2016-2017 Oregon Health & Sciences University Application Thread

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I was confirmed 8/1 and have yet to receive a II as of 9/1/2016
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AHHHH II just now!!!! Crying a lot. Let me come home, Oregon!!
 
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mavric1298 said:
Gri - what date did you end up choosing to interview?

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I chose the 23rd. That way I can make a weekend out of it and see my friends and family! Also the other dates overlap unfavorably with other interview trips...so really hoping that they can accomodate me on the 23rd! What date did you pick?
 
I took the 16th so I can then fly down to SF for my Touro one on the 19th - not gonna lie, little nervous for OHSU's MMI followed by group interview (Touro). Seems like the clocks have been put on fast forward, and I haven't had a chance to do any mock interviews yet this cycle. Then after all this, the wait till mid October is going to be so long!
 
mavric1298 said:
I took the 16th so I can then fly down to SF for my Touro one on the 19th - not gonna lie, little nervous for OHSU's MMI followed by group interview (Touro). Seems like the clocks have been put on fast forward, and I haven't had a chance to do any mock interviews yet this cycle. Then after all this, the wait till mid October is going to be so long!
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Let me know how it goes!!! I have the U of Minnesota MMI on the 22nd, flying to Portland right after that, and doing the OHSU one on the 23rd! Eeeek. At least I will have had the UMN MMI under my belt before, but 1 day in between doesn't give me much time to improve. Oh well, such is life, at least I'll be in MMI mode.
 
OrangeMed said:
I'm a Californian too. 3.8 GPA with 515 MCAT. No ties with Oregon at all, but would like to apply. I don't want to throw my money away so should I still apply?
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I am currently an MS1 at OHSU. I did my undergrad in Tucson and applied with a 3.98 and 35 on my MCAT (97th percentile for those who are not familiar with the old scale) and do not qualify for in state tuition or any kind of heritage. It is important to understand that once you qualify for one of the mission based groups, you are viewed the same in the eyes of the admissions process as any other applicant who qualifies for any other mission based group. If you do not fit into one of these groups, you are not considered for admission. Here are the various groups for those of you who haven't looked into it yet...

  • Residents of Oregon.
  • Non-resident applicants with Oregon Heritage. Oregon Heritage is defined as 1) A student with one or both parents residing in Oregon at the time of application, 2) A student who graduated from high school in Oregon with at least two years of attendance at a high school in Oregon, or 3) A student who graduated from an Oregon institution of higher education with a bachelor’s or advanced degree with at least two years of attendance at an institution of higher education in Oregon.
  • WICHE-Certified residents of Montana and Wyoming.
  • Applicants applying to the M.D./Ph.D. Combined Degree Program.
  • Applicants applying to the M.D./M.P.H. Combined Degree Program.
  • Non-resident applicants with superior achievements in academics and other related experiences. For the 2017 cycle, superior academics is defined as a cumulative Total GPA, as reported by AMCAS, of 3.70 or higher, and a cumulative score of 32 or higher (for the old MCAT) or 513 or higher (for the new MCAT) on the most recent eligible MCAT. Superior achievements is defined as significant experiences in healthcare, leadership, extracurricular activities, and/or community service activities.
  • The School of Medicine Admissions Committee fully recognizes the importance of diversity in its student body and in the physician workforce in providing for effective delivery of health care. Accordingly, the OHSU School of Medicine strongly encourages applications from persons from all socioeconomic, racial, ethnic, religious, and educational backgrounds and from persons from groups underrepresented in medicine.
Basically the only way you are going to waste money is if you pay for your primary and secondary without qualifying for one of these groups (this is a waste because your application is essentially discarded). Why they still let you apply if you do not qualify for one of these groups is an enigma to me. What you should take away from this is the following...

1) If you are out of state and qualify for one of these groups (say academics), you can still apply and have the same shot as someone who qualifies through residency. 16% of my class is out of state, so don't freak out if you aren't an Oregonian. The IS percentage is this high because, just as for any medical school, the majority of applicants are in state.
2) Do not apply if you don't fall in to one of these groups, you will not get in.
3) Qualifying for more than one group doesn't increase your chances.

