2024-2025 Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences (PNWU-COM)

Med School Insiders
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hottiepickle said:
This school is really unorganized and unprofessional
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Current student here! I've had a very positive experience with the school and am sorry this is the conclusion you have come to at this time. I would be happy to discuss further if you are open to it. Also feel free to DM!
 
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OOS WL. Does anyone know how likely it is to get off the WL here? I don't have very high stats lol
 
Hello everyone! I decided to apply to PNWU yesterday after learning more about the school. Received the secondary and submitted it today. Is this normal for an OOS applicant? I feel like thats quite fast? Can anyone comment on how heavy they screen? I appreciate all help!
 
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waspmachine said:
Hello everyone! I decided to apply to PNWU yesterday after learning more about the school. Received the secondary and submitted it today. Is this normal for an OOS applicant? I feel like thats quite fast? Can anyone comment on how heavy they screen? I appreciate all help!
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It's probably an automated response at this point. No one can know for sure. I will say there were a sizable amount of people who interviewed at the school with below average MCAT/GPA, so I think the screening comes in during the II selection process.

PNWU receives thousands of applications and has a relatively small team dedicated to admissions so I doubt they would dedicate manpower to deciding who gets a secondary vs deciding who gets an II.

Good luck!
 
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TheHungryVegan said:
It's probably an automated response at this point. No one can know for sure. I will say there were a sizable amount of people who interviewed athlete school with below average MCAT/GPA, so I think the screening comes in during the II selection process.

PNWU receives thousands of applications and has a relatively small team dedicated to admissions so I doubt they would dedicate manpower to deciding who gets a secondary vs deciding who gets an II.

Good luck!
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Thanks so much!
 
Would any current students be willing to talk about what it's like using Anki for the in-house exams? Do you make your own cards for the lectures? Premade decks? Do the upperclassmen share anki decks? Thanks
 
johncolter said:
Would any current students be willing to talk about what it's like using Anki for the in-house exams? Do you make your own cards for the lectures? Premade decks? Do the upperclassmen share anki decks? Thanks
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Hi I'm not a current student but when during the tour they gave us on interview day, they mentioned that upperclassmen do share decks and that people in general circulate them among each other. Thats just my 2 cents.
 
johncolter said:
Would any current students be willing to talk about what it's like using Anki for the in-house exams? Do you make your own cards for the lectures? Premade decks? Do the upperclassmen share anki decks? Thanks
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Yes, there are lots of premade Anki decks floating around! Most of my class uses the pre-made decks (there are 2 specific decks that are the most commonly used). Some people do make their own decks, but this is VERY time-consuming. I had planned to make my own decks as well, but ultimately when you are balancing 35 credits of coursework there just simply isn't the time. We all do anki all the time- that is pretty much what is keeping well over half of us sane, so using the pre-made decks is your best bet for sure!
 
OOS II just now! Earliest virtual date is end of March. Why so far out? Can we reschedule for earlier if possible?
 
Hey all. I’m a 4th year student at PNWU and am happy to answer any questions about the school. I’ll give you my honest opinions on things both the good and the things that could be improved so feel free to message me.

I will say PNWU is an extremely mission focused school. If your goal is primary care (community IM, Family Med, Peds, EM) PNWU will provide you with you need to match well, particularly in the Pacific Northwest region. It is far less suited for helping you match competitive specialties.
 
snowdocsea said:
Hey all. I’m a 4th year student at PNWU and am happy to answer any questions about the school. I’ll give you my honest opinions on things both the good and the things that could be improved so feel free to message me.

I will say PNWU is an extremely mission focused school. If your goal is primary care (community IM, Family Med, Peds, EM) PNWU will provide you with you need to match well, particularly in the Pacific Northwest region. It is far less suited for helping you match competitive specialties.
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As someone who's interested in IM/critical care, are there specific rotations or elective opportunities at PNWU that provide in depth exposure to critical care, such as ICU settings or specialized critical care training?

Edit: Thank you for taking the time to answer my question!
 
waspmachine said:
As someone who's interested in IM/critical care, are there specific rotations or elective opportunities at PNWU that provide in depth exposure to critical care, such as ICU settings or specialized critical care training?

