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  • Western University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific-Northwest
  • Osteopathic Medical School
  • Lebanon, OR
Individual Feedback 2 26 Responses
Overall Experience

How did the interview impress you?

Response # Responders
Positively 26
Negatively 0
No change 0

What was the stress level of the interview?

Response Avg # Responders
3.46 26

0 = low, 10 = high

How you think you did?

Response Avg # Responders
7.85 26

0 = low, 10 = high

How do you rank this school among ALL other schools?

Response Avg # Responders
8.04 26

0 = low, 10 = high

Was this interview in-person or virtual?

Response # Responders
In Person 0
Virtual 1

Questions

How long was the interview?

Response # Responders
5 minutes 0
10 minutes 0
15 minutes 0
20 minutes 1
25 minutes 0
30 minutes 17
35 minutes 3
40 minutes 2
45 minutes 1
50 minutes 0
55 minutes 0
60+ minutes 2

Where did the interview take place?

Response # Responders
At the school 19
At a regional location 4
At another location 3

What was the style of the interview?

Response # Responders
One-on-one 17
In a group 8

What type of interview was it?

Response # Responders
Open file 22
Closed file 3

How many people interviewed you?

Response Average # Responders
3.19 26

What is one of the specific questions they asked you (question 1)?

"The questions they asked were the same ones at the Pomona campus. They did not deviate from the questions which make it feel less personal." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Why WesternU?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Why Western?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"How many DO schools did I apply to?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Why COMP-NW?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What has been your experience with Osteopathic medicine?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Tell us about yourself." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What does diversity mean to you?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Discuss how you have overcome struggles in your life and what lessons you have learned/strengths you have gained." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What is diversity to you?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What does accountability mean to you?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Why Osteopathy" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Your biggest mistake..do you have any questions for us? is there anything you'd like us to know?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Questions mostly related to personal file." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Tell us about a mistake you have made" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Why DO" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Tell me about yourself." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Name a mistake you made in the past and how did you deal with it?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Why DO?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Why Osteopathic Medicine, Why Western COMP NW.(basic medical school interview question)" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Describe a time when you were an advocate." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

What is one of the specific questions they asked you (question 2)?

"Describe a time in your life when things were going very well for you and you were very happy and describe why. Name a time when things weren't going well, you were unhappy, and why." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Tell me a little about yourself" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Ethical questions" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"How many DO vs MD schools have you applied to and how many have you had interviews with?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Why are you interested in medicine?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Your from a large city. Why would you want to go to school in a small town?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Talk about what leadership is" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Why DO?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"How could you contribute to our school's diversity?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Elaborate on the term "servant leader" (something from my primary)." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"President Obama is calling you, how would u tell him to fix the hc system..what makes a good doctor" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What is the most recent book you read?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Did role play with us." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Why Western?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"asked a spedific question about my personal statement." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Why not MD?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"When did you advocate for someone? What mistake have I made in the past." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What is something to you do for your strengths and what is something you do for your weakness?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

What is one of the specific questions they asked you (question 3)?

"What would you do if you saw your friend cheating during an exam?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Do you have any questions for us?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"MMI" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Why medicine?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What are your strengths and weaknesses?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Question specific to my work experience" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Ethical question about catching someone cheating." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Tell us what service looks like to you?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"At what point did you know you wanted to become a doctor?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Why DO?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Can't remember anymore...sorry..." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"How'd you end up here...your academic strenghths/weaknesses and how do u deal w the weakness.. I see both your parents have masters, is education valued in your family? You are an immigrant, and you wrote that u'd like to work with underserved populations.. do you feel like you can identify better with this population?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Tell us about your experience with diversity" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Asked us to read a scenario and pick which answer we thought was the correct response. Kind of weird because all the interviewers are just staring at you while you read." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Why Osteopathic Medicine?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What area of medicine interests you the most?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

What was the most interesting question?

"What qualities would you hope your future patient would use to describe you?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What do you think you'll have a difficult time with in medical school?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"All were interesting" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"How can Western help you achieve your goals?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"An impromptu role-playing scenario that was specific to my work experience and that pretty much re-created my deepest, darkest fear. They didn't know this, and I managed to do well, but boy did I sweat!" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What do you think about the affordable health care act." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What do you do for fun?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Where do you see Osteopathy in 10 years?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What would your friends say about you" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Role play. They gave a scenario and I had to act it out with the interviewers" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"How are you prepared for the rigors of medical school?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"The role play one" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"There is a "role play" segment of the interview: The interviewer acts as a student who does not take responsibility for group project, how would I confront them. It was a little difficult for me to refer to the Doctor who interviewed me as a student." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"The role play where I role played a student and the interviewer role played another student who was having family issues." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

What was the most difficult question?

