Having experience with all 3, I'll add my 2 cents. Bear in mind that I matched at Baylor (my #1 choice) this year. Also, as you'll see, I am biased, but truly mean no offense to any program or its residents. I'm just listing my opinions/experiences.
UTSW - I did a month of Gen Surg here, and took Trauma call each weekend. They HAD an excellent reputation, but each year seem to lose more respect on a national level. Residents here do have a ton of autonomy (staff rarely scrub and even then only for a portion of the case, when needed). They also are very well-trained in the medical perioperative care of patients. This stems from the fact that they rarely see the OR until their third year (there's just too much to do on the floor). This also meant that the junior residents here were the most depressed I've ever seen. Their favorite mantra, uttered daily, is "We all have one thing in common. We enjoy pain." They also have a lot of catching up to do as PGY3s in terms of technical proficiency and surgical skill.
Parkland is seems entirely based on indigent care, and I was amazed at how many corners were cut on a daily basis. I couldn't believe what passed for standard care there. It was here that I learned the valuable lesson that being able to operate does not necessarily translate into doing correctly. After my month at UTSW, I cancelled my interview (as did all of the 4 other students I spoke with on the interview trail). I saw no reason to put up with the depressing atmosphere and spiteful residents for training I could get elsewhere. That said, I do think the chiefs graduate as great surgeons. Also, their M&M and Grand Rounds are the best I've seen, attended by almost all of the staff, who add a great deal to the discussion/education.
Methodist - Interviewed here and truely believe that it might be the "cushiest" community program in the country, while still offering great training. It is NOT light on trauma and sees more penetrating trauma than Parkland. Trauma is handled differently here, though, as there is no dedicated trauma service. The residents were the most diverse group of people I could imagine being grouped together, yet also the closest & happiest that I encountered in my 20 interviews. The program director is very involved in resident education and a great guy overall. Also, I know a few recent grads and they all got the fellowships they wanted, so if you want to go into private surgery, definitely check these guys out. I simply wanted a bigger program with more research opportunities.
Baylor - definitely different than any other program I visited. There are no true teams, and you simply round (alone) on the patients you operated on, then again later with the staff from the respective case. Very geared toward self-motivated residents, who can get into the OR by 10am or earlier on a daily basis. They have 66 operating rooms running daily, so there's ample opportunity to see cases you're interested in. Early, autonomous operative experience. If you can demonstrate competency to the staff, they'll let you pretty much do the cases, even as a PGY2. Close-knit group of residents, though from what I saw, basically a fraternity of "guys-guys" (which appealed to me after working with some spiteful residents elsewhere). A friend of mine is a 4th year resident at Baylor, and I based a lot of my decision to rank them 1st on his input. He could have gone pretty much anywhere and when I asked him if he's happy where he's at, he replied, "150%." As a 4th year, he feels he can operate on par with chiefs from anywhere, he had more than enough time to spend with his family, and he more than doubled his salary last year moonlighting. I chose Baylor because although it's a community program, you're expected to do research, you get tons of OR experience, much earlier than at academic centers, and there's a great network of surgeons to get you the job/fellowship you want.
Bottom line, I don't think you can go wrong anywhere in Dallas. If you truly want to stay in academics, UTSW is the easy choice, though IMO definitely the most "old-school, hierarchical, and scut-work-heavy" of the three. If you want to go private and have a lighter residency schedule while still getting great training, choose Methodist or Baylor. Keep in mind, though, that going to a community program will certainly close some doors at academic institutions in the future.
