UQ-Ochsner 2018 Cohort

[GettingThere12]

Hi hjjsdv, I was on the waitlist since 21st July, and received the offer on 8 August. Accepted on 9 August. So on the waitlist a little over 2 weeks.

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[deleted390966]

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[americanroark]

Hi hjjsdv, I was on the waitlist since 21st July, and received the offer on 8 August. Accepted on 9 August. So on the waitlist a little over 2 weeks.

Hey I was wondering if you would be willing to share your stats? I am interviewing in August and have just 503 mcat so was curious to know where I would be sitting with that score.

 

[EMimg20]

Question of interest: what happened to people who did not pass Step 1? Can they graduate and get a degree from UQ?

If you don't match but you do graduate then you are still an MD. You most likely will look fir a job in the pharmaceutical industry or try to do research for a year and reapplybto residency.

 

[deleted390966]

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[sean80439]

Well, my question was about passing Step 1, not about matching. In other words, is passing Step 1 a requirement for graduation from this program?

No. Technically it isn't at this time. They are trying to make it a requirement. It seems weird to ask this though. The few people I know that didn't take it ended up going back to Australia because they had significant others they met there.

 

[GettingThere12]

Hey I was wondering if you would be willing to share your stats? I am interviewing in August and have just 503 mcat so was curious to know where I would be sitting with that score.

Sure. I applied with a 510 (128,125,129,128)

Hope that helps! Good luck!!

 

[deleted390966]

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[EMimg20]

You should only do UQ Ochsner if you want to take steps and match into a US residency. If not do the four year UQ program.

IMO.

 

[akinetopsia]

You should only do UQ Ochsner if you want to take steps and match into a US residency. If not do the four year UQ program.

IMO.

Strongly agree with the UQ-O grad above. Don't do UQ-O if your intent isn't to take Steps. While each year, a few (meaning less than 3-5) UQ-O grads manage to find internships in Queensland, it isn't a great idea to apply for the program with no intention at all of taking and passing the Steps and practicing in the United States.

If you happen to meet and fall in love with an Australian, plans could always change, but don't count or rely on not taking Steps.

 

[americanroark]

Sure. I applied with a 510 (128,125,129,128)

Hope that helps! Good luck!!

Well thats not good news for me haha. 510 with waitlist sounds like it is not as easy to get into this program as everyone says. Thanks for the information and congrats on the acceptance!

 

[Zifish]

Well thats not good news for me haha. 510 with waitlist sounds like it is not as easy to get into this program as everyone says. Thanks for the information and congrats on the acceptance!

I think he's applying to the 4yr UQ program, not UQ-O. The latter should still be first come first served acceptance with a 2.67gpa, a 502+ mcat and satisfactory interview

 

[americanroark]

I think he's applying to the 4yr UQ program, not UQ-O. The latter should still be first come first served acceptance with a 2.67gpa, a 502+ mcat and satisfactory interview

oh ok I see that makes more sense now haha. Thanks for the heads up!

 

[deleted390966]

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[mcat_taker]

I did not mean that one should apply to UQ-O without the intention of taking the Steps. I'm saying as a precaution that one should check into all the requirements and policy before investing tons of $$$ and time into the program. I don't think anyone would go in thinking they might fail or not match, but that is a possibility for IMGs. If the Steps became a requirement for getting an MD from UQ then it would be something that one should think hard about, eg, whether it would be more advantageous to attend another reputable foreign program that has a door open to fall back on in worst case scenario (eg, Ireland Atlantic Bridge) - if domestic med school is not an option of course.

As of now you don't need passing USMLE scores in order to graduate from the program with an M.D. (although U.S. residency is then off limits). Could plans change? Maybe? But as of now that is not a requirement to graduate. It is impossible to predict what the future requirements of the program/ or any program for that matter would be. If you are more inclined to staying in Australia, the UQ traditional 4 year program would likely be a better fit, simply because of the increased clinical exposure in the Australian healthcare system-- more opportunities to network and get LORs. Although it is still not easy to get internship in Australia as you are last priority after all the domestic students get theirs.

