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Thank so much! This really helps. 🙂 It looks like there's a lot of self-study so you have to be able to organize your time wisely. Does it ever happen where you have multiple exams in a row in one week? It doesn't sound like it but thought I'd ask.
No, for clinical science there's only one midterm and one final split into two parts. There's also a final for EPP. Otherwise there aren't any other exams.
Do you have any checkpoint quizzes or practice questions before your midterms and finals, or is it just self assessment up until those points? I'm guessing the latter, but figured I would ask!
The school offers "formative" quizzes each week, basically 10 sample questions that aren't required and don't contribute to your grade. There are also some of the previous years exams available so you can take those if you want, and some very industrious students from previous years have written their own practice exams which are actually pretty good.
Okay, great to know that there are some resources available, and you're not completely SOL until midterms. Thanks so much!
Right now we are all online. We use zoom for everything, currently the plan is for us to be there by the start of next year. So hopefully, by the time you guys are ready to join you will be allowed to enter australia. If not, I'm not exactly sure how they'll handle it quite yet.
How are they planning to let you in if the border stays closed for internationals? Exemptions for travel? I heard they're considering chartering a plane... are you all even in the same place to fly out? Aus effed the pooch on this....
Well when they announced this, the assumption was that Australia would be open by the end of the year due to vaccinations and such. However, I have been hearing that due to the delay in vaccine distribution, this may not be true. I'm unsure on how they plan to get us there as many of us are. They did indeed tell us about their plan to have a charter plane fly us over. We are not in the same place, so the most likely scenario, if that were to happen, would be they would have one plane for different regions e.g. everyone from the US and Canada would be expected to meet in like California or something. As of now, the govt has recommended we stop applying for exemptions as they are not planning on admitting any intl students at this moment. Im not sure if that will change in a couple of months. At this point, its all speculation tbh, so we will have to wait and see what transpires.
If I recall correctly, it's something like we graduate in November get some time to ourselves until we match the following year.
I understand. It definitely is a tough decision. From what I know, australia tends to be a little more conservative with their time periods as compared to the US (although that might change now with the new presidency). It is quite possible though that they won't open up borders to intl students although it would be a stupid move on their part given how much money their intl students give them.
This is correct, there is a gap between graduation and the start of residency. 4th year at UQ-Ochsner is not as chill as it is at US medical schools from what I've heard so I think students tend to appreciate the break, but maybe mcat_taker could give a better answer since I haven't experienced that.
How are the online classes for you? I guess you do online proctored exams? Have you been in Australia at all (did you say you were a first year?)? I think it’s a funny idea to be a part of an Australian program and never be in Australia bc of covid restrictions.
Thanks, this was actually really helpful for all of us!
The lectures themselves are okay. I think they would be the same in person as online, i think certain things are lacking though. For me personally the classes are CBL (case based learning, where you apply your learning in lectures to cases as you figure it out as a team), Clinical practice, and anatomy lab.
Two things appear to be constant:
Emailed asking for a deferral today. The timeframe needed to deposit the money is so narrow that I'll probably lose my spot. Guess I get to roll the dice on one more cycle here in the US. Bummed because I was excited to head to the school but I do not want zoom university again after finishing my masters online and I am not willing to pay an OSHC for me +2 when it's not clear if I will ever enter the country. Best of luck to everyone, i'll update when i get a response.
That must be a difficult decision but you definitely have to make the choice that's best for you and your family.
That must be a difficult decision but you definitely have to make the choice that's best for you and your family.
FYI on OSHC--coverage is required for all four years in order to qualify for an Australian student visa, which is why they make you pay the full premium upfront. But you can get a refund for any time not spent in Australia, typically years 3 and 4 but for my class that will be year 1 as well. I know that doesn't really help with issues putting the money up now but just want everyone to be aware that you can apply for a refund for any time not spent in Australia. See here for more info if you're interested:
Australia return placement
medicine-program.uq.edu.au
I think Sackler and UQ-Ochsner tend to match a bit better than the RCSI but I don't know a lot about those two programs. Do Sackler and RCSI provide any US clinical experience?
They convert GPA to the Australian scale which is out of 7. Nobody knows exactly how they do it. But the GPA cutoff is approximately 2.7, and they do not consider postbac grades/anything not a part of a degree program. US grades tend to be inflated compared to Australian grades, so UQ-Ochsner is a bit more forgiving than US schools when it comes to GPA.
Yes, the GPA requirement applies to the most recently completed degree including masters. Assuming you have the prerequisite classes and don't bomb the MMI, you shouldn't have any trouble getting admitted.
Take a look at these two links:
You get 2 min to read it and then 7 to respond I think. I tried to stay a little in the gray area for my answers (because in the real world, it always depends on the situation). I honestly thought I did terrible but I got in about 2 and a half weeks after the interview, which was fantastic given the 4 months I had to wait after one of my MD interviews.
There was 1 match this year to Arizona. To add to this Ochsner Radiology residency has been friendly towards our grads in the past and have matched our grads regularly. Generally rads is a bit self selective in that most people aren't that interested in it so it makes it difficult to gauge how competitive it is. The people I knew who were interested in it all matched.
Not really sure who you're asking so I'll throw in my opinion. I don't think it hurts to reapply and see if you get any interviews before school starts. Personally, under normal circumstances I would only take a couple of DO schools over uq Ochsner (e.g. pcom, nyitcom, tcom, msucom, pacific), but i think that's highly variable. With everything being online and with no end in sight for that, you might want to take that into consideration as well.
That's what's happening for most of us first years right now since we can't get in. I think it's unlikely that you'd be unable to get in for too long in 2022 though but who knows...
Yes we did have one in 2021 match I believe. Here is the site for match rate and locations for future reference Match rates and locations
This seems like a pretty hard question to answer, but i think @mcat_taker has the best shot
Congrats and good luck!
