Western University - Pomona (COMP) Discussion Thread 2015 - 2016

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plzletmein91 said:
My Banweb changed to Institutional Acceptance!!!! No phonecall yet, AAAaahHHHh!!! Is this rrealll!?
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I have been put on the pre interview hold since October. I sent an update letter, and a letter of intent, and I have still haven't heard back from the school. If I didn't get an ii by now, can I just assume that it's a silent rejection since it's so late in the cycle now? Stats: 3.7c,3.4s, 29MCAT (24retake).
 
letmein1992 said:
I have been put on the pre interview hold since October. I sent an update letter, and a letter of intent, and I have still haven't heard back from the school. If I didn't get an ii by now, can I just assume that it's a silent rejection since it's so late in the cycle now? Stats: 3.7c,3.4s, 29MCAT (24retake).
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Ouch, that's tough, I'm sorry to hear that. I hope it works out for you in some way or another.
 
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letmein1992 said:
I have been put on the pre interview hold since October. I sent an update letter, and a letter of intent, and I have still haven't heard back from the school. If I didn't get an ii by now, can I just assume that it's a silent rejection since it's so late in the cycle now? Stats: 3.7c,3.4s, 29MCAT (24retake).
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I am in a similar position. I emailed the admissions committee they said applications are reviewed periodically and they will be having 2 interview sessions in March. Not clear as to how often they review on hold applicants and if these are the last two interviews.
 
So...those of you who interviewed today, how do you think you did?

Mine went ok. Regardless, I think my below avg stats will get the best of me.
 
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nznznz said:
So...those of you who interviewed today, how do you think you did?

Mine went ok. Regardless, I think my below avg stats will get the best of me.
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Same boat. The first MMI section went well except for one glaring mistake I made. The second station was mistake free but I didn't feel like I was very strong. The interview I thought I did extremely well to the point where I think the interviewer was trying to hold back how much she liked me....Unfortunately this late in the cycle, with lowish stats, all I can do is cross my fingers and pray.
 
DantheManimal said:
Same boat. The first MMI section went well except for one glaring mistake I made. The second station was mistake free but I didn't feel like I was very strong. The interview I thought I did extremely well to the point where I think the interviewer was trying to hold back how much she liked me....Unfortunately this late in the cycle, with lowish stats, all I can do is cross my fingers and pray.
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pglo said:
Thought I did ok. BLUE TEAM REPRESENT!
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nznznz said:
So...those of you who interviewed today, how do you think you did?

Mine went ok. Regardless, I think my below avg stats will get the best of me.
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To those of you that interviewed today - did they mention how full the class is and until when they're interviewing?
 
Teioh said:
To those of you that interviewed today - did they mention how full the class is and until when they're interviewing?
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They said they weren't sure exactly, although the person who told us this (the student services admin) was not the person that normally would have this information (as she was on lunch at the time).
 
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nznznz said:
So...those of you who interviewed today, how do you think you did?

Mine went ok. Regardless, I think my below avg stats will get the best of me.
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If you already interviewed then they are not worried about your stats anymore. At this point in time they already know that you will be a successful student. The interview is merely to get to know you as a person to see if you'll be a good fit for their school. They wouldn't reject you post-interview for your numbers
 
Just got an acceptance call from Western! Interviewed 2/11
 
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Congrats to those accepted! I interviewed 2/11 and was wait listed. Does anyone remember what they said about movement on the wait list? I can't remember if she said last year no one moved or one year everyone did.. Really want to go here. Fingers crossed
 
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pglo said:
At the 2/25 interview they said its highly unpredictable whether or not there will be waitlist movement from year to year.
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They revisit the waitlist every month. I was waitlisted in October and accepted in January.
 
WesternU was my #1 school across DO & MD, and my only II so far. Interviewed 1/28, yellow group, found out I got in this week. So relieved right now, I guess it's true when they say it only takes one...

