2024-2025 Oregon Health and Sciences University (OHSU)

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applesarecool said:
As an MD student you are considered full time every quarter including summer right? So 14,500 x 4 for in state?
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I think OHSU does it differently when it comes to OOS students being suddenly OR residents. I could be wrong.
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NonTradTerry said:
That is also including the school offered health insurance. I have my own insurance and I'm about 12,600 per term for instate. Most students get on OHP and that covers the insurance requirements
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Do they calculate it based on 4 term? Not semester right?
 
Mernnow said:
Do they calculate it based on 4 term? Not semester right?
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Yes, OHSU operates on a term system, rather than semesters. Financial aid is disbursed 4x per year (at the beginning of each term).
 
PeteytheFish said:
Patience is right.

The dean of admissions is very open about not giving the MCAT much weight.

If OHSU is the goal, I'd focus on service, pushing yourself out of your comfort zone, leadership, and proving your interest in and understanding of medicine. A higher MCAT score may help you at other schools, but not really at OHSU.
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As someone who got a 498 and got an interview this past September, hold October, acceptance November I can attest that they do not weigh the MCAT so harshly! I also received a scholarship .
 
Rckstarr said:
As someone who got a 498 and got an interview this past September, hold October, acceptance November I can attest that they do not weigh the MCAT so harshly! I also received a scholarship .
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do you mind sharing how much/how it affected your COA?
 
OHSU is indeed very pricey especially for what it offers. There are external scholarships out there, big and small. Try to get them throughout the 4 years. It adds up. I personally don’t think I get my money’s worth at OHSU.
 
patience.grasshopper said:
OHSU is indeed very pricey especially for what it offers. There are external scholarships out there, big and small. Try to get them throughout the 4 years. It adds up. I personally don’t think I get my money’s worth at OHSU.
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Can I DM you to ask more?
 
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Are you going to attend OHSU or are you considering any other school ?
I was also wondering how many students get the scholarships. My SAI is significantly low, almost zero, and it ll be helpful indeed if we can receive some help to cover expenses but it seems everything is done based on their own evaluation.
Are the external scholarships available to OOS students also?
 
daisysky1009 said:
I'm curious what your experience has been at OHSU since you said you feel that you don't get your money's worth at OHSU. Is it terms of facilities? Faculty? Resources? Thanks!
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The tuition is like that of Top Tier schools and Ivy League minus the brand and prestige that comes long with it. The Alumni isn’t that big and so scholarships aren’t plentiful.

Facilities are all new but OHSU does not give that typical university campus vibe. Very low student presence and traffic and so the modern facilities feel empty, bland and cold. Not much events going on like an actual university or school. Don’t expect a lot of events with free food.

Resources are not like top tier schools and yet you’re paying the same amount of money.

Faculty is meh. Lacks diversity. Recruitment is a struggle. But they ARE TRYING. This is not Dartmouth or Vermont. Not that isolated so they must be facing other issues since geography is not an issue.

Bottom line. OHSU is a mid-tier school and hospital known WITHIN the medical community. It is not a UCSF. Not yet at least. It is also not like Brown, not top but has a bigger alumni/money and somewhat brand recognition.

Students also have higher loans after graduation than say Hopkins or Columbia. Again, OHSU alumni pot of gold/endowment isn’t that big -one of the reasons.

If you’re coming from a top tier well-resourced and recognized institution, get ready to pay the same amount and be disappointed.

That said, OHSU is still a primary care/IM/FM and HemOnc (mid-tier) powerhouse.

Hope I’m making sense.
 
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patience.grasshopper said:
The tuition is like that of Top Tier schools and Ivy League minus the brand and prestige that comes long with it. The Alumni isn’t that big and so scholarships aren’t plentiful.

Facilities are all new but OHSU does not give that typical university campus vibe. Very low student presence and traffic and so the modern facilities feel empty, bland and cold. Not much events going on like an actual university or school. Don’t expect a lot of events with free food.

Resources are not like top tier schools and yet you’re paying the same amount of money.

