Advice needed: UTH vs UTSW

[cyanide12345678]

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So heres the dilemma which I have been struggling with for weeks now, I need to decide between UTSW and UTH for the texas match. I already have a prematch at UTH. Here are a few pros and cons I am seeing so far.

UTH:
Pros: Texas medical center.
Next to Rice University (My undergraduate university)
Located in Houston 20 miles away from home.
Friendlier/less competitive atmosphere (in my opinion)
Average USMLE scores are slightly higher than UTSW (which is ironic since southwestern accepts students with higher stats)

Cons: I'm not sure I would like the block exam system.
Not as big a reputation as UT SW
Student housing fills up really fast so no guarentee of living really close to campus.


UTSW
Pros: Reputation (probably helps slightly in getting a residency)
Bigger on research (honestly I dont care much about research)
The curriculum seems better suited to my liking.
College system (does UTH have anything similar which builds friendships through competition?)

Cons: More cut-throat competition (40% of the incoming class had a 4.0 GPA last year - slightly intimidating I would say)
Away from family.

So please feel free to add more pros and cons to my list. And please help me make this decision! THANK YOU EVERYONE!!!

 

[Stumpyman]

I like UTH, but that's your decision.

 

[cyanide12345678]

I like UTH, but that's your decision.

Are you going by my pros and cons or do you have other reasons of your own? I'd love to hear why you'd pick UTH over UTSW.

 

[Stumpyman]

Are you going by my pros and cons or do you have other reasons of your own? I'd love to hear why you'd pick UTH over UTSW.

My pros are almost the same as your pros. My entire family lives in Houston, and I'd love to stay in that area. Also, the slightly more laid-back attitude there.

I'm not aiming for a top residency either, so the name doesn't matter too much.

And this is all speculation on my part, I haven't applied yet 😎

 

[PianoMajor]

I don't think Houston has a higher USMLE Step 1 average than UTSW.

In my opinion, location is the most important factor when deciding which Texas school you want to attend. Which school would you rather spend your third, fourth year and possibly residency at? This is what really separates the schools from one another. Both are great options.

Competition, curriculum, and step I average are not important factors because so much of med school is a personal experience. If a school has a competitive atmosphere, you simply don't have to be apart of it. Focus on your own goals and meet your own expectations, and forget about others... problem solved. Curriculum is very overrated. It's essentially the same material presented in different ways, and if you work hard at either of these schools, you will be successful. You can get the USMLE score you want at either school. So these shouldn't be deciding factors.

I personally never got the chance to interview at UTSW, but the fact that UTSW and Baylor are considered in the "top-tier" schools in the nation should be considered too. As you said, I think this is largely based on the research. If research isn't your thing, I recommend Houston for you, as it is close to your home, and is a great location for medical school.

I hope to see you there next Fall (if I match there...) 👍

 

[TexasPhysician]

UTSW has a higher average USMLE score. TX schools frequently skew their numbers. Both schools are good schools though. Go wherever you feel more comfortable.

 

[Remedies]

So heres the dilemma which I have been struggling with for weeks now, I need to decide between UTSW and UTH for the texas match. I already have a prematch at UTH. Here are a few pros and cons I am seeing so far.

UTH:
Pros: Texas medical center.
Next to Rice University (My undergraduate university)
Located in Houston 20 miles away from home.
Friendlier/less competitive atmosphere (in my opinion)
Average USMLE scores are slightly higher than UTSW (which is ironic since southwestern accepts students with higher stats)

Cons: I'm not sure I would like the block exam system.
Not as big a reputation as UT SW
Student housing fills up really fast so no guarentee of living really close to campus.


UTSW
Pros: Reputation (probably helps slightly in getting a residency)
Bigger on research (honestly I dont care much about research)
The curriculum seems better suited to my liking.
College system (does UTH have anything similar which builds friendships through competition?)

Cons: More cut-throat competition (40% of the incoming class had a 4.0 GPA last year - slightly intimidating I would say)
Away from family.

So please feel free to add more pros and cons to my list. And please help me make this decision! THANK YOU EVERYONE!!!

I would choose UTH. The TMC is wonderful, and if you're really looking for research I doubt you'll have too much of a hard time finding it between Rice and the TMC, especially now that the BRC has been implemented. Not to mention you have a large support network already embedded there and you'd be training in what I consider one of the best cities to do your medical training at. Seriously, patients from all over the place end up in the lvl 1 trauma centers in the TMC (I think its either Methodist or MD-Anderson, I'm not sure).

Also Houston is just generally awesome; you'll hardly ever be bored there, as you probably know.

 

[cyanide12345678]

Thank you pianomajor, texasphysician, and remedies for your response. I know my heart wants UTH. But, the only thing keeping me right now is the "what if" feeling. Putting UTH as no.1 in the rank will mean I don't take part in the match process and probably I will never know whether or not I was good enough for UTSW. But UTH is definitely where I will be much happier I think 🙂

As remedies said, Houston is just awesome 😀

 

[cyanide12345678]

Any proponents of Southwestern out there?

 

[NickNaylor]

Your two cons are being away from family (which is legitimate) and that a lot of the class had 4.0s (which makes absolutely no sense in terms of why that would even matter). UTSW has a significantly stronger reputation out of state and significantly stronger research resources. That said, UTH certainly isn't a bad school, and you would definitely get a quality education.