UQ-Ochsner 2019 Cohort

[Whats uppp]

Anyone else get an II but, when attempting to schedule, were prompted to register for the waitlist as all interview dates were filled? Any idea when they will open up? And how quickly they'll be full?

Same, got the II like 2 weeks ago, but was waitlisted since then, not sure, feel like we're fine, cause they fill up their class september/octoberish

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[Whats uppp]

Anyone else get an II but, when attempting to schedule, were prompted to register for the waitlist as all interview dates were filled? Any idea when they will open up? And how quickly they'll be full?

Are you waitlisted for both the on-site and skype?

 

[Rhandhali]

Is it hard maneuvering through it, as you are/did go through it? Like is the MD degree from UQ-O worth it to be able to pay it off?

Depends on what you mean by worth it. You will be given the chance if you do your part, and it is a big part, at getting a US medical residency in some field or other. It's a good chance so far. If you're practicing as a physician in the US you will be able to pay the loans off one way or another. That being said If you aren't walking in prepared to put in a lot of work and a lot of time and end up washing out, like some people do, you will have ruined your life with debt you will never be able to discharge.

 

[retiltxet]

TBH this doesn't really matter if you think about it. During your residency (and even if you wash out) you're still eligible for IBR (income based repayment) and will eventually have your loans forgiven after 20 years. Even if you only earned 50k the rest of your life you'd pretty much pay back a fraction of your loans anyways. There is a tax hit for the forgiveness if not done through PSLF, but this isn't relevant to this discussion.

 

[Whats uppp]

That actually makes me feel much better about the financial area in this program, thanks! Hopefully now they put more interview dates up or someone leaves theirs lol Heard great things about UQ grads

 

[ER747]

Are you waitlisted for both the on-site and skype?

I'm not exactly sure as this is for a friend but she is waitlisted for 22/23. She didn't even have a chance to register for any of the two dates as they were full.

 

[deleted877508]

The other MD programs I've interviewed at are close to 60K now. This program is expensive, but not much more so than the American average, except certain in-state programs.

 

[Whats uppp]

The other MD programs I've interviewed at are close to 60K now. This program is expensive, but not much more so than the American average, except certain in-state programs.

True, really doesn't make a difference at this point. How was the interview btw? Did you hear back yet from them?

 

[Whats uppp]

I'm not exactly sure as this is for a friend but she is waitlisted for 22/23. She didn't even have a chance to register for any of the two dates as they were full.

Same boat, feel like there are a lot of interviewees waiting for the open slots to open up, hope its sooner than later, otherwise we might not even get to interview before they fill up their class.

 

[deleted877508]

True, really doesn't make a difference at this point. How was the interview btw? Did you hear back yet from them?

I interview later in February.

 

[Whats uppp]

Hey guys! I was wondering if anyone else is still waiting on any interview dates to open up, or heard anything yet from them?

 

[ER747]

My friend is still waiting.. have you tried calling/ emailing them?

 

[Whats uppp]

I did, still waiting, but alas, nothing yet

 

[sean80439]

Does anyone know the difficulty of matching competitive IM specialties (i.e. Cardiology, gastro, oncology) being a
UQ-O grad? Does the fact that you are considered and international grad make matching exceptionally more difficult?

Those are fellowships - different basket altogether; however, and this is from my knowledge just speaking to others that have gone through the fellowship matching process: fellowship match really doesn't take into account your med school. What they care about is your performance in residency.

 

[lynnchanning]

Anyone else interviewing in-person on 2/23?

Hi I am!! I am pretty worried about the 6 minute response time per question I have been prepping but not feeling great about such vague question domains

 

[sean80439]

Ha, this Friday there's this long symposium going on.

 

[q1lk]

I submitted my application right when it opened and recently scheduled an onsite interview for March. I’m excited to see the campus and meet some new people!

For anyone wondering. Their interview schedule system can be cumbersome. Basicly, once invited, you still have to follow the link and reserve a date. They seem to fill up really fast, however, they keep adding additional dates so don’t be too woried. If you want an early interview slot, I would recommend creating a filter on your email to automaticly alert you (ring your phone etc) so if it comes out at night or while you are busy with something else so you can quickly grab a slot. I only went to this extreme measure because I am hoping to recive an earlier admissions decision so I can make the future decisions I need to. If you look over the thread for last year, they keep adding more and more interview slots throughout the year and the later dates fill up much slower.

