2009-2010 Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences Application Thread

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Having just gone through ODS last August, I can tell you that you don't have to worry very much. It is a breeze. If you are lucky, you will PT once or twice a week. It will really open your eyes when you see what the line officers have to do while they go through OCS.

One of the Marine Staff Sergeants stationed in Newport RI told me that he never had much respect for Naval Officers until he saw what OCS was like for them. He said he had a new found admiration for the kind of training they go through.

I definately wouldn't worry about rigors of the training offered at ODS.
 
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Having just gone through ODS last August, I can tell you that you don't have to worry very much. It is a breeze. If you are lucky, you will PT once or twice a week. It will really open your eyes when you see what the line officers have to do while they go through OCS.

One of the Marine Staff Sergeants stationed in Newport RI told me that he never had much respect for Naval Officers until he saw what OCS was like for them. He said he had a new found admiration for the kind of training they go through.

I definately wouldn't worry about rigors of the training offered at ODS.

NavyPhys would you mind answering some questions about ODS?

1. How's the housing situation? Is it barracks with lots of people or private rooms with a couple of room mates?

2. You said PT was once or twice a week. For this you wake up at 0500 correct? But what about the rest of the week. Do you wake at that time every day and if so what do you do on days you don't do PT?

3. How much do the drill instructors yell at you? I have heard conflicting stories, some say very much, others say hardley at all. Of course this will depend on how well you obey the rules and follow orders and memorize the facts they tell you to memorize and recite on command, (which I will do prior to ODS just to make sure I minimize the yelling) but in general can you give us an idea?.

4. Firearms training, do you get to do any of it?

5. How much time do you spend in class and studying? I have heard ODS described as death by power point and that the exams are 20 multiple choice questions and very easy if you pay attention. Does this concur with your experience?

6. Overall how much did you enjoy the experience? And in your opinion how much did everyone else enjoy it. Is it largely a function of mindset or is ODS really not as bad as we fear it to be?

Thanks for any help you can give us answering these questions, or any others you would care to.
 
Sarah9, I sincerely apologize for offending you. In my defense my last post was a joke, thus the smiley face and wink emoticons. The Secretary of Defense of the United States, 2nd in the military chain of command behind only the President, did not, in fact call me and order to me shut up about my stats, nor did he threaten to have me shot if I disobeyed that order. This was a joke meant to be self deprecating and offered as an apology to all those I have pissed off with my neuroticism.

As to your questions, I would be happy to help as I have been obsessivley researching the different branches of the service.

Air Force:

Pros:

-The most comfortable bases, (the joke in the military is that they design the golf course first and build the rest of the base around it).

-Shortest deployments, about 3-4 months long, then its back to your home base.

Cons:

-Smallest Service, which means the smallest # of specialty residencies and research slots. If you don't match into a residency you do a GMO tour as a flight surgeon. After a GMO tour, 2 years, your odds of matching in the second time go up dramatically.

-Worst Base locations, I have heard that many FPs and IMs, (who matched in the first round of residencies) are miserable because they stationed in wasteland locations such as Idaho, and Minot, North Dakota. Apparently the bases are built far from cities and towns to minimize damage should a plane crash, but this means that you are pretty much stuck on base with only whatever entertainment they have.

Navy:

Pros: Nicest base locations, almost all are coastal including fabulous areas such as San Diego, Pearl Harbor and some in Florida, (also guam is nice for an overseas deployment).

-Lots of specialties, this is the second largest branch and has almost as many residencies as Army, (some specialties such as Rads, it exactly the same) This probably refers also to research spots, although I am sure with ASAAMRID, army has more.

Neutral: 6-7 month deployments, potentially aboard a ship. This may be an adventure for some, hell for others, depends on your mindset. Sea sickness isn't a real problem because of the size of the ships, in case you do get sick they have drugs for that.

Cons: 2/3 of GME1s do GMO tour rather than go straight through to resdiency, unless you are doing FP or IM, which it sounds like you are not. As long as you don't mind doing a GMO you should eventually get into the specialty you want, including research.

Army:

Pros: Biggest branch so the most specialties, oppertunities for research. This is an important consideration for most, since most med students change their minds about what residency they want to pursue during 3,4th years.

USAAMRID- specifically a great reseach oppertunity, don't know if other braches have their own version of this.

