UQ-Ochsner 2021 Cohort

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Hey all..I’m planning on applying here this upcoming November. Does anyone know if you can be interviewed without having the prereqs completed? I completed courses similar to the two classes they have listed, but I have some doubts they’ll accept them. Based on the information from the website, it looks like you can receive an offer without having the prereqs completed, but would have to complete them by the time you enroll.

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Hey all..I’m planning on applying here this upcoming November. Does anyone know if you can be interviewed without having the prereqs completed? I completed courses similar to the two classes they have listed, but I have some doubts they’ll accept them. Based on the information from the website, it looks like you can receive an offer without having the prereqs completed, but would have to complete them by the time you enroll.
Based on the exact words used in this website
From 2022, all graduate entry applicants... need to have successfully completed the two subject pre-requisites or equivalent courses when enrolling into the MD Program as medical students.
I suspect the school will still send out Zoom Invites (ZIs) and conditional offers pending completion of the prereq courses similar to how they've done to students w/o MCAT scores.

The site also has an admissions@uq address that you should email in case you can't find your classes on the site's equivalency tables. Good luck!
 
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For personal reasons, I have to defer my offer. It’s been a difficult year, I’m sure for all of us. Tough decision but I will see you all the following year.

To those who got waitlisted: I hope you get my spot this year and I wish you the best of luck!
 
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Interviewed here like a week ago, how long do they take to make a decision? especially considering those holding acceptances will need to commit in early- mid November.
 
So far decisions have come out about 3 weeks after the interview date. Given the deadlines you mentioned + the fact that most others from the previous round of interviews have been wait listed, not sure if the timeline will remain the same but I wouldn't expect to hear back for another couple of weeks.
 
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wow, I didn't realize that they're still conducting interviews. someone earlier mentioned the last round of MCAT scores would make it in around the end of October, so I just assumed they would be making their final decisions right about now.
 
Was caught up earlier this evening, I'd appreciate it if someone could give a summary of today's webinar. Thnx
 
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Hey guys! I'm going tomorrow to do my medical exam that is needed for the visa but I'm a little confused. Do I have to bring anything with me besides my passport and the referral letter? And did they conduct all these 5 exams?
 

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Was caught up earlier this evening, I'd appreciate it if someone could give a summary of today's webinar. Thnx

They said that they still remain hopeful about us starting classes in Brisbane. They said that a lot of 3rd year and 4th year international medical students had been granted travel exemptions and now they are also seeing a lot of 2nd year and 1st year students getting approved too! They said that if you get denied to just keep reapplying. Some people were denied 5+ times and then all of a sudden approved the next time! They said they can offer a support letter when we apply for the travel exemption (but I didn't understand that part too well, so if someone else can explain better!)

They also reiterated the 3 options we have incase we aren't able to come in by 2nd semester.

A guy from Ochsner was saying that they don't have the faculty or laboratory space to do in person labs or teach, but that we might be able to do some case based learning there? We would be separated into 5 different societies and would only go with our group to ensure social distancing. But again didn't super understand this part. He said that he would go more in detail in the future if it seems more likely that we will be staying in the U.S.


Also, can someone tell me if they said that they would cover some of our quarantine costs? I couldn't hear too well when they were talking about that.
 
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Also, can someone tell me if they said that they would cover some of our quarantine costs? I couldn't hear too well when they were talking about that.
I believe they said that they will provide $2000.

All places in the program are currently filled. However, they said that the situation changes on a day-to-day basis and will be "dynamic" over the next couple of months.
 
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Did anyone here actually get a student visa yet? If so, how long did it take between submitting your application and receiving the visa? I'm trying to decide how long I can stay on the wait list before I've really got to apply for a visa...
 
So basically the main takeaways from the townhall are this. Expect to be there in January, so complete your visa and apply for exemption. There are three possible scenarios 1) they open borders by January 2) they don't open borders by January but you get an exemption 3) you don't get an exemption and they don't open the borders.

Don't get discouraged if you don't get the exemption the first time, just apply again. If you're not granted the exemption then no worries we can do online for semester 1. If you are granted the exemption, come asap. If by second semester you still are not able to get into Australia, you have the three options in the email (defer, graduate with master's, exit)

They will provide official documentation soon and also were recording so keep your eyes out for the official video.

Edit: link for exemption Travel restrictions | COVID-19 and the border

Also to the people that just interviewed and the people that are waitlisted. The class is currently ful, but don't worry it will most likely change soon if you're still interested.

Edit 2: totally didn't read the forum before posting this so my bad @FutureDoc9876. To try to best fill in.

