2008-2009 OHSU Secondary Application Thread

Discover Your Odds of Getting into Medical School
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talbo said:
has anyone e-mailed the admissions office? if so what e-mail address did you use? thanks!
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i emailed someone about my status, (lori) that was mentioned a few pages back. she got back to me in a couple of days.
 
Hmm, a bit of a spread. Thanks for the replies. I was complete 11-21 so it hasn't been that long but i was just curious about turnaround times to expect (also considering that it took more than 3 months for me to receive the complete notice).
 
Skorgirl said:
I think you need to wait more patiently ... I just received the complete email today and they received my application on 9/28/08 and cashed my check shortly thereafter. The email states, "Your file is complete and is currently being screened in the interview selection process. " Perhaps they don't send you the email until they start to actually review your file? The email also stresses the high volume of applications, in other words, "don't call us, we'll call you!" Given how long it took for mine to come, I wouldn't worry just yet.
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It really makes you wonder how they go about these things. I guess I am incredibly lucky because I mailed my app on Nov. 18th; it was received in their office Nov. 20th (thank you, Delivery Confirmation!); my check was cashed Dec. 3rd; and I got the "complete" e-mail today (12/9). (and was ecstatic about that! I'm obviously a dummy for applying late, but I REALLY want a chance at OHSU - I've heard so many great things about the school and Portland! 😀:xf:)

reezer4 - have you gotten your "complete" e-mail yet? I would call if you haven't . . . I agree that the message was "don't call us, we'll call you", but if you haven't gotten that message yet, how would you know that? 😉 Maybe there's something that's preventing your file from being complete, and they can look it up over the phone. :luck:
 
My check went through on 9/17. I called them early last week about not receiving a "complete" email and got it on the 5th.

btw, I left a voice message about my concern about how my check went through, but never receiving a notification that my app was complete.
 
Thanks CultureDoc and Skorgirl- I just got my "complete" letter today- thank goodness. I was thinking it should be any day now, but was hoping they'd skip the confirmation and just send me a request to interview ;o) So I was complete on 10/29 and got the letter 12/9 how's that for OHSU speediness? Good luck everyone!
 
Hi all!

I'm from over on the East coast and I was wondering how many people who were interviewed and accepted are from Oregon? I've heard its pretty hard to get in if you're out of state. I got my complete email a while ago, but no news.
 
reezer4 said:
Thanks CultureDoc and Skorgirl- I just got my "complete" letter today- thank goodness. I was thinking it should be any day now, but was hoping they'd skip the confirmation and just send me a request to interview ;o) So I was complete on 10/29 and got the letter 12/9 how's that for OHSU speediness? Good luck everyone!
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what letter are you talking about?
 
Actually, OHSU doesn't give preference to Oregon residents. If you are lucky enough to get an interview, your chance is as good as an Oregonian's. Besides, they are eager for out of state tuition. You also have to be very patient, because you will not hear about an acceptance until next June, except for a lucky few.
 
So these are the numbers I have from U.S. News:
In-state acceptance rate: 25.7%
Out-of-state acceptance rate: 2.9%

Once you have interviewed your chances of being accepted:
In-state: 47%
Out-of-state: 38%

Hope that helps!
 
How long does it take them to cash your check after they receive your secondary application materials?
 
nina7123 said:
I was reading up on the Oregon Health Plan and had some questions for my interviewers at OHSU...nobody knew anything!! OHSU doesn't seem to policy oriented so if you're crammed on time, I wouldn't worry about that
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I think that depends on who you interview with. I know of a few physicians interested in health policy, but that's probably because I seek it out too. IF you'd like to pursue info regarding health policy for interview purposes, which is certainly not a requisite, I would just be familiar with the tenets of the OHP, and maybe the general idea behind the existence of the Oregon Health Fund Board. Oh, and Senator Ron Wyden's Healthy Americans Act.
 
Hello all,

I'm currently a MS4 at OHSU and am happy to answer questions any of you might have, if I am able to. I pretty much offer to do this every year, I guess this is the last year I'll be able to! Some of the stuff about how admissions work may be a little out of date for me since obviously my experience with that side of things was several years ago (although it doesn't sound like much has changed). But questions about the school itself, the interview day, or Portland are welcome. I will try to answer all questions candidly, now that I am finishing my medical education I have a different perspective on what is important than when I started. Overall I think OHSU is a great place to train, depending on your interests. Congratulations to those who have been accepted already, and good luck to those waiting to hear!
 
