Ranking/Quality of Texas Schools

[FaulterHund]

Hello, perhaps this thread could help other applicants out. How would you guys rank the Texas schools? Now that Dell's inaugural class has finished their first year, and A&M has been undergoing some changes to their program, has anything changed with regard to that? Texas's schools are all pretty good regardless, though, aren't they?

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[Isoval]

My personal thoughts (excluding the new schools and TCOM):

Baylor >= UT Southwestern > UT Houston >= UT Medical Branch > UT San Antonio = Texas Tech (Lubbock) >= Texas A&M > Texas Tech El Paso

I hesitate to include the new schools because they have not yet graduated anybody, have no USMLE to report, and have no match data. Similarly, research purely associated with the new medical centers may not yet be able to compete with that of established medical centers.

I do not want to include TCOM because of varying standards between MD and DO schools regarding clinicals, COMLEX, and the like.

 

[Akela98]

My personal thoughts (excluding the new schools and TCOM):

Baylor >= UT Southwestern > UT Houston >= UT Medical Branch > UT San Antonio = Texas Tech (Lubbock) >= Texas A&M > Texas Tech El Paso

I hesitate to include the new schools because they have not yet graduated anybody, have no USMLE to report, and have no match data. Similarly, research purely associated with the new medical centers may not yet be able to compete with that of established medical centers.

I do not want to include TCOM because of varying standards between MD and DO schools regarding clinicals, COMLEX, and the like.

Agree with this as well. Dell is being super selective with who gets a secondary from them, but its hard to tell where they are at

 

[sliceofbread136]

Baylor- best for peds
Utsw- best for adult med
Uth next up
Ut Austin and utmb next
Ut sa
A&M
Lubbock
El Paso
Rio grande and tcom

 

[Pepe18]

.

 

[elsenor]

There is this thing on Reddit that may influence this thread UPDATE: Texas A&M massive re-org. Dissolving all clinical depts. Creating 1° care, psych, military med, and transitional med. • r/medicalschool

I have no idea what this is/means, but here you go

Yeah, I came across this too. Seems like it's going to be a turn-off for new applicants to this school.

 

[Goro]

Hello, perhaps this thread could help other applicants out. How would you guys rank the Texas schools? Now that Dell's inaugural class has finished their first year, and A&M has been undergoing some changes to their program, has anything changed with regard to that? Texas's schools are all pretty good regardless, though, aren't they?

Ask ten people, you're going to get 11 different answers.

My two cents is Baylor = UTSW = UTH > all the rest, including TCOM.

 

[fouracle]

My personal thoughts (excluding the new schools and TCOM):

Baylor >= UT Southwestern > UT Houston >= UT Medical Branch > UT San Antonio = Texas Tech (Lubbock) >= Texas A&M > Texas Tech El Paso

I hesitate to include the new schools because they have not yet graduated anybody, have no USMLE to report, and have no match data. Similarly, research purely associated with the new medical centers may not yet be able to compete with that of established medical centers.

I do not want to include TCOM because of varying standards between MD and DO schools regarding clinicals, COMLEX, and the like.

Are you basing your ranking on match/USMLE data? Why UTH = UTMB? And why is El Paso last? I always thought A&M was traditionally ranked last in TX.

I'm just curious, as I've wondered this question myself and can't find any solid answers other than that Baylor and UTSW >>> everything else.

 

[Isoval]

Are you basing your ranking on match/USMLE data? Why UTH = UTMB? And why is El Paso last? I always thought A&M was traditionally ranked last in TX.

I'm just curious, as I've wondered this question myself and can't find any solid answers other than that Baylor and UTSW >>> everything else.

UTMB has a higher USMLE Step 1 average than UTSW's and UT Houston's most recent published numbers at 237.

UTSW's most recent published number is a few years old, so this may not still be the case, but typically the highest average switches around the three top publics.

 

[sliceofbread136]

Ask ten people, you're going to get 11 different answers.

My two cents is Baylor = UTSW = UTH > all the rest, including TCOM.

I can't picture why anyone would put UTH at the same level as Baylor and utsw. I mean it's not a terrible place by any means but UTH does not have anything that can compare to Texas children's or parkland

 

[Goro]

I can't picture why anyone would put UTH at the same level as Baylor and utsw. I mean it's not a terrible place by any means but UTH does not have anything that can compare to Texas children's or parkland

I know people who went ot school there. Very impressive.

Are you a Texan, slice? Gone to school in TX or residency there?

 

[sliceofbread136]

UTMB has a higher USMLE Step 1 average than UTSW's and UT Houston's most recent published numbers at 237.

UTSW's most recent published number is a few years old, so this may not still be the case, but typically the highest average switches around the three top publics.

I wouldn't focus a whole lot on step 1 averages when ranking schools as your school is going to be mostly under your own control, not the schools. What isn't under your control is the clinical opportunities that a school will offer, and UTH is simply a level above utmb with respect to everything aside from maybe ID. That's why I put uth>utmb overall

 

[sliceofbread136]

I know people who went ot school there. Very impressive.

