Western University - Pomona (COMP) Discussion Thread 2016-2017

Applying to Med School? Get In Or Your Money Back
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embyr said:
Just got the "Application on Hold" email too...
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I was given an II after being put on hold so theres still hope
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Members don't see this ad :)
ABoyHasNoName said:
I am also on the hold list since September. Do you mind sharing your stats? I was wondering if they pull off the hold list moving based on MCAT scores?
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CA resident (20 min from pamona) gpa 3.6x mcat 502 URM. Def not mcat lol
 
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Any current students know of any good places to play basketball in the area? It's how I keep the peace in my life lol
 
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darknecrosforte said:
As for cranial WEEK(?). I haven't tasted that grog, but I hope it isn't an actual 5 days.
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Oh, but it is. 8 am to 5 pm with a final exam the week after.

Learn it now so if you happen to be one of the students who end up with a ton of it on step 2 you're not kicking yourself in the foot.
 
Good luck to everyone who interviewed on January 12! The committee is meeting today. Has anyone's banweb status changed?
 
hi can anyone tell me how many weeks off school do Western COMP students have to study for step 1/COMLEX ? is it 7-8 weeks? 2) is the ISSM course helpful and truly boards focus, do you believe it will help towards boards performance? Thank you for any help!
 
ABoyHasNoName said:
Wow dude! Congrats! I'm also CA resident (30 minutes away) at 3.4, 505 still on hold! Hopefully I will join you!
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I have the same stat. Please let me know when you get an II.
 
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Hi! Any current student here? I would love to know about the ISAC program? When does it usually start? Is it worth it? Thanks!
 
ichiko said:
Hi! Any current student here? I would love to know about the ISAC program? When does it usually start? Is it worth it? Thanks!
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So... I did not do ISAC. Had I not been married, I definitely would have - even with an exercise science background. I have had candid discussions with a lot of ISACers and there are several counter-intuitive(?) reasons to do it. I'll start with reasons to consider NOT doing it.

Contraindications for ISAC:
You haven't had an actual good break from academics.
You are in a decent amount of debt or economic insufficiency.
Your significant other wants to spend quality time together before that goes away in med school.
You don't care about the benefits listed below.

Reasons to do ISAC:
You are very inclined to seek student government positions.
You want a super "tight-knit" group of buddies or don't know anyone in your class (A LOT of UCI, UCLA, etc. students happen to know each other before class starts).
You are "meh" at science or anatomy specifically.
You would much rather do every single dissection and be ONLY taking anatomy instead of doing every other dissection and also taking the ECM (clinical), OPP, and ISSM courses at the same time.
You might not like the previous point so much, but you are willing to intentionally get 79% in anatomy over the summer so that you DON'T become an anatomy TA, which gives you an ungodly amount of free time during the first ~8 weeks of med school (You can chill while everyone else is in mandatory anatomy lab).
Money and securing a place to live for 2 extra months isn't a big deal to you.

I noticed that MOST of the student government consists of ISAC students and that there is kinda a different "status" attributed to them. Maybe it's just my nooby class of 2020. At first, you'd think that ISAC is for ppl to remediate science, BUT... it could be said that "gunner"-ish or super serious students also would want to do ISAC. Just things to consider (I doubt you'll get the student ambassadors to say these things). It's 6 weeks and starts in mid-July.
 
darknecrosforte said:
So... I did not do ISAC. Had I not been married, I definitely would have - even with an exercise science background. I have had candid discussions with a lot of ISACers and there are several counter-intuitive(?) reasons to do it. I'll start with reasons to consider NOT doing it.

Contraindications for ISAC:
You haven't had an actual good break from academics.
You are in a decent amount of debt or economic insufficiency.
Your significant other wants to spend quality time together before that goes away in med school.
You don't care about the benefits listed below.

