Western U reviews by current or graduated students

[westernuhopeful]

Any current students or graduates care to comment on their personal experiences?

It looks like a really good fit on paper. I know the textbook stuff, such as PBL and rotating through private practices. How do you guys like it?

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[Mouse2106]

I'd like to know as well I've heard some amazing things about Western, but I always like to learn more.

 

[Marsala]

I absolutely love it here. I love the PBL, that we are in clinics as soon as we start, the hands-on of it all...

If you want to know specifics, please ask! And if you do post, please PM me to remind me to read it. We just started finals.

 

[HappyCowsLieDwn]

Gotta say, after reading this forum, I am very excited to be avoiding a lot of the complaints on here through the unique cirriculum at Western: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=999828.

I am definitely a hands on learner and, though I won't be starting classes until August I know that the PBL cirriculum and the hands on learning in all 4 years is going to be the best way to keep me engaged and excited about school, even when I am studying my ass off for exams.
The pass rates for the National Boards speak for themselves: Western definitely prepares its students for the Boards as well as practice (from the research I have done anyway). The key is it only works if this style of learning is right for you. If you are sick of sitting through lectures and learn better by figuring things out for yourself, it seems that this cirriculum will make the next 4 years of your life a bit more enjoyable than a more traditional school.

I am really excited to start at Western but then again, I know that it is the best fit school for me.
Best of luck with your own school search and application submissions!

 

[LilWickedJester]

I LOVE being at WesternU. The curriculum is challenging and ever evolving but I feel it is really preparing students for what we will actually deal with in practice. As with any school, there are ups and downs but overall I feel it is still the best fit for my learning style. You may also have opportunities to do spays/neuters in your first year.

 

[EngrSC]

I'm not ready to apply to vet school yet but the more I hear and learn about Western the more I love it. I know I personally don't learn or retain much from lecture - I learn by doing and researching on my own so PBL sounds like a HUGE bonus. I know 2 Western graduates who have said really great things about the school ... but I just really dislike the area it's in

Anyway, this post has no point what-so-ever. But I look forward to reading comments from others about the school

 

[twelvetigers]

I think Western's PBL is the tits. I would be all for it if A: it didn't require me to live so close to LA, in a somewhat bad part of town (not super scary but not where I want to live), and B: it wasn't gonna cost me a quarter million dollars to attend. That's a doozy.

I hope more schools take on more PBL type learning as time goes on.

 

[DVMDream]

Meh. We get a decent amount of PBL here and it is ok. I don't care for it much, TBH. I feel like you get to know one thing really, really well.. like diabetes, for example but everything else that you learn is just general and vague, so I know tons about diabetes right now from endocrinology since that was what our problem set was on, but don't ask me much about thyroid disorders because we didn't cover them near as well.

 

[LetItSnow]

Not a Western student, but one of our clinicians here has a role in school accreditation (and thus, has a great deal of exposure to all of the schools). Her comment about Western was: "Because of the way they're taught, Western students will kick your butts coming up with differential diagnoses lists."

 

[bdeusebio]

I would be all for it if A: it didn't require me to live so close to LA, in a somewhat bad part of town (not super scary but not where I want to live).

Would you say it is necessary to live close to Western to do well with this approach? So, I suppose I haven't done enough research, but if I got in for 2014 matriculation, I was planning on living a ways away (Murrieta) and commuting because I would have free room & board and other benefits living there. My boyfriend will be starting Optometry school at Western this fall, and we are planning on getting married next year if everything works out. His plan is to commute and live in an apartment that his parents build on their property; perks of living with your parents, without totally living with them. It'll be time and gas money, but seems to be a better option than finding somewhere in Pomona. Would that work out for me, too? Or does PBL/group situations make it so that you need to be easily available? Like not a perfectly regular schedule or something? Would we kind of have to move?


Another question that may be out of context but oh well: Are the "Selective Clinical Rotations" in the last part of the curriculum ones that you don't have that much power in choosing, and you could end up like in Maine or something based on the luck of the draw? I've heard it's that way with Optometry. It sounds a little scary...

 

[deleted498041]

Would you say it is necessary to live close to Western to do well with this approach? So, I suppose I haven't done enough research, but if I got in for 2014 matriculation, I was planning on living a ways away (Murrieta) and commuting because I would have free room & board and other benefits living there. My boyfriend will be starting Optometry school at Western this fall, and we are planning on getting married next year if everything works out. His plan is to commute and live in an apartment that his parents build on their property; perks of living with your parents, without totally living with them. It'll be time and gas money, but seems to be a better option than finding somewhere in Pomona. Would that work out for me, too? Or does PBL/group situations make it so that you need to be easily available? Like not a perfectly regular schedule or something? Would we kind of have to move?


Another question that may be out of context but oh well: Are the "Selective Clinical Rotations" in the last part of the curriculum ones that you don't have that much power in choosing, and you could end up like in Maine or something based on the luck of the draw? I've heard it's that way with Optometry. It sounds a little scary...

I asked about the selective clinical rotations during my interview. I spent about over an hour in there with my two interviewers. Basically, for your final year, you spend all your time (maybe a bit of an exaggeration) in clinicals. The school has a list you can choose from or you can select your own sites and have them approved by the school. The only stipulation is that you have to have a large animal, a small animal, an internal medicine, and a surgical rotation. That way surgical junkies like me can't blow off IM

 

[bdeusebio]

I asked about the selective clinical rotations during my interview. I spent about over an hour in there with my two interviewers. Basically, for your final year, you spend all your time (maybe a bit of an exaggeration) in clinicals. The school has a list you can choose from or you can select your own sites and have them approved by the school. The only stipulation is that you have to have a large animal, a small animal, an internal medicine, and a surgical rotation. That way surgical junkies like me can't blow off IM

Perfect! That's a relief. I can't believe they make the optometry students travel. Or maybe my boyfriend and I just misunderstood the process from what we heard....

