Western University a little sketchy?

[StaryMagic]

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Hi,

I just received an interview invite from Western U, and I was wondering it anyone had already interviewed there and thought it seemed a little sketchy? I received my interview invite before even receiving, let alone submitting, a secondary, which I thought was strange. Especially since I've seen stats that say you have a 90% chance of admission if you interview. Today, I went to a Medical Career Fair, and a representative and two students from Western U were there, and lets just say I'm not sure I was impressed. One student said, "I love that lectures are posted online--one time, I just stayed home at my apartment for 2 weeks and didn't shower at all, it was so awesome." I'm not so sure that I'd want my doctor to be someone like that, especially when they have so much responsibility! Also, I'm not sure how much of a school community this attitude will really foster... Additionally, they seemed to dislike the staff and the outside community, they hated Pomona, and the campus has security guards around all the time due to crime. But, they also have a Northwest track program that I'm interested in. However, it seemed that there are actually only a couple of locations for clinical rotations in Washington--only in Centralia and Seattle. I also talked to DMU, and they said they could easily set up rotations in many areas of Washington. So is Western's Northwest Track just a gimmick? The sole reason the med school students gave for going to Western was just the Northwest track program, and they couldn't give me any other reasons. Can anyone else give me some other good reasons to go to Western over other schools? I'm really concerned about the quality of this school, and I'm considering rejecting the interview invite based on my impressions of the students I saw. Any comments? Thanks!

 

[Trevelyan]

DMU sends interview invites to some people prior to completing the secondary as well.

 

[Jamers]

Hi,

I just received an interview invite from Western U, and I was wondering it anyone had already interviewed there and thought it seemed a little sketchy? I received my interview invite before even receiving, let alone submitting, a secondary, which I thought was strange. Especially since I've seen stats that say you have a 90% chance of admission if you interview. Today, I went to a Medical Career Fair, and a representative and two students from Western U were there, and lets just say I'm not sure I was impressed. One student said, "I love that lectures are posted online--one time, I just stayed home at my apartment for 2 weeks and didn't shower at all, it was so awesome." I'm not so sure that I'd want my doctor to be someone like that, especially when they have so much responsibility! Also, I'm not sure how much of a school community this attitude will really foster... Additionally, they seemed to dislike the staff and the outside community, they hated Pomona, and the campus has security guards around all the time due to crime. But, they also have a Northwest track program that I'm interested in. However, it seemed that there are actually only a couple of locations for clinical rotations in Washington--only in Centralia and Seattle. I also talked to DMU, and they said they could easily set up rotations in many areas of Washington. So is Western's Northwest Track just a gimmick? The sole reason the med school students gave for going to Western was just the Northwest track program, and they couldn't give me any other reasons. Can anyone else give me some other good reasons to go to Western over other schools? I'm really concerned about the quality of this school, and I'm considering rejecting the interview invite based on my impressions of the students I saw. Any comments? Thanks!

Going to class in medical school, in my opinion, is a waste of time. I can teach myself FAR much more information than I could ever learn by sitting through an hour long lecture. You will find MANY people at MANY different schools who think this way. This attitude is NOT kept to one school and it does NOT make them inferior doctors for doing it. I wouldn't base my opinion on a school because someone stayed at home and read the lectures when there are schools that have independent learning tracks that encourage just that. Just my two cents though.

 

[HemaOncoDoc]

Western U was my first interview invite and my first interview. I received my interview invite along with my secondary and was instructed to finish it before I interviewed. That's what they call the fast track. That means that Western U deemed your AACOMAS application to be strong enough to warrant an interview invite.

Your medical education is up to you. You're paying the money for it and it should be your choice as to how you want to learn the material. They only teach and provide you with the support. Some schools have a mandatory attendance policy. The fact that Western U. provides lectures beforehand does not mean they're condoning students to skip class, but it's an additional aid to help them learn and in the event that they do miss a class, they can review the notes and/or listen to the MP3 lectures (I believe they have this).

