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Western/COMP Discussion Thread 2009-2010
Started by danimjo
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i sent in my secondary sometime mid august. it took about 2-3 weeks for it to be complete but I had to email them a couple times for my status. i received an interview 2-3 days after i was notified about my application completion. if you really want to go to western, you definitely need to keep on bugging them about your status.
I received an invite three weeks after my application was complete (I was complete on Oct. 27, and I got the invitation today. I'm soooo excited!!!). Hopefully you will hear from them soon too 
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Congrats 🙂 I really enjoyed their interview day. Was very relaxed, students were extremely friendly, and I thought they did a great job of explaining the structure of their program.
I interviewed on the 12th last week and got some really dry interviewers who hardly responded to my answers. Plus I was really nervous and rambled on a bit. Did anyone else get some tough interviewers that gave a really uncomfortable interview and still get accepted? 😕
Not here, but somewhere else, and I was rejected. Don't know if that means much, but there ya go
Zero, but the last day of courses for us was some time in early May, so if you scheduled your exam(s) for mid-late June like a normal person you had 4-6 weeks to study. I had 4.5 weeks, and honestly after 3 weeks I was ready to shoot myself in the ****ing brain. It's almost too much time.
Some lady this Thursday at my interview said that it was only about 25% full. So lots of space still open for people.
Ok great. I was asking how much time students had rather than what they gave you, so thanks for the answer🙂
In the overview it mentions the school offers first and second year electives in addition to the regular curriculum. In case the regular curriculum won't keep us busy enough (😉) what are the electives available during the first two years? Some schools have, for example, suturing skills, medical foreign language, dissection, professional development, etc. Thanks!
My interviewer at Western was a stone wall. I couldn't get a read on him at all, one way or the other, and I wasn't sure how well some of my answers went over. But I still got in. So never fear! Not getting a reaction means they either just don't respond to anything, or they've gotten a pretty good poker face prepared for these interviews.
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I did! It was a very informative, if you have any specific questions let me know!
I had one tough interviewer and I got in! My interviewers were a good cop/bad cop team; one smiled and said thank you, the other grilled me on every word I said and went over my app with a fine-tooth comb...
i think for western, it's all random on the type of interviewers. since western tends to invite at least 30-50 applicants each interview date, they are going to have a wide variety of panelists. in my interview, i had one young female professor and a 4th year med student so it was a very laid back interview. I was practically making jokes with them towards the end. i talked to other applicants and they told me they had older professors and grilled them in every question. They didn't seem too confident on how it all went down.
so if you're looking for advice on how to prepare for the interview, don't prepare based on the type of interviewer because it'll be random. what could be helpful are the type of questions they ask... here are some that most interviewers ask...
why DO? what are your strengths? what are your weaknesses? what did you do in your research (make sure you know it very well)? explain one community service experience that meant the most.
hope this helps. good luck to you all.
so if you're looking for advice on how to prepare for the interview, don't prepare based on the type of interviewer because it'll be random. what could be helpful are the type of questions they ask... here are some that most interviewers ask...
why DO? what are your strengths? what are your weaknesses? what did you do in your research (make sure you know it very well)? explain one community service experience that meant the most.
hope this helps. good luck to you all.
For anyone waiting to hear back. I was complete on 10/28 and e-mailed to see if they had any updates since Western is both my local school and top choice. The admissions counselor said that letters will be going out at the end of the week to inform applicants about their status, which also sounds bad for me because I'm pretty sure they call to invite you to interview :-(
i received an email regarding an invite.
I got an acceptance from KC, AZCOM and NYCOM and just got an interview from Western. Should I take the interview at western... The plane tickets are expensive from Chicago. Does Western have anything to offer the other ones I already got an acceptance from dont offer? Advise appreciated
fitz - accept the invite if you want to be in california for medical school, residency, or for your future practice. it's hard to compare the curriculums and quality of rotations with your other schools because different students have different opinions. the only deciding factor is the location so i say base your decision on that.
dbdan - i also got an interview invite through email. however, i was abroad and my phone was turned off during the time i got the email.
dbdan - i also got an interview invite through email. however, i was abroad and my phone was turned off during the time i got the email.
Maybe I was wrong and they come through e-mail. Regardless hearing that I am waiting for a letter is not a good thing lol
My invite was given by telephone.
There is a strong possibility that I am going to decide to attend Western, and I have been looking at apartments online in the area. I was wondering if any one had some tips on the best places to live around Pomona. I would be okay with a half hour - 45 min commute. Thanks.
About 2 months.
Is anyone thinking of doing ISAC? I highly Recommend it.
Also join the COMP 2014 facebook group if you've been accepted.
I am on the list for the ISAC. It is 14 June to 31 July. I've been out of school for a bit, too, and think it will help with the transition among other things. Thanks for the info about the boards that is great. I posted this earlier but do you know what electives there are years 1 and 2?
