Baylor College of Medicine vs UT Southwestern (2022-2023 Edition)

[MercifulCamper]

Hi all, this post is to help gain some perspective from SDN community members regarding which school to pick for the TMDSAS match. My partner and I are very fortunate to have both been admitted to both Baylor College of Medicine and UT Southwestern via prematch offers but we have to narrow down our choice to one school by February 17th (TMDSAS only allows Texas residents to hold onto one acceptance by then). For me, both schools will cost the same. However, she received incredibly generous scholarships at both schools, specifically a full tuition scholarship at BCM ($100K) and a full cost-of attendance scholarship at UTSW ($200K-$240K). BCM will not match the scholarship. For what it's worth, I am interested in Internal Medicine and she is interested in OB/GYN - obviously subject to change during medical school.

Baylor College of Medicine
Pros

• For us Houston > Dallas (more cultural diversity, more stuff to do, and better food)
• Research powerhouse and Texas Medical Center provides amazing clinical and research opportunities (important for us as we are both interested in academic medicine and working with underserved populations especially Spanish-speaking populations)
• AOA policy is more holistic than UTSW's (does not just include grades but considers merit of research and extracurricular activities in medical school)
• 3 hours closer to home than Dallas for both of us
• Excellent Match List

Cons

• Curriculum will be new (1 year preclinical + 3 years clinical) Could be good, could be bad?
• A chance one or both of us could end up in Temple, which does not align with our career interests or personal preferences to be in a more urban environment
• 100Kish in loans for my partner, granted she may receive need-based aid that could lower this but we can't be certain and she will have to give up her full COA scholarship at UTSW before finding out
• We have heard that BCM is a bit more hands-off with students and have gotten this impression in their recruitment of new medical students (i.e. less communication and events with prospective students compared to UTSW)

UT Southwestern
Pros

• Dallas is a more preferable location to Temple and is guaranteed if we choose UTSW
• Research powerhouse
• Free education for my partner
• More established curriculum (1.5 years preclinical and 2.5 years clinical)
• Seems to be going the extra mile to recruit those that are admitted
• Excellent Match List

Cons

• Slightly further from home
• AOA is less holistic
• Houston > Dallas

Summary: Both UTSW and BCM are amazing. We like Houston better than Dallas but we prefer Dallas over Temple. The campus match at BCM is a bit unsettling for me and my partner. By going to BCM my partner could be taking on 100Kish in debt compared to a completely free education at UTSW for a similar quality of education. Any advice, insight, or counterpoints to the points listed above would be incredibly appreciated.

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[m1redsox]

Gotta follow the money here. COA makes a huge difference, and both schools are great.

 

[wysdoc]

"(TMDSAS only allows Texas residents to hold onto one acceptance by then)."
This is kinda true, in your case, as you need to enter your rank preference by then.
Since you both have prematch offers, if you both list a school as #1 on your rank list, that's where you will be going in Texas.

 

[obiwan]

I cannot overstate that graduating medical school without any debt is a true gift that should not be squandered especially when the quality/pedigree of the medical schools are equivalent

 

[ese2]

Baylor College of Medicine

• Curriculum will be new (1 year preclinical + 3 years clinical) Could be good, could be bad?

I would love some opinions on this too!

 

[drskittles]

I would love some opinions on this too!

from people i know at current 1 year preclinical schools, it goes almost too fast and is hard to keep up with. not sure how baylor will structure their curriculum tho.

I cannot overstate that graduating medical school without any debt is a true gift that should not be squandered especially when the quality/pedigree of the medical schools are equivalent

facts

 

[Snoozles]

If I were in your shoes, I'd take the money and run. Equivalent prestige/opportunity, both in major cities, part of her COL money will likely subsidize you assuming you live together, the list goes on.

UTSW

 

[wysdoc]

Ya know, the full tuition scholarship for you + the full COA for her = full COA for you too, unless you don't plan to live together.

You seem like a thoughtful person and someone who wants to make a good choice for the two of you.
You probably don't realize how rare it is for the two of you to have so many interviews in common.

I hope the two of you will consider the big picture, and not go to a school that is super expensive because "but it's NAME BRAND".

I have seen this scenario play out so many times on SDN (usually with a single person applying):
They look for scholarships
They get scholarships
They try to play off one school against another
They end up (inexplicably!) choosing the school that offers them nothing, because "the name brand"

Don't let this be you

 

[MercifulCamper]

Thanks everyone the choice seems pretty clear. Just want to clarify that I did not receive scholarships from either institution, just my partner, but everyone's points are well taken. We will be visiting UTSW soon and are leaning toward it at the moment.