I must admit that I wasn't impressed by Pomona itself. The area reminded me of a more rustic version of parts of Boston. There were many antique shops and there are train tracks nearby. As for the appearance of the school, it used to be a strip mall and it still looks like a bit of warehouse, but Western U is doing construction to make it look nicer. They're making the effort and their plans seem pretty nice. I was disappointed that I wasn't able to see the rest of the campus due to construction while I was there.

NWT wasn't a concern of mine since I was not eligible. Both DMU and COMP (Western U), utilize the lottery system for third year clerkships. DMU is planning to keep their third year clerkships instate or in the bordering states to keep their students local. COMP and DMU both let you set up your rotations wherever you want. I find this option very appealing especially if you want to go do clerkships in the east coast or international clerkships.

Okay, here are some reasons for going to COMP. Entirely based on opinion

1) 94% COMLEX Pass Rate
2) Diverse student population
3) Match list in some of the top CA hospitals
4) Systems based approach starting second semester
5) Location, Pomona may not be so great, but the surrounding area is very nice. LA is 30-45 minutes away.
6) The weather, hot, but dry weather. At night it is mild, 60-70s.

Hope this helps. Feel free to PM.

PS - If you had gotten other interviews/acceptances and don't think you'll be as happy at COMP, don't go. COMP was my first one and I'm glad that I went to it.

Hi,

I just received an interview invite from Western U, and I was wondering it anyone had already interviewed there and thought it seemed a little sketchy? I received my interview invite before even receiving, let alone submitting, a secondary, which I thought was strange. Especially since I've seen stats that say you have a 90% chance of admission if you interview. Today, I went to a Medical Career Fair, and a representative and two students from Western U were there, and lets just say I'm not sure I was impressed. One student said, "I love that lectures are posted online--one time, I just stayed home at my apartment for 2 weeks and didn't shower at all, it was so awesome." I'm not so sure that I'd want my doctor to be someone like that, especially when they have so much responsibility! Also, I'm not sure how much of a school community this attitude will really foster... Additionally, they seemed to dislike the staff and the outside community, they hated Pomona, and the campus has security guards around all the time due to crime. But, they also have a Northwest track program that I'm interested in. However, it seemed that there are actually only a couple of locations for clinical rotations in Washington--only in Centralia and Seattle. I also talked to DMU, and they said they could easily set up rotations in many areas of Washington. So is Western's Northwest Track just a gimmick? The sole reason the med school students gave for going to Western was just the Northwest track program, and they couldn't give me any other reasons. Can anyone else give me some other good reasons to go to Western over other schools? I'm really concerned about the quality of this school, and I'm considering rejecting the interview invite based on my impressions of the students I saw. Any comments? Thanks!

 

[Rock Solid]

Yeah...you will find in medical school that there are many students who do not attend class on a regular basis. Many of the lecturing docs are more interested in telling you how much they know and less interested in teaching you the information that they are suppose to present and that will be tested. So, I wouldn't eliminate a school based solely on the fact that th lectures are online. I do know that many schools are considering an attendance policy...TCOM is one in particular

 

[cyclohexanol]

HemaOncoDoc basically nailed all the points I was going to bring up. I just wanted to re-emphasize that its very common to walk into any medical school classroom in the country and find that many if not most students are not there (unless there is mandatory attendance). At COMP, we have mandatory attendance for OMM and Essentials of clinical medicine. The rest is up to you if you want to go.

Personally, like others have mentioned, I learn better on my own. The lectures go far too slow for me and are often interrupted by questions I am not interested in. Therefore while I sit in lecture, I get bored and lose focus, this is definitely not good.

The lectures are automatically recorded for us daily, and posted on the school's blackboard system (WMA format actually, not MP3 😛) if you want to listen to them.

I think most of our faculty is great. Anywhere you go there will be people in faculty or administration that you don't necessarily like... oh well.

The area directly surrounding campus is pretty rundown, amplified by the fact that trains run by every 15 mins or so (you can't hear them inside the buildings). But its not so bad. Have you ever been to the USC campus? I actually feel much safer at COMP than I do at USC.

Unfortunately I cannot speak to the NWT, I don't know much about it, especially in regards to how it compares to what other schools offer.

