Hey guys,
Current MABS student here. We are about to take finals next week and many of my classmates are still on the waitlist for the schools they are interested in. Most of the class is pre-med or pre-dent looking to get into the medical school or the dental school at MWU AZ. I am going to be really honest here, and I'm sure my classmates can agree. Let me preface this by saying this program is hard. I did well in this program, but it was definitely the hardest school setting I've been in because on top of courses, the student culture is pretty unsupportive and stressful. This program brings out the worst in people and is quite discouraging.
The MA program tells you that there is a strong linkage between their program and AZCOM. However, this is just a way for them to attract students like us. The reality is that there is no "guaranteed" acceptance. The agreement they tell you about is that if you have a 495 MCAT and get a certain GPA, you will get an interview. If you have a 3.4 GPA after the fall quarter, you are offered a winter quarter interview. If you have a 3.1 after the winter quarter, you are offered a spring interview. Sometimes people below this GPA can get interviews too if you have good relationships with your advisors. The general rule of thumb is that if you have at least a 3.0, you'll be given an interview at some point. The problem is that there is absolutely no guarantee you are accepted, even though they tell you this. I am not sure if I would have chosen this program if I had known that since the beginning. I interviewed in early spring for AZCOM, and was placed on the waitlist. When I asked about this, they basically told me that they don't truly guarantee acceptance. They just assume that enough accepted students will choose other medical schools -- so that the MA students can then be pulled off the waitlist. So, as you can imagine, if people hold onto their acceptances, MA students who meet the requirements will not be offered a spot in the AZCOM class. The same goes for the dental, optometry, and PA programs as well. Many of my classmates are on the waitlist for AZCOM now and we have no idea if/when we will be pulled off. They told us they could pull us off the list until the first day of class.
I also want to say that we have had ~50% of our students drop over the course of the program. These are pre-med students who are qualified and very intelligent, so that tells you that this program is definitely difficult. I have had friends in the program that have done poorly on 1-2 exams and been told by advisors to leave. This is ridiculous to me -- people mess up sometimes and life happens. One grade is not indicative of a student's overall intelligence or ability to succeed. Student culture sucks too - people are rude and competitive and shady tbh. It is disappointing and quite isolating in a time when you are already stressed about school and future plans.
For the most part, professors are available to you if you need help and will put in efforts to help you succeed. However, their treatment of you depends on how much they believe in you as a student and your ability to succeed. We have about two exams a week. Most of the time, it is over 8-12 lectures and is mostly multiple choice. There are a few courses/professors who like to ask free response questions. We do not have textbooks, and all our material is from lecture slides. If you can watch/attend lectures and study those slides really well, you will set yourself up for success. Last minute studying doesn't work in this setting, and I learned that the hard way in the beginning. A typical day in the life of an MA student (or even AZCOM students) is overwhelmingly focused on school. Most students in this program study every day for most of the day, even on the weekends.
If you are considering this program, I would urge you to really think about your quality of life and how much importance you place on attending MWU specifically. The MA program is hard, and if you go on to AZCOM its pretty much the same story. The course load is very similar and so is the exam schedule. It is a great taste of how AZCOM will be. But, if you do go onto AZCOM you'll be familiar with the first year of didactic material already, which puts you at an advantage. I would also recommend that you try to do research or shadowing while you go to school here, most likely during our breaks. For those of you who need to take the MCAT again, I do not know of anyone who took it during the program. I know a few classmates who are scheduled to take the MCAT in June after graduation, and they will send their scores to AZCOM in the summer when they get them back.
