2015-2016 Oregon Health & Sciences University Application Thread

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II OOS(WA). What is non-mission and what percentage of students get in OOS?

BASICALLY, either you have high stats (>513 on new MCAT or >32 on old MCAT and a >3.70 GPA), or they consider you a diversity applicant. The chances of non-mission being invited is almost non-existent; so, either you are mission based for them, or they REALLY liked you!
I'm considered mission based for diversity, but also from Washington. Could you tell me when you submitted and were marked complete? Thanks and congrats! Oh, and what interview dates did the offer you?

Mission-Based Groups

The committee adheres to a policy of equal opportunity and non-discrimination on the basis of sex, age, race, ethnic origin, religion, disability, military service, sexual orientation, or any other status protected by law. The School of Medicine gives preference to the following applicants:

  • Residents of Oregon.
  • Non-resident applicants with Oregon Heritage. The School of Medicine uses the Oregon Heritage Policy for student selection, but it is not used as a basis for determining residency, and therefore the tuition a student pays. Oregon Heritage is defined as 1) A student with one or both parents residing in Oregon at the time of application, 2) A student who graduated from high school in Oregon with at least two years of attendance at a high school in Oregon, or 3) A student who graduated from an Oregon institution of higher education with a bachelor’s or advanced degree with at least two years of attendance at an institution of higher education in Oregon.
  • WICHE-Certified residents of Montana and Wyoming.
  • Applicants applying to the M.D./Ph.D. Combined Degree Program.
  • Applicants applying to the M.D./M.P.H. Combined Degree Program.
  • Non-resident applicants with superior achievements in academics and other related experiences. For the 2016 cycle, superior academics is defined as a cumulative Total GPA, as reported by AMCAS, of 3.70 or higher, and a cumulative score of 32 or higher (for MCATs taken from January 1, 2013 through January 31, 2015) or 513 or higher (for MCAT2015) on the most recent eligible MCAT. Superior achievements is defined as significant experiences in healthcare, leadership, extracurricular activities, and/or community service activities.
  • The School of Medicine Admissions Committee fully recognizes the importance of diversity in its student body and in the physician workforce in providing for effective delivery of health care. Accordingly, the OHSU School of Medicine strongly encourages applications from persons from all socioeconomic, racial, ethnic, religious, and educational backgrounds and from persons from groups underrepresented in medicine.
 
BASICALLY, either you have high stats (>513 on new MCAT or >32 on old MCAT and a >3.70 GPA), or they consider you a diversity applicant. The chances of non-mission being invited is almost non-existent; so, either you are mission based for them, or they REALLY liked you!
I'm considered mission based for diversity, but also from Washington. Could you tell me when you submitted and were marked complete? Thanks and congrats! Oh, and what interview dates did the offer you?

Mission-Based Groups

The committee adheres to a policy of equal opportunity and non-discrimination on the basis of sex, age, race, ethnic origin, religion, disability, military service, sexual orientation, or any other status protected by law. The School of Medicine gives preference to the following applicants:

  • Residents of Oregon.
  • Non-resident applicants with Oregon Heritage. The School of Medicine uses the Oregon Heritage Policy for student selection, but it is not used as a basis for determining residency, and therefore the tuition a student pays. Oregon Heritage is defined as 1) A student with one or both parents residing in Oregon at the time of application, 2) A student who graduated from high school in Oregon with at least two years of attendance at a high school in Oregon, or 3) A student who graduated from an Oregon institution of higher education with a bachelor’s or advanced degree with at least two years of attendance at an institution of higher education in Oregon.
  • WICHE-Certified residents of Montana and Wyoming.
  • Applicants applying to the M.D./Ph.D. Combined Degree Program.
  • Applicants applying to the M.D./M.P.H. Combined Degree Program.
  • Non-resident applicants with superior achievements in academics and other related experiences. For the 2016 cycle, superior academics is defined as a cumulative Total GPA, as reported by AMCAS, of 3.70 or higher, and a cumulative score of 32 or higher (for MCATs taken from January 1, 2013 through January 31, 2015) or 513 or higher (for MCAT2015) on the most recent eligible MCAT. Superior achievements is defined as significant experiences in healthcare, leadership, extracurricular activities, and/or community service activities.
  • The School of Medicine Admissions Committee fully recognizes the importance of diversity in its student body and in the physician workforce in providing for effective delivery of health care. Accordingly, the OHSU School of Medicine strongly encourages applications from persons from all socioeconomic, racial, ethnic, religious, and educational backgrounds and from persons from groups underrepresented in medicine.