Cons: Longest deployments, 12-14 months, bases are located in places such as Texas, Ohio and a lot of other inter continental sites. Its not as bad as AF, (as I understand it) because they are built close to towns and cities, so you can go off base and enjoy civilian recreational facilities such as night clubs, movie theaters, ect. Also keep in mind that Army has the most bases, so despite some crappy ones, they also have nice ones in California and even Hawaii, (FP residency there).

BUT keep in mind that Army bases are the oldest and not as plush as AF.


Conclusion: IN AF you are most likely to face comfortable bases, though many are located in isolated wastelands and with less oppertunity for choosing a non primary care specialty, or research. You will be deployed for less time but may spend your time wishing you were practicing in another specialty.

In Navy their are plenty of oppertunities for specializing, as long as you are willing to do a GMO tour, but the base locations are fantastic. You may be deployed on a ship, which may or maynot be your cup of tea but you can communicate with family and friends on a daily basis, even aboard ship.

The army has the oldest bases and you may find their location undesirable and deployments are long, but if you have the right mindset, (that you will be deployed in any branch and take it as an oppertunity for adventure and personal growth) you will be rewarded with the greatest chance to do what you love, (specialty) and have the best chance at doing research, such as at the US Army Advanced Research into Infectious Disease Research Base, (USAAMRID).

From what you described about yourself, (that doing research is the most important thing for you) I would agree that you probably want to choose the Army route.

Here is the website with great data regarding the number of specialties in each of the branches.
http://www.militarygme.org/4.html

Hope this helps and sorry again about the misunderstanding regarding my joke. I honestly meant no offense and I apologize for being so inconsiderate to reapplicants, those with lower scores and non traditional path students.

As I have said to teacherman84, I realize that stats can't tell you about quality of a doctor and I am sure you are a highly qualified and wonderful person who will contribute much to the medical profession, especially if you plan to pursue research.

I have always been in awe of those with the academic and mental acumen to do medical research, as I haven't got the chops for it and so i defer to you, my intellectual superior and beg your forgiveness for the insult you recieved.

As I have sworn on the military medical USUHS thread, I shall not speak of my stats again and as I have promised on this thread, (and as ordered by Robert Gates🙂 I shall calm down and help my fellow USUHS hopefuls by shareing any and all knowledge I have learned regarding USUHS and mil med and by supporting the efforts of all who apply and post on these forums.

Sorry again and thank you for your patience and understanding. Please have a wonderful week, a terrific summer and may you and yours know only health, joy and prosperity in the days to come.

Sincerely,
XMSR3

Thank you for the info. I found the military med thread and other references after i posted this question and figured everything out. As to the other comment, I was having a bad day, I apologize for that. Its not like me to lash out at people over a joke. I'm sorry, I've just been kind of stressed. Sorry about that. You offer very good advice. Thank you! 🙂
 
Hey y'all -- can we please try to just get along on this thread? USUHS, from what I've heard from some friends, has a very collaborative, collegial atmosphere. It would behoove us to behave in a similar manner.

so, can we let bygones be bygones and start over? I'd really hate to unsubscribe from this thread, but all the bickering does not for a good inbox make 🙂


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Hi, my name's caniac -- I'm going USAF or bust!
 
Thank you for the info. I found the military med thread and other references after i posted this question and figured everything out. As to the other comment, I was having a bad day, I apologize for that. Its not like me to lash out at people over a joke. I'm sorry, I've just been kind of stressed. Sorry about that. You offer very good advice. Thank you! 🙂

I completely understand, I myself have been nearly driven mad by the stress of it all, a fact that many on SDN can attest too🙂

I have just learned a piece of news that will make your day Sarah9 and perhaps help cheer up others as well.

It appears that the typical USUHS class is 50% those with previous military experience, 25% scientists who express interest in research and 25% civilians who want to do no research work.

For many of you that will be good news as your odds increased, for a few of you, (including myself) it is devestating news.

Best of luck to all whatever category you fit in, (but obviously to the latter as they need it the most😉
 
I didnt say they were civilians who didnt want to do research...I just said other. Nor did I specify the scientists were all going for research alone...I just meant to imply they were science hot shots. Everyone does research to some degree regardless of specialty. Those aren't concrete %s either...those were just estimates given to me...don't take it as gospel
 
teacherman84, thanks for the clarification.

