2012-2013 Oregon Health and Science University Application Thread

[CholeCystems]

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Dsoz nailed it in terms of the amount of detail you can give without violating the NDA. If they give you an II it says in the email and they explain it again on the interview day.

 

[dsoz]

Does OHSU tell you if they decide not to offer an interview?

My experience from last year. I applied, but had to pull out pre-secondary for family reasons in October. I sent the admissions an email informing them that I was not going to proceed with the secondary application.

I got an email in December reminding me of the upcoming deadline for the secondary application. I got another email, I don't remember when, informing me that the deadline to submit my secondary was past. I then received a snail-mail letter in May informing me that I was no longer eligible for an interview at OHSU for the 2011-2012 application cycle.

I don't think that they tell you until March or May that you don't get an interview. It is a nerve-wracking experience to wait, wait, wait.

Good luck with the process.

dsoz

 

[wterrall]

Hey dsoz,

Thanks. I'm not really sure what the normal timeline would be. I submitted my secondary 9/30. Hopefully that wasn't too late to get a decent look. I've lived in OR all my life, and got 34 on the MCAT, so I'm hoping I'll get a chance. Best of luck to you as well!

Will

 

[DAPI]

Hey dsoz,

Thanks. I'm not really sure what the normal timeline would be. I submitted my secondary 9/30. Hopefully that wasn't too late to get a decent look. I've lived in OR all my life, and got 34 on the MCAT, so I'm hoping I'll get a chance. Best of luck to you as well!

Will

Based on this and there not being any glaring red flags in your application, you'll likely get an II sooner than later, but note that OHSU is super slow in general.

 

[askamsky51]

Complete! The glacier moves!

You had to wait six weeks???😱

Was I just super lucky??? I submitted 9/30, but MCAT didn't hit until October 3rd. Marked complete 9 days later.

I am an Oregon resident, and fit into other mission groups as well. So I guess that means I'm small pooled?

state school aside, I'm really hoping to get in here. Though chances are I'll be a wait list warrior.

 

[DAPI]

You had to wait six weeks???😱

Was I just super lucky??? I submitted 9/30, but MCAT didn't hit until October 3rd. Marked complete 9 days later.

I am an Oregon resident, and fit into other mission groups as well. So I guess that means I'm small pooled?

state school aside, I'm really hoping to get in here. Though chances are I'll be a wait list warrior.

OHSU does not have a small pool. They mark everyone complete after review and then either eventually offer you and interview or reject you at the end of the cycle in May.

 

[askamsky51]

OHSU does not have a small pool. They mark everyone complete after review and then either eventually offer you and interview or reject you at the end of the cycle in May.

True. Although it may not be called a small pool, it sounds like that's essentially what it is.

"applicants who meet one or more Mission-Based groups: Your file is currently being screened in the interview selection process."

What other criteria is there really for other school small pools, aside from GPA or meeting their personal mission?

plus, their last mission group is essentially, 'we think you're diverse, so you'll be taken aside and considered for an interview'


I don't know. I'm probably reading into this too much, though I'm neurotic.

 

[Ellie Arroway]

You had to wait six weeks???😱

Was I just super lucky??? I submitted 9/30, but MCAT didn't hit until October 3rd. Marked complete 9 days later.

I am an Oregon resident, and fit into other mission groups as well. So I guess that means I'm small pooled?

state school aside, I'm really hoping to get in here. Though chances are I'll be a wait list warrior.

I am also an Oregon resident & in multiple mission groups, with strong letters of recc from two OHSU faculty. Their process is a mystery, as far as I can tell.

 

[dsoz]

True. Although it may not be called a small pool, it sounds like that's essentially what it is.

"applicants who meet one or more Mission-Based groups: Your file is currently being screened in the interview selection process."

What other criteria is there really for other school small pools, aside from GPA or meeting their personal mission?

plus, their last mission group is essentially, 'we think you're diverse, so you'll be taken aside and considered for an interview'


I don't know. I'm probably reading into this too much, though I'm neurotic.