Also? Anyone here interview last year? If so, how was it?

 

[Whats uppp]

I submitted my application right when it opened and recently scheduled an onsite interview for March. I’m excited to see the campus and meet some new people! I attened high school in Australia as an expat so thats how I heard about this program.

For anyone wondering. Their interview schedule system can be cumbersome. Basicly, once invited, you still have to follow the link and reserve a date. They seem to fill up really fast, however, they keep adding additional dates so don’t be too woried. If you want an early interview slot, I would recommend creating a filter on your email to automaticly alert you (ring your phone etc) so if it comes out at night or while you are busy with something else so you can quickly grab a slot. I only went to this extreme measure because I am hoping to recive an earlier admissions decision so I can make the future decisions I need to. If you look over the thread for last year, they keep adding more and more interview slots throughout the year and the later dates fill up much slower.

Also? Anyone here interview last year? If so, how was it?

Sweet! I submitted my application at the end of Jan. and got the interview request a week later, and im heading to the march one, so ill see you there! Is their acceptance rates high if applied early?

 

[deleted822131]

Does anyone know how much the interviews matter?? Are they really grading you or are they just deciding if you pass/fail? I'm wondering if receiving an interview basically means you'll get into the program as long as you don't really mess it up

 

[Whats uppp]

Does anyone know how much the interviews matter?? Are they really grading you or are they just deciding if you pass/fail? I'm wondering if receiving an interview basically means you'll get into the program as long as you don't really mess it up

Oh interviews matter a lot, like a lot, so MCAT + GPA + Interview= Acceptance/Denial, like they're equally weighted together. I don't know if you're basically guaranteed an admission if you don't bomb it, but i talked to the admissions director and she heavily pushed the interview forward. Sorry if that did not really answer your question, but she heavily emphasized it a lot! When is your interview??

 

[Rhandhali]

TBH this doesn't really matter if you think about it. During your residency (and even if you wash out) you're still eligible for IBR (income based repayment) and will eventually have your loans forgiven after 20 years. Even if you only earned 50k the rest of your life you'd pretty much pay back a fraction of your loans anyways. There is a tax hit for the forgiveness if not done through PSLF, but this isn't relevant to this discussion.

Yeah but try applying for a home loan with 500k in debt making 50k a year, good luck with that. There are specific loan programs for physicians for that very reason and if you're not a physician you're just some guy with two house's worth of debt hanging over their head. It's a serious and potentially devastating financial commitment if you don't follow through.

 

[LebronManning]

Anyone know if May 5th is too late to apply? Will I be at a significant disadvantage?
Just got my MCAT score and it was higher than UQ average but my GPA is like a 2.8ish on the US school. Will be like a 2.95ish by the end of this semester so wanted to apply after that..

 

[LebronManning]

I think one of the requirements this year is "B Average" which translates to a 3.0? You might want to call and verify.

I've heard they consider B average to be 2.67. Also, though, they have some freaky GPA calculation methods that favor the last years more than the previous years. Based on previous threads, it seems if you are close enough to the 3.0, then their calculation clears you.

 

[mcat_taker]

Oh interviews matter a lot, like a lot, so MCAT + GPA + Interview= Acceptance/Denial, like they're equally weighted together. I don't know if you're basically guaranteed an admission if you don't bomb it, but i talked to the admissions director and she heavily pushed the interview forward. Sorry if that did not really answer your question, but she heavily emphasized it a lot! When is your interview??

The truth is none of us really know how much the interview matters. Mededpath is not going to say, don't worry about the interview its just a formality. Of course they will play up its importance. But the truth is that UQ in Australia decide who they will reject and accept and none of us know what system they use to make those decisions. Australian schools are generally more about numbers/ exam scores, in fact none of the domestic or international students interview, its just the Ochsner cohort.

That being said, just prepare for it as best as you can, thats all you can do. Cant worry about anything else.

 

[pitman]

I don't think mcat_taker meant otherwise, but to clarify -- while Australian schools do love their numerical assessments, most (I believe all but UQ Brisbane) require an interview. Ochsner, as a sub-partnership of UQ so to speak, only does so because it was required to do so to appease US authorities.

