Brown vs OHSU

[Gro124567]

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OHSU ( no aid package received yet, 50K tuition sticker price )
Pros
-Interested in oncology and solid research opportunities for Heme-ONC
-2 billion dollar private endowment to the knight cancer institute an NCI designated cancer center
-Connection to the area and faculty at the program ( potential for solid LOR )
-In state ( tuition approximately 50K a year but no financial package received yet )
-Family network nearby + I can in theory live at home
-School starts late June to grandfather 2026 class into pre "big beautiful bill" loan caps
-Tuition locked in across all 4 years
-P/F curriculum
-Sticker price is lower than Brown

Cons
-Higher average 4 yr debt compared to Brown ( around 230K vs 170K )
-As far as I can tell, no dedicated summer break to devote to research
-Less name recognition compared to Brown ( under the assumption name recognition will hold more weight for residency matching with the transition to P/F style grading )
-Very little aid expected compared to Brown

Brown ( 70K tuition sticker price, 65K scholarship )
Pros
-Very solid need based aid
-Lower average 4 yr debt compared to OHSU ( 170K )
-Summer break that can be dedicated to research
-Neighboring cities like Boston have really incredible research opportunities
-More opportunities for flexibility if I chose to change specialties later on
-P/F pre clinical and Honors/highpass/pass system during clinical years
-Name holds more weight relative to OHSU
-High match rate to competitive residency programs

Cons
-Higher sticker price
-Far from home with no family or support in the area
-The Legorreta Cancer Center ( 25 million dollar endowment ) seems less established and less funded relative to OHSU's Knight Cancer Institute
-Will be at the mercy of Grad+ loan caps

Summary: I am quite torn between these two choices. The most important things for me are graduating with as little debt as possible and having access to solid research opportunities to support my goal of pursuing oncology. Those outside the sphere of medicine think I am crazy for not jumping on the opportunity to attend Brown but I feel this is more nuanced than accepting a medical school just because it is an Ivy.

 

[eyeeye_captain]

I’m old and (often) dumb, but unless you actually get aid at Brown that’s big enough with private loans to majorly counteract the advantages at OHSU, this is a no brainer.

Lay prestige is one of, if not the worst, reasons to attend a medical school. Granted I’m from the sticks, but Brown isn’t exactly a national name brand, either.

Stay home kid.

 

[Gro124567]

I’m old and (often) dumb, but unless you actually get aid at Brown that’s big enough with private loans to majorly counteract the advantages at OHSU, this is a no brainer.

Lay prestige is one of, if not the worst, reasons to attend a medical school. Granted I’m from the sticks, but Brown isn’t exactly a national name brand, either.

Stay home kid.

I get that. I am more interested in whether OHSU and Brown are comparable in terms of program. I feel they offer similar levels of opportunity but curious what the consensus is.

 

[eyeeye_captain]

If you’re not in region, they’re the same. Where I’ve trained over the years, OSHU was the bigger name, but YMMV.

Looks like in the Doximity rankings for IM, though flawed, they’re about the same with you already saying the onc stuff is likely stronger at OHSU.

Unless the money is significantly better, it seems like you’re buying the fallacy that “Ivy League” means something in the real world other than patting yourself on the back.

 

[riv_jordan]

You've stated that your priorities are minimizing debt and maximizing research opportunities, so I don't think you can seriously make this decision before you get aid. Both schools will have comparable research opportunities (with the slight edge in favor of OHSU likely) and match outcomes. So I'd really just wait to hear back and follow the money. With the whole grandfathering clause, you may have to do a little more math to figure out which one will be cheaper in the long run (keeping in mind that interest compounds and private loans should be avoided when possible).

As

 

[Gro124567]

You've stated that your priorities are minimizing debt and maximizing research opportunities, so I don't think you can seriously make this decision before you get aid. Both schools will have comparable research opportunities (with the slight edge in favor of OHSU likely) and match outcomes. So I'd really just wait to hear back and follow the money. With the whole grandfathering clause, you may have to do a little more math to figure out which one will be cheaper in the long run (keeping in mind that interest compounds and private loans should be avoided when possible).

As

Totally agree. Received my aid package from Brown but still waiting on OHSU:
Brown gave approximately 65K in scholarship. Would still have to take out loans to cover cost of living. Per Brown's calculation this comes out to be around 35-40K in loans a year. Even with taking out loans, this puts me under the grad+ loan cap which is a hard red line for me. I'll have to take some time to sit on these numbers but the package came better than I was expecting.

 

[BritainKittenMittens]

Totally agree. Received my aid package from Brown but still waiting on OHSU:
Brown gave approximately 65K in scholarship. Would still have to take out loans to cover cost of living. Per Brown's calculation this comes out to be around 35-40K in loans a year. Even with taking out loans, this puts me under the grad+ loan cap which is a hard red line for me. I'll have to take some time to sit on these numbers but the package came better than I was expecting.

I don't understand, now Brown is cheaper and sounds like you like it more? What's the dilemma?