2011-2012 Oregon Health & Sciences University Application Thread

[Signifier]

Has anyone been rejected (or is pre-interview hold all that is happening now?) I was complete 10/11, should I expect some information by the end of November about interviewing or not? (IE is 4-6 weeks a reasonable wait time?)

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[mybubbles627]

Has anyone been rejected (or is pre-interview hold all that is happening now?) I was complete 10/11, should I expect some information by the end of November about interviewing or not? (IE is 4-6 weeks a reasonable wait time?)

OHSU is known to be extremely slow at everything. I applied last year and heard about an interview in 2.5 weeks but that is extremely rare. I had at least three friends who waited 8-10 weeks before they got an invite. I also have a friend this year who was processed last week and she said there is a message that it can take up tp 12 weeks to hear about an interview. So don't start worrying yet. There is still plenty of time for you to hear.

 

[hopefuldoc97239]

holy crap 40k tuition in-state? I'm over at western lebanon and ours is 48k for private school lol. Projected to be in debt 290k (w/o interest) after 4 years, and ~550k with interest if I'm on a 20 year payment track. Oregon residents have pretty crappy options speaking from a financial point of view

My point exactly That's the problem: If you look at the budget, Oregon is hemorrhaging money on community colleges with questionable outcomes and questionable job prospects for the few who graduate, while failing to invest significantly in programs like medical schools with proven results and a shortage of workers.

Providers are the foundation of healthcare. How can Oregon claim to be a leader in healthcare reform when they are dead last when it comes to investing in the foundation of the healthcare?

Sure Oregon has financial problems, but even after adjusting for inflation the state budget has been increasing its funding of community colleges while decreasing support of medical school. This is despite promises from years ago that the legislature would actually increase its support of OHSU (according to Representative Mitch Greenlick, see article).

Lots of states have financial problems. Oregon isn't unique in that respect. But they aren't funding their physicians, which has lots of negative consequences for healthcare. There was a study that was reported on in the AMSA magazine that showed that worries about debt actually decreases performance on the board exams!!

 

[Mzungu]

FYI IS, 2ndary submitted 9/12/2011 and just saw I was complete 11/03/2011.
This was stated under my completion date:

"We have received your secondary application, all letters of recommendation and supporting documentation.

To applicants who meet one or more Mission-Based groups: Your file is currently being screened in the interview selection process. Please note that due to the large number of files in our applicant pool, this screening may take up to 12 weeks. As soon as a decision is made on your application, you will be notified. The Admissions Committee interviews prospective candidates from October through mid-April.

To all other applicants (Non Mission-Based): OHSU screens Mission-Based applicants first for interview eligibility. By January, the committee will evaluate Non Mission-Based applicants for interview eligibility."

 

[Northwesterly]

Any news from early October interviewees?

 

[rgll]

Any news from early October interviewees?

When I interviewed (late October), the Dean of Admissions said that they probably won't start accepting/rejecting/holding people until December because they want to get a general sense of the range of MMI scores. In past years, they were able distinguish an "accepted" score and a "refused" score easily based on past trends. With this new MMI system, they're not quite sure what the cutoffs are going to be yet.

 

[mybubbles627]

Update for anyone interested.

IS applicant. Secondary submitted 9/21. Processed/complete on 11/8.

 

[TabletopJoe]

Secondary Submitted 8/29, Complete 9/30, II 11/7, Interviewing 12/2

 

[Emilyyyy]

Catching a flight tonight, and will be there tomorrow. Can't wait to visit OHSU

for the MMI (scares me haha)

 

[centrigeugle]

II today - in state, complete mid-Oct, interviewing 12/2, 3.7/35+

 

[rgll]

Catching a flight tonight, and will be there tomorrow. Can't wait to visit OHSU

for the MMI (scares me haha)

Don't be scared by the MMI. It's almost kind of fun. Once you start the circuit, time flies by fast. And they do a good job of preparing you before the MMI. They have a whole session where they basically tell you what you're getting into. So relax!

 

[NatrixCaelicola]

Submitted secondary: 09/06/11
Complete: 10/06/11
II: yesterday (11/09/11)
Interview: 11/18/11

IS, 3.9+/36

 

[jayhvvip]

In state applicant, secondary submitted 09/26/11, file complete 11/10/11

 

[Emilyyyy]

Don't be scared by the MMI. It's almost kind of fun. Once you start the circuit, time flies by fast. And they do a good job of preparing you before the MMI. They have a whole session where they basically tell you what you're getting into. So relax!