I'm sure some of you would be curious about the following information so I'll talk a little more about myself and the admissions process here at OHSU. I went straight through to medical school with no gap year, and have no racial, socioeconomic, regional or any other kind of personal "diversity" that could be considered an advantage (by some) in the admissions process. Fortunately there are other ways to demonstrate how you embody and promote diversity, and the ability to demonstrate this effectively and genuinely in your personal statement and secondary is very important.
I did not apply super early in the cycle (primary in mid July and secondary in mid/late August). The application process here does a great job of looking at everyone and not favoring early applicants. A minority of exceptional applicants get immediate acceptances, and most are pushed back for a while and compared to later applicants. The most important components of your application at OHSU are your extracurricular activities, your essays, and how you articulate and reflect on your experiences. OHSU has a ranked system, every applicant is scored on academics, MMI and AMCAS/secondary, the lowest being GPA/MCAT at 20% of your score, if I'm remembering correctly. So, your GPA and MCAT don't matter quite as much as you think, and being OOS doesn't mean your numbers need to be higher. For everyone who is offered an interview, the playing field is level (since at this point your acceptance is based on the ranking provided by the aforementioned criteria) and about 1 in 2-3 is offered admission. The fact that OHSU is a top ranked school and produces world class physicians while having modest GPA/MCAT averages should indicate to you what the most important part of your application should be.

I hope I helped a few of you, please ask if you need any help or have more specific questions. This forum was a great help to me, and if anything, it provides comfort throughout the process and the motivation that some of you will need to apply. I guarantee some of you who were questioning whether or not to apply will be moving to Portland next year! I applied to 4 schools, got 1 interview (at OHSU), and 1 acceptance. Never thought I'd be attending my #1, so be optimistic! Good luck!! :thumbup:
 
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II today!! (9/6) :))) First II and it's at a school I would LOVE to attend!!! <3 Who else will be going 9/23??
 
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II this morning!!!!! AAAAAH I AM SO EXCITED!!! This is my top choice school!! I requested 9/23, too!!! :D I am seriously so happy right now!!
 
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Charri22 said:
II this morning!!!!! AAAAAH I AM SO EXCITED!!! This is my top choice school!! I requested 9/23, too!!! :D I am seriously so happy right now!!
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WOOO!! I'm excited to meet you!
 
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II today!! 9/23 as well, excited to meet y'all.
 
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Who else is going to be with me on the 21st?! Or do I have them all to myself ;)
 
Congrats to everyone btw!! :highfive:
 
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^ I'll look for the person with orange dust on their pants when I see you there ;)


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Hi everybody,

I got II this morning. I was complete on 8/9. I have one small question though. I didn't reply to the invitation email, instead I sent a separate email with the date and also included a photo of myself in the email. I haven't heard back. I'm wondering if I have done something wrong.

Congrats to everybody!
 
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bbsunbeam said:
Hi everybody,

I got II this morning. I was complete on 8/9. I have one small question though. I didn't reply to the invitation email, instead I sent a separate email with the date and also included a photo of myself in the email. I haven't heard back. I'm wondering if I have done something wrong.

Congrats to everybody!
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I did the same thing, it just took them a while to get back to me. I think I sent my email at like 8:30am yesterday and got a response after 3pm. Don't worry!
 
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Charri22 said:
I did the same thing, it just took them a while to get back to me. I think I sent my email at like 8:30am yesterday and got a response after 3pm. Don't worry!
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Thank you! I requested the 23rd, but I got the 21st instead. Good luck everyone!
 
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I've gotten to the 6.5 week mark for waiting for my file to be marked complete. When I called a few weeks ago they said 4-6 is normal, so I'm not panicking. Just assuming they're slammed and working on it. Out of curiosity, anyone else in the same boat from OOS?
 
wildcat2015az said:
I've gotten to the 6.5 week mark for waiting for my file to be marked complete. When I called a few weeks ago they said 4-6 is normal, so I'm not panicking. Just assuming they're slammed and working on it. Out of curiosity, anyone else in the same boat from OOS?
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i'm still waiting, been about 7 weeks OOS
 
How did the first rounds of interviews go this week!?
 
