Reviews of Texas Schools

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Telekinesis

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Looking to hear reviews about Texas Schools.

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In my relatively uninformed opinion, I think schools can be roughly divided into two tiers (based on my own experiences and what I've heard from other people that have interviewed at schools that I didn't). I think in the "top" tier you have UTSW, UT Houston, and A&M, and all of the other schools are in the second tier. Again, that's a very rough separation that may or may not actually be true.

I'd recommend checking out the school-specific threads for more information. Or, you know, doing your own research.
 
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In my relatively uninformed opinion, I think schools can be roughly divided into two tiers (based on my own experiences and what I've heard from other people that have interviewed at schools that I didn't). I think in the "top" tier you have UTSW, UT Houston, and A&M, and all of the other schools are in the second tier. Again, that's a very rough separation that may or may not actually be true.

I'd recommend checking out the school-specific threads for more information. Or, you know, doing your own research.

Its all personal opinion, but the above makes me laugh. One of the above 3 schools I consider in the bottom 2 in Texas. :laugh:
 
Its all personal opinion, but the above makes me laugh. One of the above 3 schools I consider in the bottom 2 in Texas. :laugh:

No doubt - and I'm going solely based on my experiences at the schools I interviewed at and what I've heard from other people who interviewed at the battery of Texas schools. Really that could be based more on their marketing departments than the schools themselves, but who knows.

Just curious, which schools do you think "stand out?"
 
No doubt - and I'm going solely based on my experiences at the schools I interviewed at and what I've heard from other people who interviewed at the battery of Texas schools. Really that could be based more on their marketing departments than the schools themselves, but who knows.

Just curious, which schools do you think "stand out?"
Yea, I've heard A&M has some problems with the clinical years. But this is 3rd hand information, so I definitely couldn't verify it.

If I had to guess, it's due to the way they split up the clinical locations. I have no doubt Scott & White is great, but College Station and Round Rock both seemed to be pretty mediocre..
 
Based on clinical years and match stats, I personally would rank them this way (and I interviewed at most of them):

Top tier: UTSW
Middle tier: UTH, UTHSC San Antonio, UTMB
Bottom tier: A&M, Texas Tech (both Lubbock and El Paso)

In terms of pre-clinical years, I would have to say they are all fairly equal. UTSW may possibly be slightly better, but that really depends on the type of academic atmosphere you like.

For me, it basically came down to the location of the schools. Some cities are admittedly better than others.

Each person will rank the schools differently. The best way to get a feel for a school is to go to the interview day and talk to the students. They tend to be pretty honest about the school. I know that for me, the interview days definitely changed my mind about some of the schools, and I ended up ranking some of the proclaimed "lower tiered" schools higher than upper tiered school.
 
Based on clinical years and match stats, I personally would rank them this way (and I interviewed at most of them):

Top tier: UTSW
Middle tier: UTH, UTHSC San Antonio, UTMB
Bottom tier: A&M, Texas Tech (both Lubbock and El Paso)

My version. I have friends at all, interviewed at all, and have been a piece of 3 of them.

Top tier: UTSW - the elite school in TX in my opinion
Middle Tier: UTH, UTHSC-SA, UTMB, Texas Tech - Lubbock
Bottom tier: A&M, Texas Tech - el paso, TCOM

I know TCOM isn't allopathic, but it is a TMDSAS school so I added it.

Of the middle tier schools, UTMB has an edge over the others. UTMB pushes toward greatness, but it always falls right back. UTMB board scores sometimes even top UTSW's depending on the year. Hurricane Ike obviously didn't help things, but they are a solid #2. They are actively rebuilding well and resources are nice (brand new facilities popping up). Some commuting required though as UTMB has built up satellite clinic up and down I-45 from Galveston to Clear Lake.

UT-San Antonio has the pieces to become much better, but the administration is too conservative and hates change. They still train great physicians though. Pre-clinical actually sets you up to fail though. This needs to change. The top graduates that I've known do not attend lecture and are smarter because of it. Great clinical experiences. If you are a self-learner than this is a good place to be.

UT-Houston has and will always be a middle tier program. Very stable and in the houston med center. Great clinical experiences, but again administration fights with student opinions often. Some excellent faculty. Some excellent hospitals to train at. Pre-clinical experiences are sub-par.