Are you a Texan, slice? Gone to school in TX or residency there?

Yup I'm a career long Texan

 

[Goro]

Yup I'm a career long Texan

That's fine! then I have more respect for your opinion on this.

 

[sliceofbread136]

That's fine! then I have more respect for your opinion on this.

Ya the way I see it what is most important at a school is the clinical opportunities that they offer. With preclinicals there are so many universal resources out there now a days that what the school offers class wise really doesn't matter as much. Like I said UTH has some fine clinical opportunities, but they don't have anything world renowned to offer that I know of. Baylor has Texas children's which is the biggest children's hospital in the nation and has a reputation close to that of CHOP or Boston children's. Utsw has parkland, an absolutely massive adult hospital with a top 10 IM residency. Having the chance to work at these places, at least to me, is an opportunity that I would not pass up if I had the choice.

 

[SpoiledMilk]

Isn't UTH McGovern affiliated with MD Anderson Cancer Center, Memorial Hermann in the Texas Medical Center, and Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital?
MD Anderson and Memorial Hermann are both highly renown.

 

[sliceofbread136]

Isn't UTH McGovern affiliated with MD Anderson Cancer Center, Memorial Hermann in the Texas Medical Center, and Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital?
MD Anderson and Memorial Hermann are both highly renown.

Md Anderson yes, but that is more of a niche opportunity. Memorial Hermann is no where near parkland from the perspective of hospital or residency prestige.

Honestly I may be biased but I think having the opportunity to work at parkland makes UTSW far and away the best choice of the Texas schools. Baylor is only better if you're into the kiddos and want to work at TCH

 

[SpoiledMilk]

I see. Are you from the Dallas/Forth Worth area? Haha. You don't have to answer that.

 

[Isoval]

Md Anderson yes, but that is more of a niche opportunity. Memorial Hermann is no where near parkland from the perspective of hospital or residency prestige.

Honestly I may be biased but I think having the opportunity to work at parkland makes UTSW far and away the best choice of the Texas schools. Baylor is only better if you're into the kiddos and want to work at TCH

Ironically, as somebody who's worked at UTSW in the past, I came away with exactly the opposite impression. As much as I feel they do good work, it's just not an environment I picture myself in.

 

[Professional Student]

Yup I'm a career long Texan

My condolences for your hardship... 🙂

 

[sliceofbread136]

Ironically, as somebody who's worked at UTSW in the past, I came away with exactly the opposite impression. As much as I feel they do good work, it's just not an environment I picture myself in.

Any specifics? I'm guess you are referring to the negative culture that is prevlant, mostly with general surgery and ob/gyn. I do agree that this sucks, but it's easy to ignore if you have thick skin.

IMO it's a high volume place with a broad spectrum of disease and expertise where medical students are basically given the opportunity to work as an intern. Really everything you could ever need or want and you come out very prepared

 

[Isoval]

Any specifics? I'm guess you are referring to the negative culture that is prevlant, mostly with general surgery and ob/gyn. I do agree that this sucks, but it's easy to ignore if you have thick skin.

IMO it's a high volume place with a broad spectrum of disease and expertise where medical students are basically given the opportunity to work as an intern. Really everything you could ever need or want and you come out very prepared

I find the culture very, very elitest. I once had somebody tell me that "the only papers that matter are from Science, Nature, and Cell". There's just this air that everybody around you feels like they're better than you.

I also don't like the campus and find a relatively high proportion of the students to be a little cutt-throat.

None of this, however, can argue with the quality of students they put out, USMLE pass rates, research quality, or the like. It's just an environment I can't see myself in.

 

[sliceofbread136]

I find the culture very, very elitest. I once had somebody tell me that "the only papers that matter are from Science, Nature, and Cell". There's just this air that everybody around you feels like they're better than you.

I also don't like the campus and find a relatively high proportion of the students to be a little cutt-throat.

None of this, however, can argue with the quality of students they put out, USMLE pass rates, research quality, or the like. It's just an environment I can't see myself in.

Can't speak to elitest, never experienced that myself

As far as the medical students being cut throat I don't agree with you at all there. Everyone was always ready to help each other out and was very supportive. What is present however is the occasionally negative culture among the hospital staff, especially surgery and ob/gyn. Scrub techs especially can be very obnoxious (not sure why these people have such a high opinion of themselves). These silly things roll off me personally, but if that doesn't work with your personality then ya it may not be the place for you

 

[elsenor]

I find the culture very, very elitest. I once had somebody tell me that "the only papers that matter are from Science, Nature, and Cell". There's just this air that everybody around you feels like they're better than you.

I also don't like the campus and find a relatively high proportion of the students to be a little cutt-throat.

None of this, however, can argue with the quality of students they put out, USMLE pass rates, research quality, or the like. It's just an environment I can't see myself in.