wildcat2015az said:
I've gotten to the 6.5 week mark for waiting for my file to be marked complete. When I called a few weeks ago they said 4-6 is normal, so I'm not panicking. Just assuming they're slammed and working on it. Out of curiosity, anyone else in the same boat from OOS?
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Same. God, I love PDX so much, I just want OHSU to love me back and give me a chance to make it my real home. I'm not an Oregon resident but I think working in and paying OR taxes for a number of years should count as a significant tie/heritage :(
 
OR resident, SS 8/3, Complete 9/2. 516 Mcat and 3.75 GPA. Fingers crossed for an II, I love Oregon dearly!
 
im basically crying into a lean cuisine nightly

interview me p l e a s e OHSU
 
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wildcat2015az said:
I've gotten to the 6.5 week mark for waiting for my file to be marked complete. When I called a few weeks ago they said 4-6 is normal, so I'm not panicking. Just assuming they're slammed and working on it. Out of curiosity, anyone else in the same boat from OOS?
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mysankofa said:
i'm still waiting, been about 7 weeks OOS
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Same, at 7 weeks now, no complete email, and I'm OOS.
 
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One of their mission groups is this:

"The School of Medicine Admissions Committee fully recognizes the importance of diversity in its student body and in the physician workforce in providing for effective delivery of health care. Accordingly, the OHSU School of Medicine strongly encourages applications from persons from all socioeconomic, racial, ethnic, religious, and educational backgrounds and from persons from groups underrepresented in medicine."

If you're SES disadvantaged, URM, or have a unique background, I would apply.
 
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@mysankofa thanks - am trying to figure out if the GPA/MCAT cut off is a hard one for OOS. Please delete my quote if you'd be so kind... Trying to maintain anonymity. Thanks.
 
Does anyone know if this school accepts updates? I couldn't find anything online, thought I would check here before calling
 
From the portal:

"All updates to contact information must be done by clicking on the "Update Your Contact Information" at the top of this page.

Please note: Updates submitted after the secondary application is complete may not impact your file."
 
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greaterwing said:
How did the first rounds of interviews go this week!?
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If I remember correctly Friday is the very first day (at least that was my impression if I remember what was said in my II email). Getting nervous for my first interview of the season!


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mavric1298 said:
If I remember correctly Friday is the very first day (at least that was my impression if I remember what was said in my II email). Getting nervous for my first interview of the season!


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Oh, I'm not sure why I thought it was the 6th! Well good luck to everyone interviewing tomorrow!!!!!!!!! BTW: How did you prepare @mavric1298 ?
 
So after completing the interview today, I have to say I LOVE the program. I have never been around a group of people that were more pleasant - from all the fellow interviewees, to the random dent/pa/med students we ran into throughout the building. Everyone was truly great, and the interview was way, way, less stressful than I imagined. I can't sing high enough praise for the school, their new curriculum (I could talk about this for days), the support they show their students, and just the overall feeling/vibe.

If your interviewing here, just know that everyone seemed to be a relaxed, normal person, just trying to figure out who you are. The MMI interviewers were great, the one on one was great, the med students having lunch with us was great. I'm just thrilled with the experience - which is only going to help me moving forward with my other interviews. I was so nervous for my first interview ever, and it was a piece of cake - almost....fun.

As far as what I would recommend if you're looking to prep? Don't. Be yourself. Give honest answer and have meaningful dialogs in those 8 minutes. The questions didn't require any prep other than brining your brain and working through them. Honestly - don't stress, enjoy it!
 
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mavric1298 said:
So after completing the interview today, I have to say I LOVE the program. I have never been around a group of people that were more pleasant - from all the fellow interviewees, to the random dent/pa/med students we ran into throughout the building. Everyone was truly great, and the interview was way, way, less stressful than I imagined. I can't sing high enough praise for the school, their new curriculum (I could talk about this for days), the support they show their students, and just the overall feeling/vibe.

If your interviewing here, just know that everyone seemed to be a relaxed, normal person, just trying to figure out who you are. The MMI interviewers were great, the one on one was great, the med students having lunch with us was great. I'm just thrilled with the experience - which is only going to help me moving forward with my other interviews. I was so nervous for my first interview ever, and it was a piece of cake - almost....fun.

