Help in identifying my top choice medical school + TMDSAS Ranking

[2023applicantxd]

RIP XD

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[colistincanape]

Cornell and Baylor would both give you equal matching prospects, though, of course, Cornell will have more connections in the NE, and Baylor will be stronger in the South. I would jump at the chance to spend four years in the city with your SO when you're young and have a relatively large amount of free time compared to the next 5-7 surgery years. Plus, there's always the possibility you don't match close to her, and then she has to decide between moving or another extended period of long distance. Also, NYC has a relatively mild winter compared to the rest of the NE since it sits right on the Atlantic. It's not a frozen wonderland like Chicago or Buffalo.

I think the biggest strength of Baylor to you is the family proximity and you know it has a great environment. These are both valid reasons to just stick with Baylor, though I think a long-distance relationship with your family is easier to maintain than one with your SO. Regardless, I would do some research on Cornell's student body happiness/supportiveness. If the students there seem off, then go Baylor 100%.

 

[2023applicantxd]

Cornell and Baylor would both give you equal matching prospects, though, of course, Cornell will have more connections in the NE, and Baylor will be stronger in the South. I would jump at the chance to spend four years in the city with your SO when you're young and have a relatively large amount of free time compared to the next 5-7 surgery years. Plus, there's always the possibility you don't match close to her, and then she has to decide between moving or another extended period of long distance. Also, NYC has a relatively mild winter compared to the rest of the NE since it sits right on the Atlantic. It's not a frozen wonderland like Chicago or Buffalo.

I think the biggest strength of Baylor to you is the family proximity and you know it has a great environment. These are both valid reasons to just stick with Baylor, though I think a long-distance relationship with your family is easier to maintain than one with your SO. Regardless, I would do some research on Cornell's student body happiness/supportiveness. If the students there seem off, then go Baylor 100%.

Thank you for such a thought out response. I agree with that point that a ldr with family is easier to manage than with SO. Thank you for that perspective

 

[theridgespamms]

just putting it out there but don't sleep on UTSW either. Their basic science research (if you are into that) is some of the best in the nation. But if not I completely get don't ranking it as high - but it also has really good matches comparable to Baylor and some better residencies in certain specialties as well.

 

[2023applicantxd]

just putting it out there but don't sleep on UTSW either. Their basic science research (if you are into that) is some of the best in the nation. But if not I completely get don't ranking it as high - but it also has really good matches comparable to Baylor and some better residencies in certain specialties as well.

I have heard too many horror stories about their preclinical year and the student culture there for me to rank it higher. Student wellbeing and happiness and collaborative culture is one of the most important things to me

 

[theridgespamms]

I have heard too many horror stories about their preclinical year and the student culture there for me to rank it higher. Student wellbeing and happiness and collaborative culture is one of the most important things to me

I've had lots of conversations with current students about this as well, and that sort of culture has been slowly leaving the program. According to them, it was insanely cutthroat many years ago but that has largely not been the case in the last 2-3 years. Obviously, it's different from student to student but I've continuously asked UTSW students about this and largely the response I've gotten is that the "horror stories" were more of things of the past. I think its worthwhile to ask around and stuff with more recent students or graduates as well. Just my 2 cents though

 

[txbritish]

Would you be as happy to go to Baylor if you are in Temple instead of Houston? There’s always that possibility.

 

[2023applicantxd]

Would you be as happy to go to Baylor if you are in Temple instead of Houston? There’s always that possibility.

I do not think so
I might’ve forgotten to write it up there but if I were to match temple, it would make the decision very easy for me to choose Cornell (god willing I get in to both)

 

[obiwan]

Agree with @theridgespamms, UTSW needs to be ranked higher if you're aiming for those hyper-competitive specialities. It has sent people to HSS for orthopaedics and happens to have one of the top plastics programs in the country

 

[MercifulCamper]

Agree with @theridgespamms, UTSW needs to be ranked higher if you're aiming for those hyper-competitive specialities. It has sent people to HSS for orthopaedics and happens to have one of the top plastics programs in the country

Yup UTSW is as respected nationally as Baylor and even Cornell if you would believe it! It also has really solid residency programs.

- Note I go to UCSF so I don’t have skin in this game but it seems silly to discount UTSW

 

[2023applicantxd]

Yup UTSW is as respected nationally as Baylor and even Cornell if you would believe it! It also has really solid residency programs.

