Can anyone explain the admissions procedures? If schools are required to fill their class by March 15th, does that mean that when schools like OHSU interview into April, the applicants with late interview dates are really interviewing for waitlist spots? And if most people don't hear about their status from OHSU until May, does that mean after March 15th, the best you can hear back is a waitlist? I'm interviewing at OHSU at the end of February, and I was just offered an interview by another school for the end of March. I just want to be realistic about what my chances of an actual acceptance are.
This reply is a little late, but, better late than never.
This is my understanding of OHSU: The are NOT on a rolling admissions system. Meaning, in theory, that the very last person they interview has the same chance of gaining admissions as the first person they interviewed (based soley on interview dates, not credentials). That being said, roughly 10% of those who are accepted will be accepted out-right, without being placed in a "hold" pool. This hold pool simply means that you passed all of the admissions criteria, and that they are very interested in you. However, since they do not do rolling admissions, you are placed in a hold queue until the last person has been interviewed. Immediately prior to being placed in a hold queue, your application is numerically scored and given a number, say somewhere between 1-500. Let's jump ahead to April, when the last interview takes place. After everyone who they choose to interview has been interviewed, they take all of the people in the hold queue and literally categorize them based on their application score. They form a stack of applications with the highest scored application being at the top. They then make their way through the applications, descending from the highest number until they have filled all incoming class seats. After the class is full, they continue going down the list, however, instead of sending out admissions, they send out wait list spots (which are numbered/ranked). As people decline their offers, they admit people off of the ranked wait list starting with #1 and going as high as they need to. Some years they admit up to #90 on the wait list, other years it is #50. It just depends.
To prematurely answer some questions that I'm sure people will ask:
1) Your application score is permanent, and is not negotiable. Once it is assigned (usually within 4-6 weeks after you interview) it will NEVER change. Therefore, sending update letters, pictures of yourself swimming, videos of you auditioning for American Idol, or other such questionable items will NOT affect your application score.
2) Your ranked wait list position is also permanent, and is not negotiable. If you are wait listed, two things will occur: you will be notified no sooner than May 1st, and you will be give a wait list number along with your wait list letter. This serves as a helpful tool to allow you to better gauge your chances of gaining admissions. If you are wait list #213, you have an extremely small chance of gaining admissions. However, if you are wait list #30, you have an extremely large chance of gaining admissions.
I hope this helps answer some questins about OHSU. As you have read and heard from multiple sources, their application process if both fair and unique. With that comes a lot of confusion from people who are unfamiliar with such an intricate admissions system. Hopefully my posting helped answer your questions.
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Oh by the way - in case you are wondering how I know this stuff, most of it I learned from the Associate Dean of Education while I was interviewing there. The other information comes from both my interviewer as well as my interview packet that I received during my interview. Further, I was accepted into OHSU roughly 8 weeks after I interviewed.
