Western University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific Interview Feedback Summary
Pomona, CA
Osteopathic Medical Schools | Private Non-Profit
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Overall, applicants ranked the school in the top 32% of interviews, indicating it is moderately regarded. They found the interview generally impressive with a moderate stress level and felt they did well.
⭐ Overall Impressions ▼
SDN Interview Experience Score
7.4
Good
Generally favorable experience overall, applicants reported positive interactions with some minor issues noted.
Based on 1,451 responses
Score Reference:
9–10 Exceptional
8–8.9 Very Good
7–7.9 Good
6–6.9 Mixed
< 6 Needs Improvement
The SDN Interview Experience Score (SIES) is a composite metric that represents applicants overall impressions of their interview experience, based on multiple factors such as professionalism, facilities, responsiveness, and stress levels.
What was the stress level of the interview?
Most respondents rated their interview as average stress.
How do you rank this school among ALL other schools?
Most respondents rank this school above all other schools.
How did the interview impress you?
Most respondents felt positively about their interview.
Positively (70%)
Negatively (11%)
No change (20%)
How you think you did?
Most respondents thought they performed well at the interview.
Great (32%)
Good (50%)
Average (16%)
Poor (2%)
Bad (1%)
What are your general comments?
Applicants generally shared mixed feedback about their interview experiences at the school. Some found the interviews to be laid-back and informative, with friendly interviewers and a welcoming atmosphere. Others expressed concerns about the location, the surrounding area, the interview process, and the level of enthusiasm displayed by staff and faculty.
Top 5 Responses: (Click below to see additional responses)
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It you can get past the bad Inland Empire location, smog and undesirable neighborhood/campus you can likely learn medicine here. Faculty seemed average for a DO program, not the worse I've seen, not the best. Yes you can live in nicer neighborhoods nearby and commute to school (Claremont) but Claremont is basically an island surrounded by undesirable areas.
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It was a very short and easy to manage interview day. The staff and faculty were very welcoming and spent a lot of time talking about the school and their personal experiences. It was nice to be able to watch the admissions presentations ahead of time.
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It was pretty chill and laid back, there weren't any curveballs or questions that I wouldn't expect.
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Great school, very friendly interviews, genuine want to get to know you!
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This school has a long history of producing excellent board scores and residency matches. It's an amazing school.
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Pomona isn't the most interesting town, but the downtown looks cute and is right next to the school. I would highly recommend attending the dinner with students the night before the interview- I learned a lot from that session!
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The people is what makes the school and ultimately why I chose it.
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Great school, strong curriculum, excellent professors, best state to study medicine
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I LOVE THIS SCHOOL. I'm hoping for that acceptance in 2 weeks.
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Overall, a great institution to learn Osteopathic Medicine. IMO I believe WesternU/COMP is one of the DO schools in the country, if not the best. Excellent clinical rotations throughout the SoCal metropolitan area.
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There is really NO way to prepare for the MMI so just stay calm and be yourself!
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I liked the school. I'm not sure I want to live in this part of CA.
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Excellent school! Relaxed interview.
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Wish this wasnt a DO school lol
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The campus is nice but the town is sketchy.
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The campus is nice and the interview day as a whole was very informative and helpful. The staff and students were all friendly and willing to answer questions. The presentation on osteopathy at the end was very interesting.
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This is an amazing school. I want to go here!
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I'm in love with this school and I know you'll be too!
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Amazing little school! The OMM and anatomy seems very very strong here and the basic sciences are more clinically focused (the research is very weak in comparison to a university). It is a very clinically focused school so if you want to be a clinician this is your place.
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School seems solid, just locate in a sketchy area.
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I really was impressed by the school. I definately would consider going if offered admission. The school was really cute-I am a fan of adobe-style architecture. As a HPSP student hoping to become career military physician, I was really impressed by the fact they have military clinical rotations available. The staff and faculty seem to be real helpful. They have nice facilities, and laptop plugins at every seat. Only downside--SMOG! I am a big enviromentalist.
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I think this school provides an excellent education, and the curriculum looks very solid.
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Aside from the hotel stay, all was well. I really fell in love with the school and I should find out today if I got in... Another thing to be prepared for- about 50 students interviewed with me. It was cool to talk to so many premeds but I had no idea that's how interviews went at Western. And there are three diff interview panels. And in the morning you are assigned a panel and a time. I interviewed with an immunology doc and a PhD from Japan. (I was able to understand her well, but I talked to a guy after the interviews and he said he had a really hard time answering her questions).
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Stay in the Fariplex Suites under the Western Rate if you can afford it ($119/ night), the regular rate is $269 and the room is like a small aparment with a great bar and great food. I slept well and watched TV on one of two flat screens in my room.
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Overall seems like a great school. the students i talked to all seem really happy with the education they are getting.
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Overall, i really didn't think the interview was that bad. I was really nervous and was hyperventilating right before my interview, but calmed down as i talked about myself in the interview. I think the interviewers were really nice people. If you look at the questions below, it looks like they were grilling me. But from the vibe that I got, i felt like they were playing devils advocate on me rather than grilling on me just to see where I stood on my positions and if i could think critically on my feet. So my advice would be just to relax and be yourself (i know easier said than done.) They really aren't there to get you and pick on your flaws. The interview goes by really fast and before you know it you're done.
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I had the highest opinion of the school already going into the interview, so no change in my view. FYI, I had a relatively laid back interview.. conversational, but others had really abrasive interviewers and tough ethics questions.... luck of the draw.
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It was a good experience, they offer a lot of information about the curriculum, tuition etc. I was impressed until the point of the interview where the interviewers were very stand-off-ish, and others who interviewed with the same 3 that I did had the same response. It was not encouraging at all, and made me change my feeling about the school.
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Overall this is my number one school in CA! [Fiance is established here so I want to stay in state] They have the best facilities/curriculum and are #1 in the Comlex 2's I believe!
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Interesting that a non-refundable $1000 tuition deposit is due december 1st, so essentially i need to have decided between all schools by then. ughh
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This was my first interview. If all of my interviews are this awesome, though, I'm going to have a hard time making choices.
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If your coming from out of state the Shilo is an awesome option. The pick you up at the airport, take you to western, and from western to the airport. Its a way nice hotel and saves renting a car
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Schools felt the best among the 4 that i interviewed at (RVU, ATSU-SOMA, and lecome-bradenton), but purely personal opinion. The result comes pretty fast, mail arrive within 2 weeks after interview. If you have acceptance elsewhere, can fax over acceptance letter and request result within 1 week. Actual notification of interview post-2nd took a month though. Time line: 2nd submit by mid Feb, interview notice receive by mid March, April 9th interview, April 14th acquired accepted result, April 22 received mail. Whole trip was quite expensive for me since I lived in Toronto. I would recommend the Ontario airport (tho smaller and less flight), it is very close to school compare to LAX.
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I really like this school, I think its going to be a great fit for both my wife and myself. I would definitely attend here. Plus the new medical building will be opening in the fall, which is really nice. *Note about travel cost* My expense was high because my wife came with me and we stayed a couple days because we have friends that live in the area.
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Really great school, great students, and the area immediately surrounding the school is not as gnar as everyone makes it out to be.
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The interview was the least conversational of all my interviews which got me nervous.
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Overall impression of the school was positive.
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Kinda of a long day with lots of down time, but very informative.
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This is my top choice, and I am from California, so I am probably biased. I can forgive the area. If you think downtown Pomona is bad, try downtown Oakland or Richmond. Trust me, there are far worse areas in California. The campus layout itself is nice - it's very linear with the nice courtyard in the middle. The admissions folk weren't as informative as they were at other schools, but that's fine.
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*Call or email admissions office beforehand to see if they have any questions about your file or transcripts. It will save you a bit of anxiety come orientation. Otherwise I had a great day and I am looking forward to hearing back.
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I hope I get in!
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I did like the school, but I am not 100% sold on it. Tuition alone is about $45k for the first 2 years and then increases by about 20% for your final 2 years. During the various presentations it became apparent that most DOs do not use OMM regularly. The faculty and staff were very friendly and helpful.
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Either I did really really well or really really bad on this interview because they didn't ask me a lot of question. They only asked the basic questions that I listed below. I didn't get any ethical questions or weakness, strength, how to deal with interpersonal conflict or any of that. I think I talked a lot during the interview. I basically explained everything in great details about what I did as an undergraduate, so I guess they didn't have to ask. Honestly, the interview atmosphere is not as intimidate as I had anticipated. Be prepared, though, since you need to know what you are talking about. I don't know if it really works, (I read this tips from an interview book) but you can point your toes upward when u get nervous and shaky. This will help relax your body muscle and calm you down.
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It's a better school than people give it credit for. When the new buildings are finished in 2010 it'll be even better and have a patient care center and even more facilities.
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The admissions counselors were amazing, the campus is bigger and nicer than i excepted. Would probably have considered it my first choice if the interview wasn't so uncomfortable.
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Interview was quick and to the point. Mostly clarifications on what was on my secondary. Then afterwards more conversational, more about what time was my flight and some other interesting questions about family background etc.
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My group (20 interviewed this day) was so serious and you could tell ultra competitive.
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Hilarious note: Definitely accidentally mentioned the WRONG school name when asking questions at the end of the interview-- woops!! But even with this massive and embarrassing error, I was accepted! Two other interviewees I know felt very uncomfortable about their interviews here and were accepted as well, so I think the main idea is that they try to pick at your weaknesses and see how well you handle pressure.
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Other students with the same interviewers got the usual ethical/political questions..For some reason they didn't bring anything like that up for me. Still my top choice. Wait and see...
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This school is awsome!
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Great school, great people, they really care about your success
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Western is a nice school. It's not too big so you don't have to walk too much to get to places. The buildings are quite nice, with plenty of daylight. Students seem happy and the faculty and staff seem truly wonderful. I may end up going there!
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I hope they send us a survey about the interview day. This school was one of my top choices before the interview, but now I feel less inclined to go here. I know they are still strong academically and I would be happy there, but they really could have done a better job selling the school I think.
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Awesome school. My top choice.
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I was pleasantly surprised with western, I went in expecting to not like it, but it seems like a really great school and I could see myself there.
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Its a good school. The admistration cares about its students. It produces good doctors. I just don't like L.A. in general and pomona specifically. But I would make the best of it and enjoy my education.
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The campus was friendly and you get a sense that everyone there, even faculty and staff, like Western U.
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Look at the other interviews....the one prior is probably better said than I ever could!
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My feedback is below....i really dont have anything negative to say about the school. Very excited students and faculty, and they let you know that they love their school. Read the rest of my feedback below.... One thing i've read on here a few times is that people were turned away by the fact that there is a train station right behind campus.... so I asked "have there been problems with the noise of the train coming through during exams or studying or anything like that" and she said that they went through this legal process and their schools is considered a "quiet zone" so trains can't honk or make any unnecessary noise while they drive through. A train came through while we were walking outside and it seriously wasnt even that loud. No way you'd be able to hear it from an inside building during an exam or class. So yea, dont let the train tracks scare you away, it appears they ahve done their best to minimize the disturbance. One thing one of the speakers mentioned was the surrounding area of the school. A lot of people on SDN complain about how "the area is bad" or "its not very pretty" or something to the effect that the area aroudn the school is "poor." The presenter made a very good point....their school is in the PERFECT place for their mission. Its right in the middle of an underserved and underrepresented community. Its not friken beverly hills people (my own words). So, get over the fact that the surrounding area isn't mansions and pool houses and realize the school is serving a community that is in need of quality health care.
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Dean Adams is great. I'm really impressed with the school, with the students, and am very happy to be starting here this August.
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I had a lovely experience at Western and I hope to start school this August.
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I wasn't happy that they accused me of things that were clearly not in my record. They seemed very bored and uninterested in interviewing me. The students were not enthusiastic at all. Many do not attend class because they said the lecturers are poor at teaching and gaining student enthusiasm. If I were to do it all over again, I would have been more daring and assertive in calling them on their games/disinterest. Since it was my first interview, I was really nervous. I chose another school. They also had us sit in a very dim, large room for a couple of hours in the afternoon while we waited to interview. Here, chairs were side-by-side, so it was hard to talk to fellow interviewees. It seems they want in-state students.
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The interview was pleasant. It was very conversational and not argumentative or probing. They were suppose to be group interviews (panel), but they evidently didn't have enough staff, so they were one on one. The campus doesn't really have a school "campus" feel and it is also not in the best area.
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It was sterile. Both lacked humor and were not personable. One person was asking questions while the other looked like he'd rather be anywhere but there. He took off his shoe and stretched/yawned in the middle, looking absolutely bored. I tried to be friendly, but they responded with more droning. I had to take initiative on my own to tell them about myself, they did not ask many probing questions.
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Great
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I wish I hadn't gone. The interviewers spent less than 30 mins with me and one of them, a faculty, was really condescending.
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Up until the actual interviews it was pretty good. (However it was unfortunate that they didn't have keys to open up and show us the OMM lab.) Everyone was very friendly. Current students told me that I was shortchanged getting the interviewers that I had - they were definitely not representative of the osteopathic faculty.
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Overall, good conversational interview. They really seemed interested in what I had to say.
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I came with a positive attitude and had a great time meeting my potential classmates. The faculty made me feel like they actually wanted me to attend their school and that was something that I have not experienced during this process :)
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I really wanted to give Western a chance due to its proximity to Orange County. I was accepted to Western but don't think I will be attending. It's not the worst experience I have ever had but I didn't make me want to attend.
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Overall I had a great time. The staff all were really nice and enthusiastic, our tour guide was very informative. We were given the opportunity to sit in a class, which I wish I had done. It was nerve racking waiting for my interview but not too uncommon to make you wait.
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I wish they had students give the tour of the campus. I think that my interview day didn't quite impress me about Western. The staff seemed dull and not so enthusiastic. It's not just the school interviewing me, but it's also an opportunity for the school to show me what's so great about them to make me want to choose their program. They certainly did not do a good job of impressing me.
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The Dean was horrible. A girl asked if Western tries to help students get DO & MD residency spots and his response was, ''I do not care....pause..I hope you stay DO.'' I'm not sure if that is the attitude with the rest of the staff there but its def his opinion. The financial aid lady was the softest spoken-shy lady I've every met. Almost fell asleep. Everything about the school turned me off except for my interviewer (awesome guy)
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I liked that the interview was after lunch and after you are given the chance to see what the school has to offer. I was much better prepared to answer the 'Why Western' question I was given. Also, read the interview questions that our peers posted on here carefully, I was virtually not asked any questions that I had not previously read here (besides my file-specific questions). This is a great resource!
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It was fun chatting with people and trying to relax. the two groups had a tour and at the end we interviewed. man we wait a long time for the interviews. and Yes the tour guide was very beautiful.
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Students were divided into 2 groups and went on tour at the same time. Then went back to a lecture hall to watch the American Health Journal video (~30 mins long). Financial aid lady went over financial aid stuff. Assistant dean went over new organ system based curriculum. Then the dean did a pep talk, followed by med students q&a session. We interviewed after lunch.
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Its a very okay school. Like everyone else says... pick a school on what you feel is important to you. To me, this was one of the worst schools I interviewed at. It's a very mediocre program. Nothing outstanding...except that the clinicals are better...but other than that...its nothing to brag about.
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Interview was good people are extremely friendly, its just that after seeing the place I probably dont want to go there.
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Two interviewers. One was very friendly and one seemed convinced I wanted to go to an MD school, but I made my best effort to explain that I wanted to go to Western.
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This is my top choice. The area of the school isn't that great, but the school grounds are safe and farily comfortable. The staff/faculty is top-notch, and the curriculum is outstanding.
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Morning tour, 2 hour orientation, lunch with students, Q&A with students (2nd year i think), wait around for interviews.
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Was really awesome, I was nervous walking into the interview, but the moment I got in I relaxed and acted like myself. At the end of it we were all laughing and just talking like peers. They asked me how I plan on staying sane in medical school and how id cope with the stressors etc.. etc.. the questions werent too taxing and so was really low key.
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It was very relaxed. Just the usual tour and talking with people. The students seemed excited that gave the interview however I later ran into two others who were a little bit less excited. I guess it all depends. Just be polite, honest, and seriously...RELAX!! It is just talking to other people, not a test. Remember that they interview about 600 but offer 400+ acceptances. If you have an interview they obviously want you so just relax and you will be accepted.
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I had a really great time at the interview. It started off with a campus tour and I had a half hour afterwards to poke around before the orientation started. I spoke to some med students, who spoke to me about the professors and their course-load. The orientation part is really boring--sitting around for two hours without a break is tough. Lunch was nice; this is a great opportunity to ask med students about the university. My group was pretty quiet, we were all nervous I guess. The interviews are afterwards. I went in first, but bring reading material just in case. All my questions were standard--no surprises. They really encourage sitting in classes after the interview, the admissions staff will even show you which classroom to go in to.
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It was good overall, I felt comfortable and relaxed.
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It was ok, like I said before, there was a long wait. But overall, the interviewer was nice, I messed up and when he asked me about my mcat score and if i was happy, i said no, then he asked, well if you think you can do better, why not retake it again. I think he really looks at the score which kinda sucks. other than that he was friendly and understanding. He made it like a conversation besides his notetaking.
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Very relaxed. The interviewer was not ''out to get'' me or trying to trip me up. Very straightforward.
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Don't wear a black suit, they don't care. They want you to be yourself and I was able to do that here. I Loved it and will definitely attend if they give me the opportunity.
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Overall the interview was not too difficult and interviewers were friendly, but I get a feeling that they know they're getting good students so they aren't trying to impress/recruit me. I feel like other DO schools I've interviewed at know that I have good numbers on paper and they were nicer to me I guess hoping that I'd go to their schools.
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Pomona is a dirty place but it is getting better. The school is in Pomona, but you don't have to live there. Good place to go to school.
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The day went well, they gave a good overview of the curriculum and student benefits, as well as financial considerations. The interview itself was not high-pressure, but waiting 1.5 hours was a little brutal.
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Like most places, it didn't seem like they read my application more than glanced at it moments before. But, the interview was fairly low stress, more like a conversation.
