Western/COMP Discussion Thread 2010-2011

Started by Siggy
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any current students out there that can give some suggestions on living situations..where to live? I do remember the student tour guide telling us that most students live off campus and near by cities like claremont?

Looking for something pretty close by so the commute isn't bad but also off campus. Any help/suggestions appreciated!!
 
myserendipity said:
any current students out there that can give some suggestions on living situations..where to live? I do remember the student tour guide telling us that most students live off campus and near by cities like claremont?

Looking for something pretty close by so the commute isn't bad but also off campus. Any help/suggestions appreciated!!
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The most popular areas are Claremont and Chino Hills. The northern side of Pomona isn't horrendous either. A few people live in the Helix and the Met next to the school.

Claremont is a college town. It doesn't really have much in terms of regular amenities (aka a big grocery store - you'll have to travel a little bit if you want anything other than Trader Joes), but it has a bunch of quirky little stores around the Claremont College campus. Cheese shops, wine shops, antique stores, etc. A couple of restaurants. There's a Costco a few miles east in Montclair. A few people live in Montclair and Upland.

Chino Hills (and neighboring Chino) has more large corporate stores. It's very clean and a bit more expensive as a result. It's also closer to Asian communities if that's important to you.

Both Claremont and Chino Hills are quite safe and both are around a 10 minute drive from campus depending on which part of Claremont/Chino Hills you live in.
 
My commute from home (Garden Grove) would probably be 30 minutes one way. If I live in Claremont or Chino Hills, I still have to drive to campus, so getting an apartment in these towns wouldn't save that much time would it..?
 
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vega07 said:
My commute from home (Garden Grove) would probably be 30 minutes one way. If I live in Claremont or Chino Hills, I still have to drive to campus, so getting an apartment in these towns wouldn't save that much time would it..?
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It's your choice. As Grey Wind said, plenty of people have ~30 minute commutes to school and are really happy with it. I personally like being able to come to school for a few hours and then go home, so living in Claremont is what I prefer.

Also - if you forget something at home, you can go home during lunch. If you do something like leave your white coat in Garden Grove on a clinical day, you better hope that you can borrow one. Otherwise, you'll have to buy a new one or just take a fail for the day. If you're not forgetful like me, that shouldn't be a problem.

Worst case scenario - if you find out that you don't like commuting that far to school, you can always pick up an apartment for your second year. If you really wanted to, you could even move midway through the year.
 
Cheshyre said:
The most popular areas are Claremont and Chino Hills. The northern side of Pomona isn't horrendous either. A few people live in the Helix and the Met next to the school.

Claremont is a college town. It doesn't really have much in terms of regular amenities (aka a big grocery store - you'll have to travel a little bit if you want anything other than Trader Joes), but it has a bunch of quirky little stores around the Claremont College campus. Cheese shops, wine shops, antique stores, etc. A couple of restaurants. There's a Costco a few miles east in Montclair. A few people live in Montclair and Upland.

Chino Hills (and neighboring Chino) has more large corporate stores. It's very clean and a bit more expensive as a result. It's also closer to Asian communities if that's important to you.

Both Claremont and Chino Hills are quite safe and both are around a 10 minute drive from campus depending on which part of Claremont/Chino Hills you live in.
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Thank you Cheshyre! 🙂 How long is the commute from Montclair and Upland and how is the community there if you happen to know by chance? I do like how Chino Hills and Chino are close to Asian communities since I may crave some asian food ever so often.
 
Quick question for peeps that have already interviewed, after they called you for the interview invite did you also get anything else as far as an email or anything?
 
myserendipity said:
Thank you Cheshyre! 🙂 How long is the commute from Montclair and Upland and how is the community there if you happen to know by chance? I do like how Chino Hills and Chino are close to Asian communities since I may crave some asian food ever so often.
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Being in Montclair or Upland will add maybe 5 minutes. I'm not totally sure. You should use Google Maps and enter your prospective apartment to confirm. I don't know if you're from around SoCal, but one thing that was really strange to me as a Midwesterner was the fact that towns/cities/whatever they are in SoCal are super, super close together. There are no physical boundaries. In Michigan, towns are like little isolated colonies surrounded by infinite wastela-- I mean, farmland.

Montclair and Upland are both safe. Well, they look safe, anyway. I've never really spent that much time there except to go to Bally's/Montclair Mall (same plaza) and to get my car fixed.

Chino Hills and Chino are relatively close to Rowland Heights (well, closer than Claremont is anyway) which is very Asian. Also, Chino has a 99 Ranch (Taiwanese Supermarket). Nearby Diamond Bar has an H-Mart (Korean supermarket).

Honestly, you'll probably be reasonably satisfied with any of these locations. If you live in Upland and really want Asian food, you'll be able to drive there... it's worth it for me, anyway.