 

[VorianAtreides]

Well thats not good news for me haha. 510 with waitlist sounds like it is not as easy to get into this program as everyone says. Thanks for the information and congrats on the acceptance!

Yeah, I wonder what UQ-O is looking more for - they say that the new MCAT is supposed to be more predictive of USMLE pass rates, but idk. My GPA is really sinking my chances at any medical schools (only been waitlisted for interview at MWU AZCOM so far), so I'm hoping my MCAT will see me through.

 

[Rhandhali]

As of now you don't need passing USMLE scores in order to graduate from the program with an M.D. (although U.S. residency is then off limits). Could plans change? Maybe? But as of now that is not a requirement to graduate. It is impossible to predict what the future requirements of the program/ or any program for that matter would be. If you are more inclined to staying in Australia, the UQ traditional 4 year program would likely be a better fit, simply because of the increased clinical exposure in the Australian healthcare system-- more opportunities to network and get LORs. Although it is still not easy to get internship in Australia as you are last priority after all the domestic students get theirs.

Step 1 is a persistent problem. Technically you can get away with not taking step 1 and still start clinic rotations in New Orleans. UQ has continued to refuse to make it a requirement for promotion because it is technically a professional licensing exam. On the Ochsner side of things they try to punish you - no research, no consideration for electives and other inconveniences but significant numbers of students still choose to defer step 1 til after they come to the US.

It is a terrible idea. You had 2 years to prep for the exam. You SHOULD BE READY. You'll never be more ready for the exam than in that november/december before you come to New Orleans. Coming here, getting distracted when you're home for the first time in a while, getting distracted moving and settling into a new city and then trying to make it through your first rotation AND study for step 1 when you will not get any time off for it is a recipe for disaster.

It also pisses off people like me who did what we were supposed to do and had our step 1 at least taken before we set foot on the Ochsner's property. It's literally the first question I ask medical students after their name because it tells me if they are capable of doing what they're told.

 

[americanroark]

Yeah, I wonder what UQ-O is looking more for - they say that the new MCAT is supposed to be more predictive of USMLE pass rates, but idk. My GPA is really sinking my chances at any medical schools (only been waitlisted for interview at MWU AZCOM so far), so I'm hoping my MCAT will see me through.

I believe he was applying the 4 year UQ program not the UQ-O so thats why he was likely waitlisted with a 510.

 

[sean80439]

Step 1 is a persistent problem. Technically you can get away with not taking step 1 and still start clinic rotations in New Orleans. UQ has continued to refuse to make it a requirement for promotion because it is technically a professional licensing exam. On the Ochsner side of things they try to punish you - no research, no consideration for electives and other inconveniences but significant numbers of students still choose to defer step 1 til after they come to the US.

It is a terrible idea. You had 2 years to prep for the exam. You SHOULD BE READY. You'll never be more ready for the exam than in that november/december before you come to New Orleans. Coming here, getting distracted when you're home for the first time in a while, getting distracted moving and settling into a new city and then trying to make it through your first rotation AND study for step 1 when you will not get any time off for it is a recipe for disaster.

It also pisses off people like me who did what we were supposed to do and had our step 1 at least taken before we set foot on the Ochsner's property. It's literally the first question I ask medical students after their name because it tells me if they are capable of doing what they're told.

This is so true of other current students as well. It drives people nuts that there are 4th year students who still haven't taken step 1. If you had a legitimate reason then fine, take an interruption in study and take it during your break. Don't start ms3 though.

 

[americanroark]

So I just attended the August 15th Webinar. Very informative and useful for anyone applying to the school! I got to ask questions with current 3rd/4th year students and they told me about what they would have done differently in their first few years. They also discussed the strengths and weaknesses of the program very honestly which i appreciated very much! I highly recommend catching the next webinar if you are interested in this program!

For the current students that were answering questions - Thank you!]

I am interviewing at Ochsner this week and I am now very excited about the prospect of getting into this program!

EDIT: They seemed aware that there was a gap between USMLE prep and UQ lectures. They also explained how this was not a big deal as long as you were a decent student that prepared for this discrepancy.

