It seems like western has the highest stats for their students. Why is that? Is it a really great school, or is it just because of location. How does it compare to pcom?
I would resist the temptation to judge the quality of school based solely on the average statistics of their matriculants, i.e. MCAT and UGPA. There are a number circumstances that can cause these averages to become skewed. Looking at these statistics can provide a general idea of the competitiveness of a school, but it doesn't give the whole picture of the admissions process, nor does competitiveness based on numbers only, suggest the quality of a school.
While all schools look at the complete applicant during the admissions process, some schools will emphasize these statistics more than others. I think there is some active recruitment going on in that Western invites some of it's applicants for high-priority interviews, pre-secondary, presumably based on numbers. I have also heard it suggested that a significant number of applicants come from CA (close to one third of the total applicant pool and a little more than 60% of matriculants, according to a
previous post that listed application statistics) and/or tend to also apply to other CA medical schools, which also tend to have higher average statistics.
When choosing a school, it is best to use criteria that are important to you; thus it is a highly individual choice. In order to aid in your comparison between PCOM and Western, we would need to know your criteria. Location is a frequently cited factor that makes Western stand out. It is located in Southern California and very close to some attractive areas. I never cared for Pomona, however. Western hasn't been doing so hot with board pass rates in the past, so they reinvented their curriculum to address this issue. I think the modified curriculum looks pretty good. Also, Western is one of the schools that teaches cranial-sacral, if that floats your boat. What also caught my attention was that Western has a lot of students in different fields; they have a host of other professional schools and students on campus and they grant other degrees. It is also my understanding that classes for the most part aren't mandatory and all lectures are recorded and readily available online.
Doing a search and looking at the interview feedback can provide more data.
