WesternU HCOM (COMP-NW)

Western University of Health Sciences Heatherington College of Osteopathic Medicine (WesternU HCOM; formerly COMP-Northwest) Lebanon, OR · Private · DO

Average MCAT: 507
Average GPA: 3.58
Class size: 95 (3,356 applicants)
Tuition: $72,040 (per year)
Out-of-state applicants: Welcome

Deadlines

AACOMAS deadline: March 1, 2027
Secondary deadline: March 15, 2027

Essays

DO observation (500 words)

What experience observing a DO solidified your desire/ambition to become an osteopathic physician? (This could be a formal shadowing experience (one-on-one with a physician), scribing, observing your own physician, friend, or family member who is a DO).

No DO observation (alternate) (500 words)

If you have not had the opportunity to shadow/observe a DO why is it important to you to become an osteopathic physician?

Patient values (500 words)

Describe how you would approach a clinical situation in which a patient's values, preferences, or healthcare decisions differ from your own perspective. What professional principles would guide your actions, and how would you ensure the patient receives respectful and patient-centered care?

Mission alignment (500 words)

How does the COMP Northwest Mission statement align with your values?

Why Lebanon (500 words)

Why do you want to attend COMP Northwest in Lebanon, Oregon?

Research (500 words)

Have you participated in research? If yes, briefly describe your role and what skills you gained from participation in the research. Please provide us with the link to the publication or abstract if possible. Did you contribute to the published work as an author/coauthor?

Extenuating circumstances (500 words)

Briefly discuss any extenuating circumstances which you feel are pertinent to your application (poor grades, course withdrawals, lapse in your education, etc.).

Gap in coursework (500 words)

If you have not taken any coursework for over 3 years, please explain why and what you have been doing during that period of time.

Editor's notes

The Lebanon secondary is long: four required essays plus optional research, hardship and gap questions. Budget real time for it before the link arrives, because the school wants it back within about two weeks and says late files are processed later.
Why Lebanon is the question that decides fit. The campus sits in a small Oregon town, clinical years run through Northwest communities from Medford to Tacoma, and only 42% of the 2025 class were Oregon residents. Coming from elsewhere is normal. Having no reason to be in the Northwest is not.
Interviews are online only: a 30-minute panel with two or three interviewers plus two MMIs, and you can interview only once per cycle. The school asks you to watch its curriculum and support videos first. Do it, and bring one specific question that shows you did.
The 2025 Oregon class averaged a 507 MCAT and 3.58 GPA, below Pomona's 509 and 3.82, with the same $72,040 tuition. If you're applying to both campuses, write each secondary for its own campus; the prompts differ and so do the places.