The letter of support is something we might apparently need to apply for exemption as I understood it. The reason why it takes so many times is because it depends on the person who is looking at your case, so once you get rejected you should apply again. I guess it's really just a numbers game.

Yeah they said something about doing CBLs and some clinical stuff at Ochsner if the borders don't open by January. We will be asked do come down by Ochsner society (which we will be given at orientation) due to not having enough space for all of us. From my understanding, this means that we will only be in NO for a short time . Like future doc said, the details will be explained once we know for sure the borders are not going to open.

Lastly what futuredoc was referring to was in the case of you getting an exemption and being required to quarantine, they will contribute up to 2k to help up with the cost (I assume in aud). Also, they said they will help us find accomodations after quarantining. Also should note that you will quarantine in whichever part of the country you land in first. So if you land in Adelaide, you will quarantine in Adelaide and then you don't have to quarantine again when you get to Queensland.

Sorry again for not reading posts before, hope this helps
 
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Did anyone here actually get a student visa yet? If so, how long did it take between submitting your application and receiving the visa? I'm trying to decide how long I can stay on the wait list before I've really got to apply for a visa...

hey it was 2.5 weeks for me
 
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I believe they said that they will provide $2000.

All places in the program are currently filled. However, they said that the situation changes on a day-to-day basis and will be "dynamic" over the next couple of months.

If all the spots the filled, what about the people who just interviewed last week? Would they just get waitlisted or rejected?
 
Interviewed here like a week ago, how long do they take to make a decision? especially considering those holding acceptances will need to commit in early- mid November.
Wait I thought commitment surveys went out in December?
 
If all the spots the filled, what about the people who just interviewed last week? Would they just get waitlisted or rejected?
Most likely waitlisted for most of the people. I don't see the need for them to reject anyone until they know how many people will stay in the program.
 
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Most likely waitlisted for most of the people. I don't see the need for them to reject anyone until they know how many people will stay in the program.

Yup. Schools will expand their waitlist pool by sending out more interview invites. They know that not all accepted will attend, and not all waitlisted -> accepted will attend, so a longer list insures a full class at end of cycle.

Which also means they expect plenty of waitlist movement.
 
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got an email last night that i was accepted only to receive an email this morning that it was a mistake and that i should disregard it :)
 
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I got them both this morning, and I read the update email first so I was mentally prepared. That's really unfortunate Viddyboi!
 
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got an email last night that i was accepted only to receive an email this morning that it was a mistake and that i should disregard it :)
I got them both this morning, and I read the update email first so I was mentally prepared. That's really unfortunate Viddyboi!

Sounds like they almost had a mayo clinic situation on their hands...
 
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Did you get the same email skiteflies? I'd imagine they just sent out an email to accepted students and reused it for waitlisted students to keep us in the loop, but failed to correct an important sentence...

Earlier this week we were delighted to present a Town Hall to provide updates on your MD program in 2021. Again, congratulations on your admission to the Medical Program! We are eager to welcome you to the UQ Medicine Community and see you begin this next exciting chapter in your professional and personal life.
 
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Did you get the same email skiteflies? I'd imagine they just sent out an email to accepted students and reused it for waitlisted students to keep us in the loop, but failed to correct an important sentence...
Yup. Just checked my email and I got it!
 
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I didn't get an email saying that. I think it was a mistake kinda like the Congratulations to interviewees who weren't actually accepted. Total **** up btw, the pressure is getting to their communications
 
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I didn't get an email saying that. I think it was a mistake kinda like the Congratulations to interviewees who weren't actually accepted. Total **** up btw, the pressure is getting to their communications
Yeah it was just that email that we got last night/this morning about the town hall. They sent it to the waitlisted people too but forgot to remove the congratulations on being accepted part
 
Just got the first exemption rejection. With covid getting worse in the states, I worry having a US passport/residence is pretty much an auto-rejection for non-Aussie citizens.
 
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Just got the first exemption rejection. With covid getting worse in the states, I worry having a US passport/residence is pretty much an auto-rejection for non-Aussie citizens.
Also got my exemption rejected... sigh
 
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Hmm so did anyone in the UQO program actually get an exemption or was that just a hypothetical? I'm wondering if they were talking about UQ students in general have received exemptions or specifically US students in the UQO program.
 
Hmm so did anyone in the UQO program actually get an exemption or was that just a hypothetical? I'm wondering if they were talking about UQ students in general have received exemptions or specifically US students in the UQO program.
When they were talking about it, it seems that they were talking about people getting it from other countries. There might have been like 2nd year students that got it from uq, maybe, but even then they also made it sound like the majority of people getting them were third and fourth year students. Moreover if they knew people that got it from uq o specifically I'm sure they would have explicitly mentioned that (unless I just missed that part).

