OHSU vs Wayne State

[pronghorn89]

Hey all. I would love any input. Both schools are OOS for me(Im from California). I received a full tuition scholarship from Wayne and was just accepted to OHSU so I don’t have fin aid info from them yet. Girlfriend will be attending UMichigan for law school; so that, plus the full tuition scholarship is a huge draw to Wayne. OHSU made a bigger impression on me during interview day and I’ve always wanted to live in the PNW. I’m fairly certain I want to go into emergency med so I don’t know how much rank matters between these two schools, but I also would like to keep the door open for other possibilities such as teaching (I love to teach). Overall I like OHSU much more and I like the location much more, but if they don’t match or come close to a full tuition scholarship it might have to be Wayne. Thoughts?

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[WannaB Ortho Bro]

It seems to me that without financial aid from OHSU it is an easy decision. If they did give you a similar deal, then things become much more difficult! To me, it really depends on how close you and your SO are. If that support system is vital to your success, I would say go Wayne regardless of what OHSU does for you financially.

 

[pronghorn89]

Thanks for the words! It’s hard to ignore the financial aspect. Being basically without debt drastically changes how you approach decision making and opens up myriad more options after graduation. The question I ask myself is whether the network, location, training, overall experience, and graduation options of one institution could be worth more than being basically debt free at graduation.

I know that I want to end up on the west coast closer to family and I really love the Pacific Northwest. Would Wayne make that future that much harder even with a full tuition scholarship? I don’t know.

Again, I don’t know the financial situation at OHSU yet (I got the acceptance email at like 9pm on Friday), but I’m trying gather as much perspective as I can right now.

 

[Rachapkis]

I would lean toward Wayne State. Being debt free (or close to it) after graduation is a significant bonus. Loans, especially with interest accumulating, can really cramp your lifestyle. What’s more, Detroit is close to Ann Arbor, so you could easily live with your GF if you so choose. Furthermore, I suspect you will be able to match in the Pacific Northwest if you do well at Wayne State. Good luck with your decision.

 

[Gilakend]

Agree with above. Wayne State imo. Congrats!!

 

[premed9901]

I will be the different opinion in this thread. If you want to end up in California/PNW, you should swallow the debt and go to OHSU. Out of Wayne's 300 students, and of the 26 matching EM, exactly 0 ended up west of Illinois this year. Not a single one.

 

[premed9901]

Faulty logic. Without knowing how many applied for matches in the PNW, you can't generalize. Perhaps at Wayne State, given its location in the upper Midwest, no one wished to do a residency in the PNW.

I would believe that with a sample size <5, but there were twenty six people matching to EM, and not one ended up on the west coast. And in general, out of 300 students, how many do you think came from California? Over 15? Because that's the grand total out of 300 students that Wayne sent back to California.

And of those 15 out of 300 sent to california, 3 were for transitional/prelim years with the rest of residency happening elsewhere.

 

[pronghorn89]

I would believe that with a sample size <5, but there were twenty six people matching to EM, and not one ended up on the west coast. And in general, out of 300 students, how many do you think came from California? Over 15? Because that's the grand total out of 300 students that Wayne sent back to California.

And of those 15 out of 300 sent to california, 3 were for transitional/prelim years with the rest of residency happening elsewhere.

Is a school's network equally or more important than step scores in securing a residency in a desired region? I have connections to the West Coast through clinical research and my undergrad, but is that enough to offset the disadvantage of training in another region? I suppose there's no concrete answer to that, but I suppose even further that having upwards of $300,000 is more debilitating, which is something that in general (uh-oh, i'm generalizing) young pre-meds really don't seem to grasp. Most people answer "You're going to be a doctor. Don't worry, you'll make plenty of money. Deal with that later." Those kinds of answers are useless and short sighted.

TLDR. I'll probably go to Wayne if OHSU doesn't offer a significant amount of money. Doesn't matter where I attend, I'll never be able to harness all of the school's resources/networks anyways.