Western/COMP Discussion Thread 2010-2011

[wolverinepwns]

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Interview Invite for October 30th!!

Does anyone know any more information on housing, more specifically with clinical rotations years 3-4? I was just wondering if people ended up changing apartments, etc. or if it's possible to stay around the same area. Any currrent students or applicants that have any insight would be greatly appreciated! 🙂

You got the interview invite phone call at the time? cuz its 5:45 am in cali!

 

[stucka21]

You got the interview invite phone call at the time? cuz its 5:45 am in cali!

Hahaha, no! I just got back from flying Vegas to Detroit from my Touro interview, and when I landed a few hours ago I had the voicemail. So I'm not sure the exact time I got it, but most likely 5ish CA time yesterday 😉

 

[wolverinepwns]

I forgot to congratulate you, so congrats!!!!!!!!!

 

[EBAMom]

For those of you that have been accepted, did your application status in BanWeb change?

I've been obsessively checking it since last week

There has been no change on my status, although I was obsessively checking my status prior to calling them. 😀

 

[hopefulCC]

EBAMom- congratulations on your acceptance!

hope i'll be able to call you 'classmate' soon (if you choose to attend WesternU).

 

[Sinfest]

There has been no change on my status, although I was obsessively checking my status prior to calling them. 😀

hahaha thank you

Quick question, I have an interview on the 29th at another school that I would like to cancel if I get into COMP. How soon would be too soon to call for an answer? How ahead of time did you call?

 

[Kevin Baker]

I feel a bit silly asking this as Western's board scores, pass rates, and entering stats are so high, and it seems like an AMAZING school from what I've read, but I was browsing their website and saw that for the class of '09, 86.3% of students graduated on time, and 91.9% are expected to graduate. Do these numbers seem low to anyone? I don't really have a comparison, it just feels low. Does anyone know what the process is for remediation if someone runs into some academic trouble?

http://www.westernu.edu/oir-osteopathic-charts

 

[EBAMom]

hahaha thank you

Quick question, I have an interview on the 29th at another school that I would like to cancel if I get into COMP. How soon would be too soon to call for an answer? How ahead of time did you call?

You should really just call. You will have to email them confirmation of your upcoming interview and that interview has to require a plane ticket. Then, they will tell you your status. I canceled two interviews so I saved big bucks by calling and just finding out. So, call, and report back!

 

[Sinfest]

You should really just call. You will have to email them confirmation of your upcoming interview and that interview has to require a plane ticket. Then, they will tell you your status. I canceled two interviews so I saved big bucks by calling and just finding out. So, call, and report back!

Thanks, I'll give them a call in 5 minutes

 

[Sinfest]

I was told that an upcoming interview is not enough, but a pending acceptance is. Now I need to find a fax machine...

 

[stucka21]

I was told that an upcoming interview is not enough, but a pending acceptance is. Now I need to find a fax machine...

So if I happen to get an acceptance at Touro University next week (interviewed Monday, and they require a $2000 deposit in 2 weeks), would that be enough to get ahold of Western Nov 3rd after my Oct 30th interview and ask for my decision?

I'm just worried I wont find out my decision with my Western interview before the 2 week deadline if I happen to get accepted to TUNCOM.

 

[Sinfest]

So if I happen to get an acceptance at Touro University next week (interviewed Monday, and they require a $2000 deposit in 2 weeks), would that be enough to get ahold of Western Nov 3rd after my Oct 30th interview and ask for my decision?

I'm just worried I wont find out my decision with my Western interview before the 2 week deadline if I happen to get accepted to TUNCOM.

If the ADCOM have made a decision on your file, I don't see why not

 

[SuperFish]

I was complete at the beginning of Sept and received an interview for 10/30 but rescheduled to 11/4. I am coming from eastern Canada. Does anyone know the best way to get from the airport to the school? Or what there is to do while I'm down there. I may stay a few days after. Is the beach a realistic day trip? Is anyone else going to be here this day that wants to meet up??

Sorry for all the questions and thanks so much for your help!!

 

[wolverinepwns]

I was complete at the beginning of Sept and received an interview for 10/30 but rescheduled to 11/4. I am coming from eastern Canada. Does anyone know the best way to get from the airport to the school? Or what there is to do while I'm down there. I may stay a few days after. Is the beach a realistic day trip? Is anyone else going to be here this day that wants to meet up??

Sorry for all the questions and thanks so much for your help!!

The cheapest way to get to Pomona or the just the area would be shuttle service cuz taxi would cost alot since is a 30+ mile drive from LAX to inland. if you're gonna be around a few days you have alot of choices as to where you can go, from disneyland, to shopping to beach, .......