"MMI 2nd station (cannot disclose)" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What will be your biggest challenge in medical school?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What is the hardest life experience you have been through?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"The MMI with the cancer patient was horribly uncomfortable." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"See above. They also asked me about a time when I had to sacrifice/work hard on someone else's behalf (can't remember the exact wording)." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"The MMI portion of the interview." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Discuss how you have overcome struggles in your life" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Tell us about a mistake you made, how you dealt with it, and how you would deal with it now." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"How would you respond if you knowingly did not provide good care to a patient and they called you out on it?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Mistake question. I took a full 5 minutes to think before answering." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Tell me about yourself." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"None were overly difficult, nothing out of the ordinary" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"They asked a lot of ethical based questions on hypothetical scenarios." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"When did you advocate for someone? I've advocated for several causes (ie. environmental, political issues) but I've never directly advocated for one person, that was difficult for me to answer." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

How did you prepare for the interview?

"I reviewed my application and talked through some basic questions." More from this Member | Report Response

"Read responses on SDN's interview feedback, watched youtube channels for MMI tips, read a book on interview tips, interviewed at other schools, wrote answers to common/expected questions and read them out loud the night before the interview." More from this Member | Report Response

"Looked over my application. Read over the school website." More from this Member | Report Response

"Looked at this website and the most commonly asked questions." More from this Member | Report Response

"Had an interview before this one which helped. Read and practiced questions online, read general MMI strategy, thoroughly reviewed by primary and secondary apps." More from this Member | Report Response

"Practiced 'why medicine', 'why DO', and ethical scenarios ahead of time." More from this Member | Report Response

"I looked up practice questions and looked at the news about current medical related news, whether it be controversies or new research." More from this Member | Report Response

"I had two sessions with a professional interview coach. Many hours of hiking through the woods while rehearsing aloud." More from this Member | Report Response

"SDN" More from this Member | Report Response

"Interview feedback on SDN." More from this Member | Report Response

"Went over all of may application materials, reviewed all secondary essay material. Researched the school, personal communication with students, etc." More from this Member | Report Response

"Practice, practice, practice! And know your primary and secondary applications front-to-back." More from this Member | Report Response

"SDN Mostly - the questions posted by others were pretty much spot on." More from this Member | Report Response

"SDN for sure! read over my app, printed off a whole bunch of possible questions that I found on the internet and thought about each for a few minutes just in case I'd get asked the question, at least I'd thought about it once! Look over hc and medicine related news in the last couple of days" More from this Member | Report Response

"Reviewed application / personal statement, and secondary applications. Brushed up on current events and health care reform." More from this Member | Report Response

"School website, COMP mission statement, read my personal statement, slept, ate breakfast, didn't OD on Coffee :-)" More from this Member | Report Response

"General Experience, previous application cycles, SDN, talked with friend about current world insurance topics." More from this Member | Report Response

"Read PS and Resume." More from this Member | Report Response

"Read SDN threads on the Pomona campus interviews. They seemed to be similar." More from this Member | Report Response

"Looked at student doctor . net. also talked with a DO that had graduated from western in California" More from this Member | Report Response

What impressed you positively?

"The quality of the interviewers and their questions and they all seemed very happy. Impressed with the location and small-town feel." More from this Member | Report Response

"The garden wall and fountain." More from this Member | Report Response

"The staff is dedicated to the students. Since it is a smaller school, you are able to talk to the professors/staff/admin easily and things can change. They talked about a student that wanted a nutrition education and a professor created an extracurricular program/powerpoint to fulfill that need." More from this Member | Report Response

"Very student oriented, listen to feedback from students and interviewees." More from this Member | Report Response

"I was pleasantly surprised that I felt more at home here than I did at Western-Pomona. It shouldn't have been a surprise since I am from the NW. Still surprised by how I actually felt a difference in fit." More from this Member | Report Response

