WesternU/COMP Class of 2014

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Question for current/past WesternU students:

If you took ISAC, did you feel like it was a good investment? I've emailed Kuehn awhile back and he said that he has me on the list, but now I'm wondering if I should actually take the course. Is ISAC really worth paying an extra 7 weeks worth of tuition for? I'm not sure what that comes out to be because they said they'd send us the paperwork for it around April... but I'll just guesstimate it to be around 10k or something (correct me if I'm wrong...)? Tuition for this school is already pretty ridiculously high, so I don't really want to add on any unnecessary debt if I don't have to. Do you guys feel that the edge that ISAC provided you or people you know outweighs the financial cost of the program? Just looking for some input before I descide whether or not to actually do it. Thanks!

Either things have changed, or my memory is faulty; but I don't recall having to pay extra for ISAC.

I loved the course! If I did pay extra, it was worth it. It was a great opportunity to have undistracted access to human anatomy for a summer. TAing in the fall was great as well.

To the other person who lamented the lack of a human anatomy background: I did not take anatomy (human or animal) in college and was accepted into the program. I'd send Kuehn an email and at least be put on his list.

-You said you had an extensive knowledge of zoological anatomy. It would definitely be worth mentioning that to Kuehn. Although you wouldn't be relearning the exact structures from undergrad as in the case of having taken college human anatomy, I'd think the experience of memorizing structures is similar no matter the species of the cadaver.

Members don't see this ad.
 
Last edited:
anyone know when/where the white coat ceremony will be? just curious.
 
I believe I recall seeing somewhere on Western's website that last year's white coat was at the Fox Theater in Pomona :)

http://www.foxpomona.com/thenewfox.php

Any current students have any status updates on the new Patient Care Center?
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Hey everybody! Just got accepted yesterday. Deposit will be going in soon.
 
I asked this over on the facebook page for our class, but haven't gotten a response yet, so I figured I'd try here too. Does anyone, particularly current students, have any feedback on the SMSPP class? I've heard plenty about ISAC, but hardly anything about SMSPP. I'd apply for ISAC except for the whole never having had human anatomy thing (although I've had no shortage of non-human anatomy classes...that'll teach me to aspire to be a zoologist).

In any event, as someone who hasn't actually had an actual class for several years, SMSPP seems like a really good idea to get back into the groove of taking classes and getting an idea of the pace and demands of the classes in the fall (without it counting towards your grades). So I wonder if anyone has found the class useful and whether it really is good preparation for the fall? I'm also wondering if you're eligible for financial aid if you're enrolled in SMSPP? It sounds pretty time intensive like ISAC (6 hours a day in class, a few hours a night studying). It might be possible to hold down a part-time job, but getting a little extra in aid would be nice (and while we all want to keep loans down, an extra month or two is a drop in the bucket of what we're going to owe after 4 years...but that's another discussion altogether). So any feedback would be appreciated.

I did SMSPP and I thought it was pretty awesome. The only down side is that because you do not get credit for the course, you get your loan disbursement in August. You need to pay for the course and living expenses for 6 weeks.

SMSPP is for people who want to get a head start without burning out over the summer. We get access to the ISAC cadavers, get an overview of basic sciences and OMM. I felt ahead of the class and more confident going into the school year - it was the best thing I have done for myself in med school so far!
 
I did SMSPP and I thought it was pretty awesome. The only down side is that because you do not get credit for the course, you get your loan disbursement in August. You need to pay for the course and living expenses for 6 weeks.

SMSPP is for people who want to get a head start without burning out over the summer. We get access to the ISAC cadavers, get an overview of basic sciences and OMM. I felt ahead of the class and more confident going into the school year - it was the best thing I have done for myself in med school so far!

Thanks for the feedback, this is good to hear.

As far as the living expenses, am I correct in assuming it will be counterproductive and difficult time-wise to hold down a part time job (assuming I could even find employment in SoCal these days...)?
 