I will say that my choice for cheap, fresh groceries is Food For Less in south Pomona (the bad part). You may have to deal with the occasional homeless person in the parking lot but the gas is cheap, the produce is fresh and cheap (way fresher and probably <1/2 the cost as compared to most of the American chains like Albertsons or Vons - I've been eating fresh papaya every day for $0.88/lb), and there's a huge variety of stuff in the store. So, it doesn't even matter where I live because I just pick up groceries after school. It's only 3 minutes from campus. H-Mart probably has the freshest, cheapest produce anywhere (including king oyster mushrooms for a $1 / lb - can be over $10 / lb at foodie shops), but I can't justify driving to Diamond Bar every week.

Yeah, food is important to me.

EDIT: I just saw that you're from California, so you probably know most of what I typed. Oh well.
 
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I just found this site and I find it extremely helpful.

I sent in my app early in Dec and have yet to receive an interview. Anyone in the same boat?
 
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vega07 said:
My commute from home (Garden Grove) would probably be 30 minutes one way. If I live in Claremont or Chino Hills, I still have to drive to campus, so getting an apartment in these towns wouldn't save that much time would it..?
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However if anything happens on the 57, you're screwed. However we do have people driving from further away, including one making the drive from Huntington Beach.
 
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Where is this? *Jealous*

Siggy said:
The campus is nice, but yes, Pomona is a trash heap, which is why I don't study outside at Pomona. However, my study room, let me show it to you:

qqtxd4.jpg


That's about a 15-20 minute drive from where I live, and absolutely worth it for a few good hours of studying in almost complete isolation with a beautiful view.
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Siggy said:
However if anything happens on the 57, you're screwed. However we do have people driving from further away, including one making the drive from Huntington Beach.
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Holy cow! Any concerns I had about living in Pasadena just vanished.
 
To wolverine, thursday indeed! see you then maybe =)?

And mr. dying, i was complete in early September. And my stats are a little on the lower side, GPA is only 3.4 and my mcat was also quite low as well, 26.
PS 11, Bio 9, Verbal 6, Writing T

Glad I got an interview!
 
bonsaipalmtree said:
Where is this? *Jealous*
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I just want to mention that the first time I went up in the mountains I found a rattlesnake. :meanie:

No, but seriously, the mountains are amazing. Mt. Baldy is the closest, but I really like Glendora Mountain Road. If you're a road cyclist, you should check it out. Also, be careful on the descents - a good cyclist from the area just died after a freak accident involving a mud patch and a blind corner.
 
Interview coming up in two days... and it finally hit me today after dinner. A little freaked out and excited at the same time. AHH!

wolverinepwns, badmintondr, vpp, and anyone else joining me this Thursday, GOOD LUCK!!! I'm so glad to see so much love on this WesternU thread.

Good luck to everyone still waiting, and congrats to everyone who has gotten accepted so far! 🙂
 
roxstarfish said:
Interview coming up in two days... and it finally hit me today after dinner. A little freaked out and excited at the same time. AHH!

wolverinepwns, badmintondr, vpp, and anyone else joining me this Thursday, GOOD LUCK!!! I'm so glad to see so much love on this WesternU thread.

Good luck to everyone still waiting, and congrats to everyone who has gotten accepted so far! 🙂
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See you tmrw roxstarfish!
 
Hello all! I have finally received an interview invite 😀 I have already been accepted to AZCOM and therefore was thinking of canceling it but after reading through this entire thread and hearing all of your enthusiasm for the school, I have decided to go ahead with it! I have a couple of questions for y'all:

-I have research experience and I know my projects well but I was wondering, for those of you who have been questioned in your interview regarding your research, what kinds of questions did they ask? Also, should I bring copies of the papers?

-How much is the deposit and how soon after one is accepted is it typically due?

-other than knowing my projects (research) and what is in my primary and secondary app.'s is there any other way (those of you who have interviewed) that would be helpful to prepare?

Thanks for any advice/insight!!
 
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nfsonpowday said:
Hello all! I have finally received an interview invite 😀 I have already been accepted to AZCOM and therefore was thinking of canceling it but after reading through this entire thread, I have decided to go ahead with it! I have a couple of questions for y'all:

-I have research experience and I know my projects well but I was wonder for those of you who have been questioned in your interview regarding your research, what kinds of questions did they ask? Also, should I bring copies of the papers?

-How much is the deposit and how soon after one is accepted is it typically due?

-other than knowing my projects (research) and what is in my primary and secondary app.'s is there any other way that you who have interviewed, think would be helpful to prepare?

Thanks for any advice/insight!!
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Congrats!

Sorry, I don't know the answers to those questions (still waiting 🙁 )But, I was curious when did you complete your secondary and interview date?

Good luck!
 
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Dyingduck said:
Congrats!

