Hi, I'm currently an OHSU student (finishing second year and preparing to take Step 1). I was a little surprised at the anti-OHSU sentiment here, although you are all entitled to your opinions. Personally, I've had a great experience and am not concerned about how I'll score on the boards or residency placement based on my school. I can say that Dean Keenan has ramped up the USMLE prep, this year we've had a couple speeches from him already on the importance of the boards and just took our mock boards last week.
Regarding some of the specific complaints--I remember being frustrated when I was applying too, but I honestly don't think OHSU was worse than other schools. Many schools didn't respond to phone calls/e-mails. Maybe it was just my experience, but pretty much every school made me feel like I was unimportant and would be lucky to go there, except on interview day when it seems like they try to sell you on the school. That's just the admin process.
As far as people being older/parents, that is true of many of my classmates--I'd say it's about 60/40 with a majority being married and/or having kids and/or being older. Personally, even though I don't fall into this category, I saw it as a plus. I feel OHSU really values and expects its students to have a life outside the classroom. While everyone works hard--this is a given at any med school if you want to pass--I feel like most of my classmates, married or not, have priorities besides school. I think this enhances, rather than detracts from, the learning environment. My classmates are interesting, multi-dimensional people, and our school supports us in that. I would rather be somewhere where it is understood that I am more than just an aspiring doctor, even if it means an environment that is less rigidly academic. That fits my personality well, but if you are looking for a school that will expect you and all your classmates to live and breathe medicine every second, OHSU is probably not for you. I would caution though, that even if this seems like a good idea to you entering med school, your feelings and priorities might change considerably over the next few years.
As far as reputation/residency placement go--I do not get the sense that OHSU is not respected or has trouble placing residents. The percentage of residents who get one of their top choices is very high, and that's what matters most to me--I want to know that when the time comes, I'll have a decent shot at going somewhere I want to, and judging from the match list OHSU practically guarantess that. Obviously it's not Harvard, but that isn't the point for most of us who go here, or for most med students for that matter. I'm almost in my third year and don't feel very competent in evaluating a match list, if there's something some of you premeds know about this that allows you to better gauge match lists and judge a school than by all means feel free to apply this to OHSU.
In general, I have been happy with my preclinical education at OHSU--we have a great schedule (one class at a time, with 4 hours a day of non-mandatory lecture), great clinical opportunities (weekly preceptorship with community and hospital physicians), a beautiful school in a beautiful city, and a friendly, non-competitive atmosphere. I would agree with Fang that the Principles of Clinical Medicine class is frequently a waste of time, but it's only 4 hours a week. Other cons: the library hours blow, there is no school-provided housing (although finding housing is generally not difficult in Portland and it is still much cheaper than other nearby cities, rents have gone up considerably in the past few years), the fin aid office is not terribly helpful, and I am less than thrilled with the student health center. It would have been nice to have lectures taped and online, although our powerpoints were always available on the course websites. Other than these complaints, I feel like OHSU is a great place to study medicine and am excited about starting clerkships in a few months. If anyone has specific questions feel free to message me. Good luck to all of you in getting through the crappy admissions process and getting into a school you're excited about!