A bit divergent here, but only because it's an interest of mine...IMO a problem with much of Australian assessment -- or I should say common myth among Australian bureaucrats and academics alike -- is the quirk that many of those schools/health jobs requiring an interview believe that they can numerically assess candidates, that they can create a standardized environment that objectively, indeed quantitatively, measures some desireable set of traits through an interview process.*

Interviews are inherently subjective, and when attempts are made to 'fully' standardize them (not just in terms of questions, but in terms of allowable prompts and 'acceptable' answers), they become self-defeating. I can't count the number of panel interviews that I've had in this country where feedback/prompting is excrutiatingly limited and somewhat arbitrary, and the questions themselves are not really asking what their mysterious authors apparently believed that they were asking. Like asking, "[in 5 minutes...] What's your understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and culture?" (an actual question I had in one job interview) and expecting a sweeping tickbox approach rather than an informative and/or deep discussion on the topic, with points off for, say, not discussing how health resources are different in the bush than in metro regions (they want to make sure you know what you're getting into when working rural), with no points for explaining the genetic and cultural similarities and differences between Aborigines and TSIs and how those may inform healthcare approaches and outcomes. The problem lies in the notion that there is something factual in particular pertaining to their question that the interviewee needs to convey in her answer (something that is both anticipated and quantifiable, since 'objective' measure has been deemed paramount) rather than a depth of knowledge and demonstration of desireable reasoning skills (which isn't quantifiable but is closer to the real goal).

I say, if objective assessment is expected or desired, then the queries should be objectively specific in order to seek an objective, specific answer (aka..Ask what the f*ck you actually want me to answer). But then you might as well be asking such a question in a written exam rather than an interview that pretends to function like one (the tendency to be indirect is in part a self-defeating attempt to prevent candidates from 'saying what they think the interviewer wants to hear'). Meanwhile any notion that real people in real-time can best assess personable qualities such as the sincerity of the answers throws any pretense of objectivity out the window (and evidence suggests doesn't work well anyway -- intelligent people, nutters or not, tend to be able to fake sincerity during a brief interview).

In the US, virtually no one attempts a 'standardized interview' -- they get the best interviewers they can (say, from among decent faculty/staff) who can then engage in a fairly open discussion with candidates to assess them by their own professionally informed criteria (maybe guiding them to look for particular traits by assessing qualitatively how one thinks and interacts). Having said that, the balance of evidence apparently suggests interviews (at least for med school admissions) do not independently improve the 'quality' of outcome, at least in terms of how researchers have objectively measured some proxy of it (e.g., the chances of finishing medical school, high exam scores, or not having any disciplinary action taken by professional medical registration authorities).

* In my experience here with nearly a dozen quasi-'standardized' interviews from schools to medical jobs, I have found the Flinders med school interview to be the main exception (effectively using standardized questions to subjectively assess objectively desireable thinking skills).

I believe the *reason* for the obsession with 'standardized interviews' here in Australia, particularly for educational opportunities, is rooted in a belief that they can minimize nepotism and racial/sexual discrimination, while in the US the former is traditionally embraced ('family legacy' and the such) and concerns over the latter tend to be addressed by a more widely accepted myriad of quotas.

 

[pitman]

..they have some freaky GPA calculation methods that favor the last years more than the previous years.

If it's the same as they used to calculate, it's not all that freaky, but a simple linear weighting:
(2nd-year-GPA x 1 + 3rd-year-GPA x 2 + 4th-year-GPA x 3) / 6
(or if you've done post-grad years, go backwards from that, substituting the most recent 3 years).

 

[LebronManning]

If it's the same as they used to calculate, it's not all that freaky, but a simple linear weighting:
(2nd-year-GPA x 1 + 3rd-year-GPA x 2 + 4th-year-GPA x 3) / 6
(or if you've done post-grad years, go backwards from that, substituting the most recent 3 years).

Do you happen to know the answer to my question a few posts earlier in this thread? Is early to mid May too late too apply?

 

[LebronManning]

Also does anyone know if UQO accepts interfolio for letters of rec?

 

[Whats uppp]

Also does anyone know if UQO accepts interfolio for letters of rec?

UQO does accept interfolio documents actually, and im not sure if may would be too late, they dont fill up their class until seotember or october generally, so i think you should be fine!

 

[Whats uppp]

Did anyone attend the Feb 23rd interview date? Was wondering how it was, was the interview fun, hard, easy? can you give us your input on it please?

 

[CleverAdvisor]

Not sure if it's the same for Ochsner, but I was told that UQ will be sending out acceptances later this year - late spring, early summer

 

[Whats uppp]

Not sure if it's the same for Ochsner, but I was told that UQ will be sending out acceptances later this year - late spring, early summer

You're right, its actually for all, they send out to all applicants, regardless of program.