Yeah, I agree now that I've gone through with it! It is sorta fun to have the mini chats with them.

Random advice for girls: if you wear heels, I suggest also bringing some flats for the tour. Lots of stairs and lots to see, so if heels aren't your best friends, it would definitely be more comfortable to switch into cute flats after the MMI circuit!

 

[CaliforniaAppli]

How did the traditional interview go?
What questions did they ask?

 

[Emilyyyy]

How did the traditional interview go?
What questions did they ask?

I felt like the trad. interview was relaxing. Before every MMI station, you have to really think about the scenarios. The normal interview is definitely stuff you know since its about you! The lady who did mine was very nice, very conversational. They have access to your personal statement, secondary responses, and LORs, so I think they pull conversation topics from there. The 20 minutes or whatever really flew by for me.

All in all, I found OHSU's interview very doable, nothing too stressful once you get started. You'll be okay!

 

[Northwesterly]

How did the traditional interview go?
What questions did they ask?

I doubt that there are pre-specified questions for the "traditional interview" part of the day. Just prepare for it the way you would any other interview--make sure you can talk intelligently about yourself, why you want become a doctor, and what you like about OHSU.

 

[eatsleepmed]

People who interviewed have signed waivers agreeing to not talk about the exact questions that were asked. Just be prepared for some ethical/current event/health care related questions, pretty much like any other interview you have ever prepared for.

 

[Emilyyyy]

People who interviewed have signed waivers agreeing to not talk about the exact questions that were asked. Just be prepared for some ethical/current event/health care related questions, pretty much like any other interview you have ever prepared for.

Yep, exactly

 

[CaliforniaAppli]

Sorry I thought there traditional interview was separate from the MMI?
Also were there any acting stations?

 

[Northwesterly]

Sorry I thought there traditional interview was separate from the MMI?
Also were there any acting stations?

I'm afraid that answering that is pretty much exactly the kind of thing the NDA forms don't allow. (Silly, but it is what it is.) But really, don't worry. There aren't any "gotcha" questions--just get plenty of sleep the night before and you'll be fine.

 

[Pennilane]

New status page update which basically states what other ppl have already said:

Due to the new MMI process, we will notify interviewed applicants of the committee's decision 8-10 weeks after their interview day. For instance, if you interviewed in early October, you should be hearing from us by early to mid-December. Thank you for your patience.

Here's hoping for a nice Christmas email notice.

 

[Northwesterly]

Sigh.

New status page update which basically states what other ppl have already said:

Due to the new MMI process, we will notify interviewed applicants of the committee's decision 8-10 weeks after their interview day. For instance, if you interviewed in early October, you should be hearing from us by early to mid-December. Thank you for your patience.

Here's hoping for a nice Christmas email notice.

 

[Emilyyyy]

New status page update which basically states what other ppl have already said:

Due to the new MMI process, we will notify interviewed applicants of the committee's decision 8-10 weeks after their interview day. For instance, if you interviewed in early October, you should be hearing from us by early to mid-December. Thank you for your patience.

Here's hoping for a nice Christmas email notice.

At our interview, she basically said most people are going to be put on hold and won't hear back until May 15 when they rank the list? I'd hope for Christmastime acceptance, but I wasn't expecting anything until much later. Please let this new status page be correct

 

[Nibbly]

SS: 9/5
SC: 10/11
Hold for interview: sometime between 11/3 and now

 

[Northwesterly]

At our interview, she basically said most people are going to be put on hold and won't hear back until May 15 when they rank the list? I'd hope for Christmastime acceptance, but I wasn't expecting anything until much later. Please let this new status page be correct

Well, ~60% of the folks they interview won't ever get an acceptance, either immediately or after May 15th, but if past years' patterns hold true (and they may not, what with MMI and all) there will be a pretty substantial number of applicants accepted 8-12 weeks post-interview. In fact, AAMC traffic rules dictate that OHSU hands out at least 128 (I think that's the current class size?) acceptances by March 30th.

 

[mybubbles627]

At our interview, she basically said most people are going to be put on hold and won't hear back until May 15 when they rank the list? I'd hope for Christmastime acceptance, but I wasn't expecting anything until much later. Please let this new status page be correct

OHSU is known for putting a large majority of people on hold. they don't admit people on a rolling basis so they want to give people who interview towards the end of the cycle as equal an opportunity as the people who interview early. therefore very few get accepted right off the bat so don't let that discourage you. my guess is with this new system even more people will be placed on hold because they will want more people to have gone through for score ranges. that's just my opinion though.