I KNOW WHO YOU ARE.

My Facebook stalking abilities are top-notch :D

No, actually I'm trying to avoid doing work. You know how it goes.

well then, let's see what you got! friend me if you dare!
 
hey, great news guys! Today the dean announced that starting next year there will be mandatory attendance and a professional dress code everyday! So now you don't have to worry about which classes to go to, you get to go to every stinking one of them and in top notch professional attire no less hoorah! :laugh::laugh::laugh:
 
Members don't see this ad :)
hey, great news guys! Today the dean announced that starting next year there will be mandatory attendance and a professional dress code everyday! So now you don't have to worry about which classes to go to, you get to go to every stinking one of them and in top notch professional attire no less hoorah! :laugh::laugh::laugh:


Good thing that isn't what he said you pathetic trolling tool.
 
Hey Siggy - so what is the deal with the dress code? Also, can you comment on the new patient care center? Thanks for all of your helpful posts!
 
I don't know much about the PCC except that it just opened. As far as the dress code, nothing is decided yet...
 
Let's get some things straight:

Dress Code - At this point, nothing has been officially decided. After polling the 2013 DO students, their inclination was to actually enforce the dress policy that has been in the University Catalog all along. It is as follows:

"DRESS CODE/IDENTIFICATION
Students are required to dress in a professional manner at all times.
During classroom lectures, students are required to wear clothing that is in good repair (no patches).
Footwear is required at all times. Dress for skills labs should not be worn outside the laboratory area.
Tank tops, halters, scrubsuits and headgear (hats/helmets) are not to be worn in the classrooms. Shorts may
be worn, but no more than 3” above the knee. Hair, beards, and mustaches must be clean, net, trimmed at
all times. Students are expected to conform to the commonly acceptable social standards of personal
hygiene.
White clinic jackets must be worn at Honors Day, Awareness Conferences, Health Fairs, and in all
clinical settings."

This has been brought to the dean, and an ongoing discussion is taking place, and will involve a student-lead proposal for what the final plan of action will be.

Class/Attendance - What has been implemented is a shift in the way curriculum is delivered at Western/COMP. Beginning with the system-based courses (i.e. cardiology, GI, blood & lymphatics, etc), students will engage in a Case-Based approach to learning, where they work in small groups during the week, and then the class meets in a large group discussion of the cases. This large group discussion is lead by all the involved clinical and basic sciences faculty to the system, where they supplement the discussion with smaller, condensed lectures that are focused on the cases. This takes the total in-class lecture time for a given systems course from ~20 hrs per week to 6-9 hrs (depending on how many large group sessions there are, 2 or 3). This is NOT PBL (problem-based learning), as all the essential information to solve the cases and answer the relevant questions is provided in supplemental documents generated by the faculty. Should you choose to do additional literature searches on your own, that's up to you. Regarding attendance, at this point, its not technically mandatory in the sense that they will take attendance, but there is always a quiz at the beginning of the discussion, so it's on you to decide whether or not you plan on attending.

I hope this clears up some of the confusion. Feel free to reply with questions, I'll be happy to answer.
 
What time of day will the discussion groups likely occur? I seem to learn better on my own than in class. I was kind of hoping to cut out early most days and add that time to my independent study sessions.

I was expecting to spend ample time on campus the first 3 months during Anatomy, but I thought after that I was home free.

Tests pretty much every Friday morning, right?
 
What time of day will the discussion groups likely occur? I seem to learn better on my own than in class. I was kind of hoping to cut out early most days and add that time to my independent study sessions.

I was expecting to spend ample time on campus the first 3 months during Anatomy, but I thought after that I was home free.
They're scheduled in the afternoon, but the groups can meet when ever the groups want to meet. If everyone wants to meet a 2am at a Denny's, then that's OK. The scheduled time is more of a "The professors are available at this time in case your group has any questions" than "Thou shall meet during this time."

Tests pretty much every Friday morning, right?
More like every other Monday morning.
 