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Morning session was very informative. I happened to be interviewed by two pharmacology professors, a 2-on-1.
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One of the interviewers were extremeley nice, the other one asked many ethical questions that were not related to medicine in the United States.
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Wonderful
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Good experience. Good first interview. Prepare for a lot of ethical questions (I was thankful I did)--I literally was asked at least five. Definitely know your application well and be prepared to answer lots of detailed questions about it.
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Good. a little bit of a stress interview but nothing too bad. I like the idea of being in southern california and think it will be a great experience at a great school
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I was personally offended by one of the interviewers. He was out of control. The other guy came to my defense and asked fair questions.
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I really enjoyed it. I was very relaxed, partly because of my own disposition, but mostly because they promoted a relaxed atmosphere. They were open with all aspects of their school, and the administration was unbelievably friendly and outgoing.
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Laid back. The other interviewer did not show, I guess it's supposed to be 2-on-1. Pretty cut and dry questions. Everyone gets the same basic questions with a few related directly to your app. Know what OMM is!
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Overall a smooth and worthwhile experience. I was suprised that the dean of the school came down to talk to us. He was a charming guy.
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I was laid-back and fun
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The students were enthusiastic about their school, they felt they had a real voice on campus. I was surprised by how run-down the surrounding community was. 1/3 of the storefronts from the freeway to the school were out of business. You could tell that there is gentrification in progress, and it's not the worst area I've ever been in by any means but it's not nice either. I got to the school early, and the security guards checked me out to make sure I wasn't a random person on campus. I saw them kick two (homeless?) people off the campus. There's not fence around the school, so people wander in all the time. One of the student guides said that that most people didn't live in Pomona, that they lived in Clairemont and commuted. She also said that she's friendly with the security guards so that they will walk her to her car every day, saying that the area's not that safe. Another guide said that the lived in a regular apartment complex near the school his first year, and he said that it didn't really work out (noise, too many families) but he lives in the helix (which fills up fast) and he liked it. When the Dean spoke he kept stressing that they've accepting a higher caliber student now, and that the school is growing (pharmD, dental school, I think another one). This kind of worried me because that means large tuition increases and less $$/attention for the DO program. Also, I just got the feeling that they were more interested in getting students with impressive stats rather than focusing on the overall strength of the applicant. Major turnoff. Given the feedback from the majority of the interviewers, I was expecting a relatively friendly interview, but I was totally wrong! I was also under the weather, which they knew, so I wasn't at my ''A game'' and sort of rambled a bit. Still, my interview was definitely a stress interview!! One of my interviewers was a new professor (anatomy I think), and I had a lot of trouble understanding his English. I had to have him clarify one question a few times (''What is the one thing that a patient wants to hear''), and when I didn't give him the answer he wanted he asked again 3-4 times. He did the same thing on another question (''What advice have your M.D. parents given you about being a clinician''), and seemed to be looking for a very specific answers to two very broad questions. He made me uncomfortable and jumpy, because I had trouble understanding what he was saying and I couldn't figure out what he wanted to hear. The other interviewer then grilled me about my first semester ochem grade. I was totally surprised, and that really threw me off guard, particularly given my overall good gpa, good second semester ochem grade & MCAT.
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I had already been accepted elsewhere and had a big trip planned the following day, so I wasn't as enthusiastic as I probably should have been going to the interview. However, I really did like what I saw especially during the morning presentations. You get the feeling that the school is really well-established in the area and they've got a good program. I'm not terribly excited by the inland empire (hot, dry weather or air-quality) but you figure it's close enough to a lot of other, more interesting things. My interview itself was, as I've seen described here before, a stress interview. I can't actually remember all of the questions, because they kind of came at me rapid fire. My interviewers (who were described as a ''tough crowd'' by the tour guides I saw afterward) weren't very ''nice'' listeners. I didn't get many encouraging nods or even the idea that they were satisfied by my answers. I do understand that it's an interview and they're not there to mollycoddle you, but I didn't feel they were ''just trying to get to know me''. I'd say, be prepared to get the difficult questions you read about on here, because another interviewee I saw got asked the ''would you turn your addicted colleague'' question so they seem to recycle the same questions. I wondered if they thought I had been lying on my applications as they asked me a lot of questions that were directly on my application (such as motivations for pursuing DO...it's one of the essays for god sakes!). Also I'd say don't be afraid to ask for clarification, because even though they seemed to expect me to be spot-on with my answers and explanations, my interviewers could be a bit rambling in their questions, so that by the end of the soliloquy I wasn't quite sure how many questions they'd asked. Overall, very UN-fun. But I do like the school...
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The traffic in the morning was crap-tastic... However, the day was pleasant, overall, once you got there. The info sessions in the morning were helpful, the tour was nice, and the people were great... the admissions staff actually chatted with me near the end of the day for a good 20 minutes. The afternoon session was long because I was the last one of the whole group to interview... I don't think I interviewed until 4pm and we got done with our tour at 1pm! My advice: bring a book, just in case... and of course, don't schedule your flight out until much later than that because, again, traffic was crap-tastic.
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I ended up liking the school much more than I thought it would. It is a growing school as they are adding vet and podiatry schools (I think). I was told that by 2009 the DOs will have a whole new building the the pharms will take over the whole building they ccurrently share with the DOs. I think it is pretty cool that you have PTs, vets, pharms, DOs, nurses, and other fields all in the same area...I think this is an up and coming school even though it has been around for a while.
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Friendly and personal. They were interested in my honest opinions and they were honest with me about the school, for better or worse. (For example, I asked them about the negative aspects of the school, and they told me).
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They were very nice, they laughed at even a small/bad jokes, combed through every number/fact on my application, but they definitely grilled me with a few ethical questions and they weren't afraid to challenge my answers or further extend the complexity of the ethical questions (but they did it in a very nice way), and they genuinely seemed to care about answering my questions
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It was a wonderful experience, and I felt well prepared, and did pretty well on the interview. In the morning, I walked in kinda nervous, but I feel better and better and more and more confident in myself as the morning pass by. And by the afternoon, I walked in, into the interview, relaxed and confident.
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First off, I was among the first few to reach the school on the day of the interview. There were no signs or information about the interviews at the building till about 15 minutes after the check in time. The interview itself was very conversational. And I met some really awesome people (other students coming to interview at the school).
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This was my first interview so I admit this is a comparison to my expectations and not to another experience. Overall I was most disappointed in the “doctor factory†feeling I got from the school, simply turning out as many doctors as they can for a profit. I did not sense any real dedication to the community. On the contrary it seemed to try to separate itself as much as possible from the surrounding area. I was also disappointed by the interview process in general. I felt like this was my time to really show how I was a strong, unique candidate. It provided me with little opportunity to demonstrate this and seemed like everyone was just going through the motions. This was most likely due to my own failure to find the most appropriate way to accomplish this, and I realize that everyone is a strong unique applicant otherwise they would not be interviewing. Ultimately I realized this was all a formality and that I had made a bigger deal of it in my mind. They get back to you really quickly and in my case, as with most I assume, with great news.
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Overall it was uneventful. The hotel was good, shuttle was fine but I would recommend you call the morning of to confirm the pickup (they forgot to write it down and I only by chance caught the driver!). Also, BE ON TIME!! The shuttle is hotel-run so it will not wait for you. It left one interviewee who was not there (she called about 20 minutes later trying to figure out where the shuttle was).
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Overall it was a great experience. It was my first interview so I was extremely nervous, but I really didn't need to be. The interviewer was very cordial, and seemed to be impressed with my application. I highly suggest coming out to SoCal and giving this school a shot. The dean was very friendly, intelligent, and wanted to make sure that we found a school that fit us.
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The interview was pretty lay back. I felt that the interviewer just wanted to get to know me as oppose to trying to stump with with difficult questions. The campus itself, looks ugly from the outside, but inside looks nice. The Pomona area is kind of ghetto, but most students live outside of the area and commute in.
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By far my worst inverview experience. However, the results of such a horrible experience greately enhanced my ability to interview. As a result I've arranged a bunch of mock interviews and prepared answers to all types of questions. I've also learned a bit about dealing with interviewers who lack personality.
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I had a positive experience, although I felt as if they were trying to sell themselves big-time to us.
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Overall a relaxed day, We got there at 10:30 and had time to chat with the other applicants before the orentation. There was a walk around and lunch. It's a small campus so it didn't take long. Then we had interviews in the afternoon. This was my first interview so I was a little nervous. My interviewer was hard to get a read on. Neither of the two interviews were DO's they were both PhD's. There was plenty of time to walk around and talk with students or sit in on classes.
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The school seemed like an ok place to go if you have healthy lungs, although you may not by the time you finish. The interview was very low-stress.
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My experience was amazing, except for the hotel I stayed at. I stayed at the Sheraton Fairplex and that place was overpriced, understaffed, and extremely inconvenient. The staff members are rude and inconsiderate. I would recommend staying at the Shilo Suites.
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I got to the school a few minutes early, checked in and chatted with some of the prospectives. We then had presenters talk about finances, curriculum and student life (~2 hrs). We then had lunch and had a tour of the campus. We saw the main things, OMM lab, dissection, gift shop/bookstore, etc. Afterwards, we were brought to the staging area which is right in front of the freshman lecture hall. I mamnaged to sneak in and sit on part of a lecture before my interview. Great experience. The interview itself started 20 minutes late but was relatively easy. I was told be the med students that this is probably the most laid back interview you will encounter. Despite was previous people have posted, I didn't think the area was that ghetto. The campus itself is relatively small and has the appearance of warehouses on the outside, but I don't think people wlll go to a school specifically on appearance.
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Interview was very relaxed, students were very helpful in being honest and answering questions, the school's location is S%$# but if you are serious about going here make sure to drive to the claremont area which is about a 15 minute drive. Aside from the classroom this is where many students reside
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Everybody was really nice but the day was a little boring...the interviewers were very nice and had a great sense of humor.
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The whole experience was excruciatingly boring. I wish we could have done the interview in the morning and leave so that I could get back to work. Everything that I read about the school was rehashed during the introduction part of the interview day.
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It was relaxing and comfortable. The interviewer seemed like he was more like my agent who was just trying to get the real scoop on me to pass on to the committee.
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2 interviews: 1 professor and 1 assistant dean; open file and laid back, very conversational, no ethical Q's
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Personally, I rocked the interview. But I've come with the conclusion that the interview doesn't matter as much at COMP. They are looking to increase their statistics and want people with amazing MCAT scores and tons of educational experience, from what I gather, beyond the B.S. or B.A. degree, especially if have some damage to your gpa during your undergrad.
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Overall, not bad. this is not meant to be a stress interview. had to wait around all day to be interviewed though so it makes for a loooong day. bring something to do/read.
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Overall the experience was good. I like how they have a detailed information session explaining the curriculum, financial aid, etc., as well as the campus tour before the interview. This gives the opportunity to gain more knowledge and form an opinion about the school before having to explain your interest in the school during the interview. I was not too thrilled with how much I had to wait around. They told us to arrive by 9:15 am, so I got there about 9:00 to be on the safe side. Then when I checked in they told me that they would begin the day at 10:00. Why don't they just tell us to get there at 10:00? Then after the tour I had to wait around for 2 hours before my interview. It made for a long day.
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They have you arrive about an hour early which is nice because we got to sit in on a class and see the campus on our own. There is an orientation in the morning followed by lunch and a tour then the interviews.
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It was kind of weird to sit around and wait for your turn to interview, it made me kind of nervous. I would've done better if I had interviewed right away, but I was still accepted, so I guess it went well!
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It seemed disorganized, but it was raining outside and the pharm students were in the hallway and were very noisy (understandably). Then we were told that we can go explore the school. After that orientation started. And then we watched a movie in a 13inch TV. Then the dean talked to us about the school. For some reason I thought he was too defensive of osteopathy, instead of being proud of it. Then a few more people talked to us. Then the students gave us a little tour of the campus. Then we went to our interview.
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The interview was intense--they asked like 6 ethical questions. I felt like they still didn't know me well by the end of the interview.
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I think the students are very helpful in answering my questions and their ways of intereacting between each other.
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The interview was strange. I liked the doctor, he was pretty cool. He even put down his clipboard when I was talking; I guess he just wanted to listen to me. The research guy was weird. He wasn't even dressed appropriately - he had no suit, light blue jeans, a dark blue shirt, really long hair, and sunglasses. What is it with sunglasses here? I am from LA and no one wears sunglasses around here. The research guy asked me a retarded question about column chromatography. I don't know if he was trying to see if I had actually done my research, even though I submitted a letter of rec from my PI. He also didn't like my long, complicated answer - he wanted a very simple answer about purification.
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Overall the experience was good. This was the first osteopathic school I interviewed at so I was anxious about the difficult question I listed above. But it was a relaxed environment. I interviewed with the director of admissions (elevated stress levels) but the interview itself was extremely conversational. Good Luck!
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Nice presentations, relaxing tour, and laid back interview. It was a great experience.
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The overall experience was fantastic. I originally had very low expectations for this school and was very surprised upon entering the buildings. the lecture halls are pretty state-of-the-art, the students are much more academic and serious than i had expected and the faculty are quite dedicated to the profession and to the improvement of osteopathic medicine.
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Low stress, positive, great experience!
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After going to the interview, I left with a very good impression of the school. The curriculum had been revised and seemed to be more condusive to learning both science and clinical skills
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The school is working hard to become the premere osteopathic medical school, they have a new curriculum, are working to expand the research they as an institution are doing and have new dorms. They were careful to dismiss rumors about low board passing rates. The location is urban and not terribly sheltered from the surrounding neighborhoods, but the facilities are gorgeous. Everyone was enthusiastic and engaging.
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My stats 24M and 3.4 Science. I had a great time. The tour was awsome and the presentations by Susan Hanson, Ed Fletcher, etc. were clear. I got a sense of the schools atmosphere and that the school is striving to imrpove.
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Stone-faced killers. I thought the interview went terribly because they looked like they were not having it. Everyone says it, but its true--be relaxed, because if youre not, you'll say a lot of "ums" "yeahs" and sound nervous like youre hiding something.
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Generally laid back and informative.
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Pretty casual and conversational.
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I was interviewed by a basic sciences professor, who was very nice and polite. We engaged in a friendly conversation, and basically, he wanted to know the highlights of my volunteer, research experiences. Be prepared to ask questions during orientation and during the interview!
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It was a great first interview. I was extremely nervous, but I didn't need to be. All the other interviewees were nice, and the students were nice. Everyone interviewed in the morning and got the stressful part over with. One student did say to us that the first year is highly competitive and he didn't feel that students shared materials or helped each other out, but none of the other students seemed to agree. I liked the school, just not the location, so I don't think I'll attend Western.
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The interview started off well and then they brought out the ethical questions. They hit my pretty hard but didn't ask anyone before me about ethics. The new curriculum sounds great but the low pass rate on boards makes me wonder whats going on with students.
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Very laid back. The interviewer asked quite a few questions and scribled down my answers as I spoke. While he didn't seem to be genuinly interested in my response, he defineately paid attention and was somewhat encouraging in his replies.
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In short, good cop, bad cop routine.
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The interview was the best part of my day, I felt very relaxed, and really injoyed talking to my interviewer.
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The interview was one-on-one with the director of admissions. it was open file and extremely laid back. it seems like a school where they want to know that you're committed to osteopathic medicine.
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Reading the reviews on this website, I had mixed feelings about what to expect from the school. The Dean is pushing to make the school even stronger than it already is and he is trying to establish COMP as a strong OMM research school. I believe the school has a good curriculum with early clinical training and great clinical affiliations in the LA area. After visiting and hearing what the staff and students had to say, I am confident that COMP trains the best osteopathic physicians. There are MANY student organizations that bring a sense of community to the school. The students are also very involved in the community and work with underserved patients. The school also makes a decision within a week.
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I was really unprepaired for the amount of attention they gave to discussing my G.P.A. (4.0)
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I got there and everyone was so warm and welcoming. The interviewer was the NICEST lady that I could have ever asked for (she was also the director of admissions). She had specific questions, but they were all very relevent and asked in a relaxed manner. I had a great experience with Western. The campus is nice, I don't know why some people have said it's ugly. Stony Brook in NY is ugly... this place has palm trees! I like how we get to know our status in no more than 2 weeks because the committee meets every Wed.
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The interview was very laid-back. The interviewer is known, according to students, as being stone-faced. However, at one point he said "good answer", which was encouraging. At the start the interviewer said it would be 20-30 minutes but it ran about 40 minutes.
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My interview experience as a whole was great. I felt very prepared and my interviewer was very friendly and easy to talk to.
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It was good not to bad
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If I hadn't known more about the school from previous visits I would have completely withdrawn from consideration after my interview day experience. My interviewer had not been at the school long and didn't bother telling me this until I asked at the 29th minute and I had no chance to follow up on why he/she chose to come to COMP, etc. Thirty minutes proved to be way too short with only one interviewer who was trying to ask questions AND write down notes all the while holding a conversation with you. I'm not confident that the interviewer got to see who I am.
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I enjoyed it except the one student who wasted way to much time asking irrelevant questions. The Dean is amazing and has really changed the school for the better. He has a lot instore for the future and I would love to be apart of it.
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Very basic questions with only one or two questions that went beyond information in my application.
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To be quite honest, when I first walked around the campus, I was truly disappointed. But after talking to the students and the dean about the school, I realized that WesternU is an amazing school. It is definitely one of my top choices. Good luck!!
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Everyone was really welcoming, from the staff to my fellow interviewees. The interview itself was definitely not as stressful as I thought it was going to be.
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I was extremely fortunate to have a friendly, relaxed interviewer (who is one of the school's instructors.) He seemed interested in finding out more about me, and was very engaging (lots of eye contact and active listening.) I checked this site before going to my interview, and prepared for the worst. However, the school is an excellent example of redevelopment, the location is not as bad as many have made it out to be, and don't let the façade of the facilities fool you. The interiors of the buildings are wonderful, the classrooms are area seating with internet connections, and the cadaver lab is outstanding. I did get to talk with one current student (who I happened to run into in the lobby), and she was extremely friendly, and was very happy with her choice to attend this school. Oh, and the armed security guards? The hospital I work at has armed guards, and is in a much rougher area of my city (and we are actually happy to have them to escort us when it gets dark.) The guards at COMP were very friendly and helpful – and personally, I’m always happy to see a school that considers the safety of its students. I was thrilled to find out I was accepted here, and plan on attending.