On another note. What is the shortest it took anyone to hear about an interview? So far the shortest I know of is my friend who was complete on 10/24 then got an interview invite 11/9.

 

[mybubbles627]

SS: 9/5
SC: 10/11
Hold for interview: sometime between 11/3 and now

What does hold for interview mean? That they are giving you one they just don't know when?

 

[Northwesterly]

Two weeks from complete-date to ii is pretty darn quick. (FWIW, I was 9/20 - 10/17) It probably just depends on what admissions officer gets your file and how high their pile of apps is.

As far as immediate accept vs. hold goes, I don't know that it's quite true that "very few" get accepted post interview. hopefuldoc did a nice little regression in last year's thread that seemed to show somewhere in the range of a 20-25% acceptance rate, post interview. (Which is fairly comparable to many schools I'm aware of--some are a little higher, some a little lower than that.) The hold pool-->waitlist path is a little murkier, since the number of waitlist offers has bounced around so much the last few years. Suffice to say, you have every reason to hope for good news post-interview, but your season is by no means over if you get a "hold" status. Folks can troll through last year's thread for more details.

And apologies for my pedantry--if over-analyzing this stuff annoys you just skip my posts, I just think it's worth putting the best available info out there so people can judge for themselves what to do and expect during the purgatory that is application year.

PS: "On hold for interview" means you won't get your up or down interview decision in the 12 week post-completion window, but may be considered again later in the cycle.

OHSU is known for putting a large majority of people on hold. they don't admit people on a rolling basis so they want to give people who interview towards the end of the cycle as equal an opportunity as the people who interview early. therefore very few get accepted right off the bat so don't let that discourage you. my guess is with this new system even more people will be placed on hold because they will want more people to have gone through for score ranges. that's just my opinion though.

On another note. What is the shortest it took anyone to hear about an interview? So far the shortest I know of is my friend who was complete on 10/24 then got an interview invite 11/9.

 

[Simplify]

PS: "On hold for interview" means you won't get your up or down interview decision in the 12 week post-completion window, but may be considered again later in the cycle.

I found one example of a person who had this status and ended up getting an interview last year. So, for those of us in this category, there is some hope--just not a lot.

 

[Emilyyyy]

Well, ~60% of the folks they interview won't ever get an acceptance, either immediately or after May 15th, but if past years' patterns hold true (and they may not, what with MMI and all) there will be a pretty substantial number of applicants accepted 8-12 weeks post-interview. In fact, AAMC traffic rules dictate that OHSU hands out at least 128 (I think that's the current class size?) acceptances by March 30th.

OHSU is known for putting a large majority of people on hold. they don't admit people on a rolling basis so they want to give people who interview towards the end of the cycle as equal an opportunity as the people who interview early. therefore very few get accepted right off the bat so don't let that discourage you. my guess is with this new system even more people will be placed on hold because they will want more people to have gone through for score ranges. that's just my opinion though.

On another note. What is the shortest it took anyone to hear about an interview? So far the shortest I know of is my friend who was complete on 10/24 then got an interview invite 11/9.

Ah, okay. Thanks for clarifying!

And northwesterly, thanks for the numbers, I do appreciate them! I do remember seeing the chart earlier in this thread about acceptances and holds and stuff.

 

[mybubbles627]

Two weeks from complete-date to ii is pretty darn quick. (FWIW, I was 9/20 - 10/17) It probably just depends on what admissions officer gets your file and how high their pile of apps is.

As far as immediate accept vs. hold goes, I don't know that it's quite true that "very few" get accepted post interview. hopefuldoc did a nice little regression in last year's thread that seemed to show somewhere in the range of a 20-25% acceptance rate, post interview. (Which is fairly comparable to many schools I'm aware of--some are a little higher, some a little lower than that.) The hold pool-->waitlist path is a little murkier, since the number of waitlist offers has bounced around so much the last few years. Suffice to say, you have every reason to hope for good news post-interview, but your season is by no means over if you get a "hold" status. Folks can troll through last year's thread for more details.

And apologies for my pedantry--if over-analyzing this stuff annoys you just skip my posts, I just think it's worth putting the best available info out there so people can judge for themselves what to do and expect during the purgatory that is application year.

PS: "On hold for interview" means you won't get your up or down interview decision in the 12 week post-completion window, but may be considered again later in the cycle.

I remember those numbers from last year because I am a re-applicant as well. I just figured this year the numbers probably will be slightly different due to the new interview system since they aren't used to it but I could just be making an assumption. It just seems to make sense since they admit they are waiting till December to give acceptances to those who interviewed in October. I know in previous years it didn't take that long.

