Any news from OHSU?

[sun697]

I also heard that OHSU was a little deceptive about how they present tuition. Students pay by the quarter and 1st year is three quarters and 2nd, 3rd, and 4th years are 4 quarters. So although they state that tuition is 29K (IS) and 40K (OS) that is only first year, all of the other years you pay for four quarters or 38K (IS) and 52K (OS)!!!

Yeah, they are a little frugal with the tution details in the interview packet. But I did find the following link that breaks it all down. Click on the Medicine tab on the bottom.

http://www.ohsu.edu/registrar/fees2005-06.htm

You're right about the difference in quarters; but 'luckily' it seems that it does average out to ~$40k per year (for OOS), as the last two years are cheaper per quarter.

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[Little Rascal]

OHSU will give you feedback. I've talked with several Oregon residents who got feedback last year after being rejected. I doubt they will talk to you before the interview cycle is over. I'd try in May, but don't give up. Sorry you didn't make it.

Okay, thanks man.

 

[star22]

Yeah, they are a little frugal with the tution details in the interview packet. But I did find the following link that breaks it all down. Click on the Medicine tab on the bottom.

http://www.ohsu.edu/registrar/fees2005-06.htm

You're right about the difference in quarters; but 'luckily' it seems that it does average out to ~$40k per year (for OOS), as the last two years are cheaper per quarter.

Thanks for the link! But something that isn't on that website is that you lock your tuition/quarter as a first year student, and it stays the same all for years. So it appears on that chart that 3rd and 4th years will be cheaper, it is just because tuition was cheaper when the current 3rd and 4th year students first started. I think the financial aid office would have more info about it.

 

[sun697]

Thanks for the link! But something that isn't on that website is that you lock your tuition/quarter as a first year student, and it stays the same all for years. So it appears on that chart that 3rd and 4th years will be cheaper, it is just because tuition was cheaper when the current 3rd and 4th year students first started. I think the financial aid office would have more info about it.

That would certainly suck. Thanks for the heads-up though!

 

[star22]

Did everyone hear back about four weeks after their interview? Yesterday was four weeks for me and I still haven't heard. Maybe today?

 

[star22]

Did everyone hear back about four weeks after their interview? Yesterday was four weeks for me and I still haven't heard. Maybe today?

 

[OhtheSilliness]

Did everyone hear back about four weeks after their interview? Yesterday was four weeks for me and I still haven't heard. Maybe today?

it's been five and half weeks for me and i haven't heard anything.

 

[oldprospector]

i heard in exactly six weeks -- good luck guys

 

[Cinnameg]

I'm interviewing at OHSU the day after tomorrow (on Feb 14th, Valentine's Day) . . . I've been looking at the OHSU interview day feedback and there isn't much. Any hints?

Also, is there anyone that applied to the MD/MPH program that could tell me anything about the MPH interview? I haven't had an MPH interview before so I'm a wee bit nervous. Thanks!

 

[pdiddy348]

I'm interviewing at OHSU the day after tomorrow (on Feb 14th, Valentine's Day) . . . I've been looking at the OHSU interview day feedback and there isn't much. Any hints?

Also, is there anyone that applied to the MD/MPH program that could tell me anything about the MPH interview? I haven't had an MPH interview before so I'm a wee bit nervous. Thanks!

are you sure you looked at the right feedback? oregon is listed under two names...the one with lots of feedback is under "Oregon Health and Sciences University." hope this helps

 

[funshine]

No OOS love from OHSU here. Secondary completed back in September...I finally remembered to call today and was informed that I am not in their "preferred group of applicants." Ouch

 

[kaffy]

No OOS love from OHSU here. Secondary completed back in September...I finally remembered to call today and was informed that I am not in their "preferred group of applicants." Ouch

How did you manage to talk to a real person? Did you push the number for an emergency during that answering message?

 

[puppy12]

How did you manage to talk to a real person? Did you push the number for an emergency during that answering message?

no doubt, they seem to hate personal interaction for some reason. i call other schools, some with many more applicants, and speak to courteous person who answers all my questions and tells me the status of my app right there.

 

[kaffy]

no doubt, they seem to hate personal interaction for some reason. i call other schools, some with many more applicants, and speak to courteous person who answers all my questions and tells me the status of my app right there.

I call OHSU...listen to the message...wonder whether this is really an emergency...and then hang up.

