2014-2015 Oregon Health & Science University Application Thread

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Applicant4242 said:
They said 4-6 weeks on my interview date, I'm working on 9 weeks. I really cannot fathom how inefficient and lackluster OHSU has been in this process, I really don't care how "holistically" they look at applicants.
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I definitely feel you! Most schools I interviewed at, the average time for making a decision post-interview is 2 weeks (that is average because I have heard from some schools in a week!). The fact that OHSU admissions make us wait for over 12 weeks is nuts. Yeah, some say just play by the rule and everything will be fine. The problem is there is no rule! Like I said in another post, schools should have maximum of one month to make a decision. This will never happen though. May be the student body at this school have no say.

It takes about five minutes for people to fall in love why does it take so long to choose a future doctor! We are not going to be beauty pageants and magicians! We are going to read books and learn how to treat people---any many of us have already done that when we comforted grandpas and our little cousins. Now, we just need the certificate that says you "this guy or girl" is trained and can be "trusted". It seems like the admission at this school are searching for Linus Pauling or something but I say good luck to that!
 
Areopagus said:
You don't care? That's nice, but please pay attention to the fact that OHSU has always maintained that they are not really a rolling admissions school. OHSU doesn't owe it to anyone in this thread to be expedient when it comes to this process. Their mission is to choose ~140 students that will work well together for 4 years and end up serving Oregon's health care needs. They've decided to wait until they've evaluated most of their interviewees before making this decision. You sound frustrated, but please try to maintain the integrity of this very positive thread. <3
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I think it is legitimate to complain about status quo when things get out of control. Applicant4242 is saying that it is fine if a school lets students know of their decisions in a reasonable amount of time (i.e. 4-6 weeks) seem reasonable to me. Institutions have the right to do what they want but we will do well to be cautious when it comes to defending them. OHSU is a great school and no one is arguing about that but the way some of us have been treated from the admissions office does not inspire confidence.
 
Doctorphilic said:
I think it is legitimate to complain about status quo when things get out of control. Applicant4242 is saying that it is fine if a school lets students know of their decisions in a reasonable amount of time (i.e. 4-6 weeks) seem reasonable to me. Institutions have the right to do what they want but we will do well to be cautious when it comes to defending them. OHSU is a great school and no one is arguing about that but the way some of us have been treated from the admissions office does not inspire confidence.
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Most people get placed on hold until April 30th. I don't think the school has mislead anyone. I was told by admissions (pre-application) that you either found out if you're in, out, or on hold until April 30th. They said that most people get placed on hold. So again, how have you been mislead?
 
I would also like to remind everyone here that admissions people keep an eye on these threads. It's not that hard to identify some of you based on stats and other unique identifiers you've posted in previous threads.

Nothing in life is guaranteed. The way a person handles uncertainty says a lot about their character.
 
Areopagus said:
Most people get placed on hold until April 30th. I don't think the school has mislead anyone. I was told by admissions (pre-application) that you either found out if you're in, out, or on hold until April 30th. They said that most people get placed on hold. So again, how have you been mislead?
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I did not say they misled me. What I said was they did not make any decision on my application (I interviewed 12 weeks ago) and you are defending this how?
 
@Areopagus

Well yes I am frustrated, I love OHSU and hope I have the opportunity to learn at their institution but that does not excuse the fact that they have a inefficient admissions process. Every other school that I have been to has been accurate and swift in letting their applicants know decisions. They told us on interview day and I was told prior to interview day that April 30th is when you are informed about your status as far as ranking on the waitlist and accepted/rejected for the pool of applicants originally put on hold (4-6 weeks after interview). Some people have logistics to figure out such as spouses jobs and living arrangements and waiting continues to create challenges. Also I say I don't care about how "holistically" they look at applicants and use " " because while I appreciate them fully evaluating everyone extensively but they have no new information about us, our applications have been in their hands since summer and interviews were months ago.
 