 

[lowriskchestpain]

Did anyone attend the Feb 23rd interview date? Was wondering how it was, was the interview fun, hard, easy? can you give us your input on it please?

I was really impressed by the Ochsner Health System. Interview day was exactly as described in the video, and everyone was very friendly. Just heard back from MedEdPath about passing the interview portion - "Admissions decisions release will begin in early summer."

 

[mariethefuturemd]

Did anyone attend the Feb 23rd interview date? Was wondering how it was, was the interview fun, hard, easy? can you give us your input on it please?

I had a Skype interview on the 23rd. It was surprisingly fun and laid back, the interviewers were a lot more relaxed than I was led to expect. I only used 4-5 minutes to answer each question, which I was a bit worried about, but I just got an email confirming that I’d passed the interview. Now to await the admissions decision...

 

[sean80439]

Who interviewed y'all?

 

[sh5678]

Psych is not considered competitive - and the Psych program at Ochsner interviews all UQO students (per a conversation I had with the PD).

is the emergency department considered competitive? and surgery

 

[sean80439]

is the emergency department considered competitive? and surgery

Emergency Medicine and Surgery are both moderately competitive, moreso for IMGs because of the restrictions on some programs.

 

[AsepticTechnique]

Hi all, I'm really interested in this program. I know that IMGs are at a huge disadvantage when applying for residencies (especially outside of primary care), but I was wondering what it takes for a UQ-Ochsner student to match into these competitive programs (i.e. neurosurg at Tulane, Internal Med at Penn, Surgery Preliminary at Brigham and Women's hospital, Anesthesiology at John Hopkins)? Obviously high board scores are required, but what else are these students doing to make themselves competitive enough to match into these programs as an IMG? Does that stigma not hold as true with UQ-Ochsner? If so, would you go recommend UQ-Ochsner over a newer DO school because of their somewhat proven track-record?

 

[mcat_taker]

Hi all, I'm really interested in this program. I know that IMGs are at a huge disadvantage when applying for residencies (especially outside of primary care), but I was wondering what it takes for a UQ-Ochsner student to match into these competitive programs (i.e. neurosurg at Tulane, Internal Med at Penn, Surgery Preliminary at Brigham and Women's hospital, Anesthesiology at John Hopkins)? Obviously high board scores are required, but what else are these students doing to make themselves competitive enough to match into these programs as an IMG? Does that stigma not hold as true with UQ-Ochsner? If so, would you go recommend UQ-Ochsner over a newer DO school because of their somewhat proven track-record?

Those students for the most part had very high step scores, solid networking, and research and were generally top students in the class. That is what it would take. And being comfortable knowing that nothing is guaranteed.

As for recommendations-- I would personally attend UQ-O over a newer DO school, and plenty of students have done so. But you would directly need to compare their match lists.

 

[mcat_taker]

is the emergency department considered competitive? and surgery

There is no EM residency at Ochsner (I believe only at LSU/Tulane). EM in general is moderately competitive and requires good board scores and specialized letters of recommendation from EM faculty as far as I know. You would need to do an EM rotation in your free time over winter break after year 3 and in 4th year and do a bit more legwork when it comes to using free time to network and audition.

Hopefully a 4th year or alumni can chime in and give you better advice regarding EM as its mostly outside the scope of my knowledge at the moment.

 

[mcat_taker]

Do you happen to know the answer to my question a few posts earlier in this thread? Is early to mid May too late too apply?

Generally the class fills up in September (at least it did when I applied 3 years ago). My working knowledge of admissions is that they are rolling so the earlier you apply the quicker you get a decision, until the class fills up (generally august-september) and then it goes to a waitlist. If the class fills you automatically get put into the following year's pool or get accepted if people then take offers elsewhere and drop out last minute.

I HATE these questions because you can only apply as early as you are capable of, i.e. having your MCAT done and college transcript finalized. No one just purposely applies late for no reason. Just apply when you are eligible to, its generally outside the realm of your control of when you can apply. So just do it when you can and hope for the best!

 

[sean80439]

There is no EM residency at Ochsner (I believe only at LSU/Tulane). EM in general is moderately competitive and requires good board scores and specialized letters of recommendation from EM faculty as far as I know. You would need to do an EM rotation in your free time over winter break after year 3 and in 4th year and do a bit more legwork when it comes to using free time to network and audition.