"Before the interview part of the day was basically a big pep talk from a couple of the doctors which helped calm nerves. The students were candid and comfortable and seemed to really like where they were." More from this Member | Report Response

"The feedback about my performance during the interview" More from this Member | Report Response

"The awesome technology available for students to use and the research using this technology." More from this Member | Report Response

"The dedication and support of the faculty and administration; how embedded the school is in the community of Lebanon and the surrounding area; I felt the school really cares about and supports its students." More from this Member | Report Response

"The close knit atmosphere of the student and faculty, and the feeling that I could really fit in. One of the faculty made a Game of Thrones reference as part of his presentation whoch appealed strongly to my inner geek. The book store had a bin of microbial plushies which appealed strongly to my microbio background and inner child. On recommendation from one of the faculty, I visited MacDowell's creek, a nearby park in the mountain foothills, and I can attest to that the local area is great for those who apprciate the outdoors. I can really see myself living and studying here." More from this Member | Report Response

"Location. Clinically orientated curriculum. Small class size for a DO school. Enthusiastic students." More from this Member | Report Response

"The relaxed atmosphere of the interviews and the overwhelming enthusiasm for the school and the faculty that was exhibited by the students." More from this Member | Report Response

"Very friendly interview process. Gave great non-verbal feedback during the interview. Interjected with their views every once in a while. Made it seem a bit more conversational." More from this Member | Report Response

"How much the students seemed to love the school" More from this Member | Report Response

"The warmth and friendliness of the staff. I also thought the MMI experience was pretty fun (and something more schools should adopt)." More from this Member | Report Response

"The students we met were really happy/excited to be there, the staff were great and the professors amazing! The OMM presentation was top notch, I'm really excited to learn OMM! Nice lunch room, plenty of fridge space, pool table, foose ball table. Everything is super new!" More from this Member | Report Response

"Everything about the school was stellar." More from this Member | Report Response

"The friendliness and commitment of the faculty and staff. Every person there, including community members were excited to be a part of this new campus. My interviewers were very kind and laid back and made sure I wasn't nervous. I very much enjoyed my interview." More from this Member | Report Response

"Everyone that I met was so nice. Even the mayor came to our interview day to welcome us." More from this Member | Report Response

"The bus tour on interview day was amazing, I was really impressed with the local area." More from this Member | Report Response

"The "heart" of the school" More from this Member | Report Response

"The friendliness of the town, school and staff. They really went out of their way to make us comfortable." More from this Member | Report Response

"I was interviewed by two DO's and one person from the community who sat on the Chamber of Commerce" More from this Member | Report Response

What impressed you negatively?

"It was extremely long - which is fine, but there was a section of coming up with a group name that didn't make sense to me at all." More from this Member | Report Response

"How small the campus is. I like to hide. Also a lot of OMM kool-aid. Trying to squeeze in the tour between the traditional interview and the MMI." More from this Member | Report Response

"They kept asking if this was what I wanted to do (be a physician). It was an odd question because to me if I didn't want to be a doctor, I wouldn't have spent the time going through the stress of applications." More from this Member | Report Response

"The schools location isn't amazing, but Corvallis is close" More from this Member | Report Response

"Might be a little too isolated as a school" More from this Member | Report Response

"One of my interviewers was a bit prickly." More from this Member | Report Response

"Overall size of campus" More from this Member | Report Response

"The fact that 2/3 of classes are live streamed from the Pomona campus. I don't know how I would feel about online learning." More from this Member | Report Response

"This isn't really a negative, but football's kind of a big deal here. Also, the student body is diverse in some ways (many Asians and a few other ethnicities present) but with how family-centric and rural the area is, I wonder about how comfortable an LGBT student would be here." More from this Member | Report Response

"Lunch was the Mexican which I would normally applaud, however, it was the messiest Mexican I have ever seen. There was much joking amongst the applicants that this was a test of our manual dexterity, and that if we showed up without a stained suit for our afternoon interviews we were in. Other than that there was nothing negative." More from this Member | Report Response

"A large portion of the classes are streamed from the Pomona campus. They dont have faculty for all the subjects at the school so the only way to contact them is discussion forums and telecommunications from Pomona. All this and still paying the same tuition as the Pomona students." More from this Member | Report Response

"For me, nothing negative to report....though if you do not like the idea of living in a small rural town...the location may be tough to swallow." More from this Member | Report Response