Reasons to do ISAC:
You are very inclined to seek student government positions.
You want a super "tight-knit" group of buddies or don't know anyone in your class (A LOT of UCI, UCLA, etc. students happen to know each other before class starts).
You are "meh" at science or anatomy specifically.
You would much rather do every single dissection and be ONLY taking anatomy instead of doing every other dissection and also taking the ECM (clinical), OPP, and ISSM courses at the same time.
You might not like the previous point so much, but you are willing to intentionally get 79% in anatomy over the summer so that you DON'T become an anatomy TA, which gives you an ungodly amount of free time during the first ~8 weeks of med school (You can chill while everyone else is in mandatory anatomy lab).
Money and securing a place to live for 2 extra months isn't a big deal to you.

I noticed that MOST of the student government consists of ISAC students and that there is kinda a different "status" attributed to them. Maybe it's just my nooby class of 2020. At first, you'd think that ISAC is for ppl to remediate science, BUT... it could be said that "gunner"-ish or super serious students also would want to do ISAC. Just things to consider (I doubt you'll get the student ambassadors to say these things). It's 6 weeks and starts in mid-July.
Click to expand...

do you by any chance know how much the ISAC course costs?
 
SandSide said:
do you by any chance know how much the ISAC course costs?
Click to expand...
I don't know the specifics, but I'm pretty sure that there are extra living expenses due to ~2 months of extra school. I don't know how they handle that. Probably slightly higher loans or people find money on the ground or something >.>
 
darknecrosforte said:
So... I did not do ISAC. Had I not been married, I definitely would have - even with an exercise science background. I have had candid discussions with a lot of ISACers and there are several counter-intuitive(?) reasons to do it. I'll start with reasons to consider NOT doing it.

Contraindications for ISAC:
You haven't had an actual good break from academics.
You are in a decent amount of debt or economic insufficiency.
Your significant other wants to spend quality time together before that goes away in med school.
You don't care about the benefits listed below.

Reasons to do ISAC:
You are very inclined to seek student government positions.
You want a super "tight-knit" group of buddies or don't know anyone in your class (A LOT of UCI, UCLA, etc. students happen to know each other before class starts).
You are "meh" at science or anatomy specifically.
You would much rather do every single dissection and be ONLY taking anatomy instead of doing every other dissection and also taking the ECM (clinical), OPP, and ISSM courses at the same time.
You might not like the previous point so much, but you are willing to intentionally get 79% in anatomy over the summer so that you DON'T become an anatomy TA, which gives you an ungodly amount of free time during the first ~8 weeks of med school (You can chill while everyone else is in mandatory anatomy lab).
Money and securing a place to live for 2 extra months isn't a big deal to you.

I noticed that MOST of the student government consists of ISAC students and that there is kinda a different "status" attributed to them. Maybe it's just my nooby class of 2020. At first, you'd think that ISAC is for ppl to remediate science, BUT... it could be said that "gunner"-ish or super serious students also would want to do ISAC. Just things to consider (I doubt you'll get the student ambassadors to say these things). It's 6 weeks and starts in mid-July.
Click to expand...

Do these early connections through ISAC help in determining small groups?


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darknecrosforte said:
So... I did not do ISAC. Had I not been married, I definitely would have - even with an exercise science background. I have had candid discussions with a lot of ISACers and there are several counter-intuitive(?) reasons to do it. I'll start with reasons to consider NOT doing it.

Contraindications for ISAC:
You haven't had an actual good break from academics.
You are in a decent amount of debt or economic insufficiency.
Your significant other wants to spend quality time together before that goes away in med school.
You don't care about the benefits listed below.

Reasons to do ISAC:
You are very inclined to seek student government positions.
You want a super "tight-knit" group of buddies or don't know anyone in your class (A LOT of UCI, UCLA, etc. students happen to know each other before class starts).
You are "meh" at science or anatomy specifically.
You would much rather do every single dissection and be ONLY taking anatomy instead of doing every other dissection and also taking the ECM (clinical), OPP, and ISSM courses at the same time.
You might not like the previous point so much, but you are willing to intentionally get 79% in anatomy over the summer so that you DON'T become an anatomy TA, which gives you an ungodly amount of free time during the first ~8 weeks of med school (You can chill while everyone else is in mandatory anatomy lab).
Money and securing a place to live for 2 extra months isn't a big deal to you.