I understand the frustration everyone is feeling but you have two choices when dealing with a situation you can't change. Be angry, or let it roll off. I would encourage you all to turn your energy into either productivity or looking at options if you are concerned about what you will do if you do/don't get accepted. Waiting is always the hardest part (from someone who has moved A LOT I know this to be true) so pick up a hobby, work some extra hours or walk the dog to lose some extra lbs (either your lbs or the dog's)! I have started my garden and it sure does help me relax but maybe a whiskey on the rocks is more your style. One way or another, we will all figure our how to make it work if it is really right for us. So cool your jets and don't bicker with each other over nothing! After all I want to enjoy being classmates with several of you, and getting all cranky now might sour that later!

And if this still upsets you after a year or two then you can help drive a new era of med school applicant decisions when you are later in your schooling/career.
 
Being a reapplicant, with 3 years in between rounds, I just want to say enjoy your time and take whatever comes your way to make you stronger. The wait isn't the end of the world. I waited nearly 21 weeks to hear from one school and when I was accepted, I sure didn't care I had to wait because either way August isn't coming any quicker. We all want to make plans and figure out our lives but rest assured, if you want this you will make it happen even if you have 8 months of notice or two. Patience is hard when we feel so vulnerable, and it would be awesome if schools had strict deadlines for things like this, but we have to take what is given to us and not dwell on it.
 
Put yourself in their shoes. They are busier than you! People that call the office for trivial complaints/complain about the process that WE ALL go through are not the type I want as my future colleagues. I want people who work hard and are aggressive about their goals, but also treat the people who serve them with respect.

Also that gardening and whiskey on the rocks sounds like a great way to pass the time! Drunk gardening, my new hobby
 
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italiancowgirl said:
I understand the frustration everyone is feeling but you have two choices when dealing with a situation you can't change. Be angry, or let it roll off. I would encourage you all to turn your energy into either productivity or looking at options if you are concerned about what you will do if you do/don't get accepted. Waiting is always the hardest part (from someone who has moved A LOT I know this to be true) so pick up a hobby, work some extra hours or walk the dog to lose some extra lbs (either your lbs or the dog's)! I have started my garden and it sure does help me relax but maybe a whiskey on the rocks is more your style. One way or another, we will all figure our how to make it work if it is really right for us. So cool your jets and don't bicker with each other over nothing! After all I want to enjoy being classmates with several of you, and getting all cranky now might sour that later!

And if this still upsets you after a year or two then you can help drive a new era of med school applicant decisions when you are later in your schooling/career.
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I'm a gardener too! Manual labor will do a lot to take your mind of the waiting.. I spent all of Sunday shoveling and slinging dirt and manure to prep our backyard for a major garden overhaul.. so even if I don't get into med school this year, I will eat insanely well through the next 🙂
 
Inquired about acceptance packet timeline. Stated online that it will take about 4 weeks to receive. Confirmed that at this point it is running at 6 weeks. Accepted 2/9 expecting next week. Patience is a virtue!
 
What a great interview day!
Dr. Morris (the dean) spoke for a few minutes during our orientation and said that the school's goal with the interview process is to ensure that even people who interview on the last day have the same chance of admission as people who interviewed on the first day. She also said that this year's interview number above 500. They're going to accept 200-225 for a class of 146 this year. She said the class will increase by 7 students until they hit their goal of 160.
 
Doctorphilic said:
...the way some of us have been treated from the admissions office does not inspire confidence.
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Perhaps this is a dose of reality. In medical school you will also be frustrated when your Step 1 and Step 2 scores take weeks to be reported, even though it's a computer-based test. You will be frustrated that your residency match takes close to a month before you find out your results, even though an average computer could probably run the algorithm in less than an hour. There will be lots of frustrating things, lots of times when you are made to wait, lots of things you think are unreasonable, lots of times when your priorities are not the priorities of the people who make decisions.

Applicant4242 said:
...Some people have logistics to figure out... and waiting continues to create challenges...
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This is a legitimate challenge, but anyone who's waiting just to find out if they are accepted vs. waitlisted vs. rejected, brace yourself. Once you're on the waitlist you could hypothetically still be waiting to hear until the last week before medical school. Happened my year, there was at least one person who on day 1 didn't know they were going to make it in until the week before.

Graywolf said:
...They are busier than you!...
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👍
 
Those of you who are frustrated with the timeline always have the option of withdrawing your application and saving yourself the anxiety.

This is a known thing for OHSU, they even discuss it in the interview that most people will be left hanging until into spring.
 