For the past several years, OHSU has not had to interview any students that were not in a "mission based group" so if that means "small pooled" to you, then knock yourself out.

dsoz

 

[askamsky51]

For the past several years, OHSU has not had to interview any students that were not in a "mission based group" so if that means "small pooled" to you, then knock yourself out.

dsoz

I don't appreciate your facts that work against me 😛

being such a late applicant (zero ii) with "eh" stats I'm hurtin' for a confidence boost.

 

[dsoz]

I don't appreciate your facts that work against me 😛

being such a late applicant (zero ii) with "eh" stats I'm hurtin' for a confidence boost.

I am sorry. I really do hope that you get a good result from this application cycle.

Does that help your confidence any?

Like has been said many times. OHSU is very slow, and they dig deep off the waitlist in May. So even if you do make it onto the waitlist, there is still a good chance that you could end up going there next fall.

dsoz

 

[ShenanigansMD]

Like has been said many times. OHSU is very slow...

 

[Guero]

Legen--wait for it!!

Wait for it!

DARY!

 

[Bomikepa]

Do they wait till march or later to send out rejections too? As in they send all the rejections out then? Or do they send out rejections as applications come on? I guess it's calling rolling vs non rolling?

For example if you submit a app and a secondary and they have no intention on keeping you do they just reject you then or do they wait all the way towards the end of the cycle to say goodbye to you?

So after sending in secondaries you can be offered a interview or be put on a pre interview hold? If they want to reject you here do they tell you then or do they send out the rejection in the mail in march or something assuming that you applied right as amcas opened?

 

[DAPI]

Do they wait till march or later to send out rejections too? As in they send all the rejections out then? Or do they send out rejections as applications come on? I guess it's calling rolling vs non rolling?

For example if you submit a app and a secondary and they have no intention on keeping you do they just reject you then or do they wait all the way towards the end of the cycle to say goodbye to you?

So after sending in secondaries you can be offered a interview or be put on a pre interview hold? If they want to reject you here do they tell you then or do they send out the rejection in the mail in march or something assuming that you applied right as amcas opened?

They send all rejections at the end of the cycle. But don't panic yet. They have only send out interview invites to two groups as OHSU is slow in general so its still very early in the cylce for OHSU.

Edit: make that 3 groups... But still, very early.

 

[exitonly29]

They sent out more invites today

 

[DAPI]

They sent out more invites today

Congrats? I mean, I assume you know cause you got one.

 

[exitonly29]

I wish lol good friend got one

 

[Bomikepa]

They send all rejections at the end of the cycle. But don't panic yet. They have only send out interview invites to two groups as OHSU is slow in general so its still very early in the cylce for OHSU.

Edit: make that 3 groups... But still, very early.

thanks for the clarification.

So essentially they have a pile of reject applications waiting to go out later on in the cycle but that pile begins now? So my question is how is this relayed to the applicant? If they dont reject you then you either get interviewed or get put on hold ( but really you are already in the reject pile waiting to go out towards the end of the cycle) if on hold?

so i guess we cant distinguish between true holds vs those who are already rejected if everyone gets put on hold? Or am i missing something completely?

What status do you see on the webpage if they reject you? hold? i guess what are all the options you could see when you log into the secondary page to check your status? Hold? invited for interview? screening for interview? your application is now complete? your app is missing x y and z?

thanks for the info and time!

 

[DAPI]

thanks for the clarification.

So essentially they have a pile of reject applications waiting to go out later on in the cycle but that pile begins now? So my question is how is this relayed to the applicant? If they dont reject you then you either get interviewed or get put on hold ( but really you are already in the reject pile waiting to go out towards the end of the cycle) if on hold?

so i guess we cant distinguish between true holds vs those who are already rejected if everyone gets put on hold? Or am i missing something completely?

What status do you see on the webpage if they reject you? hold? i guess what are all the options you could see when you log into the secondary page to check your status? Hold? invited for interview? screening for interview? your application is now complete? your app is missing x y and z?

thanks for the info and time!

You are way over thinking this...

