2017-2018 Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine (OU-HCOM)

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Each campus gets the same lectures. I would say 50% of lectures come from Athens, 30-35% from Dublin and the remainder of the lectures are from Cleveland. Regardless of where the lecture is, the broadcasting to the other campus goes off without a hitch 99.9% of the time. As far as facilities Dublin and Cleveland are newer (and thus probably considered better) and the environment is definitely more professional. Dublin and and Cleveland have business casual dress codes during business hours while Athens does not have any dress code. As far as study space you are not limited on the Dublin Campus. You can access the building 24/7 with your badge and there is plenty of places to study. A solid amount of people choose to study at the school, but the vast majority of people elect to study at home. (Most people also choose not to go to live lectures and instead watch them at home/at the school as all lectures are recorded). There are 100% more faculty on the Athens campus, but with only ~50 classmates in Dublin you interact very closely with the facility.

I do not think that cost of living is any more here in Dublin. I have a two bedroom that cost 1000 total and is less than 10 minutes from the school. At Dublin you don't pay for parking and never have an issue with having to find a spot. As far as fun goes I would say that the Athens campus has more of that to go around as they have the college bars to go out to more. There isn't much around Dublin in terms of night life. A fair amount of students live in the Downtown area of Columbus, but have to battle traffic on days that they come to school . Let me know if you have any more questions.
Wow thanks for all the great information!

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Can any current students comment on what is happening to the students rotating at Affinity Hospital ? To those of you not aware, Affinity is one of the CORE sites and it closed down this past month due to financial hardships.
 
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For those of you accepted to Athens but on the wait list for Cleveland- How are you dealing with holding off on housing. I am finding very few places to begin with now and I cant imagine holding off till late May.
 
Interview scheduled for next week! Anyone willing to give any tips/advice about the interview day? Anything you wish you had known prior to your interview?
Thanks in advance!
 
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Interview scheduled for next week! Anyone willing to give any tips/advice about the interview day? Anything you wish you had known prior to your interview?
Thanks in advance!
Be able to answer the basic q's why OU, why DO, but honestly just be yourself be able to converse and you will be fine! Relax and try to open up as much as possible!
 
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Interview scheduled for next week! Anyone willing to give any tips/advice about the interview day? Anything you wish you had known prior to your interview?
Thanks in advance!

Congrats! Did they just now send you a II and/or say what other interview dates were available for you?
 
Congrats! Did they just now send you a II and/or say what other interview dates were available for you?
Thanks!
I got it last Monday. They didn't give me other interview dates, just one, but I had called them prior to my interview and they said that they were interviewing through all of April.
 
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Waitlisted here. Any tips on how to get that amazing letter of acceptance?? THIS IS MY TOP SCHOOL. I WOULD LOVE TO GO HERE !!
 
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long time lurker, got an II for waitlist today for 4/6. any advice on interviewing, format, question etc? really excited about this place!
 
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How do you know its for a waitlist spot? Was it stated in your email?
yeah it was in the email. they said the seats were full and id be interviewing for a waitlist spot
 
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long time lurker, got an II for waitlist today for 4/6. any advice on interviewing, format, question etc? really excited about this place!
Hey! I was wondering if I could ask what your stats are. I'm still waiting to hear back from OUHCOM, it's my 1st choice.
 
For those of you accepted to Athens but on the wait list for Cleveland- How are you dealing with holding off on housing. I am finding very few places to begin with now and I cant imagine holding off till late May.
I don't know if this is 100% accurate, but I heard that the Cleveland campus is basically full. I was waitlisted there too but chose to go to Athens instead.
 
Just got Email that I was waitlisted for the Dublin Campus. Does anyone know if there is much waitlist movement typically?
 
Just got Email that I was waitlisted for the Dublin Campus. Does anyone know if there is much waitlist movement typically?
From past threads it looks like there is WL movement from May up until a few weeks before classes start.
Were you accepted to Athens then? or Wait listed at both?
 
From past threads it looks like there is WL movement from May up until a few weeks before classes start.
Were you accepted to Athens then? or Wait listed at both?

I only applied to the Dublin campus because I need to be near Columbus. And yeah it’s not the most ideal situation but I’m going to do whatever I can in the meantime to help my chances
 
I only applied to the Dublin campus because I need to be near Columbus. And yeah it’s not the most ideal situation but I’m going to do whatever I can in the meantime to help my chances
Best of luck to you!
I'm sure keeping in touch with admissions and sending a LOI should help.
 