Edit: Thank you for taking the time to answer my question!
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It's very site-dependent. I will say most provide a fairly decent IM experience, with some sites directly integrated with residency programs. Critical care experience is more limited with most sites lacking a true high-acuity ICU, TICU, SICU, MICU, etc. Unfortunately, this is a regional issue as most critically ill patients are sent to UW/Harborview which is entirely controlled by UW's medical school. That being said you will have plenty of time to do away rotations 4th year in large Level 1 ICUs if you want.
 
snowdocsea said:
It's very site-dependent. I will say most provide a fairly decent IM experience, with some sites directly integrated with residency programs. Critical care experience is more limited with most sites lacking a true high-acuity ICU, TICU, SICU, MICU, etc. Unfortunately, this is a regional issue as most critically ill patients are sent to UW/Harborview which is entirely controlled by UW's medical school. That being said you will have plenty of time to do away rotations 4th year in large Level 1 ICUs if you want.
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I see. Thank you for your response!
 
Acceptance this morning! Does someone know by when we need to reply to offer of admission? I was to stunned to pay attention on the phone! lol
 
Looking at the Yakima videos - can any current students comment on how safe the city/community actually is?
 
waspmachine said:
Looking at the Yakima videos - can any current students comment on how safe the city/community actually is?
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No worse than downtown Seattle or Portland. There is crime but no better/worse than other West Coast cities IMO.
 
waspmachine said:
OOS II just now! Earliest virtual date is end of March. Why so far out? Can we reschedule for earlier if possible?
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Congrats!!! Do you mind me asking what your academic stats are and what state you are from? I an OOS with a strong history of rural/underserved medical experience, am from a rural and medically underserved area in Alabama, want to become a rural FM position. I fit the school's mission statement well, got a secondary this week about 2 days after submitting my primary. My stats are fairly low though, 3.34 total GPA, 3.32 science but my last 2 years are all A's from a 4.00 M.S. in Biology, my MCAT is 499. Have 1200 hours experience working as an anatomy TA during my M.S., and then 2700 hours total working in a rural ER as a scribe and patient care tech, 100+ hours volunteering at a rural peds clinic in my home county (shadowed there as well, it basically blended in together), about 1000+ hours as an SGA Student Senator for 2+ years, and I am currently volunteering with Habitat for Humanity while working on a second one-year M.S. so I am hoping my experience and service will make up for my stats with me being OOS.

Seems promising that they sent you an invite so soon! Currently studying for an exam but will likely submit my secondary by Tuesday.

Good luck with your interview!!!
 
JohnDorianMD said:
Congrats!!! Do you mind me asking what your academic stats are and what state you are from? I an OOS with a strong history of rural/underserved medical experience, am from a rural and medically underserved area in Alabama, want to become a rural FM position. I fit the school's mission statement well, got a secondary this week about 2 days after submitting my primary. My stats are fairly low though, 3.34 total GPA, 3.32 science but my last 2 years are all A's from a 4.00 M.S. in Biology, my MCAT is 499. Have 1200 hours experience working as an anatomy TA during my M.S., and then 2700 hours total working in a rural ER as a scribe and patient care tech, 100+ hours volunteering at a rural peds clinic in my home county (shadowed there as well, it basically blended in together), about 1000+ hours as an SGA Student Senator for 2+ years, and I am currently volunteering with Habitat for Humanity while working on a second one-year M.S. so I am hoping my experience and service will make up for my stats with me being OOS.

Seems promising that they sent you an invite so soon! Currently studying for an exam but will likely submit my secondary by Tuesday.

Good luck with your interview!!!
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I don't feel comfortable sharing directly but I will say I think you have a great shot. They also sent me the secondary one day after I submitted my primary, and the ii followed a few days after. It seems they do really care about mission fit (I am also heavily interested in rural med) so submit your secondary asap if you haven't yet.
 
waspmachine said:
I don't feel comfortable sharing directly but I will say I think you have a great shot. They also sent me the secondary one day after I submitted my primary, and the ii followed a few days after. It seems they do really care about mission fit (I am also heavily interested in rural med) so submit your secondary asap if you haven't yet.
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Understandable, and thank you! I haven’t submitted yet because I’ve been studying for an exam today, but I’ll get it in by Wednesday!!! Hoping for good things, the PNW is a beautiful area I wouldn’t mind moving to (I’ve contemplated moving out west for a couple years after residency anyway to see more of the country), and this program seems right up my alley with their mission!
 
