Is Western/COMP "subpar"?

[sketchyMcG]

Alright now, dont get your panties in a ruffle... I was talking to a HPSP recruiter who indicated that they (The Army) preferred some D.O. schools over others. He specifically mentioned COMP as a school that was at the bottom of thier list, but really had no reason as to why. Is COMP at the lower end of the DO school spectrum or does this guy have his head up his a$$.

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[deleted6669]

reasons to not apply to comp(based on rumor and hearsay, so take this with a grain of salt):
1. biochem and anatomy taught poorly with 30% fail rate requiring repeat summer of ms 1 year
2. required lap top computer for all courses
3. it is in pomona, armpit of hell

that being said, I know folks who went there, loved it, and placed in the residency of their choice. for my money, touro is the prefered program in california and likely the only school I will apply to.

 

[kat13]

I guess I am a little confused as to why being on the bottom of the Army's list for recruiting would make it a bad school? Maybe they just have a low percentage of students that choose that route as a means for funds, and so they feel like there is no point trying to recruit there (just a hypothesis). From what I have heard, Western COMP is a more well respected school than Tuoro. After speaking with several doctors (in many different specialties and from several different areas in country) I was encouraged to attend Western over Tuoro, based on both the reputation and the caliber of residents that they had seen coming out of both of those schools (several COMP graduates were holding Chief Resident positions in the hospitals where I was volunteering, and in MD residencies nonetheless). Also, Pomona may not be one of the most desirable places on earth to live, but, in my opinion, neither is Kirksville, MO. When it comes to location I think it is all about where you feel like you fit best, and a lot of people choose to live in SoCal.
Generally I think that you will hear horror stories about almost any school, and the best way to form your opinion is to just get as much information, from as many sources, as possible. I have chosen to attend Western based on all of the positive aspects about the program that I have heard. Just my 2 cents.

 

[aecuenca2]

take your reasons with a grain of salt...true, true!

I highly doubt that this year's class had ~60+ students fail their classes (assuming there are 180+ students). In my class, we certainly did not have that many fail those classes combined. I can't EXACTLY remember, but I believe there were ~15 total that failed those two classes combined, with some of those 15 failing both courses! As far as biochem and anatomy being taught poorly, there are positives and negatives, but looking back on that first year, it wasn't that bad. Difficult, yes, but because of the volume moreso than the material itself. this happens at every medical school!

You honestly do not need a laptop if you're a pen and paper kind of person. Handouts are given at every class. The advantage of the laptop is you can download the powerpoint lectures or videos and follow along, or study at home. of course, there are the opportunities of network gaming....

Pomona, the armpit of hell. well, for some it is i guess.

Touro or COMP...either school is fine! Decide on what suits you best and where you will be happy those first 2 years because in the end, it doesn't matter. you get out what you put in. One of the strengths of the program is the flexibility of it's clinical years...you have a lot of opportunity to rotate at different places. And if there isn't one present, you can make one, which is why 10 of my 11 rotations were back home in San Diego.

Just my 2 cents.

Arnold Cuenca
3 weeks away from MS-IV!!
Western U/COMP

 

[Popoy]

Originally posted by sketchyMcG
Alright now, dont get your panties in a ruffle... I was talking to a HPSP recruiter who indicated that they (The Army) preferred some D.O. schools over others. He specifically mentioned COMP as a school that was at the bottom of thier list, but really had no reason as to why. Is COMP at the lower end of the DO school spectrum or does this guy have his head up his a$$.

Maybe what he meant was that they don't have many Student DO HPSPers from COMP that are HPSPers of the Army. That's why they're in the bottom of their (Army's) list.

I think if you're planning on going to California that you'd chose the Navy HPSP over the Army HPSP as there may be more Naval bases located in Cali as it is located near the ocean.....

Just putting in my two cents....

 

[aecuenca2]

take your reasons with a grain of salt...true, true!

I highly doubt that this year's class had ~60+ students fail their classes (assuming there are 180+ students). In my class, we certainly did not have that many fail those classes combined. I can't EXACTLY remember, but I believe there were ~15 total that failed those two classes combined, with some of those 15 failing both courses! As far as biochem and anatomy being taught poorly, there are positives and negatives, but looking back on that first year, it wasn't that bad. Difficult, yes, but because of the volume moreso than the material itself. this happens at every medical school!

You honestly do not need a laptop if you're a pen and paper kind of person. Handouts are given at every class. The advantage of the laptop is you can download the powerpoint lectures or videos and follow along, or study at home. of course, there are the opportunities of network gaming....

Pomona, the armpit of hell. well, for some it is i guess.

