Oregon Health & Sciences University School of Medicine

I interviewed with 10 or 12 other applicants. Two were MSTPers and the rest were straight MD candidates. Most were from out of state, some from as far out as MO and HI. The morning started off with coffee and a short Q&A with one of the medical school deans about the curriculum and the school. After the Q&A we were sent out to our interviews. I had an hour before my first interview so I explored the campus a little bit, chatted with some of the other interviewees, and then went to the Financial Aid Office to get some info. The woman working there was very nice and showed me a bulletin board where I could look for scholarhips/outside aid. She also gave me a packet of info about gov't funding. Then I went to my back-to-back interviews. The first was with a retired ob/gyn who is now head of alumni association. I was nervous at first so the first part our conversation was more like a formal interview. By the end of the interview, however, I was more relaxed and the interview became more conversational. My second interview was with an research MD at the VA. I was more relaxed during this interview and felt like I left a favorable impression by the time the interview was over. I made it a point to stretch out both of my interviews from 45 minutes to 60 minutes to make sure that I had answered ALL of their questions. After my interviews I rushed to a lunch hosted by some of the med students. All of the food was gone by the time I got there so all I ate was an apple. Lunch was followed by a short tour of the campus. After the tour, I met with the head of the multicultural affairs office for a short information session. I was particularly impressed with the outreach that OHSU is doing in the local community. My interview day was over by 1:30. This gave me time to further explore the OHSU campus and parts of Downtown Portland.

How does a person with my ethnic background get involved in a non-profit organization that deals with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? What side am I on? (both of my interviewers asked questions about this activity so know your actvities!). I was also asked about my volunteer work in helping to build a sweatlodge at a state park. My interviewer knew a lot about this tradition.

The entire OHSU complex is huge and still expanding! Lots of beds = lots of interesting patients that I might encounter during 3rd and 4th years. Everyone that I met on my interview day was friendly and helpful which made me feel like I would be happy at OHSU. They really take care of the students here and it shows. Also, Portland is beautiful and housing is cheap.