Hopefully a 4th year or alumni can chime in and give you better advice regarding EM as its mostly outside the scope of my knowledge at the moment.

You need 3 SLOEs - they are changing the program so I have no idea how it works now, but what people have done in the past is a 4 week rotation nov-dec, and did 2 away rotations, one for crit care, and one for med spec or MIS (I can't remember which one is allowed). The new semester system changes that, and you get a dedicated away rotation in your 4th year you can use for whatever you want - likely people will do 2 aways during that rotation 4 weeks per institution. A far as surgery goes, you get a surgery rotation, a surgery specialties rotation (that's changing I believe), and you can do a 4wk rotation over nov-dec between years 3 and 4. You can also do a rotation at the end of year 4 too before the official graduation date (insurance still covers us into december). That would definitely help if you get an interview where you are currently doing an away at.

 

[deleted877508]

Does anyone know what the rates of acceptance are post-II? Apparently, I "passed" the interview and things are now being sent to Australia.

 

[Whats uppp]

Does anyone know what the rates of acceptance are post-II? Apparently, I "passed" the interview and things are now being sent to Australia.

Anyone know the answer to this?? Really wanna know if its still kind of the "first come-first serve" if you meet all minimum requirements and pass the interview.

 

[pitman]

I don't think anyone will be able to tell you this in any quantified manner (unless they're privvy to the goings on at the latest admissions committee meeting). The interview was originally added simply to satisfy accreditation requirements, and unless you stuffed it up, it appeared anecdotally that you'd be highly likely to get in. But as far as I know the school does not publish this data (or at best it would be retrospective only) and would have an interest in allowing themselves flexibility in how much they weigh it. Such is particularly important with rolling admissions -- if for example they are able to fill 3/4 of their class early in the season whereas usually at that point of time they fill only 1/2, say because more than an expected number of applicants had accepted their offer of acceptance, then later in the season it could become harder to get in (and the converse also -- it could be much easier to get in late in the season, if the school needed to quickly fill remaining spots).

People here have in years past tended to think that applying early would give a better chance overrall, but they would have been assuming that the school was simply taking anyone who met the minimums and didn't blow the interview, up until they filled the class with those minimal standards. However the assumption to me always sounded like confirmation bias or based on a misunderstanding of what lower application cutoffs mean, and I have not seen any data suggesting that this was ever the school's practice.

It would be naive not to see how it is in the best interest of any school with rolling admissions to adjust their acceptance standards across the season (absolute application cutoffs notwithstanding) in order to optimize both student quality and class size.

 

[sean80439]

Yeah I would tend to agree with pitman as well. Almost everyone I’ve worked with (there’s always the few exceptions) seem highly qualified to be in the program and it didn’t look like a charity admission type thing where they’d take anyone. The exceptions weren’t bad students but they were just really strange people.

 

[mcat_taker]

Agree with Pitman as well. We really don't know exactly how interviews play a role. What we do know is that the program is ultimately about balancing yield and quality. They need x amount of students for money per year. They want the best quality student they can get while still maintaining their enrollment yield. It would make sense this is adjusted through the year based on year to date interest and matriculations.

While we are on the topic of admissions, Ochsner has drastically increased the minimum MCAT scores required in just the last few years. Now it is set at a 504 or roughly a 27-28 on the old MCAT scale. Just 3 years ago when I applied the minimum MCAT was a 499 or roughly 24-25 on the old scale.

This tells us that the program generates enough interest now where they can improve the caliber of prescreened student they interview while still filling their class (meeting their yield). It is also likely a reflection that they desperately want students who can score well on standardized exams as every year we have issues with students not taking step 1 on time, etc.

 

[AsepticTechnique]

Anyone have an idea on how the most recent class matched?

 

[sean80439]

They will release the list on Friday - including those that went back to Australia.

 

[marmoset53]

Anyone know the answer to this?? Really wanna know if its still kind of the "first come-first serve" if you meet all minimum requirements and pass the interview.

Interviewed March 9, and just received the "you passed the interview" Email yesterday!! When I had the pre-interview prep. phone call a week before the interview, the representative I spoke with from MedEdPath made it sound like getting the email that "you passed/your application is now being sent to Aus for further review" is a VERY good sign; but she didn't give any numerical statistics or say you can FOR SURE expect an acceptance at this point. I'm already celebrating though...