"A VERY long day! 8:45-4. Most of the morning is info sessions and panels, so no interviews, but it builds the stress for the afternoon. Though you do come out of there with all of your questions answered and much more info!" More from this Member | Report Response

"The distance learning. It would probably work for most people, but paying >$60k a year to watch lectures on a screen? Toss up." More from this Member | Report Response

"No prep for the COMLEX, study on your own..there are still some kinks to be worked out as it is a new campus. Might be a little tight when the second class joins since its just one building..no changing rooms (everyone changes in the bathroom all at once)" More from this Member | Report Response

"The bus tour was a little bit long" More from this Member | Report Response

"Seemed to be a lot of downtime during the day with which to start stressing about the interview." More from this Member | Report Response

"The sandwiches were dry... good cookies. (As you can see nothing really, so I resort to the food)" More from this Member | Report Response

"Nothing" More from this Member | Report Response

"More time for the interview would have been nice" More from this Member | Report Response

What did you wish you had known ahead of time?

"That the MMI is not traditional. They basically make their own mini version and the prompts are essentially impossible to 'prepare' for. Act natural." More from this Member | Report Response

"That you should't Uber there because you can't get an Uber out." More from this Member | Report Response

"I put my foot in my mouth at one point because I failed to see the true aim of one of the questions. Think before you answer." More from this Member | Report Response

"n/a" More from this Member | Report Response

"To bring a warm jacket (came from CA). Also, the MMI's are not as scary as I thought they would be." More from this Member | Report Response

"MMI here was very low stress and not really a true MMI. Bookstore had microbial plushies for sale. I would have brought money." More from this Member | Report Response

"That there was a football game at OSU on the same day and the freeways were clogged with people traveling down from Portland. Almost late to the interview." More from this Member | Report Response

"The pizza dinner says casual, but I would go with business casual to be safe." More from this Member | Report Response

"It was my first interview, but I still didn't expect to be as nervous as I was. Made it hard for me to say all the things I was thinking....So I suppose I wish I knew how nervous I would be!" More from this Member | Report Response

"Lunch isn't super exciting since there is no cafeteria, sandwiches/chips/fruits. You'll have a bit of down time to just chat with fellow applicants." More from this Member | Report Response

"more of the history of COMP building a campus in Lebanon- how it was chosen, support of the community, goals, etc" More from this Member | Report Response

"That I was going to be the first interview, for the first interview date, for the first class EVER!!!" More from this Member | Report Response

"Define advocate." More from this Member | Report Response

What are your general comments?

"Felt like I was my best self on interview day, felt like I nailed both the traditional interview and MMI, was excited to receive a swift acceptance. Top choice school." More from this Member | Report Response

"This school really impressed me. I also interviewed at OHSU (the other OR school) and Western impressed me more." More from this Member | Report Response

"I really liked the school, great relationship with the community, very nice and positive faculty." More from this Member | Report Response

"Western is a mix of traditional panel interview and MMI. Split into 2 sections. Details are made available by school website. Pretty standard interview. I felt like they took fewer notes than my interviewers in Pomona. Hopefully a good sign?" More from this Member | Report Response

"They really seemed like they wanted you to do well and wanted to get to know you." More from this Member | Report Response

"I love this school and cannot imagine going anywhere else for my medical education" More from this Member | Report Response

"I was accepted to this school. After I looked at the pros and cons of the schools I interviewed with this was my number 1 choice DO school. This school is small but has great research opportunities and access to some really cool technology. The interview day was slightly intimidating because the overall feel of the day was very business like, but that showed me the rigor and prestige of the academics at this school and gave me the confidence to know if I decide to go the DO route I will be at a school that will ensure my success." More from this Member | Report Response

"The interview day is long, and the interview/MMI's are at the end of it. But by that time, you're pretty comfortable, so overall it was the most relaxed interview experience I've had. The interviewers went out of their way to be friendly and supportive during my interview." More from this Member | Report Response

"Love the school. Small town, but plenty to do if you love the outdoors. Great community atmosphere. Local beer is up to snuff. Curriculum seems right on the target. All in all, I could really see myself at this school." More from this Member | Report Response

"Even thought the day was long, I honestly had a fantastic experience here." More from this Member | Report Response