Touro or COMP...either school is fine! Decide on what suits you best and where you will be happy those first 2 years because in the end, it doesn't matter. you get out what you put in. One of the strengths of the program is the flexibility of it's clinical years...you have a lot of opportunity to rotate at different places. And if there isn't one present, you can make one, which is why 10 of my 11 rotations were back home in San Diego.

Just my 2 cents.

Arnold Cuenca
3 weeks away from MS-IV!!
Western U/COMP

 

[tkim]

Originally posted by sketchyMcG
Alright now, dont get your panties in a ruffle... I was talking to a HPSP recruiter who indicated that they (The Army) preferred some D.O. schools over others. He specifically mentioned COMP as a school that was at the bottom of thier list, but really had no reason as to why. Is COMP at the lower end of the DO school spectrum or does this guy have his head up his a$$.

When I talked to a recruiter, he said that all other things being equal, the military would prefer to pay for the person going to a school with a lower tuition, and that it does factor into the selection process.

COMP's tuition is ~$30K. Certainly expensive, but not the most expensive of the DO schools, IIRC.

As to *why* the Army prefers some DO schools over others ... Well, if your recruiter had no reason to give ...

- Tae

 

[rbassdo]

Originally posted by kat13
Also, Pomona may not be one of the most desirable places on earth to live, but, in my opinion, neither is Kirksville, MO.

Whoa, Whoa, Whoa. Why the cheap shot on K'ville? No crime. Perfect environment for studying. The best medical education money can buy - nobody disputes that! Probably the nicest people I've ever met - both locals and people affiliated with KCOM (some people fall under both categories). Extremely low cost of living. There's a SuperWalmart. And...when we want to go to a big city (ie - St. Louis), it takes a road trip to get there. Everybody knows that the best part about going somewhere is the road trip itself! Finally, you can choose not to stay here for years 3 and 4. Most do leave. So, please leave KCOM out of your COMP discussions.

 

[sketchyMcG]

I guess I am a little confused as to why being on the bottom of the Army's list for recruiting would make it a bad school? Maybe they just have a low percentage of students that choose that route as a means for funds, and so they feel like there is no point trying to recruit there (just a hypothesis).

Just to clarify, he was talking about from which schools an acceptance letter would get you the HPSP scholarship. Its not a recruiting list. I dont think that it was a tuition issue either because he said that Nova was one of their favorites and they gotta be one of the most expensive. Thanks for all of the info though, It sure is alot friendlier over here than the A-board!

 

[kat13]

rbassdo-

I am sorry if I offended you with my comment about Kirksville, I really didn't mean anything by it. I interviewed there and absolutely loved the school. Only reason I didn't choose to go to school there was because of the distance between there and my family (Cali is much closer for me). My point was that, even though Kirksville may not be at the top of the list of 'THE places to live', many people do like it there and choose to go there despite what others may say. I was just likening it to the comment about Pomona being the armpit of hell (or whatever was said about it), and that despite people's negative opinions of Pomona, a lot of people choose that place to live. Anyways....sorry about that.

 

[rbassdo]

kat13,

No problem. I was not offended whatsoever because the issue isn't serious enough to warrant that. I just wanted to make sure that people reading this thread knew that Kirksville is not a totally bad place to live - and that, in fact, it's pretty nice. I thought I wasn't going to like living in Kirksville either - coming from a town of 650,000. But, the school is great and living in a more rural area, for a couple years, isn't the worst thing in the world. At least I'll be able to say I've actually done it (diversity points).

Take care,

Ryan

 

[Toejam]

I'm always suspicious when someone offers a blanket indictment with no evidence to back it up.

All I've heard is that anatomy is one of COMP's strong points. Funny that you heard differently. Also, biochem is notoriously difficult at COMP, but that doesn't mean that it's poorly taught. I've also read many posts on comparisons and remember reading that Touro's campus leaves a great deal to be desired. Also, they're very new and have no reputation.

I grew up on the beach in SoCal and I can tell you that you can't discount great weather 320 days out of the year. Pomona, itself, may not be the French Rivera, but there are plenty of nice places to live within 20 minutes of campus. COMP has state of the art study tools and there's a million things to do within 45 minutes to an hour from school.

To me, comparing DO schools is a pointless exercise. Every one of the schools have strengths and weaknesses. By far, the most important factor is YOU! Trust me. I went to podiatry school in the mid-90's and everyone was always talking about the "best" podiatry school. Frankly, it changed every year. All DO schools teach the same stuff. They all offer the same clinical rotations. Everyone gets placed somewhere for a residency. The only wild card in the deck is you and how much you want to put into it.