PreMed School Choices: UTA vs. UTD

[AspireToInspire2015]

Hi guys!

I've been having trouble figuring out what school I should choose to go for Pre-Med, through all my searching I found SDN and would love to hear everyone's thoughts and opinions!

UTA: the cheaper and more convenient choice but I don't much motivation or significance given to the college of science or pre-med. There are students who work really hard and get into med school but I don't see many resources provided through the school. The majority of people who have gone into UTA as pre-meds have either come out as engineers or something completely else- not that their bad choices just not what I want to do.

UTD: farther drive and a little more expensive but not completely impossible. I've heard its rigorous and very competitive. The seriousness of their program sound great but again very competitive. Their medical school acceptance rate is also higher but I don't know if that's cause the students are more motivated or if the school provides with more resources.



I get you have to work hard to get into med school regardless of where you go but what school would help get me there?

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[Mavs88]

I don't know much about UTA but UTD is a good school. There are a lot of opportunities for research and funding/publishing.

I feel like what you have heard about UTA/stats don't mean a whole lot. You'll discover pretty soon that what you get out of a "pre-med" experience is what you put in. I'm sure there are plenty of research labs at UTA. You will have plenty of places for volunteering/shadowing in a metro area like where both schools are.

 

[The Buff OP]

UTA. Cheaper. When it comes to medical school application it is all about how hard you work (stats, volunteering, shadowing).

 

[avgn]

Bat signal for @ElCapone

 

[Lucca]

I voted for UT Dallas in the poll. I don't go there but I have heard good things about their institutional resources for pre-meds. Furthermore, Dallas has much more to offer pre-meds in terms of research, clinical, and volunteering opportunities than Arlington (also the quality of life is probably better in terms of fun, food, culture). The proximity of UTSW and its surrounding biomedical glory have the potential to add a lot to your application (and, more importantly, your education) if you take advantage of it. When you are balancing 100 different things in undergrad like many pre-meds its nice to be able to hit all of your bases in one city. Competition is probably tougher but, hey, competition is life.

 

[md-2020]

Dallas is a better school than UTA. Also Dallas social scene rocks. Campus looks nice. Is cheap for you TX residents.

Check, check, check, check.

UT-Dallas

 

[The Buff OP]

Guys, shhh I got a quota to fill. 😛

 

[heartwarming]

I know Biochemistry majors at UT Dallas are allowed to perform research in departments such as Internal Medicine, Pharmacology, etc at UT Southwestern.
UT Dallas also has a large amount of construction going on around campus, it's growing relatively fast.

 

[deleted393595]

From my experience at another UT branch campus in another part of Texas, I'd say that they're all excellent whether you attend UTSA, UTPB, UTA or UTD. There are very few other schools in the US that are so dirt cheap yet offer the quality that those schools do. Whichever one you go to, you'll end up better than good 🙂

And don't let anyone tell you that those schools aren't any good: I scored 37+ on the old MCAT largely due to the great "branch state school" professors I had.

 

[mandym00]

I go to UTA currently so I guess you could say I'm biased. What have you heard specifically about UTA? We have a pre-med advisor and such but what do you mean by lack of resources for pre-meds? I will say we do have a lot of research labs and I got into a lab second semester of my sophomore year. I really like UTA as a school. In general the teachers are great and really helpful. If you have any specific questions about UTA let me know!
I can't say anything about UTD although as I don't know much about it.

 

[AspireToInspire2015]

I go to UTA currently so I guess you could say I'm biased. What have you heard specifically about UTA? We have a pre-med advisor and such but what do you mean by lack of resources for pre-meds? I will say we do have a lot of research labs and I got into a lab second semester of my sophomore year. I really like UTA as a school. In general the teachers are great and really helpful. If you have any specific questions about UTA let me know!
I can't say anything about UTD although as I don't know much about it.

I don't mean anything in a bad way but more of that there are no organizations or hospitals that you can go volunteer/shadow compared to the surrounding area of UTD. From what I've heard most of the Dr's offices and hospitals aren't keen on letting students shadow and if they do the students don't do much? I've heard that their medical school acceptance rate is really low but that could be solely due to the student and not UTA itself. Do you have any advice on what I should do to help my med school admission if I go to UTA? (certain professors, classes, organizations?)

 

[AspireToInspire2015]

From my experience at another UT branch campus in another part of Texas, I'd say that they're all excellent whether you attend UTSA, UTPB, UTA or UTD. There are very few other schools in the US that are so dirt cheap yet offer the quality that those schools do. Whichever one you go to, you'll end up better than good 🙂

And don't let anyone tell you that those schools aren't any good: I scored 37+ on the old MCAT largely due to the great "branch state school" professors I had.

Def an advantage! Wow a 37? That's pretty awesome? What medical school did you go to?

 

[AspireToInspire2015]

I know Biochemistry majors at UT Dallas are allowed to perform research in departments such as Internal Medicine, Pharmacology, etc at UT Southwestern.
UT Dallas also has a large amount of construction going on around campus, it's growing relatively fast.

That's a huge pro for going to UTD, UT Southwestern is one of the greatest and cheapest places to go for medical school and if you can get in to the institution ahead of the game, why not?

 

[AspireToInspire2015]

Dallas is a better school than UTA. Also Dallas social scene rocks. Campus looks nice. Is cheap for you TX residents.

Check, check, check, check.

UT-Dallas

Thank you for the feedback, will definitely keep that in mind!

 

[AspireToInspire2015]

I voted for UT Dallas in the poll. I don't go there but I have heard good things about their institutional resources for pre-meds. Furthermore, Dallas has much more to offer pre-meds in terms of research, clinical, and volunteering opportunities than Arlington (also the quality of life is probably better in terms of fun, food, culture). The proximity of UTSW and its surrounding biomedical glory have the potential to add a lot to your application (and, more importantly, your education) if you take advantage of it. When you are balancing 100 different things in undergrad like many pre-meds its nice to be able to hit all of your bases in one city. Competition is probably tougher but, hey, competition is life.

Wow. Thank you. I just realized that this is definitely what I wanted to hear, and as much as I hate to say it competition is life but then again we wouldn't great (future) Doctors if it weren't for all the hard work we put in due to competition 🙂

 

[AspireToInspire2015]

Thank you for all your feedback, I definitely have a lot to consider and everyone's opinions are a huge help!

 

[cantankerous]

Go to the school with dumber people. Class curving is usually better ^____^

 

[AspireToInspire2015]

Go to the school with dumber people. Class curving is usually better ^____^

and what school would that be?

 

[AspireToInspire2015]

I'd rather go to the smarter school so I push myself more and learn how to work hard. Going to a dumb school isn't going to help in med school

 

[mandym00]

I don't mean anything in a bad way but more of that there are no organizations or hospitals that you can go volunteer/shadow compared to the surrounding area of UTD. From what I've heard most of the Dr's offices and hospitals aren't keen on letting students shadow and if they do the students don't do much? I've heard that their medical school acceptance rate is really low but that could be solely due to the student and not UTA itself. Do you have any advice on what I should do to help my med school admission if I go to UTA? (certain professors, classes, organizations?)

Don't worry I didn't take it personally. You're right they both have the same number of places to volunteer and shadow. That's not true I haven't had any problem shadowing doctors, its just all about finding the right ones. You're probably hearing a lot of anecdotal evidence. Well I would definitely get involved with the pre-med associations on campus. I'm part of the SNMA club on campus and they give members a list of about a dozen doctors in the Arlington area that are willing to take on shadowers. Also Mission Arlington has a free medical clinic for the underprivileged and its about a block off campus, perfect for getting your clinical volunteering hours!