Need some advice about med school.

[MDream22]

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Hi,

I'm new here and this is my first post. 🙂

I am currently a college student living in Houston. I was actally born in Houston. I've had an intrest in medicine since I was 16 and would read anything medical related. I was wondering if The University of Texas Medical School at Houston is any good? Has anyone went to school there? If so, is it a great school with a great rep? I really have my heart set on going to Baylor Med School but i'm thinking about applying to UTMed School as a safe school.
Also, I am wondering if all med schools are the same? Will a school's ranking make a difference in my career as a doc?

Thanks in advance.

 

[forevalwayzz]

heyyyy, i live in Houston too (lol, sooo corny), well, for now atleast. I have few friends who attend UT-Houston and they haven't whined or complained to me yet. their program is somewhat traditional but most students manage. While UT-Houston doesn't have a high rank (much less a rank), it's still an accredited US med school so your career as a doc will be fine; its connection with the texas medical center will also give you ample opportunities to do whatever you want. I know that it can be hard sometimes to say, I'm a UT-Houston med student when Baylor is right across the street, so if you going to apply to UT-Houston, dont see it as a safe school, but rather one of the school that you're willing to attend and be happy with your decision for the next four years.

 

[RxnMan]

Since med schools are designed to prepare you for residency, looking at a school's USMLE step I pass rate is a good indicator of how good it is. That being said, most schools have fine pass rates, and the UT schools are great.

You should realize that there's no such thing as a safe medical school. That stuff worked for ugrad colleges, but not for med school. Too many people (and too many really good people) want to be docs. Most schools deal with thousands of applications for as little as a hundred seats and you are competing against some of the smartest kids for those spots.

This is not to discourage you, but to reorient your view so that you know better what you're going after.

 

[EM Junkie]

I am just about to graduate from UT-Houston, and I can tell you from experience that it is a very good school. Baylor's reputation is mainly based on research dollars it receives - this has very little to do with the actual medical education the med students receive. Not to say Baylor's students are not good, they still attract students with higher scores because they are able to offer more money in scholarships and because of this "research repuatation". However, don't think that just because Baylor is a good school that means UT-H is a bad school.

At UT-Houston, you will not be babied like you will be at Baylor, you will be expected to work. While Baylor 3rd years are taking "home call" and studying in the library while on call, UT students are working in the hospital most of the time. Because of this, UT-Houston has a reputation for producing EXCELLENT clinical physicians and hard-working residents.

If you are looking to stroke your ego, go to Baylor. If you want to work hard and compete against yourself (not stab others in the back), UT Houston is a great school too!

Best of luck to you, if you have any more questions you can PM me.

-Scott, MS4

 

[potato51]

Hi,

I'm new here and this is my first post. 🙂

I am currently a college student living in Houston. I was actally born in Houston. I've had an intrest in medicine since I was 16 and would read anything medical related. I was wondering if The University of Texas Medical School at Houston is any good? Has anyone went to school there? If so, is it a great school with a great rep? I really have my heart set on going to Baylor Med School but i'm thinking about applying to UTMed School as a safe school.
Also, I am wondering if all med schools are the same? Will a school's ranking make a difference in my career as a doc?

Thanks in advance.

Hi MDream22 and welcome to SDN,

I live in Houston and have just gone through the application cycle. I can tell you that UT Houston is a good school. You pretty much hear the same thing when you ask people about any med school, but I firmly believe you get solid training at UTH, especially with its affiliation with MD Anderson. Definitely consider no school as "safeties" unless your application is absolutely awesome.

Baylor College of Medicine is a great option if you're able to get in. Interesting curriculum, and very smart students. Personally I'd go there over UTH if I had the choice. Both are well-regarded regionally, but Baylor is more nationally reputable.

As for your career, you'll be a MD either way. Where you go for residency depends upon your performance in med school, not where you actually went. And especially if private practice is your goal, it matters little what school you attended.

potato

 

[excalibur]

I'm a Tulane student who just got back to NO. I did 3 rotations there in Houston at UTH. All the students on my team were top notch and very easy to get along with. From my opinion it is a quality school. Their students are very qualified, and do fine on the boards and matching into residency. Also, their tuition is extremely cheap in comparison to Baylor and Tulane. Just cuz a school isn't in the NIH's top 50 in no way means it sucks, and your shooting yourself in the foot come residency time. Bottom line, you'll receive a phenomenal education at UT-Houston for a cheap tuition, and you will be well prepared come residency time. What else do you want???