Texas Tech lubbock I would have considered lower tier until about 5 years ago when they changed the curriculum, changed administration, changed clinical experiences, etc. They have adapted the most and it shows. Their board scores are the most improved over the past 3 years. A higher percentage pass the boards here the first time vs UTSW & UTMB although the average score is lower than UTSW & UTMB.

Texas A&M does have Scott & White, but the population is not as diverse as elsewhere. The range of pathology is not as great. Highly pushes primary care. Over the past 15 years or so, A&M and TCOM provide the greatest percentage of primary care docs. Lack of great resources. They are trying to better themselves so no complaints there. Just needs a lot of work.

TT - el paso gets points off for being too new. They haven't graduated a class yet. Many kinks being worked out. Current students are guinea pigs. With that said, el paso provides the best pathology in TX for clinical years. Knowledge of Spanish is pretty important however. Pre-clinical years need lots of work. Clinical years will rival the best in TX, and it isn't much of a competition. Probably the up & coming school of the future, but you really need spanish to maximize your education.

No use describing UTSW - they win. I can admit this and I chose to attend another TX med school for personal reasons. I don't regret it. I wouldn't be better off than I am now (matched top choice in my top field), but I know the education is stronger here. You always wonder "what if" right?
 
You didn't specifically ask for public schools so perhaps we just forgot to mention but I believe Baylor would be in the top tier with Southwestern in most people's opinion. Some people might even have it first.
 
You didn't specifically ask for public schools so perhaps we just forgot to mention but I believe Baylor would be in the top tier with Southwestern in most people's opinion. Some people might even have it first.

Since Baylor is private and through a different application service, I didn't add it.

Baylor traditionally has been the strongest of all, but recent years have hit a downward slide. The Baylor program has been financially ******ed, and no one wants to partner/buy it. From what I've heard, Methodist Hospital, Baylor University (undergrad), and Rice want nothing to do with it. Baylor med school used to hoard the best hospitals in the past, but now UT-Houston has plenty of quality access. Baylor also previously had better residency programs, but management/finances have eliminated that in many fields.

While US News will not reflect much if any changes because they are decades behind, Baylor med school is on the decline. The med school itself still attracts quality students because of its history, but I question how long this continues. The quality of faculty have declined as well as the resources compared to years past.

The residency programs at Baylor have problems. In my field, I did not even rank Baylor as a residency option - I would have preferred to scramble into a spot. A couple good friends of mine ranked Baylor last in applying to competitive fields and matched there - would have preferred elsewhere in the state or OOS.

Its now a tough program to rank because the quality of students does not match the quality of the program as a whole. If you are ranking only the intelligence of the students, it is a top tier school. If you rank it based on resources, it is a middle tier school.

Slowly, the top students are moving toward UTSW because UTSW has the top residency programs in the state and some of the best resources.
 
IMO

Top: UTSW = Baylor
Mid: Galveston = Houston > San Antonio
Bottom: Lubbock=A&M>El Paso>TCOM

I think this is a fairly general impression but not exactly the order that I personally liked the schools. There are a lot of factors to take into consideration. I for one did not like UTSW at all, I left immediately after my interviews and withdrew my application later that weekend. I spent a long time trying to pick between the mid tier schools and ultimately came to the conclusion that you should pretty much go with your gut about interview day/location - the quality doesn't vary enough to justify picking one over the other.
 
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My version. I have friends at all, interviewed at all, and have been a piece of 3 of them.

Top tier: UTSW - the elite school in TX in my opinion
Middle Tier: UTH, UTHSC-SA, UTMB, Texas Tech - Lubbock
Bottom tier: A&M, Texas Tech - el paso, TCOM

I know TCOM isn't allopathic, but it is a TMDSAS school so I added it.

Of the middle tier schools, UTMB has an edge over the others. UTMB pushes toward greatness, but it always falls right back. UTMB board scores sometimes even top UTSW's depending on the year. Hurricane Ike obviously didn't help things, but they are a solid #2. They are actively rebuilding well and resources are nice (brand new facilities popping up). Some commuting required though as UTMB has built up satellite clinic up and down I-45 from Galveston to Clear Lake.

UT-San Antonio has the pieces to become much better, but the administration is too conservative and hates change. They still train great physicians though. Pre-clinical actually sets you up to fail though. This needs to change. The top graduates that I've known do not attend lecture and are smarter because of it. Great clinical experiences. If you are a self-learner than this is a good place to be.

UT-Houston has and will always be a middle tier program. Very stable and in the houston med center. Great clinical experiences, but again administration fights with student opinions often. Some excellent faculty. Some excellent hospitals to train at. Pre-clinical experiences are sub-par.

