Official Comp Class Of 2011

[dryuja]

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Great to see that this thread is active. It looks like I'll be leaving you guys. I ultimately decided to attend a MD school. Good luck to all and for those of you waiting - I hope you get my seat.

 

[mtthwscott1]

does the school subsidize any of the rent for us if we stay at the helix?

does it seem strange that we would be using nearly all of our living alotment for rent on that place?

 

[harrypotter]

HI all, I've got Blue Cross' young person plan, it goes by the name of Tonik. So far it's been great. There are 3 levels to the plan and mine costs about $100 a month. More expensive than the Western plan but not by too much.

http://www.tonikhealth.com/ca/
Anyone else have a good plan they are on?

 

[freakedout06]

is anyone doing dental insurance too? i'm debating if it's worth it.

Not sure. I think that if you take good care of your teeth and all you need is a cleaning once or twice a year than it's probably not worth getting insurance.

 

[freakedout06]

HI all, I've got Blue Cross' young person plan, it goes by the name of Tonik. So far it's been great. There are 3 levels to the plan and mine costs about $100 a month. More expensive than the Western plan but not by too much.

http://www.tonikhealth.com/ca/
Anyone else have a good plan they are on?

Do you know if you can get on this plan if you're a resident of another state, but attending school in CA?

 

[harrypotter]

freakedout, that's a good question. I'm not sure though, sorry!

Does anyone know what address we have to send our transcripts too??
Thx!

 

[miasapearl]

Does anyone know what address we have to send our transcripts too??
Thx!

Admissions Office
WesternU/COMP
309 E. Second St.
Pomona, CA 91766-1854

 

[BIG Daddy#1]

Hey guys, if any of you have the 2007 match results for COMP, please post it here.
Thanks

 

[tkim]

I posted the tentative list on is the match thread - you can find it through the FAQ thread.

 

[cowslayer]

Hey guys,

I am a DO student here at COMP, nearing the end of my first year.
I remember being where you are now and how little I knew of what med school was actually gonna be like.
In short, I absolutely LOVE Western and it has been tougher than I have anticipated but also absolutely amazing and rewarding. And I've been in med school for less than a year!

In any case, I just wanted to offer myself as a resource, to answer any questions you may have about next year, from personal life to school life, whatever you may be wondering about.

Hope you all choose Western. I am definitely glad I did.

my e-mail addy: [email protected]

Bojan
DO 2010

 

[flabs]

hey cowslayer-

thanks for the post. I think everyone here has the understanding that med school won't be a cakewalk, but could you elaborate on how it was difficult for you? Also, what are your plans this summer? What do most people do between their 1st and 2nd years? Thanks for the info.

 

[cowslayer]

hey cowslayer-

thanks for the post. I think everyone here has the understanding that med school won't be a cakewalk, but could you elaborate on how it was difficult for you? Also, what are your plans this summer? What do most people do between their 1st and 2nd years? Thanks for the info.

I understood that medical school won't be a cakewalk but understanding is different than living it.
First I want to make one point: medical school, at least the clinical years, is conceptually VERY easy. Whatever your major was in college, there were probably math, physics and chemistry problems you didn't understand, papers you wrote that were weak, philosophy classes that required a lot of thought...and you needed help, tutoring or office hours.
There hasn't been a moment yet in medical school where I had the need to contact the professor for an explanation or go to office hours.
The difficulty of medical school is in sheer quantity of information you are expected to know and recognize. You may have an exam every other Monday and you can only really take it easy for maybe an afternoon after the exam. You simply cannot fall behind and keeping up will only help you pass. If you wanna get a decent grade, you gotta put in even more time.
You start with gross anatomy and by the time you're done you feel like it was a lot and how you've never studied more in your life. But then the tempo speeds up and your time management skills and personal relationships get put to the test.
I guess that's my key advice for medical school success. Be prepared to time manage well, DON'T FALL BEHIND and find time for a personal life because it will keep you sane. Med school really is a marathon and not a sprint so you really need some stamina.

And as far as summer goes...most people are taking it easy since this is the last summer break of our lives. However, a lot of people are doing research, working (there are no student loans for the summer) and traveling. Personally, I'll be relaxing and working in the local free clinic run by the students during the summer.