 

[noonday]

wow. whenevre i've called OHSU i've gotten a friendly, helpful person.

they're the nicest i've dealt with on the phone during this process.

 

[ahumdinger]

wow. whenevre i've called OHSU i've gotten a friendly, helpful person.

they're the nicest i've dealt with on the phone during this process.

yeah, me too! but I haven't called recently. I've been scared.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

You know, I'm wondering if there are different numbers. I got a number on my interview invitation letter that put me directly in contact with Carolyn Zook, who was very nice. Some people above mentioned talking to her, so I'm wondering if they were dialing that number. When I tried to call the general admissions office number, I heard the scary voice mail and left a message for some other woman who never returned my call.

 

[funshine]

There are indeed different numbers. So the first time I called, I got a recorded msg. The second time, I got a random person, who told me to call the office of the dean @ 503-494-8220, and the guy who picked up was very nice and transferred me to a real person to talk to.

 

[2 Boys!]

Well hey...I thought I'd join in here with two bits...FWIW.

OHSU is my in-state. They decided that I was not up to interview par even with a resume of unique/diverse life and medical experiences...and numbers which exceed that of the average accepted student. My MD friends and I are kind of baffled on that one.

Does anyone know if OHSU has some special preferences (such as a preference for 2nd time applicants)?

Best of luck to all!

2 Boys!

 

[puppy12]

Well hey...I thought I'd join in here with two bits...FWIW.

OHSU is my in-state. They decided that I was not up to interview par even with a resume of unique/diverse life and medical experiences...and numbers which exceed that of the average accepted student. My MD friends and I are kind of baffled on that one.

Does anyone know if OHSU has some special preferences (such as a preference for 2nd time applicants)?

Best of luck to all!

2 Boys!

i was surprised to be rejected with no interview as well. are you old, they seem to like old people, i mean over 30.

 

[2 Boys!]

i was surprised to be rejected with no interview as well. are you old, they seem to like old people, i mean over 30.

I'm sorry to hear that you were declined as well.

Yep! I'm a bit longer in the tooth...a touch over 30! I've been told that they like older applicants too...students who have developed a depth of life experiences before immersion in medicine in order to add a diversity of perspectives to the medical community.

2 Boys!

 

[star22]

I'm sorry to hear that you were declined as well.

Yep! I'm a bit longer in the tooth...a touch over 30! I've been told that they like older applicants too...students who have developed a depth of life experiences before immersion in medicine in order to add a diversity of perspectives to the medical community.

2 Boys!

I am surprised you didn't get an interview!! I have heard they like older students and re-applicants too. Are you relatively new to Oregon? I knew a guy who was really good applicant, but he applied as an "Oregon resident" although he had only been here a few months. I am not sure how much weight they put on that, but who knows? Good luck with your other apps!

 

[2 Boys!]

I am surprised you didn't get an interview!! I have heard they like older students and re-applicants too. Are you relatively new to Oregon? I knew a guy who was really good applicant, but he applied as an "Oregon resident" although he had only been here a few months. I am not sure how much weight they put on that, but who knows? Good luck with your other apps!

Thanks for the well-wishes!

I've lived here continuously for almost 10 years...most of my family lives in the state too.

Best of luck! 2 Boys!

 

[fishtacos]

anyone know if they're still sending out interviews? or should i be expecting a rejection letter here soon? thanks!!

 

[MTodd]

I interviewed on 12/15/05 and received an acceptance letter dated 1/19/06. As of today, I have not received "the packet" yet, which was supposed to be here within a month. I called today and they said it would be mailed this week.

FWIW, I have called up there to OHSU twice for questions regarding my acceptance and talked with a guy you referred a lady (Carolyn I believe). Both of these contacts were extremely helpful and friendly.

 

[robh]

Well, I finally got up the courage to call the admissions office. For those of you still waiting (like me) here's what I found out:

As of right now, they plan on about 4 more weeks of interviews. They plan to interview 450-500 applicants total. This is somewhat less than they had originally planned. As of right now, the committee has reviewed only about half of the candidates. Class size is 112 but MAY grow to as many as 120 students.

The following numbers are rough estimates; somewhere around 35 admissions offers have gone out to date (30% of class size), and they expect another 35 or so through the rest of the interview cycle (around mid-May inclusive of time for committee review). At that point they will have offered 60-70% of the seats in the class. This group constitutes about the top 15% of the applicants interviewed. They will then offer the rest of the seats to the top people in the ranked hold pool.