By the way does anyone know what the Officer Training Program is called for the Army? I know Navy has Officer Development School, (mil med has great threads on what's its like) Air Force has Commissioned Officer Training, (threads describing this also to be found on mil med forum) but what is the Army program?
 
Here is what I have found so far:

Its called Officer Basic Leadership Course, lasts 6 weeks, (more time for fun right?😉 from mid june to the end of july.

source: http://www.usuhs.mil/somstudents/importantdates.html


Here is the army link about the program
http://www.cs.amedd.army.mil/obc/Index.htm

From reading the website it seems OBLC is a lot more intense than ODS or COT. You have 3 weeks of field training at camp bullis, which it appears means living out of a tent for 3 weeks, (longest consecutive period is 1 week) learning to shoot, move under fire, navigate, perform first aid and medical evacs and also training involving Nuclear, Chemical and Bio warfare. Although it sounds a bit scare to some, people who have gone through it say it is actually enjoyable and not bad at all.

Oh, by the way, if you do choose to enter the Army through USUHS be aware that they have different physical training requirement standards than does the Navy or Air Force.

http://www.army.com/enlist/APFT.html

The Personal Fitness Test looks like this:

Push ups, 10 min rest, Sit ups, 10 min rest, 2 mile Run,

Note the run is 2 miles, not 1.5 such as Navy and AF

The site I posted has the minimums but here they are for males, 22-26, (which is most of those at USU)

Pushups, 40 in 2 minutes,
Situps, 50 in 2 minutes
Running: 16:36 to run 2 miles

Note, I am not sure how exactly these tests are done but if they are like the navy, then pushups must be consecutive, or you can rest by holding the up position, sit ups are not consecutive. The Run standards are equivalent to 12:25 max time for running 1.5 miles, so its harder than the navy standard.

BUT on a plus, to get the max score requires 75 pushups, (navy has 88) and 80 situps, (navy has 105). Max score on 2 mile run is 13:00, or a 6:30 mile.

In other words, most people won't have a problem passing the sit ups and pushups, the run that will be people's biggest issue, (avg minimum run speed is about 7 mph, Navy's is 6.8 plus the longer distance). For those of you who have ever run a 5K, that is equivalent to running a 25:43 5K.

I tried to find threads on the mil med forum about people's experienes at OBLC and came across two helpful ones.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=400614

And here's a shorter one but includes pics

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=517524

Here are some very interesting facts regarding OBLC

1. Located in San Antonio, at Fort Sam Houston, you live on post in individual quarters, the thread above has links to pics of said quarters, which basically looks like a hotel room. You have access to an ethernet cable and unlimited internet in your room.
-So while the stay is 6 weeks, 3 of those weeks are in conditions that are very comfortable, (ODS has 2 people/room)

2. 3 weeks will be at camp bullis for field training, 1 week consecutive, the rest of the stays, 4 or 5 day stretches. You live in air conditioned tents and do a lot of intereting things, (the kind of stuff you join the military to learn and do). If you have the right mind set it is enjoyable, (so people say) BUT bring bug repellent and spray it around your cot because fire ants are a problem.

3. USU students get a per diem for food, lots of resteraunts on post and off, (some people recommend a car)

4. As always, it is best if you can buy your uniforms earlier and bring them with you as this allows you some spare time to explore the post while others are scrambling to get their uniforms.

5. Many people really enjoyed OBCL

Here is some info on Fort Sam Houston, the headquarters of the Army Medicine Department

Population: 27,000 soldiers and civilians, has its own school district, has its own zip code and is basically its own city.

http://fshtx.army.mil/sites/local/

There is a running map that gives a good idea of the size and layout of the post, Brookings Medical Center is the big building on the right most side of the map.
 
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just out of curiosity is there a reason all the PT stats keep getting posted about males? There are some females who want to go here too🙂

Also is anyone else worried about the health screening (assuming we make it that far) It seems pretty extensive and what you think is a minor issue can get you ruled out. Right now I'm fighting bronchitis ( or that is the most recent diagnosis..we'll see what Dr. visit number 5 says on friday) and have never passed a vision test because I have a lazy eye. I'm not applying until next cycle but I'm still worried that it may not be worth it to apply here because of minor ailments.
 
I'd go ahead and apply. While physical conditions that stop you from doing your job will usually be disqualifying stuff that you can still work with will often be waiver-able. You never know till you try.
 
I'm sorry for leaving out female requirements, here they are.

