Baylor vs UTSW vs McGovern

[taco1572]

UTSW (pre-match):
Pros:
- Great in-house residency matches
- well-renowned/prestige
- Dallas is great
Cons:
- Heard the curriculum is incredibly intense (does not align with USMLE so lots of self studying has to be done)
- internal ranking
- Stressful environment?
- Students have told me that it makes things “harder than they have to be”

Baylor:
Pros:
- Amazing reputation/competitive matches
- fully P/F with no internal ranking
- TMC brings great clinical/research (Houston)
- students seem incredibly happy
Cons:
- No say about temple/houston; after talking to students at the open house a couple weeks ago, I’m still really unsure about how i would fit into the environment and living in a smaller city than houston/dallas is very different than what i’m used to

McGovern:
Pros:
- students seem super happy
- solid match
- TMC guaranteed
Cons:
- prestige is there but maybe not as much as the other options
- not full P/F

I keep thinking that I made a decision but then I take a few steps back and become confused again 😭 so any assistance would be much appreciated

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[Guardians4312]

To me based on how you broke it down, sounds like BCM is the route to go. Coming from someone who grew up in a smaller town and now lives in a big city, I was worried about the transition too. I’ve ended up loving it. And like others have said if you really despise going to Temple then appeal the decision.

Either way, all 3 of these are fantastic options and will end up molding you into an incredible physician. Congrats!!

 

[MercifulCamper]

Congratulations on the prematch to UTSW!

As a disclaimer for my following comments, I go to UCSF but I prematched at both UTSW and Baylor last year so I feel like I have a good understanding about them. I didn't consider McGovern but I have friends that go there and they like it but I think Baylor and UTSW offer better opportunities.

So, I have a few questions/comments about your pros/cons list.

1. Is Baylor really fully P/F? I remember from last year grading at Baylor being pretty much the same as UTSW, meaning P/F in just the preclerkship part of the curriculum.

2. The main difference between the two curricula are that Baylor is 1 year pre clerkship and UTSW is 1.5 yrs pre clerkship. That should weigh more into your decision making. Some people really like having more time in the clinical arena/research but other people find that 1 year pre clerkship is too fast. Also this change was just implemented so Baylor's curriculum is much newer and you are going to be only one class removed from the guinea pigs. There may be hiccups that you wouldn't have in a more established curriculum.

3.In regards to internal ranking, both schools have AOA so I'm not sure how Baylor doesn't have an internal ranking system - I would double check that information before making a decision. I think any school with AOA is going to be somewhat competitive and create gunners.

4. It sounds like you want to get involved with research. The vibe I got from Baylor last year is that for those students that really wanted to get involved with research needed to take a year off before applying to residency. UTSW had much more baked in time for research in its curriculum. Perhaps someone like @MCAThiccy can clarify if the new curriculum has changed this for Baylor. Additionally, I don't think there are major differences in research opportunities between UTSW and Baylor. Both schools are top notch. However there may be differences in research focus if you were placed in Temple

5. I think the major con about Baylor is the campus selection process. It provides more uncertainty and if you are confident you wouldn't thrive in Temple then I would weigh that heavily.

6. For the most part, UTSW has the better residencies except in Pediatrics if that matters to you at all.

 

[MCAThiccy]

Out of the schools that you’ve listed, I would say that Baylor students are amongst the happiest and most chill list and I’m not saying that as a Baylor student, I’m just saying that as a normal person
Our curriculum is 15 months. For instance, we started in July and we will start doing our clinical rotations next October.
We are actively seeking students that want to be in the regional campus, and so the chances of you being in the regional campus are very, very slim.
If you desire bench research or lab research, then preference Houston and if you get selected for the original campus, you can appeal the decision. Want to do bench or wet lab research is a legitimate reason for appeal.
Baylor students are not ranked, and the entire curriculum from pre-clinical to clinical rotations is pass fail. We have two exams every two weeks and the first exam is at nine in the morning and the second exam is at two in the afternoon. If you get a 2% on the first exam and a 98% on the second exam, the highest exam score is taken into consideration, you need 70% to pass the exam.

 

[MCAThiccy]

I am assuming that you have been reading the Baylor thread for this year. If not, please read what I’ve posted throughout the months so that you may better grasp some details regarding the curriculum, and how it structured. I don’t regret applying to Baylor, or being accepted into Baylor at all. I love my school and I bleed for it. I love the people that are around me and I love the friendships that I’ve made. I am legitimately happy at my school I don’t feel that I would be as happy as I am, if I went to UT Southwestern, and that’s my hometown. I grew up in Dallas, but I saw from previous years’ thread that many students grind out multiple days with the curriculum and they’re always stressed and upset about what they’re doing. Yes both institutions are prestigious but only one institution in my opinion has a great work life balance if you can call it that. I’m not trashing on UT Southwestern by the way, I’m not trashing on any student at all. I’m just saying that I am legitimately happy with my social life at BCM.

