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What's the 'B' then?
UQ-Ochsner 2016
- Thread starter Omidvar
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My score was 10 in P and V, figured I would say the 7 was in B.
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He probably included the "B" in his score to reference that his 7 was on the biology section. There has been no essay section on the MCAT for a few years now.
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oops didn't see that he responded to your post
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Hi all,
What is the latest you can apply? Thanks
What is the latest you can apply? Thanks
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deleted455728
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I just got my acceptance today. Have not accepted yet, but wanted to see if anyone on this forum had some good advice for me. I am noticing on the threads that students say they don't teach as much biochem and physiology/pathology at UQ the first two years? Or it is encouraged to take these at an UG level before starting? I am enrolled right now to take physiology and biochem over the summer, but they are scheduled for the same exact time. Which would be more beneficial for me to take before starting the program at UQ? What about pathology? Any advice would be very much appreciated!
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deleted158872
Do you know how many seats they have left at this point?
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When I spoke to MEP a few days ago they said the class is about half full at this point.
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Physiology infinitely more useful for studying/preparing for a med degree here. However, biochem would help in preparation for studying for the USMLE if you're planning to do residency in the US. Pathology similar to physio, but less helpful without a grounding in physio.
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deleted158872
since the learning style is PBL, aren't we supposed to teach ourselves all subjects, though? 
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deleted158872
What is the percentage of applicants that are accepted post-interview?
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I personally would just enjoy my summer if I were you since you've been accepted already. It's also probably better to take either of those classes at the graduate level instead of the undergraduate level (not sure how much you will get out of it otherwise).
If you REALLY need to choose, I've heard UQ does a much better job at teaching physiology than biochem (so take biochem, however any undergraduate biochem class is probably not going to be that helpful anyway).
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since the learning style is PBL, aren't we supposed to teach ourselves all subjects, though?
Pretty sure they have standard didactic lectures every day. PBL groups are just used to supplement it.
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deleted158872
if so then that is good.
I've seen someone write on this forum: "UQ expects you to teach yourself Medicine with your own textbooks", though
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Ok. Just because "they expect you to teach yourself" doesn't mean they don't have standard lectures.
The person you are quoting could be alluding to many other things, i.e. he could be unhappy with the quality of lectures, the professors, how in-depth they go into material, etc. Haven't you ever sat in a lecture and still needed to teach yourself afterwards?
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Just to clarify, they teach you everything you need for the most part when it comes to the Australian standard. If you are taking the USMLE, then yes you need to take time and read through parts of Robbins, watch Pathoma, read Guyton and Hall, go through FA Biochem/Micro, listen/read Goljan, or some combination of the above. They teach physiology a bit, but they are spending far more time on pathophysiology. If you want to be an extra keen bean, taking a basic physiology and anatomy course might be helpful. We also were the first year they had to combine teaching physiology and path simultaneously, and they are still working on getting it right. They made some good changes in the Renal and Respiratory module after they sort of screwed up the CVS module. CBL is only 4ish hours per week excluding some reading you will do outside of CBL on the weekend. It is not a large portion of your time. We have 2-3 hours of medical science lecture Monday, 2 hours of clinical science on Tuesday, and then 2 hours of clinical coaching on Tuesday (application to patient care and diagnosis), 2 hours of anatomy and periodically 2 hours of histology throughout the week fit into our schedules, 2 hours of clinical science lecture on Friday. There is an hour or 2 of ethics and research thrown in there during the week, but I ignore them since you can learn all of the ethics you need the week before the test and research can be done without any lecture time at all (all of the tests are online, infinite repeats until you achieve a high enough score).
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That's called hyperbole.
Read through my comment history. I have discussed this in great detail many times. Including some earlier in this thread.
TL;DR: You have to learn most of the stuff in med school on your own anyways. Expecting that amount of knowledge to somehow be taught to you is silly. Sure, UQ doesn't teach as much biochem, pharmacology, and microbiology as US schools. Certainly not geared to Step 1 needs. But it isn't that huge a difference to learn it on your own and you are given the resources to do so. Physiology and pathology have actually always been extremely well taught. Hardy Ernst and Terry Tunny (hopefully they are still there) are amazing physiology professors.
If one is not particularly strong in these subjects I would say that taking an undergrad course would in fact be useful, particularly so close to the start of med school. They are tough subjects and admittedly not taught the best at UQ so having a leg up will be valuable. At a minimum it will allow you more time to have fun in Oz. It will also likely improve your Step 1 score. And despite what the old adage is about not even remembering the content of the first two years of med (total BS anyways), knowing it better will make you a better doctor.