I am an applicant to UT Southwestern this year, so I can't contribute much to this discussion. I have heard that the students are cutthroat but after they established the P/F system I have heard that there is a lot more collaboration.

 

[sliceofbread136]

I am an applicant to UT Southwestern this year, so I can't contribute much to this discussion. I have heard that the students are cutthroat but after they established the P/F system I have heard that there is a lot more collaboration.

Welp I come from the pre pass fail days and really never noticed any cut throatness at all. Everyone seemed friendly and collaborative

But hey this is just one persons viewpoint/experience, maybe someone else would think the exact opposite

 

[Isoval]

Welp I come from the pre pass fail days and really never noticed any cut throatness at all. Everyone seemed friendly and collaborative

But hey this is just one persons viewpoint/experience, maybe someone else would think the exact opposite

Yeah, I get that. This is just what I experienced during my time there and what I've heard from some friends who have attended there.

Just my personal opinion.

 

[zaztong]

I wouldn't focus a whole lot on step 1 averages when ranking schools as your school is going to be mostly under your own control, not the schools. What isn't under your control is the clinical opportunities that a school will offer, and UTH is simply a level above utmb with respect to everything aside from maybe ID. That's why I put uth>utmb overall

UTH is not > UTMB. And it's not "maybe" ID, definitely UTMB ID > UTH ID - objectively look at Galveston National Lab and NIAID training program, then you tell me.

I'm in UTMB and according to the recent Town Hall meeting, average Step 1 scores are 241 for class of 2019 (just came out), the scores have risen a lot relative to several years ago. Before they changed the curriculum to more board focused, it was sub 220s. Nurture matters just as much as nature.

Not to mention UTMB has no lack of clinical opportunities. In fact, you can choose to stay in Galveston, or go to Houston or Austin! MD Anderson is partnering with UTMB League City Campus, not any other UT school: UTMB, MD Anderson to collaborate on League City campus | MD Anderson Cancer Center

If one were to rank based on brand "prestige" fairly:
1: UTSW=Baylor
2: UTMB=UTH=UTSA=UT Dell
3: Texas A&M=UT RGV=Texas Tech=El Paso=Lubbock

UTMB students have more boards focused education, besides their awesome NIAID training program. In fact, I chose UTMB over UTSW due to personal preference mainly because of these two and the super-chill environment.

 

[SpoiledMilk]

UTH is not > UTMB. And it's not "maybe" ID, definitely UTMB ID > UTH ID - objectively look at Galveston National Lab and NIAID training program, then you tell me.

I'm in UTMB and according to the recent Town Hall meeting, average Step 1 scores are 241 for class of 2019 (just came out), the scores have risen a lot relative to several years ago. Before they changed the curriculum to more board focused, it was sub 220s. Nurture matters just as much as nature.

Not to mention UTMB has no lack of clinical opportunities. In fact, you can choose to stay in Galveston, or go to Houston or Austin! MD Anderson is partnering with UTMB League City Campus, not any other UT school: UTMB, MD Anderson to collaborate on League City campus | MD Anderson Cancer Center

If one were to rank based on brand "prestige" fairly:
1: UTSW=Baylor
2: UTMB=UTH=UTSA=UT Dell
3: Texas A&M=UT RGV=Texas Tech=El Paso=Lubbock"

UTMB students have more boards focused education, besides their awesome NIAID training program. In fact, I chose UTMB over UTSW due to personal preference mainly because of these two and the super-chill environment.

Zaz...You are killing it with your high quality praise of UTMB, here and on the specific thread. I hope UTMB is paying you for this, if not, they should!!!

 

[sliceofbread136]

UTH is not > UTMB. And it's not "maybe" ID, definitely UTMB ID > UTH ID - objectively look at Galveston National Lab and NIAID training program, then you tell me.

I'm in UTMB and according to the recent Town Hall meeting, average Step 1 scores are 241 for class of 2019 (just came out), the scores have risen a lot relative to several years ago. Before they changed the curriculum to more board focused, it was sub 220s. Nurture matters just as much as nature.

Not to mention UTMB has no lack of clinical opportunities. In fact, you can choose to stay in Galveston, or go to Houston or Austin! MD Anderson is partnering with UTMB League City Campus, not any other UT school: UTMB, MD Anderson to collaborate on League City campus | MD Anderson Cancer Center

If one were to rank based on brand "prestige" fairly:
1: UTSW=Baylor
2: UTMB=UTH=UTSA=UT Dell
3: Texas A&M=UT RGV=Texas Tech=El Paso=Lubbock"

UTMB students have more boards focused education, besides their awesome NIAID training program. In fact, I chose UTMB over UTSW due to personal preference mainly because of these two and the super-chill environment.

Sorry man you aren't going to convince me that a medical center with a 3 bed PICU can in anyway compete with TMC. UTMB doesn't have bad clinical opportunities but it doesn't compete with UTH and that is the real meat of a medical school, not step score averages.