Faculty is meh. Lacks diversity. Recruitment is a struggle. But they ARE TRYING. This is not Dartmouth or Vermont. Not that isolated so they must be facing other issues since geography is not an issue.

Bottom line. OHSU is a mid-tier school and hospital known WITHIN the medical community. It is not a UCSF. Not yet at least. It is also not like Brown, not top but has a bigger alumni/money and somewhat brand recognition.

Students also have higher loans after graduation than say Hopkins or Columbia. Again, OHSU alumni pot of gold/endowment isn’t that big -one of the reasons.

If you’re coming from a top tier well-resourced and recognized institution, get ready to pay the same amount and be disappointed.

That said, OHSU is still a primary care/IM/FM and HemOnc (mid-tier) powerhouse.

Hope I’m making sense.
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Makes perfect sense. Thank you!
 
patience.grasshopper said:
The tuition is like that of Top Tier schools and Ivy League minus the brand and prestige that comes long with it. The Alumni isn’t that big and so scholarships aren’t plentiful.

Facilities are all new but OHSU does not give that typical university campus vibe. Very low student presence and traffic and so the modern facilities feel empty, bland and cold. Not much events going on like an actual university or school. Don’t expect a lot of events with free food.

Resources are not like top tier schools and yet you’re paying the same amount of money.

Faculty is meh. Lacks diversity. Recruitment is a struggle. But they ARE TRYING. This is not Dartmouth or Vermont. Not that isolated so they must be facing other issues since geography is not an issue.

Bottom line. OHSU is a mid-tier school and hospital known WITHIN the medical community. It is not a UCSF. Not yet at least. It is also not like Brown, not top but has a bigger alumni/money and somewhat brand recognition.

Students also have higher loans after graduation than say Hopkins or Columbia. Again, OHSU alumni pot of gold/endowment isn’t that big -one of the reasons.

If you’re coming from a top tier well-resourced and recognized institution, get ready to pay the same amount and be disappointed.

That said, OHSU is still a primary care/IM/FM and HemOnc (mid-tier) powerhouse.

Hope I’m making sense.
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Your opinions are totally valid, but I'd like to offer a different perspective.

I have friends attending other med schools right now (DO and MD) that pay as much and sometimes more than what OHSU costs for schools I would NOT want to attend. For the friends at DO schools, many of them are stressed about finding their own rotations for third and fourth year. Many of them also have graded pre-clinical courses and tiered clinical grades (H/HP/P/F). They also struggle to access research, and for anyone attending one of the newer DO schools that hasn't finished accreditation, they have no options other than predatory private loans or HPSP.

Then you have MD schools like Drexel, where you no longer have a home hospital and will have to drive all over Philly and beyond for rotations, and there will be many other med students in your city to compete with in addition to high tuition.

OHSU has new facilities, a great Cancer center, and a moderately affordable city for West Coast standards. Unlike other big cities with many academic medical centers, you don't have to compete with other pre-meds/med students for research opportunities or clinical rotation spots.

You mentioned that OHSU lacks diversity in faculty, and while I can't confirm that because I haven't started yet, I grew up in Oregon and it has historically been a very white state that lacks diversity. I hope that that changes and it's good to know they're trying to change that.

As far as lack of endowments go, there other mid-tier schools that face similar problems and would probably be less pleasant to attend. I also got accepted into Loma Linda and in addition to it costing more than OHSU (as an in-state student), the culture wasn't very lively, students told me their professors were awful and did not care at all, the campus didn't have a "collegiate" atmosphere, AND you have to follow all of their very strict rules like not drinking, smoking or having pre-marital sex or you can get kicked out. Yes, even as an adult.

Not every school is going to have the Harvard reputation or endowments, and while the perks of that can be great, it wasn't what I expected out of a med school. To me, it was just a really cool perk that some folks might be lucky to have if they got into top tier schools.

Unfortunately with med school applications, there are always more people who would like to get in then there are seats available. Therefore, med schools can really charge what they want and do what they want.

