Oregon Health and Science University Is Ranked Ninth Among Schools Where Students Go in the Most Debt to Attend

Students at Oregon Health and Science University borrow an average of $14,675 in a year.

Oregon Health and Sciences University. (Wesley Lapointe)
By Elise Herron

The average student at Oregon Health and Science University borrows $14,675 worth of student loans in a year.

OHSU is ranked ninth among U.S. public colleges and universities where students go in the most debt to attend, according to data compiled by the debt consolidation service Student Loan Hero.

In the first quarter of 2019, 1,685 OHSU students borrowed a combined total of $24.7 million. That's well above the lowest-ranked college, Belmont College, where 232 loan recipients borrow $380,055 annually—though it doesn't match the top-ranked University of Tennessee Health Science Center, where 3,065 students took out a combined total of $77.7 million in loans.

"OHSU recognizes student debt can have long-lasting impacts for its graduates and we're working hard to limit tuition costs," OHSU spokesperson Franny White says. "Receiving an education in the health sciences and advanced graduate studies in science— which typically require hands-on experiences in healthcare facilities and/or laboratories—are inherently expensive."

Nationally, student loan debt has reached roughly $1.56 trillion, with nearly 43 million American graduates in debt.

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