 

[Bigchau]

I believe he was applying the 4 year UQ program not the UQ-O so thats why he was likely waitlisted with a 510.

why would the UQ-O have different admissions criteria from the traditional UQ med program?

 

[Zifish]

why would the UQ-O have different admissions criteria from the traditional UQ med program?

I believe they are the same based on the minimum cutoffs on the website, you've just got different people applying to each program which makes the UQ 4yr program appear to attract more competitive applicants. To UQ-O I think it's just people from the USA, but the 4yr UQ is generally Canadians

 

[mcat_taker]

I believe they are the same based on the minimum cutoffs on the website, you've just got different people applying to each program which makes the UQ 4yr program appear to attract more competitive applicants. To UQ-O I think it's just people from the USA, but the 4yr UQ is generally Canadians

This is wrong. The UQ-O program undergoes separate admissions from UQ traditional. The UQ-O program includes an interview with Ochsner docs which the 4 year UQ program does not. The UQ-O program can set its own admissions criteria. When I applied 2 years ago, the UQ-O program had a 499 minimum MCAT cutoff and the UQ 4 year program had a 496 MCAT cutoff. Looking at the website currently, 502 MCAT is the new minimum for guaranteed admission to UQ-O provided you pass the interview, with applications with lower scores being lower priority if they can't fill the class, and UQ 4 year requiring 499 minimum now. @Bigchau

 

[Zifish]

This is wrong. The UQ-O program undergoes separate admissions from UQ traditional. The UQ-O program includes an interview with Ochsner docs which the 4 year UQ program does not. The UQ-O program can set its own admissions criteria. When I applied 2 years ago, the UQ-O program had a 499 minimum MCAT cutoff and the UQ 4 year program had a 496 MCAT cutoff. Looking at the website currently, 502 MCAT is the new minimum for guaranteed admission to UQ-O provided you pass the interview, with applications with lower scores being lower priority if they can't fill the class, and UQ 4 year requiring 499 minimum now. @Bigchau

I think his/her question was about WHY would the req's be different. It looks like I was wrong about the cutoffs being the same, but I was just trying to get across the point that the UQ-O seems to appeal to the US applicant, whereas the UQ4yr seems to draw from other international applicant locations such as Canada and Asia, making the GPA/mcat scores seem different between the respective applicant groups. Since I'm just an applicant, I may be missing something, but it's just a guess

 

[mcat_taker]

I think his/her question was about WHY would the req's be different. It looks like I was wrong about the cutoffs being the same, but I was just trying to get across the point that the UQ-O seems to appeal to the US applicant, whereas the UQ4yr seems to draw from other international applicant locations such as Canada and Asia, making the GPA/mcat scores seem different between the respective applicant groups. Since I'm just an applicant, I may be missing something, but it's just a guess

I see. Yes UQ-O is only open to U.S. citizens. The international cohort is mostly Canadian, but a few Americans and others. In terms of WHY the requirements are different, that I'm not sure about. I think its just due to different admissions bodies being able to create their own requirements independently. The different admissions standards has no bearing on the quality of matriculant from both cohorts, as both cohorts are equally strong in my opinion.

 

[sean80439]

I see. Yes UQ-O is only open to U.S. citizens. The international cohort is mostly Canadian, but a few Americans and others. In terms of WHY the requirements are different, that I'm not sure about. I think its just due to different admissions bodies being able to create their own requirements independently. The different admissions standards has no bearing on the quality of matriculant from both cohorts, as both cohorts are equally strong in my opinion.

Green Card holders as well.

 

[deleted390966]

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[pitman]

I assume a degree from UQ would enable you to be able to work in any countries and not just Australia?

If by 'work' you mean as an intern, then practically speaking, the options are limited to the US, Canada, NZ, and Singapore.

 

[deleted390966]

If by 'work' you mean as an intern, then practically speaking, the options are limited to the US, Canada, NZ, and Singapore.

Internship and residency. And why is it limited to those countries? AFAIK, Canada residency is not an option for non-citizens.