Just got Email that I was waitlisted for the Dublin Campus. Does anyone know if there is much waitlist movement typically?
Not promising you anything, but a good handful of current Dublin first years including myself were pulled off the waitlist in May last year.
 
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I just received an interview for the waitlist on April 6th. Anyone know if the waitlist is ranked/if I have good chances of being selected off the waitlist if the interview goes well?
 
I just received an interview for the waitlist on April 6th. Anyone know if the waitlist is ranked/if I have good chances of being selected off the waitlist if the interview goes well?
Yes it is ranked and they release your position in mid may! and see ^^^^^ two comments from a current student!!
 
I just received an interview for the waitlist on April 6th. Anyone know if the waitlist is ranked/if I have good chances of being selected off the waitlist if the interview goes well?
I interviewed last year on 4/14/17 for a waitlist spot and ended up getting accepted in early May. They wont tell you your position on the waitlist, but it is ranked once all interviews are done. At your interview you will either be rejected or informed that you have been waitlisted. Good luck to you!
 
I interviewed last year on 4/14/17 for a waitlist spot and ended up getting accepted in early May. They wont tell you your position on the waitlist, but it is ranked once all interviews are done. At your interview you will either be rejected or informed that you have been waitlisted. Good luck to you!
Wait they will reject you to your face at the interview???
 
Got II a few days ago. I will be declining and withdrawing my application from here. Best of luck to everyone.
 
I interviewed last year on 4/14/17 for a waitlist spot and ended up getting accepted in early May. They wont tell you your position on the waitlist, but it is ranked once all interviews are done. At your interview you will either be rejected or informed that you have been waitlisted. Good luck to you!
Thanks! Which campus did you get accepted to?
 
Just declined my acceptance for MSUCOM today in favor of HCOM. The tuition OOS was almost triple the IS tuition here and as far as I can tell the education is comparable. I'd rather not graduate with almost $400,000 in debt thanks.
 
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Got a waitlist II. How bad do you have to do in the interview to get rejected and NOT waitlisted? Is it true that since they extended an II, the MCAT and GPA hurdle is out the way? Or do they still ask you about you MCAT and GPA in the interview ?
 
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Got a waitlist II for 4/13. How bad do you have to do in the interview to get rejected and NOT waitlisted? Is it true that since they extended an II, the MCAT and GPA hurdle is out the way? Or do they still ask you about you MCAT and GPA in the interview ?

You still have to do well in the interview! Especially because it is a ranked list and your impression means a lot. Of course they are going to ask the standard questions about the GPA and MCAT but they steer the conversation to be far more conversational just getting to know you! If you had struggles be honest about them and how you overcame them and just answer the question they ask.
 
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Got a waitlist II. How bad do you have to do in the interview to get rejected and NOT waitlisted? Is it true that since they extended an II, the MCAT and GPA hurdle is out the way? Or do they still ask you about you MCAT and GPA in the interview ?
It just depends on who you have interviewing. My interviewers didn't bring up my MCAT or GPA even though both are lower than the average. I'd say don't worry too much about it. I know its easier said than done. Before my interview I was really nervous but once you're in there its really a low stress environment.
 
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For those of you in Athens and WL to Clev what are your thoughts on securing housing? Stuck in a difficult situation of wanting to attend the Clev campus but also finding that housing choices in Athens are quickly dwindling. Part of me wants to sign a lease and just commit to Athens, but the other part of me knows that the Cleveland campus would be a better option for my family and I should hold out hope.
 
Any idea when waitlist movement will begin? Super excited for the opportunity and i hope im chosen for it.
 
For those of you in Athens and WL to Clev what are your thoughts on securing housing? Stuck in a difficult situation of wanting to attend the Clev campus but also finding that housing choices in Athens are quickly dwindling. Part of me wants to sign a lease and just commit to Athens, but the other part of me knows that the Cleveland campus would be a better option for my family and I should hold out hope.

You won't hear anything till May or so about Cleveland. Its hard for go getter, plan everything out aheaders like us to be patient in this long painful process but in my opinion housing shouldnt be the reason you choose one place over the other. Every year they have people who get accepted late looking for housing in mid to late summer and none of them go homeless. If Cleveland is the place you'd rather be and it is better for your family, hold out and see what happens. You still have a decent shot at getting it. It's still "early"
 
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Has anyone done the immunizations yet? I'm confused where to go for the HBV and IGRA ones. My FP said they do not do them in their office... Like where do you go then haha
 
Has anyone done the immunizations yet? I'm confused where to go for the HBV and IGRA ones. My FP said they do not do them in their office... Like where do you go then haha
Do they not draw blood? This stuff is sent to a lab. You can try urgent care, but more expensive
 
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Has anyone done the immunizations yet? I'm confused where to go for the HBV and IGRA ones. My FP said they do not do them in their office... Like where do you go then haha

Tell the office staff you need the HBV surface antibody test (quantitative). Doc will write you an Rx for the lab test.

