"How does the school accomodate students that have been studying chinese medicine for years already?"

I would definitely recommend that students have some background in OM before coming to SIOM; first year has been very challenging for those with no background. SIOM is very good at keeping you challenged (some would say too good), regardless of your level of experience--even teachers sit in on each others classes from time to time.

We start checking tongues and pulses right away. There's an intensive for the two weeks before the official beginning of the first trimester and we learn all the basics plus a full body tuina protocol that we use to treat patients in clinic from day 1 of the first trimester.

Seattle is a great city, but it can be a bit hectic, especially in terms of traffic and population density. It has a very progressively minded populace and there are tons of things to do year round--I haven't really found anything Seattle doesn't have from recreation to cuisine to spiritual communities. Still, gentrification/condo-ification is a problem when it comes to housing--fairly pricey. You'll probably hear others complain about these things, but it seems to me that Seattle's troubles aren't as great as many other booming American metropolises. I haven't been to Portland, but I've heard its more laid back and affordable than Seattle and that sounds nice to me. I'd say take a trip up here and see if you think its for you.

"As far as the chinese language goes, how intense is the learning in that department? Are you getting into translation of the classics?"

The language component plays heavily into the program--it is another aspect of SIOM that some people love (like me) and some people think is just too intense. You have to be very self-motivated to keep up with it. We aren't translating classics in the first year, but that is done later. Also, there is translation of case studies, research done in chinese, etc.

"Would you say that the school is more herbal- or acupouncture-heavy?"

Both equally. The key word to SIOM seems to be plurality. You learn many approaches to acupuncture and herbs from diverse faculty members--some trained in TCM, some in Japanese 5 Phase, some in classical Chinese styles (lots of Shang Han Lun folks), some by particular masters, etc. You will also learn a bunch of other modalities including food therapy, qigong, auricular, tuina, advanced palpation techniques, etc.

Next year the program is changing to focus on the classics from the beginning and more modern approaches later, which is the reverse from how things are now. I believe they will also be including qigong as a required class throughout the entire program.

The best thing about SIOM? The teachers.

The (potential) down sides: prepare to give up most of your free time to studying, there are several mandatory weekend seminars sometimes at difficult times like midterms, breaks are never long enough, prepare to have your ego regularly challenged and have to roll with it, the current building is pretty cramped (they'll be moving after 2010 I think), don't expect schedules and expectations to be particularly clear or organized, and prepare to hear very different ideas on the medicine from different teachers and have to make sense of it.

As any student here will tell you, "SIOM is great, but its definitely not for everyone."