Hope this helps.

 

[harrypotter]

Admissions Office
WesternU/COMP
309 E. Second St.
Pomona, CA 91766-1854

thx so much miasapearl!🙂

 

[jenniemh]

Rented

 

[ggmk]

Just want to share with you guys a good delivery service for lunch once school starts. This place has authentic Taiwanese style lunchboxes w/ no m.s.g. and all at 5.50 each, all quite tasty and filling too. They deliver to Pomona if you can get a min of 6 orders.


http://6263227500.com/default.aspx

 

[lysosome]

Just want to share with you guys a good delivery service for lunch once school starts. This place has authentic Taiwanese style lunchboxes w/ no m.s.g. and all at 5.50 each, all quite tasty and filling too. They deliver to Pomona if you can get a min of 6 orders.


http://6263227500.com/default.aspx

What else do people do for lunch aside from bringing it from home? Any other delivery/nearby stores?

 

[freakedout06]

What else do people do for lunch aside from bringing it from home? Any other delivery/nearby stores?

I was wondering the same thing too. I know there's a Subway down the block. But there must be other places within walking distance or a short drive.

 

[cyclohexanol]

I was wondering the same thing too. I know there's a Subway down the block. But there must be other places within walking distance or a short drive.

What else do people do for lunch aside from bringing it from home? Any other delivery/nearby stores?

Subway, Quiznos, Taco Bell, KFC, Angelo's Pizza (many events on campus catered by them), Tom's Burgers (they have tons of other stuff too) are all within walking distance.

I used to bring my lunch with me and keep it in the fridges in the student commons until I stopped going to class. Now I just eat at home.

 

[Doc4God]

YEAH!!! They're going to let me be a doctor!!! I just got my acceptance from COMP today! They pulled me off the waitlist....so I'm joining y'all in the class of 2011. Just wanted to say HI! I'll be around.

 

[El Chupacabra]

Congratulations Doc4God. Mind if I ask you which waitlisted you were pulled from? (High alternate, regular, low?)

 

[Doc4God]

Congratulations Doc4God. Mind if I ask you which waitlisted you were pulled from? (High alternate, regular, low?)

I was on the high alternate list, but a friend stated that there were only a few (maybe 15) with this designation. So, if that's true, the regular list should be moving soon too.

 

[Rogerswife]

Congrats on getting in Doc4God! Isn't it just the greatest feeling in the world? Have you already joined our facebook group, cause if not, you should. There are plans in the works for all of us to get together at the beach before classes start, so everyone should come. If you want more information, just join the Facebook group COMP 2011. Hope to see you all there!

 

[lysosome]

Congrats Doc!

I'm waiting for that financial aid packet. It's suppose to come in soon! ack. almost 40k in tuition.

 

[Doc4God]

Congrats on getting in Doc4God! Isn't it just the greatest feeling in the world? Have you already joined our facebook group, cause if not, you should. There are plans in the works for all of us to get together at the beach before classes start, so everyone should come. If you want more information, just join the Facebook group COMP 2011. Hope to see you all there!

Hey thanks...I'll look that up tonight and join you!

 

[freakedout06]

Congrats on getting in Doc4God! Isn't it just the greatest feeling in the world? Have you already joined our facebook group, cause if not, you should. There are plans in the works for all of us to get together at the beach before classes start, so everyone should come. If you want more information, just join the Facebook group COMP 2011. Hope to see you all there!

Sounds good to me! I'll try to get on there soon.

Anyone know the dates for orientation?

 

[kealaq]

Sounds good to me! I'll try to get on there soon.

Anyone know the dates for orientation?

Western University Welcome Week is August 6 to 10.

Western COMP Orientation is August 8, 9, & 10.

White Coat Ceremony is Saturday, August 11.

Start of class is Monday, August 13.


Other dates:

If you sign up for ISAC, that is June 18 to August 3.

If you sign up for the Summer Medical Sciences Prep Program, that is July 2 to July 27.

 

[freakedout06]

Western University Welcome Week is August 6 to 10.

Western COMP Orientation is August 8, 9, & 10.

White Coat Ceremony is Saturday, August 11.

Start of class is Monday, August 13.