The current students I've spoken to at OHSU seem to mostly really love it and have spoken highly of having a true P/F curriculum without internal rankings all 4 years and a very approachable and friendly faculty. However, like any institution there are always thing to improve and critique, because there is no perfect school.

Anyways, just some food for thought. LIke I said above, your opinions are certainly valid and I'm not trying to discredit them at all. Just offering a different POV as a first-gen latino who did not go to undergrad at a prestigious place and worked full-time to put myself through school.
 
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OHSU is NOT comparable to a DO school, Drexel or Loma Linda.

For context, OHSU has a higher tuition than Penn. You pay more for less. That’s the point I’m making.
 
patience.grasshopper said:
OHSU is NOT comparable to a DO school, Drexel or Loma Linda.

For context, OHSU has a higher tuition than Penn. You pay more for less. That’s the point I’m making.
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No, I understood what you were saying.

Idk how Loma Linda or Drexel can't be compared though. If you're saying OHSU is a mid-tier MD school, then those are two others in that same category.

The point I was making is that while you have your POV which you're entitled to for sure, all I'm saying is that to attend medical school in the US, there are a lot worse place one could have ended up (especially considering that most applicants only get one acceptance.)
 
LotteryPlayer said:
No, I understood what you were saying.

Idk how Loma Linda or Drexel can't be compared though. If you're saying OHSU is a mid-tier MD school, then those are two others in that same category.

The point I was making is that while you have your POV which you're entitled to for sure, all I'm saying is that to attend medical school in the US, there are a lot worse place one could have ended up (especially considering that most applicants only get one acceptance.)
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I want to go back to the original question being asked to someone who has ALREADY invested money in this school in the form of tuition and how their RoI and experiences are looking like. Please offer your insights later on once you’re here and having a lived experience of the OHSU medical school life. You’re offering a totally different perspective than what was originally being asked.

OHSU rubs elbows with UW, UNC, Baylor and USC.
 
I didn’t know you are a current student apologies because earlier I asked if you are intending to attend OHSU well in this case, do you happen to know to how many students roughly they give a scholarships as far as I understood the resources are limited, but I don’t know whether they publish anything yearly that shows towho they gave the scholarships
 
Mernnow said:
I didn’t know you are a current student apologies because earlier I asked if you are intending to attend OHSU well in this case, do you happen to know to how many students roughly they give a scholarships as far as I understood the resources are limited, but I don’t know whether they publish anything yearly that shows towho they gave the scholarships
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Full are definitely minimal. The website should list how many full scholarship programs we have. Partial are plenty but small $$, so more students get small amount of money instead of less students getting more money.

The specific data is shared internally although I don’t think recipients are mentioned elsewhere apart from the Native American program. FWIW, OHSU is undergoing massive changes and issues coupled with all the sociopolitical things happening now.
 
patience.grasshopper said:
Full are definitely minimal. The website should list how many full scholarship programs we have. Partial are plenty but small $$, so more students get small amount of money instead of less students getting more money.

The specific data is shared internally although I don’t think recipients are mentioned elsewhere apart from the Native American program. FWIW, OHSU is undergoing massive changes and issues coupled with all the sociopolitical things happening now.
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Thanks for the insight, could you share a little more about what these massive changes and issues are?
 
Tiki_tomoato said:
Thanks for the insight, could you share a little more about what these massive changes and issues are?
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OHSU is facing the same changes and issues that every institution that receives federal grants is facing. It's not an OHSU specific thing. With the current administration's reduction of funding to academic institutions and science research, access to grants is dwindling, and that affects any research institution's funding decisions, mostly concerning research, but potentially also affecting certain scholarships. Many of the scholarships offered by OHSU are private, however, and therefore protected.
 
It's important to acknowledge that everyone has the right to their opinion and everyone has their own experience, so I acknowledge patience.grasshoper's helpful contribution.

I have a slightly different perspective. I graduated from OHSU a year ago and absolutely loved it (to the extent that anyone loves medical school, which is minimal). Yes, OHSU is very expensive (and speaking as an OOS student, I felt that keenly). Did I get my money's worth when compared to other institutions? Honestly, how could I ever know the answer to that question? I went to med school and came out the other side and MD. I matched into a respected residency in the specialty of my choosing. Med school and residency are the same: you will never know what the experience would have been like elsewhere because you will only go to one institution.