Edit: I think they mentioned that they're granting exemption more to 3rd and 4th year because it's easier to claim that they are helping in the pandemic stuff (something along those lines)

Edit 2: I've been hearing from quite a few people that the first round of rejections have come for exemption status. RIP
 
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For those who got their visas approved, what did you use for the Address and Contact person in the "Fund Your Stay" section of the visa? I am funding the MD program solely via loans. Someone said they used the Head of Dept of Education as their contact for the loans which would be Betsy Devos :unsure:
 

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I selected “other financial support” and in a text box specified I was approved for U.S. Federal Student Loans to fund the cost of attendance.
 
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I applied for my visa in August, got all my health exam stuff done in September, still waiting for my visa. Kinda rough but I’m also an immigrant to the US, so that may be why. Hoping it gets figured out soon
 
I applied for my visa in August, got all my health exam stuff done in September, still waiting for my visa. Kinda rough but I’m also an immigrant to the US, so that may be why. Hoping it gets figured out soon

application submission date?
 
Just got accepted to UQ Ochsner, and I need to make a decision pretty quickly, UQO vs Flinders. This is actually really hard... Flinders says they'll offer online learning through the end of the year to anyone who needs it, UQ says it's our responsibility to make it into the country by semester 2. But it's much easier to come back to the US from UQO.
 
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Just got accepted to UQ Ochsner, and I need to make a decision pretty quickly, UQO vs Flinders. This is actually really hard... Flinders says they'll offer online learning through the end of the year to anyone who needs it, UQ says it's our responsibility to make it into the country by semester 2. But it's much easier to come back to the US from UQO.
If your goal is to return to the states to complete residency, the better of the two choices is obviously UQ-O and hope that by April 5th or at the latest by the last week of June the border opens and vaccinated people can head over. (April and June have breaks in the academic calendar). But the possibility of a year delay between semesters 1 and 2 is very real. (Right now I have 2 travel exemption rejections and am debating whether a third one is even worth it.)

Flinders would be online for the first year, but then you'd be expected to complete years 2-4 in-person in Australia. If your goal is to stay in Australia, then this is the better school to attend, but if that isn't your goal, you'd face considerably less elective time in the states and have considerably less guidance with navigating IMG requirements. One thing that I noticed is that the U.S. Student Aid website has financial information from 2014 and lists "No Score" in the USMLE pass rates because <8 have taken it in the recent years. My understanding is that for schools to remain eligible for US federal student loans, a certain cut-off of its students must pass steps 1-3. If you intend to use US student loans, I'd speak with the school's international financial aid dept to figure out current and future eligibility. Private loans are also an option, but I don't know much about them.

Lastly, if your circumstances allow it, you could just put things on hold and apply again for both schools, as well as US MD/DO, and focus on something else until things simmer down.
 
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Accepted off of the waitlist as well. Does anyone know if it is possible to defer admission? Given the COVID situation, as well as how close this is to the start date, I'm not sure it would be worth it at this point. If anything I would prefer to reapply for next year.
 
Accepted off of the waitlist as well. Does anyone know if it is possible to defer admission? Given the COVID situation, as well as how close this is to the start date, I'm not sure it would be worth it at this point. If anything I would prefer to reapply for next year.
No deferrals, only re-applying. As someone who had to turn down an offer previous and got in after re-applying, the app process didn't take my previous offer into consideration for or against me. The app for 2022 opens this month so you're at a convenient time to make a decision and act on it.
 
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IM IN! will work with the dealings regarding actually getting in for the second semester but I look forward to seeing y'all online for the online first semester!
 
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Anyone have an idea- or even an educated guess- on when travel restrictions to AUS may be lifted or loosened?

I've been scanning the internet/news articles/forums and it appears the Australian gov is not budging, nor giving indications on when, changes to the current policies will be enacted.

I worry about the scenario in which we must take a gap year (should the borders not open by July 2021). How will we fund that gap year? What happens to our loans and the repayments?

I have yet to hear of success stories of incoming students being granted exemptions- even with the letter of support from the school.

(Links to the sources regarding border polices changes are appreciated for further reading)
 
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Anyone have an idea- or even an educated guess- on when travel restrictions to AUS may be lifted or loosened?
I've been scanning the internet/news articles/forums and it appears the Australian gov is not budging, nor giving indications on when, changes to the current policies will be enacted.
(Links to the sources regarding border polices changes are appreciated for further reading)
You've probably already read that Alan Tudge, the acting immigration minister, says borders will reopen "steadily and safely", but Qantas, Aussie airline, pulled most international flight inventory through March 2021. I haven't found any new info on the pilot program to allow students in Singapore into Adelaide, and I could not find further reporting on relaxing border policies with students or other unis successfully replicating the program (source). So it looks like we're screwed for now. Maybe COVID management improves with a Biden administration and potential vaccines here in the states could ease international travel restrictions against us, but I wouldn't hold my breath. At this point everything is just speculation and wishful thinking.