Other dates:

If you sign up for ISAC, that is June 18 to August 3.

If you sign up for the Summer Medical Sciences Prep Program, that is July 2 to July 27.

Thanks!

 

[WashU_01_USC_04]

I did this for years, but I get my insurance through my employer (though I will need to look for my own now that I will be a student). Insurance is usually based on where you live not where you have legal residence. This largely depends on the insurer though.

After my initial post, I did a lot of research and made a lot of phone calls to insurers.

I thought this might help you all.

The $808.00 Western U plan is fine for most younger people. The health costs that are of greatest concern to young people are office visits, prescriptions, and other routine medical care. However, for most people, these are low-cost, low financial risk items. Most people can afford routine health care without insurance assuming you are in good health. The Western U plan covers these things quite well. The major reason why it is cheap is because of the upper limit on each incident. Having a limit on each incident makes it harder if not impossible for you to reach the usual and customary multi-million dollar lifetime benefit limit that other plans have as a stop-loss. As a result, underwriters can assess a dramatically reduced risk.

As for the BlueCross Tonik Plan: This plan is fine except that it does not really make good use of your premium dollars because of the vision and dental coverage. In general, vision and dental procedures are somewhat unnecessary because they tend to be one-time costs that are not periodic in the way that a chronic condition would be. This extra coverage comes at the cost of restricting you to 4 covered office visits a year on the lower-end tonik plans. In general, the plan makes some compromises to give you the breadth of having vision and dental coverage.

I've been shopping mainly at the Bluecross and HealthNet. If you are just worried about the big stuff with no per-incident limit, almost any of the plans will do and can be really cheap if you are willing to forgo coverage for routine and preventative care. If you go the http://www.ehealthinsurance.com/, you can shop all the competition.

General suggestions:

• If you are young, no health issues, and rarely drive or drive safely, go with the Western U plan. It is a bargain for what you get and also well-matched for young people.
  
• For young people, large health expenses are usually the result of car accidents and other mishaps that could result in long-term costs, since the likelihood of being maimed is much higher than death. In this case, getting the Tonik plan would be okay, but sacrifices a lot of first-dollar coverage. If you have the financial ability to pay for the small stuff, I would suggest a high deductible HSA-eligible plan that only covers the big stuff.
  
• If you do not have the ability to pay for small things out-of-pocket, I would get a plan that has higher co-pays but lower deductibles.
  
• In every case, it is a compromise unless you are willing to pay for a far more expensive plan. I think the best idea is to understand your own risks and buy health insurance accordingly.

Do you know if you can get on this plan if you're a resident of another state, but attending school in CA?

 

[OnMyWayThere]

Congratulations to all of you for getting into COMP. If anybody wants a place to stay while they're here for the summer getting settled in, let me know if your'e interested in a sub-lease (with option to stay). It is in the nicest (by far) complex near pomona. Includes park, heated pool, lobby with fresh cookies in the morning, gym with free bottled water, movie theater, office with computers connected to the internet and printers, phone/fax in the office, little putting green, coffee bar / tea bar...

I'm not going to be in town June, July and August so if you're interested in subleasing, I will charge you less than my rent. It is the master bedroom with own bathroom and walk-in closet.

If anybody else decides to rent a place at this complex, I can get you a $250 - $500 bonus when you sign a 1 year lease there (there is no bonus if you sign up on your own through the office). Let me know when you're apartment hunting!

Good luck in the coming year. If anybody has ANY questions about the school, instructors, books, prepping, whatever - just let me know here or PM me. 👍

 

[Superdoctim]

Congrats to everyone heading to COMP this August - I'm really looking forward to getting started. The school seems like it's going to be a great, tough opportunity.

 

[kealaq]

The ISAC 2007 brochure, application, & acceptance forms are available. But not through snail mail, through e-mail. If you had previously contacted Dr. Kuehn about joining the ISAC program, check your Western e-mail boxes.

==

Note: Date Correction to the ISAC acceptance form. Start Mon, June 18.

It says "Registration for ISAC is cheduled to begin Friday, June 8, 2007 which will include registration, orientation, and distribution of bone boxes. Registration & classes begin Friday, June 8, 2007 from 10 am to 5 pm. ISAC ends August 3."

