I just interviewed there this week. It was my first interview, so I don't have any comparison, but it was more laid back than I was expecting. We stayed in a conference room until the interviewers called us in one at a time. We were each supposed to get two interviews, but one interviewer was called away to an emergency, so some of us had two, some only had one. They gave us breakfast and a packet of materials on the school -- they've had an impressive match list for the past couple of years.
My first interview was very laid back, just getting-to-know-you stuff. The second was tougher because he questioned my file more. They both wanted to make sure I knew something about the school and osteopathy, that I was going into it for the right reasons, etc. Nothing on medical ethics whatsoever. I don't think any other interviewees got that either. We had a fire alarm go off in the middle of the morning, but that wasn't really too big of a deal.
The facilities are a bit varied. The newest building is quite nice -- it houses the lecture halls, the omm lab, and the admin offices. The building that houses the library is the oldest, and it shows. The library is small, as everyone will tell you, but it has enough materials for research -- I've never been big on studying in the library, so it doesn't bother me. This is also where the labs are for histo, micro, etc. Some people are bothered by the idea of not having the lecturer in the room, but I was in the smp at Georgetown, and the neuro/anatomy labs are like that -- it really doesn't make a difference, there are still enough people around to ask. The game room/gym are quite pathetic, but so was Georgetown's. The third building houses the anatomy lab, cafeteria, and a study hall. The lab wasn't bad, I think how bad it seems depends more on how much dissection you've done previously. After the rotting squid, not much bothers me now. 😛
The students seemed happy there. They weren't bitter that they couldn't get into a better school or anything like that.
We had the opportunity to talk with the director of admissions, just to make sure our files were complete. This might seem a bit redundant, but I'm glad I stayed for it. He went through my file, looked over stuff, and basically gave me a short interview of his own. This might seem like a bit much, but I was happy that his questions were answered directly by me, rather than by interviewers who might have to guess my answers.
Old Westbury is expensive -- all huge houses with like three acres, a paddock and a stable. Students have to live far away. From my perspective, it's DC rent but you have to have a car, so it's even more expensive.
I'm not sure how much that helps, it just basically expands on what I put into the feedback database. I'm not a current student, but I can share more on my experience, if people have questions.