"Great experience. COMP-NW seems like a great school: very friendly and supportive students and faculty, great location, pretty good rotation locations, and overall a good feel." More from this Member | Report Response

"Really loved the atmosphere!" More from this Member | Report Response

"Relax! It really is a great interviewing experience, no weird/extremely difficult questions.. the interviewers were great! The school is good, I really liked the area and the school. yes it is small but if that's what you like, you'll love it here. You will def get a lot of personal attention and rest assured everyone is here because they really want to be and they really want to help you/see you succeed! I felt reaallly welcome, from the staff and the people of Lebanon. Feel free to pm me if you have any questions I can try and answer :) (I have been accepted)" More from this Member | Report Response

"I am now OMS 1 here and love it. The people are amazing and that's why I chose this school. Come interview here, you will love the faculty, staff, building- everything! My classmates are also great. They did a wonderful job selecting real people to become real doctors." More from this Member | Report Response

"I loved this school, which is why I decided to attend." More from this Member | Report Response

"Great school." More from this Member | Report Response

"It seems to be a great place to go to. It is in a small town but Portland is not to far a way and Corvallis is close by. If you are into the outdoor life style it would be a great place to be." More from this Member | Report Response

"prepare for a role playing session as well as a scenario question. I dont want to spoil all of the fun, but they ask you to read a scenario and then pick the best response to a "patient's" question from a list of 4 or 5 options" More from this Member | Report Response

Tour and Travel

Who was the tour given by?

Response # Responders
Student 16
Faculty member 1
Admissions staff 5
Other 0

How did the tourguide seem?

Response # Responders
Enthusiastic 21
Neutral 1
Discouraging 0

How do you rank the facilities?

Response Avg # Responders
7.50 26

0 = low, 10 = high

What is your in-state status?

Response # Responders
In state 7
Out of state 17

What was your total time spent traveling?

Response # Responders
0-1 hour 4
2-3 hours 3
4-6 hours 10
7+ hours 7

What was your primary mode of travel?

Response # Responders
Airplane 12
Automobile 11
Train or subway 0
Other 1

What airport did you use?

Eugene, OR

Eugene

Portland

ODX

Eugene Airport

PDX

Where did you stay?

Response # Responders
At school facility 0
With students at the school 0
Friends or family 4
Hotel 15
Home 3
Other 0

About how much did you spend on room, food, and travel?

Response # Responders
< $100 3
$101-$200 7
$201-$300 0
$301-$400 4
$401-$500 2
$501+ 4

Comments on where you stayed

No responses

General Info

How do you rank this school among other schools to which you've applied?

Response Avg # Responders
8.50 26

0 = low, 10 = high

What is your ranking of this school's location?

Response Avg # Responders
6.46 26

0 = low, 10 = high

What is your ranking of this area's cultural life?

Response Avg # Responders
5.15 26

0 = low, 10 = high

How is the responsiveness of the admissions office?

Response Avg # Responders
8.62 26

0 = low, 10 = high

How is the friendliness of the admissions office?

Response Avg # Responders
9.19 26

0 = low, 10 = high

How eco-friendly are the school's application materials and interview process?

Response Avg # Responders
6.96 26

0 = low, 10 = high

What are your suggestions for the admissions office?

"Please schedule the campus tour after both the traditional interview and MMI. It was hard to act not anxious and engage with the tour guides when all you care about is getting the MMI over with. I really appreciated the effort the adcom made to help us relax, though, and I enjoyed the morning presentation, coffee and the lunch provided." More from this Member | Report Response

"Thought they did a great job, really enjoyed my experience and the school." More from this Member | Report Response

"Communicate more positively and clearly before the interview day, especially about the pizza social and extra events available to interview candidates. Also make it more clear that some communication has to go through Pomona and others through Lebanon, it gets confusing about who handles what." More from this Member | Report Response

"Email or call for acceptances, instead of snail mail." More from this Member | Report Response

"Perhaps hold the interviews earlier in the day to alleviate stress." More from this Member | Report Response

"Scheduling the panel interview late in the afternoon may make for a less than stellar performance from the candidate" More from this Member | Report Response

"Give students info on the pizza dinner for the Friday before the interview right when you invite them. This would make it much easier to make travel arrangements." More from this Member | Report Response

"Placing interviewers' names and titles on interviewee packet would be helpful." More from this Member | Report Response

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