 

[Lucca]

McGovern > UTMB.


I'm still on the Dell skeptics train. Great faculty. Interesting curriculum. Not enough clinical or scientific infrastructure to back up the big talk. I think the stuff they are doing in primary care is very interesting and Dell might be a top choice in tX for people interested in PC.

If their students match well it'll be on hype and Step scores alone because they are throwing crazy money at people with high stats.

 

[zaztong]

Sorry man you aren't going to convince me that a medical center with a 3 bed PICU can in anyway compete with TMC. UTMB doesn't have bad clinical opportunities but it doesn't compete with UTH and that is the real meat of a medical school, not step score averages.

UTH =/= TMC and has no exclusivity for TMC access, UTMB is part of TMC and you can choose Houston to piggyback as clinicals, not to mention a diverse prison patient population with the exclusive TDCJ-UTMB contract, so that's your personal opinion on what constitutes "clinical opportunities".

In terms of objective measures for residency applications, Step scores are the highest significant factors. The next most important are clinical grades, letters and research/AOA. Residency is the real meat of clinicals.

Tell me how going to UTH will give you a leg up in going to a competitive residency over UTMB again? If you're already set on UTH no matter what, nothing else I can say.

 

[BombsAway]

UTH =/= TMC and has no exclusivity for TMC access, UTMB is part of TMC and you can choose Houston to piggyback as clinicals, not to mention a diverse prison patient population with the exclusive TDCJ-UTMB contract, so that's your personal opinion on what constitutes "clinical opportunities".

In terms of objective measures for residency applications, Step scores are the highest significant factors. The next most important are clinical grades, letters and research/AOA. Residency is the real meat of clinicals.

Tell me how going to UTH will give you a leg up in going to a competitive residency over UTMB again? If you're already set on UTH no matter what, nothing else I can say.

Will you be at the night before social events? I feel like we'd be besties.

 

[zaztong]

Will you be at the night before social events? I feel like we'd be besties.

Yep, PM me.

 

[sliceofbread136]

UTH =/= TMC and has no exclusivity for TMC access, UTMB is part of TMC and you can choose Houston to piggyback as clinicals, not to mention a diverse prison patient population with the exclusive TDCJ-UTMB contract, so that's your personal opinion on what constitutes "clinical opportunities".

In terms of objective measures for residency applications, Step scores are the highest significant factors. The next most important are clinical grades, letters and research/AOA. Residency is the real meat of clinicals.

Tell me how going to UTH will give you a leg up in going to a competitive residency over UTMB again? If you're already set on UTH no matter what, nothing else I can say.

Sorry, but an opportunity to do aways or to rotate at a prison are not what I would consider good clinical opportunities. Galveston simply does not serve the population size that Houston does and as such does not offer the same level of clinical opportunities.

Step 1 scores are self reported and I don't put much stock into the number a school gives. Even if I did I wouldn't pay much attention to step 1 averages unless the descrepancy was almost a standard deviation. How well you do on step one is really dependent on the work you personally put in, and even if the school you went to gives you a bump of 4 or 5 points (which it won't) that really doesn't matter very much in the context of your whole application.

Would UTH give you a leg up in residency applications over utmb? Maybe a tiny bit, but not really much. I do think that you would have a better clinical experience and see a more diverse range of pathology though, which is why I place UTH high on my list. You can disagree if you want, but that is my opinion and how I would choose schools if I had to. Add to that Galveston is a disgusting dump and I would not want to live there.

Btw I'm not a premed, I'm an R1

 

[zaztong]

Sorry, but an opportunity to do aways or to rotate at a prison are not what I would consider good clinical opportunities. Galveston simply does not serve the population size that Houston does and as such does not offer the same level of clinical opportunities.

Step 1 scores are self reported and I don't put much stock into the number a school gives. Even if I did I wouldn't pay much attention to step 1 averages unless the descrepancy was almost a standard deviation. How well you do on step one is really dependent on the work you personally put in, and even if the school you went to gives you a bump of 4 or 5 points (which it won't) that really doesn't matter very much in the context of your whole application.

Would UTH give you a leg up in residency applications over utmb? Maybe a tiny bit, but not really much. I do think that you would have a better clinical experience and see a more diverse range of pathology though, which is why I place UTH high on my list. You can disagree if you want, but that is my opinion and how I would choose schools if I had to. Add to that Galveston is a disgusting dump and I would not want to live there.

Btw I'm not a premed, I'm an R1

I can understanding having an opinion. But excuse me - "disgusting dump"? Now you're just being insulting, based purely on preconceived notions.

Galveston homes are the most expensive in Texas for your information: (Galveston houses most expensive in Texas, report shows)

 

[sliceofbread136]

I can understanding having an opinion. But excuse me - "disgusting dump"? Now you're just being insulting, based purely on preconceived notions.