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The interview itself was great, I felt like the interviewer was very laid back and just wanted to get to know me as a person. He never asked tricky questions, was just straight forward. He also had a lot to say about osteopathic medicine and how its used today, and the perks of the school. Over all very helpful to get a feel for the school.
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I had read negative feedback about the school from sdn logs, but kept an open mind. The facilities are not top notch (no wireless, not best system for downloading lectures) but still adequate. Students I talked to were friendly and seemed satifisied with the opportunities presented to them to become a doctor. However the my sneaker-clad, introverted interviewer, (I found out his name and that he was a D.O. after my interview by asking admissions staff) only made eye contact with me at the end of the interview when I asked him questions, which were partially answered. During the interview he made no eye contact, gave me no indication of whether or not he was listening to my answers and seemed to rush my answer to the next question while constantly flipping through my file which he HAD NOT SPENT MORE THAN TWO MINUTES READING. eg. Did you do any research? Oh, you didn't catch my year-long thesis that has been published. Thanks for your time.
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I only had one interviewer, and I was supposed to have 3, so I was afraid this might be bad. But I got in, so I guess it was fine. :-) Overall I enjoyed my time there. They let you get snacks and drinks in the bookstore, and everyone is very nice and helpful.
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The interview made me a little more nervous than I thought I would feel, so I chattered on a little too much. However, I feel that I got my personality and points across fairly well, so my interviewers could accurately judge me.
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I was accepted at this school, but the impact was so negative that I decided that it would be better to NOT go to medical school if this was the only place I was accepted. I want to go to school very badly, but realized that it's not worth it if it means I have to be miserable for 4 years to do it.
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I arrived for the interview joining one other friendly individual. We were greeted and sat in front of a video by ourselves. After watching we had to find the admissions staff downstairs to ask what we were going to be doing next. The interview was completed by a clinician and professor. It was short and I did not feel they really wanted to know about me or that they had read my file by the type of questions they asked. Post interview I struggled to find two classes to sit in on. No one to guide me or help me find the bldg. or room. Sudents in the class when asked about their experience did not appear to be dedicated to the DO principles. "If I had gotten into an MD program I would be there." Other responded, "We teach ourselves so much independently. Lecture is not what we expected." The new curriculum is slated to require more independent study for students. Keep that in mind!! Later we meet to discuss the new curriculum yrs 1&2, rotations yrs 3&4, financial aid, student organiziations, and what to expect for post interview notificaiton. Very informative session.
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Good interview, very basic questions, the interview was attentive and nice...there were no students available to give us a campus tour..i woulda liked a student perspective on the school
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Interviewers were nice. Chatted at first and then got into the questions. Had a long session with all candidates on the school, curriculum and financial aide. Lunch with the students where questions were answered. There was a tour but I missed it because I had to get to the airport.
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I was the last interviewee of the day and had to wait about half an hour after my scheduled time. i had two interviewers: one was always smiling and the other seemed more quiet and reserved. by the end of the interview, however, both interviewers were smiling. i even got the quiet/more reserved one to laugh when i was answering one of his questions (the question about describing a humiliating experience)
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Pleasant, relatively stress free. The two students who gave the tour were very happy with their choice to go to school here and were able to answer questions well. All of the administrators and faculty were very helpful and friendly.
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My interview experience was great, especially because i felt prepared. they dont do much to make you want to go to their school. they basically just let you decide for yourself.
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The interview was very monotonuous, and although the interviewer was to be on our side in defending our case for acceptance. But the interviewer was more interested in telling his story than discovering ours.
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Overall, laid back and typical interview questions. And the expected "ethical" question that appears to show up on all these feedbacks. I interviewed in the morning. Met at Student Services Center at 8:30 ( I was 15 minutes late, but okay). Then we (only 3) were shown to the waiting area for interviews. One of us go interviewed first, and the rest of us got to chat a little. Then I interviewed. When I came out, about 10:00, the afternoon interviewers had arrived. Then we got presentations about curriculum, fin aid, & other logistical stuff. Then lunch, then tour with current med students. Ended about 1:25 PM. I drove home at 2 PM. Overall,
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I flew in from Philly and the staff was very accomodating and nice. The program didn't impress much at all though. 3/4th yr rotation sites are being changed and seemed disorganized. They are however super quick in their decision. Interviewed 2/1 accepted 2/3.
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The worst part of the interview was the people who interviewed me. They were not at all nice. There wasn't much student interaction but the student who gave campus tour answered all our questions.
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Overall i ended up liking the school much more than i thought i would based on other people's SDN experiences.
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The interview was okay, i mean, it was easy but i don't think that much of who i really am came out during the interview (but i think i still did really well);
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Overall, my visit to Western was positive, but the interview itself totally turned me off. See for yourself, it's a judgement call. I hope you don't have the same guy I did.
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Overall the interviewers were really nice. I didn't feel nervous at all and they made it like it wasn't even an interview, just simple chat.
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Not very organized...didnt give us a schedule. Interviewers were very nice, as were students and fellow interviewees. I had been there many times before and my opinion didnt really change. I could go there, but the first semester is absolute hell. They also have the largest fail rate and lowest board scores...so thats definatly not a good thing (and they wont tell you that in the interview). It was the only interview that has had water for me to drink though (actually during the interview), and I appreciate that.
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My stress level was insanely high just because of the missing letters of rec. I was so preoccupied with calling the committee staff back at my school to get them to fax it in asap, I didn't have much time to relax and talk to other applicants. But once it was taken care of I had a great time and I felt I had a great interview. It was only suppose to be 30 minutes, but we talked overboard to 40 mins. The interviewer was really interested in some of the stuff I was involved in and we hit it off quite well.
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We all meet in the morning, get the low down on the school. They brought us Subway sandwiches and two MS II's came and talked about their lives. Afterwards, we toured the facilities and inteviewed with two professors (PhD's NOT DO's)
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Overall, i had a good interview experience at COMP. I can see some people being quite happy here, however i don't see myself fitting in
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I've been to COMP before during their Osteopathic Awareness Conference. The inside speaks louder than the outside. I was escourted from my car to the student center by security. I questioned my safety but the guards said that all schools have security guards (um, ok). I bumped into a couple of old faces from my undergrad years so I felt more at ease there. The interview was not bad. Lots of ethical questions as I expected. Know your issues and be confident in what you say.
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OK. This was my first choice until my interview. I was not impressed by their lack of enthusiasm. Not only should I be trying to get accepted, but they should be trying to get me to come there. After all...am I not spending thousands of dollars to come to your university?
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The experience overall confirmed that it was a good school where I would be happy, in spite of it being in Pomona
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The interview itself was very laid back and conversational. Since I was the last to be interviewed in the afternoon, I got to ask plenty of questions and also have a conversation with the interviewer.
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Despite what other interviewees had told me, this interview has been the hardest one I've been to yet. The interview lasted 30 minutes, but the first 15 minutes were all ethical questions, ranging from stem cell research, euthanasia, dealing with death, dealing with patients who refuse treatment, etc. Both interviewers aggressively asked numerous ethical questions and also asked me what schools I had applies to (MD and DO), how many interviews I had been on, what schools I had heard from, and which schools I got into. There were only a couple questions they asked that had to do with my file, personal statement, etc. My advice: know your issues, esp stem cell research since California passed Prop 71, allowing stem cell research in CA, and be firm in your stances. I've listed a couple questions they asked but there were much more than the ones below. (btw...I had NOT written about any ethical issues in any of my documents so these questions were asked at the discretion of the interviewers).
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After reading all the stuff that people post about COMP on SDN, I was a little suspicious of the school. But after I stayed with some students and saw everything the school had to offer, the location (which some people think it's bad but seriously, you are in the suburbs of L.A.! I think it's a plus for people that want to get a real diverse med school experience) was not a big deal at all. Their rotation opportunities are awesome. Overall, I would go there in a heartbeat.
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The overall experience was pretty good. I found out a week later that I got in so its nice that they let you know so fast.
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I thought I did my research, reading SDN for interview feedback, brain storming ethical responses to the aids/cancer question, and then coming up with the why DO answer. But it just didn't end up how I pictured it. This was my first interview so I thought I would be fine for it but I was nervous, I said umm a lot and my interviewer was good at asking me questions that caught me off guard. But after working some answers off the bat, it got better because I felt I was just being myself and telling him how I felt about the classes I took, the Chicago Cubs, Sammy Sosa and Western (which I've visited twice). I thought the format was well thought out, presentation first, then tour then interview. This was afternoon interview. Best advice- Read Gevitz's book and go into the interview, with perhaps less caffeine and confidence. I thought it was nerve wracking only cuz it was my first but now in hindsight, my interviewer was just trying to have me open up.
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I had read that this school was very ghetto. I'm glad I came to look for myself. I've lived in South Central L.A. and I can tell you this school is NOT in a ghetto area. It also doesn't look like it's a renovated strip mall... rather, a renovated shopping village... kinda quaint. And the inside is impressive. Like one student told me, hey--you're not going to spend most of your time standing on the outside. You'll be inside and you'll be too busy to care what the outside looks like. All in all, a VERY friendly and cooperative spirit on campus. I think I would be very happy here.
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Overall a good experience. Was last to interview so I had only a 20 min interview while others had 30-35 min. Was nervous about this but received an acceptance letter 13 days later. Overall a good school and strong DO program.
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While I unfortunately got lost in Claremont and arrived a little late *gasp*, I think that I did well overall. I interviewed with the Director of Admissions, who was very nice and conversational. She really made me feel comfortable. I heard that it was highly unusual to interview with only one person and let alone the Director. Most candidates were set up with two faculty members. Either way, the interviews were conversational and very laidback. The students that led us on the tour were very helpful and answered any and all questions. In general, the students were happy and upbeat, they went out of their way to greet you and were very pleasant to talk to. It really made the school feel like it welcomed prospective students, a nice feeling.
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To sum up my feelings about Western, I would have to say that as a medical school, it is sufficient and acceptable; but not much more. Nothing really impressed me about the school or its curriculum except that the rotations in the third and fourth years are numerous (150+) and of high quality (all across the nation and some international ones as well). However, I must admit that I don't know much about the rotations at other schools and this could very well be something one could find at any school. Although Western is sufficient and acceptable (in terms of being an accredited medical school that trains people to be physicians) I feel that it is pushing the limits of what is sufficient and acceptable. I would go here, but it would be because of the fact that the shortcomings of the school would be compensated by other things such as the SoCal atmoshpere and the presence of my fiance who would be in grad school at another school in the area. If it weren't for those things I would not go to Western.
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I liked the school a lot. Everyone is used to different things. Southern California is great for a lot of people, but not for me. All of the comments about how the school is a dump and looks like a strip mall are inaccurate in my opinion. The campus is great. The facilities are great. The anatomy lab and classrooms are incredible. If you like Southern California, this is a great school to attend.
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The school is kind of ghetto, students were nice and the ciriculum was good but they need better facilities.
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The interview day was well planned and I was done by about 100 pm. I had the first interview at 9 am which was very relaxed and conversational. During the other interviews I sat in on a biochem class where I talked with many students and really got a good perspective of the program. The financial aid and cirriculum presentations were informative and the campus tour was brief but hit all of the hotspots. When they showed us the OMT lab, we walked in on about 20 students with their shirts off. That was hilarious. Overall I liked Western but I am not yet sure if I want to live in Southern California. Plus, I have nothing to compare it to. Once I interview at a few more schools, I'll have a better feeling about whether I would attend Western or not. The bottom line is that this school will give you a great medical education with almost limitless residency opportunities. It just depends on whether you are willing to commute to a school located in a shady part of town. Also make sure you want to live in Southern California...it's not for everybody.
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My day started at 10:30 am with admission, financial, circulum, and rotation workshops. Then we had lunch and campus tour. The interview started at 1:30 pm.
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The campous tour was nice. The guide was energetic and pleasant. Although I do appreciate his honesty regarding good and bad aspects of campus life, overall it tended to paint a negative picture for me.
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Arrive there at 10:30, had my interview at 3pm. a DO interviewed me, he was very nice and relax. I feel comfortable about the school.
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Besides that one negative comment, everyone was really friendly and helpful. I sat in on a lecture and the DO giving the lecture was great.
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As I stated above, the interview itself was fine, not too stressful because I knew I didn't really want to go there! They apparently really do have a world-famous OMM prof so if you like that, go for it. I loved the LA area but not this school. They should have people better representative or more enthused about the school show you around, really. I met some nice people though most of them were from Cali.
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Overall easy interview but i mean the campus and lifestyle in cali is TOTALLY not for me,, i need to live in a more 'realistic' setting, not in an environment where everyones main concern is celebrity gossip and looking fit,,, the weather is ok,,not much to convince me to go there though
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I was the most nervous at the beginning of my interview but relaxed as time went on. Most of the questions were not difficult at all so there was no reason to be nervous. I was expecting at more difficult questions. The interviewer just wanted me to elaborate on my application and get a sense of who I am.
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All in all, I had a great interview, terrific tour guides and a wonderful time!
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I stayed with a friend (from undergrad) who is a student and she was enthusiastic. She introduced me to some of her friends and they were really friendly, etc. The interview was relaxed and I actually really liked the school. I might just go...
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If I am admitted It would take some serious consideration before I accepted. The school does not seem worth the tuition & no one (including staff & students) seemed enthusiastic about the program.
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It was pretty easy. I felt very comfortable all day long. Even though I had to wait all day for my interview it went by fast.
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Excellent!
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It was a good experience. we had a large group that day but it turned out positively-got to meet diff ppl
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Pretty much as written above. Not as ghetto as people said, campus is clean, buildings are attractive. People seem friendly. Internet access in the classrooms - but restricted access during class!?!??! Why not just institute mandatory attendance and a dress code while you're at it? Sheesh!
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It was the great experience for my first interview. I excpected to see "getto", but they even have Starbucks two bloks away from school. Maybe at night it is not a safe place to walk around , but during the day it looked normal.
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Intimidating and uncomfortable.
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All in all it was a good experience. the interviewers were very laid back and easy to talk to. the whole day is set up to be a non-stress day. none of the questions were hard and they didn't try to put me on the spot. i would go there given the opportunity.
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It was great. There were two interviewers in the room with me the whole time, one mostly asked the questions, the other took notes and interjected only a few times. It was 30 minutes and it FLEW by. I felt like i was not asked anything b/c it went so fast and also b/c nothing was too difficult. There were no hypothetical or ethical questions. There was no trivia type stuff trying to grill you and see if you know the school well enough. There were no questions like why not MD (but that was probably b/c I addressed that in another question, so it was clear to them already. They did not ask about MCAT scores, GPA, if i have had any other interviews, or about the other schools to which I applied. Again, these are all fair game, but a lot of that info spoke for itself on the application. I suppose if something stood out, they would ask. All the questions were about you and were stemming from/inspired by their desire for you to expand on your supplemetary application. They intro it with saying this will be very laid back ... do you want a glass of water. It is laid back, take the water b/c your mouth will dry up as you speak at such length about yourself. Also, for all you afternoon interviewees, it it not a bad situation at all. I got there 40 minutes before i was supposed to be there so i walked around with my dad for a bit and that made me feel very comfortable and positive about wanting to go there. Then all the information sessions, the lunch with students and meeting other interviewees further eased any anticipatory anxiety. I felt that I had the whole morning to get comfortable in my env't and by the time the interview came along, i felt at home and not very nervous at all. Know this: there is nothing to be nervous about, everyone in so nice including the interviewers and it is very laid back. GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!
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My dad is a MD in SoCal and he has many friends that graduated from COMP. I learned from my dad and his COMP alum friends just how much COMP graudates are respected in SoCal. COMP has strongly established its presence that no other DO school in the western states could compare. The solid alum network and the reputation that precedes it will carry you a long way into your medical career. Basically one's medical career is gauranteed to be a success once graduated from COMP. I was sold already based on what my dad and his friends told me. After visiting COMP and discovering its diverse student body and techie classrooms, I am even more sure that COMP is the place for me. Good luck to all the applicants!
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The whole experience was excellent. I really liked the school. The interview went great. The people were very nice and willing to answer questions.
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This was a great experience for me. The interviewers were not trying to make me nervous. They just wanted to know who I am.
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Overall, the experience was very fun. The faculty are all nice and positive. The students seemed all happy. The environment was energized and positive. The interviewers were very nice people who just try to make you feel at ease.If you know yourself well, this interview should be very low stress.
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Dr. Redding really made me feel at ease and he seemed genuinely interested in my answers
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I felt the interviewer was genuinely trying to test my qualifications beyond the numbers and achievements-critical thinking ability, maturity level and overall personality; much of his questioning was aimed at my awareness of culture, history, peoples' needs and, generally, to test the level at which I view the world.
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Do not stress over this interview- it is extremely relaxed and if you are truley passionate about osteopathic medicine and you have full knowledge of what you are getting into you have nothing to worry about.
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It was awesome. the interviewer was extremely nice. you will receive a letter in about 1.5 weeks
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I was very impressed with the whole day. I was interviewed by 2 DOs in a rather comfortable setting. I like that it was more personal which helped me to relax. I appreciated how promt Western was with the whole process, I received an exceptance letter a week and a half later.
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It was pretty kick back but the ethical questions threw me off. It was a D.O. and a PhD that interviewed me.
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Pretty easy overall
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I had a nice dr. that interviewed me. he was cool. If i get accepted here, i'm going.
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The school is a stip mall, but the facilty inside isn't too bad....pretty nice actually. internet connection in the lecture hall so you can surf the web if you get bored.
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Pretty long day...they have presentations, lunch with current students, tour of the facilities. the thirty minutes goes by really fast, but the interviewers seem genuinely interested in you and your activities.
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It seemed casual, but the interviewers definitely challenged me with some questions. With the AIDS question, they basically debated the other side of my answer, I thought a bit extensively (it was my first interview though, and I was nervous).