I noticed that MOST of the student government consists of ISAC students and that there is kinda a different "status" attributed to them. Maybe it's just my nooby class of 2020. At first, you'd think that ISAC is for ppl to remediate science, BUT... it could be said that "gunner"-ish or super serious students also would want to do ISAC. Just things to consider (I doubt you'll get the student ambassadors to say these things). It's 6 weeks and starts in mid-July.
Click to expand...

Thank you so much! Did you mean mid-June? Not mid July?

Is this invite only program? When do they usually send out information regarding this?? Is taking anatomy in undergrad a requirement?

Thank you so much once again!
 
ichiko said:
Thank you so much! Did you mean mid-June? Not mid July?

Is this invite only program? When do they usually send out information regarding this?? Is taking anatomy in undergrad a requirement?

Thank you so much once again!
Click to expand...

Having taken anatomy OR physiology is a requirement. Just heard this from a faculty member at COMP via email. So, as I haven't done either, will have to do flashcards/etc. informally ...and reap the side benefit of enjoying my summer.
 
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warmupsweats said:
Having taken anatomy OR physiology is a requirement. Just heard this from a faculty member at COMP via email. So, as I haven't done either, will have to do flashcards/etc. informally ...and reap the side benefit of enjoying my summer.
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So... on the topic of flashcards...
I am a huge advocate of spaced-repetition software and digital flashcards. They let me play my vidja games and comfortably pass classes whilst simultaneously accumulating a vast amount of USMLE prep via Brosencephalon + class minutiae. However... unless you are a god of pumping out great cards regularly or have a competent group ready and willing, keep the cards to a minimum and try to learn anatomy with your body and spirit (in a semi-serious way). Now IF I were to do it all over again, I would make cards for the "Clinical Correlations" sections of Moore's Clinically-Oriented Anatomy ONLY. And I would almost exclusively learn from finished dissections as much as possible. I would have not made ~2000 Anki cards and drew pathways half-assed like I did lol. If you pay attention to lecture (in-person or ECHO) and then don't leave lab until you 100% can identify structures and relationships, you can theoretically cover EVERYTHING by looking at those clinical sections to see what common injuries are or whatever.
 
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Has anyone from the January 12 interview date heard back via portal?
 
darknecrosforte said:
So... on the topic of flashcards...
I am a huge advocate of spaced-repetition software and digital flashcards. They let me play my vidja games and comfortably pass classes whilst simultaneously accumulating a vast amount of USMLE prep via Brosencephalon + class minutiae. However... unless you are a god of pumping out great cards regularly or have a competent group ready and willing, keep the cards to a minimum and try to learn anatomy with your body and spirit (in a semi-serious way). Now IF I were to do it all over again, I would make cards for the "Clinical Correlations" sections of Moore's Clinically-Oriented Anatomy ONLY. And I would almost exclusively learn from finished dissections as much as possible. I would have not made ~2000 Anki cards and drew pathways half-assed like I did lol. If you pay attention to lecture (in-person or ECHO) and then don't leave lab until you 100% can identify structures and relationships, you can theoretically cover EVERYTHING by looking at those clinical sections to see what common injuries are or whatever.
Click to expand...

just watched a video on spaced-retention-- wow, can't believe i wasn't already doing this. as i understand your post, you suggest to do this with anki cards in most instances, but for anatomy you suggest otherwise? so much good info here that i just want to make sure i'm getting it right. would really love to hit the ground running in terms of effecient study habits, and you seem to have made a priority of it, so any words you have on that in general or specific would be greatly appreciated (for myself and probably all other incoming COMP students as well).
 