I was completed Nov 1st and I had to call them because I never got an email that I was completed. I called them on Nov 14th and they apparently sent me an email on the 1st but I never got it. I got my interview invitation on Dec 4th and my interview is the 17th. I would actually call them if it's been a while because I submitted my completed app on the 15th of Sept and didn't hear anything from them. I finally called in Oct turns out that I didn't specify which online program my school committee letter was being sent from. But it did take 6 weeks after I submitted for me to get completed.
 
Mistress S said:
Hello all,

I'm currently a MS4 at OHSU and am happy to answer questions any of you might have, if I am able to. I pretty much offer to do this every year, I guess this is the last year I'll be able to! Some of the stuff about how admissions work may be a little out of date for me since obviously my experience with that side of things was several years ago (although it doesn't sound like much has changed). But questions about the school itself, the interview day, or Portland are welcome. I will try to answer all questions candidly, now that I am finishing my medical education I have a different perspective on what is important than when I started. Overall I think OHSU is a great place to train, depending on your interests. Congratulations to those who have been accepted already, and good luck to those waiting to hear!
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Mistress S, thanks so much for offering to answer questions! I guess I'd love to hear you expand on how your perspective has changed regarding what's important in medical school. You also mentioned OHSU is a great place to train depending on your interests...which interests in particular do the best at OHSU? I'm not 100% sure what I want to do so I'm hoping to explore a lot of possibilities...
 
I would also like to hear about what specific categories they score in the interview. From the SDN feedback section, it appears that interviews are very low-key. Preparation for my interview on the 16th so far has been "wing it" (over-analyzing kills my mojo!), but I would like to know a bit about how they score...I've been practicing positive thinking like, "I WILL be one of the 15% instantly accepted" even though I know it's a long shot 🙂
 
RedLemond said:
Mistress S, thanks so much for offering to answer questions! I guess I'd love to hear you expand on how your perspective has changed regarding what's important in medical school. You also mentioned OHSU is a great place to train depending on your interests...which interests in particular do the best at OHSU? I'm not 100% sure what I want to do so I'm hoping to explore a lot of possibilities...
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Hi RedLemond,

I have tried TWICE to respond to this, and each time I type out a long response my stupid computer erases it! Sometimes I hate my laptop.

Anyway, what I meant by that comment is that some things that schools emphasized to me as important when I was applying and that I looked for turned out to not have as much of an impact on my education, while some things that I didn't even think about mattered much more. An example is early clinical exposure, something I was looking for in a school and which OHSU does a good job of with weekly 1/2 days in a clinical setting starting almost immediately. While I wouldn't say this is of no value, as it is good to start practicing taking a history and basic PE skills, the reality is most of your clinical skills are developed during your third and fourth years when you're in the hospital 60-90 hrs/wk. It is interesting and fun as a preclinical student to have this exposure, and I think schools that offer this tend to be more progressive in general. But it is hardly the "leg up" on the clinical years that I guess I thought it might be.

On the other hand, boards preparation is something I did not even think about when applying that turns out to be more important. OHSU does just an okay job of step 1 preparation, giving you 4 weeks off to study on your own for this. Some schools offer 6-8 weeks off with formal review curriculum for their students. Most people do fine on the boards either way, and I certainly wouldn't suggest that this issue should be a deal-breaker in deciding which school to go to. But it is something to be aware of that didn't even cross my radar as an applicant.

OHSU's approach to boards prep is exemplary of what I love, and less than love, about the school. One of the things that I liked immediately when I interviewed here is the friendly, laid-back vibe of the place. This extends into the hospital, where most of the attendings are approachable and there is less formal heirarchy than some places. However, this lack of formality and laid-back atmosphere also affects the curriculum for good and bad. You are given more free time but also expected to be more self-reliant than at some schools-you only have 8-12, non-mandatory classes during the first 2 years on most days, but there is a fair amount of material you are expected to master on your own. Similarly, services like fin aid and housing are minimal. Some schools provide you with housing and fin aid guidance or have extensive resources for this; that is not the case at OHSU. When it comes to residency applications, you are again left mostly on your own- there are people to ask questions of, but little in the way of formal guidance compared to some schools. For the most part this is fine, and less structure= more freedom, but there are times I wish the school did offer a bit more in this area.