I live in the Diamond Bar area, which is a pretty quick 15-20 minute commute. It's also against traffic in the mornings, which is great. There's also Chino Hills and Claremont, which I hear is a nice college-town near the Claremont colleges. Very pretty, lots of tree-lined streets. You can also find places to live in Pomona itself, probably near Cal State Pomona would be a good place to start.
Edit: you might want to check out the Facebook COMP 2014 group (if you have FB). There's advice on there about where to live that might be helpful.
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Most students suggested living in either Claremont, Diamond Bar or Chino Hills. They're all within about 20 minutes of the school.
viciouz - did you do isac when you came into western? if so, how was your first semester like with the rest of the students? did you tend to hang out mostly with your isac classmates since everyone else was probably cramming for anatomy? i know med school is all about busting your ass off but i definitely am also looking forward to meeting everyone and having group studies.
did you ace all of your other classes because you had so much more free time?
did you ace all of your other classes because you had so much more free time?
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I did do ISAC. It was great... gave me the chance to get to know what med school was like and make some really close friends.
My first semester isn't as chill as you think, its mostly the first 2 months that are pretty easy going. Yes I aced my other classes, but they aren't CORE classes. I got to hang out a lot with different people. I did tend to hang out with more ISAC people because we honestly just had more free time in the beginning. I even got the chance to get to know a lot of the 2nd year students too, so they hooked it up with advice and tests/notes.
Now, since we are all on the same schedule again... I hang out with whoever is down to hang out.
Btw...I did not ace all my core classes... that would require 24/7 study which I wont submit to, even though, I am more of the party animal of the class but I do know when to get serious too.
On a lighter note... I have two rules I follow.
Rule #1: Don't let medical school run my life.
Rule #2: Get to know everyone, or at least know their names.
Can you tell me more about the time commitment involved with ISAC? I understand that it's 5 days a week lecture + lab. Are there weekly exams? How much studying did you do each evening after you got home? Did you have to study every weekend as well in order to stay on top of the material? Was it overwhelming? I want to get involved, but I don't want to end up feeling burned out before I even start school with the other students in the Fall.
Yes it was 5 days a week with lab... yes it got old and tiring by the 4th week... but thats medical school. I studied 1 week prior to exams. No it wasn't overwhelming compared to what I am doing now... Anatomy was so much easier.
I like to quote "Zombieland" because you just need to "Shut up and NUT UP."
Medical School is no joke... but yes... you can survive and make the most of it.
Grr... It's "Nut up or shut up."
You must have amazing stats for them to not even wait until you submit your secondary and pay? Is that normal?
Same thing happened with me.. dropped my secondary in the mail and that same day got an interview invite lol
Haha. Lucky you, too. You do have really good stats though, and I'm sure the rest of your app was outstanding. Did you interview already? If so, what'd you think?
They actually do that on a pretty broad basis, they term it their 'priority interview' invitation. I'm guessing they use stat cutoffs for those, then review the rest of the applications once they have secondaries so they can get a better idea of the overall picture.
And you'll find tons and tons of people posting post-interview thoughts throughout this thread (starting around mid-September) and in the interview feedback. For my part, I came away from the interview with the impression that Western is frickin' awesome.
+1 for claremont
any updates on the cafeteria?
That's good to know. I still haven't sent my secondary b/c I don't have a picture of myself yet...horrible reason, but I'm working to rectify that. Have you made the ULTIMATE decision as to where you'll be yet 😀?
Yeah I interviewed already. It was super laid back and the interviewers were really nice...
Make sure you know 'why do' and all those kinds of questions and dont be the tool who asks your group leader what OMM is..
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Forget about the picture, its optional. I didn't include one and was accepted. Turn in the secondary!!!!!!!!!!!
...I will definitely not be that person...do those people even know they're at a DO school? Seriously. 😀 But I'm probably not gonna get an interview at Western. Getting kinda late in the game, and my stats aren't stellar. I'll take your advice to KCOM when I interview.
Hmm, so I know the app says the picture is optional, but I thought I read somewhere they don't consider your app complete till they have a picture? I'm just gonna take your advice and turn it in since it obviously worked for you. I'll mail them a picture later.
Just go into your KCOM interview with a kick ass attitude, enjoy the interview - its just as much for you as it is for them..
So I have yet to turn in my deposit. I won't be able to mail it out until Friday. I'm hopeful it would get there in time (by Tuesday, December 1st), but what happens if it doesn't? Is Western strict about the deposits? Will I lose my seat if I don't turn it in on time? I'm thinking of driving up to Pomona and giving it someone in person, just to make sure. Is anyone else in the same situation or am I the only idiot that delayed this part of the process till the last few days?
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