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[TheHappySisyphus]

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[Drsecondchance]

Hi! I was pre-matched to both UTSW and Texas Tech at El Paso and was set on ranking UTSW as #1 but Texas Tech recently offered me a scholarship. Here are my main points:
UTSW
PROS:
Close to home (30 min drive away from my parents' house, I might live there during pre-clinical years to save on living costs)
Better basic science research opportunities
better "rank"
CONS:
I've heard that UTSW has a "gunner" vibe
~30k COA per year
Too close to home (kinda want to be more independent for my med school yrs)

Texas Tech:
PROS:
Loved the focus on underserved populations the school has
better vibe with students
El Paso seems like a cool city
scholarship (COA per year <10k)
CONS:
Didn't get the best vibe from the administration (interview day felt low effort)
Feel like clinical opportunities aren't as abundant as UTSW

Any feedback/advice is appreciated!

I would choose UTSW in your case because it's close to home and you want to be close to your support system. I don't agree with you that Foster's interview day was low effort, though, after the 90 minute deep dive lecture on curriculum.

 

[bananabread99]

Personally, I would go with UTSW, but it depends on where you feel you would be the happiest. El Paso's a great city and does focus a lot more on border health and helping underserved populations, which would be a great fit if these are strong interests for you. But, if you're not sure on what specialty you want to pursue, UTSW will give you lots more flexibility because there are soo many opportunities. Best of luck 🙂

 

[SolidDoc]

Personally, I'd pick UTSW. Speaking to current students, I've actually heard the opposite of the gunner mentality at UTSW. I heard it's very friendly and not as toxic/competitive as ppl make it out to seem. I've heard other schools, like McGovern, are actually more gunner mentality. Foster is a great school and you'd be able to reach any dream specialty you want there, but UTSW would make that process smoother because of their clinical and research opportunities as well as their excellent board averages. I actually live in El Paso right now for my gap year and its so beautiful here. Truly an amazing city and you'd have a lot to do here, especially being so close to NM and AZ. Ultimately, it just depends on what you value more. Do you value having stronger clinical and research resources or do you value going to a school that has more of an emphasis on underserved populations and border health? Foster's new curriculum is pretty cool & they have a small class size, so take that into consideration as well!! Good luck choosing!!