In case it helps anyone in the future, here are my rough stats and general application timeline in excessive and probably unnecessary detail:
  • LizzyM: ~65 (low mcat, okay GPA), 1st time applicant
  • IS, Southern California, South Bay
  • Humanities major @ UCLA, grad 2012, followed by informal 2-year post-bacc for pre reqs
  • Work: Part time high school tutor after undergrad. Full time scribe at private clinical office after post-bacc
  • Extracurricular: Fairly extensive/consistent volunteer & leadership experiences, within various clinical settings, since freshman year of undergrad
  • Research: Relatively minimal, no wet lab, no completed publications. Mostly prior review of clinical literature, but in fields I'm actually interested in/passionate about
  • Attended WesternU Preview Day in March 2015
  • DO Shadowing: Shadowed a WesternU Family Med Alum in clinic ~once a week for ~3 months, Aug-Oct 2015, received letter of rec. That experience really confirmed my interest in the WesternU program & DO in general
  • AACOMAS App. Submitted: Early October 2015 (went in late because I was waiting on that DO letter, I do not recommend you submit this late tho)
  • Secondary: Received early November 2015, submitted within 1 week (did not pre-write, did not recycle from other secondaries, dropped all other commitments to really write this one straight from the left ventricle)
  • Interview Invite: 1/20/16
  • Interviewed: 1/28/16. Attire: dark charcoal suit, black leather shoes, black socks, black/blue/grey striped tie, Citizen dress watch, conservative hair cut day before (doubt any of this actually matters but just in case you were wondering)
  • BanWeb Online Status Change: "Institutional Acceptance" morning of 2/22/16 (blank the night before)
  • Acceptance Phone Call: 2/24/16 (around 8am, I was on the 405 driving to work but I had to take that call)
  • Acceptance Letter Received: 2/25/16
To those applying this upcoming cycle, I recommend reading The DOs: Osteopathic Medicine in America by Norman Gevitz. I think this book helped me write a stronger DO-specific personal statement and subsequent secondaries. Really looking forward to August, see yall then.
 
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pglo said:
As someone in Blue group in the 2/25 interview, I'm now sweating profusely out of nervous apprehension.
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If possible, I would recommend you try to take it easy until the official notice comes in. When I saw someone else on here got in 2 weeks ago, from my interview day, and from my color group, I thought it was for sure over for me. I had even started re-studying for the new MCAT last week haha. But you never really know until you know, so try to save the sweat if you can. Best of luck!
 
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Slow&Steady said:
If possible, I would recommend you try to take it easy until the official notice comes in. When I saw someone else on here got in 2 weeks ago, from my interview day, and from my color group, I thought it was for sure over for me. I had even started re-studying for the new MCAT last week haha. But you never really know until you know, so try to save the sweat if you can. Best of luck!
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Haha thank you for the advice. Just joking around. Although, I would be totally lying if I said I'm not nervous for the decision.
 
Teioh said:
To those of you that interviewed today - did they mention how full the class is and until when they're interviewing?
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The kind lady who gave the presentation about admissions was not the usual person but she did say that the class was nearing full and it was towards the end of the interview season. I think Western tends to have fewer interview dates and bring everybody in at once instead of a few people but lots of interview date options.
 
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Is anyone else from the 2/25 interview checking banweb like a madman? The rational part of me says it hasn't even been a week since the interview, but my compulsive/impatient side really wants to find out if I got into my top school.
 
pglo said:
Is anyone else from the 2/25 interview checking banweb like a madman? The rational part of me says it hasn't even been a week since the interview, but my compulsive/impatient side really wants to find out if I got into my top school.
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Lol I was like that two weeks after my interview and sure enough I got an email about 15 days after so...just wait until the two week mark before being ocd with banweb lol

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bakr89 said:
Lol I was like that two weeks after my interview and sure enough I got an email about 15 days after so...just wait until the two week mark before being ocd with banweb lol

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I suppose it is a bit premature, although looking back on this thread, it seems that not everyone from a given interview day will have their decision available on the same day. Almost like decisions are rolled out to everyone over the course of a few days.
 
pglo said:
I suppose it is a bit premature, although looking back on this thread, it seems that not everyone from a given interview day will have their decision available on the same day. Almost like decisions are rolled out to everyone over the course of a few days.
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The adcoms meet every couple of weeks so you should hear from within 2 to 3 weeks of your interview. They are pretty fast.

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pglo said:
Is anyone else from the 2/25 interview checking banweb like a madman? The rational part of me says it hasn't even been a week since the interview, but my compulsive/impatient side really wants to find out if I got into my top school.
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Every 3 hours
 
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Anyone on here want to comment on why I should choose this school over AZCOM?

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jennyybennyy said:
Anyone on here want to comment on why I should choose this school over AZCOM?