 

[Sinfest]

I was complete at the beginning of Sept and received an interview for 10/30 but rescheduled to 11/4. I am coming from eastern Canada. Does anyone know the best way to get from the airport to the school? Or what there is to do while I'm down there. I may stay a few days after. Is the beach a realistic day trip? Is anyone else going to be here this day that wants to meet up??

Sorry for all the questions and thanks so much for your help!!

If you plan on staying for a few more days and want to explore, you should look into renting a car. Public transportation in Southern CA is not that great, and getting a taxi gets expensive reaallllllyyy quick.

What are you into? What do you want to see while you're in socal? A day trip to the beach is definitely possible...with a car. Huntington/Laguna/Newport Beach are only about 45 minutes to a hour away...without traffic haha

 

[Sinfest]

Just FYI for those that interviewed on 10/07, the ADCOM is meeting today to make a decision on our files. Good lucky everybody 👍

 

[DbDan]

Just FYI for those that interviewed on 10/07, the ADCOM is meeting today to make a decision on our files. Good lucky everybody 👍

Damn, guess that means they won't be meeting quickly on our files after tomorrows interviews

 

[Sinfest]

Damn, guess that means they won't be meeting quickly on our files after tomorrows interviews

I called back today and was told to call again after next week. They're either really busy, or nobody wants to break the bad news to me haha

Good luck tomorrow 👍

 

[christine121]

Interviewing on the 30th. 😀

 

[Cookiejar87]

Hey all... I interviewed on 10/07, & called them bc I have an upcoming interviewing...they were super nice, but unfortunately I was put on the alternate list....

If anyone else is...let me know...so I don't feel alone on this rowboat :]

 

[Cheshyre]

The cheapest way to get to Pomona or the just the area would be shuttle service cuz taxi would cost alot since is a 30+ mile drive from LAX to inland. if you're gonna be around a few days you have alot of choices as to where you can go, from disneyland, to shopping to beach, .......

Or you could simply fly to Ontario airport which is only ~10 minutes from Pomona (Ontario also happens to be clean. LAX, conversely, is probably the dirtiest, most run-down airport I have EVER been to in my life, including those in foreign countries. There are also people all over the place begging for money as you try to check in. You'd be hard-pressed to point out a worse place to fly to). Lots of the area hotels have free shuttles to/from the airport. By the way, I highly recommend the Best Western next to the Ontario Airport. You'll have to take a taxi to COMP but that shouldn't be an issue.

Quick note about accomodations: I stayed at the Sheraton for my first night in SoCal (flight time conflict, had to stay for two days) b/c I wanted to have the perfect night of sleep before my final interview. It's totally not worth the cost. There aren't any restaurants around the Sheraton (except for the restaurant inside that I didn't feel like paying for - if I'm going to eat nice food, more than likely I'm not going to find that in a hotel restaurant with no customers) and no internet except in the lobby. The room was huge, but it didn't really matter since guests don't have control of the A/C (and it was hot). For, what, $140/night, totally not worth it. I recommend the Best Western (waaaay cheaper) because there's a diner across the street that was good, filling, and cheap (as a diner should be), and the room was amazing. The quality of the room was just as good as the Sheraton (with a ridiculously high-flow showerhead.. yes, I notice these things) and the A/C turned my room into a scene from Deadliest Catch within 5 minutes. Free internet. For breakfast, you can run to the Valero gas station next door and pick up some pastries/coffee.

 

[DbDan]

Just got home from my interview so I figured I'd give a little rundown of a bit of a different experience.

We arrived at 8am and checked in and given a small continental breakfast, bagels, fruit, etc. After that we were taken to a classroom in HEC and given an introduction from the assistant Dean. She ran through everything from the curriculum to some rotation information, etc. We were then given a presentation on the basics of the acceptance process and what to expect along with each status for the possible outcomes. This whole process lasted until about 10am

At 10am we were broken into two groups (A and B). Group A was interviewed in I believe 4 groups, 8 students total. Each interview was 40 minutes and was individual with 2 or 3 interviewers. It was not a typical interview, had a couple of quirks that I'd rather not get into. You will be told when you interview, nothing terrible though.

After interviews group B was interviewed and group A was taken on a tour. Campus was nice and getting a larger tour of the new building was nice as well (barely saw it when I was at the SMP interview). We then went down to lunch at around noon and met with a student ambassador who we could ask questions to.

Finally the day ended with an OMM demonstration. The demonstration was much more thorough than the quick glance I had gotten at other schools and the OMM instructor is incredibly friendly.

Overall, I enjoyed the day. We had 16 total people there, which is SIGNIFICANTLY smaller than normal, of which 4 were from UCLA and 3 were in my major (we were all staggered in graduation year lol). They said that the normal was 50 students at a normal interview day with nearly 100 on their Saturday interviews. There was an AOA conference in San Francisco starting next week so the majority of the professors were presenting.