Females, 22-26

Pushups: 17
Situps: 50
2 mile run: 19:36

Personally I think its a little insulting they set the bar so low for women. I know females don't have the same upper body strength as men, but come on! 17 pushups! My 70 year old grandmother can do 20 and she's on chemo therapy!

And adding 3 minutes for the run? Really?

I know that many women are just as competative as men, perhaps more so and the fact that it is so easy to get a perfect 300 on your APFT is an insult to that competative spirit.

Well, anyway there you go, good luck getting in, no matter what branch you choose.
 
I agree. I had to run 2 miles faster then that to get on my high school's JV soccer team 😛
I don't think its fair to hold women to the same numbers as men just because we're built differently but that does seem a bit too lenient
 
My 70 year old grandmother can do 20 and she's on chemo therapy!QUOTE]

If I get an interview I'd better get training!! 🙂

I am in shape and run a lot, but I can only do like 2 "real" pushups (not on my knees) 😳
 
My 70 year old grandmother can do 20 and she's on chemo therapy!QUOTE]

If I get an interview I'd better get training!! 🙂

I am in shape and run a lot, but I can only do like 2 "real" pushups (not on my knees) 😳

Scooter, what do you mean, "if I get an interview" you are an excellent candidate, (otherwise you wouldn't be on SDN) and thus you will get an interview, so get your lazy but into training now😀
 
You would be surprised how quickly your PT stats will improve with just a little bit of effort. Doing you max number of push ups and sit ups every night will go a long way toward improving your score. You have plenty of time to make those minimums. By next year you could be in a position to max out.
 
Does anyone know if they do a physical at USUHS during the interview? I believe I heard that somewhere but I may be confusing it with HPSP which requires one before they commission you.

I know what the weight and physical recs are for OBLC, ODS and COT and I have no doubts I can have them down cold by next June, ( I already meet the pushups, situps standards and am very close to meeting the running requirement) but I am a bit worried about the weight aspect as I am currently overweight but training hard, (running 4 days/week, weight training the other 3 days and distance races every 2 weeks). I have already lost 40 lbs but am not yet at the 212 lbs limit the Army places on my height and I was wondering how close do you have to be to the max weight on interview day?

I will certainly tell them that I will get down to 212 and below by June 2010, and I will have my 20 mile race results by then to prove how serious I am,(I am also training for a marathon which I will do prior to starting OBLC in June 2010) but it is a concern.

Anyone know anything about this?
 
Does anyone know if they do a physical at USUHS during the interview? I believe I heard that somewhere but I may be confusing it with HPSP which requires one before they commission you.

I know what the weight and physical recs are for OBLC, ODS and COT and I have no doubts I can have them down cold by next June, ( I already meet the pushups, situps standards and am very close to meeting the running requirement) but I am a bit worried about the weight aspect as I am currently overweight but training hard, (running 4 days/week, weight training the other 3 days and distance races every 2 weeks). I have already lost 40 lbs but am not yet at the 212 lbs limit the Army places on my height and I was wondering how close do you have to be to the max weight on interview day?

I will certainly tell them that I will get down to 212 and below by June 2010, and I will have my 20 mile race results by then to prove how serious I am,(I am also training for a marathon which I will do prior to starting OBLC in June 2010) but it is a concern.

Anyone know anything about this?

Don't stress out about the weight requirements. If you are over, you can get a tape test that calculates your body fat percentage. Unless you are obviously chunky, you will probably meet their standards. You do not need to have this done by your interview, but it is a part of being medically qualified. They will not offer you an unconditional acceptance until you are qualified.
 
Does anyone know if they do a physical at USUHS during the interview? I believe I heard that somewhere but I may be confusing it with HPSP which requires one before they commission you.

I know what the weight and physical recs are for OBLC, ODS and COT and I have no doubts I can have them down cold by next June, ( I already meet the pushups, situps standards and am very close to meeting the running requirement) but I am a bit worried about the weight aspect as I am currently overweight but training hard, (running 4 days/week, weight training the other 3 days and distance races every 2 weeks). I have already lost 40 lbs but am not yet at the 212 lbs limit the Army places on my height and I was wondering how close do you have to be to the max weight on interview day?

I will certainly tell them that I will get down to 212 and below by June 2010, and I will have my 20 mile race results by then to prove how serious I am,(I am also training for a marathon which I will do prior to starting OBLC in June 2010) but it is a concern.