At any rate, here are some of the reasons I chose COMP:
1) I have a friend who was an MS1 at the time who was happy here and talked about how great the teaching faculty was, and CA residency prospects.
2) CA ... I grew up here and love it. That, and my wife has a career here, I can't make her give that up.
3) State of the art classrooms and labs
4) Did I mention CA?


One last thing - before medical school, the things you perceive about medical school and what makes a good doctor are complete nonsense (I used to feel the way you do) once you get here, things change fast.

 

[harrypotter]

I've noticed that a lot of ppl mention CA as one of their top reasons to go to Western. Is it very difficult to do a residency in california if you go to med school out of california?

If it's not that, why is cali one of the top 5's for ppl, besides weather?

 

[HemaOncoDoc]

I've noticed that a lot of ppl mention CA as one of their top reasons to go to Western. Is it very difficult to do a residency in california if you go to med school out of california?

If it's not that, why is cali one of the top 5's for ppl, besides weather?

For most medical schools, third year rotations are usually done in-state or in the bordering states. As a result, your residency positions are going to be in the area providing that you don't do your fourth year clerkships out of state. So, if you do your clerkships in CA, like many Western and Touro-MI students do, you have a better chance of landing residency positions in CA. If you do not do your clerkships in CA, it is much harder to land a CA hospital.

Many students want to go to Western and Touro-MI for:

1) Board scores
2) Match lists
3) Quality of the education
4) Higher matriculant GPA/MCAT score
5) Chances for landing residency positions within CA
6) Some of the best hospitals
7) Personal reasons, etc...

 

[cyclohexanol]

I've noticed that a lot of ppl mention CA as one of their top reasons to go to Western. Is it very difficult to do a residency in california if you go to med school out of california?

If it's not that, why is cali one of the top 5's for ppl, besides weather?

In-n-out!

 

[Testy McAterson]

thanks, cyclohexanol and HemaOncoDoc for your input! You just made me even more excited to interview at Western. I like to think that all schools want their students to succeed, but it really sounds like COMP provides the resources to help them do so (posting lectures/blackboard, etc.--not unique to just comp, but definitely worth noting). Personally, OP, I think the pre-secondary interview invite is a great atrategic move to gain "strong" applicants' interest in their program (i use strong carefully because we all know there's more to a book than it's cover/primary application). Think about it, if they can provide a positive interview experience for you before other schools get their hands on you, they've just increased their odds that you will pursue their program. Speaking for myself, I didn't apply to any schools "just to apply", but I can tell you that if I am accepted at COMP, I will be less likely to put the money and effort into interviewing at some of the schools that are (for whatever reason) lower on my list.

 

[sweetstuff25]

yup, i am also pretty interested in COMP. I'm thinking of just only applying there. Sounds like a great program in a great location...except the costs...hmmm.

 

[HemaOncoDoc]

thanks, cyclohexanol and HemaOncoDoc for your input! You just made me even more excited to interview at Western. I like to think that all schools want their students to succeed, but it really sounds like COMP provides the resources to help them do so (posting lectures/blackboard, etc.--not unique to just comp, but definitely worth noting). Personally, OP, I think the pre-secondary interview invite is a great atrategic move to gain "strong" applicants' interest in their program (i use strong carefully because we all know there's more to a book than it's cover/primary application). Think about it, if they can provide a positive interview experience for you before other schools get their hands on you, they've just increased their odds that you will pursue their program. Speaking for myself, I didn't apply to any schools "just to apply", but I can tell you that if I am accepted at COMP, I will be less likely to put the money and effort into interviewing at some of the schools that are (for whatever reason) lower on my list.

You're welcome. You've got some sound reasoning. Best of luck.

yup, i am also pretty interested in COMP. I'm thinking of just only applying there. Sounds like a great program in a great location...except the costs...hmmm.

True, the tuition is above the average for OOS, but if you weigh the other costs, its about average.

 

[harrypotter]

In-n-out!

