Pros and Cons of CU and OHSU

[PawpaBare]

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Hello everyone,

I have been fortunate enough to receive an acceptance letter from my top two schools and am currently trying to decide between the two. The two schools I am deciding between are the University of Colorado and the Oregon Health and Science University. I have started a pros and cons list for each school but am hoping to get feedback from current students in the two schools (I understand that some of the feedback for OHSU will not be pertinent due to the new building that is opening).

I am going to be OOS at both of these schools and am not WICHE supported. I completed my undergraduate degree at CU so I have been in Colorado for 4 years but the idea of experiencing a new city is also interesting. I thought both cities were really nice when I went to my interviews. I believe that I will get a good clinical education at both schools but would appreciate any feedback, comments, or advice from current students about their respective programs.

Thank you all for your time (I hope I posted this in the correct place)

 

[HandsOnPractice]

Choose OHSU so I can get into CU.

Love,
A sad Colorado boy who didn't get a phone call on December 2nd

 

[HandsOnPractice]

But seriously choose whichever one you think you will get a better education at. I'm assuming both schools will cost the same for you? Also another thing to consider: will Oregon allow you to become an in-stater after your first year? I know CU doesn't allow it's students to do that. Just some food for thought, could save you a lot of mullah down the road

 

[lwen5]

Pick OHSU. Much more beautiful city. Also, I want to get into CU.

Just kidding. But one thing that could complicate your decision: I think Oregon has some program where they will forgive some of your loans if you work in Oregon underserved area for like 1 or 2 years. Might want to check on that and make your decision.

You can't really go wrong with either one.

 

[timwatley]

OHSU
pros: new building next year, new mock board program that had 100% success rate at UIC
cons: miscommunications are pretty consistent between administration and students, tuition will likely sky rocket - as it has been the past couple of years, harder to get a decent gpa than some other programs

 

[Shpoof333]

If you are still wavering between the two maybe I can help a bit. I too got into both of these schools and have been making pros and cons lists for every school I interviewed at. I don't have my list in front of me but here goes:

CU
Pros: ACTS program so you can work in a private practice setting off and on for 6 months or so in your 4th year, one of the cheapest OOS tuitions available (a big key player for most), the curriculum starts off a little slower and builds into an intense program (may be beneficial for slow starters), take the Boards after the first year, have one of the best Ortho residency programs in the country and you can do rotations there if you so choose, most of the staff are available outside of class (this is what I hear from other students), great clinical experience, fairly decent research opportunities, beautiful campus and area to live, 2nd highest recoded patient base I have seen, and there may have been more that I currently can't remember.

Cons: Because the curriculum starts off a little slower it makes up for it with a rather intense 2nd year, and honestly I couldn't come up with much else. I have heard tell that there are occasional disconnects between the students and faculty as well (not sure if true or not).

OHSU
Pros: New campus on the waterfront that is beautiful and is supposed to have state-of-the-art facilities, good clinical practice that boasts 2X the clinical experience than any other school (don't know if this is true), research opportunities offered, and mock board exam to increase pass rate.

Cons: A low gpa school (I have heard tell of 12/73 D2 students passing the last pharmacology test after the curve), hidden costs according to the students, one of the highest OOS tuitions with a 34,000$ increase in tuition over 4 years to help pay for the new school, and the students I met looked a little downtrodden and just tired of everything.

So obviously my accounts are fairly biased and based off of what I took away from my own interview experiences. Also answering some previous posts, OHSU does not offer in-state tuition after the first year, and what they instead do is lock you into a 4 year agreement where the tuition doesn't change (however there are prices not listed under tuition that can still change, look back in your handouts if you kept them). Additionally Oregon does offer the loan forgiveness if you agree to work in an underserved rural part of Oregon. However, these opportunities are first extended to those who actually live in rural Oregon since they are most likely to practice there, then Oregonians in general, and then this opportunity is offered to OOS applicants. As a non-WICHE OOS (like myself), the odds of getting into that loan forgiveness program is fairly slim. Again, I am just a fellow pre-dent and some of my pros are based off of anecdotal evidence I got from students at these schools, so I suggest researching both schools thoroughly. As for me, I am choosing CU over OHSU, but CU is currently in a 3-way tie for my first choice so there is a 33.33% chance we will be colleagues if you choose CU. Good luck with your decision, and take solace in the fact that many people would kill to be in your shoes right now! Good luck with whatever you choose!