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Overall, I think I would go to this school if I didn't get into my number one choice. COMP is a great school and one's success is almost guaranteed once you get accepted. The city of Pomona is not nearly as nice as I had hoped it would be. Although, you would only be there your first two years and you'll be studying most of that time anyways. In addition, the students seem very relaxed and friendly. I think I will go if I don't get into my number one choice school. As for the interview, I felt that they wanted to assess two things in particular: (1) whether you have the ability to succeed in medical school, and (2) whether you have the personaity and emotional stability to do well as a physician. I received a low score on my MCAT, but I was willing to explain and argue that I felt my GPA and other factors compensated for the low score. So, be prepared to explain any of your weaknesses and have a tool to support your application despite that weakness. Then you'll be fine.
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Informative, friendly interviewer. I would love to attend Western U!
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Overall the interview went allright, the people were friendly and the school seemed good too. The crime, traffic, smog of the city was too much for me though....
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I had my interview in the afternoon. We started out with the introduction to the school, a tour, and then the interview. There were 2 interviewers and the interview lasted about 30 minutes. The interviewers were mostly interested in knowing if I have the potential of becoming a D.O. They mostly wanted me to clarify my applications and explain strengths and weaknesses. I got the acceptance letter 2 weeks later. I am so glad they are very quick.
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I was one of the afternoon interviewees so I had to be there at 10:30 and go through all the orientation stuff, and tour with a student, but then i had to wait from 1 to 3:30 because i was the last interviewee. The room was comfortable but the interviewers sat so far away, it felt a little bit uncomfortable. They spent the whole time jotting down notes on a clipboard and hardley ever looked up at me.
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The interview was more challenging than I thought it would be, but not necessarily in a bad way. It's always tough having tag team style question throw at you. Plus, the weren't really softball getting to know you questions. It seemed like they really wanted to make sure that I would be academically prepared to do well in medical school and they were giving me the oppurtunity to do that. Be prepared to define your academic record.
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The interivew was very low key.. My interview started with one interviewer, but a second interview join half way through the interview, which threw me off a little. Many of the questions that I was asked could have been answered by my primary and secondary application, but I didn't mind (maybe I just enjoy talking about myslef) I got to spend a lot of time with the other applicants, the Dean of Admissions, and student tour guide. I interviewed in the morning, which was very nice... the afternoon interviewers had to have lunch and take the student before their interviews, and i think this setup may not allow the afternoon interviewees to be as relaxed as the morning interviewees..
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Very positive experience at this school. At first, my 2 interviewers (one was a Ph.D. and the other was a D.O.) were a little abrasive, but they warmed up and by the end it felt comfortable. They basically asked the standard questions.... I guess I did ok, because I was accepted!
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Very informal. I was asked a lot about my thesis work and my job. My volunteer work is lacking so I had to discuss that in some length which I wasn't totally prepared for. Other than that it was a pleasant expereince.
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The interview is usually not one-on-one so be prepared for four-on-one, which it usually is. Also, if your numbers are "questionable", be prepare to answer why they are what they are.
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Good experience, I was accepted. The questions were all about me, so it was easy to be honest and relaxed.
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It was a positive experience. The interviewers were not very dymanic to speak with, but they showed interest in me and made me feel very comfortable. I was asked one ethical question and it was very easy to answer.
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There was a mix of standard and personal questions asked of everyone. Mostly 'tell me about a stressful period, a example of conflict." I was also asked about my MCAT scores. The tour was cool, the student was really nice, I was a little worried about places to live in the area, but I was told that there are decent places within driving distance. When we entered the lecture hall, all the students hanging out said hi and waved - that did more for me than pretty much any other part of the tour. IMHO, you need the support of your class. Whatever you do, DO NOT stay at the Econolodge in Ontario. It was a dump.
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Informative
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Time went by really fast when you are chatting with the interviewers. It felt like a conversation. I enjoy the students and faculty. I really like COMP
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It is a great school.
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When I first arrived at the school I wasn't really impressed with the surrounding area or the appearance of the school, but I realized that was just the outside. The classrooms and labs look really new. The med student who gave us a tour was really cool and answered a lot of questions. The students seem to be really happy there, and the faculty seem to be proud of the school. The interview itself wasn't too bad. The interviewers I had were really nice, and didn't really asked a lot of ethical questions, which I was expecting.They asked mostly basic questions to get to know me, questions mostly off my application.
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It was cool, the interview went well... just relax and be humble, I think one of the interviewers reviewed my files and wanted to tackle me with some hard questions because of my credentials. If that's the case, just be yourself and be humble...
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GOOD TIMES
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My interview was definitely out of the ordinary for this particular school. Usually the interviews are group interviews and open file. But for some reason only one out of the four people showed up. Plus, my interviewer didn't have my file and basically I had to tell him my whole life history. It was strange and unexpected. I have no idea how I did on the interview but will find out soon.
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The interview was pretty stressful as I had ethical question after ethical question to answer in machine gun style. However, the questions were thought provoking and weren't hard. I guess it didn't hurt me because I got in two weeks later.
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Good experience
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I was there with 4 other interviewing students. We all had a positive experience -- I'd heard the school was in a bad area, but it's actually pretty nice. Lots of new facilities and a clean campus.
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It's a group interview. There were two faculty and two physicians. The students interviewed us seperately, but they did apparently have some input in the process.
💬 Interview Process ▼
Length, number, and type of interviews
🕐
Length:
33 Minutes Average
🔄
Number:
1.9 Interviews Average
👥
Interview Type (Interaction):
78% One-on-One
22% Group Interview
📁
File Type:
94% Open-File
6% Closed-File
💻
Interview Modality:
100% Virtual
0% In-Person
WesternU-COMP-COMP interviews are an average of 33 minutes, with an average of 1.9 interviews. 78% of interviews are one-on-one, 0% are in-person, and 6% are closed-file.
What is one of the specific questions they asked you?
The most commonly asked interview questions at medical schools include inquiries about reasons for pursuing medicine, osteopathic medicine, and specific schools, as well as experiences, strengths, weaknesses, and conflict resolution scenarios. Responses also indicate a prevalence of questions related to how applicants handle stress, ethical dilemmas, leadership, and research experiences. Additionally, the mention of MMI format, nondisclosure agreements, or multiple mini-interviews was not prevalent among the responses.
Top 5 Responses: (Click below to see additional responses)
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Why DO? Why Western COMP CA v OR (since I applied to both)?
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Why do you want to be an osteopathic doctor? What is your experience of working with a DO? How will you OMT in your practice? How will you contribute to COMP? What do you believe are strengths and weaknesses in your application? What was a time that you failed? When is.a time that you had conflict with a supervisor and how did you work things out? How do you handle situations like this?
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Why do you want to be an osteopathic doctor?
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Why Western?
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Questions about my application and suitability for medicine.
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Why medicine? Why osteopathic medicine? Have you shadowed or observed a DO physician while at your clinics?
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Tell them about yourself, particularly the experiences that made you want to do medicine
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What do you look for in a medical school?
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Tell me about your hospital volunteer experience.
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Why Western over all of the other schools you applied to
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Name the Osteopathic tenets.
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What is an osteopathic physicians role in the future of medicine
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Where have you been accepted/where did you apply/did you apply MD as well
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What factors did you consider when deciding which schools to apply to? Did you apply to MD and DO? Regionally?
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When did you fail?
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Where else have you applied? MD/DO? Interviewed? Accepted? If you are accepted into both an MD school and here, where would you go?
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Tell me about yourself.
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Why medicine? Why DO? Why Western?
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Define diversity.
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Why WesternU and Osteopathic medicine?
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Why Medicine? Why DO? Why COMP?
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How many schools did you apply to? How many DO? How many accepted, interviewed?
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What do you think you regret about not doing something in your life?
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Why are you interested in medicine and specifically osteopathic medicine?
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Why D.O.?
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What makes a good leader?
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Explain your journey to osteopathic medicine and what attracted you to WesternU
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Talk about any leadership roles.
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Where do you stand in the current political debate on health care?
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Had to read a paragraph and answer a multiple choice question. Critical thinking/MCAT type but very easy
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What is one bad decision you've made recently, and what did you learn from it?
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How did you come to osteopathic medicine from being an English major?
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Why physician, do, and western?
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Why medicine, and why DO?
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What was your favorite pre-med course? Why?
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Tell me about how you came to wanting to be an osteopathic physician.
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Tell us what has brought you to want to practice medicine. Why osteopathic medicine? Why Western? All at once.
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What events brought you to this point in your life?
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Why medicine, why DO, why Western?
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Why medicine, why DO, why Western? (all in one question)
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Explain your research.
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Tell me about yourself
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What would you do for healthcare with $100 million?
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Why Medicine? Why Osteopahtic medicine? and Why Western?
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See above
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What would I do to improve health care with 100 million dollars?
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Why med, why DO, why Western
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How did your life experiences lead you to applying for medical school?
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How did you arrive to wanting to practice medicine?
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The big 3 that you should all be able to answer. Why medicine? Why DO? Why Western?
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Why medicine, why western, why DO?
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Why DO, Why Western
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Why DO, Why Western.
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How did you hear about Osteopathic Medical School?
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How did you arrive to a career in medicine? What have you done to confirm your interest in medicine? Why DO?
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Why Doctor, why DO, why Western.
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Why go into (osteopathic) medicine? Do you know what field you want to go into?
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Have you shadowed a DO? (No) Then explain your exposure/experience/knowledge of osteopathic medicine.
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The big 3. Why medicine, Why DO, why WesternU. (in exact order)
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What experiences made you interested in medicine?
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1st: Tell us about yourself. Why medicine, why osteopathic medicine. Why Western. Why should we take you.
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Tell me about your research? Do you want to do research while you are a student? Do you think it is important for physicians to be involved in research? How important is it to you that the future school you go to has research opportunities? A lot of stuff on research.
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Asked about my opinions regarding about health care reform
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Why Medicine? Why DO in particular? Why COMP in particular?
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Did you do research, did you have publications?
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How did you choose medicine? DO?
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What are your strengths/weaknesses? and then at the end, what skills will you bring to our school? YEAH basically the same question, plus it didnt help that the interviewer had an accent that was difficult to understand...ugh
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What inspired me to embark on a career in medicine? Why DO? Why Western?
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Why Medicine, why DO, why Western, What schools I have applied to and where I've gotten an acceptance from.
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Path to medicine: osteopathy: Western U
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Tell us about yourself, what lead to you medicine? Why DO? Why Western? Everyone should know these 3 questions!!! It's a guarantee.
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Tell me about your self. Why medicine? Why DO?
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Talk about yourself, your journey toward medicine and osteopathic medicine in particular. <--practice that one.
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Tell us about yourself, specifically how you ended up in medicine/osteopathic medicine/westernu.
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Why medicine, how you found out about osteopathic medicine, and westernu?
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Why medicine, why DO, & why Western. This is the basic, everyone gets asked this!
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If you were accepted to both DO and MD schools, which would you choose?
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Why Medicine? DO? Western? Handle Conflict in a group?
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Tell me more about your volunteering experinces. What science volunteering have you done? (weird because I have been working in research for 3 years)
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If the government gave you money for research, what would you choose Cancer or AIDS?
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Tell me about yourself, why do you want to be a doctor, why DO?
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Why medicine, why osteopathic medicine?
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How are you? How has your day been? Why do you like it here?
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Why DO? Why medicine? nothing special
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Why Western, Why DO, Why medicine?
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A student from my undergrad's rival school comes in to the ER with a gun shot wound, what would you do?
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Why did you choose medicine, why osteopathic Medicine, Why Western? What do you know about our curriculum. What are your strengths and weaknesses.
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Interview was scheduled for 30 minutes, but we went 45 minutes...so there was no strict time limit.
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Why doctor, why do, why western
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Why medicine? Why DO?
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How will you handle so much Bio classes at once? (because I'm a math major)
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Faculty member: Why medicine? Why DO? Why WesternU? What was your first experience with osteopathic medicine? Doctor/Faculty member: Tell me about your research. What is your job?/What do you do? Doctor/Faculty member: Tell me about your research. What do you do/what is your job? Doctor:
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Expect these three wherever you interview: 1) Why this school, 2) Why medicine 3) Why Osteopathic medicine
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Why DO?
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Why do you want to be a physician. Why a DO, and why Western?
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Why did you take the MCAT so many times? (I only took it once.)
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Conversational
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Why medicine?
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Tell us about volunteer experiences
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How did you learn about DOs and Western?
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Why a DO and why Western?
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Why medicine, DO, Western?
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The one about residency.
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Explain your jr. year grades (they were lower than other years)
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Why medicine, why osteopathic medicine, and why Western COMP?
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Why Western & Why DO (one question) ?
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Explain your leadership experience and how it relates your choice to apply for medical school.
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Why medicine? why DO? why PCOM?
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Why med? why DO? why PCOM?
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Why Western? Why DO?
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How did you prepare for this interview?
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Why do? why western? tell us about yourself.
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Name 2 strengths and 2 weaknesses.
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Tell us about yourself
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See above...
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Why do you like organic chemistry?
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Why medicine? Why DO? Why Western? (all at once!)
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Tell me about yourself, why do you want to be an osteopathic physician, and what about osteopathic medicine do you like? (one question). This took the bulk of my interview.
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Why doctor/why D.O.? Describe leadership experience...
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Were you applied math? How does being in applied math apply in the real world and in the medicinal world? Did you actually do any research with this type of math? Tell us about your school and if you enjoyed the education there.
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Have you done any shadowing, and what was the most interesting thing you saw?
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Explain Grades.
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Why DO? Why Western?
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What do you think is a makor problem in healthcare today?
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Tell me about yourself, why you want to be a physician and why are you interested in osteopathic medicine? (all at once)
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What do you know about osteopathic medicine?
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Why do you want to become a doctor?
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Why should we even bother with helping third world nations if they will be afflicted by factors other than medicine?
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If I got accepted to Harvard, would I choose that over an osteopathic program?
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Specifics in reference to my personal statement (questions about my car accident, air evac, and living in a nursing home), my high gpa, and my average mcat score.
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Describe your background and how you came to osteopathic medicine.
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So what brings you here?
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Why Medicine, why Western? How do you deal with conflict? Strengths and Weaknesses?
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Why osteo?
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Why medicine? Why osteopathic medicine?
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Why medicine? Why DO? Why not PT? What were you favorite college courses? How do I know you're responsible? When have you been responsible amongst your family? (yeah...really)
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General stuff, why med, why osteo, tell me about your research, any leadership experience?.. why ... from my file... et.c..
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The med mary-jane question
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Why medicine, why osteo?
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Why doc? why osteopath?
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Why medical? Why Osteopathic?
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Why do you want to be a doctor? Why osteo?
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Tell us about yourself.
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Why osteopathy?
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Why medicine, why osteopathic, why Western? All one question
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What is one negative factor about medicine? and why do you still pursue medicine knowing this?
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Why did you only get an xx on your MCAT?
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Tell me about yourself, how you learned about osteopathic medicine, why you have chosen to study it, and why you would like to attend Western.
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If I ask your best friend to describe you. What three adjectives would they use to describe your good points?
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Tell me about yourself and how you came to medicine and specifically osteopathic.
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Why did you choose Western U?
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What are your weaknesses?
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Assisted suicide question.
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What brought you here to Western?
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Why medicine/why DO?
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Tell me about yourself and incorporate how you decided to pursue osteopathic medicine.
-
Tell me about yourself?
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Tell us about yourself. Why medicine? Why DO? Why Western?
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What are your strengths and weaknesses?
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Tell me something about yourself.
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You have a kidney for transplant. How do you pick between a 24yo and a 60yo with lots of family? What criteria do you use and who would you pick?
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Why Osteopathic Medicine?
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How does quality of life increase with better health?
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What do you do to deal with stress?
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You have worked with both m.d.'s and d.o.'s - why did you choose osteopathy? what's the difference?
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They asked many questions about my experiences...work and educational
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What things about being a doctor make you apprehensive?
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Tell me about yourself, why medicine, why D.O., why COMP?
-
Tell me about your research? Strengths and weaknesses? What was the saddest part of medicine that you observed while volunteering?
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Tell me about yourself, why medicine, why do, why comp?
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Why Western?
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What are you doing now?
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The three positive and negative attributes question...yuck!
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Tell me something about your health-related volunteer experiences.
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Why do you want to be a doctor, and what made you choose DO? He noticed I had applied to a lot of schools, both DO and MD, and asked if I could go to any medical school I wanted to, what would it be and why? (this question made me nervous, since Western is not my first choice, but I answered honestly and it couldn't have mattered too much because I was accepted).
-
Tell me about your research.
-
What's OMT?
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Specific application questions.
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A question about my personal statement concerning why medicine
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What three words would your friends use to describe you?
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You are administering a grant. Where would you send the money? AIDS or cancer.
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Tell me about yourself and what led you to Osteo Med.
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What would you do if you weren't accepted this year?
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Difficult event, how dealt with it?
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Why do you want to be a Doctor?
-
Tell me about your self
-
How is your experience working at ____?
-
Tell me about how you found your interest in medicine?
-
Why DO over MD?
-
Tell me about yourself.
-
Why western, what organizations have you been part of and why, how did they help you get to this point. What has been the most difficult situation you have faced with these organizations and how did you solve them?
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How did you end up choosing osteopathic medicine? Why do you want to come to Western? Did you apply to MD schools as well? Explain your research and volunteer activities.
-
Explain your line of reasoning from medicine, to osteopathic medicine, to this school
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Summarize the events that led up to you deciding to apply to osteopathic school.
-
What was your favorite science course and why?
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Tell us how your experiences as a bioethicist have helped you develop as a person.
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What do you do for work now? How long have you done it? Do you work there full time? Do you work with DOs? What do you do with pts?
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Strengths and weaknesses of app
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Gives a scenario where there are 2 patients that need an organ transplant, which one would I pick and why.
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AIDS or cancer: which one would i fund as a researcher and why?
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See interesting question above
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Why western, and would you choose DO over MD? what schools did u apply to?