Galveston homes are the most expensive in Texas for your information: (Galveston houses most expensive in Texas, report shows)

It's not a "preconceived notion", I've been there and have seen the place for myself many times and find it exactly as I described, a disgusting dump. There is trash and hobos everywhere and every building looks like it is going to collapse from previous flood damage. I'm sure there are some people out there (such as yourself) that like it but I've found those people to be few and far in between.

 

[SpoiledMilk]

Please. This thread is informative.
Lets not let it devolve to a point where it will get locked by a mod.

 

[zaztong]

It's not a "preconceived notion", I've been there and have seen the place for myself many times and find it exactly as I described, a disgusting dump. There is trash and hobos everywhere and every building looks like it is going to collapse from previous flood damage. I'm sure there are some people out there (such as yourself) that like it but I've found those people to be few and far in between.

Yeah that's true only for the cheapest areas, which you are staying in understandably, due to your lack of funds. As with any city - the homeless exist in certain areas, including Houston and UTH. Just because one area is bad, doesn't mean the whole is. If you can tell me any place where the streetwalkers, druggies, homeless don't exist - I would like to know.

Doesn't change the FACT that Galveston homes are the most expensive in Texas. How many "dumps" do you know that have such expensive home prices?

You're ignoring objective facts after facts, due to preconceived notions.

 

[jcorpsmanMD]

Sorry, but an opportunity to do aways or to rotate at a prison are not what I would consider good clinical opportunities. Galveston simply does not serve the population size that Houston does and as such does not offer the same level of clinical opportunities.

Step 1 scores are self reported and I don't put much stock into the number a school gives. Even if I did I wouldn't pay much attention to step 1 averages unless the descrepancy was almost a standard deviation. How well you do on step one is really dependent on the work you personally put in, and even if the school you went to gives you a bump of 4 or 5 points (which it won't) that really doesn't matter very much in the context of your whole application.

Would UTH give you a leg up in residency applications over utmb? Maybe a tiny bit, but not really much. I do think that you would have a better clinical experience and see a more diverse range of pathology though, which is why I place UTH high on my list. You can disagree if you want, but that is my opinion and how I would choose schools if I had to. Add to that Galveston is a disgusting dump and I would not want to live there.

Btw I'm not a premed, I'm an R1

I hated Galveston. Most of the students there kept selling it as a great place because it's "45 minutes from Houston." Well, why not attend medical school in Houston then? I have never met anybody that has said they like Galveston, or stopped to tell me about how beautiful their beaches are, etc. lol

N=1 though

UTH > UTMB.

Anybody that says otherwise is a UTMB sympathizer, I have NEVER heard anybody come close to saying or inferring that UTMB is the better school or that they'd choose UTMB over UTH. 😉

 

[BombsAway]

Deciding which texas city is best/worst is a pretty classic skinniest-kid-at-fat-camp argument.

 

[zaztong]

I hated Galveston. Most of the students there kept selling it as a great place because it's "45 minutes from Houston." Well, why not attend medical school in Houston then? I have never met anybody that has said they like Galveston, or stopped to tell me about how beautiful their beaches are, etc. lol

N=1 though

UTH > UTMB.

Anybody that says otherwise is a UTMB sympathizer, I have NEVER heard anybody come close to saying or inferring that UTMB is the better school or that they'd choose UTMB over UTH. 😉

You should re-read, I said UTMB=UTH in terms of "tiers". Never said UTMB was necessarily better overall or tried to sell it as 45 minutes away from Houston. I dunno where you got that from, but when I interviewed there never had that comment.

As far as the location goes, the beaches aren't the best, but they do contribute to the high volume of tourists. Another thing is the cruises can take you to some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, if you'd ever want a medical school getaway. But that's not on everyone's list.

However, I did choose UTMB mainly for ID research and the curriculum with other specific reasons, which it definitely is better at. Galveston National Lab is definitely a huge plus if you like ID and epidemiology.

 

[sliceofbread136]

Yeah that's true only for the cheapest areas, which you are staying in understandably, due to your lack of funds. As with any city - the homeless exist in certain areas, including Houston and UTH. Just because one area is bad, doesn't mean the whole is. If you can tell me any place where the streetwalkers, druggies, homeless don't exist - I would like to know.

Doesn't change the FACT that Galveston homes are the most expensive in Texas. How many "dumps" do you know that have such expensive home prices?

You're ignoring objective facts after facts, due to preconceived notions.

You are extrapolating a median home price to how nice the area is which horribly inaccurate and misguided. Lots of factors go into property and home value that you are not taking into account, for example I could probably find a tool shed in a San Franscico that costs more than a house in Houston. I've also never heard of someone bragging that housing costs more in their area, to me that is a big negative. Houston is incrediably affordable for being a major city and it is a HUGE plus

I hated Galveston. Most of the students there kept selling it as a great place because it's "45 minutes from Houston." Well, why not attend medical school in Houston then? I have never met anybody that has said they like Galveston, or stopped to tell me about how beautiful their beaches are, etc. lol

N=1 though

UTH > UTMB.