Anyone know anything about this?

You may want to consider reducing the frequency of your runs. For individuals who are overweight running can be significantly taxing on the joints. I would substitute one or two of the runs with some lap swimming. Even if you are not very proficient at it swimming burns fuel/fat quickly and without impact. Unless you are a marathon runner with a build to match I would limit run training to three time a week with a casual distance day (4+ miles), a fartlek (30 secs of sprint then 90 secs jog; repeat for 2 miles-ish) day, and a short run for speed day (no more than 2 miles).
 
Fartleks, BTW, are one of the best methods I have found for improving ones run time in a hurry.
 
You may want to consider reducing the frequency of your runs. For individuals who are overweight running can be significantly taxing on the joints. I would substitute one or two of the runs with some lap swimming. Even if you are not very proficient at it swimming burns fuel/fat quickly and without impact. Unless you are a marathon runner with a build to match I would limit run training to three time a week with a casual distance day (4+ miles), a fartlek (30 secs of sprint then 90 secs jog; repeat for 2 miles-ish) day, and a short run for speed day (no more than 2 miles).

You are correct RLTW, I did push it a bit. As a hyperpronator I have had problems with Posterior Tibialis Stress Syndrome ever since I began running. Last saturday I had a 5K and took too little time off for rest, did another 5K on monday, set a PR but am paying for it now.

I am doing plenty of heel walking and toe raises to strengthen my tibialis muscles and popping antiinflamattories like candy, but its been a slow recovery. I know how demonic shin splints can be, so for now I have replaced running with intensive cross training for 65 minutes at a time. I probably burn more calories doing that anyway, unless I would be running over 5 miles, so I guess it will help with the weight loss.

Another thing I should do is replace my shoes, Asics GT 2420s, about 200 miles on them. Though they should be good for at least another 100 miles, because I am a bigger guy they are probably in need of replacing. I actually have this extended warrenty that will cover the cost to replace them, so I should get on that. I should put the money towards motion controlled shoes, (my current Asics are stability, but apparently big guys need motion control to really cut down on hyperpronating).

Thanks for the good advice, RLTW, for now I suppose the best I can do is rest my shins, keep taking exedrin, keep up the strengthening excercises and just focus on the weight loss. I figure I should throw myself into my weight training and accelerate the rate that I increase the resistance so that I can max out all the machines at the gym by the time I do my Army HPSP physical on Sep 3.

I probably haven't a prayer of hitting 212 lbs by then, but I will get to 22% Body fat, (according to the tape measuring method) if it kills me😀
 
Another thing I should do is replace my shoes, Asics GT 2420s, about 200 miles on them. Though they should be good for at least another 100 miles, because I am a bigger guy they are probably in need of replacing.
As a large runner (6'5" 225lbs) who has been running since middle school track, I never go much beyond 200 miles comfortably...
Thanks for the good advice, RLTW, for now I suppose the best I can do is rest my shins, keep taking exedrin, keep up the strengthening excercises and just focus on the weight loss.
Excedrin for shins? I'd RICE and take a NSAID like ibuproferen...
 
Thanks Teacherman, I will switch to Ibuprofen and tomorrow I will look into new shoes. Its good to get real advice from a fellow runner, I am rather new to the sport.
 
Also where you're running has an impact. If you have shin splints try running on the grass. Also a track is much better for your joints then a street.
 
I have been useing the treadmills at my gym to build my cardio-pulmonary endurance. The only time I run on the streets is for races, which I am being forced to do on a bit of an accelerated schedule, ( I have to do a 20 mile race on Sept 12).

Of course when I have to start training for my half marathon I may have to hit the streets as the distances get a bit long.
 
Yeah I'm not a big treadmill fan just because I like to pace certain laps differently and I hate trying to find the right speed, but being able to watch TV while you run is nice 🙂

Wow a 20 mile race..good luck! I could never do that..I draw the line at 10K's.
 
Well to be honest I am a bit worried about my shin splints. I thought they would be better by now, but they are still giving me trouble. I will buy new, motion controlled shoes on sunday, put stability insoles in them and then give an army run a try on monday to see how they feel.

As for the 20 mile race, I hope I can make it, with distances over 10K I stop setting time goals and just hope I can finish without walking. And for the 20 miler, well that I just hope I can finish period.