My interview went well except I had two microbiology PhDs who completely grilled me on my research. I haven't been in the lab for well over a year so the mechanisms behind everything were an issue for me. Hopefully I didn't give them bad information that will lead to them looking unfavorably. We'll see I guess. Interesting interview stats from the information they gave us.

2014 Data:
Applicants (primaries): 4,299
Secondaries: 1,541
Interviews: 600
Acceptance Offers: 441
Matriculants: 205

Seems like the hardest part is getting the interview. They also said they carry roughly 70-80 people in the waitlist and that it is unranked. Most of all THEY ASK THE ADMISSION COUNSELORS WHO HAS CONTACTED THEM. This means if you are waitlisted absolutely positively be proactive. The admissions counselors will give the adcoms names of students who are interested and those names are generally the ones that they repeatedly hear from. Make sure to send updates.

Also an interesting fact. Based on the graph that is provided, they have roughly 105 students who were admitted with a 3.5+, 100ish admitted with a 3.0-3.5 and a single person with a sGPA <3.0. I don't believe that they have a listed strict cutoff but I don't think it is coincidence that I received interview shortly after my sGPA rose to a 3.01.

Hopefully I'll get in. Should hear back in a couple of weeks. Good meeting all of you that were at the interview today!

 

[Sinfest]

Glad it went well dude, I'm sure you'll get in 👍

 

[wolverinepwns]

I'm glad it went well Dan! it was a good thing it stopped raining yesterday!

 

[DbDan]

Thanks guys. I hope so.

It was nice not having to sit through yet another financial aid lecture. I also am almost glad we didn't sit in on a class. While i feel its valuable, I don't think it is for everyone. Lectures are pretty standard and I sat through enough in undergrad. Sitting through a med school lecture I will only 1/2 understand anyway taken out of context would be rough IMO.

 

[megathunder]

Nice review man, looking forward to checking the place out next week. I'm actually interested in the interview 'quirk' so if you don't feel comfortable posting it here can you PM it to me please, thanks.

 

[christine121]

ditto to what megathunder said please

 

[JamesLMT]

Ohhhh secrets secrets!!! I wanna know!

 

[hopefulCC]

yeah, come on DbDan- everyone wants to know!!!

 

[SFO-IST]

They usually make you sign confidentiality agreements in situations like this. It's not that difficult to figure out who is who on sdn...

 

[stucka21]

DbDan, thanks again for all your advice! Just one question for you and anyone else who has interviewed...

Should we really plan on staying there until 4pm like stated? Just trying to get my ride figured out and make sure I will make my plane that evening!

 

[DbDan]

DbDan, thanks again for all your advice! Just one question for you and anyone else who has interviewed...

Should we really plan on staying there until 4pm like stated? Just trying to get my ride figured out and make sure I will make my plane that evening!

My interview day ended at 2:15. That said though, my day was atypical. There was no sitting in on a class, no financial aid presentation and there were 16 interviewees as opposed to 50 or 100. With the inclusion of those other criteria, I could easily see you being there until after 4pm.

 

[Cookiejar87]

Hey Dban,

Do you by chance know if offers of acceptance include those that were from the alternate/waitlist? I'm in total limbo now & it's driving up the wall :[

I need to find out more stats about the alternate list since I'm on it!

 

[Cheshyre]

My interview went well except I had two microbiology PhDs who completely grilled me on my research. I haven't been in the lab for well over a year so the mechanisms behind everything were an issue for me. Hopefully I didn't give them bad information that will lead to them looking unfavorably. We'll see I guess.

Ouch. I was really fortunate in my interview last year. I gave a quick summary of what my lab did, and one of my interviewers (PhD) says something along the lines of, "Oh! That's almost exactly the same thing that I do!"

Fortunately, I didn't get grilled. He just left it there.

 

[Grey Wind]

Ouch. I was really fortunate in my interview last year. I gave a quick summary of what my lab did, and one of my interviewers (PhD) says something along the lines of, "Oh! That's almost exactly the same thing that I do!"

Fortunately, I didn't get grilled. He just left it there.

Shouldn't you be studying? Shouldn't I? 😱

 

[Cheshyre]

Shouldn't you be studying? Shouldn't I? 😱

Dude, I'm sick. I can't breathe, I don't feel like eating, and I have a hacking cough. Plus, I was too dumb to even think about getting an extension on the exam.

🙁

I don't really know where I was going with this.
...

Okay, done whining. Back to the grind. Good luck tomorrow.

 

[DbDan]

Hey Dban,

Do you by chance know if offers of acceptance include those that were from the alternate/waitlist? I'm in total limbo now & it's driving up the wall :[

I need to find out more stats about the alternate list since I'm on it!

