OHSU (Oregon) vs Geisel (Dartmouth)

[WildflowerMcGee]

Some general info - not sure on specialty yet so keeping options open is important, want to eventually practice in Montana (home state), no financial aid info yet but will likely be minimal, I'm married and my wife and I are considering kids in medical school/residency, I have a dog which makes housing a little tricky

OHSU
Pros:
15 miles from my in-laws house which would be amazing for support and potential children
Great school with all the opportunities of a large medical center
Tuition ~35-40k since I get in-state tuition as a MT resident
Lots of fun outdoor activities in the PNW

Cons:
Portland - I'm from a small town and generally dislike the feel of Portland
COL - quite high in Portland and my wife works from home/needs a home office so housing will be quite expensive
The Montana WICHE system requires me to practice in MT for 3 years immediately out of residency in exchange for reduced tuition which is a little restrictive

Geisel
Pros:
Very impressive match list with lots of opportunity
During interviews and all my other interactions everyone at Geisel seems genuinely happy and I got a good "feel"
Rural - I like the rural campus and ease of access to the outdoors

Cons:
Tuition ~70k its a lot and I will likely not get much aid
Very far away from family which can be fun for a few years but we wont have support
Housing is limited in Hanover so COL may be lower but the housing isn't much better

Overall it seems like both are great schools that wont limit my opportunity. OHSU seems more family and financially friendly while Geisel seems like a slightly better school with more connections to leverage a good match in the future. Additionally waitlisted at UW and waiting on Harvard/Yale decisions in a month which may make the choice much easier.

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[chilly_md]

OHSU. I'm sure your spouse will appreciate being close to her parents, especially when you get much busier with school. You would save a lot of money too and OHSU likely has rural locations for rotations if you want to get away from Portland for a little while.

 

[123OkayGoogle]

Oregon for sure. Also I’m not understanding. You wanna practice in Montana but you listed having to practice in Montana for 3 years as a con?

 

[WildflowerMcGee]

Oregon for sure. Also I’m not understanding. You wanna practice in Montana but you listed having to practice in Montana for 3 years as a con?

It is just that they require you to practice there immediately upon graduation and there are some large fees associated with noncompliance. I would love to return to MT eventually, it just is limiting in case other factors come up.

 

[m1redsox]

Absolutely OHSU. There’s no universe where I recommend spending $30k/year more to move across the country from family and get the same degree from a less prestigious school (albeit marginally)

 

[reynedrop]

Definitely OHSU. I feel you regarding the feel of Portland compared to anywhere here in MT (one reason why I didn't apply- my husband set a hard boundary that we would not be moving to a coastal town). But, overall COA factors in here. The $30-35k+ per year you "save" on tuition can easily be applied to housing. That's ~ $2,500 to nearly $3,000 per month. COL is high around Portland, but I would be shocked if it wasn't cheaper all-in.

I get the Montana bit. I'm (mostly likely) attending UW here, and I had a little panic about feeling pigeon-holed even though literally my dream is rural practice here. There's a "grass is greener" effect, where you would probably make the choice on your own, but feeling any pressure or force makes it feel less like your choice and thus less desirable. But even if you end up disliking Montana practice, it's not forever.

Also, and perhaps most importantly, prestige and all else be darned- you, your wife, and any potential kids deserve a good support system.

 

[WildflowerMcGee]

Definitely OHSU. I feel you regarding the feel of Portland compared to anywhere here in MT (one reason why I didn't apply- my husband set a hard boundary that we would not be moving to a coastal town). But, overall COA factors in here. The $30-35k+ per year you "save" on tuition can easily be applied to housing. That's ~ $2,500 to nearly $3,000 per month. COL is high around Portland, but I would be shocked if it wasn't cheaper all-in.

I get the Montana bit. I'm (mostly likely) attending UW here, and I had a little panic about feeling pigeon-holed even though literally my dream is rural practice here. There's a "grass is greener" effect, where you would probably make the choice on your own, but feeling any pressure or force makes it feel less like your choice and thus less desirable. But even if you end up disliking Montana practice, it's not forever.

Also, and perhaps most importantly, prestige and all else be darned- you, your wife, and any potential kids deserve a good support system.

Thanks!

 

[Moly B Denum]

Definitely biased on this one - I’m from MT and I‘m 90 % sure I’m going with OHSU next year, so I think it would be nice to have a fellow Montanan in my class. I’ve also heard things like the prestige of going to a school like Dartmouth doesn’t actually mean that much in the long run when all is said and done. Go with your gut on this one though, and it’s good to factor in things like COA as well. Also - from what I’ve read on the WICHE agreement, those of us that attend OHSU have to pay the smaller MRPIP fee, but I didn’t see anything about a commitment to practice in Montana. I thought that was only for WWAMI students. I will read it again though. It was quite wordy and I might not have understood it correctly.

 

[WildflowerMcGee]

Definitely biased on this one - I’m from MT and I‘m 90 % sure I’m going with OHSU next year, so I think it would be nice to have a fellow Montanan in my class. I’ve also heard things like the prestige of going to a school like Dartmouth doesn’t actually mean that much in the long run when all is said and done. Go with your gut on this one though, and it’s good to factor in things like COA as well. Also - from what I’ve read on the WICHE agreement, those of us that attend OHSU have to pay the smaller MRPIP fee, but I didn’t see anything about a commitment to practice in Montana. I thought that was only for WWAMI students. I will read it again though. It was quite wordy and I might not have understood it correctly.

You might be right on the WICHE front, I think I read the whole document they sent as applying to WICHE without realising the last pages were just about WWAMI/ICOM. And haha it could be nice to have some fellow Montanans so biased answers are welcome. At this point after talking with my wife and some friends and family I am definitely leaning towards OHSU so thanks everyone for all the great input.