Anybody that says otherwise is a UTMB sympathizer, I have NEVER heard anybody come close to saying or inferring that UTMB is the better school or that they'd choose UTMB over UTH. 😉

I personally agree, but I don't think utmb is bad by any means. I'd probably put it at #4 in Texas

 

[sliceofbread136]

Deciding which texas city is best/worst is a pretty classic skinniest-kid-at-fat-camp argument.

Disagree, both Houston and Dallas are great cities for the price. I loved ny, sf, Chicago etc but I just couldn't afford to live there

You should re-read, I said UTMB=UTH in terms of "tiers". Never said UTMB was necessarily better overall or tried to sell it as 45 minutes away from Houston. I dunno where you got that from, but when I interviewed there never had that comment.

However, I did choose UTMB mainly for ID research and the curriculum with other specific reasons, which it definitely is better at. Galveston National Lab is definitely a huge plus if you like ID.

Most people would not agree with you. Uth is generally thought of as slightly higher tier than utmb. Whether that would have any effect on you as a student is a different story

 

[zaztong]

You are extrapolating a median home price to how nice the area is which horribly inaccurate and misguided. Lots of factors go into property and home value that you are not taking into account, for example I could probably find a tool shed in a San Franscico that costs more than a house in Houston. I've also never heard of someone bragging that housing costs more in their area, to me that is a big negative. Houston is incrediably affordable for being a major city and it is a HUGE plus

I personally agree, but I don't think utmb is bad by any means. I'd probably put it at #4 in Texas

Maybe you should find a tool shed in "San Franscico" that is "incrediably" expensive, because there aren't any that exist for sale. I'm not saying Galveston is the nicest town in Texas because it's got the most expensive housing. I'm just saying it's not a dump.

If you want cheap student housing, it's only $300/month here, incredibly affordable.

 

[zaztong]

Disagree, both Houston and Dallas are great cities for the price. I loved ny, sf, Chicago etc but I just couldn't afford to live there

Most people would not agree with you. Uth is generally thought of as slightly higher tier than utmb. Whether that would have any effect on you as a student is a different story

"Most people" as in people in UTH? Depends on who you get it from. Look around on SDN, reddit, and other places, it's pretty much tied. Be objective - it depends who you ask. According to medical-schools.startclass.com, BCM(25)>UTSW(34)>UTMB(50)>UTSA(59)>UTH(70)

UTMB's residency match lists are definitely objectively better than UTH, anyone outside of Texas would agree, and so are our step scores. As far as personal preference, that's a different story for different people and a lot of factors are at play. I chose UTMB over UTSW prematch because I like ID research (at GNL), the curriculum and the chill/cooperative environment. Not to mention, the cruise to the Carribean has been a fun getaway. I also make a lot of money on vacation rentals, and the ROI in Galveston is the top 3 in the nation for short term rentals overall. Far from a dump. (https://www.inman.com/2016/08/30/best-cities-for-short-term-rental-investment-properties-in-2016/)

 

[sliceofbread136]

Maybe you should find a tool shed in "San Franscico" that is "incrediably" expensive, because there aren't any that exist for sale. I'm not saying Galveston is the nicest town in Texas because it's got the most expensive housing. I'm just saying it's not a dump.

If you want cheap student housing, it's only $300/month here, incredibly affordable.

actually I know people who had to pay around $900 a month to live in a shed, so yes it does exist. Point was you can't extrapolate property value and rent to how nice an area is, there are simply too many confounders.

"Most people" as in people in UTH? Depends on who you get it from. Look around on SDN, reddit, and other places, it's pretty much tied. Be objective - it depends who you ask.

If you really want to go that route - according to http://medical-schools.startclass.com, BCM>UTSW>UTMB>UTSA>Texas Tech>UTH

UTMB's residency match lists are definitely slightly better than UTH, and so are our step scores. As far as personal preference, that's a different story for different people and a lot of factors are at play.

Most people as in general opinion of people who I've encountered in the medical field. I have not seen any evidence that it is tied on sdn and to me it seems uth is consistently put at 3. Maybe we should make a poll?

I don't know where you found that strange little list but I have a ranking list called us news where uth is #59 and Galveston is unranked. You can also look at the various residency prestiges on doximity, utmb is significantly lower

I'm guessing you are an m1? Stop trying to interpret match lists, you are not able to accurately do it

Also I don't know why you are so defensive. I did not go to UTH and am just an impartial observer expressing my opinion based on what I have seen.

 

[zaztong]

actually I know people who had to pay around $900 a month to live in a shed, so yes it does exist. Point was you can't extrapolate property value and rent to how nice an area is, there are simply too many confounders.

Most people as in general opinion of people who I've encountered in the medical field. I have not seen any evidence that it is tied on sdn and to me it seems uth is consistently put at 3. Maybe we should make a poll?