Texas Tech lubbock I would have considered lower tier until about 5 years ago when they changed the curriculum, changed administration, changed clinical experiences, etc. They have adapted the most and it shows. Their board scores are the most improved over the past 3 years. A higher percentage pass the boards here the first time vs UTSW & UTMB although the average score is lower than UTSW & UTMB.

Texas A&M does have Scott & White, but the population is not as diverse as elsewhere. The range of pathology is not as great. Highly pushes primary care. Over the past 15 years or so, A&M and TCOM provide the greatest percentage of primary care docs. Lack of great resources. They are trying to better themselves so no complaints there. Just needs a lot of work.

TT - el paso gets points off for being too new. They haven't graduated a class yet. Many kinks being worked out. Current students are guinea pigs. With that said, el paso provides the best pathology in TX for clinical years. Knowledge of Spanish is pretty important however. Pre-clinical years need lots of work. Clinical years will rival the best in TX, and it isn't much of a competition. Probably the up & coming school of the future, but you really need spanish to maximize your education.

No use describing UTSW - they win. I can admit this and I chose to attend another TX med school for personal reasons. I don't regret it. I wouldn't be better off than I am now (matched top choice in my top field), but I know the education is stronger here. You always wonder "what if" right?

I think this is an excellent description of schools, however you included TCOM in the rankings, but no description. For me it came to what city I wanted to be in and what my initial reaction was at the schools.

My View on TCOM is I think its a great option for Texas residents, located in a fantastic city. TCOM is a great school with a good curriculum, whose students often match into ROADs M.D. Residencies. I chose not to go there because to me it seemed like their students were over worked compared to their counter parts. Perhaps it was their 8-5 class schedule that also included OMM, or maybe the students have a chip on their shoulder, regardless I still think it is a great option and it is foolish not to apply there if your a TX resident.
 
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I for one did not like UTSW at all, I left immediately after my interviews and withdrew my application later that weekend.

Do tell...still lives up to the old malignant rep? Or just hate Dallas?
 
Do tell...still lives up to the old malignant rep? Or just hate Dallas?

As someone who interviewed at UTSW and has significant ties to the institution, I can understand where the malignant type impression can come from. Older students are definitely more high strung and a little "weird" - whether that's a product of the clinical years or because they used the old curriculum with curved grading, who knows. The MS1s and MS2s that I met this year were great.

I think people that only know UTSW from 2-3 years or longer ago probably have an outdated impression.
 
Some excellent and helpful posts on this thread, especially from TexasPhysician.

^^ You mentioned that UT-San Antonio's preclinical years "set you up to fail." Can you expand on that if possible?
 
Some excellent and helpful posts on this thread, especially from TexasPhysician.

^^ You mentioned that UT-San Antonio's preclinical years "set you up to fail." Can you expand on that if possible?

One of my best friends attended UT-SA. At first he struggled with the curriculum while attending most lectures. Many lectures are done by tenured profs who prefer to speak about their own research or off-topic subjects that are irrelevant at UT-SA. Then he talked to John Doe (a dean) who said that the best way to succeed is to not attend lectures. Apparently there are enough people in administration who refuse to update the curriculum. My friend stopped attending lectures and his grades went through the roof. His own self-studying got him board scores that anyone on this forum dreams of achieving. Highest I've seen myself. The clinical years seem to be well structured according to my friends though with talented clinical faculty.
 
I interviewed at all these schools except a&m and tcom but my 2cents

first tier - UTSW,UTH,UTSA,Baylor
second tier- tech,a&m, tcom,utmb

i agree with earlier posts that the first two years it really wont matter where you go. the top four I picked because they all had a great network of affiliated hospitals in large cities with very diverse patient populations (i'd include utmb but TMC get's alot more pull of the houston patients). Even though UTSW is a more prestigious program i didn't find it overwhelmingly impresseive to give it a category all unto itself
 
UT-SA seems like a great school... starting in 2013. That's when they're (finally) implementing a new curriculum and a lot of hospital renovations/upgrades will be done. I'd pick San Antonio over Galveston which is still kind of a ghost town after Ike, and just feels like the hospital was kind of deserted while I was there. Not to mention UTMB is on a strict curve... That's why the students kick so much butt on the boards. Is it worth all the stress of competition? That's ultimately your call, but as soon as I heard about the curve, I checked out mentally.
 