I just talked to Dr. Kuehn on the phone. The Friday, June 8 date is WRONG. The CORRECT date in Monday, June 18. Dr. Kuehn said that he will send out a new acceptance form with the correct June 18 start date.

 

[Doc4God]

Thanks kaelaq! I was wondering if I should email Dr. Keuhn or wait for mail.

 

[kealaq]

Thanks kaelaq! I was wondering if I should email Dr. Keuhn or wait for mail.

Doc4God: I sent you some ISAC information on COMP 2011 facebook. I suggest calling & emailing Dr. Kuehn, since the couse can fill up before April 30th. I don't know how many spots are available or already taken up.

 

[kdkdshah]

congrats to everyone getting into medschool! now time to partayyyy

i'm a first year COMP student - and loving it (except for the nights where i get 45 minutes of sleep before exams).


i'm going to be living at the helix most of july so if some people want to meet up and want a tour of the inland empire, i would be more than happy to show you around. i'll be in and out of pomona throughout the summer so leave me a message or AIM me and we can meet up and i can show you the INS and OUTS of Pomona. I might also be helping out with SMSPP so if you're doin that, i might see you there. i'm sure i'll see the iSACers around school too.

AIM: Leok2nv
email: [email protected]

message me if you have any questions.

keval
do 2010.

 

[CampUnity]

I am an incoming COMP student, I am looking for housing. I read on helix website that helix is just walking distance from some grocery store. I was wondering how long of a walk, like do you know how many miles or minutes etc? I am deciding to only bring my bike to Western.

-CampUnity

 

[Bunson31]

I'm in and really excited (but nervous) to get started!!!

 

[lovableDR]

I'm a high alternate waitlister at Western but already decided to attend DMU. However, as it comes closer to moving time, I don't want to leave my family and move. I would like to have some changes in life but not quite sure if moving to DMU is too big of a change. One thing I know that I love DMU but haven't find that love for Western yet. Could some MSII/I or even MS 1/4 share some of your thought why would you pick Western over other school?? Thank you so much!!

 

[OnMyWayThere]

Family and weather

 

[StringerBell]

I'm a high alternate waitlister at Western but already decided to attend DMU...Could some MSII/I or even MS 1/4 share some of your thought why would you pick Western over other school??

Hahah, calling all MS 1/4's! Anybody out there? 🙂

I wonder what my percentage is, right now.
I'm going to declare I'm MS 1/16

 

[Red Beard]

Hello future class of 2011 friends,

I've got a sweet deal for anyone who needs a room for summer prep or ISAC.

July 1 until August 7th you can rent my room in a really cool house in Claremont, about 10-15 minutes from school. Its the master bedroom with its own attached bathroom, with a bed, desk, and chair for you to sit and stare at Netter (your new best friend) for hours on end.

The house has a pool and hot tub outback for cooling off in the afternoon--it gets hot here in the summer.

You can rent the room and stay while you look around for something good for the year--there will be plenty of places, and the good ones are easier to find when you are down here and already have a place to stay.

The house will have 4 2nd year students in August, but only two over the summer. They are both friendly guys.

Lots of parking, quiet neighborhood, and the Claremont nature trails are just up the street. Also, Claremont village and Claremont Colleges are just down the road, and you will see that it is one of nicest areas to hang around in. You can take Netter down to the coffee place or somewhere on the CC campuses.

I'm asking $600 for the summer, including utilities which is significantly less than the actual rent, and probably cheaper and cooler than most other sublet type situations you'll find this summer.

PM me or email me if you're interested: [email protected]

Take care!

PS-It will have wireless high-speed internet and cable TV too...not that you'll be watching TV or anything.

 

[kealaq]

No one's posted here in a week, so I'll repost some info from a "COMP vs. DMU" thread. Thanks, flyfisher (COMP 2010), for the information...

Hey flyfisher,
Of your 220 students, how many actually go to class regularly? I heard from other COMP 2010 students that they're not going to lecture. Is that true, because I want to get a feeling of the "school culture" & class attendance?

But you do go to the required gross anatomy, OMM, & ECM labs? How are the labs split up, since I imagine not everyone is doing lab at the same time?