OHSU has new, state-of-the-art facilities. It is true that there isn't much of a campus-like feel, but this is in part because the students do not engage in that way. Covid, for better or worse, irretrievably altered how students engage with medical education. At OHSU, classes are offered in-person, but students invariably prefer to attend class online, and this is offered as an option for most lectures at OHSU. When the school has made attempts to go back to more in-person classes, they have been met with significant student resistance. Because OHSU is a school that takes feedback from its students, classes have continued to be offered online.

To that point, the school takes feedback seriously and tries to make adjustments to make the student experience better. The admin of the undergraduate medical school (the MD program) are tremendously dedicated to helping the students. Every educational resource that one could want is available. Diversity navigators are available. Tutors, counselors, learning specialists...all of these are offered at no additional cost. In my experience, students have been frustrated to find that they have to ask for these resources rather than the school automatically parachuting them in, but for those who need or want support, it is there.

Here's an example. When getting ready to take Step 1, a number of students from any class will invariably find themselves not quite ready to take the exam. As the exam deadline approaches, the deans are literally on call to help students navigate rescheduling, finding tutors, changing their rotation schedules around. I have friends who went to other med schools who had no such support at any stage in their medical education and had no meaningful way of engaging with their deans of student affairs. OHSU is above the curve on student support.

Regarding facilities, you have access to the RLSB, which is the beautiful medical school building. You rotate in a well-known, respected medical center. Students have their own student center with a pool, hot tub, gymnasium, and workout equipment. There is also a food resource center where students can get weekly free grocery items to help with cost of living. They also have full access to the March Wellness Center, which is a full gym with pool, and is also open to other members. There is an excellent campus library, if that's your thing. All of the research opportunities you could possibly want are theoretically available (though with caveats given the current federal funding reductions).

Here's the reality. Statistically speaking, most successful applicants to medical school get into one school, period. If you have other choices, then it's worth looking at the nitty gritty and seeing if there is a better fit for you. If you have one choice and that is OHSU, then you could do SO much worse.

Medical school is NOT college. Medical students are professional students, which means that they are there not to develop as learners or people but are rather there to learn how to do a very hard job. Many medical schools leave their students to get on with it with little support. OHSU offers as much as it possibly can to ensure that students are set up for success, but it expects students to be mature, self-directed learners who can interact with the administrators in a professional manner and can reach out for help when it is needed. Those who expect to be babied will be frustrated, where those who are actively engaged in their learning will be successful.

I offer this advice to all incoming medical students, no matter where you end up. If you arrive at medical school determined to enjoy it and make the most of it, you will do well. If you arrive determined to be miserable and pick apart the experience, you will definitely be miserable. Arrive at whichever school you choose, make up your mind to enjoy the experience, get engaged with the community, and get on with it. Medical school is not fun, no matter where you end up, so it is up to you to decide what kind of experience you are going to have.

Is OHSU a perfect institution? Absolutely not. The institution as a whole has been rife with scandal and a revolving door of upper-level administrators. I don't know that I would choose to work for OHSU. But would I choose to go back to OHSU for medical school? Without a doubt. I personally could not have had a better, more supportive experience and would make the same choice if I the chance. For me (and I fully acknowledge that not everyone feels this way), OHSU was an incredible place to train. And as for name recognition, I am doing residency nowhere near the west coast and OHSU is known and respected way better and further afield than one might be tempted to think.

Just another perspective for you.
 
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PeteytheFish said:
It's important to acknowledge that everyone has the right to their opinion and everyone has their own experience, so I acknowledge patience.grasshoper's helpful contribution.

I have a slightly different perspective. I graduated from OHSU a year ago and absolutely loved it (to the extent that anyone loves medical school, which is minimal). Yes, OHSU is very expensive (and speaking as an OOS student, I felt that keenly). Did I get my money's worth when compared to other institutions? Honestly, how could I ever know the answer to that question? Med school and residency are the same: you will never know what the experience would have been like elsewhere because you will only go to one institution.