 

[deleted877888]

UTSW also guarantees you guys can be in the same area. Would be pretty unfortunate if you guys decide on Baylor and then one of you is placed in Temple. This would be a pretty big factor for me at least.

 

[skeptastic]

Baylor MS4. Both strong schools. With many friends at UTSW, anecdotally I believe baylor has better education than UTSW. But the schools are very similar, and the money is an important consideration.

Btw, Baylor’s AOA isn’t more holistic than UTSW even if we pretend it is

I've probably read every post of yours in X vs Y threads, and have always appreciated your honesty. Naturally, you didn't disappoint here either. Hope 4th year is going well!

 

[randompremed457]

Hi all, this post is to help gain some perspective from SDN community members regarding which school to pick for the TMDSAS match. My partner and I are very fortunate to have both been admitted to both Baylor College of Medicine and UT Southwestern via prematch offers but we have to narrow down our choice to one school by February 17th (TMDSAS only allows Texas residents to hold onto one acceptance by then). For me, both schools will cost the same. However, she received incredibly generous scholarships at both schools, specifically a full tuition scholarship at BCM ($100K) and a full cost-of attendance scholarship at UTSW ($200K-$240K). BCM will not match the scholarship. For what it's worth, I am interested in Internal Medicine and she is interested in OB/GYN - obviously subject to change during medical school.

Baylor College of Medicine
Pros

• For us Houston > Dallas (more cultural diversity, more stuff to do, and better food)
• Research powerhouse and Texas Medical Center provides amazing clinical and research opportunities (important for us as we are both interested in academic medicine and working with underserved populations especially Spanish-speaking populations)
• AOA policy is more holistic than UTSW's (does not just include grades but considers merit of research and extracurricular activities in medical school)
• 3 hours closer to home than Dallas for both of us
• Excellent Match List

Cons

• Curriculum will be new (1 year preclinical + 3 years clinical) Could be good, could be bad?
• A chance one or both of us could end up in Temple, which does not align with our career interests or personal preferences to be in a more urban environment
• 100Kish in loans for my partner, granted she may receive need-based aid that could lower this but we can't be certain and she will have to give up her full COA scholarship at UTSW before finding out
• We have heard that BCM is a bit more hands-off with students and have gotten this impression in their recruitment of new medical students (i.e. less communication and events with prospective students compared to UTSW)

UT Southwestern
Pros

• Dallas is a more preferable location to Temple and is guaranteed if we choose UTSW
• Research powerhouse
• Free education for my partner
• More established curriculum (1.5 years preclinical and 2.5 years clinical)
• Seems to be going the extra mile to recruit those that are admitted
• Excellent Match List

Cons

• Slightly further from home
• AOA is less holistic
• Houston > Dallas

Summary: Both UTSW and BCM are amazing. We like Houston better than Dallas but we prefer Dallas over Temple. The campus match at BCM is a bit unsettling for me and my partner. By going to BCM my partner could be taking on 100Kish in debt compared to a completely free education at UTSW for a similar quality of education. Any advice, insight, or counterpoints to the points listed above would be incredibly appreciated.

Hi, I would follow the money here, not having a mountain of debt over your heads makes it a lot easier for you to do what you love vs do what will financially secure you faster.

If your partner gets full COA and y’all live together then I’d assume you would get free rent at the very least. Assuming you don’t live at med park, the average one bedroom in the medical district is about $1300 a month - that’s $62,000 less loans that you have to take out.

My point is that her COA scholarship will significantly reduce your costs as well. Best case scenario is that you both come out of med school with only one person having paid tuition ~100k in debt. That is an absolute hell of a deal.

On the flip side at Baylor, assuming you have no savings whatsoever you’d be in the 250-300k range if my math is right.

I love houston, it’s my favorite city in Texas and miles more fun than Dallas IMO but not sure that living there is worth an additional 150k.

I’m going through this same decision for my match list without any scholarships. Here’s what scares me about Baylor:

Year 1 of a brand new curriculum. Although I’m confident that the school will still educate amazing physicians, there’s always kinks to work out in the first year of anything. As a relatively simple analogy, there’s a reason any mechanic would tell you not to buy the first year of a brand new body style car. Although a team of highly qualified engineers spent thousands of hours designing it, it really hasn’t seen enough widespread testing to identify all of the issues. It evolves into something amazing over years of testing (unless it’s a Nissan)

Temple: Same thing regarding Year 1, but also I can’t imagine myself living there. The odds are statistically in my favor and I likely would be placed in Houston but I’m not sure about gambling with 4 years of my life. Residency could have me living anywhere, so I’d like the security of knowing where I’m going to be for at least the next 4 years.

