USMLE & COMLEX Tutor in Ohio

Ohio has six MD schools and one DO school, and the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine (1819) is the oldest on the list (list of medical schools). Case Western Reserve in Cleveland (1843) is the only private school; the other five MD schools and Ohio University's osteopathic college are public (list of medical schools).

Clerkships run through 76 teaching hospitals on the CMS list: nine in Cincinnati, seven each in Columbus and Cleveland, six in Toledo and four in Dayton (CMS teaching hospital list). In 2025-26 only 15.3% of Case Western's entering class came from Ohio, against 81.2% at Northeast Ohio Medical University (AAMC FACTS).

Medical schools in Ohio

Several of these schools teach students at more than one site: Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine also lists Dublin, Ohio, Cleveland, Ohio.

School list: LCME and COCA accreditation lists, via the list of medical schools in the United States, checked October 2026.

Teaching hospitals in Ohio by city

• Cincinnati: Mercy Hospital Anderson; Univer.of Cincinnati Med Center LLC; Jewish Hospital of Cincinnati; Good Samaritan Hospital; The Christ Hospital; Bethesda Hospital; Mercy Health West Hospital; Daniel Drake Center for Post-Acute Care; Children's Hospital Medical Center
• Columbus: Riverside Methodist Hospital; Grant Medical Center; Mount Carmel Health; The Ohio State University Hospital; Doctors Hospital; Arthur G James Cancer Hospital; Nationwide Children's Hospital
• Cleveland: St. Vincent Charity Medical Center; Metrohealth Medical Center; Fairview Hospital; Lutheran Hospital; UH Cleveland Medical Center; Cleveland Clinic Hospital; Rainbow Babies & Childrens Hospital
• Toledo: Univ of Toledo Medl Center; The Toledo Hospital; St. Vincent Medical Center; Mercy St. Anne Hospital; Advanced Specialty Hosp. of Toledo; Nationwide Childrens Hosp Toledo LLC
• Dayton: Miami Valley Hospital; Good Samaritan Hospital; Kettering Health Dayton; Dayton Children's Hospital
• Akron: Summa Health System; Akron General Medical Center; Children's Hospital Medical Center
• Youngstown: St. Elizabeth Health Center; Northside Medical Center; St. Elizabeth Boardman Health Ctr
• Warren: Trumbull Memorial Hospital; St. Joseph Health Center
• Canton: CCF Mercy Medical Center; Aultman Hospital
• Chardon: UH Regional Hospitals; UH Geauga Medical Center
• Portsmouth: Southern Ohio Medical Center
• Westerville: St. Anns Hospital
• Athens: Obleness Memorial Hospital
• Barberton: Summa Barberton Hospital
• Sandusky: Firelands Regional Medical Center
• Parma: UH Parma Medical Center
• Gallipolis: Holzer
• Lima: St. Ritas Medical Center LLC
• Lancaster: Fairfield Medical Center
• Sylvania: Flower Hospital
• Ravenna: UH Portage Medical Center
• Kettering: Kettering Health Main Campus
• Oregon: St. Charles Hospital
• Maumee: St. Lukes Hospital
• East Liverpool: East Liverpool City Hospital
• East Cleveland: Huron Hospital
• Bedford: UH Bedford Medical Center
• Westlake: UH St. John Medical Center
• Alliance: Alliance Community Hospital
• Warrensville Heights: South Pointe Hospital

Plus 11 more Ohio cities on the same CMS list.

Facts about Ohio

Accreditation: LCME directory; applications, places and in-state share: AAMC FACTS, Table A-1.

ABIM internal medicine certification exam by residency program: ABIM residency program pass rates; ABIM says to read rates from under 25 takers with caution.

• Ohio State students take USMLE Step 1 at the end of Part 1 of the LSI curriculum, no later than the Saturday before Part 2 starts, and usually take Step 2 CK at the beginning of Part 3. (Ohio State University College of Medicine)
• Ohio State students who cannot post a score predictive of passing on either of two school-sponsored CBSSA practice exams do not start Ring 1 of Part 2 on time, and every student must post a passing Step 1 score by March 31 of the year after Part 1. (Ohio State University College of Medicine)
• Ohio State's student handbook notes that the State Medical Board of Ohio requires all three Steps to be taken within a single ten-year period. (Ohio State University College of Medicine)
• Ohio State's Primary Care Track leads to the MD in three years, with a tuition scholarship covering up to 50% of in-state tuition, and its graduates can progress into Ohio State's family medicine residency. (Ohio State University College of Medicine)
• Ohio University's Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine teaches on three campuses, with 2026-2027 enrollment of 477 in Athens, 237 in Cleveland and 276 in Dublin. (Ohio University Heritage College)
• In the Heritage College class of 2026's preliminary Match results, 66% of students will stay in Ohio for residency and 50% matched into primary care. (Ohio University)
• In the 2025 Main Residency Match, programs in Ohio offered 1,938 residency positions in 31 specialties, the most in internal medicine (559), family medicine (203), and pediatrics (182). (NRMP)

Sources: LCME, directory of accredited U.S. programs (checked October 29, 2026); AAMC FACTS, Table A-1, 2025-2026 (checked October 29, 2026); Ohio State University College of Medicine, Student Handbook: Academic Affairs (checked November 1, 2026); Ohio State University College of Medicine, Primary Care Track (checked November 1, 2026); Ohio University Heritage College, Student & Alumni Facts (checked November 1, 2026); Ohio University, Heritage College Match Day 2026 (checked November 1, 2026); NRMP, 2025 Main Residency Match by state and specialty (checked October 29, 2026); ABIM, residency program pass rates 2023-2025 (checked October 29, 2026).