As someone who interviewed at UTSW and has significant ties to the institution, I can understand where the malignant type impression can come from. Older students are definitely more high strung and a little "weird" - whether that's a product of the clinical years or because they used the old curriculum with curved grading, who knows. The MS1s and MS2s that I met this year were great.

I think people that only know UTSW from 2-3 years or longer ago probably have an outdated impression.

Yeah, my ties went there at least 2 years ago. Like you I wonder if the underclassmen you met were cool by nature or if Parkland just hasn't broken them yet 🙂 Sadly I lean towards the latter.
 
Just kind of curious, why has everybody rated TCOM as the worst of the best?(Texas 😀)

They have fairly strong matches, are established, in a nice city, new facilities, P/F, and are usually rated the top DO school(battles with PCOM), good boards, etc.
 
Just kind of curious, why has everybody rated TCOM as the worst of the best?(Texas 😀)

They have fairly strong matches, are established, in a nice city, new facilities, P/F, and are usually rated the top DO school(battles with PCOM), good boards, etc.

It's a DO school, duh. HURR DURR.
 
Since Baylor is private and through a different application service, I didn't add it.

Baylor traditionally has been the strongest of all, but recent years have hit a downward slide. The Baylor program has been financially ******ed, and no one wants to partner/buy it. From what I've heard, Methodist Hospital, Baylor University (undergrad), and Rice want nothing to do with it. Baylor med school used to hoard the best hospitals in the past, but now UT-Houston has plenty of quality access. Baylor also previously had better residency programs, but management/finances have eliminated that in many fields.

While US News will not reflect much if any changes because they are decades behind, Baylor med school is on the decline. The med school itself still attracts quality students because of its history, but I question how long this continues. The quality of faculty have declined as well as the resources compared to years past.

The residency programs at Baylor have problems. In my field, I did not even rank Baylor as a residency option - I would have preferred to scramble into a spot. A couple good friends of mine ranked Baylor last in applying to competitive fields and matched there - would have preferred elsewhere in the state or OOS.

Its now a tough program to rank because the quality of students does not match the quality of the program as a whole. If you are ranking only the intelligence of the students, it is a top tier school. If you rank it based on resources, it is a middle tier school.

Slowly, the top students are moving toward UTSW because UTSW has the top residency programs in the state and some of the best resources.
Having not gone through the residency application process yet, I don't really think I can comment on a lot of the points you raise. However, FWIW I think most of the points you raised are more relevant to those applying to residency than medical school. I've talked extensively about Baylor in other threads and I think that there are many reasons why it is an excellent school,but to break it down to one point I will say that the one aspect about Baylor that stands out to me above everything else is the abbreviated pre-clinical curriculum. Having an extra six months of rotations really gives you time to figure out what field you want to go into if you're undecided, and I strongly believe that having a year of rotations--and shelf exams--under our belt is a major factor into why we consistently have some of the top board scores in the country.

Nothing against any of the other schools, which are all excellent, but that was the number one reason for me choosing Baylor (among many others), and I haven't regretted my decision for an instant 🙂
Uh oh......
Without speaking for him, I that's probably why a lot of people rank it as the bottom school without giving it much though, not really that it's actually worse. They're all great schools.
 
Just kind of curious, why has everybody rated TCOM as the worst of the best?(Texas 😀)

They have fairly strong matches, are established, in a nice city, new facilities, P/F, and are usually rated the top DO school(battles with PCOM), good boards, etc.

TCOM is probably the best DO school, but DO's still have a lot of bias against them amongst residency programs. Certain academic programs refuse to even interview them. Not many, but some. Many more residency programs still give preference to US MD applicants. The bias is slowly going away but it is still very much present. There are a couple DO's in my program and they are all very bright physicians.

TCOM does have very nice pre-clinical facilities and they even provide students with laptops that have books/lectures already uploaded. They are pretty technologically advanced in pre-clinical teaching. It does provide a relatively weak clinical experience compared to the MD programs in the state though. I know they have been improving this every year, so explore this for yourself if you are interested.

Due to OMM teaching in addition to the regular curriculum, TCOM has the shortest summer breaks which cuts into research, travel, board study, and internship opportunities.
 
I've talked extensively about Baylor in other threads and I think that there are many reasons why it is an excellent school,but to break it down to one point I will say that the one aspect about Baylor that stands out to me above everything else is the abbreviated pre-clinical curriculum. Having an extra six months of rotations really gives you time to figure out what field you want to go into if you're undecided, and I strongly believe that having a year of rotations--and shelf exams--under our belt is a major factor into why we consistently have some of the top board scores in the country.