Everyone else will be placed on the ranked alternate list. Rankings are determined when the committee reviews your application post interview. The rankings are set in stone. There is nothing we can do to improve our chances this year. LOI's are a waste of time. The alternate list usually moves very quickly in May and June. There is a little movement in July and August but mostly it has sorted out by the beginning of July. Once the alternate list is created (after all the seats are offered), they will tell us our number on the list, and also what the highest number is that they have offered a seat to (in past years this has been available on the web but I forgot to ask if they planned to do that this year).

At times, the list can move fairly quickly because it ranks all candidates, and in many cases people have withdrawn since the list was created. What this means is that if they last offered a seat to number 20 on the list, and you are number 40, there are not necessarily 20 people who will be offered a seat before you will.

Most of this isn't really new information. This is pretty much what they told us when I interviewed but it has a little finer point on it. I think when they say they don't have rolling admissions, they're bending the truth a bit, but the reality is that being in the hold pool does not automatically mean you will be on the alternate list. Everyone is ranked best to worst and then they just work down the list until the class is full. So the system is a hybrid of rolling and non-rolling, but in the end everything works out the same as it would if they didn't offer any rolling admissions. So I guess I see their point. I think it is a very fair system, but the waiting is hell! The person I spoke with was very patient with me and answered all my questions.

I'm not sure this sheds much new light but there it is...

 

[robh]

update on my saga. i got an interview invitation today. mine says i have to interview by 3/23. complete 11/2, interview invitation 1/28, so i guess when they say 12 weeks, they're not kidding around.

So you had your interview yet? How'd it go?

 

[kathyt009]

oh my goodness...you guys will not believe this. I barely do. I came home today to find an ACCEPTANCE to OHSU. I was prepared to sit on the wait list until August if I had to. I really can't believe it. Even though they are number ******...they can't be THAT bad if they let me in! The interview DOES matter!

okay...time for me to go celebrate!!

WA-HOO!!!!

 

[titoincali]

oh my goodness...you guys will not believe this. I barely do. I came home today to find an ACCEPTANCE to OHSU. I was prepared to sit on the wait list until August if I had to. I really can't believe it. Even though they are number ******...they can't be THAT bad if they let me in! The interview DOES matter!

okay...time for me to go celebrate!!

WA-HOO!!!!

Was this the "we just wanted you to know you were accepted but not ready to give you an acceptance packet yet" letter or an actual acceptance packet??

Congrats, BTW! It's a wonderful accomplishment!

 

[star22]

Everyone else will be placed on the ranked alternate list. Rankings are determined when the committee reviews your application post interview. The rankings are set in stone. There is nothing we can do to improve our chances this year. LOI's are a waste of time.

Thanks for the info robh. So based on this, update letters are probably a waste of time too?

 

[robh]

Thanks for the info robh. So based on this, update letters are probably a waste of time too?

If the committee has voted on you, then yes I'm guessing it is a waste of time. Remember though, the committee has only reviewed half the candidates. So if you've been interviewed recently, and I seem to recall you were, you might give them a call and ask if an update letter could be included in your file before the committee reviews it.

 

[star22]

If the committee has voted on you, then yes I'm guessing it is a waste of time. Remember though, the committee has only reviewed half the candidates. So if you've been interviewed recently, and I seem to recall you were, you might give them a call and ask if an update letter could be included in your file before the committee reviews it.

Nope, I've already been reviewed. But I have started a new volunteer position that is pretty cool, and thought this might help my cause a little.... oh well.

Good luck to you.

 

[robh]

Nope, I've already been reviewed. But I have started a new volunteer position that is pretty cool, and thought this might help my cause a little.... oh well.

Good luck to you.

Good luck to you also. I assume since you've been reviewed, you landed in the hold pool also? That blows but I guess it's better than a rejection. Hang in there! I've been waiting since October. I was in the very first group to interview. In retrospect, I'm not sure that was a good thing...

 

[kathyt009]

Was this the "we just wanted you to know you were accepted but not ready to give you an acceptance packet yet" letter or an actual acceptance packet??

Congrats, BTW! It's a wonderful accomplishment!

yeah, it was the single letter, acceptance packet is on the way. I hope so at least!!!

