed to a traditional letter grading system)
2. Do you feel like COMP-NW sets you up to succeed on boards? Do they offer subscriptions to commonly used alternative learning resources like Sketchy or UWorld?
 
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