In every med school you need to teach yourself medicine. The idea that someone else could teach you the amount of knowledge you need to absorb is simply silly. It is simply too inefficient to learn any other way. Lectures, at any school, are to give you a rapid skeletonized overview of the topics which you then need to spend 10 times longer than the lecture itself learning on your own.
There are aspects that do need to be taught, such as technique, communications and clinical skills, and so on in person. That's why PBL/CBL and practical sessions exist where you work in groups of 10 (some practicals are larger, but still a very small section of the class). Each one is led by a clinician or PhD (I think they may have now just made it only clinicians, but I am not sure. Used to be with PhD's as well when I did it).
At UQ you have to do more self learning than many American schools. No doubt about that. For some that is a negative and perfectly reasonable sticking point. Some people really do need more structure and direction. Some don't. I personally flourished in an environment where I made my own schedule and studied from home 90% of the time. My buddy who went to a US school complained about how many mandatory lectures and teaching sessions they had to go to, because it meant he had very little free time on his own to read and study and especially to have time left over for fun.
So depending on what sort of individual you are in those regards will determine whether you find UQ a good fit or not.
What are the books or resources that you would recommend to study from to supplement our learning for the subjects like biochem, pharmacology, and microbio that aren't taught well at UQ? Does UQ provide those resources to Ochsner students to help them prepare for step 1?
Also, is it enough to just read first aid to study for step 1 and UQ exams?
Since US med schools are expanding enrollment while residency positions are not increasing, there is a fear that in a couple years, the number of US med school graduates will exceed the number of available residency positions. If that's true, IMG's will have an even tougher time matching. Is this a legit concern for UQ-Ochsner students?
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There are many different series of books for Step 1 prep. They are all basically equivalent and it comes down to personal preference. I really liked Board Review Series for most topics but High Yield Neuro was my preferred for that subject.
The Ochsner Medical Student Association (OMSA) of which I am a founding executive member and developed the academic curriculum provides tutorials for M1's and has lobbied the school successfully to provide everyone with a couple of books, tutorials by M3/4 that have done well on the Step as M2's, access to the UWorld QBank, and a library of Step 1 resources available at each of the UQ libraries for you to use. You will have plenty of guidance and resources (many of which are typically not paid for by the SoM or even available at most US SoM's) and the tutorials are geared to mirror the UQ curriculum.
And no, FA is not enough for anything. You will need plenty more resources than that. In fact, I didn't even really crack FA until my month of study right before the exam. I do actually regret that for I think I would have gotten a higher score if I had spent more time pedantically memorizing a few things from FA (I got a 242).
That said, you certainly can (and probably should) study first for USMLE and then for UQ. Because UQ covers all the topics on the USMLE, just not to quite enough depth. However UQ has a few topics and requirements not on the USMLE, so it is important to fill in that gap to do well at UQ. After 6 months into M1 year I didn't study anything except USMLE. However the curriculum has changed slightly, so I imagine the strategy would have to adjust accordingly.
This question comes up a lot and I have answered it in more detail elsewhere. Look through my comment history for a more detailed answer (including the actual numbers since I am doing this off the top of my head so will only be giving ballpark numbers, but elsewhere I have actually referenced out the exact values).
US schools are expanding but there are still vastly more GME spots than US grads. ~8-10,000 more spots. We are graduating a class of ~120 (well, we will in a couple of years). Yes, we are competing with AMG's but we are more so competing with other IMG's. I think we will handily win that competition and have inroads into competing with the AMG's as well. So going from an excess of 8,000 spots to, say, 4,000 spots isn't really going to make that huge a difference for us.
As for the AOA/ACGME merger (which you asked in the PM)... I can never figure out why people think this will make it harder to match. If anything it will make it easier. Don't forget that as of right now the AOA has GME training spots that are only available to DO's. However the DO's can still come over here and compete for our spots as well. The merger will open up even more spots available to us (and AMG's) to compete for. And those excess spots in the ACGME already take into account the DO's that compete for them.
Hopefully that gives a sufficient enough quick overview and you can find my more detailed answers in my comment history.
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Hardy and Terry still both teach. Their lectures are indeed awesome. Hardy still loves to blow everyone's mind with the balloon trick in the respiratory physiology lecture.