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http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/pros-and-cons-of-your-do-school.407104/page-25

Look at the reviews of COMP by bonsaipalmtree on that page from 2014 and Kevin Baker on page 26 from 2015.

It seems like COMP will give me the best opportunity to stay in California for residency and their rotations don't seem to be plagued by nearly as much of the issues that people complain about at other DO schools (e.g. decent amount of ward based rotations and don't have to relocate across state or out of state for rotations). I don't know as much about the Midwesterns, but from what I've read they are also supposed to be relatively good in regards to rotations. I think those that complain about COMP curriculum usually do it because there's a more than typical (4 hours/week instead of 2 hours/week?) focus on OMM. If this concerns you, I've heard the exact opposite about AZCOM.

Its very easy for me to say that COMP is my top choice because of location, but I feel that its a bit naive to make a choice solely based on this reason.

I have to make a decision between this school and RVU very soon as well and needless to say it isn't going to be easy. I will be consulting with some people tomorrow that will hopefully be giving me the input I need to decide what I should be looking for when making my decision. One of them is a physician that graduated from AZCOM, another is a 4th year at AZCOM, and the last is a current 2nd or 3rd year at COMP. Most of the input I receive will likely be more useful for you than it is for me because AZCOM. PM me if there's specific questions you'd like me to ask any of them and I'll get back to you by tomorrow.
 
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gerges said:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/pros-and-cons-of-your-do-school.407104/page-25

I have to make a decision between this school and RVU very soon as well and needless to say it isn't going to be easy. I will be consulting with some people tomorrow that will hopefully be giving me the input I need to decide what I should be looking for when making my decision.
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Same for bolded.

COMP is pretty well-known to CA residencies compared to other DO schools. This is enough to justify choosing it over other similarly priced DO schools, all else being equal. There are some negatives that will apply differently, depending on the student. As a married man, planning to have kids really soon with a stay-at-home nurturer, here are things that make COMP meh from my rationalization:

1. The "nonsense" classes. IPE and PPP are mentioned as unnecessary by many COMP students. I suspect that a large part of it is the fact that so much of it is common sense or things that can be learned on your own time, if you want. It IS helpful to some people though.

2. The meh board prep. Self-evident from the school's inability to brag about having the highest scores, etc. I believe that board scores are more dependent on the student, but combined with point #1, COMP students are probably noticeably hindered in the study hours department.

3. Sharing classes with other professional students. Mostly a negative IMO unless you're looking for uh... non-school-related activities to do with them. Some people are that lazy.

4. Costs. Still can't believe that the median matriculant household income is over $100,000. My household has hovered around 30k most of my life -_-

PROS:
1. You COULD theoretically use large-group/small-group to study things 3 times. If you can get by with less, then it is definitely a waste of time. If your group mates don't take it seriously by coming to large group prepared, it is also stupid.

2. Location. As the drought worsens and the social justice warriors become emboldened in their activism, this may not be a plus in the near future.

3. It is a good school if you actually like OMM.

RVU is really seducing me though. Why do babies have to prefer non-smoggy air so damn much?
 
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darknecrosforte said:
Same for bolded.

COMP is pretty well-known to CA residencies compared to other DO schools. This is enough to justify choosing it over other similarly priced DO schools, all else being equal. There are some negatives that will apply differently, depending on the student. As a married man, planning to have kids really soon with a stay-at-home nurturer, here are things that make COMP meh from my rationalization:

1. The "nonsense" classes. IPE and PPP are mentioned as unnecessary by many COMP students. I suspect that a large part of it is the fact that so much of it is common sense or things that can be learned on your own time, if you want. It IS helpful to some people though.

2. The meh board prep. Self-evident from the school's inability to brag about having the highest scores, etc. I believe that board scores are more dependent on the student, but combined with point #1, COMP students are probably noticeably hindered in the study hours department.

3. Sharing classes with other professional students. Mostly a negative IMO unless you're looking for uh... non-school-related activities to do with them. Some people are that lazy.

4. Costs. Still can't believe that the median matriculant household income is over $100,000. My household has hovered around 30k most of my life -_-

PROS:
1. You COULD theoretically use large-group/small-group to study things 3 times. If you can get by with less, then it is definitely a waste of time. If your group mates don't take it seriously by coming to large group prepared, it is also stupid.