- Note I go to UCSF so I don’t have skin in this game but it seems silly to discount UTSW

Honored to have one of the 2022-2023 cycle goats comment on my post

Hmm. A lot of things to consider in making my rankings it seems..

 

[theridgespamms]

@2023applicantxd

I think largely you should think and consider what you value more in your medical education and what your future goals are. if you are considering a specialty in Internal medicine - UTSW/Cornell should be at the top of your preference. if you want to match ROAD or competitive surgical specialties I think UTSW/Cornell both blow Baylor out of the water in terms of matching potential and location. But if you are interested in more primary care/peds - Baylor is the best on the list. Similarly, if you are interested in cancer/rad onc you can't be a better location than the TMC.

ill briefly give my example. I'm an MD-PhD who studies basic science cardiology and wants to go internal med -> cards and start a lab. UTSW's basic science is on par with any T5 med school in the country. Additionally, when it comes to basic science cardiology, UTSW probably has the highest density and breadth of faculty and some of the most well-funded labs as well. Thus I would prefer UTSW over almost all programs in the country including many of the T5/10s.

granted I understand that goals and specialty choices change, but I think you should try to do a little more introspection with your own goals and find the best program that will allow for those goals to be accomplished. and don't get me wrong it might be baylor, it might be cornell. But don't discount UTSW in the slightest (and yeah I fully believe their med school culture is getting much better).

truthfully you have no wrong choice here, just maybe a slightly better choice based on your goals! Good luck and feel free to dm me if you have other question or if I can help in any way

 

[burneracc]

@2023applicantxd

I think largely you should think and consider what you value more in your medical education and what your future goals are. if you are considering a specialty in Internal medicine - UTSW/Cornell should be at the top of your preference. if you want to match ROAD or competitive surgical specialties I think UTSW/Cornell both blow Baylor out of the water in terms of matching potential and location. But if you are interested in more primary care/peds - Baylor is the best on the list. Similarly, if you are interested in cancer/rad onc you can't be a better location than the TMC.

ill briefly give my example. I'm an MD-PhD who studies basic science cardiology and wants to go internal med -> cards and start a lab. UTSW's basic science is on par with any T5 med school in the country. Additionally, when it comes to basic science cardiology, UTSW probably has the highest density and breadth of faculty and some of the most well-funded labs as well. Thus I would prefer UTSW over almost all programs in the country including many of the T5/10s.

granted I understand that goals and specialty choices change, but I think you should try to do a little more introspection with your own goals and find the best program that will allow for those goals to be accomplished. and don't get me wrong it might be baylor, it might be cornell. But don't discount UTSW in the slightest (and yeah I fully believe their med school culture is getting much better).

truthfully you have no wrong choice here, just maybe a slightly better choice based on your goals! Good luck and feel free to dm me if you have other question or if I can help in any way

Hey there, im currently weighing out options for this cycle and am hoping to match into a competitive surgical specialty (Ortho) and am strongly considering Baylor. Curious as to what/ why Baylor would not be as strong in this aspect. I saw that they only matched 1 ortho last year, which was somewhat worrying to me. Would love to hear some input!

Edit: Would love to hear some input from anyone, especially those who are more educated on creating competitive residency apps.

 

[obiwan]

Hey there, im currently weighing out options for this cycle and am hoping to match into a competitive surgical specialty (Ortho) and am strongly considering Baylor. Curious as to what/ why Baylor would not be as strong in this aspect. I saw that they only matched 1 ortho last year, which was somewhat worrying to me. Would love to hear some input!

Edit: Would love to hear some input from anyone, especially those who are more educated on creating competitive residency apps.

I would not worry about only 1 matching into orthopedics last year. That is likely an outlier since they have no problem matching multiple people into orthopedics from prior years. The UTSW vs BCM debate is really a toss up. You cannot go wrong with either school. They are by far the top 2 medical schools in Texas and carry the available opportunities and resources of heavyweight academic medical centers. As an internal medicine physician, I'll always advocate for UTSW over BCM but I wouldn't necessarily characterize that UTSW blows out out BCM as far as matching potential. If you do look at match lists, they have sent people into the upper echelon programs for the hyper-competitive surgical subspecialties like Bascom Palmer for ophthalmology but you will not limit your matching potential with either school. The argument here to the OP is that for someone who is looking into those hyper-surgical subspecialties and want to try to match into the ivory towers like HSS for orthopedics/Barrow Institute for neurosurgery etc, they absolutely cannot discount UTSW based on stigma regarding student culture/happiness