I figure if I can then it will help me with the USUHS interview. I may not be at weight by my interview, but when I tell them I will be by June 2010, it will help my case if I have a bunch of long distance races under my belt.
 
Well to be honest I am a bit worried about my shin splints. I thought they would be better by now, but they are still giving me trouble. I will buy new, motion controlled shoes on sunday, put stability insoles in them and then give an army run a try on monday to see how they feel.

As for the 20 mile race, I hope I can make it, with distances over 10K I stop setting time goals and just hope I can finish without walking. And for the 20 miler, well that I just hope I can finish period.

I figure if I can then it will help me with the USUHS interview. I may not be at weight by my interview, but when I tell them I will be by June 2010, it will help my case if I have a bunch of long distance races under my belt.

Is running a 20 mile race a good idea when you already have shin pain/splints? I would let my legs completely heal, then slowly return to running.
 
Is running a 20 mile race a good idea when you already have shin pain/splints? I would let my legs completely heal, then slowly return to running.

That's true. If you keep running on shin splints you may eventually get stress fractures. In which case you wouldn't really be running any races for quite a while.
 
I figure if I can then it will help me with the USUHS interview. I may not be at weight by my interview, but when I tell them I will be by June 2010, it will help my case if I have a bunch of long distance races under my belt.

They don't measure you or anything so as long as you don't appear obese you should be fine. You don't get the DODMERB physical at USUHS either. That happens later. And if you are over the weight limit I'm not exactly sure what the Army does but for the Navy they sent a letter and I had to get my command to certify that I was within standards since they don't do the rope and choke at the doctor's office. (I believe the civilians just had their doctor measure them and sign it, not sure)
 
Ravengirl, thanks for the advice, I know that continuing to strain an inflammed tibialis will result in stress fractures, so I never run when I have shin splints.

My great struggle is preventing them in the first place. I let them heal by taking time off, taking Ibuprofen and strengthening my shins everyday with excercises but occassionally I will get them, which sucks, as I have to stop again, (cross training just dosn't feel as satisfying as running, even if you burn more calories on the latter).

Anyway, I will give running a shot on monday and see how my shins feel. If my splints are still there, I will stop, forgo my 10K and instead go straight to my 15K in 2 weeks, assuming my shins are fine by then (god I hope I can finish that one, as I have never run farther than 10K at a time and might not be able to train properly).

And SirGecko, thank you so much, you have taken a lot of pressure off me, as I was convinced that USUHS weighed interviewees and so I would have had to be at 212 by interview day.

Of course I still have that Army Physical on Sep 3, so I need to get within 22% body fat by that time, but I am 100% dedicated to my training, (weight training, push ups, situps and 65 min of hard cross training, on opposite days, while eating 1640 cals/day).

By the time I go to the physical I will be maxed out on all the weight machines at my gym, so I should have enough muscle to rev my metabolism and get me to 22% easy. Of course I am tracking my % body fat with an electronic scale, so I will have to buy a tape measurer to see how close those results correlate to the Army's tape measurer waist-neck circumfrence method.
 
So I had to email the admissions office about adding an additional letter to my file, and while I was at it I asked when they expect interview invitations to be sent out...

The email back said (among other things): "We will start notifications in late September."

Looks like we can relax for a couple months at least when it comes to waiting for an invite from USUHS!!
 
Late september, for interview invites? That means interviews won't start until mid Oct, and the earliest we could hear a decision is mid Nov, and that is probably asking a miracle. Most likely early to mid Dec is more likely. Damn, I was hoping to interview mid sep and get a decision by mid oct, so I could, hopefully, cancel the rest of my interviews.

But on a plus side, I suppose that means I will have more time to get in shape, heck there is a marathon in Walker MN, I could do on sep 19. Man if I could finish that it would look real good at the interview.😀
 
Late september, for interview invites?

Yeah I re-read my email to them, and the reply, a few times just to make sure I hadn't actually written "when do interviews start" or something, because the answer of "late Sept" would make more sense for that based on previous years.

But I don't think my question was ambiguous at all, and their answer wasn't either!

