2015-2016 Oakland University (Beaumont) Application Thread

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Members do not see this ad.
mrslandingham said:
It's also somewhat of a "liberal arts" medical education insofar as the curriculum focuses on promotion and maintenance of health, bioethics, public health, etc. in addition to the basic sciences taught at all medical schools. Really consider if that's what you want in your medical education, or if that will lead you to become the kind of physician you want to be.
Click to expand...

This is exactly what I am looking for in my medical school!!! I am so excited.
 
Theseus said:
"Applicants should submit a minimum of three letters of recommendation (maximum of five). If your premedical advising office provides a committee letter compiling feedback from multiple sources, this letter will count as two of your three required letters of recommendation. All letters should be submitted through AMCAS Letters of Evaluation/Recommendation Service. "

What? My Committee Letter was combination of 5 LORS. Can anyone confirm?
Click to expand...
I emailed about this and they said something along the lines of "sorry, only counts as 2. please submit an additional letter!" 🙁
 
Last edited:
Goonie1010 said:
I emailed about this and they said something along the lines of "sorry, only counts as 2. please submit an additional letter!" My committee letter was made up of 4 LORs from faculty, research, clinical and employment experiences 🙁 wish I hadn't already paid for this secondary...now I'm debating if I should ask a random other person for a last minute letter just for this 1 school. The struggle is so real.
Click to expand...

This happened to someone else earlier in the thread. I think that they have an automatic response. Some committees just send in their letter. Others you can have send a packet of the LORs along with the committee letter. I think that if you have the packet as well, then it fulfills the requirement. Case in point:

azzeh123 said:
So I also only submitted a committee letter and I got a II here.

Unsure if I should contact them or just go along and see if they bring it up later
Click to expand...

You can contact them, I doubt it'll change your II. But I'm sure you're fine. I submitted a committee letter packeted with my LORs and I have yet to be rejected for it.
 
piii said:
This happened to someone else earlier in the thread. I think that they have an automatic response. Some committees just send in their letter. Others you can have send a packet of the LORs along with the committee letter. I think that if you have the packet as well, then it fulfills the requirement. Case in point:



You can contact them, I doubt it'll change your II. But I'm sure you're fine. I submitted a committee letter packeted with my LORs and I have yet to be rejected for it.
Click to expand...
To add to this, committee letters are extremely variable, as piii said, and I think that Oakland just wants to make sure they actually get letters from a few professors instead of only a letter from an advisor. Some schools have committee letters that include 10 individual letters. I have a very hard time believing that Oakland actually wants a committee letter packet that includes 10 letters plus an additional letter.
 
Does anyone's communication status on the supp app read "update letter" but haven't received an email?
 
I really appreciate the interview tracker. I always see everyone posting on SDN about IIs and feel like half of the slots are gone, so it was reassuring to see that only 36 interview slots have been taken.
 
Wow that's a lot less than I had anticipated, thank you nwts
 
nwts said:
I really appreciate the interview tracker. I always see everyone posting on SDN about IIs and feel like half of the slots are gone, so it was reassuring to see that only 36 interview slots have been taken.
Click to expand...

Does Oakland post this info on their website? I tried to find but couldn't find it 🙁.
 
Oh awesome! Thank you. I didn't see that earlier. Oops.
 
orangetea said:
damn a month later and only 36.......
Click to expand...
I don't know, I feel like it's a good thing since I don't have an II from Oakland. It gives me more hope that I could maybe get one.
 
nwts said:
I really appreciate the interview tracker. I always see everyone posting on SDN about IIs and feel like half of the slots are gone, so it was reassuring to see that only 36 interview slots have been taken.
Click to expand...
I agree, Oakland interviewed 350 last year so only 10 percent have been interviewed. SDN definitely has made me neurotic but I'll try to remember that it's early August and there's a lot of time left in this cycle.
 
golfman7 said:
I agree, Oakland interviewed 350 last year so only 10 percent have been interviewed. SDN definitely has made me neurotic but I'll try to remember that it's early August and there's a lot of time left in this cycle.
Click to expand...
Their interview tracker says they plan to give out around 500 interviews, so this is even better news.
 
I remember checking last year's thread and they gave around 500 interviews last cycle as well.
 
Is it appropriate to arrange carpooling to interviews on here? If anyone is staying at the Hawthorn Suites and wants to ride together to OUWB just pm me bc I rented a car. That hotel gives 50% off for Oakland interviewees and it's less than ten minutes away.
 
To everyone worrying about the LOR requirements. I called their admissions office. As long as the committee letter is accompanied by additional letters in the packet that your committee sends, then you do fulfill their requirement.
 
Rejected with a 3.92 cGPA and a 522 (99th percentile) MCAT.
So goddamn disappointed. I guess stats really arent everything. I thought I had a strong overall application.

Anyway, good luck to you all !
 
Rejected

MCAT 34
cGPA 3.63 with strong upward trend
Masters completed
 
MD.Hopeful said:
Rejected with a 3.92 cGPA and a 522 (99th percentile) MCAT.
So goddamn disappointed. I guess stats really arent everything. I thought I had a strong overall application.

Anyway, good luck to you all !
Click to expand...
Yikes, to all rejected, all I can say is WOW?? I'm so sorry. This whole process is a crapshot from the applicants' perspective. That is why we apply to 15+ schools, so best wishes to you!!
 