Thanks for the info. I submitted August. I was complete 9/28. They offered me 5 Feb or 30 March. I requested 5 Feb but the spot was already filled. I've rescheduled to 03/11.
 
Hey all, as an MS2 who just took the step, feel free to shoot any questions about that process of how the step fits into the new curriculum or just looking back on the first "two years".
 
Hey all, as an MS2 who just took the step, feel free to shoot any questions about that process of how the step fits into the new curriculum or just looking back on the first "two years".

Thank you for offering your time to answer our questions. Do you feel like the new curriculum prepared you sufficiently for the step, and did you feel like you had enough dedicated study time for the step? I'm also wondering if the new curriculum allows the flexibility to do research during the first two years? Also, do lectures have mandatory attendance? Sorry for all the questions!
 
Does anyone know if it's possible to be rejected post-interview before April 30th? I know the vast majority of interviewees are put on hold, but I wasn't sure if it was 90% hold 10% accepted or if it there are rejections too.
 
Does anyone know if it's possible to be rejected post-interview before April 30th? I know the vast majority of interviewees are put on hold, but I wasn't sure if it was 90% hold 10% accepted or if it there are rejections too.

Yes, there are rejections post-interview without getting placed on hold. Not super common but it does happen.
 
Thank you for offering your time to answer our questions. Do you feel like the new curriculum prepared you sufficiently for the step, and did you feel like you had enough dedicated study time for the step? I'm also wondering if the new curriculum allows the flexibility to do research during the first two years? Also, do lectures have mandatory attendance? Sorry for all the questions!

I certainly feel we had enough time off to study, I took 6 weeks but we had 7 full weeks off.

I think the curriculum was very helpful in that since we take board style tests at the end of every block the pacing of the test and style of questions felt very comfortable. That said, the study period is really for you to really reteach yourself all the material and honestly there is a descent amount of stuff you do in the cirrculum that isn't tuned to the test, which can be frustrating. However I don't think that is unique at all to OHSU.

In regards to research... Everyone has to do some sort of scholarly project and they are rolling out that process with our class. At this point it's a bit of total mess. Time wise there is a lot of required things you have to go to day to day so while research is very doable just know it's much more on your own time.

Lectures aren't mandatory for the most part.

At the end of they day you will be able to do what works for you to get the job done, and that is the same no matter where you go
 
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November interview. Re-applicant. Incredibly excited, didn't expect to hear back until April. Never went on hold though... Dreamed of going to OHSU since I was a kid, had multiple surgeries performed there in my younger years.
Congrats!! Were you put on hold your first time applying? I'm currently on hold (interviewed in September), but it's my first time applying so I'm starting to think about what I should do if I don't get in this year haha...also my dream school!
 
Congrats!! Were you put on hold your first time applying? I'm currently on hold (interviewed in September), but it's my first time applying so I'm starting to think about what I should do if I don't get in this year haha...also my dream school!
I interviewed late in the cycle last year (my 1st admissions cycle), got put on hold, didn't even make the waitlist come April. My feedback session in May was very helpful, I would recommend doing that for anyone who doesn't get in this year. Happy to answer any other questions, shoot me a message!
 
Does anyone know if it's possible to be rejected post-interview before April 30th? I know the vast majority of interviewees are put on hold, but I wasn't sure if it was 90% hold 10% accepted or if it there are rejections too.
Yes, I got rejected around March 15ish last year post interview and was never put on hold. (my interview was sometime in February)
 
To those who have been accepted: congrats! To those still waiting: hang on and don't forget to breathe.