I was hoping they would say "this week"!!! 🙁
 
Lame, lame, lame lame, lame, LAME! This is upsetting, and I'll tell you why. The longer a school waits to send out interview invitations, the more applicants they will have to choose from. This is fine, as you will be selecting higher quality applicants. However, there are those students who work their tails off to get their primaries and secondaries in early so they will be among the first interviewers (for USUHS, we were all expecting mid Sept). Now, if suddenly those students are going up against students who took their time, reviewed their work like twenty times and put together really stellar applications, they are now at a disadvantage. You end up being penalized for being on the ball and turing in that secondary the day after you received it, which was a really good application, but could have maybe been a little better if you took a few more days to perfect it.

Anyway, it probably won't make much of a difference in the end. I just think it would be better if information was given up-front. Something like "Congratulations! Here is the secondary. We expect to be offering interview invitations beginning in October." Something like that would be nice.
 
Yeah I re-read my email to them, and the reply, a few times just to make sure I hadn't actually written "when do interviews start" or something, because the answer of "late Sept" would make more sense for that based on previous years.

But I don't think my question was ambiguous at all, and their answer wasn't either!

I was hoping they would say "this week"!!! 🙁

Wow, I was expecting them to be interviewing by late Sept too. You would think they would be notifying people pretty early considering their quick deadline. Oh well, just reinforces the fact that this process is all about waiting.
 
Weak. What the hell was the deal with the 3 week dead line? Seems like we could have had months to prepare our secondaries.
 
I really, really hope someone just wrote the wrong thing in the email to me... it seems so much later than what they have done in the past. But, I don't want to be a crazy neurotic premed (even though I feel like one sometimes!!) and email them back, and be like, "oh, maybe you meant something different based on previous years SDN threads"

But the exact question I asked as part of my email was: "Also, could you tell me when you expect interview invitations to be sent out? Just curious."

and the exact response to that part was: "We will start notifications in late September."

and that's it. Hah, I'm really probably overanalyzing here and making you all do it too. Maybe we'll be pleasantly surprised and start hearing yes or no in a couple weeks? Maybe if someone else has to contact them you could casually drop the same question and see if the answer is the same??

Maybe I need to get off SDN and give my full attention to the season finale of The Bachelorette!!! 😉
 
As I understood it rolling admissions meant first come, first served. They would take in applications, send out secondaries, review apps and send out interview invites in the order applications were recieved. This would continue until all spots were filled.

But with only 172 spots to fill and USUHS now apparently sitting on all our completed applications until late september, I wonder if rolling admissions are a lie.

Will those of us who applied on June 24 and sent in our secondaries as early as possible get the first interview invites? Or will all our timeliness come to nothing?
 
As I understood it rolling admissions meant first come, first served. They would take in applications, send out secondaries, review apps and send out interview invites in the order applications were recieved. This would continue until all spots were filled.

But with only 172 spots to fill and USUHS now apparently sitting on all our completed applications until late september, I wonder if rolling admissions are a lie.

Will those of us who applied on June 24 and sent in our secondaries as early as possible get the first interview invites? Or will all our timeliness come to nothing?
They still review them in the order they are received. You'll just have to wait longer. It also means people who wait are put on the bottom of a huge pile. Relax a bit.
 
Wow, I didn't mean to make everyone question the entire admissions process... I was actually hoping it would give us all one LESS thing to worry about/anticipate for the next couple months, not one MORE!! 😱
 
Come on. This whole process is like a who can be the most neurotic contest. Haha.
 
Come on. This whole process is like a who can be the most neurotic contest. Haha.
If that were really how they decided this xmsr3 would be appointed surgeon general of the army tomorrow. :laugh:

Seriously you guys are fine. I had my application done in August last year and I just barely missed the date cutoff to be interviewing for a spot and not a wait list spot. (Navy filled up with first November interview and I was just a little later in the month) As long as you interview in October (and probably November if they really aren't interviewing in September this year) you will be interviewing for a spot not a wait list placement.
 
Hey all, I just received a letter from USUHS stating my application has been deactivated due to me lacking a semester of college English, and two semesters of Inorganic Chemistry. I indicated the AP tests I took for these subjects on my primary, but my transcript only lists my ap credits as a lump (i.e. 33 credits) without splitting them up.

Does USUHS not accept AP credits for prerequisites? I couldn't not find anything on their website/brochure that says they do not. I'm hoping that this is just because my transcript does not indicate the specific subjects taken, but I mean I obviously received credit for them considering I received my degree and everything.
 
You need to call the admissions office about this, explain your situation, and see what you can do about this. Some schools take AP credit and others don't. I think I remember someone mentioning something about getting their AP Calc credits Oked.
 
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