Applicants/Students/Alumni of Duke, OHSU, or Baylor

[Paperbae]

Hello!

As I come closer to making some tough decisions regarding programs, I am hoping to gather information and opinions from current students from the above programs or perhaps students who have interviewed at a combination of the above programs. More specifically, I am wanting to know if any students, interviewees, or alumni would be willing to share their personal experiences regarding 1) best and strongest aspects of the program 2) aspects that could be improved upon 3) level of support from faculty/program resources and 4) anything you were surprised about after matriculating into the program. I’d also like to know about any goofy things (location, parking, student perks) that you’d consider a plus or minus about the program. 

I have interviewed and been accepted into two of these programs and interview at the third fairly soon. I really love each for different reasons...proximity to spouse, culture of the area, resources, etc., but find that having interviewed with so many programs back-to-back, I wish I would have conversed with current students during the interview day more extensively (interview and travel fatigue... )

Anyhow, I would appreciate any and all comments. 

Thanks! 

[MT2PA]

Better bet is to go to the individual pages for these programs.  Or reach out to programs directly and ask if you can be connected to a current student.

We occasionally would have accepted applicants come back and shadow for a half day which gave them time to chat with current students as well.

[Paperbae]

5 hours ago, MT2PA said:

Better bet is to go to the individual pages for these programs.  Or reach out to programs directly and ask if you can be connected to a current student.

We occasionally would have accepted applicants come back and shadow for a half day which gave them time to chat with current students as well.

Definitely agree. I think I more so am curious how students felt after matriculating into these programs (were they satisfied with their choice). I have my own pro and con lists and have combed all the websites many times. I’m avoiding situations where maybe what was presented at an interview was mostly smoke and mirrors. 

[hmtpnw]

I didn’t interview at OHSU, but I live in the area and haven’t always heard the most positive things about the program from those that interviewed there. I know a handful of PAs who were accepted to both OHSU and Pacific who actually chose to attend Pacific. As OHSU is the less expensive, higher ranked program that is attached to a medical school, this surprised me. When asked why then mentioned feeling second class to med students, being shown new buildings on the tour that when pressed were acknowledged to be primarily available just for med students. They also noted a sense of competition amongst current students in the program and during interviews, as well as a bit of elitism. That being said, they rejected me outright without an interview, so maybe I’m just remembering more of the negatives

As far as living in Portland goes, it’s getting incredibly expensive. I pay almost twice as much for an apartment now compared to 8 years ago, and rent is continuing to go up each year. Traffic is getting worse all the time as more and more people move here, so that drives me nuts. There’s pretty decent transit around the city though, and if you attend OHSU you will need to use it as parking is rough around the school. Overall, it really is a beautiful city and there’s tons to do. I’ll miss it terribly when I move, but it’s not somewhere I plan to come back to. New Portland isn’t old Portland anymore, and it feels like it’s becoming Seattle as Seattle is busy becoming the next San Francisco. 

I was interviewed and accepted at Duke, which is the program I will be attending. Of course I’m biased at this point, but I felt very welcomed by the faculty and the admissions team on interview day and am very excited to be attending next fall. I have had the opportunity to exchange messages from some current students I’ve met through this forum and I’ve heard nothing but good things from them. Everyone I have encountered has reassured me that I made an excellent choice and they all seem happy with the program and faculty. 

I declined my interview at Baylor, but I did chat with someone at an interview last month who said that they interviewed last year. They were extremely impressed with the program and said that it was their first choice going into this cycle because of how great the faculty and current students were. 

I’m sure no matter where you choose you will get an excellent education. They’re all great programs and I don’t think there’s really a wrong choice here.