I know a few current MS1-2 students have already jumped in here, but if anyone has questions about clerkships, research, or the parts of the new curriculum that are yet to come, feel free to ask here or send me a PM. I'm an MS4 and I was part of the committee that designed the new curriculum so I like to think I have insight on a few things. I've been at OHSU for a long time (MD/PhD style), and I'm very happy with the time I've spent here overall.
 
@URHere
Will data become publicly available on Step 1 scores from current second years?

My understanding is that the curriculum changes involved a lot of soft skills that are important for physicians, and a focus on Step 1. With prep questions being sprinkled throughout the 18 months of school.

When / is there an opportunity to do international health work?

Historically, Step 1 data hasn't been public. There is usually a powerpoint/breakdown presented to current students, but it's up to the administrators how and when they market Step 1 data for the school. I'd guess that it's likely to show up in an interview packet but not really anywhere else.

Big curriculum changes included:
-reducing pre-clinical training to 18 months
-making nearly all pre-clinical classes systems-based (blocks on things like "circulation" or "nervous system" rather than biochem/pharmacology, etc)
-including more MDs as lecturers during MS1/2
-more skill-based workshops during MS1/2
-transition to P/F pre-clinical curriculum
-longer days during MS1-2 (classes used to be limited to 8-noon, now they're largely 8-5 if I understand correctly)
-Compression of MS1/2 summer down to 1 week. Addition of "enrichment weeks" during the academic year to provide mini-breaks.
-more flexibility with the order of clinical electives (MS3 used to involve 8 core rotations in a pre-assigned order, now students enter a lottery for which electives they want and when they want them. More details to be hammered out over the next few months)
-addition of required scholarly projects. 6 months of time for this built in to MS3/4
-If I'm missing anything major, MS1/2 students feel free to add.

International health work is generally something you set up on your own at OHSU. There is a global health center, although it's a bit weaker than at other programs. That being said, if you take a certain number of global health electives, you qualify for a global health scholarship that can help you travel. Many students used to go between MS1/2 but summer break has been condensed to approx. one week, so I imagine that rotations would need to be done during clinical blocks now. There is a limit on where you can go - as of last year, OHSU students are not approved for travel to any country with a travel warning. A lot of us were upset about that, and it threw a wrench into my own international plans.
 
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Historically, Step 1 data hasn't been public. There is usually a powerpoint/breakdown presented to current students, but it's up to the administrators how and when they market Step 1 data for the school. I'd guess that it's likely to show up in an interview packet but not really anywhere else.

Big curriculum changes included:
-reducing pre-clinical training to 18 months
-making nearly all pre-clinical classes systems-based (blocks on things like "circulation" or "nervous system" rather than biochem/pharmacology, etc)
-including more MDs as lecturers during MS1/2
-more skill-based workshops during MS1/2
-transition to P/F pre-clinical curriculum
-longer days during MS1-2 (classes used to be limited to 8-noon, now they're largely 8-5 if I understand correctly)
-Compression of MS1/2 summer down to 1 week. Addition of "enrichment weeks" during the academic year to provide mini-breaks.
-more flexibility with the order of clinical electives (MS3 used to involve 8 core rotations in a pre-assigned order, now students enter a lottery for which electives they want and when they want them. More details to be hammered out over the next few months)
-addition of required scholarly projects. 6 months of time for this built in to MS3/4
-If I'm missing anything major, MS1/2 students feel free to add.

International health work is generally something you set up on your own at OHSU. There is a global health center, although it's a bit weaker than at other programs. That being said, if you take a certain number of global health electives, you qualify for a global health scholarship that can help you travel. Many students used to go between MS1/2 but summer break has been condensed to approx. one week, so I imagine that rotations would need to be done during clinical blocks now. There is a limit on where you can go - as of last year, OHSU students are not approved for travel to any country with a travel warning. A lot of us were upset about that, and it threw a wrench into my own international plans.