Anyways, would you say it's necessary to live near the school instead of commuting? Or is it a pretty regular schedule where you can just go home at the end (presumably to study )?

 

[deleted498041]

Perfect! That's a relief. I can't believe they make the optometry students travel. Or maybe my boyfriend and I just misunderstood the process from what we heard....

Anyways, would you say it's necessary to live near the school instead of commuting? Or is it a pretty regular schedule where you can just go home at the end (presumably to study )?

I don't know the answer to that question. I lived 30 minutes from my undergrad for all four years and had class every day so is say that it's up to you. I'll be living about 6 minutes from campus.

 

[bdeusebio]

Thanks, I guess we'll just see how it goes if and when I get in.

 

[marcwood]

"Anyways, would you say it's necessary to live near the school instead of commuting? Or is it a pretty regular schedule where you can just go home at the end (presumably to study )?"

I would not recommend it!!!! I lived in Temecula during my first year at WesternU. The commute is long and traffic is horrible. There is a 6 mile stretch on the 91 that could take anywhere between 30 and 45 minutes Think of it this way, you will spend 3-4 hours per day in your car commuting when you could be studying. Remember, at WesternU you are not given a list of topics to study and anything related to the case is fair game for the exam. Also consider the money you will be spending on gas.
With that said, it is possible to go through the first two years of WesternU while commuting. I know several people who do it/have done it. It all depends on you, your study habits, your organizational skills, your efficiency, your sanity, and how it weighs against the situation you're in that requires you to commute. Ask yourself this, is it worth it for me to risk my grades and success in vet school to make this commute?

 

[bdeusebio]

Gah, that 91... Well at least I wouldn't be commuting alone and could study a bit in the car! Even with gas in my hypothetical calculations it still saved me a good deal. But you're right, it would be tough. Thanks for the input, I'll have to think about that for sure!

Do you think the PBL style is hard to get adjusted to? I've always done really well in the traditional lecture-at-me-and-give-me-reading-and-I'll-remember-and-regurgitate-it, so the whole case approach sounds scary! I would imagine it is better training for the "real world" of a clinic though.

 

[marcwood]

Gah, that 91... Well at least I wouldn't be commuting alone and could study a bit in the car! Even with gas in my hypothetical calculations it still saved me a good deal. But you're right, it would be tough. Thanks for the input, I'll have to think about that for sure!

Do you think the PBL style is hard to get adjusted to? I've always done really well in the traditional lecture-at-me-and-give-me-reading-and-I'll-remember-and-regurgitate-it, so the whole case approach sounds scary! I would imagine it is better training for the "real world" of a clinic though.

Adjusting to PBL is the name of the game! Some people take to it like a duck to water, others take a little longer to figure it out, and some fight it tooth and nail (the worst thing to do). There wont be any "lecture-at-me-and-give-me-reading-and-I'll-remember-and-regurgitate-it" whatsoever which is frustrating at times but everyone knows that coming into this. So don't fight it. There are plenty of resources and help available to you. Your upper-classmen/big-sibs are there to help you through the adjustment.

 

[bdeusebio]

Adjusting to PBL is the name of the game! Some people take to it like a duck to water, others take a little longer to figure it out, and some fight it tooth and nail (the worst thing to do). There wont be any "lecture-at-me-and-give-me-reading-and-I'll-remember-and-regurgitate-it" whatsoever which is frustrating at times but everyone knows that coming into this. So don't fight it. There are plenty of resources and help available to you. Your upper-classmen/big-sibs are there to help you through the adjustment.

Good to know. Thanks for the help.

 

[westernuhopeful]

Thank you everyone so much!

This has been very helpful. I stopped looking at the thread when I didn't get any replies after a couple days. I now have an interview coming up at WesternU and I am excited.

 

[deleted498041]

Good luck! Be sure to let us know how it goes

 

[VetMedVetMed]

Hi everyone, I have a question.. Are you at Western U every day for only the first two years? My question is because if someone did decide to commute, would it be for four years, or just the first two bc the final two years you do rotations? Thank you!

 

[deleted498041]

Hi everyone, I have a question.. Are you at Western U every day for only the first two years? My question is because if someone did decide to commute, would it be for four years, or just the first two bc the final two years you do rotations? Thank you!

You will be "commuting" for four years, it's just a matter of where.
For example, I had to drive to school every day first and second year. This year, I drive to my rotations. I just finished a small animal rotation that required an 1.5-2 hours of driving each way every day. For fourth year, I will be driving across the country in order to get to some of my rotations, located in Florida, Arizona, and California.

 

[VetMedVetMed]

You will be "commuting" for four years, it's just a matter of where.
For example, I had to drive to school every day first and second year. This year, I drive to my rotations. I just finished a small animal rotation that required an 1.5-2 hours of driving each way every day. For fourth year, I will be driving across the country in order to get to some of my rotations, located in Florida, Arizona, and California.

Ok thanks. I just wanted to see how much time was actually spent at Western U during the third and fourth year.

Oh goodness! 2 hrs each way!

 

[deleted498041]

Ok thanks. I just wanted to see how much time was actually spent at Western U during the third and fourth year.

Oh goodness! 2 hrs each way!

Ah, I see. So for third year you spend 2 weeks on campus during small animal block and then you spend 8 weeks for public health. During fourth year, you spend one week in November (board prep, I hear a lot of people skip it even though it's "mandatory") and then the week in May right before graduation. Graduation is mandatory, by the way.