I don't know where you found that strange little list but I have a ranking list called us news where uth is #59 and Galveston is unranked.

I'm guessing you are an m1? Stop trying to interpret match lists, you are not able to accurately do it

Also I don't know why you are so defensive. I did not go to UTH and am just an impartial observer expressing my opinion based on what I have seen.

I'm not defensive, nor a M1. I've been pretty open about data sources and facts. And how do you know I'm not able to interpret match lists? What is your opinion based on? Pure speculation?

I don't mind a poll at all, but I doubt you'll get enough participants to make it meaningful. I've been in Galveston for a while doing vacation rentals and I know the city well enough. I only wish others to have an accurate, objective view of UTMB. It pains me when people say it's a dump, when it clearly is not and that's plain badmouthing. Would tourists keep coming and would I be in business if it's a dump?

As far as US News, you can check on their website that mentions it's ranking for UTMB is outdated: "[1] School refused to fill out U.S. News statistical survey. Data that appear are from school in previous years or from another source such as the National Center for Education Statistics."

Unranked doesn't mean anything. In fact, UTH has been unranked in 2015 on US News due to not filling out survey.

Also, what's your point? Are you saying that San Francisco is a dump? My point was you can't buy a toolshed as a RE property "for sale", so it's not a comparison. I never mentioned any illegal rentals that violate building codes. Median property values are definitely strongly inversely related to being a dump, look at Cleveland. Very low property value, and I doubt anyone would not call it a "dump". Tanglewood - one of the highest property values in Houston and voted best neighborhood. Would sane human beings pay almost half a million USD in median home prices to live in a dump?

What likely happened is you went to the cheapest place you could afford to go in Galveston (perhaps even rented a toolshed) and found the bad part of town. Hardly an unbiased view of the city as a whole.

 

[sliceofbread136]

I'm not defensive, nor a M1. I've been pretty open about data sources and facts. And how do you know I'm not able to interpret match lists? What is your opinion based on? Pure speculation?

I don't mind a poll at all, but I doubt you'll get enough participants to make it meaningful. I've been in Galveston for a while doing vacation rentals and I know the city well enough. I only wish others to have an accurate, objective view of UTMB. It pains me when people say it's a dump, when it clearly is not and that's plain badmouthing. Would tourists keep coming and would I be in business if it's a dump?

As far as US News, you can check on their website that mentions it's ranking for UTMB is outdated: "[1] School refused to fill out U.S. News statistical survey. Data that appear are from school in previous years or from another source such as the National Center for Education Statistics."

Unranked doesn't mean anything.

Also, what's your point? Are you saying that San Francisco is a dump? My point was you can't buy a toolshed as a RE property "for sale", so it's not a comparison. I never mentioned any illegal rentals that violate building codes. Median property values are definitely strongly inversely related to being a dump, look at Cleveland. Very low property value, and I doubt anyone would not call it a "dump". Tanglewood - one of the highest property values in Houston and voted best neighborhood. Would sane human beings pay almost half a million USD in median home prices to live in a dump?

What likely happened is you went to the cheapest place you could afford to go in Galveston (perhaps even rented a toolshed) and found the bad part of town. Hardly an unbiased view of the city as a whole.

Because I'm fairly certain you havent gone through applying to residency which is basically a requirement to accurately read a match list for a given field. I'd be able to look at utmb's match list for Med and peds and give you my gist however I cannnot find any web published lists. Uth has a pretty average list in both of those fields.

Poll would be for ranking as we don't have a good metric for medical school ranking, you claim us news is outdated since they dont publish their data, I would still argue it is meaningful as a ranking as it is what the public sees and what a pd who never heard of these Texas schools would look to. A pd would also likely look at the residencies that a program has for how they would rank (usually in their own field) and utmb lacks really any residency higher than uth. Sure we don't have a great metric for school ranking but all of the ones we have point to uth having a better reputation. As I said before my main personal criteria for how I would rank a school is based on the clinical opportunities available where uth definitely has the advantage

As far as your property value argument, I feel like we are going in circles. Think back to your basic statistics about confounders and correlation=/= causation. I've had my permanent residence 20 min from Galveston for ~16 years so you aren't going to sell me on Galveston being a nice place.

 

[zaztong]

Because I'm fairly certain you havent gone through applying to residency which is basically a requirement to accurately read a match list for a given field. I'd be able to look at utmb's match list for Med and peds and give you my gist however I cannnot find any web published lists. Uth has a pretty average list in both of those fields.

Poll would be for ranking as we don't have a good metric for medical school ranking, you claim us news is outdated since they dont publish their data, I would still argue it is meaningful as a ranking as it is what the public sees and what a pd who never heard of these Texas schools would look to. A pd would also likely look at the residencies that a program has for how they would rank (usually in their own field) and utmb lacks really any residency higher than uth. Sure we don't have a great metric for school ranking but all of the ones we have point to uth having a better reputation. As I said before my main personal criteria for how I would rank a school is based on the clinical opportunities available where uth definitely has the advantage

As far as your property value argument, I feel like we are going in circles. Think back to your basic statistics about confounders and correlation=/= causation. I've had my permanent residence 20 min from Galveston for ~16 years so you aren't going to sell me on Galveston being a nice place.