I had some yesterday!😀

 

[dr.z]

Hi,

I just received an interview invite from Western U, and I was wondering it anyone had already interviewed there and thought it seemed a little sketchy? I received my interview invite before even receiving, let alone submitting, a secondary, which I thought was strange. Especially since I've seen stats that say you have a 90% chance of admission if you interview. Today, I went to a Medical Career Fair, and a representative and two students from Western U were there, and lets just say I'm not sure I was impressed. One student said, "I love that lectures are posted online--one time, I just stayed home at my apartment for 2 weeks and didn't shower at all, it was so awesome." I'm not so sure that I'd want my doctor to be someone like that, especially when they have so much responsibility! Also, I'm not sure how much of a school community this attitude will really foster... Additionally, they seemed to dislike the staff and the outside community, they hated Pomona, and the campus has security guards around all the time due to crime. But, they also have a Northwest track program that I'm interested in. However, it seemed that there are actually only a couple of locations for clinical rotations in Washington--only in Centralia and Seattle. I also talked to DMU, and they said they could easily set up rotations in many areas of Washington. So is Western's Northwest Track just a gimmick? The sole reason the med school students gave for going to Western was just the Northwest track program, and they couldn't give me any other reasons. Can anyone else give me some other good reasons to go to Western over other schools? I'm really concerned about the quality of this school, and I'm considering rejecting the interview invite based on my impressions of the students I saw. Any comments? Thanks!

They are not sketchy at all.

 

[jillibean]

You're welcome. You've got some sound reasoning. Best of luck.



True, the tuition is above the average for OOS, but if you weigh the other costs, its about average.

Actually I disagree with this. They make the budget look comparable to other schools, but I think they budget ~$10,000/yr for room and board, while other school in much cheaper locations (i.e. Des Moines) have higher room and board allowances in the budget.

 

[StaryMagic]

Hi all,

Thanks for your replies! Your input is definitely very useful. I do realize that giving an interview invite prior to secondary is a good tactic to increase the number of good students in the school, but in the process it seems that they're ignoring the character of the students, and that seems to worry me a little. It wouldn't worry me as much if interviewed students didn't have a 90% acceptance rate, as I think schools should use letters of rec and interview impressions to judge character, as D.O. schools have a claim to fame that they like doctors with good people skills, high moral standards, etc. It seems that COMP picks people based on numbers almost exclusively, which is why their average GPA and MCAT stats are higher than for other schools, but maybe this comes at a price of student character. I know not all COMP students are idiots, but I felt the two I met were, and I think this may be a product of the selection system they use. Maybe these two were the worst in the class, I dunno... But their arrogance was completely out of place for their community-college student for undergrad status. (Not that all comm. college students are bad, but their lack of intelligence shown bright and clear to me). In response to lectures posted online--I think it is good they have them there in case you get sick, have an emergency, etc. But, it seems that in COMP's case, it encourages people to skip class, and discourages the building of a community. Anyway... I've seen these 94% COMLEX pass rates, but those aren't the ones that really matter. What about USMLE? That's what really counts for getting residencies. Does anyone know the USMLE pass rates/average scores at COMP? Usually if schools do well on that front, they advertise it, like "Our students score above average on USMLE" or something like that, but I've yet to see COMP's numbers. Also, does anyone know how much the deposit is at COMP to save your spot if you get accepted? And when it is due by? Perhaps COMP isn't for me... sigh....

 

[Marianne11]

Stary,

How long after AACCOMAS submitted you to Western did you receive the email interview invite?

Thanks!

 

[FMR1]

At the interview, they told us that the pass rate for last year was 96% for first time test takers.

 

[StaryMagic]

I was mailed to COMP on October 8th. Thanks for the pass rates! Does anyone know if most students do above average at least, or if they just pass... lol. Thanks!

 

[bro]

4th year WUHS/COMP student here. It's great to see the exact same post that i was reading four years ago when i was applying to med schools.

Here's the deal on COMP, and also, this is just one guys opinion.

you will love lectures online. nothing makes something stick more than to hear it once, study it, and then have the opportunity to go back and hear it again. i can't tell you how many times that helped in biochem.

pomona is what it is. but you will be studying more than you ever have before, everyday, every night, most weekends because our test are on mondays. so the last thing you will be worrying about is going out in pomona. i live in pasadena, drive 30 min to pomona, so if you hate the city that much, move somewhere else. also, in pomona, great mexican food, great vietnamese food, whatever you want.