 

[mugs99]

Hi guys. Long time lurker, first time poster haha. Really appreciate all the advice people have been giving! Did anyone else have a late-to-the-party interview last week? Unfortunately I didn't know about the program until June-- wish I had applied earlier. I had a 3.4 (sgpa a bit lower, cringe)/ 512 and nothing disastrous, I don't think, happened during my interview. Hopefully I have a chance... who knows how many spots are left though. Agh

 

[Rhandhali]

I concur that it is simply impossible to study for Step 1 while on rotations.

Whether or not someone has taken step one is the first question I ask new students. Every medical student I have had who did not take step one when they showed up has done poorly. Everyone starts out as garbage on rounds, but late test takers don't improve as fast as they should. They don't know their patients as well. They can't keep up with reading like they should because they're distracted by step 1. They sandbag the team sometimes which is the worst thing you can do. In all they fail to impress people and are far, far more likely to fail and have to repeat a rotation, or do a supplemental exam.

You are putting your career in jeopardy if you don't have step 1 taken by the time you start rotations at Ochsner. That competitive residency you wanted, say Gen-surg or the one particular IM program where your family lives or that emergency medicine residency? You've already got baggage because you're an IMG. You are by definition at a disadvantage in the match and you will make things harder on yourself. Students that repeat rotations by definition have problems. Programs aren't looking for residents that have problems. Not taking step 1 means you can't do what you are told. That is not something that programs are going to want in prospective recruits. I have heard rumors that students who delay step 1 will have it mentioned in their MSPEs/Dean's Letter so it will be made clear to places you apply that you did not do what you were told. This is in addition to the restrictions that will be placed on you. I don't know what all of them are but at a minimum you don't get to do research which can be a big thing.

Just do what you are told. Study for the test in Australia. You have two years - that's more than enough time to adequately prepare, get through the UQ curriculum and still have an awesome time. Take the test before you start rotations. You will be better off for it.

 

[deleted390966]

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[pitman]

Kinda weird. The "rumors" don't sound right, precisely because it'd be superfluous and wouldn't be in Ochsner's best interest to proactively screw their own. Possibly an empty threat if there's any basis to them.

 

[Zifish]

Quick question regarding Step 1 prep. As a comparison, it's rare that a student would start prepping for the MCAT at the beginning of their undergrad, but I see several people in this thread who say that med students should be preparing for Step 1 from the start of the first two years of med school? How does this work? Are you supposed to be opening the Step 1 prep books on the first day of class? Do you just review content over the first 2yrs to keep the concepts fresh, then take a prep course a few months before taking the test? I know I'm just an applicant but I like to be as informed as possible and avoid being behind the 8 ball.

 

[sean80439]

Quick question regarding Step 1 prep. As a comparison, it's rare that a student would start prepping for the MCAT at the beginning of their undergrad, but I see several people in this thread who say that med students should be preparing for Step 1 from the start of the first two years of med school? How does this work? Are you supposed to be opening the Step 1 prep books on the first day of class? Do you just review content over the first 2yrs to keep the concepts fresh, then take a prep course a few months before taking the test? I know I'm just an applicant but I like to be as informed as possible and avoid being behind the 8 ball.

So many programs teach in blocks like cardio or renal or pulm. The book is laid out in the same sort of format. Most students will review the relevant sections of first aid while learning about it on their first pass. Then as you get further into your education you just keep adding stuff in while reviewing. It's not worth starting study until you at least start medicine to see how it all works. Plus everything is interconnected so as you progress more things become clear.

 

[Rhandhali]

Why did they not take a leave of absence (LOA), take Step 1 first, then do rotations?

If this is true, what's the reason for the program to mention this on the Dean's Letter, which will likely ruin someone's chance at matching? Lower match rates also affect the program's reputation. What does the admin have to gain from this? I cannot believe that a program would do this purposely with nothing to gain but undermine people's futures.

Kinda weird. The "rumors" don't sound right, precisely because it'd be superfluous and wouldn't be in Ochsner's best interest to proactively screw their own. Possibly an empty threat if there's any basis to them.