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Why did you choose your undergraduate degree? (BA-Communications0
-
Tell me about yourself/your background
-
Why DO
-
Ethics, about me, about my views on medicine etc
-
What do you think about stem-cell research?
-
Why osteopathy, and what do your parents think of you becoming a DO? (they are MD's)
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Why Osteo, why medicine, why Western U, what other schools are you applying to, what interviews have you had/will have, and where would you most likely go?
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Why did you choose the profession you are in? If you caught a fellow student doing drugs, what would you do? If you caught a fellow student with a hangover, what would you do?
-
Explain (one of my community service)
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Tell us about your decision to pursue medicine
-
How do you feel about your MCAT?
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What are your opinions on stem cell research and why? If you had a terminally ill patient that was adamantly against stem cell research and stem cells were a viable treatment option, would you offer it to him? Why or why not?
-
Explain you bad MCAT verbal score. Explain all low grades.
-
What was the best Philosophy course you've taken?
-
Tell us about your life to this point. Why Osteopathy and how did you learn about it.
-
"Tell me about yourself" Make sure to decide ahead of time how you wish to direct the discussion.
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Why osteopathy
-
The interview was very relaxed and the interviewer just wanted to get to know me. One interesting thing, however, was that when he got to my MCAT scores and grades, he did something weird. He told me that my MCAT scores were only average for the school, when I know they are WAY above average (in the 30's). That struck me as being odd. Then he went on to say that he would have a hard time explaining to the admissions committee that my course work was acceptable because I hadn't taken prerequisites for almost a decade. I graduated from CU in 1996. But within the last two years, while working as a full-time hospital attorney, a part-time professor, and a part-time military magistarte, I completed 30 semester hours of prerequisites (a year each of chem, o chem, graduate-level biochem; and a semester of physiology and physics) with a gpa of 3.95. Then he told me that my MCAT scores were higher than his. Who cares? Like I said, it was weird...
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Do you feel osteopathic medicine is more a science or a philosophy?
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Why medicine
-
How did you get involved in medicine? Why DO?
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Why doctor? Why DO? Why Western?
-
Your 2 strengths and weaknesses
-
Why medicine, DO specifcally
-
Describe a person who is very different from you but has influenced you in some way.
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Strengths/Weaknesses
-
Good conversation
-
What do you do for fun?
-
Tell me about yourself i.e. what do you do for fun?
-
Why this school?
-
Tell me about yourself and why you are interested in osteopathy and in COMP.
-
Why med and why do?
-
Why DO? Why COMP?
-
Tell about yourself.
-
How did you deal with a situation in which someone disagreed with you.
-
A player comes to you asking for a "fix" before a big game...what do you do?
-
Tell us about how you first started helping people and why?
-
Tell me about your background. - Very broad question. I asked the interviewers, where should I begin. They said tell us a synopsis of your life.
-
How would your friends describe you?
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What classes did you take in undergrad. to prepare you for medical school.
-
Why did you choose your undergraduate college?
-
Tell us an over view of what you have done in your life?
-
Have you ever dealt with conflict?
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Why DO? Why Western? What are the strengths and weakness of you application? Tell me about yourself? What volunteer work have you done? What did you learn from shadowing a physician?
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Describe your personality
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What other medical schools did you applied to? Why osteopathic medicine? Name your strengths/weaknesses.
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Why have you chosen Osteopathic medicine? Why Western over Touro?
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Why DO? What have u been doing since you graduated?
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Why do you want to be a doctor
-
Why do you want to become a D.O.
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Why do you want to be a DO?
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When and why did you decide to practice medicine? and when did you decide to be a DO? (followed up with questions on OMM)
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Tell me about yourself. Name three positive personality traits.
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Why do you want to be a physician--give us a story of when/how you decided to become a DO?
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What specialty are you interested in right now?
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My religious convictions- I think this line of questioning is inappropriate (you want a doctor with moral fiber and good sense of ethics right?). However, the underlying concern is that you will take advantage of others in compromising situations- so I spoke to that concern, and how I respect those of other backgrounds, beliefs etc. If you have strong religious convictions be prepared to answer this concern/question of how you deal with those of other faiths/backgrounds- 5 of the 7 interviews I did at various schools asked me about this
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Why Western
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Tell me the strenghts and weaknesses in your application and explain the weakness.
-
Tell us about yourself, who you are, what have you done and why do you want to be a D.O. at western?
-
Tell me about yourself, why Western and why DO?
-
Tell me about yourself, specifically why and when did you decide to pursue medicine, osteopathy, and Western.
-
Why do? why western?
-
Weaknesses? Strengths?
-
What have you been doing for the last two years?
-
Why COMP?
-
What was your favourite non-science class?
-
Why Medicine? Why Osteopathic medicine? Why Western?
-
Why do you want to be a doctor, stuff you would expect.. no ethical questions..
-
What do you see as the biggest challenge facing medicine today?
-
How did you hear about Osteopathic medicine?
-
How did you learn about osteopathic medicine?
-
"If you couldn't be a doctor, what would you be?"
-
Why do you want to become a doctor, specifically a DO?
-
Strengths and weaknesses
-
Why do you want to go to Western
-
You scored well on the MCAT. How did you study?
What was the most interesting question?
Students said most interesting question asked at Western University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific discussed a wide range of topics including ethical dilemmas, social media impact on medicine, personal strengths and weaknesses, regional language proficiency, and patient scenarios. Additionally, respondents mentioned Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) questions which required them to maintain nondisclosure due to the format of the interview.
Top 5 Responses: (Click below to see additional responses)
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How do you make a good first impression? Follow up: How do you treat people who make a bad first impression?
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Tell me what empathy means to you and how you demonstrate it
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Biggest strength?
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Your best friend is diagnosed with a serious illness during finals. What would you do?
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The ethical dilemma questions
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How do you feel social media plays a role in your job as a physician?
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Does the region you are from speak this language?
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What are the 3 things you want your patients to leave your clinic feeling?
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The questions were not interesting or unique
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What is one thing you would you change about yourself and why?
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What is a time you experienced failure and what did you do?
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How do you think physicians learn to be compassionate?
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Why do you think you can handle medical school
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Name a time when you had a difference with someone. The difference could be about anything.
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MMI questions-- sworn to secrecy!
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How do you approach a situation where people on your team are falling behind on their obligations?
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Recall and elaborate on a situation in which your role as a leader came into play.
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Application specific questions
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Why would you choose Western over [other school i had an interview scheduled for]?
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Where do you stand in the current political debate on health care?
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Act out this scenario...
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Role playing: One interviewer is a student in a group project that is worth 25% of your grade. He hasn't done any work and the project is due in 5 days. Act out how you would handle this situation.
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Scenario: Roger has terminal cancer and had a surgery but feels weaker and is in more pain. His friend thinks the surgery was a mistake, but you and Roger think it was the right move. How do you address Roger's friend's concerns?
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Role playing about freidn pissing you off bc doesnt do work and you have to confront them.
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They have a multiple choice question about a man who had surgery and has more pain after the surgery and you have to decide on an answer
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I was asked to read a paragraph out loud and then answer a question from a list of options and then explain my answer.
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Role playing.
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They gave us a multiple choice question regarding a patient's friend's reaction to a surgical complication and how we would address the concern.
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A question about team work.
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2 million dollars to fund hiv or cancer, which one?
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None
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Why did I go to prep school for high school? They were very interested in the details of my life and my path. I wasn't expecting it to go back this far, but they were genuinely interested because it is a unique aspect of my life path. Focus on these points in your interview.
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$100 million one
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How many tennis ball is equivalent to the volume of a blue whale?
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How do you view your religion (I'm Christian non-denom) both helping you as a physcian and causing difficulty?
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What was a topic in a science class that really excited me?
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Give us an example of a recent conflict you've had with a boss. How did you handle it?- I explained my super senses and how I avoid conflicts by sensing these them before they begin. Its true.
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As a member of an ethics committee, what criteria would you use to validate revoking a doctor's license to practice?
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As a student-athlete, did you have to deal with teammates using illegal substances?
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The ama thinks its unethical for physicians to inject lethal injections to prisoners and to use psychiatrists in interrogations of criminals. What do you think? (i disagreed) He followed up with, so you basically think the ama is full of bs? (i didn't know what to say lol)
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The introvert one
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Is a microRNA chemically different than any other RNA? (I do research involving miRNA)
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If you had a million dollars and were to donate it to HIV/Cancer research, how would you decide how much to give each?
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You come upon a car accident. There is a mother and her 2 y.o. son. They are both going to die. You can only save one of them. Who do you save and why?
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None really
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What would you do if being a doctor wasn't an option? I said I would try again next year. I would do everything possible to make myself more competitive. The interviewer then asked what if becoming a doctor is not possible WHATSOEVER... GEEEEEEEEZ
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Why are people more friendly in England than in the US? (i mentioned studying abroad there and such)
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You're at the gym and you see an elderly gentleman fall down the stairs. He is unconscious. What do you do?
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How many tennis balls would be a good representation of a blue whale's body volume?
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The AMA has just publicly spoken out against the use of doctors in the administration of lethal injection and psychiatrists in interrogation. What are your thought?
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If you were in charge of a clinic and given a large donation how would spend it?
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What can be done to reform the health care system?
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Nothing really.
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What is an ethical issue that you have heard about that is facing medicine today
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What is the most exciting thing you've ever done in your life?
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Asked about my volunteer experiences
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What about you (potential weakness) could possibly create a medical liability for yourself or your patients?
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The mass spectrometry discussion....getting an interviewer on a tangent really made me feel that they were interested in what I was saying.
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Specific to my background
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I didn't really have any interesting question.
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You are walking along the street when your 9-year-old niece runs into traffic and is hit. She is knocked unconscious and is lying in the street, a pool of blood forming around her upper thigh. Detail what you do, step by step. (no joke, weirdest question ever. <nerd alert> i approached it like a d&d scenario)
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Tell us about a failure in your life.
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Tell me about the most interesting community service project that you have been appart of.
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The problem I had was that everytime I was trying to answer a question, one of the interviewee kept on cutting me off 1/2 way thru my answer and I never was able to finish answering his questions. Very frustrating because I did have answers to all his questions.
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Where are Hmong people from? (I volunteer with this population of people and the interviewer had never heard of this background before)
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None.
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Maybe the car mechanic one
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What non-science class did you most enjoy as an undergraduate?
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About my research. They asked a lot of people about research
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Nothing especially interesting or difficult. Very conversational.
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Is healthcare a right, privilege, or responsibility (from the latest presidential debate!)?
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If you found out a colleague was doing drugs, what would you do?
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Have you ever been placed in charge of a group of a people? How do you deal with problems when supervising these groups?
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If a caucasion and an african american came into your practice with the same illness how would you treat them? (its more complicated than "the same, I'm not racist)
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Questions about health care reform including universalizing.
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Doctor: Are you happy with your MCAT score? What other schools are you applying to? Are you applying to MD schools as well? - i just didn't think they would actually ask these questions.
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Some general research methods questions about my evolutionary biology research (the interviewer was a biochemist, so the questions were pretty basic)
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What do you think are the major problems with our health care system and tell me which presidential candidate you think has the best plan to fix these problems.
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How do you think you will fair coming from a small private school with a larger body of more competitive students from many top universities? Answer: Very well. My success academically speaking is not dependent on my classmates, but on my determination and personal commitment to achieving my goals.
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If you were given 300 million dollars how would you spend it?
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Why doctor, why DO, why Western? You can expect this question to be asked in every interview. Describe your role in your community service activity?
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No interesting or hard questions. The thing that was nice about this interview was that they really are just trying to get to know you as a person. At a previous interview, they were a bit more probing.
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I noticed you have an MD program listed in your application, how do you reconcile that with the fact that you are applying to DO school?
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Do you feel like being a liberal arts major makes you less competitive than someone who majored in biology?
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How does the show Survivor influence children?
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What do you think about drug companies advertising on television?
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How were you able to improve your college grades so well?
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If I were in a residency with a fellow doctor and I noticed that he made an error regarding the patient's condition/chart, what would I do?
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Regarding cognition skills of chimps vs. humans
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If you were given $100 million, how would you use it towards healthcare?
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What leadership experiences do you have?
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Your a physician in a clinic- a 15 year girl comes to you asking for an abortion and/or a reference for an abortion. What do you do and why? Explain in detail your rationale.
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If you had 10 million dollars would you use that money to help cure AIDS or Cancer
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Have you ever demonstrated leadership? If so when/where?
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What do you think about the healthcare system?
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How did you prepare for this interview?
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If you were given 100 million dollars to spend on healthcare, where would you spend it?
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Have you ever missed a deadline?
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Have you ever met anyone like yourself?
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Greatest weakness? hobbies? tell me about ___ experience/research? view of DO philosophy?
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What exactly is ultimate frisbee? (im on the school frisbee team)
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Unfortuanately none really...they just sort of asked me about myself and activities they saw on my application.
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What do you think about underserved areas due to the decline of hospitals in that region? How would you solve it.
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The questions were pretty standard. Nothing really interesting.
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Why did I choose my major if I knew I was interested in medicine?
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How does being a major in applied math apply in life and medicine?
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What is wrong with health care today and what can you do to fix it?
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Explain why there is a large discrepency in your grades from freshman year through senior year.
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How would you describe DNA to a pre-school kid?
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Should Medical Marijuana be legal?
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Since you mentioned stem cells (I had, but in the context of adult stem cell transplants, not a controversial topic), what do you think about stem cell research?
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How would you explain to someone what a DO is?
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How comfortable would you feel prescribing medical marijuana in the state of California?
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Why should we even bother with helping third world nations if they will be afflicted by factors other than medicine?
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Whether or not I would feel comfortable prescribing medicinal marijuana to a cancer patient in great pain
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Why not Midwestern? (location) Lots of ethical questions.
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Nothing very interesting was asked
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Nothing.
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So if you want to be a pathologist, why are you studying psychology [as an undergrad]?
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How do you deal with conflict? What was the most important thing you learned during your volunteer experiences? What are your strengths & weaknesses?
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What is the major issue facing health care today?
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You were accepted to other schools, why do you want to come to COMP?
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What are your opinions on pharmaceutical companies' drug advertisements geared toward the general public?
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If you had to choose between funding HIV and Cancer Research, how would you make that decision?
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A question asking why the allopaths do not subscribe to a more similar philosophy if the osteo philosophy makes so much sense.
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The state of CA allows the use of medical mary-jane, however, the feds dont. If a suffering cancer patient asked for a Rx for mary-jane, would you give it to her or would you worry about the feds knocking on your door?
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What would you do if a fellow physician/med student became addicted to drugs?
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What do you think about pharmaceutical companies spending money on advertising?
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Would I report a colleague for using illegal drugs
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What would my father (a M.D.) say about me applying to a D.O. School?
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What would you do if you discovered a physician friend of yours was forging patient information?
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Questions about my previous profession. I enjoy talking about it and it seems to be universally interesting to others.
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Honestly, there were no interesting questions. The interviewer seemed bored (nice guy, just very "standard" and not interested in me personally).
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Name and discuss and issue in health care today?
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Was there a time in your life where you had to make a decision and would you change your decision now that you look back?
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None. This was a stress interview.
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Describe a specific situation in which you were pressed for time and had a lot to accomplish. Describe how you handled it and what you learned from it.
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You are a physician. A 12 years-old girl came to see you seeking an abortion. The father of the baby is her stepfather. What do you do?
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To give an example of conflict-resolution.
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How do you feel about your major given your MCAT score?
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Knowing that you could potentially loose your license if you prescribed lethal doses of medication, would you do it if your patient requested it under your assisted suicide law?
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Discuss an area in ethics that you closely follow and what your views are towards that issue
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Tell me about your family.
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What would your peers say set you apart from them?
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Nothing unusual
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Does your family support you in your decision?
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When do you think you were the most responsible?
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What are your thoughts on bioengineered organs?
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An ethics question about who to give a kidney to, a older person or a younger person
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No interesting questions. Sounds bad, but it's true.
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Do you believe that illegal immigrants deserve health care even at the high cost to society? Do you feel it is society's responsibility to provide health care/food/housing to those that can't afford it?
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Just talking about my research, it was like giving a mini-presentation
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Nothing.No interesting question. The interviewer just wanted to find out more about me. Basically, he was asking more about me and my experiences and did not ask me any ethical questions.
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Why do people have different tolerances for pain?
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How does column chromatography work?
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If you were accepted to Touro and Western, which school would you go?
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How does quality of life increase with better health?
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Let's say you get accepted to this school as well as such and such school. How will you base your decision in determing which school to attend?
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How do you feel about assisted suicide? They recently legalized it in Oregon, and I'm curious how you feel about it. He went on to give an example of a patient with 3 months to live, afraid of pain, and asking for death.
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W/ all the problems w/ health care...how does a young person still want to go into the field?
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Considering the nature of your job while in college, were there any situations that were significant to you and how did they affect your decision to become a doctor? (I worked for a blood bank supplying blood products to hospitals)
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Who was someone that is an opposite of yourself and how have they impacted you?
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A 56 year old man with two children and a 24 year old man need a liver transplant. Both are eligible for the transplant, etc. . . Who would you choose and why?
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What do you like to do for fun?
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What other schools do you have interviews for?
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Ethical question on stem cells and genetic testing
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What I would do if I was accepted to every school I applied to, and what I would do if I was not accepted to any schools I applied to.
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Why did you choose your particular major?
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Three people need a liver. One is a 27 year old doctor, another is a 37 year old alcoholic and the third is a 57 year old doctor. Who do you choose and why?
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What is your opinion of physician assisted suicide?
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Would I give a 14 year old girl contraceptives.
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If you were on a panel that decided who received organ transplants what criteria would you take into consideration and why?
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Do i think it's more important for a physician to be highly technically skilled or to have great interpersonal skills?
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What three words would your friends use to describe you?
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What have you done in your life that would indicate you know what true responsibility is?
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What is your most memorable clinical experience?
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If your roomate was an animal rights activist what would you do if he/she was threatening a research facility on campus?