If negative, you have to repeat the series (close to 6 months)
 
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Has anyone done the immunizations yet? I'm confused where to go for the HBV and IGRA ones. My FP said they do not do them in their office... Like where do you go then haha

Your County Public Health Office should be able to do all necessary vaccines. My understanding is, if you've already had the HBV series as a child, get the titer. If the titer is positive for antibodies, you're set, and you provide documentation of receiving the series and the titer results. If the first titer is negative, you do the full series and second titer. Or, you could just go for the whole series + titer regardless.

If you can, I highly recommend doing the TB skin test over the IGRA. It's cheaper. However, a lot of people (like me, yay delayed hypersensitivity) are allergic to the skin test and have to get the IGRA. Your county public health office should also be able to do this.

Other places to consider, since public health usually doesn't take insurance: other doctor's offices, local hospital, your school's student health center. A lot of times, you can ask your doctor to order the vaccines/skin tests/blood tests and you take the order to your local hospital/whatever hospital your FP is associated with.

If your insurance doesn't normally cover stuff like that, tell them it's medically necessary because you're a medical student and they may or may not pay for it.
 
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Your County Public Health Office should be able to do all necessary vaccines. My understanding is, if you've already had the HBV series as a child, get the titer. If the titer is positive for antibodies, you're set, and you provide documentation of receiving the series and the titer results. If the first titer is negative, you do the full series and second titer. Or, you could just go for the whole series + titer regardless.

If you can, I highly recommend doing the TB skin test over the IGRA. It's cheaper. However, a lot of people (like me, yay delayed hypersensitivity) are allergic to the skin test and have to get the IGRA. Your county public health office should also be able to do this.

Other places to consider, since public health usually doesn't take insurance: other doctor's offices, local hospital, your school's student health center. A lot of times, you can ask your doctor to order the vaccines/skin tests/blood tests and you take the order to your local hospital/whatever hospital your FP is associated with.

If your insurance doesn't normally cover stuff like that, tell them it's medically necessary because you're a medical student and they may or may not pay for it.

Thank you so much!!!!!! This was so helpful :)
 
Does anybody know how/what criteria OUHCOM uses to rank the waitlist? Will they rank you purely off the interview feedback? At this point do they pretty much say "hey all this people can handle the academics" and go more off intangibles? Or are the stats still heavily factored into the waitlist rankings?
 
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Does anybody know how/what criteria OUHCOM uses to rank the waitlist? Got a lot of really positive feedback from my interviewers (only interviewed for the waitlist (mostly bc i applied so late, i believe)). Will they rank you purely off the interview feedback? At this point do they pretty much say "hey all this people can handle the academics" and go more off intangibles?Or are the stats still heavily factored into the waitlist rankings? Im a nontraditional with a poor start but great turnaround, just trying to gauge where I might be on the list

I'm assuming it also depends on the campus you ranked. i.e athens will prob have way more spots open then the other 2
 
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Does anybody know how/what criteria OUHCOM uses to rank the waitlist? Got a lot of really positive feedback from my interviewers (only interviewed for the waitlist (mostly bc i applied so late, i believe)). Will they rank you purely off the interview feedback? At this point do they pretty much say "hey all this people can handle the academics" and go more off intangibles?Or are the stats still heavily factored into the waitlist rankings? Im a nontraditional with a poor start but great turnaround, just trying to gauge where I might be on the list

I believe it's a mix of your application and your interviews. If your interviewers really liked you and they think you would be successful academically, they will advocate for you to be placed in a higher spot on the waitlist. You can definitely be higher on the waitlist than someone who applied/interviewed earlier.
 
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Has anyone done the immunizations yet? I'm confused where to go for the HBV and IGRA ones. My FP said they do not do them in their office... Like where do you go then haha

hey, an alternative that worked for me is a 3rd party website (i used RequestATest) which can partner with a lab draw/diagnostic company. i was able to same day order the HBV titer for $50 and got results within the same week.
 
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