 

[PawpaBare]

Thank you all for your responses. I am still trying to decide between UW, OHSU, and CU but I'm currently leaning towards CU. Shpoof, you mentioned some things that I can add to my Pros/cons list for the schools. Thanks again everyone, and I'm still open to any other comments or advice.

 

[Moopipe]

PawpaBare, this is a great thread, I'm also interested in learning more about CU. Could you please post your own pros and cons list about the school? Thanks so much

 

[Moopipe]

If you are still wavering between the two maybe I can help a bit. I too got into both of these schools and have been making pros and cons lists for every school I interviewed at. I don't have my list in front of me but here goes:

CU
Pros: ACTS program so you can work in a private practice setting off and on for 6 months or so in your 4th year, one of the cheapest OOS tuitions available (a big key player for most), the curriculum starts off a little slower and builds into an intense program (may be beneficial for slow starters), take the Boards after the first year, have one of the best Ortho residency programs in the country and you can do rotations there if you so choose, most of the staff are available outside of class (this is what I hear from other students), great clinical experience, fairly decent research opportunities, beautiful campus and area to live, 2nd highest recoded patient base I have seen, and there may have been more that I currently can't remember.

Cons: Because the curriculum starts off a little slower it makes up for it with a rather intense 2nd year, and honestly I couldn't come up with much else. I have heard tell that there are occasional disconnects between the students and faculty as well (not sure if true or not).

OHSU
Pros: New campus on the waterfront that is beautiful and is supposed to have state-of-the-art facilities, good clinical practice that boasts 2X the clinical experience than any other school (don't know if this is true), research opportunities offered, and mock board exam to increase pass rate.

Cons: A low gpa school (I have heard tell of 12/73 D2 students passing the last pharmacology test after the curve), hidden costs according to the students, one of the highest OOS tuitions with a 34,000$ increase in tuition over 4 years to help pay for the new school, and the students I met looked a little downtrodden and just tired of everything.

So obviously my accounts are fairly biased and based off of what I took away from my own interview experiences. Also answering some previous posts, OHSU does not offer in-state tuition after the first year, and what they instead do is lock you into a 4 year agreement where the tuition doesn't change (however there are prices not listed under tuition that can still change, look back in your handouts if you kept them). Additionally Oregon does offer the loan forgiveness if you agree to work in an underserved rural part of Oregon. However, these opportunities are first extended to those who actually live in rural Oregon since they are most likely to practice there, then Oregonians in general, and then this opportunity is offered to OOS applicants. As a non-WICHE OOS (like myself), the odds of getting into that loan forgiveness program is fairly slim. Again, I am just a fellow pre-dent and some of my pros are based off of anecdotal evidence I got from students at these schools, so I suggest researching both schools thoroughly. As for me, I am choosing CU over OHSU, but CU is currently in a 3-way tie for my first choice so there is a 33.33% chance we will be colleagues if you choose CU. Good luck with your decision, and take solace in the fact that many people would kill to be in your shoes right now! Good luck with whatever you choose!

Could you explain a little bit more what a recoded patient base is. Thanks

 

[Moopipe]

Could you explain a little bit more what a recoded patient base is. Thanks

I got the feeling that students had to make a lot of effort to get their own patients to work on when I interviewed at CU, but maybe I misunderstood something.

 

[Shpoof333]

I got the feeling that students had to make a lot of effort to get their own patients to work on when I interviewed at CU, but maybe I misunderstood something.