Ohio State: Step 1 is the gate into the clerkship Rings

Ohio State's Lead.Serve.Inspire curriculum puts Step 1 at the end of Part 1, its classroom phase, and students must sit it no later than the Saturday before Part 2 begins (Ohio State student handbook). Part 2 is organised as clerkship Rings rather than single rotations, and Step 2 CK usually comes at the start of Part 3.

The gate has a practice-exam step in front of it. A student who cannot post a score predictive of passing on either of two school-sponsored CBSSA practice exams does not start Ring 1 on time; the options become a gateway start in week 4 of Ring 1, a Ring 2 or Ring 3 start, or waiting for the next year's Ring 1. Every student must post a passing Step 1 score by March 31 of the year after Part 1 (Ohio State student handbook).

For an Ohio State student, then, the CBSSA is the first exam that counts. We plan dedicated study backward from the two CBSSA dates, not just the Step 1 appointment, and we treat a borderline first CBSSA as a reason to change the plan, not a reason to add hours. Students on the three-year Primary Care Track move faster still: they finish Part 1 on an accelerated schedule and enter Part 2 a Ring ahead of their classmates, with a Step 1 deadline of their own (Primary Care Track).

One DO college, three campuses

Ohio University's Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine is one college taught in three places: Athens, Cleveland and Dublin, with 2026-2027 enrollment of 477, 237 and 276 (Heritage College facts). Its students take COMLEX-USA, and many add the USMLE for residency applications.

Most of them stay. In the class of 2026's preliminary Match results, 66% will train in Ohio and 50% matched into primary care (Heritage College Match Day 2026). For a Heritage student sitting both series, we time COMLEX Level 2-CE and Step 2 CK close together so one review serves both, and use our COMLEX Level 2 vs Step 2 CK comparison to decide whether the second exam is worth it.

Residency in Ohio

Ohio programs offered 1,938 positions in 31 specialties in the 2025 Main Residency Match. Internal medicine alone offered 559, then family medicine 203 and pediatrics 182 (NRMP). That depth is why so many Ohio graduates can match without leaving the state, and why the internal medicine program table above is long: residents in those programs later sit the ABIM internal medicine exam, which we also tutor.

Which board exams Ohio students take

Ohio's six MD schools prepare students for the USMLE: Case Western Reserve in Cleveland, the University of Cincinnati, Ohio State in Columbus, the University of Toledo, Wright State's Boonshoft school in Dayton, and Northeast Ohio Medical University in Rootstown. Each sets its own Step 1 timing, so the Step 1 plan starts from your school's calendar, then Step 2 CK and Step 3.

The Heritage College follows COMLEX-USA: Level 1, Level 2-CE and Level 3. NBME shelf exams close the clerkships at every school.

Ohio licensing rules that affect your exam plan

Ohio's board sets no attempt cap of its own. It says an applicant cannot have exceeded the NBME or NBOME maximum in force on the application date, with possible waivers for current specialty board certification or for steps passed within the limits of their day (FSMB). The time limit is 10 years, with a possible waiver for good cause; Ohio State's handbook puts the same rule as all three Steps taken within a single ten-year period (FSMB; Ohio State student handbook).

Source: FSMB state licensure requirements, checked October 2026; confirm with the board before relying on them.

What Ohio's rules mean for how you study

• Check the limits on the day you apply. Ohio uses the NBME and NBOME maximums in force at application, so recheck the current USMLE eligibility rules and COMLEX limits before you submit (FSMB).
• The waiver has a ceiling. Ohio can accept a step passed within the limit in force at the time, but only if you did not exceed six attempts, so do not plan around it (FSMB).
• The ten years cover all three Steps, so an MD-PhD or a research year plus a late Step 3 can use them up; past ten years a waiver needs good cause (FSMB).

Many Ohio students rotate, interview or match next door. Ohio's neighbors on our list: Indiana (1 MD, 1 DO), Kentucky (2 MD, 1 DO), Michigan (6 MD, 1 DO), Pennsylvania (7 MD, 3 DO), West Virginia (2 MD, 1 DO).

How much Ohio searches for board prep

Ohio's Google Trends ranks over the past five years run from 14th to 27th of 51. USMLE (14th) and Step 2 (15th) lead, COMLEX is 26th in a state with one DO college, and the shelf exam is 24th. The odd one is USMLE Step 1, last at 27th, trailing Step 2 at 15th.

Source: Google Trends, United States, past 5 years, retrieved October 2026; ranks show relative interest, not student numbers.