University of Washington vs OHSU

[Ellie Arroway]

These two schools are similar in so many ways that I am having a hard time thinking of significant things to differentiate them with. I'm looking for more things to add to my list, and maybe ideas on what to look for & ask about at the UW second look this weekend. Thanks!


University of Washington:
+Prestige Factor
+#1 in primary care for forever, though my certainty about primary care feels less firm as time goes on
+gorgeous undergrad campus
+Moving to a new city and having the opportunity to meet lots of new people
+I have been told I might qualify for a scholarship, but it won't be nearly enough to cover the tuition differential (below)

---$100,000 more expensive than OHSU if I can't get resident tuition for any of my 4 years. The previous program that gave resident tuition after MS1 has been discontinued. They have only 7 recruitment fellowships to give out, which would make the cost of attendance identical to OHSU. But only 7 people get that.
-3 hours from family (my mom is very ill)
-Minimum of 3 rotations (We were told 24 weeks) in areas outside of Seattle (throughout the WWAMI region). I am not rurally-focused.

OHSU:
+Only 5 weeks of rural rotations
+less than 20 miles from family
+Already have an established network of friends and know a few folks that will be matriculating
+early clinical experience - at my interview day an MS1 was talking about having devlivered a baby. AS AN MS1!
+/- Med school would move to a brand new building for my MS2…could be cool or incredibly disorganized…only time will tell

-from what I have heard OHSU's late/slow admissions process has resulted in them pulling heavily from the waitlist and I have heard people badmouth the quality or cohesion of some of the recent cohorts
-likely no financial aid other than loans


Both:
+very respectable match lists
+Have a heavy emphasis on underserved medicine & primary care, will ultimately be great for the kind of work I want to do

-old educational buildings
-Have a lot of critiques of their own program and are working on instituting new curricula…but not for the class of 2017. Their current curricula are very similar.
-Students at both schools complain about the administration being obtuse
-neither will get me a financial aid package by May 15

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[Ellie Arroway]

Whoops, forgot one: UW is P/F; OHSU is not.

 

[deleted127837]

UW every day all day

 

[mybubbles627]

I'm and Oregon resident and go to OHSU. Don't get me wrong, I love the school and am VERY happy I'm there. But if I was given the choice between the two I would pick UW without question.

 

[Ellie Arroway]

I'm and Oregon resident and go to OHSU. Don't get me wrong, I love the school and am VERY happy I'm there. But if I was given the choice between the two I would pick UW without question.

This was the impression I had all along, and then I got to my interview day and didn't see or hear a whole lot that particularly impressed me. Are people saying UW just because of the name or is there something big I am missing here?

Would you still choose UW if the total cost of attendance was $350,000 vs $250,000 for OHSU? That's what I am most likely looking at.

 

[elevenses]

This was the impression I had all along, and then I got to my interview day and didn't see or hear a whole lot that particularly impressed me. Are people saying UW just because of the name or is there something big I am missing here?

Would you still choose UW if the total cost of attendance was $350,000 vs $250,000 for OHSU? That's what I am most likely looking at.

I've been accepted to UW (withdrew from OHSU after being put on hold), and if OHSU was $100K less than UW, rather than the other way around, I would go to OHSU. I'm not sure that any medical school is $100K better than any other. $100K is a potentially life-changing amount of money, especially when you tack on interest. And I can't help but think that the additional debt would have a significant impact on your choice of specialty, which is not an ideal position to be in.

Honestly, the pros that you list for UW seem pretty negligible to me, while the cons are fairly serious. Prestige? We're talking #2 vs #3 -- hardly a meaningful differential. Gorgeous undergrad campus? I've been to both places, and honestly, I don't think UW is $100K more beautiful, nor do I think that you'll have enough time to notice the difference; OHSU has woods and heights, while UW has woods and a lake. Moving to a new city/meeting new people? This is your call, obviously, but you're going to meet lots of new people regardless of where you go to school. Finally, for me personally, having to move three hours away from a seriously ill family member would be a bit of a deal breaker all on its own, unless you think that you will need distance from family to do well in school.

I know how you feel. I am struggling with the choice between UW and Penn, and the prestige of Penn occasionally blinds me to the many good reasons that I should go to UW. Ultimately, however, my family and I have decided that the only reason we would go to Penn is if it were to turn out to be significantly cheaper.

Remember: At 6.8% interest, $100,000 in additional loans would result in an additional monthly payment of ~$1,150 for ten years. Depending on where you live, that could be your entire mortgage after you finish residency. Just my two cents.