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All kind of standard boring
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Unfortunately, it was "tell me about a stressful time or obstacle and how you dealt with it"
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Two patients need a liver transplant. One is 54, has children, and insurance, and the other is 24, no children, and no insurance. Both were alcoholics. Who gets the liver and why?
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Tell me about your self
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Why osteopathic medicine?
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If I was in charge of a research found and had to decide which research to support, who would you give the funds to, Cancer research or AIDS research? Easy Cancer. AIDS is easily curable. (it is called abstinence). He also asked me why I would consider myself as having more responsibility than any other 24 year old. (I didn't consider myself as havingmore responsibility but I guess I do having a wife and Child on the way).
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What kind of support do you have at home?
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If two people needed a liver transplant-- your best friend (age 23) and a potential nobel prize winner (age 60)--who would you give the liver to? (I brought this question up with my interviewer, and then he decided to ask me my opinion)
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If you could spend half of Bill Gates' money in any health-affirming way, what would you choose to spend it on?
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6 adjectives that a friend would use to describe me, 4 good, 2 bad
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To explain my lackluster collegiate performance in the early 1990s.
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Nothing too interesting, I prepared alot so I was expecting ethical questions, but they were all straightforward questions- like why western, why do, etc.
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All the questions were pretty basic. Why DO, why Western, what are your strengths and weaknesses.
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None were interesting
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How is your experience in the military going to make you a better physician?
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If you're friend was abusing drugs and you knew about it, what would you do/say to your friend? What current ethical issue have you been following and why is it an interesting one?
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Tell us how your experiences as a bioethicist have helped you develop as a person.
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"Twin babies are born weighing ~6oz. They leave the hospital months later at 5lb. Millions of dollars were spent. How do you feel about that?" I stated I was for giving the babies a chance at life if that's what their parents wanted. Their response,"That money could have been used for vaccinations for thousands of children. Are you still ok with your decision?"
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How did you come to know about osteo med?
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Ethical questions
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Name experiences when i have felt excited, afraid, and humiliated
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How would you advertise yourself and your practice in comparison to an allopathic physician?
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Would you prescribe medicinal marijuana knowing the feds might come after you?
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All the questions were very typical. Nothing out of the ordinary.
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What is the CA law on contraception and teenagers with regard to informing parents?
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Describe an instance where you were faced with a difficult decision. What did you decide and any regrets?
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Why DO and why medicine
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Having worked in so many different fields, why would we be convinced that you wouldn't drop medical school for another option?
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What do you think about stem cell research?
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Would you prescribe birth control pills to a 14 years old girl?
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We wound up talking about my brother for a bit, who is in canada studying music...go figure.
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How do you feel about stem-cell research?
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What's an ethical issue that you've been studying? (I said Stem Cell research, gave my opinion. I got a long soliloquy from my interviewer who was an embryologist and staunch supporter of embryonic research)
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2 ethical questions (1) A prisoner is on death row. You,a doctor, are told to cure him by making him sane again. If he is becomes sane, he will be executed. What do you do? (2) A health man in his 20s and and an alcoholic man in his 50s. Both need a new liver. You are given the authority to decide who gets the new liver. Who do you give it too? and why?
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Do you think your parents practice holistic medicine?
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What do you think of the Supreme Court wanting to overturn the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes?
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How did I feel about medical marijuana?
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If you had a part of Bill Gates's money, how would you use it to fix healthcare?
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What would your friends say about you? 1 good thing, 1 bad thing
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Stem cells: What do you think about the gov't funding this research?
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Should we do animal research? Why or why not?
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What do you think of Sammy Sosa? (this was in the context that I told him I was from Chicago and I wrote about professional sports)
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Since you are so intimately involved with medicaid and it's policy, tell us how you believe we should resolve issues stemming from over-use of our health care system by illegal immigrants who cross the border just to get health care?
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Being from Las Vegas, had I toured the new TUCOM-NV campus and what had I heard about it.
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"Given that you have had an interest in computers, how do you manage to remain personable at the same time?"
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What would you do if a 14 year-old patient of yours came to asking for birth control.
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Same question someone posted about last week-if you had $1million to give away to HIV or cancer which would you choose and why?
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Same as most difficult. There really wasn't too much to this interview.
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Name a person who is opposite you but has had a positive impact on your life.
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If you were the head of the NIH and had $10 million at your disposal would put the money towards HIV/AIDS research or diabetes research? (money could only go towards one or the other)
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Clinical exp
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They presented with a story, and than asked what would I do? For example, they gave me a story of a schizophrenic guy who was taking his meds on a regular basis, but one day he forgot to, and ran over a bunch of junior high students. The jury later found him guilty and gave him the death penalty. However, they could not execute him because he had turned insane due to lack of meds. Hence they bring you in as the prison pscychologist and ask you to fix him up so that they can execute him......What would you do?
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What would you do if a husband contracts AIDS but does not want to tell his wife?
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If a child needed a blood transfusion and his parents didn't believe in medical intervention, what would you do?
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The hardest science class is?
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"If I had never heard of osteopathic medicine, how would you explain it to me."
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Explain your grades..
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Who is a person who has a personality opposite of yours who has a great impact on you? (I knew this was one they asked but it still stumped me a little!)
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Ethical question about a psychiatric patient who wanted to harm antoher person, wat would you do with the information
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Describe a person who is very different from you but has influenced you in some way.
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Tell me about your research. What did you find?
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Use of marijuamna
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What was your favorite science class? Tell me something interesting you learned in it?
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A year or two ago President Bush made an announcement about what should be done with the embryos created for stem cell research. What are your thoughts on that?
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Why did you choose Economics as your major?
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If you had a patient who tested positive for HIV and you knew he/she was sexually active and that patient refused to divulge that info to partners and practice safe sex, what would you do?
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How would respond to X ethical dilemna?
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Tell about a person who influenced your life
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Nothing really, just stuff off of my application
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Quesion #3 below.
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What is your position on the federal government legislating the use of medical marijuana?
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No interesting questions
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How did you first get involved with helping people?
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What is it SPECIFICALLY about osteopathic medicine that really makes you want to be a DO?
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Related to my volunteer work
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What are some of the problems that your home-town faces?
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Will your family move here with you? ( I am married with 3 children)
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What was your favorit class and what was the most not favorit one!
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Have you ever dealt with conflict?
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What are the most important issues in public health
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What was so significant about the Rape of Nanking? (the interviewer and I had a common interest in history)
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How do you feel about women being in the Army?
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If we were to ask your family and friends what your weaknesses are, what would they tell us?
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If you caught the man that started the California Fires what would you do to him?
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Where would you live if you got in to western?
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Some hpyo-type questions...exactly like the ones posted by others...medical marijuana use and another one about the dearth penalty in arizona.
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In relation to one of my shadowing experiences...was there anything that you learned not to do as a physician?
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An ethics/morality question: Do you support the idea that california is toying with to institute mandatory AIDS/HIV testing and publicize the results? They then backed that up (according to the answer I think- I said no) with- Then do you support the current practice of posting child molester convictions?
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How do you feel about stem cell research?
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What patient population are you most interested in serving right now?
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All questions were straight forward.
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About my Alzheimers research and what are the strenghs and weeknesses of my aplication.
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"A 50 year old male presents with low back pain. As a personal trainer what do you do?"
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What is a current problem facing medicince today?
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Nothing---standard questions
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Very standard - nothing that interesting.
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I was asked an ethical question about who I would choose, between three candidates, to recieve a kidney transplant if there was only one kidney available.
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Regarding a specific paper I wrote in undergrad.
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None of the questions were particularly interesting. They were common interview questions.
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How would you integrate nutrition into osteopathic medicine?
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No hard questions.. Just stuff off my applications
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In relation to my volunteer work: Do you feel that medical students should be required to do a rotation at a hospice?
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If you had a patient suffering from some cancer treatment and needs marijuana, what would you do knowing that it is illegal to possess them, but not prescribing...
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In relation to my present job enrolling patients in cancer research trials: "Do you feel there is ever a conflict between asking a patient to be involved in research and the best treatment for the patient?"
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"Why do you need a support system in med school?" (i.e. support of friends and family) Well, duh!
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It depends on which ethical situation you think is the most difficult. I was drilled with ethical questions one after the other.
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Tell me some of the differences of asian music?
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Name three qualities about yourself that make you a good candidate
How did you prepare for the interview?
Applicants commonly prepared for the interview by conducting mock interviews, studying feedback on Student Doctor Network (SDN), researching the school's website, and reviewing their application materials. Suggestions included practicing with family and friends, studying ethical questions, and reflecting on personal experiences to prepare for potential interview questions.
Top 5 Responses: (Click below to see additional responses)
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Mock interviews, SDN, talking out loud
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Mock interviews, SDN, speaking to current students
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SDN Interview feedback page, writing out bullets for common questions, practicing with myself in the mirror, and practicing with my family.
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I did mock interviews with some friends and family, researched the schools, and looked at possible questions online and made bullet points that I could remember.
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Looking at SDN
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SDN reviews, practice questions
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Reviewed my secondary, reviewed my "why Western"
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Memorized Osteopathic tenets, reviewed school website, mock interview with advisor, practice ethical questions, read about MMI
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Mock interviews
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Went over my application
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Typical interview prep , MMI scenario prep
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SDN
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Went through the school's website, looked at SDN forums, and looked at YouTube videos on MMI and answering ethical dilemma questions.
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Read primary, secondary, interview feedback, practiced questions and answers
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School website, SDN interview survey, practice MMIs online
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SDN, school website, looking over my primary application and supplemental
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SDN interview feedback
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Using interview feedback
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SDN. Pretty much all of my questions were from it!
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Read SDN interview feedback, prayed.
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Researched the school on the website, SDN Interview Feedback, Reviewed my app and secondaries, Read articles on current healthcare issues, Got 8 hours of sleep
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Read up about WesternU on the school's website and SDN's interview feedback.
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SDN forums, mock interview
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Reading the school's website, reviewing my aacomas app and secondary, researching important topics in healthcare right now.
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Reviewed sdn questions from past years. Reviewd my application. Reviewed their website. Tried to be rested and relaxed the day of.
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SDN, spoke with peers that had interviewed there previously, reviewed application materials, and looked at the school's website.
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Thought of all possible questions and answers. SDN.
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SDN and online
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Used this forum
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Sdn, other interviews, research
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Read SDN interview feedback, read over my application both primary and secondary, researched the school on the website, asked my parents for input about my responses to sample questions, etc.
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Reviewed all application essays, SDN, good food, and plenty of sleep.
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Interview practice with friend, read sdn interview forums, reviewed application.
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SDN, Med School Interview book/Pfizer med school manual book both very helpful, re-read all of my old work including papers, abstracts, my curriculum vitae, and my applications. Went through a catalog of questions from websites and the books writing out the answers. Attended a practice session at my university and spoke with friends for tips.
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Review my application.
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Looked on SDN feedback, read the school's website, practiced with family, read up on current issues
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Studied SDN interview feedback questions intensively, mock interview with friends and families, read through CIB and western website.
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SDN, knew my file. Previous interviews
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Read interview feedback and school info, read my application and supplemental.
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SDN, read over Western website, ironed my shirt twice...ordered room service at the worst hotel in Pomona...immediately regretted this and went to sleep without brushing my teeth (I forgot to bring toothpaste)
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SDN, skimmed catalog, thoroughly looked over website, talked with the students on interview day.
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Reviewed my app, spent a lot of time on westerns website, reflected on my experiences that got me here
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-sdn feedback -mock interviews with friends and family, -The medical school interview by Jeremiah Fleenor (i totally recommend this book) -The DO's: Osteopathic medicine in America by Norman Gevitz (fascinating book, but not sure if its necessary for the interview. however, i think the interviewers are impressed if you read the book.) -read up on my app, ethics (u of washington website. I highly recommend this site), and my research
-
Sdn, western alums, cib, and school's website
-
SDN, school website, interview info from my school
-
Read their website, sdn, and CIB.
-
SDN, school website, review application, practice with fiance
-
Sdn, western's website
-
SDN, mock interviews with family/friends, studied like it was a midterm
-
Read SDN, checked out their website/CIB page, spent a lot of time reflecting.
-
Print/Read/Practice with SDN interview feedback, Read through school missions and website, have friends do group and one-on-one practice interview and not hold back the criticism :P
-
Studied bioethics, reviewed SDN, mock interview at undergrad school, lots of question practice with my wife, researched US health care policies and reform, watched "Sicko" for fun, good night's sleep.
-
Rehearsed answers to Qs that I knew they would ask. Ran these answers by the physician I shadow who helped me iron out the kinks. Oh... and deep knee bends in the bathroom right before interview time...
-
SDN, Mock Interviews, read over primary and secondary, talk to students at the school
-
SDN, mock interviews
-
SDN interview feedback, sleep well, look over application.
-
SDN, normal stuff
-
Read SDN boards, read up info on the school, mock interview
-
SDN, prayer
-
Prior interviews helped me to answer similar questions. I reviewed information about Western online and went over the informational packet I received during orientation before my interview.
-
Read Western's website, my application, and SDN
-
Read up about the school online and SDN interview feedback
-
1. Studentdoctor.net 2. Sat in my car and rehearse my answer. 3. Mock Interviews w/ friends. The mock interview w/ my friends were more nerve-wrecking than the real interview.
-
SDN, mock interviews, practiced in front of mirror
-
SDN, read my file.
-
SDN, website, review my file
-
Lots of online reading.
-
Sdn, looked over primary and secondary application, studied about DO from websites.
-
SDN, practice interviews with friends, advice from friend who interviewed here last year.
-
SDN. Western Site. Interview Database
-
Sdn, school website
-
SDN, practice interviewing, reviewing application and school information
-
Reviewed my file
-
School website, sdn, review my application
-
Coffee and breakfast burrito
-
Looked over my application materials and read about the history of osteopathic medicine
-
SDN, school website, mock interview
-
SDN, meeting with faculty previously.
-
Sdn interview feedback, reviewed my applications, practice answering.
-
Reviewed application and essays. Had practice from previous interviews.
-
Mock interview, this website, link from UCSD, a good breakfast and some meditation
-
Be confident. The day is very relaxed so the interview was the same way. Make sure you have answers for "Why Doctor? Why Western? Why DO?" and that you can just go on about yourself for 30 minutes if all they say is why.
-
SDN, mock interview, read AACOMAS and Western U applications. Western U website, AOA website - for osteopathy.
-
SDN, application review, talking with students at the school
-
SDN feedback forum...very helpful!
-
Reviewed my research literature, westernu.edu, SDN, mock interviews at my university. Took beta-blockers (propranolol) before my interview (highly recommended!!!)
-
SDN, went to westernu.edu and read about the school, and talked to some COMP students and alumni.
-
Enjoyed beautiful California. Although Pomona is a poor area, you can at the beaches, LA or the mountains within 30-45 minutes.
-
SDN, reviewed my application, read my primary and secondary essays.
-
Looked over apps, school website
-
Website, mock-interview with undergrad
-
Talked to current Western COMP students and osteopathic medical students from other colleges. Looked over my apps and the school's website.
-
SDN website and school's website
-
Gained some confidence and utilized SDN for potential questions
-
SDN website, reviewed prior interview questions,studied internet articles on osteopathic medicine.
-
Went over my application + SDN
-
Went over interview questions from previous interviews I've been through. Spent about 1 hr reviewing. Didn't want to prepare much b/c I just wanted to be myself.
-
SDN/School Website
-
SDN, read over the website, read over my file.
-
SDN a great book
-
SDN, school's website.
-
Typical stuff.
-
Thats exactly what they asked me!
-
Attended OMAC, read website, SDN feedback
-
SDN, school's website
-
School website, mock interviews, review app, sdn
-
Went over application and practiced sdn interview questions on the plane
-
SDN, school web-site
-
Go over primary and secondary app
-
Read secondary, learned about the school and curriculum, read SDN, and did a mock interview.
-
I didn't really, I just wanted to be myself.
-
Read my aacomas and western university secondary apps, student doctor net
-
SDN, mock interviews, reviewed application, read school website
-
Friends who are current students SDN
-
SDN, Schools Web site, and 2ndary app
-
SDN, The Medical School Interview book, review AMCAS and secondary, go over questions
-
SDN; practiced interviewing; interviewed at different schools; read the book ''The DOs.''
-
Re-read my application and essays.
-
SDN, review apps
-
Read some books with example questions
-
SDN, practiced ethical questions with family and friends, SDN forums
-
Website, reviewed app
-
SDN. And school website
-
Reviewed my application and resume, looked around the website for potential questions to ask the interviewer(s), thought about what in my application would *I* ask about were I the interviewer and come up with an honest response. I was hosted by three med students so I harassed them AND their friends the night before for more information.
-
Read application, SDN interview feedback
-
SDN feedback, reviewed application
-
Re-read app
-
Mock interviews, SDN interview feedback, discussed possible interview questions/answers with family
-
SDN, read the school's website
-
SDN - mock interviews, reviewed my application, and bought a short ethics manual geared towards medical interviews... as it turned out the article that I read from the latest Scientific American on the plane helped as well.
-
Read over application, SDN, talked with student host, read about the school
-
SDN, looked over my stuff, got no sleep
-
Went over questions on SDN, mock interview--I was over-prepared for questions that they barely asked me
-
SDN, review my file, read every word on WCOMP's website
-
Mock Interviews. Lots and lots of mock interviews. My best tip for anyone who wants to do well on the interview is: Do at least one mock interviews with a doctor you've come to know well, and let them judge your performance after you finish. If you did well, congrats, you'll probably do well on the real ones too. If you didn't, or if there was a moment during the mock interview you stumbled, make sure you work on it and improve.
-
SDN, school's website, reviewed my secondary & personal statement, Mock interviews with family
-
Reread my application material, SDN, tried to relax.
-
Read through SDN, the school's website, read my applications
-
SDN, School Web site, Mock interviews, practice questions
-
SDN and review application
-
Studied this site and the schools website along with reviewing my application
-
SDN interview feedback and reviewed and prepared answers for all questions listed on the school's website for interview tips.
-
Re-read through my application and essays, SDN interview, have fun the day beforehand
-
Read schools website, this site, and spoke to alumni
-
I re-read all statements for all schools applied to. They had a set of sample questions posted on their website, so I prepared my answers to them.