Has anyone heard of rejections from people post interview yet? It seems accept or hold are the standard
 
The only notice I saw about 2nd look was in an e-mail back in February. there were 4 dates, next one was April 17th, then 2 in May.
 
solorun said:
Accepted earlier this week!!!! Yay I am so excited!!!! I have been trying to find information about second look days but haven't been able to find it. Can anybody tell me where I could acess this information?
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CONGRATS!!!

Information is in the Welcome to OHSU email. Click the link to explore the campus and it should be listed under a subsequent link title "essential information". Pretty sure that Katy Guertin-Davis is the contact for setting up 2nd look days.
 
solorun said:
Accepted earlier this week!!!! Yay I am so excited!!!! I have been trying to find information about second look days but haven't been able to find it. Can anybody tell me where I could acess this information?
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Congrats! May I ask when you interviewed?
 
solorun said:
Accepted earlier this week!!!! Yay I am so excited!!!! I have been trying to find information about second look days but haven't been able to find it. Can anybody tell me where I could acess this information?
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Solo - congrats!- when was your interview date?
 
Amirr said:
Hey class of 2019. Here are the prompts from last year (2013-2014). I highly suggest at least thinking them through, if not completely writing them, while you're being verified. They were the same as the previous year for me:

1) What experience have you had that has given you insight into the patients you hope to eventually serve?
2) What will be your greatest challenge in becoming a physician?
3) Give an example of a time when you tried your best to work with a person or a group but the problems still remained. What did you learn from the experience?
4) Describe a time when you did not receive what you felt you deserved, and how you reacted (1500 characters)
5) Give an example of personal feedback in the last few years that was difficult to receive. How did you respond?
6) Please discuss the diversity that you would bring to the OHSU School of Medicine and the profession of medicine. (2000 characters)
[OPTIONAL]
While you were growing up, did you experience any of the following types of adversity?
Economic:
Educational:
Ethnic/Cultural:
Family:

Please describe the nature of the adversity:


Good luck, everyone!
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in general do schools tell you how many of these they want answered?
 
Lawgiver said:
in general do schools tell you how many of these they want answered?
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If you are talking about secondaries, then if the question says "optional".. it is optional. All others questions are required. I would suggest starting a new thread if you want to know more about that as this year's secondaries and interviews are over-- we're all waiting to hear back now 🙂
 
Summertime012 said:
CONGRATS!!!

Information is in the Welcome to OHSU email. Click the link to explore the campus and it should be listed under a subsequent link title "essential information". Pretty sure that Katy Guertin-Davis is the contact for setting up 2nd look days.
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Thank you 🙂
 
solorun said:
Hey I actually interviewed on March 4th. I had a really fast turn around time. Definitely was not expecting that because they said it would take four weeks but I emailed them back to confirm and they said it was not a mistake 🙂
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Congratulations!

I have been on hold since November, interviewed October 1st. Not complaining, just glad that other applicants do no have to wait as long (and very happy for you!)
Hopefully people who interviewed from January onward will receive definitive responses, it sounds like the wait/hold has been tough for a lot of applicants.
 
so you can have 4 acceptances and dont have to decide until April 30th?
 
CalebHaley said:
Interviewed 2/18. Still yet to hear anything. I guess no news is better than bad news, but it is killing me not to know anything.
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Interviewed 2/25! Glad that no matter what we'll hear something by April 30th. we will have our decisions before we know it
 
anyone able to give me the cliff notes version of how yourMD is different than the old curriculum?
 
Lawgiver said:
anyone able to give me the cliff notes version of how yourMD is different than the old curriculum?
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http://www.ohsu.edu/xd/education/sc...ams/md-program/curriculum/your-md-details.cfm

There's an image there that can give you a great impression, very quickly.

Essentially the whole administration of the curriculum is different and will be phased into entirely a competancy based model-- you can test out of certain core areas of instruction if you are so skilled. Knowledge isn't so much longitudinal as it is latitudinal now, with many different courses intersecting for better comprehension, and the integration of group work and tech into the learning as well.

I'm sure others have already discussed the curriculum better than I have earlier in the thread if you search for it.
 
Do acceptances and holds seem to come out on different days? Or is it just by person?
 
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