DO · Lebanon, Oregon · private
Western University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific - Northwest prerequisites
What COMP-Northwest asks for in the 2026-27 cycle, as read from the school's own admissions page. 4 lines differ from the standard medical school set, marked below.
Coursework
- Biology with labrequired
2 semesters · 8 credits · lab
Two semesters with lab. The single most universal prerequisite: essentially every MD and DO program asks for it, and it is the foundation the MCAT assumes.
- General chemistry with labrequired
2 semesters · 8 credits · lab
Two semesters with lab. Take it early: organic chemistry, biochemistry, and most upper-division biology all sit behind it, so a late start pushes the whole sequence past your MCAT date.
- Organic chemistry with labrequired
2 semesters · 8 credits · lab
Two semesters with lab at most schools. A meaningful and growing minority accept one semester of organic plus one of biochemistry. Do not drop the second semester on that assumption until you have checked the schools you actually want.
- Biochemistryrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
One semester, lab rarely required. Roughly two thirds of schools require it outright and the MCAT tests it heavily, so treat it as required even where it technically is not, and take it before you sit the exam.
- Physics with labrequired
2 semesters · 8 credits · lab
Two semesters with lab. Algebra-based is accepted almost everywhere; take the calculus-based sequence only if your major needs it or a target school names it.
- English or writing-intensiverequired
2 semesters · 6 credits
Two semesters of English or writing-intensive coursework. Many schools accept writing-intensive courses from any department, but a few name English specifically. If your writing credits come from elsewhere, confirm before you count them.
- Statisticsrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
One semester. Most schools with a math requirement accept statistics or calculus; statistics is the more widely accepted of the two and the more useful for reading clinical research, so the baseline tracks it here. If a target school names calculus, its own requirements will say so.
- Calculusrecommended
1 semester · 3 credits
One semester. Required outright at a minority of schools (several of them highly selective) and accepted in place of statistics at most of the rest. Take it if calculus is already in your major's path.
- Psychologyrecommended
1 semester · 3 credits
One semester. A minority of schools require it, but a quarter of the MCAT is psychological and social foundations: this is the cheapest points on the exam.
- Sociologyrecommended
1 semester · 3 credits
One semester. Same reasoning as psychology: required by fewer schools, tested directly on the MCAT.
- Geneticsrecommended
1 semester · 3 credits
One semester. Required by a small number of schools and a common way to fill the upper-division science coursework that strengthens a science GPA.
Experience hours
- Clinical experiencerecommended
150+ hours
No hours minimum. Clinical experience is named among the criteria the committee weighs ("GPA, MCAT scores, clinical experience, leadership roles, knowledge of osteopathic medicine, and community service") and WesternU's advice to re-applicants points at "limited exposure to osteopathic medicine (such as shadowing a DO)" and "limited clinical exposure" as the usual reasons an application falls short.
- Physician shadowingrecommended
50+ hours
No hours are published, but the letters requirement narrows who your physician can be more than most schools do: "Two letters of recommendation," namely "One (1) from a physician (MD or DO only, DO preferred); One (1) from a science professor OR from a university health professions committee." Only two letters in total, so the physician slot is half your file. The requirement is identical at the Oregon campus: one set of letters covers both.
- Non-clinical volunteeringrecommended
150+ hours
Service with no medical angle. Committees are reading for a habit, not a total, so one commitment held for two years beats five one-off events.
- Researchrecommended
100+ hours
Effectively expected at research-heavy MD programs and genuinely optional at many DO and community-focused schools. If research is not your path, put those hours into clinical work and say so clearly rather than padding a semester in a lab.
Letters
- Committee letterrecommendedextra here
No published minimum
A university health professions committee letter is the stated alternative to the science professor letter. WesternU's requirements page covers both the Pomona and Oregon campuses, and one set of letters serves both.
- Science faculty letterrequiredextra here
No published minimum
"One (1) from a science professor OR from a university health professions committee" is the second of WesternU's two letters.
- Physician letterrequiredextra here
No published minimum
WesternU requires only two letters and one must be "from a physician (MD or DO only, DO preferred)." The word "only" is doing work: no other health professional satisfies it, and with two letters in total this is half your file.
- Osteopathic physician letterrecommendedextra here
No published minimum
"DO preferred" inside the required physician letter. An MD's letter satisfies the requirement; a DO's satisfies it better. No hours are published.
Also on the school’s page
Experience requirements only: this school's prerequisite coursework has not been sourced, so it falls back to the Core Baseline. WesternU publishes one shared requirements page covering the Pomona and Oregon campuses; the Oregon campus now carries the Heatherington College of Osteopathic Medicine name. The only stated difference between them is procedural: the campuses review applications independently, and applying to both means two secondary applications and two fees, though one set of letters serves both.
Check your transcript against this list
Cyclios keeps this list beside your coursework and tells you what COMP-Northwest still needs from you.
See it for medical school