The extra 6 months of rotations is nice. Valid point. Another reason why Baylor is a solid middle tier program.
 
Without speaking for him, I that's probably why a lot of people rank it as the bottom school without giving it much though, not really that it's actually worse. They're all great schools.

Very cool. It struck me as odd how an established DO school kept coming in behind Tech's new school(bad ass looking building/research areas btw), even though TTUHSC-El Paso hasn't even graduated a class yet.

TCOM is probably the best DO school, but DO's still have a lot of bias against them amongst residency programs. Certain academic programs refuse to even interview them. Not many, but some. Many more residency programs still give preference to US MD applicants. The bias is slowly going away but it is still very much present. There are a couple DO's in my program and they are all very bright physicians.

TCOM does have very nice pre-clinical facilities and they even provide students with laptops that have books/lectures already uploaded. They are pretty technologically advanced in pre-clinical teaching. It does provide a relatively weak clinical experience compared to the MD programs in the state though. I know they have been improving this every year, so explore this for yourself if you are interested.

Due to OMM teaching in addition to the regular curriculum, TCOM has the shortest summer breaks which cuts into research, travel, board study, and internship opportunities.

Thanks for this post Tex, made a lot of things much more clear.

Two of the DO's I shadowed(All/Imm and Ortho Surgeon) both mentioned there was a bias. However, both agreed that it was all the grey hairs keeping it alive up North. :laugh:
 
I know a lot about A&M, but I don't want to make a post about it until next year.
 
Uh oh......

Just to be clear, that was sarcasm. I know a couple of people at TCOM and they love it. There is still that stigma around DO, though, and I don't think most applicants consider it in the same category as MD institutions (for whatever reason). That's probably why it wasn't included in most people's comments.
 
Just to be clear, that was sarcasm. I know a couple of people at TCOM and they love it. There is still that stigma around DO, though, and I don't think most applicants consider it in the same category as MD institutions (for whatever reason). That's probably why it wasn't included in most people's comments.

Sarcasm on my end too... should've opted for the Scooby Doo Ruh Roh image instead.
 
I think it's funny that most people judging these schools are premed. I want to stress that you really have no idea what a medical school is like until you've at least interviewed there, regardless of what you've read or heard. I interviewed at most of these schools and firstly, I want to say I think they're all great schools. I don't like ranking them because in a way rankings don't mean anything. They're all going to train you to be competent physicians, and in the end the work you put in means a great deal more than anything else. They all match well.

UTSW - awesome facilities, I like the pass/fail option in the first year. This school really takes care of their students. The interview left me feeling great. If you want awesome research, this place is chock-full of it. They have four nobel laureates on staff or something like that. The hospitals are really top notch too.

Baylor - financial difficulties exist but still an awesome school in the TMC. Also a top-notch research school. The 1 1/2 years of preclinical is cool but the downside of that is you lose your summer after first year. In the grand scheme of things, that doesn't matter that much though.

UT Houston - same deal. Being in the Texas Med Center is a truly amazing experience.

A&M - definitely the fastest growing program in Texas right now. Scott and White is categorized as the only major teaching hospital in Texas and they just started letting students rotate through Baylor Hospital in downtown Dallas which is a really busy hospital. The new facilities at Round Rock and Bryan are really impressive. Primary care oriented but great research does exist here, especially since the texas spine institute is moving in next door.

UTMB - they seem to teach specifically toward the boards (can be seen as a positive or negative depending on your standpoint) but a really solid school. The facilities are a bit torn down since Ike, but they're in the stages of rebuilding. I think 3rd and 4th years still have the option to go to Austin, which has some really good hospitals.


Tech - El Paso - being near Juarez, this school offers really unique clinical opportunities. Basically, you get to see trauma stuff that you may not see often elsewhere, and the new building is really nice. This school is in its early stages and is going to do really well in serving the need for doctors in the El Paso area.

Tech - Lubbock - I hear good things, but I didn't interview here so I can't comment much.

UT San Antonio - also didn't interview here so can't say much but the Health Science center in San Antonio sounded pretty awesome. They seem to lean toward accepting primarily non-caucasians though, probably because san antonio is a heavily latino-influenced city.