I am sitting next to a third year student who is on my service right now and they are definitely told that not taking step 1 on time will be mentioned in their MSPE/Dean's letter. Whether or not this is real I don't know. I personally have no problem with it - programs deserve to know if they are getting people that can't do what their told.

A year or two of a rough match is better than sending out sub-par students into residencies; if those students match and do badly it hurts the reputation of UQ-O in ways that are far worse and far longer lasting. You get a bad resident you remember where they came from and it's an uphill climb for anyone else that comes from that program. Institutional memory is definitely a thing and it can impact students coming out of a program for years after their bad match.

As far as leave of absence, I don't know. It's another form you have to fill out on applications and honestly you end up telling programs "I couldn't do what I was told so I had to extend my training". Don't get me wrong, there are some people who have legitimate excuses for not taking step 1 but they are vanishingly rare.

 

[sean80439]

I didn't know that about the deans letter. I followed the rules but damn that would be rough. I can't believe there's 4th years who still haven't taken step.

 

[Rhandhali]

I didn't know that about the deans letter. I followed the rules but damn that would be rough. I can't believe there's 4th years who still haven't taken step.

Well, if there are then there's no hope and no pity for them.

 

[deleted390966]

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[mcat_taker]

To me, it doesn't matter if a student delays Step 1 for 4 weeks or 4 months, if he scores 240, he's more than capable to function as an intern on the theoretical knowledge front. Way better than someone who failed. But Ochsner probably sees someone who failed when they took it on time as "better" than someone who got 240 later. US grads with a mere pass on the Steps still have close to 100% chance of matching into Primary Care. On the clinical front, if someone is crappy at it, his rotation evals and shelf scores should speak for themselves. Therefore there is no reason for Ochsner to mention it on the Dean's letter. The way I see it, Ochsner just wants to prove that "you didn't do exactly as told, I'll screw you".

The "people who did not take Step 1 perform worse in clinicals" judgement should be individually based. Many US schools - top-tier ones at least - have student take Step 1 AFTER a year of rotations, and their average scores rose higher compared to before.

Internal issues like this are usually not publicly known but they are what prospective students should know before deciding on a program.

I would be careful to acknowledge as fact simply an opinion posted here that says its mentioned on the deans letter. We don't know that. And it sounds like an empty threat, the deans letter is supposed to put you in the best light possible because its in their interest for you to match. As far as I know, almost 40% of the current 3rd year class did not take step 1 on time and still hasn't. They progressed to rotations because Ochsner couldn't have a 40% attrition rate based on students not having taken step 1. My class (MS2) just did the best overall on the first NBME out of any past classes and they don't mention this to us because they most likely don't want us to get complacent in our studying.

Where did you decide to matriculate instead of UQ-O if you don't mind me asking @PhoenixFire ?

 

[sean80439]

I would be careful to acknowledge as fact simply an opinion posted here that says its mentioned on the deans letter. We don't know that. And it sounds like an empty threat, the deans letter is supposed to put you in the best light possible because its in their interest for you to match. As far as I know, almost 40% of the current 3rd year class did not take step 1 on time and still hasn't. They progressed to rotations because Ochsner couldn't have a 40% attrition rate based on students not having taken step 1. My class (MS2) just did the best overall on the first NBME out of any past classes and they don't mention this to us because they most likely don't want us to get complacent in our studying.

Where did you decide to matriculate instead of UQ-O if you don't mind me asking @PhoenixFire ?

That 40% sounds exaggerated. There were about 30 that took off the first rotation but I think a large majority of them took step at the end of their break. Our year has been much better than the current 4th yr class where it wasn't nearly stressed as much.

 

[pitman]

I would be annoyed if Ochsner mentioned when I took Step 1 (I'd take the threat as an empty one, right or wrong), would surely make sure that if they did so that they merely mentioned date or where in training it was taken (rather than something petty like, "Pitman ignored our rule and took Step 1 later in training...") or would scream bloody murder, and in the end would prob shrug it off since UQO stats are looking good, programs are obviously liking grads, and of course I'd have aced the damn thing in the first place.

 

[americanroark]

Hi yall I am an applicant for the 2018 entering class and I recently interviewed at Ochsner so I thought I would give yall my perspective.