As far as what's most important, eg. USMLE, you will not find these official scores posted because as a DO student we have the choice of releasing our scores to our school. so the school has no way of compiling all of the scores. in my opinion, COMP does not actively help its students to the extent i think other schools do for board prep, but that is/has changed since my 2nd year. and honestly, for COMLEX/USMLE you will be taught everything you need. Im in the bottom half of the class and did very well on COMLEX and USMLE. so don't worry about it.

Lastly, the best thing that COMP has to offer is an education in southern california. you will not find a population like this anywhere else in the world. you will do rotations at county hospitals with over 100,000 ER visits a year. do a little research at the hospitals other school use and you will see that the clinical experience here is amazing. you will have the ability to rotate at places like USC/LA county, and because the school has residents in almost every hospital out here, you will have a greater chance of matching at a good hospital.

So what you might think is "most important", like how the school looks or online lectures, really doesn't matter.

And please, don't cancel a med school interview because of our opinions, go make you own decision and think about what is most important for you getting where you want to be one day- a physician in the specialty of your choice.

good luck to all of you guys!

 

[HemaOncoDoc]

Many other schools send out interview invites before the secondary. So, COMP is not the only one. WVSOM send me an interview invite along with my secondary. They do have an interview and don't accept a student without it unlike MSUCOM and WVSOM which seem to give acceptances based on good MCAT, GPA, and a thorough primary application. So, don't be upset, COMP has a chance to test your good people skills and high moral standards. I'm sorry that the two students that you met didn't give you a good impression. However like bro said, you have to interview at a school to determine if it's right for you. My first choice pre-interview dropped significantly in its ranking post-interview. I think it's premature to be so picky if you're not accepted yet.

I was reassured that the notes and mp3s were a tool in their curriculum. As I said previously, you do what you have to do to do well. They're not going to hold your hand. This is professional school.

During the interview process I was talked to the COMLEX pass rate was comparable to the USMLE pass rate. So, I'm guessing it's in the lower 90s. "That's what really counts for getting residencies." Yikes, duck and cover people! I don't think schools post their average scores, but many have stats on their pass rate.

$1000 by December 14th if you're accepted before Nov. 15th. If later, approx 30 days after acceptance. There's a general suggested time frame, but I would go by what they tell you during the interview or when you get your acceptance letter. Best of luck with what you decide. Feel free to PM.

Hi all,

Thanks for your replies! Your input is definitely very useful. I do realize that giving an interview invite prior to secondary is a good tactic to increase the number of good students in the school, but in the process it seems that they're ignoring the character of the students, and that seems to worry me a little. It wouldn't worry me as much if interviewed students didn't have a 90% acceptance rate, as I think schools should use letters of rec and interview impressions to judge character, as D.O. schools have a claim to fame that they like doctors with good people skills, high moral standards, etc. It seems that COMP picks people based on numbers almost exclusively, which is why their average GPA and MCAT stats are higher than for other schools, but maybe this comes at a price of student character. I know not all COMP students are idiots, but I felt the two I met were, and I think this may be a product of the selection system they use. Maybe these two were the worst in the class, I dunno... But their arrogance was completely out of place for their community-college student for undergrad status. (Not that all comm. college students are bad, but their lack of intelligence shown bright and clear to me). In response to lectures posted online--I think it is good they have them there in case you get sick, have an emergency, etc. But, it seems that in COMP's case, it encourages people to skip class, and discourages the building of a community. Anyway... I've seen these 94% COMLEX pass rates, but those aren't the ones that really matter. What about USMLE? That's what really counts for getting residencies. Does anyone know the USMLE pass rates/average scores at COMP? Usually if schools do well on that front, they advertise it, like "Our students score above average on USMLE" or something like that, but I've yet to see COMP's numbers. Also, does anyone know how much the deposit is at COMP to save your spot if you get accepted? And when it is due by? Perhaps COMP isn't for me... sigh....