That's my two cents. Again, each of these schools have their amazing professors and will turn you into an excellent physician if you put some hard work in. What medicine comes down to in the end is you, not the schools, especially given the high quality of medical education in texas.
 
..I want to stress that you really have no idea what a medical school is like until you've at least interviewed there..
You can learn in a few hours what a four year experience is like? You must be one insightful/perceptive dude.
 
:laugh::laugh::laugh:

What's the world coming to?


The reason I said this is because they have individualized study cubicles for students, weekly one-on-one mentoring with the professor of their choice, "houses" each student is placed in (kind of like in Harry Potter), an amazing rec center exclusively for med students, etc.
 
You can learn in a few hours what a four year experience is like? You must be one insightful/perceptive dude.


I am not an overly "insightful/perceptive dude", but thanks for your sarcasm. At interviews you get to talk to the students who go to the school and they give you valuable insight on what the school is like. You get a feel of the campus and what life is like in the city. You meet the some of the professors and administration, even if briefly. They walk you through the curriculum, show you around the facilities, answer any questions you may have about the school. While the faculty often only show you the positive aspects of the school, the students are usually good about pointing out positives and negatives. An interview day is not a few hours. It's on average 7 or 8 hours. Some schools like UTSW have two-day interview sessions, where one day is devoted entirely to touring the school and answering questions. So yes, you can gain a lot of insight about a school through interviewing there.
 
The reason I said this is because they have individualized study cubicles for students, weekly one-on-one mentoring with the professor of their choice, "houses" each student is placed in (kind of like in Harry Potter), an amazing rec center exclusively for med students, etc.

Isn't that special 😛

I interviewed there for med school, and residency. They put on a compelling interview day, that's for sure. For residency, I'd even say exceptional. Whether or not that speaks to actual reforms in conditions on the ground, I couldn't say.
 
Isn't that special 😛

I interviewed there for med school, and residency. They put on a compelling interview day, that's for sure. For residency, I'd even say exceptional. Whether or not that speaks to actual reforms in conditions on the ground, I couldn't say.


I'm just going based on what I've heard from students and the amenities they have specifically for the students. Most other schools I interviewed at didn't seem to have quite as many perks for their students.

The Harry Potter analogy was how they described the housing situation. I wasn't trying to be sappy or anything - sorry if it seemed that way 🙄
 
I read something about University of Houston creating a med school as well as UNT and a possible school in Austin by the UT system. Any truth to that?
 
There are plans to start an MD school (UNTMD) by the DO school at TCOM. They are expected to recruit their first MD class in 2014. But theres a lot of politics that are getting worked out at the state legislature that may prevent this from occurring.
 
There are plans to start an MD school (UNTMD) by the DO school at TCOM. They are expected to recruit their first MD class in 2014. But theres a lot of politics that are getting worked out at the state legislature that may prevent this from occurring.

I just read that the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce decided not to enable legislation for it this session. UNTHSC will have to wait until the next session. Their reason: not enough support for a new med school when every institution has been asked to scale back due to budgetary constraints...although Dr. Ransom already raised enough money for the first 5 years. I'm starting to remember why I hate politics.

Bah oh well. I've been hearing about the Austin one for yrs now but I don't know where it stands. I've never heard about the UH one, though!
 
I read something about University of Houston creating a med school as well as UNT and a possible school in Austin by the UT system. Any truth to that?

Not sure why UH would open yet ANOTHER med school in Houston. But it would make sense to open one in Austin - I'm still surprised that there isn't one there.
 
I just read that the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce decided not to enable legislation for it this session. UNTHSC will have to wait until the next session. Their reason: not enough support for a new med school when every institution has been asked to scale back due to budgetary constraints...although Dr. Ransom already raised enough money for the first 5 years. I'm starting to remember why I hate politics.

Bah oh well. I've been hearing about the Austin one for yrs now but I don't know where it stands. I've never heard about the UH one, though!

The UH one is still being mused about. You know how it is in Texas. All the systems want some of that Post-Graduate money lol.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_Schools_in_the_United_States

Mentions UH as being "Under Discussion."
 
The UH one is still being mused about. You know how it is in Texas. All the systems want some of that Post-Graduate money lol.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_Schools_in_the_United_States

Mentions UH as being "Under Discussion."