The stats I posted were in the booklet they gave us on interview day, I'm sure you could find it as well. Since it is offers of acceptance I would say that it is likely that it includes those on the waitlist. They said they carry 70-80 people on the alternate list each year. Good luck!

 

[Cookiejar87]

Thanks! I saw the info before in the packet but didn't know that they have about 70 on the alternate list...don't know if that's good or bad but it's something...I'll try to find out more info and post it here for anyone interested 🙂

 

[DbDan]

Thanks! I saw the info before in the packet but didn't know that they have about 70 on the alternate list...don't know if that's good or bad but it's something...I'll try to find out more info and post it here for anyone interested 🙂

No prob. The offers of acceptance, I would assume, refer to those offered acceptance + the people offered off the waitlist. They said in our interview session that they generally have about 70 or 80. Their overall goal is always to interview 600 and they said they have about a 2:1 ratio of acceptance offers to matriculants. Like I said though, the admissions councelors specifically told us to keep in contact with them and show interest. It goes a long way to get you off the waitlist. Hope the best for you!

 

[Grey Wind]

Dude, I'm sick. I can't breathe, I don't feel like eating, and I have a hacking cough. Plus, I was too dumb to even think about getting an extension on the exam.

🙁

I don't really know where I was going with this.
...

Okay, done whining. Back to the grind. Good luck tomorrow.

🙁 that sucks. you're gonna crush it though 🙂

good luck!

 

[zetabetazeta]

I think I'm getting a little bit confused..Are you guys saying that for the Saturday interviews, they usually interview 100 applicants? umm..huh?

 

[JamesLMT]

I think I'm getting a little bit confused..Are you guys saying that for the Saturday interviews, they usually interview 100 applicants? umm..huh?

Largest group I ever heard of at Western was a little over 60, but that was the last interview of the year last year I believe. Normally they have 50 per interview day I believe...

 

[DbDan]

I think I'm getting a little bit confused..Are you guys saying that for the Saturday interviews, they usually interview 100 applicants? umm..huh?

Yes, that is exactly what we were told. They said that a standard interview day is 50 students with up to 100 on saturdays. They only hold up to 2 interview days per month, September through March/April. I'd assume their earlier interviews are larger and it gets smaller as time goes on and seats fill.

 

[man916]

So I was just wondering if people thought it might be too late to apply. I've been applying MD only so far but am thinking about adding Western. It's close to home and sounds like a great school. Stats: 3.53 non-science, 3.62 science, 3.6 overall, 2 years full-time work orthopaedics, research pending publication, one international medical volunteer experience, MCAT 30M. Is it worth applying or is it too late this period. And I am sure this question has been asked a million times already, but what are the secondary questions?

 

[Cheshyre]

So I was just wondering if people thought it might be too late to apply. I've been applying MD only so far but am thinking about adding Western.

As someone who was in a similar position,a few points.

1) No, it's not too late. I was complete in December. 3.4c, 35S, solid extracurriculars.
2) Make sure you know why you want to go DO. If you haven't, do the reading, find out about what it means to be a DO. I don't think there's anything wrong with applying MD and later applying DO (because let's face it - most people don't even know about DO until they've wanted to go into medicine for while), but you should know what you're getting into and why. Do some DO shadowing if possible.

 

[man916]

Where can I find some good reading??

 

[Cheshyre]

Where can I find some good reading??

The basic one for DOs is "the DOs: Osteopathic Medicine in America" by Norman Gevitz. It's pretty much the book on the history and issues surrounding modern Osteopathic medicine. Don't worry, it's a reasonably lively read.

Other than that, I'd just go into a medical library (say, if you are near a big undergraduate campus) and raid their DO section (my undergrad only has an MD school but they had a DO section). If you don't have access to such a thing, then you'll probably have to do more research online. Perhaps your local library might have a DO section as well?

If you haven't done any other medical reading and would like to, just Google "Pre-med reading list" and you'll get a ton of options. I like the one by Yale University.

 

[Total180]

This is quite possibly the dumbest question I have ever asked....but I just received the secondary (I know I'm late), and I clicked the link to it, and it asked for my Login ID and PIN. I never made a Login ID and PIN, and I wasn't given one that I am aware of....so.....where would I find this information? So so so sorry for asking the most ridiculous question ever...

 

[ND10]

This is quite possibly the dumbest question I have ever asked....but I just received the secondary (I know I'm late), and I clicked the link to it, and it asked for my Login ID and PIN. I never made a Login ID and PIN, and I wasn't given one that I am aware of....so.....where would I find this information? So so so sorry for asking the most ridiculous question ever...

It says first time user right under the login area. Click and there you go!

 

[Total180]

It says first time user right under the login area. Click and there you go!

ahahahahahahaha I'm dumb. Thanks.