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Tacoma vs Seattle Campus


Tacoma vs Seattle  

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  1. 1. Which Campus is better between Tacoma or Seattle?

    • Tacoma Campus
    • Seattle Campus


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Hi All,

 

I am looking to apply to UW for the PA program and I see that there are a few different campuses to choose from. The 2 that I am looking at are the Tacoma campus and the Seattle Campus. I will be hopefully moving to the area to be at Fort Lewis (JBLM) due to military obligations so I was wondering which campus is better or what are the pros and cons of each. One thing that has me concerned about the Tacoma campus is the 86% PANCE pass rate in 2015 which is well below national average but Seattle has a 98% PANCE pass rate which is well above. One thing that concerns me about the Seattle Campus is traffic. I would be living approximatley in the middle of both campuses in between Kent and Renton so I am trying to figure out which campus would be the better option. Any current students or any locals that can chime in your help would be greatly appreciated!

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Seattle: traffic will be bad, campus is much much larger, larger class size, traveling in same direction as traffic to be at class at 830am.

 

Tacoma: much small campus, traveling in opposite direction of traffic, transit drops u off directly at the campus, smaller class size, likely a quicker commute due to traffic, less students on campus and easy to maneuver around campus, parking is all over the place and not a long walk to class.

 

All in all you do what you gotta do to make it work. It's a great school and a fantastic program. The first summer quarter everyone is at the seattle campus. In your clinical year you will be traveling all around so really you would only be driving to class September-June.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk

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Understand that Tacoma is a new campus (essentially, moved from Yakima), and Seattle has been a masters' level program for a lot longer.  Don't know if the PANCE rate reflects the academic preparation of the students, but MEDEX has a reputation for turning out good practitioners with a lot of common sense and past HCE, not necessarily folks who can ace the PANCE.

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Hi All,

 

I am looking to apply to UW for the PA program and I see that there are a few different campuses to choose from. The 2 that I am looking at are the Tacoma campus and the Seattle Campus. I will be hopefully moving to the area to be at Fort Lewis (JBLM) due to military obligations so I was wondering which campus is better or what are the pros and cons of each. One thing that has me concerned about the Tacoma campus is the 86% PANCE pass rate in 2015 which is well below national average but Seattle has a 98% PANCE pass rate which is well above. One thing that concerns me about the Seattle Campus is traffic. I would be living approximatley in the middle of both campuses in between Kent and Renton so I am trying to figure out which campus would be the better option. Any current students or any locals that can chime in your help would be greatly appreciated!

Curriculum is exactly the same between the two campuses... unless your going for the bachelors which is about 30k cheaper and there are two papers you don't have to write that the masters kids do.

 

One thing to remember. Tacoma's class size is about half that of Seattle (around 26). So to get to 86% only a couple people would have to not pass. A word of caution as well. Medex does not teach you how to pass the PANCE. They teach you to be a great PA and clinician. Two VERY big differences when comparing medex to other programs. I get it though. The pass rate is down from the average. They have been addressing this with more devoted to studying during the clinical year. As far as traveling for school, I'd get used to it. Going the opposite direction of traffic is nice for sure. You'll most definitely be traveling in your clinical year. So there is that to think about.

 

Tacoma students also have historically had more prior HCE. I think the average of my cohort was about 7 years.

 

I suggest you attend an information session as well. A great opportunity to get questions asked and get a little more info.

 

MEDEX is tough to get into. Thankfully I only applied once. 2500 applicants a year and growing for just 26 seats MEDEX loves veterans and the military, although if you are it's not automatic.

 

Good luck and hope this helps.

 

Tacoma class #2 c/o 2016

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I'm in Tacoma class 4. All 4 campuses have the same curriculum and objectives. The 4 campuses also have some of the same lecturers that make their way to each campus giving the same lecture. Seattle and Tacoma Have the most overlap with lecturers. This really means that the materials are the same and the tests are the same. The campuses are in sync. The only difference in the campuses are the actual students themselves. Tacoma tends to have more clinical experience and less academic experience. (Most of us don't have bachelors degrees). It's not like if you go to Seattle you're gonna have a better education or guaranteed to pass pance the first time. I study with a Seattle student almost every weekend and we are at the same level. If you have a bachelors go to Seattle. If you want to be around more veterans come to Tacoma. Almost half the class is vetrens.

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My recommendation would be Tacoma, based on proximity/traffic. Should be easier to get to if you're going to be at JBLM. I wouldn't be concerned with PANCE differences, as others explained.

 

Just FYI for those that might not know, the degree options are changing again. Tacoma will be a bachelor/masters split this next application period, 2017-2018. Thereafter, all MEDEX campuses will be masters to comply with national requirements.

 

http://depts.washington.edu/medex/medex-degree-option-changes-are-coming-to-medex/

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  • 4 months later...

Both campuses are decent.  I attended the Seattle program, graduating last year.  There was no Master's option in Tacoma when I applied, so my options were Seattle or Spokane.  All four programs (i.e. Anchorage, Tacoma, Spokane and Seattle) turn out competent students.  I've lived in Seattle since about 2003, so it made sense to stay here.

Living in Seattle is fun, but far more expensive than Tacoma.  I don't think the UW adjusts cost of living loans based on location.  There are more restaurant options nearby, but there is plenty to enjoy near the UW Tacoma.   In Seattle, you are on the UW's main campus, but you don't really interact much with other parts of the UW (or even the Department of Family Medicine's other programs).

There is not time to take classes outside of your program, but I did audit two one credit electives offered for MD students.  Tacoma students would not have access to MD student courses to audit.  In retrospect, I am not sure these courses were useful.

While each has very minor pros and cons, I don't think the location matters.  If pressed, I would say you should choose Tacoma, just because your cost of living is lower.

 

 

   

 

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