 

[Northwesterly]

I remember those numbers from last year because I am a re-applicant as well. I just figured this year the numbers probably will be slightly different due to the new interview system since they aren't used to it but I could just be making an assumption. It just seems to make sense since they admit they are waiting till December to give acceptances to those who interviewed in October. I know in previous years it didn't take that long.

Oh, no doubt this is all just educated guesswork. Other than OHSU's own guidelines, which are obviously in flux this year, the only facts we can really rely on are the traffic rules. (No acceptances before October 15th, full class' worth of acceptances by March 30th, May deadline, etc.)

Is anyone interviewing this week? Good luck!

 

[MDMPH 2016]

I'm IS and applying for the joint MD/MPH. My secondary app was complete/processed on 10/18. Does anyone know how much longer it takes joint applicants compared to just MD applicants to hear back from admissions???

 

[rbnsafsadgf]

I'm IS and applying for the joint MD/MPH. My secondary app was complete/processed on 10/18. Does anyone know how much longer it takes joint applicants compared to just MD applicants to hear back from admissions???

OHSU is generally slow. With a MD/MPH application, more people have to read your application, so it will take even longer. I don't have more exact estimates.

 

[Northwesterly]

I'm IS and applying for the joint MD/MPH. My secondary app was complete/processed on 10/18. Does anyone know how much longer it takes joint applicants compared to just MD applicants to hear back from admissions???

Not sure how long it takes (especially given this year's weirdness) but it looks like last year, the first admitted MD/MPH to post on SDN was February 14th--more than three months after the first MD admits started to trickle in. Of course that's a subjective slice of a tiny sample size--there are, what, six MD/MPH spots each year? But yeah, I'd guess 8-10 weeks post-completion at a minimum. (If it's any consolation, I'm almost certainly wrong. ) Good luck!

 

[Neuralbunny]

My file has still not been marked as complete...sigh. If I had realized how long it takes to be looked at I would have been quicker off the mark on the secondary and not thought about the essays so long. Oh well.

 

[mybubbles627]

My file has still not been marked as complete...sigh. If I had realized how long it takes to be looked at I would have been quicker off the mark on the secondary and not thought about the essays so long. Oh well.

When did you submit your secondary/how long have you been waiting? It seems to take a good 7 weeks for most people at this time.

 

[sector9]

When did you submit your secondary/how long have you been waiting? It seems to take a good 7 weeks for most people at this time.

I'm at a couple days shy of 9 weeks, personally

 

[Northwesterly]

I'm at a couple days shy of 9 weeks, personally

Assuming that it will take exactly the maximum specified amount of time is probably a good rule of thumb. So... two more days?
Good luck!

 

[sector9]

Assuming that it will take exactly the maximum specified amount of time is probably a good rule of thumb. So... two more days?
Good luck!

 

[Mzungu]

IS Applicant:
SS:9/12
SC:11/3
II: 11/30

I was given December 9, 16, 29 and 30th as potential dates.

Best of luck to everyone. It's a slow trudge with OHSU, but it's worth it.

 

[jayhvvip]

IS Applicant:
SS:9/12
SC:11/3
II: 11/30

I was given December 9, 16, 29 and 30th as potential dates.

Best of luck to everyone. It's a slow trudge with OHSU, but it's worth it.

I was offered an interview today as well! In state, secondary complete 11/09.
Good luck!

 

[mybubbles627]

I was offered an interview today as well! In state, secondary complete 11/09.
Good luck!

What date did you choose to interview?

 

[Mzungu]

What date did you choose to interview?

Received notification I'm interviewing 12/9/2011 this morning.

 

[jayhvvip]

What date did you choose to interview?

I will be interviewing Dec 9th

 

[Neuralbunny]

When did you submit your secondary/how long have you been waiting? It seems to take a good 7 weeks for most people at this time.

I'm at over 8 weeks now. Hopefully it'll be coming soon--they only have a few more days until their "deadline!"

 

[sector9]

I'm at over 8 weeks now. Hopefully it'll be coming soon--they only have a few more days until their "deadline!"

I'm passed 9 weeks

 

[kononobunaga]

S/S: 10/9
Complete (via status page): 12/2

The status page says the first round of screening may take 12 weeks. :/

 

[Neuralbunny]

S/S: 10/9
Complete (via status page): 12/2

The status page says the first round of screening may take 12 weeks. :/

First round of screening....you mean post-completion, you have to wait 3 more months to hear about an interview? Well, that's not good.