McGovern (UT Houston) vs. Long (UTHSCSA)

[medmokey]

Hey guys. Most people seem to prefer McGovern over Long, but I'm not sure why. The average MCAT for matriculating students is higher for Long (515 vs. 512), which confuses me because McGovern is located in the TMC with so many clinical opportunities. Please let me know your thoughts! I want to make an informed decision when ranking schools but will not be able to visit the cities myself before Feb 19th. Thank you for your input!

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[bananabread99]

Honestly, I feel like it really depends on your preferences because both schools are great. Between Houston and San Antonio, do you prefer one city over the other? Also think about your two interview days and if you got a better “vibe” from one school.

 

[SolidDoc]

I’m ranking Long over McGovern! I love San Antonio and while the TMC is great, you still have a lot of great clinical opportunities at the South Texas Medical Center! But, yea both are (in my opinion) pretty much equal in terms of what they offer and where they can get you. I’d just go with where you feel more comfortable at and can see yourself living. I read somewhere that Long has the happiest medical students in Texas or something (don’t know if that’s true or not). Also getting a week off before your exams at Long is super cool. Anyways, you can’t go wrong w either! 🙂

 

[undergrad2021premed]

I would rank McGovern over Long for a few reasons. First: grading. McGovern's first semester is true p/f while Long's is graded & at Long you have to take 3 classes at the same time that semester making it unnecessarily difficult. Second, Long's curriculum hasn't adapted well to PF STEP and they give students I believe around 3 months to study for STEP 1 instead of accounting for this and adjusting this period and the curriculum so students can boost their resumes and seek out opportunities (which matters more now). Third, TMC is an incredible medical center. Fourth, Long is very focused on numbers, numbers, numbers. That's all they talk about. Rather than making future physicians they just care about numbers and their ranking.

This is just my analysis of the two schools. I'm sure you can be a great physician at either medical schools, but try to find the place where you think you will best fit and be happy.

 

[SolidDoc]

I would have to disagree with the above post ^ in terms of the comparison they made. I’ve been to all the Q&A’s with the Dean of Admissions and on interview day and never got the impression they were throwing numbers in our face constantly. The mentioned STEP averages, but that’s pretty much it besides saying they have really top match lists in Texas. Idk, I’ll also add that I’m ranking Long higher cause since STEP 1 is p/f, I feel having graded preclinicals is helpful to distinguish yourself further (pass/high pass/honors) and I’ve listened to podcasts of some residency program directors saying it could be a disadvantage to have p/f over grades curriculums but not a detriment. I felt that Long did really care about their students and that they provide multiple opportunities for not only our mental health, but our career aspirations.

both McGovern and Long both end preclinicals at the end of February, and both start up again in May for clerkships. So, there’s not much difference at that aspect. I believe for both schools you can do research projects, electives, etc if you take your step 1 early in the interim or go on vacation. Anyways, hope this helps. Happy rankings 🙂

 

[undergrad2021premed]

I would have to disagree with the above post ^ in terms of the comparison they made. I’ve been to all the Q&A’s with the Dean of Admissions and on interview day and never got the impression they were throwing numbers in our face constantly. The mentioned STEP averages, but that’s pretty much it besides saying they have really top match lists in Texas. Idk, I’ll also add that I’m ranking Long higher cause since STEP 1 is p/f, I feel having graded preclinicals is helpful to distinguish yourself further (pass/high pass/honors) and I’ve listened to podcasts of some residency program directors saying it could be a disadvantage to have p/f over grades curriculums but not a detriment. I felt that Long did really care about their students and that they provide multiple opportunities for not only our mental health, but our career aspirations.

both McGovern and Long both end preclinicals at the end of February, and both start up again in May for clerkships. So, there’s not much difference at that aspect. I believe for both schools you can do research projects, electives, etc if you take your step 1 early in the interim or go on vacation. Anyways, hope this helps. Happy rankings 🙂

I got this impression from 2 current students at Long. Not everyone's experience is the same I agree. There may be other students at Long that don't feel this way and I would recommend reaching out to current students at Long (not administration) and ask about their opinion.

Also, McGovern has graded pre-clinicals, but the first semester is p/f to allow students to transition to medical school (which I believe is very important).