Sorry, I don't know the answers to those questions (still waiting 🙁 )But, I was curious when did you complete your secondary and interview date?

Good luck!
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I was complete 9/15 (I sent in the primary 7/28 so I was over there 30 day limit) and my interview invite was on 1/24. Good luck!
 
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Well I'll try to answer some of your questions
1) The interviewer just asked some basic questions about the research nothing that I needed to pour into great detail about.
2)The deposit is $2000 and its due in two weeks after you receive your acceptance letter.
3)In your case if you tell me about the acceptance to AZCOM, you might have to explain to the interviewer why you wanted interviewed at Western and how you would choose between the two schools if Western offered you acceptance letter.

Hope that helps you out good luck at the interview!!
 
nfsonpowday said:
Hello all! I have finally received an interview invite 😀 I have already been accepted to AZCOM and therefore was thinking of canceling it but after reading through this entire thread and hearing all of your enthusiasm for the school, I have decided to go ahead with it! I have a couple of questions for y'all:

-I have research experience and I know my projects well but I was wondering, for those of you who have been questioned in your interview regarding your research, what kinds of questions did they ask? Also, should I bring copies of the papers?

-How much is the deposit and how soon after one is accepted is it typically due?

-other than knowing my projects (research) and what is in my primary and secondary app.'s is there any other way (those of you who have interviewed) that would be helpful to prepare?

Thanks for any advice/insight!!
Click to expand...

1) bring copies of your research. There is no telling who will be interviewing you. They may be interested, maybe not. It's best to be armed with that info at the interview. BTW, the dean has been making efforts to increase the research emphasis at the school...

2) 1k + 1k, i'm not sure how the due dates are spaced out though...

3) ABSOLUTELY! Go look on the interview feedback section of SDN. Prepare by going over answers before the interview. However, don't memorize answers, because you will likely get a somewhat different variation and it will seem awkward if you give a canned answer to a slightly different question at the interview.

Good luck!

PS - just paid my deposit. It's the best 2k I've ever spent!
 
Went to the interview today and felt it went amazing! Dear Western, please let me be accepted. Thank you very much. I didn't receive anything for Christmas and I am accepting late presents! XD
 
Grey Wind said:
Yep, totally doable. What you should consider, though, is how active you plan on being on campus. It will be more difficult for you to shoot on over to school than it is for your classmates who live closer. It may hinder, or at the very least, take a little extra effort for you to hang out around the area after exams, on weekends, etc. This really isn't an issue for me since I'm married and don't really go out all that often. But, if being involved with on campus activities and being active within the class are important to you, you may want to consider living closer since each time you come to school will = 1 hour round trip in the car.

That said, I really like Pasadena. It is far enough from Pomona to feel like a totally different place. Its as easy for me to pop over to the west side as it is for me to head out to Pomona. The Gold Line takes me directly to Little Toyko where delicious food awaits. I can ride my bike to study at Cal Tech, which has a pretty sweet campus and nice libraries. Anyway, I'm getting off on a tangent, but there are pluses and minuses to living 30 minutes from school. You will just need to weigh them and figure out what you want your med school experience to be like.
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I, like you, am married and generally don't go out too much, so this would probably still be a good fit. Thanks for that insight, though. It didn't occur to me that I might want to be around for anything other than school itself 🙂 Definitely have some things to think about. Thanks again!
 
badmintondr said:
Went to the interview today and felt it went amazing! Dear Western, please let me be accepted. Thank you very much. I didn't receive anything for Christmas and I am accepting late presents! XD
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Glad to hear it went well!!! :luck::luck::luck: Let us know what happens.
 
Just wondering if anyone else is going to be at the Feb 10th interview? Additionally, Is there anyone from NY posting in this thread lol?? I feel as though most of the applicants/people posting are from CA, or some states in the MidWest...East Coast anyone?

Good luck to everyone who has already interviewed, and everyone who will be interviewing!!


**First Post!! Woot! : P**
 
MACintosh said:
Just wondering if anyone else is going to be at the Feb 10th interview? Additionally, Is there anyone from NY posting in this thread lol?? I feel as though most of the applicants/people posting are from CA, or some states in the MidWest...East Coast anyone?

Good luck to everyone who has already interviewed, and everyone who will be interviewing!!


**First Post!! Woot! : P**
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Hi! I will be interviewing Feb. 10th 😀 and I am from Nevada
 
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just paid my second deposit. if I get accepted to UCLA PRIME and end up going there, I am going to be one very sad MS1.
 
vega07 said:
just paid my second deposit. if I get accepted to UCLA PRIME and end up going there, I am going to be one very sad MS1.
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20% chance of joy, lol. you going to PRIME on the 26th?

paid 2nd deposit in $500 installments. im interviewing in east coast now though - and i'm scared that random alternate transportation costs will kill my wallet even more. damn you snowstorm.
 
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