If anyone is deciding between UTMB and Long that has made a consensus on it, how did you go about it?
Your boi wondering which to go with. Not sure if I'm wrong about this but seems like Long won't require us to commute at all for clerkships?
If it weren’t for my specific family situation, I would put UTMB >>> Long.
San Antonio is my least favorite city in the state. Surprisingly expensive housing relative to Houston and Dallas. Significantly less culture, cuisine, and things to do around town. Hands down the worst, most vile affluent population in the state. And excepting one or two locations (riverwalk, maybe out by the rim) the city is thoroughly ugly.
Long has a somewhat elevated academic reputation, though that doesn’t really translate into significant differences in residency matching.
UTMB has Greek life. A huge plus for some, inconsequential to others. JSSOM also has a huge nursing program, and the stories I’ve heard from family that went there make it sound like a very fun mixed student culture.
Minor differences in exam structures and curriculum. In-house vs NBME exams, true P/F vs H/HP/P/F, etc. I know I’m in the minority but I honestly don’t see how P/F is anything other than a joke. Even though I agree with the relatively low importance of performance in pre-clinical curriculum most residency programs have seem to adopted, I still bristle at the thought of not being able to be recognized for mastering the material vs just barely scraping by. I just don’t see how necessarily disincentivizing high performance in the first two years is wise.
Galveston itself is an interesting place. Stewart beach is eight blocks from UTMB, and the housing (rental houses) I’ve looked at around there are surprisingly affordable. I grew up going to Galveston with my family so I may be biased by good memories, but the island is fun. Good food, shopping, bars, etc.
If I were younger or single, UTMB would definitely win out over Long for me.