Last edited:
Rejected with a 3.7 cGPA and a 33 MCAT. I too thought I hit on everything they said they looked for including excellence in an activity - collegiate athlete, black belt. Oh well.
 
Sorry for the rejections guys 🙁. You guys look like awesome candidates and I'm sure there will be a school out there for you.
 
Congrats on everyone's II's ! Those rejected, looks like your stats are great and all we rounded you will find some II elsewhere 🙂
 
Thanks for the kind words. I have two other MD interviews already and still waiting for my state school(s) to start issuing invites and in the interview pools for a couple of others also. It just leaves you wondering what it is exactly that they are looking for. Its understandable that they can't interview everyone....
 
Hmm after reading all the high MCAT/GPA rejections is it possible that Oakland really doesn't consider ultra-competitive applicants because they're more likely to go somewhere else anyway? Just a thought, but they are competing with UofM for those high-scoring IS students at least. Why waste an II on someone who'd most likely get into UofM/matriculate there.
 
Faii said:
Hmm after reading all the high MCAT/GPA rejections is it possible that Oakland really doesn't consider ultra-competitive applicants because they're more likely to go somewhere else anyway? Just a thought, but they are competing with UofM for those high-scoring IS students at least. Why waste an II on someone who'd most likely get into UofM/matriculate there.
Click to expand...

Could be very likely. A friend of mine with a LizzyM around an 80 was rejected pre interview from a ton of places, could be likely that many schools have this model.
 
winterwind_23 said:
Interview invite today! Conversely, I have a cGPA < 3.4, so those with low GPAs, don't lose hope!
Click to expand...

Hey waterwind keep seeing your posts around... Seems we are applying to make of the same schools

Congrats on the II. I think you have netter also?

I'm still keeping my hopes up ..
 
theguardsman said:
Hey waterwind keep seeing your posts around... Seems we are applying to make of the same schools

Congrats on the II. I think you have netter also?

I'm still keeping my hopes up ..
Click to expand...

Hey gaurdsman! Yeah, I'll be at Netter at the end of this month, too! It's still really early in the cycle, and I'm sure you'll get some love from schools soon. I had no expectations about MD interviews at all due to my GPA, but I worked with what I had and made sure I showed I was passionate through my primary and secondaries!
 
hmm, I guess this shows they actually are looking for something in the personal statement rather than just stats.
 
Spector1 said:
hmm, I guess this shows they actually are looking for something in the personal statement rather than just stats.
Click to expand...

I would say you need the stats to prove you can do well academically in medical school, and then after that, you need to build a narrative to show that you are passionate about medicine and serving others. I think that's why I've gotten interviews at community-focused schools like Netter and Oakland. I didn't apply to many research heavy schools, because I knew I wouldn't be a good fit for them.
 
winterwind_23 said:
Hey gaurdsman! Yeah, I'll be at Netter at the end of this month, too! It's still really early in the cycle, and I'm sure you'll get some love from schools soon. I had no expectations about MD interviews at all due to my GPA, but I worked with what I had and made sure I showed I was passionate through my primary and secondaries!
Click to expand...

Totally feel that. I was really happy with my primary but almost feel like I applied to too many schools and have been stretched a bit thinner than I would've liked on secondaries 🙁

Still got like 6 ish to finish so gonna finish strong and hope for the best
 
theguardsman said:
Totally feel that. I was really happy with my primary but almost feel like I applied to too many schools and have been stretched a bit thinner than I would've liked on secondaries 🙁

Still got like 6 ish to finish so gonna finish strong and hope for the best
Click to expand...

Take every secondary as an opportunity to tell your story and show your passion! Good luck! I'm sure you'll hear back soon. 🙂
 
just curious for those with IIs what the turnaround was after being complete

thanks 🙂
 
Rainbow Zebra said:
Yikes, to all rejected, all I can say is WOW?? I'm so sorry. This whole process is a crapshot from the applicants' perspective. That is why we apply to 15+ schools, so best wishes to you!!
Click to expand...

Strykeforce said:
Rejected with a 3.7 cGPA and a 33 MCAT. I too thought I hit on everything they said they looked for including excellence in an activity - collegiate athlete, black belt. Oh well.
Click to expand...

How this works for a lot of schools, they don't just reject for low stats, they also reject for high stats. If you're applying to Oakland as a "safety", they know it. Someone with a high gpa/mcat likely is applying to higher tier schools and they anticipate them matriculating there. So, they interview candidates that they think will actually end up at their school. Sucks if you have a genuine interest in the school, but it is what it is.
 
I'm not losing any sleep over it that is for sure. I have other interviews scheduled. Just not sure what they are looking for as my application addressed each of the areas that they say they look for in an applicant. I am from out of state but do have a very specific reason for applying to Oakland, which was addressed in my secondary. But yes, I agree, something in my app didn't align with what they were looking for, just not sure what it was.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

wysdoc
2024-2025 Oakland (Beaumont) OUWB
9 10 11 12 13
Replies
638
Views
173K
CoolSocks
C
chilly_md
2023-2024 Oakland (Beaumont)
9 10 11 12 13
Replies
609
Views
160K
wolverine2023
W
wysdoc
2022-2023 Oakland (Beaumont)
13 14 15 16 17
Replies
835
Views
178K
Penny02
P
PapaGuava
2021-2022 Oakland (Beaumont)
7 8 9 10 11
Replies
532
Views
170K
blackbearfox
B
chilly_md
2024-2025 Boston University
21 22 23 24 25
Replies
1K
Views
276K
an2five
A
Top