You will see the following things as they happen:
Preliminary application information received from AMCAS: Yes
A secondary application notice was emailed to you on XXX.
Your secondary application was submitted on XXX.
Your secondary application has been processed.
Your file was complete on XXX.
Your interview has been scheduled for XXX.

After you are complete it says something about mission and non-mission based group screening, but I don't have that anymore due to the II.

If you're not invited for an interview you wont get a hold or any other status to my knowledge. You will just stay at the "Your file was complete on XXX." until they send out rejections much later on. You will not know what "pile" you are in because they do not update it.

After the interview you can see an Accepted status, Hold status, Rejected status, and eventually a Waitlist status, but because we are not there yet, I don't know what they actually say.

 

[wterrall]

How long did it take from the time you were listed as "file complete" to your interview invite?

 

[DAPI]

How long did it take from the time you were listed as "file complete" to your interview invite?

6 weeks. See my MDApp for more details.

 

[Bomikepa]

thanks for the info DAPI

so essentially you will see a complete!

 

[mybubbles627]

I got my interview 2-3 weeks post completion but I know people who waited 8-10 weeks. Be patient. Ohsu is very slow.

 

[ddb]

DAPI, you're leaving out a step. They also put people on pre-interview hold, where they say they've reviewed your file and will wait until spring to offer an II or reject you. They did that to me last year, and I was eventually rejected in early spring. It's actually the exact opposite of a small pool. 🙂

 

[Bomikepa]

do they wait till spring all the time or is possible to be interviewed sooner like jan or feb? i am assuming that you wont get a chance at a the first round of interviews with a pre interview hold? do they have three "rounds" of interviews or something? first round for the mission people, second round for out of state people and then the last round for people who they were unsure about? Or do they pretty much just mix in everyone throughout Oct-march?

So a "pre interview hold" is better than seeing a "complete" but still really not looking good lol ?

 

[DAPI]

do they wait till spring all the time or is possible to be interviewed sooner like jan or feb? What? Interviews began in October

i am assuming that you wont get a chance at a the first round of interviews with a pre interview hold? First round has already gone out, so no

do they have three "rounds" of interviews or something? first round for the mission people, second round for out of state people and then the last round for people who they were unsure about? Or do they pretty much just mix in everyone throughout Oct-march? OHSU has not had to go outside of the mission based group for the last several years, so if you do not meet one of their missions, don't count on an interview at all

So a "pre interview hold" is better than seeing a "complete" but still really not looking good lol ? Complete is better than hold because it means they either have not looked at your app or they are still activly reviewing it. A pre-interview hold means they have already looked at your app, didn't really like it, and are waiting to see if better apps come along before interviewing you. If there are better apps, you will not be receiving an interview.

Again, I think you're way over thinking it. Just wait for your status to changet to something and play the waiting game like everyone else.

 

[Bomikepa]

"Complete is better than hold because it means they either have not looked at your app or they are still activly reviewing it."

so if you are "complete" ( which i assume to mean that they have all your paper work in such as primary, secondary and fees) and they look over your app and decide not to interview you at all then does your status just remain complete until rejections go out in the spring?

 

[dsoz]

"Complete is better than hold because it means they either have not looked at your app or they are still activly reviewing it."

so if you are "complete" ( which i assume to mean that they have all your paper work in such as primary, secondary and fees) and they look over your app and decide not to interview you at all then does your status just remain complete until rejections go out in the spring?

I believe what you said is true. You are "complete" until they decide to interview you. If you don't get that decision then you will be told in the spring.

dsoz

 

[DAPI]

"Complete is better than hold because it means they either have not looked at your app or they are still activly reviewing it."

so if you are "complete" ( which i assume to mean that they have all your paper work in such as primary, secondary and fees) and they look over your app and decide not to interview you at all then does your status just remain complete until rejections go out in the spring?

Yeah. Hadn't thought about it that way, but at this point I would assume complete is better. Later in the cycle maybe not.

 

[init2winit]

I am just going to hold my breath for the next 6 months.