I think in general this is a good program for people who are self-motivated, friendly (read: not gunners, although I have heard some of the classes below me are more intense/gunnerish), independent, and more interested in clinical than research medicine. There are research opportunities, but it is not the focus of the school and other than in a few areas this is probably not the top place to be if you know you primarily want a career in research. There is good exposure to primary care and subspecialty with some primary care emphasis, and people match well into a variety of specialties all over the country. That said, the majority do go into primary care (family, IM, peds, OB/GYN- I myself am going into peds) and tend to stay in the western states, so if you know beyond a shadow of a doubt you want to do rad onc in Boston this may not be best place. Of course you can still do it, it's just that OHSU is better known on the west coast and the curriculum does emphasize primary care (you do 2 mandatory rotations in this as a third year, vs. 1 at most schools).

Many students at OHSU are interested in working with underserved groups or internationally, and so your fellow students are a good resource for this and many of the opportunities that exist for this are student-initiated. But again, the school does not offer much formal global health or underserved care opportunities (other than rural health, in which the school stands out and offers many opportunities to students). There are some options, more than at some schools, but less than at stand-outs in these areas like UCSF. These are interest areas of mine so it has at times been frustrating, although I have been able to arrange good experiences by taking more initiative. In some ways, developing those organizational skills is itself a useful experience, so it is not necessarily a bad thing. Again, just something to be aware of- if these are interests of yours, you will have a lot of company and be able to set up opportunities with some support from the school, but don't expect OHSU to spoon-feed these to you.

This turned out quite long, I hope it is helpful. These are just my opinions, I'm sure other students have had very different experiences and there may be changes that I am not aware of in some of these areas. Overall I have really enjoyed OHSU and have no regrets about coming here. It is a great school with a friendly atmosphere, you just have to be a bit more self-reliant than at some schools which is not necessarily bad. If I can answer other questions about the school or Portland in general, let me know!
 
Oh, and I forgot to even mention what a great city Portland is. I'm going all over on my residency interviews now, and every time I get back to Portland I'm struck by what a beautiful city this is. There is a vibrant arts/music scene, it's an attractive and easy place to get around without a car (walking, public transit, or biking, although there are rotations where not having a car would be a handicap), and it's much more affordable than a lot of cities, especially on the west coast. The mountains and the coast are both within a 1.5 hr drive. There is a definite liberal slant to politics and civic life here (our mayor is gay, we have medical marijuana and of course the nation's only physician assisted suicide law, etc.) which suits me just fine but could be seen as a negative by some. Really, I love this city and will miss it if I end up moving for residency.
 
BTC said:
Can I have an interview?
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:laugh: Good one! Me too?

Seriously, though, thanks for the info Mistress S! It was very helpful! OHSU is one of my top choices, so it's always great to get a little more inside info on it. 👍
 
Sorry, I have no pull whatsoever with the admissions committee- but I do wish you all the best of luck. :luck: I remember the time I was applying to med school as one of the most stressful periods of my life. Sadly, residency applications are surprisingly stressful also, but they also come with a lot more security as most people match somewhere even if not at their #1. Also less expensive to apply, although I'm going on a lot more interviews than I did for med school so those costs add up. I was reminiscing with my SO at lunch today about the ridiculous cost of med school apps and how the system is so skewed out of the applicants favor; it does get better once you are in. Anyway, ask away if there are other questions. I've lived in Portland for half my life and lived in most parts of the city so I can definitely give general info there as well as OHSU specific questions, if there are any.
 
I got in today! I'm so excited. I'm from Portland so it was such great news.
 
Mistress S said:
Oh, and I forgot to even mention what a great city Portland is. I'm going all over on my residency interviews now, and every time I get back to Portland I'm struck by what a beautiful city this is. There is a vibrant arts/music scene, it's an attractive and easy place to get around without a car (walking, public transit, or biking, although there are rotations where not having a car would be a handicap), and it's much more affordable than a lot of cities, especially on the west coast. The mountains and the coast are both within a 1.5 hr drive. There is a definite liberal slant to politics and civic life here (our mayor is gay, we have medical marijuana and of course the nation's only physician assisted suicide law, etc.) which suits me just fine but could be seen as a negative by some. Really, I love this city and will miss it if I end up moving for residency.
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Thanks so much Mistress S for the detailed insights (and for being willing to compose them a couple of times 🙂). It is some good info to chew on for a while. I'll post again when I can think of more questions! For now, all the best for your residency interviews!!
 