 

[ese2]

Just the uncertainty of the BCM internal match alone would deter me from going there in your case. I would hate for you two to be split up because of it.

 

[arrozconleche2]

Will have to disagree with Kracin above. UTSW churns out better doctors than Baylor in my opinion. Baylor has the better preclinical but UTSW has the better clerkships. And the residency director (PD) rankings corroborate this (UTSW @17, Baylor @20). So I've heard that UTSW MS3s are treated like mini-residents (having to put in more hrs during clinicals, more responsibility, etc) . Now this may be a con for you potentially: UTSW's curriculum is very rigorous and it's well known that their students have less free-time than students from other TX schools.

 

[BritainKittenMittens]

Baylor has the better preclinical but UTSW has the better clerkships. And the residency director (PD) rankings corroborate this (UTSW @17, Baylor @20).

I have nothing to add to the Baylor v. UTSW, but just wanted to chime in that that the PD rankings do not corroborate it. In general, people should use the PD rankings with a grain of salt, but specifically when it's a difference of 3, and especially when it's at the mid spots where they're roughly the same, and double especially since this seems to be an anomaly from past years.
I just have to underscore this for future reference in case anyone else tries to use PD rankings in such a foolish way.

 

[MercifulCamper]

I have nothing to add to the Baylor v. UTSW, but just wanted to chime in that that the PD rankings do not corroborate it. In general, people should use the PD rankings with a grain of salt, but specifically when it's a difference of 3, and especially when it's at the mid spots where they're roughly the same, and double especially since this seems to be an anomaly from past years.
I just have to underscore this for future reference in case anyone else tries to use PD rankings in such a foolish way.

I also think this can also apply in reference to how everyone says Baylor is clearly ahead of UTSW due to the USNWR report having Baylor ahead by 3 spots. Food for thought. I’d say both schools are basically equivalent and come in different flavors

 

[skeptastic]

I also think this can also apply in reference to how everyone says Baylor is clearly ahead of UTSW due to the USNWR report having Baylor ahead by 3 spots. Food for thought. I’d say both schools are basically equivalent and come in different flavors

Completely agree with you

 

[BritainKittenMittens]

I also think this can also apply in reference to how everyone says Baylor is clearly ahead of UTSW due to the USNWR report having Baylor ahead by 3 spots. Food for thought. I’d say both schools are basically equivalent and come in different flavors

I must admit that I have that preconception that Baylor is the clear number 1 in TX (disclaimer: I do not know much about TX schools). But this is more from my being more old school and historically Baylor has ranked higher. Not sue if things have changed, but it seems like UTSW has caught up?

 

[MercifulCamper]

I must admit that I have that preconception that Baylor is the clear number 1 in TX (disclaimer: I do not know much about TX schools). But this is more from my being more old school and historically Baylor has ranked higher. Not sue if things have changed, but it seems like UTSW has caught up?

You’d have to get expert opinion/insight on this from someone like [mention]wysdoc [/mention]who would know more. My humble opinion is they are practically equivalent as stated above

 

[wysdoc]

You’d have to get expert opinion/insight on this from someone like [mention]wysdoc [/mention]who would know more. My humble opinion is they are practically equivalent as stated above

My humble opinion is that I hate USNWR for all the hype and pressure it engenders for college applicants and their parents. Its lists have created a world of one-upsmanship which I think detracts from students choosing the right school for themselves on their own criteria.

 

[BritainKittenMittens]

My humble opinion is that I hate USNWR for all the hype and pressure it engenders for college applicants and their parents. Its lists have created a world of one-upsmanship which I think detracts from students choosing the right school for themselves on their own criteria.

I have mixed feelings about this, and was in the process of writing a tangent, but came to my senses that this is not the space to do it. In general, I am not against schools competing against each other in the rankings if it ends up helping students. I think it's a cop out that the schools are revolting because they don't want to compete against each other.

 

[MercifulCamper]

Ended up choosing UTSW over Baylor for those that may happen to come upon this thread in the future. As a bonus I was given a full tuition scholarship to UTSW which really didn't sway my decision as I had already submitted my rank list before recieving it. Nevertheless, it was a wonderful gift that I am very appreciative of and further goes toward my point of UTSW's commitment to me and desire to have me at their institution.