OHSU has new, state-of-the-art facilities. It is true that there isn't much of a campus-like feel, but this is in part because the students do not engage in that way. Covid, for better or worse, irretrievably altered how students engage with medical education. At OHSU, classes are offered in-person, but students invariably prefer to attend class online, and this is offered as an option for most lectures at OHSU. When the school has made attempts to go back to more in-person classes, they have been met with significant student resistance. Because OHSU is a school that takes feedback from its students, classes have continued to be offered online.

To that point, the school takes feedback seriously and tries to make adjustments to make the student experience better. The admin of the undergraduate medical school (the MD program) are tremendously dedicated to helping the students. Every educational resource that one could want is available. Diversity navigators are available. Tutors, counselors, learning specialists...all of these are offered at no additional cost. In my experience, students have been frustrated to find that they have to ask for these resources rather than the school automatically parachuting them in, but for those who need or want support, it is there.

Here's an example. When getting ready to take Step 1, a number of students from any class will invariably find themselves not quite ready to take the exam. As the exam deadline approaches, the deans are literally on call to help students navigate rescheduling, finding tutors, changing their rotation schedules around. I have friends who went to other med schools who had no such support at any stage in their medical education and had no meaningful way of engaging with their deans of student affairs. OHSU is above the curve on student support.

Regarding facilities, you have access to the RLSB, which is the beautiful medical school building. You rotate in a well-known, respected medical center. Students have their own student center with a pool, hot tub, gymnasium, and workout equipment. There is also a food resource center where students can get weekly free grocery items to help with cost of living. They also have full access to the March Wellness Center, which is a full gym with pool, and is also open to other members. There is an excellent campus library, if that's your thing. All of the research opportunities you could possibly want are theoretically available (though with caveats given the current federal funding reductions).

Here's the reality. Statistically speaking, most successful applicants to medical school get into one school, period. If you have other choices, then it's worth looking at the nitty gritty and seeing if there is a better fit for you. If you have one choice and that is OHSU, then you could do SO much worse.

Medical school is NOT college. Medical students are professional students, which means that they are there not to develop as learners or people but are rather there to learn how to do a very hard job. Many medical schools leave their students to get on with it with little support. OHSU offers as much as it possibly can to ensure that students are set up for success, but it expects students to be mature, self-directed learners who can interact with the administrators in a professional manner and can reach out for help when it is needed. Those who expect to be babied will be frustrated, where those who are actively engaged in their learning will be successful.

I offer this advice to all incoming medical students, no matter where you end up. If you arrive at medical school determined to enjoy it and make the most of it, you will do well. If you arrive determined to be miserable and pick apart the experience, you will definitely be miserable. Arrive at whichever school you choose, make up your mind to enjoy the experience, get engaged with the community, and get on with it. Medical school is not fun, no matter where you end up, so it is up to you to decide what kind of experience you are going to have.

Is OHSU a perfect institution? Absolutely not. The institution as a whole has been rife with scandal and a revolving door of upper-level administrators. I don't know that I would choose to work for OHSU. But would I choose to go back to OHSU for medical school? Without a doubt. I personally could not have had a better, more supportive experience and would make the same choice if I the chance. For me (and I fully acknowledge that not everyone feels this way), OHSU was an incredible place to train. And as for name recognition, I am doing residency nowhere near the west coast and OHSU is known and respected way better and further afield than one might be tempted to think.

Just another perspective for you.
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Thank you. This is very valuable insight.
 
I've been keeping track of waitlist movement this year, so no need to post updates here unless you really want to. Here's what I've got so far:
  • 4/22: AL created
  • 4/23: 3
  • 4/28: 6
  • 4/30: 16
  • 5/01: 21
  • 5/02: 28
  • 5/06: 32
  • 5/12: 35
  • 5/13: 37
  • 5/14: 41
  • 5/20: 46
  • 5/21: 50
  • 5/22: 51
I'll keep updating on this post as more are accepted off the WL.
 
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