JohnDorianMD said:
Understandable, and thank you! I haven’t submitted yet because I’ve been studying for an exam today, but I’ll get it in by Wednesday!!! Hoping for good things, the PNW is a beautiful area I wouldn’t mind moving to (I’ve contemplated moving out west for a couple years after residency anyway to see more of the country), and this program seems right up my alley with their mission!
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I completely agree. I'm really excited about this school!
 
waspmachine said:
I don't feel comfortable sharing directly but I will say I think you have a great shot. They also sent me the secondary one day after I submitted my primary, and the ii followed a few days after. It seems they do really care about mission fit (I am also heavily interested in rural med) so submit your secondary asap if you haven't yet.
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Oh wow an II a few days after submitting secondary is really fast turn around! Congrats on the II!
 
waspmachine said:
I don't feel comfortable sharing directly but I will say I think you have a great shot. They also sent me the secondary one day after I submitted my primary, and the ii followed a few days after. It seems they do really care about mission fit (I am also heavily interested in rural med) so submit your secondary asap if you haven't yet.
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Btw did you submit the secondary the same day you received it?
 
Jimbob887 said:
This might be a dumb question...but how late is too late to apply to PNWU? is it just a donation at this point or could you get an acceptance with a November application with good stats/mission fit? Thanks!
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Good stats and fit is a great shot! DO cycle isn’t considered late until thanksgiving-ish so you have plenty of time! The school has plenty of seats to fill so don’t stress. Good luck
 
Do they screen heavily before secondaries? Also I submitted secondary October 20 when should I expect to hear back?
 
natolael3asola said:
Do they screen heavily before secondaries? Also I submitted secondary October 20 when should I expect to hear back?
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I was told by a medical student who goes there involved in admissions that they only send you a secondary if they are interested in possibly interviewing you. Per the website statistics, they interviewed slightly over half of the applicants who submitted secondaries last cycle. I can't find numbers on primary apps but this person said they don't send out as many secondaries compared to other programs. I submitted my primary 10/28, they got everything 10/29, was invited to submit the secondary 10/30. Just submitted my secondary tonight, 11/7. Will update this thread if I hear back!
 
I'm not sure if anyone can help with this, but would I have a decent shot at PNWU with a 498 MCAT and a 3.75 science GPA? I could add that I have a decent amount of clinical experience and work with the underserved population, in addition to being a longtime WA resident. Any info would be great, hope ya'll have a great day! thanks 🙂
 
jamajames said:
I'm not sure if anyone can help with this, but would I have a decent shot at PNWU with a 498 MCAT and a 3.75 science GPA? I could add that I have a decent amount of clinical experience and work with the underserved population, in addition to being a longtime WA resident. Any info would be great, hope ya'll have a great day! thanks 🙂
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I feel like i have heard of people getting into PNWU with sub 500 but I'm not sure how many? Can anyone add to this?
 
I didn’t get an email, but I checked my application tonight and I got a virtual interview interview invite 😭😭😭!!! They’re booked so far out that I don’t interview till late March.

Submitted primary 10/28, marked as received 10/29, secondary invite 10/30, secondary submitted 11/6, interview invite 11/8!!!

3.3 GPA high 490s MCAT, lots of clinical experience in rural and medically underserved areas, out of state
 
Jimbob887 said:
I feel like i have heard of people getting into PNWU with sub 500 but I'm not sure how many? Can anyone add to this?
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I got an interview invite today, 3.3 GPA, high 490s MCAT, out of state but upper 2000s hours in clinical experience working in a rural medically underserved area and a strong mission fit
 
JohnDorianMD said:
I didn’t get an email, but I checked my application tonight and I got a virtual interview interview invite 😭😭😭!!! They’re booked so far out that I don’t interview till late March.

Submitted primary 10/28, marked as received 10/29, secondary invite 10/30, secondary submitted 11/6, interview invite 11/8!!!

3.3 GPA high 490s MCAT, lots of clinical experience in rural and medically underserved areas, out of state
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Same thing happened with me!!! I checked one night and scheduled but got the interview invite email the next day! I ended up withdrawing my app but good luck 🙏🏻
 
Update! They had a slot open up for next week, things are moving so fast this is surreal, my first interview invite this cycle and only second ever (I got one interview last cycle that didn’t work out) 😭😭😭😭😭
 
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