 

[Ellie Arroway]

Yeah. My thought is that if I do not get one of the tuition fellowships, I will not go to UW. If I do, I will still have a hard choice to make. My gut is telling me maybe I should stick with OHSU if I get in. I will see what I think after UW second look this weekend.

 

[Ellie Arroway]

The thing I am trying to figure out right now: A huge scholarship foundation wants to know my school and all of its associated costs by April 15. Not sure what school to put down and I won't even have a decision from OHSU for another month.

I haven't won it yet, but I am a finalist and they are flying me somewhere for an interview (!!!). I wont know about the scholarship until after May 15. This equation has too many variables!

 

[elevenses]

Yeah. My thought is that if I do not get one of the tuition fellowships, I will not go to UW. If I do, I will still have a hard choice to make. My gut is telling me maybe I should stick with OHSU if I get in. I will see what I think after UW second look this weekend.

That's basically where I'm at as well; if I am awarded a full scholarship to Penn, then I will consider going. If not, UW is a sure thing. Have fun at second look! I'll be in Seattle for a family wedding (they don't let us IS folks go to second look) and my wife and I are going to spend some time exploring the campus/housing, so maybe I'll see you around.

 

[BABSstudent]

These two schools are similar in so many ways that I am having a hard time thinking of significant things to differentiate them with. I'm looking for more things to add to my list, and maybe ideas on what to look for & ask about at the UW second look this weekend. Thanks!


University of Washington:
+Prestige Factor
+#1 in primary care for forever, though my certainty about primary care feels less firm as time goes on
+gorgeous undergrad campus
+Moving to a new city and having the opportunity to meet lots of new people
+I have been told I might qualify for a scholarship, but it won't be nearly enough to cover the tuition differential (below)

---$100,000 more expensive than OHSU if I can't get resident tuition for any of my 4 years. The previous program that gave resident tuition after MS1 has been discontinued. They have only 7 recruitment fellowships to give out, which would make the cost of attendance identical to OHSU. But only 7 people get that.
-3 hours from family (my mom is very ill)
-Minimum of 3 rotations (We were told 24 weeks) in areas outside of Seattle (throughout the WWAMI region). I am not rurally-focused.

OHSU:
+Only 5 weeks of rural rotations
+less than 20 miles from family
+Already have an established network of friends and know a few folks that will be matriculating
+early clinical experience - at my interview day an MS1 was talking about having devlivered a baby. AS AN MS1!
+/- Med school would move to a brand new building for my MS2…could be cool or incredibly disorganized…only time will tell

-from what I have heard OHSU's late/slow admissions process has resulted in them pulling heavily from the waitlist and I have heard people badmouth the quality or cohesion of some of the recent cohorts
-likely no financial aid other than loans


Both:
+very respectable match lists
+Have a heavy emphasis on underserved medicine & primary care, will ultimately be great for the kind of work I want to do

-old educational buildings
-Have a lot of critiques of their own program and are working on instituting new curricula…but not for the class of 2017. Their current curricula are very similar.
-Students at both schools complain about the administration being obtuse
-neither will get me a financial aid package by May 15

If given the scholarship I would attend UW, if not then I would go OHSU.

Some things that I think are notable:

1. You list prestige, but many people outside the PNW don't know about UW. So I don't think it matters unless you ultimately plan to stay in Oregon or Washington.
2. Moving to a new city doesn't need to be a pro because you will meet new people no matter what.
3. The cost is a lot more expensive.
4. Your support group is already built in Oregon, but being a few hours from them isn't going to cause you to not have one.

What I don't think matters:
1. The distance from home. I-5 will take you a few hours to go home and 3 hours is nothing.
2. Rural rotations. I mean, you may get more hands on experience doing them but I don't think it matters in the long run.

That being said, $100,000 is a lot of money. Especially after interest is factored in... That is enough to make me seriously question which school to attend.

With all that being said, which do you want to attend more?

 

[Ellie Arroway]

Second look helped me clear my mind on this. My #1 on paper has always been UW and I feel pretty solid about that now. There are really only two things that give me pause:

1. $$$ - I need to wait and see how financial aid works out.
2. Distance from family, but ultimately I don't think the 3 hour drive is a huge barrier.

Basically, if I score the tuition fellowship I am moving to Seattle. If I don't, I am twisting myself in knots over whether going to UW is an irresponsible financial decision.

I am also only 2 weeks post-interview with OHSU. If they end up rejecting me then this choice is UW vs UW (Wisconsin)...the financial difference is the same, but I think there are enough differences to merit the extra money.