 

[MCAThiccy]

Also, I hope all is well with you and your significant other at UCSF @MercifulCamper ! Thanks for thinking of me.

 

[BU22]

Hi! I’m an MS1 at BCM Houston. I interviewed at all 3 last year and struggled with my decision a lot. Some thoughts:

1. BCM is true P/F with no internal rankings and P/F clinicals. I believe preclinical grades are not taken into account for AOA but they do look at clerkship shelf exams and extracurriculars.

2. The curriculum is very streamlined. Everything we learn (minus some of the SDOH stuff) is tested on STEP. I don’t feel like we are learning the unnecessary fluff that I’ve heard other med students complain of. The way we have tests so often and the 2-per-day system really takes the stress off. I’m less stressed now than I was in undergrad. At first I had my qualms about the curriculum, but as the months pass I’ve come to appreciate all of the changes. It’s not the “guinea pig class fending for themselves” kinda thing. They’ve spent like 4 years developing this curriculum and it shows.

3. We spend a lot of time doing PBL’s. I personally enjoy it, and I feel like I learn in each 2-hour session than I could ever learn myself or in lecture. There are people who dislike it though, and that’s bc everyone has a different learning style.

4. Compared to UTSW and McGovern, anatomy so far has been a small part of our curriculum. I’ve only gone in 3 times this semester. It aligns very well with our lecture though. We’ve dissected the heart/thoracic cavity, lungs, and kidney so far, which directly corresponds to our cardio/renal/respiratory block.

5. Keep in mind that all the BS/MD and MD/PhD kids are sent to Houston, so the chances of getting temple are actually much higher than the 20% probability I heard.

I am definitely happy that I chose Baylor. I’m sure I would’ve been happy at UTSW and McGovern too, but the streamlined curriculum of BCM means that I can enjoy my time with friends and hobbies without killing myself studying. I cannot speak on residency matching as I’m only an MS1, but from what the upperclassmen have said, the Baylor name definitely carries a lot of weight.

 

[MercifulCamper]

Hi! I’m an MS1 at BCM Houston. I interviewed at all 3 last year and struggled with my decision a lot. Some thoughts:

1. BCM is true P/F with no internal rankings and P/F clinicals. I believe preclinical grades are not taken into account for AOA but they do look at clerkship shelf exams and extracurriculars.

2. The curriculum is very streamlined. Everything we learn (minus some of the SDOH stuff) is tested on STEP. I don’t feel like we are learning the unnecessary fluff that I’ve heard other med students complain of. The way we have tests so often and the 2-per-day system really takes the stress off. I’m less stressed now than I was in undergrad. At first I had my qualms about the curriculum, but as the months pass I’ve come to appreciate all of the changes. It’s not the “guinea pig class fending for themselves” kinda thing. They’ve spent like 4 years developing this curriculum and it shows.

3. We spend a lot of time doing PBL’s. I personally enjoy it, and I feel like I learn in each 2-hour session than I could ever learn myself or in lecture. There are people who dislike it though, and that’s bc everyone has a different learning style.

4. Compared to UTSW and McGovern, anatomy so far has been a small part of our curriculum. I’ve only gone in 3 times this semester. It aligns very well with our lecture though. We’ve dissected the heart/thoracic cavity, lungs, and kidney so far, which directly corresponds to our cardio/renal/respiratory block.

5. Keep in mind that all the BS/MD and MD/PhD kids are sent to Houston, so the chances of getting temple are actually much higher than the 20% probability I heard.

I am definitely happy that I chose Baylor. I’m sure I would’ve been happy at UTSW and McGovern too, but the streamlined curriculum of BCM means that I can enjoy my time with friends and hobbies without killing myself studying. I cannot speak on residency matching as I’m only an MS1, but from what the upperclassmen have said, the Baylor name definitely carries a lot of weight.

Wow I didn't know that Baylor had P/F clinical rotations. That is actually huge! I wish they would have advertised that more last year as that is one of the reasons I went OOS for P/F clinicals...lol

Anyways disregard then what I said about UTSW and Baylor not being different in that way.

Have they carved out some dedicated time in the curriculum for y'all to do research @BU22 and @MCAThiccy ?

 

[MCAThiccy]

Yes, not shown here, we will have a month for dedicated research in the second year. if we do not do research in that month, that’s fine. We can do research at anytime that we want but we only have a month of dedicated research time within the second year.