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warmupsweats said:
just watched a video on spaced-retention-- wow, can't believe i wasn't already doing this. as i understand your post, you suggest to do this with anki cards in most instances, but for anatomy you suggest otherwise? so much good info here that i just want to make sure i'm getting it right. would really love to hit the ground running in terms of effecient study habits, and you seem to have made a priority of it, so any words you have on that in general or specific would be greatly appreciated (for myself and probably all other incoming COMP students as well).
Click to expand...
This is kinda what I'm saying. Anki is good for keeping stuff that you understand inside your head. This does NOT apply to anatomy. You can't make enough cards to cover every single scenario. It's like learning the layout of a person's room. You can make 2000 cards of single facts or you can walk through the room a few times and smell the formalin and squish the guts. Anki WILL help you remember what Morrison's pouch is (because Dr. Safaoui tells you that surgeons like them clinical names).

In the micro/immuno/pharm class I'm in right now, we just finished the infamous spirit-breaking 2nd exam. Anki has generally helped everyone who has used it, to varying degrees. I know that it hurts the grades of the people who write more than 2 decks per day. It certainly has not turned any honors student into a failing one though. N = 1 for this exam specifically, one person randomly picked up Anki over the weekend to prep for the exam (~1000 cards) and scored the best they've done in med school so far. In another case, a person who used it since day 1 performed the worst they've done (but admits mindless memorization with little understanding accounted for some of it). The semi-rule I noticed though... is that Anki people are able to review old material easily and don't feel like they brain-dumped months later.

Upperclassmen have offered Anki decks they have made for classes, but I see vague prompt on one side and a paragraph on the other. Not my cup of tea. Find this on Amazon or whatever: http://www.learningmedicinebook.com/ You literally need no other study book or strategy (aside from professor-specific advice from upperclassmen). For this school specifically, remember to maintain your logic/geometric reasoning. If COMP curriculum is not good for USMLE-prep, you must accept that excellent grades can take a back seat to Boards prep. If it IS good for USMLE, then you MUST learn the learning objectives and as much minutiae as you can. But evidence shows that the curriculum does NOT help the average student in standardized-testing/non-clinical settings (see years of posts by WesternU students). I suggest not letting the awkward incompetence phase of learning SRS software and C grades stop you from adapting to a long-term strategy of learning. And if you can start learning this stuff early and finding like-minded people (who are most likely NOT interested in the specialties you like right now) to share the burden, you can become mega beasts. I find that 4 people is enough if you're devoted and have faith in the Anki angel, but 6 would probably be ideal for when 1-2 of you have other commitments due to life. Also... don't pay for Osmosis until they actually do things... >.> I'll leave it at that.
 
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warmupsweats said:
just watched a video on spaced-retention-- wow, can't believe i wasn't already doing this. as i understand your post, you suggest to do this with anki cards in most instances, but for anatomy you suggest otherwise? so much good info here that i just want to make sure i'm getting it right. would really love to hit the ground running in terms of effecient study habits, and you seem to have made a priority of it, so any words you have on that in general or specific would be greatly appreciated (for myself and probably all other incoming COMP students as well).
Click to expand...
Can you paste the link to that video here? Thanks!
 
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ABoyHasNoName said:
II today!! Stay hopeful and send a continued interest update! Best of luck!
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When were you complete and when did you send an update? Looking for hope to getting an II soon...
 
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Accepted via BanWeb portal today! Interviewed on 1/12 as part of yellow group. It says "Institution Acceptance". Top choice (as I am Cali resident). For those of you who have been accepted, are we supposed to get an email/mail giving us more detail on what to do next??
 
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Colle's Fracture said:
Accepted via BanWeb portal today! Interviewed on 1/12 as part of yellow group. It says "Institution Acceptance". Top choice (as I am Cali resident). For those of you who have been accepted, are we supposed to get an email/mail giving us more detail on what to do next??
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Congratulations! That is awesome to hear. My portal is still empty.
 