Thanks!
KT

 

[star22]

Good luck to you also. I assume since you've been reviewed, you landed in the hold pool also? That blows but I guess it's better than a rejection. Hang in there! I've been waiting since October. I was in the very first group to interview. In retrospect, I'm not sure that was a good thing...

Yep, I'm on hold too.
1st group to interview?? Your application must have been impressive!! I bet the committee will be consistant throughout the entire process, so it won't make much difference. .... other than you just have to wait so much longer.

 

[QuikClot]

I'm going for my interview on Tuesday. The SDN feedback forum seemed kinda thin (5 entries?) Anyone got any suggestions for me?

 

[star22]

I'm going for my interview on Tuesday. The SDN feedback forum seemed kinda thin (5 entries?) Anyone got any suggestions for me?

OHSU is on the list twice. One of them has 60+ entries.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

So you had your interview yet? How'd it go?

Nah, I interview on Tuesday. I hope it goes well. If it doesn't, I'm okay with it -- I feel like OHSU has been messing with me since day one. The funny thing is I went to the doctor on Tuesday, and my doctor had a very strong opinion that it would be better to go to another school. She did her residency at OHSU, so I guess she knows something about it.

Congrats, deathcab!

 

[robh]

Nah, I interview on Tuesday. I hope it goes well. If it doesn't, I'm okay with it -- I feel like OHSU has been messing with me since day one. The funny thing is I went to the doctor on Tuesday, and my doctor had a very strong opinion that it would be better to go to another school. She did her residency at OHSU, so I guess she knows something about it.

Congrats, deathcab!

Well good luck you to and to QuikClot! If you get in ahead of me, I'll have to hate you for a few days. I'm sure you understand. I'll get over it...

 

[OhtheSilliness]

Thanks for the info robh. So based on this, update letters are probably a waste of time too?

I don't know if they are a waste of time, but I actually called and asked them if they wanted update letters after i'd already been put on hold. and they said yeah. Since I'm already sending transcripts and update letters to a couple of other schools, it can't hurt to send them one too.

 

[bootz]

Anybody hear anything post-interview from OHSU?

 

[star22]

Anybody hear anything post-interview from OHSU?

Do you mean other than that we are on hold?

 

[bootz]

Sorry about being so general and vague. What I really wanted to do was to bump this thread to see if anyone had anything to add about how their interviews went. Mine went okay, I could have done better but at this point I'll have to wait and see what happens. A waitlist position wouldn't be so bad just because they only accept so few during the cycle. It seems like it is really quiet on the OHSU front right now. I don't know what to make of it especially since I know that they interview on Tue, Wed, and Thurs of every week in March.

 

[robh]

Sorry about being so general and vague. What I really wanted to do was to bump this thread to see if anyone had anything to add about how their interviews went. Mine went okay, I could have done better but at this point I'll have to wait and see what happens. A waitlist position wouldn't be so bad just because they only accept so few during the cycle. It seems like it is really quiet on the OHSU front right now. I don't know what to make of it especially since I know that they interview on Tue, Wed, and Thurs of every week in March.

I have a friend who submitted her application on Jan 31. Yes, that is the deadline. She is interviewing on April 12. That is the latest date I've heard of. I suspect that week will be the last week of interviews, but who knows. And the wait continues...

 

[bootz]

I have a friend who submitted her application on Jan 31. Yes, that is the deadline. She is interviewing on April 12. That is the latest date I've heard of. I suspect that week will be the last week of interviews, but who knows. And the wait continues...

That's cool that she got an interview. I recently (like two weeks ago) received and turned around a secondary application for one of my state schools. I don't know if it will get me anywhere but I am glad to hear that I am not the only one turning in secondaries in 2006.

 

[OhtheSilliness]

I can't seem to find my on-hold letter right now and have a question for others on-hold. Now that i've received other waitlist letters, I've noticed that they asked you to respond and let them know if you would like them to hold your spot on the waitlist. I don't remember OHSU asking for this, but I just want to make sure, so that I don't go crazy looking for the letter to confirm this myself.

 

[robh]

I can't seem to find my on-hold letter right now and have a question for others on-hold. Now that i've received other waitlist letters, I've noticed that they asked you to respond and let them know if you would like them to hold your spot on the waitlist. I don't remember OHSU asking for this, but I just want to make sure, so that I don't go crazy looking for the letter to confirm this myself.