I worry about the scenario in which we must take a gap year (should the borders not open by July 2021). How will we fund that gap year? What happens to our loans and the repayments?
This is the big question that has held me back from submitting loan request paperwork to UQ. The application lets you indicate the period(s) that you would like to receive a loan for: All or 1st and/or 2nd and/or Summer with tick boxes. In the "Important Information" section it states that students need to
notif[y] of your intent to take a leave of absence (LOA). All LOA is to be applied for in advance. If you intend to take an approved LOA, it is imporant to note the following US Department of Education regulations:
  • A LOA may not exceed 180 days in a 12 month period.
  • If you fail to return from your approved LOA, you will be reported to the US Department of Education as withdrawn with an effective date being the first day of your LOA. This may exhaust your grace period on your student loan repayment terms.
  • Loan repayments are not required whilst on an approved LOA.
The following questions, which need to be discussed with UQ's financial aid department, are their suggested course of action. In the 'Accepting your offer' webinar, they mentioned they work with students to update their financial aid request based on changing needs, but it was unclear to me if this could be done for everyone or only done in extraordinary, individual case-by-case basis. Right now, it's important that we clarify if we can, for example, request loans only for 1 semester and amend the request for more should the opportunity to enter Australia arises. However, if we are forced to take a gap year, we need to know if our time off would be qualified as a LOA and/or if they have any suggestions such as possibly having us enroll in other classes/dedicated research time (in Brisbane or in Ochsner) or something else to designate us as students without needing to start repaying loans.

I'm sure they're aware that many of us are prepared to walk away (for a year or altogether) if they straight up just shrug their shoulders and say, "we're sorry, we can't help you there." I'd send an e-mail but I'm burnt out from work this week. I don't mind if someone else forwards my thoughts to their financial aid dept.
 
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Is everyone planning on keeping health insurance in the US while living in Australia or dropping it? It's kind of expensive so I don't want to hold onto it if it's not required, but I wouldn't want to get stuck in a situation without health insurance...
 
Does anyone know if the OSHC (offered in our acceptance letter) covers us for the entire year? Like is it a flat fee? Or can we enroll before we get to Australia around semester 2 (i.e pay less because we just pay for health insurance through July-November)
 
The OSHC is a flat fee for all 4 years (edit: I mean one fee covers all four years) and is a requirement for applying for a student visa. You could wait, but that would be risky and you'd only be saving a couple hundred US dollars. And I remember someone mentioning there may be a way to get a refund for time not in Australia, not 100% sure on that though.
 
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It's been quiet here for the past couple of days. Anyone have any updates about UQO or preparing to start (online/traveling/etc.)?

I submitted my financial aid request form and another travel exemption request over the weekend. Bought a couple new toys to facilitate online learning since I think I'll be stuck stateside.

Edit: I asked about if an interruption to studies would be considered an LOA if we could modify our loan request and UQ financial aid rep replied with the following,
Should students need to interrupt we would just cancel your loan if no funds have been disbursed. Usually an interruption does not meet an approved leave of absence but there have been some relaxations to some regulations through the CARES Act and for students who studies are impacted directly by COVID an approved LOA can be granted.

Students have total control over their loans and can cancel disbursements, change their loans at any point provided they give me at least a weeks notice prior to disbursement date.
I believe the relaxation she refers to is the moratorium on federal student loan repayments due to COVID, but this is set to expire on Dec. 31st this year. Sounds to me that the LOA would be reserved for the case where we or our immediately family get really sick with COVID. Other than that, this sounds reasonable from their end.
 
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It's been quiet here for the past couple of days. Anyone have any updates about UQO or preparing to start (online/traveling/etc.)?

I submitted my financial aid request form and another travel exemption request over the weekend. Bought a couple new toys to facilitate online learning since I think I'll be stuck stateside.

Edit: I asked about if an interruption to studies would be considered an LOA if we could modify our loan request and UQ financial aid rep replied with the following,
I believe the relaxation she refers to is the moratorium on federal student loan repayments due to COVID, but this is set to expire on Dec. 31st this year. Sounds to me that the LOA would be reserved for the case where we or our immediately family get really sick with COVID. Other than that, this sounds reasonable from their end.

Which study toys for online learning? Just curious because I will likely do the same. Also submitted my financial aid request.
 
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