So, I'm interested to hear current student perspectives on the 8-5 day. That caught my eye in interview and made me nervous - is there a lot of busy work? Why did OHSU decide to, effectively, double the in-school time requirement, and what benefits are the goals of that choice? I'm worried that studying I would have done in the afternoon is now going to happen at night. Do current students find this really encroaches on having any personal time at all? Obviously, I'm not expecting to have gobs of free time but I am worried that with no free hours during the traditional workweek I'm going to be pulling late nights every night and studying 24 hour weekends.
 
Coming up to 10 weeks post-interview now with no news. Should I assume waitlist/reject at this point? I know a handful of people from my interview day who have been accepted.
Same here and I called. From what I was told, they review candidates roughly by date, but that isn't always the case. Therefore some people who interviewed at the same time as you, or even after you, may have heard back already.
 
Same here and I called. From what I was told, they review candidates roughly by date, but that isn't always the case. Therefore some people who interviewed at the same time as you, or even after you, may have heard back already.
Yeah, I was told on interview day that they have to make their way down to our interview date but they also will not review your file if your interviewer is not there to advocate for you. So sometimes they might make it to you but have to skip over you until they are there.
 
Anybody else on pre-interview hold notice their status basically go away in the portal? It happened yesterday for me. There has been a message about being on hold for an interview for about 4 months now, but now there is just a vague message about timeline to evaluate mission and non-mission group applicants.
I'm in a mission-based group btw, IS, LizzyM=73.
 
So, I'm interested to hear current student perspectives on the 8-5 day. That caught my eye in interview and made me nervous - is there a lot of busy work? Why did OHSU decide to, effectively, double the in-school time requirement, and what benefits are the goals of that choice? I'm worried that studying I would have done in the afternoon is now going to happen at night. Do current students find this really encroaches on having any personal time at all? Obviously, I'm not expecting to have gobs of free time but I am worried that with no free hours during the traditional workweek I'm going to be pulling late nights every night and studying 24 hour weekends.

As Beavershark said "At the end of they day you will be able to do what works for you to get the job done, and that is the same no matter where you go"

The 8-5 day is typically broken up into 4 hours of lecture an hour for lunch and 4 hours of either preceptorship, clinical skills, anatomy lab, colleges, or independent study. We don't sit in lecture all day which is nice, but most of the time you are learning the entire day. There are some "busy work" things, mostly confined to Wednesday afternoons during college events, but sometimes they are high-yield (IV placement, Chest tube placement, suture labs).
The benefit to the new curriculum is that I am being exposed to patients as part of the care team right away and I am learning diagnostic reasoning from the get go. 18 months vs 24 months for first 2 years and more clinical experience.

If you go to medical school you will see your personal time shrink regardless of the program you choose. Someone said something that seems true to me, you only have enough time to be a medical student and to keep one hobby/thing that you really enjoy. Some of my classmates enjoy the outdoors, others go out dancing, some do yoga. My family is my +1 activity. The nice thing about the curriculum is that our exams are on Fridays so you bust ass all week and have the weekend to relax. I typically do nothing school related Friday or Saturday, and look just through stuff on Sunday.

Med school is hard. Be prepared to kiss a lot of things goodbye in order to be successful, but don't forget to hang on to the things that will keep you sane.

Best of luck!
 
For current students... Have you seen a trend of more people living on the East side since the Tilikum Bridge opened? Seems to me like that would be the most cost effective thing to do.
 
As Beavershark said "At the end of they day you will be able to do what works for you to get the job done, and that is the same no matter where you go"

The 8-5 day is typically broken up into 4 hours of lecture an hour for lunch and 4 hours of either preceptorship, clinical skills, anatomy lab, colleges, or independent study. We don't sit in lecture all day which is nice, but most of the time you are learning the entire day. There are some "busy work" things, mostly confined to Wednesday afternoons during college events, but sometimes they are high-yield (IV placement, Chest tube placement, suture labs).
The benefit to the new curriculum is that I am being exposed to patients as part of the care team right away and I am learning diagnostic reasoning from the get go. 18 months vs 24 months for first 2 years and more clinical experience.