Hey these are good questions. Well I'd say about 1/2 of our students are in lecture now and I'm here, but obviously not paying much attention. after anatomy class which is the first class, lecture attendance is not required. I use going to class as a time management tool, other people prefer to watch the lectures on video because you can speed it up/pause it. The video is all streaming on the web.

Anatomy is the very first class and there are quizes at the beginning of each class... they are group/open note quizes done online, but you never know exactly when they are going to be taken so people just go to class. The class hour is after lab usually at 1pm. Lab is in the morning and you attend lab every other day. There are groups of 8 for each cadaver and four people work on it at one time.

We have ECM once a week and it is split up into many groups, so in the course of an afternoon you probably have a standardized patient encounter in a group of 6, 2 or alone and then a discussion with a doctor afterwards. some people get frustrated because sometimes you won't start your ECM until 4 or later while other people get to start right at 1. I think our ECM is pretty good. I've learned alot about H&P and presenting a patient to a doc.

For OMM we are all in the OMM lab at once, but there are fellows and TAs assisting. there is 1 TA for 4 students and 12 fellows for the whole class in addition to 5 or 6 faculty. There are also reviews and workshops put on by the OMM club (UAAO) which are really valuable for learning, and its usually small group learning directly with really experienced faculty and visiting cliniciancs.

The culture is nice here... we had a website with shared study materials www.comp2010.org. Also lots of study charts and guides get sent out by email.Our class is pretty laid back and fun, there is probably about 5% that is in the front row and uptight/asks questions etc.

Additionally, the second years are really supportive and helpful. we all have a specific second year that is our "COMPanion" that we meet in the fall. Mine lets me borrow books, sends me notes etc.

So this is probably more than you wanted to know, if you have any further questions just ask!!

-flyfisher

 

[flabs]

thanks for the info kealaq. It's nice to hear a little more about the school culture and what we can expect. If anyone else has something to add to this sort of discussion, please feel free to post. I'm sure there are a lot of us out there who are curious to hear the many view points.

 

[StringerBell]

I am an incoming COMP student, I am looking for housing.

I haven't been accepted just yet, but am still interested in going to COMP. I spent the weekend in SoCal looking at apartments in Pomona and Diamond Bar. There are some nice places in the Diamond Bar / Phillips Ranch area, but they're pretty expensive. Helix looks "ok" but it doesn't seem like you get a lot of bang for your buck, except for the all-important location. Anybody scope out a good place to live yet?

 

[TheFish005]

Hey all, congrats on getting in. I'm a member of the 2008 class at Western. I have a 3 bedroom townhouse that will be vacant starting in July. If anyone is still looking for housing near campus this place is perfect. It's 1 mile south of school in a gated neighborhood. The only reason we're moving out is because one of my roommates graduated, the other is doing 4th year rotations outside cali, and I'm relocating closer to Arrowhead. PM me if you're interested in further details.
I also have a washer, dryer, and fridge I'm trying to get rid of - they're in working condition, but somewhat antiquated - I'll make you a good deal. PM me for details on these too. Good luck in your studies but remember, make time for yourselves! a happy student learns better than a stressed-out, unhappy student.

 

[Trevelyan]

Hey, I just want to throw it out there that I sent in a deposit to hold a two-bedroom apartment at the Helix, so if anyone else is interested in the Helix and needs a roommate, this is something you could consider.

 

[piggi]

has anyone received ANYTHING from student affairs yet? I.e. where to go on the first day of school, fin aid info, etc?

 

[jathan007]

Hey has anyone received the financial aid package yet? If so when and how did you get it?

 

[Rogerswife]

The word on Facebook is that only the Summer students have received their financial aid, with promises from the financial aid office that the rest of us will get them this week. The summer students said they received theirs by email. I also haven't heard anything about anyone getting information on orientation or anything, so I'm thinking it hasn't been sent out. The orientation page on the website has said "Coming Soon" forever, so who knows. I would just keep checking your Western email for more info.

 

[harrypotter]

Thanks Rogerswife. It's a little nerve racking.. not to have heard anything at all!

 

[harrypotter]

So today I got a letter about orientation in the mail: dates and stuff.

And in my western email got the letter about fin aid.

Anyone have any insight in which lenders they are picking?