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Hi, I just completed my application and received the email to schedule the interview. Can I get a little insight? Am I interviewing with people from UQ, Ochsner, or Mededpath? Are there really no questions allowed to interviewers? Was it the typical "tell us how you overcame a challenge" questions or more of a simulated experience, MMI type of interview. I'm not great at interviews so I'm trying to prepare the best I can. I would really appreciate any help! thanks
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It's not true that you can't ask them questions. I got out "Hello, nice to meet you, how are you doing?" to mine, along with, "Can you hear me?" before we got into it. Just read the information MedEdPath sends about what kind of "domains" they're going to ask about, and think about some examples so that you can answer the probable questions honestly, with some good reasons and good examples to reinforce your answers to their questions. It's semi-structured, so you can prepare somewhat, but ultimately you just need to relax and do the best you can.
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deleted158872
Is it an open or closed file interview?
is it done by the American faculty at Ochsner?
afaik, this is the first year that UQ-O interviews candidates...
is it done by the American faculty at Ochsner?
afaik, this is the first year that UQ-O interviews candidates...
Hi guys. I'm going to start my US med school application cycle after I get my April 2015 MCAT scores in June but I'm also interested in UQ-Oschner.
I see it says that February 2015 Applications are still open. When's the latest date I can apply with a seat actually available? How long does the application process take? Will it be over by time interviews in the U.S. start or continue on until February 2015?
I can't really find this info on the website, it only says processed in order received.
I see it says that February 2015 Applications are still open. When's the latest date I can apply with a seat actually available? How long does the application process take? Will it be over by time interviews in the U.S. start or continue on until February 2015?
I can't really find this info on the website, it only says processed in order received.
read the faq > http://www.mededpath.org/faq.html#
>>Q. What is the application process like?
A. The application itself consists of 3 components: the application, MCAT scores, and transcripts. Students send their application to the Mededpath Office. MCAT scores can be mailed or emailed to our office, and should include the AAMC ID number and the verification code: these are both found in the 'Score Report' option on the MCAT website. Transcripts can be mailed directly from the institution to our office, or we can accept them from Interfolio. Recommendations and resumes or CVs are not required but we are happy to receive them. If you have them please send them to us as well. We forward this information to the Ochsner Clinical School faculty for matriculated students only.
Each time a document arrives, we send students an email acknowledging receipt. When a student's application is complete, and has been deemed to have met the minimum standards for that entry year, the student will be invited for an interview, either in New Orleans at the UQ Ochsner Clinical School campus or via Skype. When an admissions decision has been made, MedEdPath will notify the student immediately by email. Students then have 6 weeks to decide if they would like to accept their offer of a seat in the class. >>
Admissions are done on a rolling basis so it is good idea to submit ASAP. They take roughly 125 people. There isn't a set deadline but the program stops accepting people once they reach the max number of students officially accepting the offer of admission. For more clarity, you should email MedEdPath, they are quite friendly.
Will it be over by time interviews in the U.S. start or continue on until February 2016? Yes if that means interviews start for US school in November.
>>Q. What is the application process like?
A. The application itself consists of 3 components: the application, MCAT scores, and transcripts. Students send their application to the Mededpath Office. MCAT scores can be mailed or emailed to our office, and should include the AAMC ID number and the verification code: these are both found in the 'Score Report' option on the MCAT website. Transcripts can be mailed directly from the institution to our office, or we can accept them from Interfolio. Recommendations and resumes or CVs are not required but we are happy to receive them. If you have them please send them to us as well. We forward this information to the Ochsner Clinical School faculty for matriculated students only.
Each time a document arrives, we send students an email acknowledging receipt. When a student's application is complete, and has been deemed to have met the minimum standards for that entry year, the student will be invited for an interview, either in New Orleans at the UQ Ochsner Clinical School campus or via Skype. When an admissions decision has been made, MedEdPath will notify the student immediately by email. Students then have 6 weeks to decide if they would like to accept their offer of a seat in the class. >>
Admissions are done on a rolling basis so it is good idea to submit ASAP. They take roughly 125 people. There isn't a set deadline but the program stops accepting people once they reach the max number of students officially accepting the offer of admission. For more clarity, you should email MedEdPath, they are quite friendly.
Will it be over by time interviews in the U.S. start or continue on until February 2016? Yes if that means interviews start for US school in November.