I was going from the information session at the beginning. CU sort of boasted seeing ~86,000 patients every year, which is fairly impressive. I actually don't know the method by which you get and sustain patients for CU. I know OHSU has the bridges and so D1s will assist the D3 and D4s and will eventually inherit the patients as classes graduate and you move up in your group.

 

[Moopipe]

I was going from the information session at the beginning. CU sort of boasted seeing ~86,000 patients every year, which is fairly impressive. I actually don't know the method by which you get and sustain patients for CU. I know OHSU has the bridges and so D1s will assist the D3 and D4s and will eventually inherit the patients as classes graduate and you move up in your group.

Cool, good to know. Thanks

 

[PawpaBare]

PawpaBare, this is a great thread, I'm also interested in learning more about CU. Could you please post your own pros and cons list about the school? Thanks so much

Hello Moopipe,

This is the Pros/Cons list that I have so far for CU

Pros:
- OOS Tuition/Fees cheaper for CU
- New 4th floor clinic to help with larger class size
- ACTS program provides great clinical experience while working in underprivileged areas.
- Less specialties which may mean more cases thate pre-doc students can take on.
- NBE I required after first year while information is still fresh
- Equipment is leased instead of bought so no worrying about sterilizing and keeping track of your own equipment.
- Radiographs can be taken chair side since all operatories have the equipment.

Cons:
- No 24 hour access to sim/tech lab (although I believe they are open late)
- No outside Axiom access (not a big deal but something worth considering)

Again, this is all I have so far so please feel free to add anything that I may have missed.

 

[Moopipe]

Again, this is all I have so far so please feel free to add anything that I may have missed.[/quote]

Great list! I haven't come across anything else I would add, other than what I mentioned above - that it seemed like one student was talking about how it's sometimes difficult to get patients (or schedule patients?) to work with. Something like that. As you can tell, I have a bad memory, so that con might not even be legit. This is still my #1 choice for now. Thanks again.

If anyone else has more info about these schools, please share!

 

[lwen5]

Go to OHSU and withdraw your app from CU, so I can get a chance. 👍

 

[COLou3612]

I'm in-state in Colorado and headed there next year!
I got the impression that D2's "inherit" patients from the D3/4's when you start in the clinic, and you do have to schedule your own patients and keep track of them, unlike some schools who may do all of that admin stuff for you. (I think it'll make us appreciate our front office admin!)
Also, I think there is the opportunity to get loan forgiveness if you work in a rural part of Colorado. But, that is a nationwide offer (The National Health Service Corps (NHSC) loan repayment program - http://www.ada.org/sections/educationAndCareers/pdfs/loan_repayment.pdf) so I guess its a pro for both Colorado and OHSU.
Personally, I think the ACTS program is huge and will provide a lot of great experience in private practice before you graduate and are set free into the world by yourself. Just some thoughts, congrats on your acceptances! 🙂

 

[PawpaBare]

I'm in-state in Colorado and headed there next year!
I got the impression that D2's "inherit" patients from the D3/4's when you start in the clinic, and you do have to schedule your own patients and keep track of them, unlike some schools who may do all of that admin stuff for you. (I think it'll make us appreciate our front office admin!)
Also, I think there is the opportunity to get loan forgiveness if you work in a rural part of Colorado. But, that is a nationwide offer (The National Health Service Corps (NHSC) loan repayment program - http://www.ada.org/sections/educationAndCareers/pdfs/loan_repayment.pdf) so I guess its a pro for both Colorado and OHSU.
Personally, I think the ACTS program is huge and will provide a lot of great experience in private practice before you graduate and are set free into the world by yourself. Just some thoughts, congrats on your acceptances! 🙂

Yeah I think the ACTS program really does set CU apart from other schools. If I remember correctly, the D2's may inherit some students from D3's but the majority comes from screening up on the 4th floor. When I was doing my internship, the student I followed said that he spent a lot of days during the first part of summer (between D2 and D3 year) screening to get a good patient base. I really do like the comprehensive care model used at CU since you get to draw up different treatment plans and work with the patient from beginning to end. Also, congratulations on your CU acceptance!