2. Location. As the drought worsens and the social justice warriors become emboldened in their activism, this may not be a plus in the near future.

3. It is a good school if you actually like OMM.

RVU is really seducing me though. Why do babies have to prefer non-smoggy air so damn much?
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About your initial 4 points:

1. I like the idea behind IPE and the rationale for implementing it. I think it has the potential to be beneficial on a societal level, but I understand how its current implementation can make it seem bothersome. One thing I found a bit odd was the inclusion of a DVM in the IPE group because situations in which collaboration between this profession and the others is needed are probably less common than the rarest of diseases.

2. I know people like to complain about board prep, but the one person that did talk about COMLEX pass rates at the interview said that COMP's were among the highest. The results published on their website is the overall passrate for both COMP and COMP-NW which could explain the drop off in passrate starting in 2012-2013. Off the top of my head the Midwesterns and KCUMB are the only schools that I've seen that actually report their average scores on their sites. So its not atypical of schools to avoid publicly reporting their scores. Even RVU which seems to have the current highest COMLEX 1 pass rate doesn't disclose its average scores, so I don't see a reason to make much of it.

3. I'm not sure what the big deal is with sharing classes with other professional students. Is it just because it makes the overall class size larger, making instructors have less availability per student? A friend of mine attending UCSD for pharmacy said he takes some classes with the med students and has never mentioned it as being a bad thing.

4. As far as costs, you might save some money going to RVU given the tuition difference between COMP and RVU, but cost of living is similar. I personally have access to living options that will make Western the much cheaper option so it wins for me. Parker, Colorado is definitely a win for you in this case given similar cost of living because suburbs are definitely a better place to start a family for a number of reasons, one of which would be the lack of smoggy air.

As it stands right now, the huge focus on OMM is a good thing for me. A few members of my family (e.g. the type that think pains meds are the work of the devil and there's 100% chance of becoming an addict) are constant reminders of OMM's practicality in my personal life. If it can benefit them in some way then its more than worth it to spend more time learning it.

I loled about the rise of the social justice warriors. I've actually taken up a hobby in debating with them, so I think I can hold my own if confrontation is inevitable.

I'm pretty convinced now that COMP is the right place for me and strangely convinced that RVU is likely the right place for you. Regardless of what you choose, I wish you the best of luck with your future endeavors and with the whole family + med school thing (mad respect! even though I low key think you're kinda crazy, but hey at least its the good kind of crazy :) )
 
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All 2/25 interviewees.....They began evaluating our applications today! They said today is the first day they are meeting, and then they are meeting again next Thursday to "finish the remaining." I don't think they have reached out to any applicants yet. I asked for an expedited decision because of an interview to TouroNY (that I would love to cancel, lol), and they said they would try to accomodate so I feel as though if I get accepted, I might be one of the first ones called. I'll see if anything happens tomorrow. If not, expect next Thursday to be the day we start to find out. Good luck all
 
I applied back in June and received a 2nd pre-interview hold/application under review notice this evening. The suspense of it all. Lol!
 
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hrbird said:
I applied back in June and received a 2nd pre-interview hold/application under review notice this evening. The suspense of it all. Lol!
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I got the same email. I think I heard March is the last month of interviews for Western, so hopefully we'll hear back in the next week!
 
DantheManimal said:
All 2/25 interviewees.....They began evaluating our applications today! They said today is the first day they are meeting, and then they are meeting again next Thursday to "finish the remaining." I don't think they have reached out to any applicants yet. I asked for an expedited decision because of an interview to TouroNY (that I would love to cancel, lol), and they said they would try to accomodate so I feel as though if I get accepted, I might be one of the first ones called. I'll see if anything happens tomorrow. If not, expect next Thursday to be the day we start to find out. Good luck all
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If we don't hear back till next Thursday (3/10) that gives us only 5 days to lay down the huge deposit to reserve our spot. That's not very long...
 
fatkitty said:
If we don't hear back till next Thursday (3/10) that gives us only 5 days to lay down the huge deposit to reserve our spot. That's not very long...
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It's X amount of days since acceptance, not since you interviewed.
 
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Officially rejected via email at 4:01 p.m. Not even wait-listed. This is rough because not only did I connect really well with my interviewer (both paych majors), but this has always been my dream school. My home is 4.3 miles from campus.
 
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