Colle's Fracture said:
Accepted via BanWeb portal today! Interviewed on 1/12 as part of yellow group. It says "Institution Acceptance". Top choice (as I am Cali resident). For those of you who have been accepted, are we supposed to get an email/mail giving us more detail on what to do next??
Click to expand...
You will then receive a letter in the mail not email, which will provide you with all the instructions of what to do next
 
SandSide said:
@darknecrosforte hi, I was wondering what do you think of the ISSM course thus far? Do you believe it helps towards prep for USMLE step 1?
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It's kind of not a "course". You know how you have some classes where they sometimes play a video or movie for you to watch because of some lesson, but you're thinking "why can't I do this on my own time?" That's what ISSM does. They assign "homework" over the semester and give you a few months to complete it for a grade (Ultrasound simulator, ethics work, "wellness" presentations). The mandatory lectures they have every once in a while aren't too big of a deal. You pull your clicker out, press a random button, and continue studying ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

They require 10 Kaplan QBank questions to be completed per course taken cumulatively, and every semester will have NBME exams on the cumulative subjects. Currently, there is a culture of "Well if it's just pass/fail and failing means being in the bottom 2.5% of test-takers, I don't need to study" when it comes to this exam. That's stupid. If people want to glorify UWorld, but waste rare chances to test themselves with the writers of the USMLE (at a DO school), then that is extremely stupid imo. Another thing it does is screw up the people who scored 2 stdev above the mean because they don't know if they "legit" beat the others, or if the others "were lazy". Based on what I've seen/heard, most of the people at this school who do well on USMLE will take it very seriously and start EARLY on board prep.

To answer the 2nd question, yes. I know that the ISSM stuff is probably the only USMLE-related stuff that most of the class would be attempting before dedicated. The average DO student needs to be beaten with a stick (with the 55% score on an exam) to see how unprepared they would be compared to a USC student, who is groomed to do excellent on the USMLE.
 
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darknecrosforte said:
It's kind of not a "course". You know how you have some classes where they sometimes play a video or movie for you to watch because of some lesson, but you're thinking "why can't I do this on my own time?" That's what ISSM does. They assign "homework" over the semester and give you a few months to complete it for a grade (Ultrasound simulator, ethics work, "wellness" presentations). The mandatory lectures they have every once in a while aren't too big of a deal. You pull your clicker out, press a random button, and continue studying ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

They require 10 Kaplan QBank questions to be completed per course taken cumulatively, and every semester will have NBME exams on the cumulative subjects. Currently, there is a culture of "Well if it's just pass/fail and failing means being in the bottom 2.5% of test-takers, I don't need to study" when it comes to this exam. That's stupid. If people want to glorify UWorld, but waste rare chances to test themselves with the writers of the USMLE (at a DO school), then that is extremely stupid imo. Another thing it does is screw up the people who scored 2 stdev above the mean because they don't know if they "legit" beat the others, or if the others "were lazy". Based on what I've seen/heard, most of the people at this school who do well on USMLE will take it very seriously and start EARLY on board prep.

To answer the 2nd question, yes. I know that the ISSM stuff is probably the only USMLE-related stuff that most of the class would be attempting before dedicated. The average DO student needs to be beaten with a stick (with the 55% score on an exam) to see how unprepared they would be compared to a USC student, who is groomed to do excellent on the USMLE.
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Some heros don't wear capes. They post actually useful things on SDN.


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IcedAmericano said:
Anyone get off of the interview waitlist?
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I am not sure of that, but I am guessing they are not pulling off the waitlist yet. Did your portal update when you were waitlisted? I am still waiting to hear back from 1/12 interview.
 
SandSide said:
I got accepted this year with no DO letter, i had one MD letter instead
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Can you PM me your stat and EC activities? I got an II from Western in 2014, but even with a better MCAT score, I haven't received one this cycle. I wonder if Western prefer first-time applicants to others.
 
After checking my BanWeb for literally the 100th time since Jan 12.....

I checked it again to find Institution Acceptance!! Unless I get into my state MD school, I will be attending.
 
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Has anyone been gotten an interview after being placed on hold?
 
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