LD1234Him said:
I was completed Nov 1st and I had to call them because I never got an email that I was completed. I called them on Nov 14th and they apparently sent me an email on the 1st but I never got it. I got my interview invitation on Dec 4th and my interview is the 17th. I would actually call them if it's been a while because I submitted my completed app on the 15th of Sept and didn't hear anything from them. I finally called in Oct turns out that I didn't specify which online program my school committee letter was being sent from. But it did take 6 weeks after I submitted for me to get completed.
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same thing happened to me. i sent an email on dec 6th and they said that they had sent me an email on nov. 4th stating i was complete. somehow i never got that email. now im worried they will "send" me an invite and i won't get that either.
 
So being on team hold for a month has given me the constant feeling of rejection. I can't explain it but I just have this gut wrenching feeling that theres no more hope left in my corner. I'm already thinking about amcas 2010...man, why am I such a downer?
 
TeamZissou said:
Hahaha I just received my complete email and my check was cashed on 9/29🙂
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Sent - 12/11 (I know, I know. It's WAY late.)
Received - 12/13
Complete - 12/17

I only hope they'll send me an interview invite that fast :xf:. No hurry in the rejection though.
 
How do you find out about holds here?
 
i was wondering if i could get some advice...

i'm from portland and i go to school on the east coast. i am going home for the holidays and i haven't gotten an interview invite from ohsu. im a pretty strong applicant 3.7+ and 35 on the mcat. i was complete back on nov. 4th but haven't heard from them since, do you think that i should contact them and say that i will be in the area over break? it seems like it would be an utter waste of money to have to fly all the way back if they offer me an interview later... any advice would be appreciated.
 
I would. 👍

finknottle said:
i was wondering if i could get some advice...

i'm from portland and i go to school on the east coast. i am going home for the holidays and i haven't gotten an interview invite from ohsu. im a pretty strong applicant 3.7+ and 35 on the mcat. i was complete back on nov. 4th but haven't heard from them since, do you think that i should contact them and say that i will be in the area over break? it seems like it would be an utter waste of money to have to fly all the way back if they offer me an interview later... any advice would be appreciated.
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finknottle said:
same thing happened to me. i sent an email on dec 6th and they said that they had sent me an email on nov. 4th stating i was complete. somehow i never got that email. now im worried they will "send" me an invite and i won't get that either.
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They call for interview invites so I think you're safe.
 
sankondbest said:
They didnt call me...
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skiqueen said:
Me either. Got an email.
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Oh, I retract that then. I must be confused.

RGMass03 said:
Hey Crb, how'd the interview go today? I hope it went well!
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Hey, thanks for asking! They were predicting a bad snowstorm to hit Portland today so OHSU rescheduled me for 12/31. They wanted to make sure they had enough interviewers for the students flying in from out of town. Understandable, so I didn't really mind. I just hope my interviewer isn't mad at me for bringing them into the office on New Years Eve!
 
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finknottle said:
i was wondering if i could get some advice...

i'm from portland and i go to school on the east coast. i am going home for the holidays and i haven't gotten an interview invite from ohsu. im a pretty strong applicant 3.7+ and 35 on the mcat. i was complete back on nov. 4th but haven't heard from them since, do you think that i should contact them and say that i will be in the area over break? it seems like it would be an utter waste of money to have to fly all the way back if they offer me an interview later... any advice would be appreciated.
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def call and leave a message. you could also email lori toner, [email protected]. she's a main admissions coordinator and a good person to contact about stuff like this. good luck!
 
wepio said:
Sent - 12/11 (I know, I know. It's WAY late.)
Received - 12/13
Complete - 12/17
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Whoa! And I thought my 3-wk mailed-to-complete turnaround time was fast. Maybe they're just about caught up now?

Anyone still waiting to be marked complete?

Zissou - your turnaround time, however, is a "whoa" for the other end of the spectrum. This whole process is just crazypants!
 
I bet they're just trying to clear everything off their plates before they close for the holidays... hence wepio's record-breaking 4-day turnaround.
 
CultureDoc said:
Zissou - your turnaround time, however, is a "whoa" for the other end of the spectrum. This whole process is just crazypants!
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Haha ya I hope its not a reflection of what they think of my application. Shame it took so long, I'm visiting my family in Seattle right now and it would have been very convenient to drop by for an interview.🙂
 
dude, if they're clearing off their plates then they should be offering us all interviews by now- I'm sooo tired of waiting! But snow slows everything down more I guess. boo.
 
Does anyone know if OHSU accepts app. updates via email? If so, what email address did you use?

Thanks!
 
JuliaGulia2789 said:
I bet they're just trying to clear everything off their plates before they close for the holidays... hence wepio's record-breaking 4-day turnaround.
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🙁 ... Sad.
 
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