-
Interview Feedback, Healthcare issues, school website
-
Read SDN, school's website and literature, read "The D.O.'s" by Grevitz
-
SDN, Western's website, mock interviews
-
I visited this site, studied the school's catalog, researched the city on the internet, read the section on interviewing in the Pfizer guide to med school admissions, read some editorials and articles on the NEJM site.
-
Read SDN and school website, mock interview, read applications
-
SDN, read schools website and my secondary materials.
-
Read SDN Feedback; Thoroughly read over my file; Relaxed...
-
SDN, WesternU website, AACOMAS application and PS, looked over ethical issues; read 2 books on osteopathy
-
I just went in as myself. I glanced at my secondary application and my prior research.
-
SDN (of course), school's website, other interviews.
-
SDN, Mock Interview, Researched the school
-
Read my application, read up on ethical issues raised in my biomedical ethics class
-
Sdn, website of school, journals
-
Read over ethical issues. SDN. Read over school website. Studied history of Osteopathy. Talk with 4th year DO student who attends this school.
-
Read my file, went over the interview feedback, that was basically it.
-
Sdn, school website, other DO students
-
SDN feedbacks, school website, visits to school's pre-med office for last minute tips, mock interviews
-
Meditated and performed my yoga routine the night before. Nah, just went over this site's interview questions.
-
Mock interview, recording and listening to myself answer, reviewing questions of all sorts.
-
This website, theirs, spoke to students
-
Sdn, reviewed all my application materials, pre-drafted answers to frequent questions
-
Looked over SDN, Primary, Secondary, schools website, and attended their Awareness conference (Aug and Oct).
-
Sdn, review app, read up on current events in the health field
-
Sdn, mock interviews, research about the school
-
SDN, website
-
Just relaxed. As long as you're confident, relaxed, and honest, there should be no problems.
-
SDN Inteview feedback, interview presentations at my college
-
Read over my primary and secondary apps, read Western U website, SDN
-
Researched ethical questions, schools website, sdn
-
SDN, reviewed application
-
I didn't, really. I looked over this website.
-
Read SDN, school's website, some ethical stuff.
-
Read the school's website, researched it at sdn.
-
Reviewed AACOMAS, supplemental app, school website, SDN, mock interview
-
SDN, read the school's website.
-
Talked to Do's and MD's, talked to DO students, read this web site
-
Sdn, school website, made sure to allow enough time to drive to the school!
-
Slept a lot
-
Read SDN, application, school website.
-
Read this site, studied ethical situations, prepared and practiced responses, and did a practice interview.
-
I practice a lot
-
Reviewed my essays, student doctor network.
-
Read over my application. Looked at the school's website. Surfed the morining before the interview.
-
SDN, school web site, application
-
Read website, looked at practice questions, and just relaxed
-
Read my application, got a massage, meditated, found a good place to get coffee the morning of the interview.
-
Read through COMP website, reviewed SDN Q's and prepared answers to common Q's
-
Prepared for ethics questions, but mostly just went in as myself.
-
SDN, western website, reviewed 2ndary, reviewed practice interview questions with friends, looked over D.O.'s by Gevitz
-
Mock interview, read SDN website, read Western website.
-
This website, read over my application and tried to rest.
-
SDN, went over secondary, practiced with my parents and friends
-
SDN, school website, self reflection
-
SDN, mock interview, websites, alumni
-
Western website, SDN, Western sample interview questions
-
Read my file, schools website, and this website
-
Sdn, western's website, read up on current events/medical and ethical issues
-
Reviewed my file, sdn
-
Read sdn questions which really helped a lot bc the questions were exactly the same. and read my secondary
-
SDN website, School website, mock interview, previous interviews.
-
Sdn, app. material, ethics commentary
-
Read SDN and application
-
Secondary/primary review, SDN, school website
-
I was just myself
-
Practice with another person. Re-read application and essays.
-
Just looked over my supplement app.
-
SDN, read my app, read up on stem cell research
-
Review my application and practice questions
-
SDN, application, news
-
Sdn, read over app
-
SDN, read applications, mock interviews in my head
-
Mock interview, SDN, read over file.
-
SDN, COMP website
-
SDN and school website
-
Primary and secondary applications & SDN
-
Read SDN, application, school website
-
This website, read over app, etc
-
I didn't really. Other than looking over my application file and reading the DO's by Norman Gevitz.
-
SDN, read the school's website, talked to other SDNers.
-
SDN, Job Interviews for dummies, Job interview web sites, reading over my apps and osteopathic materials
-
I read posts on this site as well as threads in the forum, spoke with students and alumni, read the website and books on med schools and interviewing, and I spent the day before the interview at Western attending class and lab with the OMS1s
-
This website, school's website.
-
Website, sdn, read over secondary app
-
I have decided that I don't do as well if I prepare possible answers, so I just read my application a couple of times.
-
Schools website, my application, SDN
-
SDN site,Gevitz the DO's,read over AACOMAS and secondary app, and most importantly went in with a good attitude.
-
Go over the primary and secondary applications, do on-line research about the campus, do mock interview with a career counselor and read SDN
-
I know this advice has been given over and over again..but the best thing you can do is to be yourself......other than that, just have an answer for any dings in your application and know your own personal statement really well.
-
This website, application, and Western's website
-
School website, sdn
-
Review my application & this website
-
SDN, school's website, talked to people who had interviewed there before
-
Sdn, personal profile, school website
-
Go over my application; peruse through this website; visit WesternU website
-
Student doctor.net, read over my Western app
-
Sdn, read my application
-
Looked over secondary & AACOMAS application, visited the school website, and studied current health/medical ethic issues (although unnecessary b/c they didn't ask any hypothetical/ethical questions).
-
Read this site and talked to other people who had interviews this year.
-
Read over the brochure and read up on previous posts on this interview feedback
-
Sdn, reviewed app, school's website
-
Read SDN, my secondary and any information about osteopathic medicine
-
Mock interviews, online feedback, videotaping myself, meeting with a doc who had been on an admissions committee.
-
SDN, read the news
-
Internet, This website, Mock-interviews
-
Read feedback, went over my app, talked with western students, asked people lots of questions
-
Thoroughly researched the school's website. Read every single SDN feedback on the school. Practiced tricky questions with my boyfriend. The night before, just relaxed had a nice dinner, worked out and went to bed.
-
Slept well and ate well
-
Kaplan's Guide to Admissions book, reading over personal statement, reading over both the school's and osteopathic's history and information.
-
Their website, this website, went over first and second application
-
The school web site and read over my application material
-
By rereading my file
-
Sdn, web site.
-
Read the interview feedback questions from this website; asked family members who had been through the process before; video recorded myself
-
Read through their website
-
Reading over my applications, visiting school websites, reading various text on Osteopathic concepts, this website
-
SDN, talked to alumni and current COMP students, alot of web research
-
Sdn, interview feedback
-
Reading this website
-
This site
-
Sdn, read my application, wrote out some answers to common questions
-
Undergrd campus mock interviews, typing out answers to typical interview questions and questions from this site.
-
SDN, school's website, and relaxed the night before by wathcing the LA game.
-
SDN, mock interview, read application, researched the school
-
Read SDN, talked to students, read the website and materials given
-
Read over my files, SDN, mock interviews, researched school
-
This website and the school's website. Read over application many times.
-
This site, schools site, visiting the campus, talking to the mirror and my boyfriend, breathing excersises.
-
Interview feedback, talking to other interviewees, other interviews
-
SDN, Western Website, reviewes my applications, meetings with current students and alumni
-
SDN, read over my applications and essays...and background on Western
-
SDN, school website, secondary app.
-
SDN, review school web site, Osteopathic Awareness Conference notes.
-
Prepared myself to answer questions about my application and read the school's website.
-
Read about the school, looked over my entire application.
-
I went through the questions posted on this website for COMP and made a list of them to think about etc... Most of the question were verbatim from this site.
-
The SDN, read my application, read up on the school
-
Mock interviews with friends. outline what you want to get across to the interviewers.
-
Studentdoctor, read about the school, read my application
-
None, just relaxed, prayed and played video games.
-
Reviewed my application, their website, and my prior research. Got a good nights sleep.
-
This site, school website
-
This site. Had previous interviews which helped calm the nerves.
-
Read about the school, read my essays, read different feedbacks
-
Read about the school
What was the most difficult question?
Students said most difficult question asked at Western University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific discussed various topics such as empathy, conflict resolution, future career choices, ethical dilemmas, and personal weaknesses. The interview format may have been an MMI (Multiple Mini Interview) based on the wide range of questions asked, including a multiple choice scenario and ethical considerations, potentially involving a nondisclosure agreement as some responses suggested a diverse and challenging set of inquiries.
Top 5 Responses: (Click below to see additional responses)
-
They give you 5 minutes to ask questions at the end of the interview so have a couple of good questions prepared
-
What does empathy and describe a time you were empathetic.
-
Tell me about a time you learned from someone with a different background than yourself.
-
Tell me about a time of conflict.
-
None were too difficult.
-
None of them stood out in particular. Probably a question about my failures/weaknesses
-
Will you stay in the U.S. after you graduate from medical school? Why?
-
There are a lot of great schools that you'll be accepted to, so why Western over all of those schools.
-
Why are you a good fit
-
How do you see the advancement of technology affecting doctors' professionalism?
-
I wouldn't describe any of the questions as difficult.
-
I see you took the MCAT twice. Are you satisfied with your score?
-
None really. Stick to SDN questions and you will be golden. It is open file but they don't tend to ask about grades or extracurriculars... at least in my case.
-
If you got into all the schools you applied to, how would you choose?
-
What does accountability mean to you?
-
What does it mean to practice patient-minded medicine? (something like that, not sure the exact wording)
-
Recall and elaborate on a situation in which your role as a leader came into play.
-
Regarding your MCAT score [somewhat low], what happened? (The way my interviewer said it was quite rude)
-
What was the last book you read for fun?
-
Why do you want to be a doctor?
-
Your partner and you have a project that is worth 25% of your grade, but your partner isn't doing the work. Your partner is your interviewer. Have a conversation.
-
A multiple choice question about surgery complications and having to deal with the patient's friend/family.
-
When were you an advocate for someone
-
What was your favorite Organic Chemistry reaction? Explain it. How do you make a carbon-carbon bond?
-
The multiple choice question. it was difficult to focus while someone stared at you.
-
None were all that difficult.
-
A question about a Pt and friends reaction to quality of care received.
-
If you had 200 billion dollars to give to either HIV and Cancer research, given what you know about the two, which would you pick and why?
-
None. This is a low-stress interview where they are just trying to get to know you. Do a lot of self-reflection on your personal journey and prepare to discuss it articulately and passionately with them (and you should be fine!).
-
Explaining the discrepancy between gpa and mcat
-
No difficult, most are within prep material
-
Definitely the 100 million dollars question. The researcher kept pressing me with my allocation of the funds, how much would be required for what, etc. If he was trying to demonstrate my inability to compute large numbers in my head while under stress, he succeeded!
-
The conflict Q. I'll be honest, this was the only question that caught me off guard. Everything else was very straight forward and super relaxed. Although, they really fired a lot of questions off. My panel was full of fast-talkers
-
As a member of an ethics committee, what criteria would you use to validate revoking a doctor's license to practice?
-
None were really difficult
-
Ama and the health care reform questions
-
None
-
No question was really difficult, but all were different than I expected them to be.
-
If you had a million dollars and were to donate it to HIV/Cancer research, how would you decide how much to give each?
-
You come upon a car accident. There is a mother and her 2 y.o. son. They are both going to die. You can only save one of them. Who do you save and why?
-
None really
-
What is Alzheimer's Disease? WHICH protein aggregates? (somewhat related to the research i mentioned)
-
We want to know how you handle conflict. Can you tell us about a personal conflict you were involved in and how you resolved it?
-
Pretty standard, the blue whale question did startled me a bit. But they just want to see how you handle situation on the spot, no right/wrong.
-
Same question, mostly because I wasn't aware of this, so I had to think on the fly about it.
-
Tell us about a failure in your life.
-
If you were in charge of a clinic and given a large donation how would spend it?
-
Why would you rather attend an osteopathic program over an allopathic program?
-
The question concerning my major, especially since I had taken that class 5 years ago. It really threw me back and I ended up answering honestly "I don't remember."
-
Nothing too difficult
-
What is the most exciting thing you've ever done in your life?
-
Answering the same question twice...see question 1
-
What about you (potential weakness) could possibly create a medical liability for yourself or your patients?
-
The questions about other schools....had to tread carefully because I have another acceptance but I prefer Western.
-
None were very difficult
-
Do you have any question for us? Fortunately, I did. Because my questions had stirred up a good discussion. That really ease up the atmosphere.
-
Talk about one of your fears.
-
If a child needs a liver transplant, and a 50 y/o man with 4 kids needs a liver transplant, but you can only save one- who do you choose and why?
-
Tell me your strengths and weaknesses?
-
Have you ever faced difficulty before and how did you overcome it?
-
What is holistic care exactly?
-
None.
-
What speialty do you want to do (difficult because I was torn between really saying what I wanted and just saying primary care)
-
The AIDS vs. Cancer research....
-
Your biggest weakness or something like that
-
If you found out a colleague was doing drugs, what would you do?
-
Where do you see yourself in 10 years? Where do you see yourself in 14 years? Okay, the government has just given you a $2 million grant, make a list and prioritize what you will do with the money.
-
Describe how you resolve conflicts
-
What schools have you applied to? (I applied to both DO and MD) If you got into a DO and an MD school which would you attend?
-
What is my biggest worry/ can I handle the volume of material?
-
Nothing was really difficult. The SDN website helped alot in preparing for questions. Just have something to say, but its ok to take a few seconds to think or compose ur thoughts.
-
Nothing really, it was really laid back...easy, discussion based questions
-
Not really any difficult questions. Everyone be ware of political type questions....election is just around the corner!
-
What enzyme converts succinate to fumarate? Answer: Succinate Dehydrogenase, but please don't ask me to draw it, it's an enzyme for crying out loud. (By the way, humor really seemed to ease the tension in my interviews, especially after answering tougher questions. And from what others have told me, my questions were abnormally challenging)
-
What are your strengths and what are your weaknesses?
-
My interest in DO stems from the fact that my scores are lower than average for MD and the more I researched DO the more I felt it matched my personal philosophy/ideology of what medicine should be.
-
Nothing
-
If you had a $100,000,000 would you spend it on curing one disease or education?
-
There were no ''difficult'' questions.
-
Tell us about your research
-
The one about the error (I had try to explain that I would do something about it but not go over his head or act like his boss)
-
Where else did you apply/why would happen if you got into X school
-
Why do you think you were not asked for an interview when you applied to med. schools last year given your good stats? What have you done to correct this? (JUST a reference: 30Q MCAT, 3.9 science, 3.7 overall GPA)
-
What was your hardest class and why
-
Nothing was difficult.
-
Tell me about your life, including why medicine, Osteopathic medicine and Western specifically.
-
What is an action potential? (after i explained my research in neurobio)
-
Would you go here or [insert popular southern california M.D. school]?
-
Give us one example of an instance in which some performed a great act of compassion on your behalf.
-
All pretty straight forward questions, nothing too unexpected if youre prepared.
-
Name 4 strengths and 5 weaknesses... (the numbers were weird)
-
What makes you more qualified then the other cadidates? (Not really that difficult though if you have done any prep what so ever)
-
What do you think about underserved areas due to the decline of hospitals in that region? How would you solve it.
-
The questions weren't difficult, but I only had a minute at the end to discuss my research.
-
Give 3 adjectives for my weaknesses.
-
If you had to put $100,000,000 into a healthcare problem, what area would you put it in?
-
Same as above.
-
What MD schools did you apply to and why should we choose you?
-
Your numbers are great, what are your weaknesses?
-
Same
-
Give us an adjective that other people use to describe you, that you do not agree with.
-
How would you explain to someone what a DO is?
-
How would you define a primary care provider?
-
Why should we even bother with helping third world nations if they will be afflicted by factors other than medicine?
-
Nothing was too difficult
-
Why not Midwestern? (Midwestern and COMP were both at the top of my list. There's alumni from both schools at both schools. This question made me uncomfortable.)
-
He said something weird about why would i study abroad in ecuador. he said he heard it was dirty. i didnt know what to say. i just said no it wasnt really.
-
One of the interviewers attacked my religious identity.
-
Probably ''If you were accepted to all three of your top schools, how or which would you choose?'' It was difficult because I had to be honest and admit that I would choose another school over Western. But remember: honesty's the best policy.
-
Why do you feel your MCAT writing score is so low?
-
What was the most difficult time you had as a Volunteer in the ER.
-
Same as above
-
Looking at the rest of your grades, why did you get a C in the first semester of Organic Chemistry? Why do you think medical schools require Organic Chemistry?
-
See above
-
The state of CA allows the use of medical mary-jane, however, the feds dont. If a suffering cancer patient asked for a Rx for mary-jane, would you give it to her or would you worry about the feds knocking on your door?
-
What are some examples of me demonstrating leadership that would be applicable to succeeding as a medical student?
-
1) What would you say to an animal rights activist about your animal research?
-
Motivation to go to medical school, what made you change your direction from where you were going, and how did u prepare for it?
-
None. I felt well prepared. I didn't get any ethical question.
-
None really.
-
A question about a grade I had received in a math class. The question was not difficult I just did not answer it well. I used it as an opportunity to comment on my academic record in general instead of just pointing out that I had done much better in more advanced math classes. I felt like I was rambling on without having a real point.
-
Tell me about yourself. Everyone hates open questions... making the answer concise is tough.
-
Name and discuss a health care issue today?
-
Nothing really
-
How come you only got an xx on your MCAT
-
Describe 3 of your bad qualities.
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You are a physician. A 12 years-old girl came to see you seeking an abortion. The father of the baby is her stepfather. What do you do?
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Tell me about someone in your life who is different from you who you learned something from.
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None seemed difficult to me.
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What would you say one of you weaknesses?
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What is one characteristic that would make you a good physician.