Haha well I have a feeling it will be "under discussion" for a very long time. Like NickNaylor said, it doesn't really make sense to open another school in Houston. I found this about it:
http://indotav.blogspot.com/2007/01/university-of-houston-wants-medical.html

If Austin had a med school, I would have ranked it #1 on my list in a heartbeat. I heard a lot of back & forth about it while I was at UT. One day I'd hear the plan is still moving forward; the next day the plan is nixed. One of the reasons I heard that UT probably wont open one in Austin is because there was talk that A&M wanted to open a med school in Round Rock. I'm not sure if this A&M Round Rock med school is what people meant when they were talking about a new one in Austin...I just assumed it was going to be UT-affiliated
 
UT-Houston has and will always be a middle tier program. Very stable and in the houston med center. Great clinical experiences, but again administration fights with student opinions often. Some excellent faculty. Some excellent hospitals to train at. Pre-clinical experiences are sub-par.

Just wondering where this came from? I know I'm only a first year, but in general our class has experienced quite the opposite. And the average board scores for the last couple of years have been in the 230's, which I thought was pretty damn good.

Also, in response to questions about TCOM, their biggest issue IMHO is their lack of clinical rotation sites. Sure Fort Worth has a bunch of great hospitals, but the problem is that few of them are teaching hospitals except JPS (?). Medical students get very little hands-on experience/opportunities for any kind of restricted/supervised autonomy. I know this from personal friends and physicians who either went to TCOM or work in Fort Worth hospitals where the students do some required rotations. A huge drawback for me was when I shadowed a doctor who was in charge of a fourth year medical student (in May, so about to start residency) who seemed as clueless and inexperienced as I was.

I realize that the last part of my post is anecdotal, n=1, etc. but I was just sharing a personal experience that corroborated what I have heard from medical students and physicians. I also know doctors who graduated from TCOM who are excellent clinicians! I just think that these circumstances force students to go out of their way to acquire necessary clinical skills and knowledge.
 
Haha well I have a feeling it will be "under discussion" for a very long time. Like NickNaylor said, it doesn't really make sense to open another school in Houston. I found this about it:
http://indotav.blogspot.com/2007/01/university-of-houston-wants-medical.html

If Austin had a med school, I would have ranked it #1 on my list in a heartbeat. I heard a lot of back & forth about it while I was at UT. One day I'd hear the plan is still moving forward; the next day the plan is nixed. One of the reasons I heard that UT probably wont open one in Austin is because there was talk that A&M wanted to open a med school in Round Rock. I'm not sure if this A&M Round Rock med school is what people meant when they were talking about a new one in Austin...I just assumed it was going to be UT-affiliated

Idk if I agree with Nick there. I mean Houston is a pretty big city. If Houston opens a school and each class has at most a 100 students I think it could work.

But did I read that article right. I skimmed it so I may be wrong but Praireview is considering a med school now?
 
Haha well I have a feeling it will be "under discussion" for a very long time. Like NickNaylor said, it doesn't really make sense to open another school in Houston. I found this about it:
http://indotav.blogspot.com/2007/01/university-of-houston-wants-medical.html

If Austin had a med school, I would have ranked it #1 on my list in a heartbeat. I heard a lot of back & forth about it while I was at UT. One day I'd hear the plan is still moving forward; the next day the plan is nixed. One of the reasons I heard that UT probably wont open one in Austin is because there was talk that A&M wanted to open a med school in Round Rock. I'm not sure if this A&M Round Rock med school is what people meant when they were talking about a new one in Austin...I just assumed it was going to be UT-affiliated


A&M does have facilities in Round Rock, but as of right now only MS3 and MS4's will be there. I was just notified a few weeks ago that I would be spending my clinical years in Round Rock! Awesome city!
 
A&M does have facilities in Round Rock, but as of right now only MS3 and MS4's will be there. I was just notified a few weeks ago that I would be spending my clinical years in Round Rock! Awesome city!

Oh gotcha! I highly recommend Round Rock Donuts when you go there. The lines are always long, but it is well worth the wait
 
UT San Antonio - also didn't interview here so can't say much but the Health Science center in San Antonio sounded pretty awesome. They seem to lean toward accepting primarily non-caucasians though, probably because san antonio is a heavily latino-influenced city.

I go to UTHSCSA and this just isn't true.
 
I go to UTHSCSA and this just isn't true.

I really hadn't given this much thought and it doesn't matter to me either way, but I did get this impression from UTHSCSA as well. It may be that they prefer students who can speak spanish, regardless of their ethnicity, because the ultimate goal is to train physicians who will be able to adequately serve areas surrounding San Antonio.
 
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