I am assuming that the mission groups are all rated the same? Or is being a WICHE resident > applying to MD/PhD programs? Probably parsing it too much. A mission group is a mission group, lets hope!

 

[Ellie Arroway]

 

[Guero]

+1

By over thinking things like this, you're just stressing yourself out. I know it's easier said than done, but try distracting yourself with other activities aside from SDN. I was on here daily, refreshing the forums while I was at work. Now that I've stayed away and check every few days or once a day, I feel a lot better, just my two cents.

 

[DAPI]

Anyone who's had an interview willing/allowed to say if the 22 minute interview is open file or closed file or open file, but no grades/MCAT? I'm just kinda curious as I review some of my notes for my upcoming interview as 22 minutes seems short for a closed file interview if it is that way.

Thanks!

 

[tarheel1408]

I'm posting so that this thread shows up in 'Participated Topics' on my phone 😀

On topic: hoping to get some OOS love from OHSU. Oregon sure is prettay...

 

[exitonly29]

Interview invite!!

 

[DAPI]

Interview invite!!

Now I can say congrats cause this time you actually got one instead of your friend so CONGRATS!

 

[exitonly29]

Now I can say congrats cause this time you actually got one instead of your friend so CONGRATS!

Thanks! I am pretty happy, ohsu is my top choice

 

[mybubbles627]

Anyone who's had an interview willing/allowed to say if the 22 minute interview is open file or closed file or open file, but no grades/MCAT? I'm just kinda curious as I review some of my notes for my upcoming interview as 22 minutes seems short for a closed file interview if it is that way.

Thanks!

When I interviewed last year the 22 minute interview was open file expect for your grades and MCAT. Even though it is open file that doesn't guarentee it will actually be read by the person interviewing you. Mine read my file and asked very specific questions, but I know people whose interviewer never looked at their file or didn't ask about anything in it.

 

[jens22]

I'm OOS, and submitted the secondary on 9/4, but not completed yet. Any news on where they might be at date-wise for processing out of staters?

 

[gofish6060]

What is a II?

 

[DAPI]

I'm OOS, and submitted the secondary on 9/4, but not completed yet. Any news on where they might be at date-wise for processing out of staters?

If you do not meet a mission based group, I would venture to say you will not be complete till January or later. If you do, I would guesstimate they are at anywhere from 8-12 weeks to mark you complete.

What is a II?

Its an Interview Invite.

 

[psychkub]

Wow, I just got invited to interview here. I thought I had been silently rejected! I thought I was done with this interview cycle, but this came out of nowhere! Excited!

 

[Guero]

Wow, I just got invited to interview here. I thought I had been silently rejected! I thought I was done with this interview cycle, but this came out of nowhere! Excited!

Congrats! Would you mind sharing/PMing your stats?

 

[Empire Dream]

If anyone needs help throughout the year, send me a PM. I'll do my best to respond in a timely manner.

 

[bluepotato]

Well I finally got my secondary submitted and my last LoR in.

What has the response time been for most people? I'm in-state, if that matters.

 

[dsoz]

Well I finally got my secondary submitted and my last LoR in.

What has the response time been for most people? I'm in-state, if that matters.

OHSU takes forever with everything. I was complete near the start of the cycle, and it took a long time.

Stats from today's interview
Primaries received over 5000 (so far they have had 5200 this year)
secondaries received ~3000
Mission based group screening ~1800
interviews given ~500
acceptances offered ~225-250
next year's class 144

They have over 3000 secondaries to wade through to get to roughly 500 interview spots. It takes a little while.

In-state is good, it at least puts you into one of the mission based groups.

The other bit of good news for you (but bad news for me) is that they put nearly everyone that interviews on "hold" until March, then they get a numbered position. The highest ranked applicants will be automatic acceptances, the rest will be on a numbered wait-list. Even if you interview in March, you have a chance of an automatic acceptance. At other schools, a March interview may be only for a deferred acceptance or a wait-list position.

dsoz

 

[BABSstudent]

Wow, I just got invited to interview here. I thought I had been silently rejected! I thought I was done with this interview cycle, but this came out of nowhere! Excited!