My OHSU hold letter does not ask for any response except "understanding and patience." This might change in mid-May when they actually create the waitlist.

 

[TheMightyAngus]

Well, I finally got up the courage to call the admissions office. For those of you still waiting (like me) here's what I found out:

The following numbers are rough estimates; somewhere around 35 admissions offers have gone out to date (30% of class size), and they expect another 35 or so through the rest of the interview cycle (around mid-May inclusive of time for committee review). At that point they will have offered 60-70% of the seats in the class. This group constitutes about the top 15% of the applicants interviewed. They will then offer the rest of the seats to the top people in the ranked hold pool.

Does this mean that OHSU does not follow the AAMC recommendations?

"By March 30 of the matriculation year, each school have issued a number of offers of acceptance at least equal to the expected number of students in its first-year entering class and have reported those acceptance actions to the AAMC Section for Medical School Application Services."

http://www.aamc.org/students/applying/policies/admissionofficers.htm

So basically OHSU will continue to fill its class until May at an exceedingly slow place, leaving those of us in the "hold pool" to pay non-refundable deposits to hold acceptances at other schools. Lame.

Didn't OHSU go into the 90's on the alternate list last year? What a great admissions process! Let's accept the top applicants who will most likely go elsewhere right away, put everyone else on hold until May, and wait to see who is still around in the summer to fill the rest of the class. Double lame.

Isn't the tuition ridiculous too. ~$28K state/$38K OOS and rising? Triple lame.

 

[robh]

Does this mean that OHSU does not follow the AAMC recommendations?

"By March 30 of the matriculation year, each school have issued a number of offers of acceptance at least equal to the expected number of students in its first-year entering class and have reported those acceptance actions to the AAMC Section for Medical School Application Services."

http://www.aamc.org/students/applying/policies/admissionofficers.htm

So basically OHSU will continue to fill its class until May at an exceedingly slow place, leaving those of us in the "hold pool" to pay non-refundable deposits to hold acceptances at other schools. Lame.

Didn't OHSU go into the 90's on the alternate list last year? What a great admissions process! Let's accept the top applicants who will most likely go elsewhere right away, put everyone else on hold until May, and wait to see who is still around in the summer to fill the rest of the class. Double lame.

Isn't the tuition ridiculous too. ~$28K state/$38K OOS and rising? Triple lame.

Well, it is not entirely clear but based on what I was told when I called a few days ago (see my post on 3/9) they will not have made offers to the expected number of students in the class. They will have made offers to a little over half the number in the class. I know that they are still interviewing. I know that they give everyone equal consideration. I have a friend who is interviewing on April 12 and that is the last I have heard of. Assuming that is the final week and assuming that the committee must take a couple weeks to finish their review process, it would seem likely that the rest of the class will be offered admission sometime in early to mid-May. At that point, everyone else will be put on a waitlist. So the first ~120 people will likely know before the May 15 deadline. As a practical matter, waitlists don't really move until after May15 anyway so if they formed the list at the end of March, I doubt that would change the situation with deposits at other schools, except for a very few people who might get off the list before May 15. So, I'm not sure how much anyone is hurt by OHSU's slow approach.

I have heard conflicting things about how far up the waitlist they went last year. The Dean said they gave out about 220 offers last year. This doesn't quite fit with only going up to 90 something on the waitlist, unless some people offered admission withdrew before the waitlist was created. As a general rule of thumb, they seem to make almost twice as many offers as seats in the class. Obviously there is no way to know what will happen this year. If I had to guess, I would predict greater turnover because of the high OOS tuition. Yes it is basically $40K/year for OOS students, and about $30K/year for residents. OHSU's process is annoying but I think it's fair.

I assume you are OOS? Have you been admitted anywhere else? Is OHSU a top choice for you?

 

[star22]

As of right now, they plan on about 4 more weeks of interviews. They plan to interview 450-500 applicants total. This is somewhat less than they had originally planned. As of right now, the committee has reviewed only about half of the candidates....

Just out of curiosity, how many people are at the average interview session? For me, there were 16 interviewees (4 OR residents), so based on this, it seems they could get all of the interviews done in 10-12 weeks... not seven months. I know I should just be more patient, but it just feels like the committee could/should be done by now.