I arrived a day early and toured the hospital on my own. The hospital is absolutely awesome. Everyone you walk by is super friendly and the place is so big it is like a city. The history that comes out of the hospital and the current innovations that continue to be made at the hospital are amazing. There is a real southern charm that resonates from the staff that shows how proud people are to work there.

Right now they are building a completely new 360 million dollar wing of the hospital to expand surgery and other departments (almost complete). They are also building a new secondary hospital for all pediatric care, expanding their cancer research facility, building a radiology center and a complete rehab hospital down the street. All this will be up and running in the next few years. Not to mention the completely new academic buildings that were built for UQ-O students.

If you are truly considering this program then I would highly suggest that you go and interview in person. Everyone there (students and physicians) are very open to all the questions that you may have and will openly discuss any concerns you may have with this program. The students that toured us around the hospital spent a couple hours with us after the tour just to talk and discuss the program. The administration staff really stress wanting students that are mature as the program is demanding and takes you into a new place with a new way of life that not everyone will feel comfortable with. This was evidently obvious to me as the students I talked with seemed very focused and dedicated to their paths.

 

[LyMed]

Glad you liked it, bud.

 

[Rhandhali]

The "people who did not take Step 1 perform worse in clinicals" judgement should be individually based. Many US schools - top-tier ones at least - have student take Step 1 AFTER a year of rotations, and their average scores rose higher compared to before.

Well all the ones that I've worked with that didn't take step 1 when they were supposed to have had issues, and the people who have been bounced after they start clinicals are all people that didn't take step 1 when they were supposed to. You simply cannot keep up and cannot do well when you are trying to stay on top of your rotations and catch up on all of the step 1 stuff you should have been working on for the past two years.

Which medical schools in the US don't have their students take step 1 before starting clinicals? I have worked with students, residents and fellows from medical schools all over the US and they all stare at me in confusion when I say that we have students in their third year who haven't taken step 1 before rotations start. It's a requirement according to everyone I've talked to.

 

[americanroark]

So anyone that interviewed in August hear back yet? I got an email on Wednesday that said they sent my app to UQ so im excited to find out!

 

[mugs99]

So anyone that interviewed in August hear back yet? I got an email on Wednesday that said they sent my app to UQ so im excited to find out!

I skype interviewed the 17th and got that same email on Wednesday! Been checking my email like a crazy person

 

[deleted390966]

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[Rhandhali]

Quite a number of US schools have students take Step 1 after a year of rotations:
Schools that Take Step 1 after Rotations
School that take Step 1 end of 3rd year?
One of my friends goes to UPenn and they all take Step 1 after all of their core clinicals. Nobody seems to be judging UPenn grads for this. I go to a med school where everyone gets either 2 months off to study for Step 1 or 2 months + a rotation. We are definitely not disadvantaged by that and I have never heard a residency program judging our grads for this.

Well, I wouldn't call that "quite a number" since it's it's maybe 10% of US schools that you have listed. The point stands that it's still uncommon, and that those schools specifically allow students to defer to step 1. If UQ-Ochsner was one of the (few) places where you're not expected to to take step 1 by the time rotations start then it would be a non issue.

UQ-O follows the pattern of the overwhelming majority of US medical schools in that it is a clearly delineated expectation, explained to you in clear, straightforward language from the very first day, that you are to take step 1 by the time you start rotations in New Orleans. It's as simple as that. You are given the resources and time to fulfill their directions. There are no obstacles that are placed in your way to prevent you from following their directions. If you choose not to listen, to not do what you are told, to refuse simple instructions that says something about you. That you're unreliable, that you don't listen, that you don't think the rules apply to you; none of these are particularly desirable attributes.

In the majority of American based medical schools failure to meet the standards that are set out for you means you don't go on to the next level. Training gets extended and this is something that you will have to explain on residency applications and will be brought up in your MSPE. Since UQ-Ochsner, unfortunately, cannot hold students back for refusing to meet standards administrative penalties will have to suffice until such time as they are able to prevent them from advancing.

 

[mugs99]

I just got my acceptance email! Woohoo!!