As far as what I would recommend if you're looking to prep? Don't. Be yourself. Give honest answer and have meaningful dialogs in those 8 minutes. The questions didn't require any prep other than brining your brain and working through them. Honestly - don't stress, enjoy it!
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Yay!!!! I'm happy you enjoyed the day! Thanks for taking the time to share your experience! I am interviewing this Wednesday and you've made me super excited!
 
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@mavric1298 I am so happy to hear this. I want OHSU so bad and am happy the interview wasn't stressful. I'll be myself and hope for the best and not prep over trying to prepare for ethical dilemmas.


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mavric1298 said:
So after completing the interview today, I have to say I LOVE the program. I have never been around a group of people that were more pleasant - from all the fellow interviewees, to the random dent/pa/med students we ran into throughout the building. Everyone was truly great, and the interview was way, way, less stressful than I imagined. I can't sing high enough praise for the school, their new curriculum (I could talk about this for days), the support they show their students, and just the overall feeling/vibe.

If your interviewing here, just know that everyone seemed to be a relaxed, normal person, just trying to figure out who you are. The MMI interviewers were great, the one on one was great, the med students having lunch with us was great. I'm just thrilled with the experience - which is only going to help me moving forward with my other interviews. I was so nervous for my first interview ever, and it was a piece of cake - almost....fun.

As far as what I would recommend if you're looking to prep? Don't. Be yourself. Give honest answer and have meaningful dialogs in those 8 minutes. The questions didn't require any prep other than brining your brain and working through them. Honestly - don't stress, enjoy it!
Click to expand...
Thanks for this information! I've been doing so much prep for the interviews....so nervous and excited all at once.
 
Hello! MS1 here! While I do think it is important to not sound rehearsed and to be yourself, I think some people could benefit from prepping just a little. I watched a couple of YouTube videos on types of questions that they could ask during the MMI and I think it really helped! Simply because I realized that there were a few topics that I didn't have an opinion on yet and it forced me to understand why I had the opinions that I did on certain topics. If you walk in having a sold idea about why you feel the way you do, then it could make it easier for you to talk about. But like previous posts have said, the most important thing is to just have fun and be yourself! I just know that it helped calm my neurotic brain to feel as if I had prepped a bit. Good luck everyone! Hope to see you next year :) also if you have any questions let me know! I'll try to answer as best I can and I can always ask other students too!


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LillyMed5627 said:
Hello! MS1 here! While I do think it is important to not sound rehearsed and to be yourself, I think some people could benefit from prepping just a little. I watched a couple of YouTube videos on types of questions that they could ask during the MMI and I think it really helped! Simply because I realized that there were a few topics that I didn't have an opinion on yet and it forced me to understand why I had the opinions that I did on certain topics. If you walk in having a sold idea about why you feel the way you do, then it could make it easier for you to talk about. But like previous posts have said, the most important thing is to just have fun and be yourself! I just know that it helped calm my neurotic brain to feel as if I had prepped a bit. Good luck everyone! Hope to see you next year :) also if you have any questions let me know! I'll try to answer as best I can and I can always ask other students too!


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Totally agree. Don't rehearse answer, but do form opinions, and be ready to defend them. One thing I found especially helpful, was to do mock interviews both with someone I know well, and someone I didn't know at all. The person that knows you will be able to call you out on BS - for example if your being wishy washy about things like "what is your greatest weakness". That question is super easy to be superficial with, not and really reflective/introspective/honest about, and just say what you think you want an interviewer to hear. This also helps, because even if you think you're comfortable with you thoughts on a subject, sometimes verbalizing it is the hard part. Doing mock interviews and actually saying your thoughts out loud really makes a difference come interview day.
 
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II today for MD/PhD! Complete 8/30
 
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Did you guys get a complete email once your app was marked as complete on the portal? Chillin at almost 2 months over here, so it would be nice to not have to keep checking it every day if they email.
 
wildcat2015az said:
Did you guys get a complete email once your app was marked as complete on the portal? Chillin at almost 2 months over here, so it would be nice to not have to keep checking it every day if they email.
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No complete email. It will just update on the portal.
 
How did everyone's interviews go today??

Was it easy to get to the parking lot by the building?
 
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