Hi guys, I'm subleasing my apartment for the upcoming year (taking a year of absence). It's a 900 square feet 2 bedroom 2 bathroom apartment located in the Racquet Club in Diamond Bar. It's in a very beautiful gated community with 2 swimming pools (poolside view from my room) and 4 tennis courts. The drive to school is about 15 minutes both by freeway or by local streets.

My old roommate is going to continue living there and most of the shared furniture belongs to him (he's a really chill guy though, clean and very helpful if you ever have any questions). He's going to be a 3rd year student and will be on rotations for most of the day and will be gone for several months of the upcoming year.

I'm asking for the same price that I've been paying the entire year. And that will be 735.00 a month which already includes all utilities/cable tv/cable internet. If you would like to use my own furnishing (brand new full sized bed purchased last year, brand new glass desk and shelves, with a couple wooden nightstands), it will be an additional 15.00 a month for a total of 750.00.

If you are interested and would like to see some photos or check out the apartment in person. Please email me at [email protected]
 
anybody know how the whitecoat ceremony is supposed to go down? i see we're supposed to have our coats, some sort of pin and a name badge. when/where are we supposed to obtain these items? i've got my tattered labcoat from orgo research, and dog tags from the navy but i don't think that'll cut it.
 
^ I thought the school would give us those things? I'm sure we'll find out more in the three orientation days before the ceremony. If I hear of anything I'll be sure to post. Hoping for the same from others.
 
hey i was deferred for the class of 2015 and want to get a jump on anatomy by buying the book and glossing over it casually. i think i heard it called something like the "clinical application of human anatomy" but i am not sure and i don't know the author. anyone know?
 
^ I thought the school would give us those things? I'm sure we'll find out more in the three orientation days before the ceremony. If I hear of anything I'll be sure to post. Hoping for the same from others.

that's what i'm assuming too, but don't want to find out the hard way that i've been mistaken. i was hoping the white coats would be tailored :rolleyes:
 
Check your school email. They sent out an email with registration info and the like. Login to BanWeb to order your white coat and pin and to register for classes.
 
Hell no to that dress code. Can I get an amen from my other 2012'ers?
We rolled into class with some ridiculous stuff like "jorts day" or vikings day. Whatever we want is how we like to come. Oh yeah orientation is pretty stupid. Its like orientation anywhere you go "don't kill people" "don't be an idiot" blah blah blah. You can sleep through it since it's not important anyways.

Gary you live in diamond bar??? That's pretty far lol!!! Well best of luck to you buddy.
 
Hey, anybody know if it's better to round up or down when it comes to white coat sizes? I am normally a woman's small (and sometimes a medium), but I have a feeling these things run big, since they're unisex? Should I go for an XS? I don't want to look unprofessional if it's too tight or something, but I don't want to be swimming in it!
 
Hey, anybody know if it's better to round up or down when it comes to white coat sizes? I am normally a woman's small (and sometimes a medium), but I have a feeling these things run big, since they're unisex? Should I go for an XS? I don't want to look unprofessional if it's too tight or something, but I don't want to be swimming in it!

for me they ran a little big. i was in the area of the school a month ago while looking for a place to live, and thought id drop by and size a coat for myself. the large was really big...big in a baggy sort of way on me. the medium had arms that were probably a little short, but the fit was right. i went with the medium.
 
Hey we're looking for a roommate so please message me if you're interested. We live in claremont in springhills town homes and the room that you'd be getting is about 10x10. We're 2 3rd years and 1 2nd year. We have all the furniture, the refrigerator, table, and internet and everything all set up. Please contact me if interested!
 
I am worried about the so-called class rank and GPA/percentage on the APP. May i know, being realistically, what are the average rank and gpa/percentage that can help me in IM residency?

thanks
 
Has anyone taken the Summer SMSPP or ISAC courses and if you have, could you please advise on the pros and cons of each program? Thank you so much!
 
Top