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Historically there have been people accepted as late as Nov/Dec though when I was last most active in these things the push was to have it be no later than Nov. The school year starts in Jan, so you will have some opportunity to interview in US schools before you must accept your offer to UQO, but not a huge amount of time. And you certainly won't be accepted by the time you have to move to Oz. Every year I was there there was at least 1 person who ended up getting accepted somewhere stateside (either DO or MD) and ended up leaving the program to go to that. You can get a refund on your tuition if you withdraw before a certain date (which I can't recall but is late enough to have been accepted stateside, though no guarantees on that). You won't get your deposit back nor any costs incurred with your move out there and back of course.
Of course the longer you wait the less likely there will be a spot. And the longer you wait to accept your offer the more likely the spot won't be there (they hold your spot once you accept, not once you are offered, so hypothetically the class could fill up before you accept the offer depending on timing). At least so far that hasn't really been a big issue. They've been expanding the class steadily so as interest and demand grows, so do spots, thus not significantly increasing competition. Now that the class has finally reached the steady state of ~125 though, I have no idea how competitive it will be or how early it will fill up. I imagine it will eventually become more difficult to secure a spot, but I don't know where they are in that regard now.
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deleted158872
about interviews: do they ask some 'weird' questions that require thinking on the spot?
can someone tell me what specific courses you learn in MS1 and MS2 at UQ?
their website only lists "medical sciences" https://www.som.uq.edu.au/future-st.../program-overview/mbbs-program-structure.aspx
can someone tell me what specific courses you learn in MS1 and MS2 at UQ?
their website only lists "medical sciences"
https://www.som.uq.edu.au/future-st.../program-overview/mbbs-program-structure.aspxabout interviews: do they ask some 'weird' questions that require thinking on the spot?
can someone tell me what specific courses you learn in MS1 and MS2 at UQ?
their website only lists "medical sciences"
I'm not sure it really matters. You take all the same stuff as any other medical school: physiology, path, anatomy, histology, ethics, biostats, clinical coaching, practical skills workshops, microbiology, pharmacology, and so on. How exactly it is arranged is, IMHO, rather meaningless because you need to know the same information by the time you finish M2 and take the Step 1 regardless. Sure the details are important once you get there, because you need to know how to navigate your coursework, take your tests, and turn in assignments on time, but regardless of how the courses are technically broken up you still have the same professors going over the same work and you will be studying the same material on your own time regardless.
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You learn everything simultaneously. It's just however they decide to structure the section. They do try to introduce physiology and histology first before they do pathophys and histopath. The pracs are thrown in there during the week, and the coaching is focused on the same things we are doing in clinical science sections.
hi all. what is the usual turnaround time from when mededpath receives the application packet to the email to schedule?
fedex delivered my application materials on monday morning, and i haven't even gotten a confirmation email yet from mededpath. should i contact someone? or am i overly excited and this is a normal timeline? mostly curious because it seems that people have gotten interview invites immediately, and i haven't even gotten notification that they've received my app.
fedex delivered my application materials on monday morning, and i haven't even gotten a confirmation email yet from mededpath. should i contact someone? or am i overly excited and this is a normal timeline? mostly curious because it seems that people have gotten interview invites immediately, and i haven't even gotten notification that they've received my app.
Strange, however after they get official transcripts they will sent definitely send you email. you could have sent unofficial transcripts (transcript version issued to student) to speed up the process
Same thing happened to me when I mailed in my application. After a day or two of waiting for the confirmation email, I called MedEdPath to confirm whether they had received the packet, and they agreed to search for it. They sent me an email within 20 minutes confirming receipt of my application. I would give them a call if I were you.
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deleted158872
so what do they teach in MS2?
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Huh?
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I emailed the day I knew they received it and I had a confirmation and interview email the next afternoon. I would email them. Alex is very helpful.
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Woah, really? I signed up yesterday and both the 18th and 19th of this month were available! I guess they're really filling up.
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deleted158872
well... the courses that you listed are MS1.
i wonder what students take in MS2...
(physiology, path, anatomy, histology, ethics, biostats, clinical coaching, practical skills workshops, microbiology, pharmacology....) = years one and two at Queensland. All medical schools have similar classes during the first two years so just use google to find out.
btw, the Queensland program is MD (graduate level) now and MBBS (undergraduate) is being phased out for students with undergraduate degree esp from North America.
btw, the Queensland program is MD (graduate level) now and MBBS (undergraduate) is being phased out for students with undergraduate degree esp from North America.
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No those courses are all preclinical courses. You take them throughout your first 2 years.
I sent an email - turns out they were unable to schedule via the online system because they were within 15 days, but they were able to schedule me manually for the 18th.
I did a check for the deposit and a credit card for the OSHC, sent in everything by next day mail, and got my CoE 8 days later.