20 min to Galveston as in La Marque? Median home value is 1/4 of Galveston. Well of course, "Galveston County" varies a lot and some parts are not the best. Galveston county =/= Galveston island and even within the island it depends where you are at. There are multimillion dollar homes in Galveston island, it depends on where you are. Just because correlation =/= causation doesn't mean we can't easily find the causative factor is the price. A strong rule of thumb is you don't find multimillion dollar homes in a dump. Otherwise, by your statements and logic, you're saying San Francisco is a dump because you can find a toolshed to rent. We all know that's not true.

It seems you're the one living on the budget here, so I doubt you'd go to the nice part of towns. You're likely extrapolating your personal experience in living in what you call "dumpy" places to the whole Galveston island. A common fallacy. To clarify, why don't you list the exact zipcodes of the exact place you visited and had permanent residence? Too embarrassed? Figured.

Also, seeing this is a Pre-med forum, I was specifically referring to M.D. program, not residency programs. Residency programs have different rankings, very variable, and program-specific. Most would agree US News is not the best source to use to select specific residency programs as there are many intricacies involved. Just as one would not rely on general rankings to choose a specific college major.

On top of that, your logic on public eye is not relevant. We are talking the medical industry participants (generally academia) here, not as public eye. Most public eyes would only differentiate tier 1 and other, and most patients don't care about the difference between UTH and UTMB (with certain exceptions), since both are arguably not in tier 1. Ask someone not in the medical industry who has never been to Houston or Galveston, and you'll likely find they cannot figure out any difference.

 

[sliceofbread136]

20 min to Galveston as in La Marque? Median home value is 1/4 of Galveston. Well of course, "Galveston County" varies a lot and some parts are not the best. Galveston county =/= Galveston island and even within the island it depends where you are at. There are multimillion dollar homes in Galveston island, it depends on where you are. Just because correlation =/= causation doesn't mean we can't easily find the causative factor is the price. A strong rule of thumb is you don't find multimillion dollar homes in a dump. Otherwise, by your statements and logic, you're saying San Francisco is a dump because you can find a toolshed to rent. We all know that's not true.

It seems you're the one living on the budget here, so I doubt you'd go to the nice part of towns. You're likely extrapolating your personal experience in living in what you call "dumpy" places to the whole Galveston island. A common fallacy. To clarify, why don't you list the exact zipcodes of the exact place you visited and had permanent residence? Too embarrassed? Figured.

Also, seeing this is a Pre-med forum, I was specifically referring to M.D. program, not residency programs. Residency programs have different rankings, very variable, and program-specific. Most would agree US News is not the best source to use to select specific residency programs as there are many intricacies involved. Just as one would not rely on general rankings to choose a specific college major.

On top of that, your logic on public eye is not relevant. We are talking the medical industry participants (generally academia) here, not as public eye. Most public eyes would only differentiate tier 1 and other, and most patients don't care about the difference between UTH and UTMB (with certain exceptions), since both are arguably not in tier 1. Ask someone not in the medical industry who has never been to Houston or Galveston, and you'll likely find they cannot figure out any difference.

I think most residents are on a budget. Growing up I was upper middle class with a house that costs around $1.5 million so we weren't poor by any means (and why would I be embarrassed if I was, seems like an odd jab to make). I don't know the zip codes of everywhere I've visited in Galveston, that just seems like an all around odd question. And you could build a multimillion dollar home literally anywhere, does not prove anything. I'm not going into the weeds of this silly property value averages=/=niceness of area anymore I'll just leave some basic statistical principles here and call it a day. Don't extrapolate data, correlation=/=causation and the need to consider confounders.

I am referring to the Medical school program and how a pd would view it. Generally a schools ranking is tied closely to the rankings of its residencies (with Yale being the only big exception that comes to mind). For a school like utmb that most non Texas pds would have never heard of and is unranked by us news, the first thing many pds will look to is how that locations residency stands up in that pds field and how confident they can be in that ms4s clinical experience. Tmc may very well just ring that bell of a trusted clinical experience where utmb may not. Since there really aren't any other metrics for the ranking of these lower middle tier schools this is kind of the best we have to go on (aside from what you've read on reddit I guess).

I don't believe I have mentioned public eye at all(and will not discuss it further) and I am focusing on a schools academic rank which based on the data I have available(us news, residency rankings) and the general attitude that I have come across uth is on a higher tier than utmb. Would this be a significant difference in your residency application? Probably not, they are both what I would consider lower middle tier so would probably be fairly equal

I think at this point we should just agree to disagree, you seem to be hyper defensive of your school and your choice to attend and I don't think this will go anywhere.