If you go to medical school you will see your personal time shrink regardless of the program you choose. Someone said something that seems true to me, you only have enough time to be a medical student and to keep one hobby/thing that you really enjoy. Some of my classmates enjoy the outdoors, others go out dancing, some do yoga. My family is my +1 activity. The nice thing about the curriculum is that our exams are on Fridays so you bust ass all week and have the weekend to relax. I typically do nothing school related Friday or Saturday, and look just through stuff on Sunday.

Med school is hard. Be prepared to kiss a lot of things goodbye in order to be successful, but don't forget to hang on to the things that will keep you sane.

Best of luck!
Fully expecting med school to be hard and to spend about 90+% of my time on it! I was just worried, basically, that I wouldn't get that 1 extra thing (likely, my relationship) because of the 8-5 setup at OHSU. Your post did a lot to help me put that worry aside, especially since it sounds like there is a lot of active learning during those hours (I was concerned that it was a lot of low-yield activities and then I'd have to go home every night and study 6 hours). Thank you so much for your personal story and the information! Much appreciated.
 
Got placed on hold last night. It was definitely a disappointment since I thought this had been a good interview for me.
 
Anybody else on pre-interview hold notice their status basically go away in the portal? It happened yesterday for me. There has been a message about being on hold for an interview for about 4 months now, but now there is just a vague message about timeline to evaluate mission and non-mission group applicants.
I'm in a mission-based group btw, IS, LizzyM=73.
yep.
 
My girlfriend just got offered an II for the dental school at OHSU and has 2 weeks to respond. When should OOS students start to hear for the MD program? I suppose I'm mission-based? 4.00/36.
 
My girlfriend just got offered an II for the dental school at OHSU and has 2 weeks to respond. When should OOS students start to hear for the MD program? I suppose I'm mission-based? 4.00/36.
They told me that by the end of February; they hope they'll get all II and rejections out by the end of the month.
 
For current students... Have you seen a trend of more people living on the East side since the Tilikum Bridge opened? Seems to me like that would be the most cost effective thing to do.

Congrats on your acceptance! I'd ask the admissions office re: second look days--they've had them in the past, but they're pretty low-key. As far as where folks live, I'd say a large number (maybe a little less than half? I'm just guessing re: my class, and I'm sure it varies year to year) live on the hill for first and second year but only ten or twenty folks stick around all four years. (This is somewhat paradoxical as it would actually be a lot more convenient to be on the hill during Surgery, OB, Sub-I, etc., but I think people just want to have a little more contact with the real world by then.)
Tilikum crossing makes a measurable difference for commutes to certain parts of the east side, but it's not exactly transformative. (FWIW, it saves me around 5 minutes when travelling home from the main hospital at rush hour, and 10 minutes on the rare occasions I need to be at the CLSB.)
 
Fully expecting med school to be hard and to spend about 90+% of my time on it! I was just worried, basically, that I wouldn't get that 1 extra thing (likely, my relationship) because of the 8-5 setup at OHSU. Your post did a lot to help me put that worry aside, especially since it sounds like there is a lot of active learning during those hours (I was concerned that it was a lot of low-yield activities and then I'd have to go home every night and study 6 hours). Thank you so much for your personal story and the information! Much appreciated.

To echo that, having tests on Fridays is easily the best part of the process. Mentally only having to get through 5 days at a time really makes the entire process much easier. Having school feel more like a really brutal work week allows for the mental division of labor that keeps you sane. At least it did for me certainly.

That said, there is really not "active learning" when it comes to lectures and 80%ish of the stuff you are tested on (anatomy, histology, and clinical skills are usually more active processes). You will watch lectures for hours with people just ripping through slides of info (eg 60-80 slides in an hour plus or minus depending on the topic) and it will be up to you and how you tackle it to learn the information in time for the test. That process is different for everyone, as everyone learns differently. You might screen shot slides and make them into flash cards, some people do outlines or hand notes, others use systems like Firecracker based on the lectures they saw. Either way, you WILL be studying on your own time after/before classes and activities. Not necessarily for 6 hours (or maybe if you need it), but don't expect to just be able to go to lecture and walk out knowing the material unless that is how you naturally learn. This will take efficiency and time management, and you will learn quickly how to mange it, everyone does.