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Do you have any questions...I had already asked so many to the students and found my answers
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None really...
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Nothing difficult
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Describe something from one of your premedical classes that really impressed you. (Wasn't prepared for this question) He wanted a specific example like the electron transport chain.
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When do you think you were the most responsible?
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Tell me about the research you did...4 years ago.
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None, really...although when the conversation lagged he looked at my application and made a face and at that point i opened up a can of worms by asking if he was looking at my numbers
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No difficult questions, either. Probably the most straightforward interview I have had.
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What was something scientific that you learned in one of your science classes that made you have a revelation about science?
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What are your weaknesses?
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Tell me an event where you had to make a difficult decision.
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How do you feel about purely cosmetic surgery surgery using the resources of our healthcare system. What would you do about it.
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Describe a position in which you had too many things to do at the same time - what was the result, and how did you handle it?
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If you were given a unlimited amount of capitals, which problem would you tackle? HIV/AIDS cure research or sex education?
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Why do you want to become a DO not an MD. Similarly, she asked me to compare and contrast DO and MD.
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What is "primary care"?
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What criteria did you take into account when applying to WesternU and if you are accepted to every medical school to which you apply, how will you determine which school to attend?
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What ethical dilemma do you want to discuss?
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How do you feel about illegal aliens being entitled to medical care? Think about this with the metaphor of the medical system as a boat full of people and illegals are people clamouring to get in and they might tip the boat...
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Strengths and weaknesses
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What do you think about overmedicating people?
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Addresss a particular point of your application
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Coming up with positive and negative personal attributes. I just hate that question and sure enough, they asked it.
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Ethical dilemma regarding transplants
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What is your view of medical marijuana?
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A woman who recently threw her 3 kids off a bridge was seeing a psychiatrist. Whose fault was the accident?
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Explain the downward trend of your grades.
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Same as interesting question.
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The above one, probably.
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Given your interest and participation in animal research, what would you do if your medical school roommate was an animal rights activist? How would you justify your involvement in primate research to him/her? Would you respond differently if your research subjects were rats?
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If you had a giant grant that you could use anywhere in healthcare, what would you do with it?
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Tell me about yourself
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Fortunately, same as above. There were no ethics questions or anything very difficult.
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See most interesting (all questions were pretty straight-forward and expected...even this one)
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Why do you want to be pharmacy tech
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Why now (I'm non-trad)?
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None. Iguess why you want to be a Doctor. I didn't know I thought spending a quarter of a million dollars on schooling and giving about 10 years of my life to it sounded like the cool thing to do. I think those questions were answered in our applications.
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None were particullarly difficult. However, the interviewer tended to ask 3-4 questions at once.
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If two people needed a liver transplant-- your best friend (age 23) and a potential nobel prize winner (age 60)--who would you give the liver to?
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Nothing difficult, it was very much a "getting to know you" session
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Question about a minor getting an abortion with rape involved
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Strength/weakness question.. thats just because I've never been great at answering that question.
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Think of a time when you had a lot of things on your plate. How did you handle that situation?
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I told the interviewer that I wanted to specialize in hematology/oncology. So he asked me how I was going to handle the fact that most of my patients are going to be terminal.
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What kinds of osteopathic techniques do you know or were exposed to?
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If you were accepted to both D.O. and M.D. programs, where would you go?
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A 35yo women in Florida has been in a vegetative state for 15 years without any progress or changes. Her husband says she would not want to live this way, but the pt. has no living will. Husband wants to pull her feeding tube and let her rest in peace. Her parents are Catholic and believe all should be done to sustain their daughter's life. What would you do? I sided with the husband. Their response, "You would be breaking your Hippocratic oath! Are you comfortable with that?" The debate carried on...
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What was a stressful time in your life and how did you handle it?
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Ethical questions as well
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The study of which disease would i fund as a researcher: AIDS or cancer
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What is the strength and weakness of your application?
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What is the CA law on contraception and teenagers with regard to informing parents?
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Also the above
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Nothing new. Same old questions Where you see yourself in 10 years
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Why didn't you do so well in _________ class?
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Would you apply to med school next year if you didn't get in this year?
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What do you think about stem cell research? (Nothing was hard though...I just answered this question and they didnt press me for more or anything...it was weird how short they let my answer be.)
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What are your strengths and weaknesses?
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Define ethics.
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Nothing too difficult, a few ethical questions previously posted on sdn
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If a couple had a child that needed a blood transfusion but their religion didn't allow it, would you get a court order to go ahead with the transfusion?
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Above
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See below
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If you had to care for an illegal immigrant, would you?
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If you were head of the NIH, would you give money to AIDS research or cancer research.
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How would you describe eugenics in a simple, layman way?
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The most interesting question above.
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During my experience as a paramedic how do I handle combative patients? (Wasn't difficult, just unexpected)
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See above, it really was not a question I had expected...but it made me stop and think
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None were really all that difficult.
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None-very standard-why osteopathy-biography oriented questions
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Think of a time when you had to make a decision that was lose-lose. What did you do? How did you decide?
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What are your personal strengths and interviews?
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If you were a physician working at a hospital near the Mexican border and were overwelmed by illegal immigrants coming to you for medical care, would you ever refuse any of them treatment?
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The one above plus couple other ethical questions...for example...you found someone cheating in your biochem class, what would you do?
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What happened to your grades?
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See interesting question
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"Explain a time that you had to persuade someone to see something your way."
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What other schools and programs did you apply to?
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What would you change about yourself before you began your practice?
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What chromosome is the Huntington gene located on? (I had done research on this a few years ago and I did not know the answer so I told him this)
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Same as interesting Q
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How would respond to X ethical dilemna?
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Question #2 below.
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What do you think about the fact that the leading Nephrologist in India is for legalizing and certifying the sale of human kidneys?
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He actually asked me to start off with three questions so I never felt I answered them entirely b/c I was too busy trying not to forget the questions.
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Hypothetical about a 14 year old pregnant girl who wants an abortion
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Tell me a time of conflict and how you dealt with it.
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Most of the questions were about my past experiences relating to medicine and school. They were all pretty straight-forward.
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No difficult questions really!
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Why medicine and why osteopathic medicine in particular?
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Describe an crisis situation and how you reacted in it.
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Where are the mesenteric arteries? (he asked me this right off the bat--wasn't a hard question but i wasn't expecting it so, in my freaking out, I interpreted the question as "what system do the mesenteric arteries belong to?" after i answered, he just kinda looked at me in a funny way and rubbed his stomach--doh.)
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Describe a time when you had to smooth over a conflict. (sounds easy, but hard to think up spur of the moment)
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If you were the doctor of a prison and the warden asked u to give a convicted rapist enough meds that it would make him clinically "sane" to make him possible for execution would u do it?
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None, all were easy
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Nothing that was too difficult
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Give me a specific example about how OMM is used in clinical practice. (was tough because i didn't shadow a DO before and the interviewer was an OMM professor)
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Name a person in your life who has had opposite personality traits, that ended up affecting you positively.
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When is a fetus considered a human, in your opinion? (I would recommend for anyone who is weak on medically related ethical dilemmas to read a book that would be a good guide--have your own opinions about various issues. All interviewers that morning were asked about stem cell research)
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Describe a conflict and how you dealt with it?
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Think of a situation in the past where you have a strong opinion on an issue.
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Give an example of a situation or an expierence you have had that was extremely challenging,(either with a co worker or teacher) and how did you work through that challenge? (NOT very specific, I had no idea what they wanted out of this)
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"There are some inconsistancies with your science grades. Would you like to explain that?"
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What sets you apart from other applicants?
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Why I recieved C grades in Physics
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Nothing hard. The interviewer had not read my file so I had to tell him everything I wanted him to know about me.
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Re-analysis of specifics of that same paper.
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What do you feel is the most significant issue facing medicine in America?
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Tell me anymore ethical issues you have been following recently
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What are your feelings on Dr. Korvorkian?
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You got a mentally-illed patient, who just convicted murder, will be tried and killed if pleaded sane when you treat him. But can avoid death if you don't treat him, but he will be in jail for the rest of his life, what would you do?
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See above.
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3 ethical questions...what would you do if....
What impressed you positively?
Applicants were positively impressed by the friendly and welcoming atmosphere at the school, the high level of student satisfaction, the strong curriculum with a focus on board preparation, the state-of-the-art facilities, the emphasis on student feedback and involvement in the school's operations, and the supportive and engaging nature of the staff and faculty. The positive interactions with interviewers, the opportunities for early clinical exposure, the sense of community and camaraderie among students, and the beautiful Southern California location were also key highlights repeatedly mentioned by applicants.
Top 5 Responses: (Click below to see additional responses)
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School’s curriculum is structured in a 2 pass system. Healthy systems first year, unhealthy systems 2nd year. It helps their students prepare for boards and their board scores are pretty high.
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The interviewers
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That they try to ascertain your empathy level during the interview process (not sure how effective it is though). Some of the staff was nice.
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The interviewers were very friendly and just wanted to get to know me. It was a short interview day.
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The staff/faculty I interacted with were nice, and it's in Southern California
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The friendliness of everyone, facilities
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Nice facilities. They listen to student feedback and make changes based off of it.
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Friendliness of staff and people
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The faculty makes changes according to feedback from students.
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The weather in SoCal is amazing, current students were very friendly
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The fact that there are a bunch of dogs running around campus (it's a vet school also)
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Students were welcoming
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- Student camaraderie, friendly environment -Extremely supportive staff - students have a lot to say in what goes on at the school -OMM demo
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Good facilities and students seem friendly and diverse
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Very friendly student body. The interviewees were sitting in one place, everyone in their professional attire. The students recognized us as interviewees and many of them stopped by to answer questions, put us at ease, and to just wish us good luck.
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Campus, area is area is perfect if you want to work with under-served populations
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The programs that the school offers
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The use of actors in patient interaction practices..
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They wanted to get to know me rather than challenge me
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The relaxing interview process.
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OMM demonstration
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Everything that this schools has to offer.
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The attitude of pride and family among the western students and faculty, The curriculum, The facilities
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The entire ambiance of the institution. I came away with the feeling that they care incredibly for their students along with the success of their students. I got a great vibe from Dean Clinton Adams as he personally spoke with our interview group and the vision he had for WesternU/COMP really rang through to me.
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They are doing a hybrid panel/MMI interview. I thought it was great, they provided me with a lot of great info about the school.
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Nice facility, friendliness of the admission department, OMM demonstration
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The OMM faculty. the study facilities. the small group/large group curriculum. the interprofessional component of the curriculum.
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The facilities, the set up of the curriculum (system based), rotation sites, excellent organization of interview and school all around, OMM demonstration, students... pretty much everything
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The campus was beautiful, students were friendly and professional.
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The students and staff.
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Big school, friendly ppl, nice interviewers interview
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I like the facilities and the campus in general.
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The entire experience was positive and Western gave more helpful information about their school, curriculum, financial aid, and clinical rotations than other schools have
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Weather, cute campus, friendly staff and students, nearby apartments, great innovative curriculum, great dean, lots of opportunity.
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The staff, faculty, and students were really welcoming and nice to talk to. They love that school.
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The staff obviously love what they do and that shows through their presentations.
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The new building
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How happy everyone seemed at the school. It's a small campus and they describe themselves as a "family." I felt that to be true from my impressions. The school has very humble origins and I felt that too but in a very positive way.
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New building just for med students! Early pt contact
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The feeling of the facilities, systemic teaching style, and friendliness of admission personnel
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The fact that they have military clinical rotations (3rd and 4th year) available for military students. Adobe architecture (I love southwestern architecture) and financial aide---much better than last school I was at.
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The weather!! Nothing beats California weather in December. Also, the board pass rates are amazing.
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The students were testing in the fake patient lab that day and still came up and talked to my group for about an hour. They all loved it there. The campus is kinda funky, nice facilities. AND ALL LECTURES ARE VIDEO TAPED AND PUT ON BLACKBOARD!! NO ATTENDANCE POLICY. Also I talked to other premeds interviewing and it seemed like some cool people wanted to go to this school- real, laid back, smart, fun, and weren't your typical nonsocial premeds who let loose by going to an AED pizza party-do you follow?? What I mean is that I think this class will kill it in class and have a good time between tests.
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The enthusiasm, realness, and positive attitude of the Deans, adcom members, and students assigned to talk to us. Outstanding job in marketing the school and making us feel welcome. Students were stressed out becuase it was an exam day (hence one interviewer), but after their exams, many took the time to introduce themselves. They seemed happy to be there. The weather was perfect. Sun abounds.
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NW track options
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Just the overall atmosphere of the school. The students were nice and seemed to be happy there. It was a saturday and students had their midterm on monday. But they still took their time to come over and talk to us. They were willing to answer any questions we had. The faculty and admissions seemed nice and really cared that we do well here. They gave us an indepth look at the cirriculum. They also are the top school in the nation last year for passing the complex 2!
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Everything, it's a great school
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Curriculum, board scores, student reviews
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They have great facilities, early clinical exposure, homeless clinic, great 3rd/4th year rotations... everything!! :D
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Students are happy here. New facilities for DO classes. New clinic on campus. Summer anatomy course.
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It is true what they say, EVERYONE is so nice! at least the ones I've encountered. From the admissions staff, the students, and interviewers. Random students would just come up and talk to us and tell us to relax. Everyone was so friendly and helpful!
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They have a firm commitment and belief in their OMM opportunities, and how they are preparing stellar physicians. The school also has a lot of community outreach opportunities (Montrose Clinic) and sounds like student organization involvement is strong.
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The campus and area were nicer than I expected based on previous reviews. Not fantastic, but the location isn't enough to dissuade me from attending. The students (both the ones we passed during tours and the ones acting as ambassadors) were very friendly and very positive about their experiences there. The program sounds fantastic, especially the international rotations, the summer anatomy program, the OMM, the strong COMLEX/match results, etc.
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The vibe of the students on campus. Everyone seemed very friendly and happy. The speach from the dean was also great
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General feeling of the school, mixture of other professional schools on campus.
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Pretty much everything. I really think the campus is funky, and I like the open air nature of it (its a refurbished outdoor shopping center I found out, apparently the main DO school building was a JC Pennys :-D). The interviewers were serious but not interrogating. The staff was very friendly, as was everyone on campus really. The students that had lunch with us were responsive and answered all our questions. Everyone encouraged us to ask a lot of questions. Lastly, the dean of the school came out and met with each of us, which was pretty impressive to me.
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The vibe w/ the students there. All very smart and friendly
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The atmosphere on campus. It felt more like a school than other schools I've interviewed at (mainly Touro CA and Touro NV) and the surrounding area isn't that bad (side note: I grew up in the area so I knew what to expect)
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Admissions staff are friendly
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The board scores, the residency matches, the students, and the inside facilities were nice.
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The completeness of the program, and how well ironed out everything is. The facilities were nicer than I anticipated for being a more mature school.
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Campus is nice, strong medical Spanish and international opportunities, on-site Banfield with discounts for students, better resources than other schools, good boards scores.
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Impressive board scores, no undergraduates!!!! haha
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*Option to do an accelerated anatomy course prior to start of first year *Pass rates, match lists, and +'ve attitude of students
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The students are very friendly and happy. Many of them stopped to talk to us and wish us luck.
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The school really went out of their way to make it known that they WANTED you to want to go there. The dean stopped by in the morning and greeted us all too, that was nice. That most lectures are available in their entirety online making attendance optional for certain classes. The emphasis on "interprofessional" relationships, and the standardized patients *students have something like 45 mock patient encounters in their first 2 years, really cool
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While sitting on the lobby, sweating, shaking, waiting for my turn to be called in for an interview, several 1st year students (on their break time) just came up and start talking to us (interviewee). They explained their experiences with the interviews and told us what to expect. The atmosphere was very friendly. I talked to several students and they seems to like the school a lot.
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Each of the 3 interviewers was very kind and knowledgeable about the school. The school is in Pomona, which has a bad reputation, but to the students saying it is 'very ghetto', what 'ghettos' have you been to before? This is not Oakland, or Detroit, or Compton. It's not great, but the immediate campus area is very acceptable, and just don't live on campus. Claremont (beautiful) is 2 miles away. Facilities are very nice, OMM and anatomy labs are large and well ventilated. OMM demo was great, don't miss it.
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The campus. Nicer than I expected for all the talk about Pomona being scary
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Such high board scores, IPE curriculum, get tested every other week so must stay on top of material
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The staff, students, faculty, EVERYONE was welcoming and kind. The area is NOT that bad-- true, Pomona isn't the greatest area, but I love that there is more of a chance to help the underserved AND they have security all over campus. People came up our group of not-so-discreet interviewees and continually offered good luck wished despite the fact that most students had a huge test in a few days. I also loved the presentation about the curriculum; the person presenting was great and it was awesome to hear about the details of the school.
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The students! More students came up to me than anywhere else! The campus itself - not as bad as everyone says. All lectures are online.
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The staff, students
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Good vibe from students, they really like it there.
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The eagerness of all the students to help and give you advice. The atmosphere was wonderful!
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Well structured and organized curriculum, friendly and helpful students all around school who were willing to chat and answer questions, the OMM demo was nice
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1) the curriculum -- seems very well integrated 2) quick decision -- acceptance letter 10 days after my interview! 3) nice people
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Students were very friendly, top notch education
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Academics are very strong here, students were open and friendly throughout the day. OMM demonstration was a nice change of pace compared with the rest of the day!
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Curriculum is well developed and emphasizes working with other students. Students and faculty/staff are nice and welcoming. The whole day is chill.
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Friendliness of the current students!
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Nice interviewers, strong comlex pass rates, seemed to care about students, students came up to us and gave advice/answer questions seemed happy
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The curriculum is strong. THe complex scores are high. I like the IPE idea. Everyone is friendly, the staff and students. You can tell the students want to be there.
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The curriculum. The fact that all the lectures are video recorded and available same day online. The students have an handle on their priorities. Excellent reputation and history of success.
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The interviewers were nice and wanted to get to know you. The students were excited and candidly shared their experiences and attitudes toward Western U. They were 2nd years and really liked the school and were involved in the school organizations and community.