You give me hope psychkub.


Sent from my iPod using SDN Mobile app. Please excuse the typos.

 

[dsoz]

It was very nice to meet you DAPI, and anyone else that was at OHSU yesterday.

It was a relativily chill interview day. The MMI stations were not EXACTLY the same as the ones at U of A, Phoenix, but they were close. They had all the same themes, but different specifics. The NDA keeps me from talking about what they were all about.

Riding the tram was rather anti-climactic, It was a typical grey day in Portland, and there the mountains were hidden by the clouds. Nice view of the city, but nothing special. At least now I can say that I have been on the tram.

The tour was just that... A tour. I somehow ended up in the back of the group a lot so I did not hear some of the things that were said while walking. When we stopped, I could hear everything. I really think that they have secret hidden cameras all over and the psychologists and the psychiatrists all watch the "rats moving around in the maze." You are in one building on the 4th floor, go around the corner and through a door and you are in a different building on a completely different floor. The tour guide did say that the strangest transition was being in one building's basement, going through a tunnel and ending up in the 5th floor of the dental school building. (I think I remember that one correctly?)

My interviewer knew my application essays (both primary and secondary), but was blind to my grades and my MCAT score. He really KNEW my file and kept asking clarifying questions about different points. It was like he wanted to pull back the layers of what I wrote and get to the deeper story behind each one. The 22 minutes was not enough time to really get through everything that he wanted to get through. He did seem surprised at my 335+ hours of volunteering and 150+ hours of shadowing (all while working full time and taking immunology, biochemistry, and a year of A&P one class at a time). He also seemed satisfied when I told him that I did so many hours of volunteering and shadowing because I learned a lot. I am one of two volunteer trainers at my hospital, so I get called on a lot to teach new people. When I told him that I was committed to working at my volunteer position until June (when I need to get ready to go to med school) and that I would not leave until I had trained a replacement trainer, it seemed like he liked that answer (contrary to what some other threads on this forum state).

The most stressful part of the day was waiting in the room before the MMI stations with all the other stressed out applicants. They were so jittery that they were stressing me out! If I would have known that before hand, I would have waited somewhere else.

dsoz

 

[DAPI]

dsoz, it was nice to meet you too! Don't worry about being in the back of the tour, the guide didn't say all that much.

I agree what dsoz posted above. Here is what I wrote last night in my MDapp, but figured I would post it here so more could see it.

So I obviously have a bias towards this schools cause I’ve spent so much time here, but here are my thoughts. The MMI was very well run and actually quite a bit of fun. Time went by fast and there was no need to be nervous. Being very familiar with this school, I thought the admissions staff did not do the best job selling the school to students. The campus tour did not highlight many of the wonderful features of the school and really only showed students the older parts of OHSU; none of the clinical areas or any of the newer buildings. If you’re out of state, see if someone on the interview day is very familiar with the school and will give you an actual tour after the day is over or when they give you time to go ride the tram - even if they don’t know a lot about the buildings, they can show you most or all of them and give you a better feel for the school and how much clinic space and lab space there is up there. I also kinda thought the presentations were somewhat vague and not all that informative, but maybe that’s just me cause I’ve done my homework. During our lunch with students, an MS4 saved the day IMO. He was very knowledgable about the school in general, as one would hope, but really knew how to lead a great discussion about the school and really sold it to students. I actually came away with a much more positive impression of the school than I had going in - not that it was bad to begin with.


To add to that, my one-on-one interviewer, different than dsoz's, also knew my file inside and out and also asked a lot of clarifying questions to understand what I wrote better. On one hand it felt like she was making sure I did not exaggerate and could tell the same story I had written two months ago, but on the other hand it felt like she just wanted to clarify and better understand me as a person. Either way, I thought it was very personable and good.

As far as the MMI, if you are surprised by one of scenarios or type of questions, you haven't been doing your homework. Get on the internet and start looking around for MMI stuff. After that, think about specific questions they could ask and how you would answer them. If you have the basics, you should be able to apply it to anything they throw at you.