Again, this is not anything new compared to other schools, but do recognize that if you need a certain style or process to learn, that will occur via yourself, it won't be handed to you.
 
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Anybody else on pre-interview hold notice their status basically go away in the portal? It happened yesterday for me. There has been a message about being on hold for an interview for about 4 months now, but now there is just a vague message about timeline to evaluate mission and non-mission group applicants.
I'm in a mission-based group btw, IS, LizzyM=73.

still have the original message for reviewing pre interview on my portal, your in state and with good stats, at least they recently looked at/ updated your application! When they send out the next II you and the other applicant may be in that group.
 
still have the original message for reviewing pre interview on my portal, your in state and with good stats, at least they recently looked at/ updated your application! When they send out the next II you and the other applicant may be in that group.

Hey, so what message is it showing on your app status? Mine says my file was complete in December, and below it I have some messages about mission-based students.

Anybody else on pre-interview hold notice their status basically go away in the portal? It happened yesterday for me. There has been a message about being on hold for an interview for about 4 months now, but now there is just a vague message about timeline to evaluate mission and non-mission group applicants.
I'm in a mission-based group btw, IS, LizzyM=73.

How do we know we were on pre-interview hold? I checked my status now, and this is what it says:

Application Status:
NOTE: You may need to scroll down to see all of the status information.

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Preliminary application information received from AMCAS: Yes

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A secondary application notice was emailed to you on (August).

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Your secondary application was submitted on (September).

All updates to contact information must be done by clicking on the "Update Your Contact Information" at the top of this page.

Please note: Updates submitted after the secondary application is complete may not impact your file.

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Your secondary application has been processed.

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Your file was complete on (December).

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 September to March.

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

Mine currently says the same thing as yours. But for about the past 4 months it has said that I am on hold for an interview and they will reevaluate my application at a future time, yadayada decision will be made by February.

Who knows what it all means. Just try not to worry. Good luck.
 
Hey Breakneck

Mine currently says the same thing as yours. But for about the past 4 months it has said that I am on hold for an interview and they will reevaluate my application at a future time, yadayada decision will be made by February.

Who knows what it all means. Just try not to worry. Good luck.

Interesting. I wonder if being on hold is good or not. I don't have a hold status, I guess. I just found out that their dental school accepts 96% of OOS students, so my girlfriend is basically accepted if she goes to the interview. How're those numbers for the MD OOS interviewees? Certainly hope OHSU sends some love my way these next few weeks!
 
On hold after December interview. Im actually quite shocked I wasnt flat-out rejected considering being OOS and this being by far the worst interview I have done (felt ill and was sweating, became kinda snappy responding to some interesting questions :-/ ). Congrats to everyone else!
 
For current students... Have you seen a trend of more people living on the East side since the Tilikum Bridge opened? Seems to me like that would be the most cost effective thing to do.

Plenty of people always lived on the East side - even before Tilikum it was very easy to get bike across the Hawthorne bridge or to take one of the express buses that runs across Ross Island bridge.

In terms of cost, living on the East Side is pretty even with the Johns Landing area (SW, 1-2 miles south of the tram) and the commute is similar. There's a bit more character to the SE neighborhoods and a bit more quiet (and parking) on the SW side. People have also found affordable housing up on Marquam Hill although that appeals more to MS3-4 students who sometimes have to be at the hospital at ungodly hours (protip: hill parking is in high demand. If you live there you get a parking permit, which you can easily sell to other students for $80-100/month). The co-op is a good choice on the hill if you are young, single, pet-free, and looking to make fast friends. SW waterfront is probably most convenient to everything (as well as being newest), but those apartments aren't cheap. NE tends to be a bit too far for most people, but I've seen people with families make that area or the suburbs (Beaverton, etc) work just fine.

For anyone who may be moving to Portland this summer...start looking for housing early. The rental market has gone insane over the last year, the vacancy rate is really low, and it is taking people a lot longer to find something decent than it used to.
 
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