The college works hard for an inclusive environment toward first-generation students of higher education.
When Jason Rodriguez sat down to apply for college, he wasn’t exactly sure where to begin.
His parents, who were in the Air Force, never attended college, let alone medical school.
Rodriguez isn’t the only one of such a background to attend Ohio University’s Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine.
About one in four students in OU-HCOM is the first in his or her family to go to college.
“I think because they are welcoming of people from all different backgrounds, they have a really inclusive atmosphere,” Rodriguez said. “So people who are first generation who otherwise might feel out of their element, they generally feel welcomed here.”
About one in four students at the university overall are also first generation.
At 31 years old, Rodriguez is also a nontraditional student, a group that makes up about 31 percent of the fall of 2014 OU-HCOM class, said John Schriner, assistant dean of OU-HCOM’s admissions.
“We work really hard at getting a diverse class and giving opportunity to people who otherwise wouldn’t have opportunity,” said Kenneth Johnson, executive dean of OU-HCOM. “I think that that is kind of built into the fabric of what we do.”
Admitted OU-HCOM students have an average 3.65 GPA and a 27.37 score on the Medical College Admission Test. OU-HCOM costs more than $100,000 for in-state tuition and fees over four years.
“I don’t think (first generation students are) a very common thing to see in medical school, especially with the cost of medical school and that investment,” said Amy Fernow, a first-year and first-generation student in OU-HCOM.
Fernow took a year off after attending the University of Notre Dame to work for AmeriCorps.
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“It felt kind of polarizing when I was at Notre Dame just because they have a large alumni population and so many of my friends had parents who donated or friends who went, so I didn’t know any other first generation students there,” Fernow said. “Here at OU-HCOM, it’s more diverse, and I know several first generation students.”
Some OU-HCOM officials think that part of the importance of having so many first generation students is to have a diverse group of future physicians.
“We really value the fact that a lot of first generation college students, they’re the ones who are really having to pull themselves up from their own bootstraps and that are maybe having to work to help pay for their education,” Schriner said. “They’re hard-working and they’re very passionate about what they want to do, and that translates well into what we’re looking for in a quality medical student and an outstanding physician.”
Rodriguez said he sees other first-generation students relatively frequently and finds it welcoming to see other students like him.
“There’s a really strong vibe of collaboration and the sense that, as a first-generation student, you’re not in it alone,” Rodriguez said.
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