TAMU vs TTUHSC Lubbock

[ris4]

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Hi guys! I've been fortunate to interview at both schools and I would like some help on deciding how to rank them! I'm not sure on a specialty yet, but I do want to do something competitive. I also live in DFW. Thanks for the help!

TTUHSC:

Pros: I have prematched!! My sister is an MS3 there so I already have housing in Lubbock. I have connected with other students who have prematched and already know a good amount of future classmates.

Cons: Scared it might not be as good of a program as TAMU. Further from home.

TAMU:

Pros: From what I've seen it might have a better match list for competitive specialties. Closer to home. CSTAT is nicer than Lubbock imo. Would be able to do clinical rotations in DFW.

Cons: Would pretty much have to start a whole new life with no previous connections. It would be my first time truly having no family or close friends with me/living alone. Know wayyyyy less about the program and school compared to TTUHSC. No current housing/ support system with me.

 

[wysdoc]

I want to clarify that TAMU (except for the EnMed track) is NOT connected to Baylor hospitals, so don't add this as a "pro" for TAMU.
Some people do go to Dallas for clinical years at "Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas" which is a part of Scott & White hospital system, not Baylor college of medicine system.

 

[ris4]

I want to clarify that TAMU (except for the EnMed track) is NOT connected to Baylor hospitals, so don't add this as a "pro" for TAMU.
Some people do go to Dallas for clinical years at "Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas" which is a part of Scott & White hospital system, not Baylor college of medicine system.

Ok I edited my post, thank you for clarifying!

 

[obiwan]

I want to clarify that TAMU (except for the EnMed track) is NOT connected to Baylor hospitals, so don't add this as a "pro" for TAMU.
Some people do go to Dallas for clinical years at "Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas" which is a part of Scott & White hospital system, not Baylor college of medicine system.

Well ....... BUMC (Baylor University Medical Center) is the primary clinical affiliate and where the TAMU Dallas regional campus is actually based at so not sure what you mean by not connected. I'm on staff at BUMC so work with the TAMU students all the time



Do you think cost will be the same at either institution ?

 

[wysdoc]

Well ....... BUMC (Baylor University Medical Center) is the primary clinical affiliate and where the TAMU Dallas regional campus is actually based at so not sure what you mean by not connected. I'm on staff at BUMC so work with the TAMU students all the time



Do you think cost will be the same at either institution ?

You are correct about this hospital of course.
I was trying, apparently ineffectively, to explain that it is not in the TMC.
BUMC is an established hospital system with residencies in many specialties, and a med student rotating in a teaching hospital like that will learn a lot from the residents, a good situation.

 

[ris4]

Well ....... BUMC (Baylor University Medical Center) is the primary clinical affiliate and where the TAMU Dallas regional campus is actually based at so not sure what you mean by not connected. I'm on staff at BUMC so work with the TAMU students all the time



Do you think cost will be the same at either institution ?

I think tuition for both is not far off, but I'll have to buy housing in CSTAT whereas I wouldn't need to for Lubbock

 

[RagingBolt34]

I have interviewed at both of these schools as well and am also doing some research to figure out how to rank them. However I am a bit of the opposite of you where I know a lot about the TAMU med program and much less about Lubbock.

Some things to consider:
From what I’ve heard from some TAMU med students, the campus splitting in year 2 gives some people a bit of an unfair advantage/disadvantage in terms of year 3 clinicals and class rank due to some campuses having generally easier rotations than others (and just anecdotally I have hard the dfw campus has some of the harshest attending graders and toughest rotations). I’m going to be honest with you, I have friends in M3 year now that have told me that this has really stressed them out and they feel it is hurting their chances of potentially matching into a residency they want versus if they had attended another school. The match data we have split by campus is very limited since the 4 campus system is still relatively new. I have also heard going to different campuses for year 2,3 and 4 does create a bit of fragmentation among the med students. Despite all this, the TAMU med program is still without a doubt a strong choice with a lot of opportunities.

This wouldn't seem to be a problem at Lubbock as campus change is only in year 3 there from what I’ve heard and then you have the opportunity to return to Lubbock in year 4 if you choose. I also believe Lubbock has a lot of strong home residency programs that allow matching into a more competitive specialty of choice easier than the schools reputation would suggest.

Ultimately they are both really solid choices and I don’t think you can go wrong either way. I would suggest speaking to med students at the schools if you have a way of doing so but based on things I have heard and what you have written, my vote would go to Lubbock.

 

[ris4]

I have interviewed at both of these schools as well and am also doing some research to figure out how to rank them. However I am a bit of the opposite of you where I know a lot about the TAMU med program and much less about Lubbock.

Some things to consider:
From what I’ve heard from some TAMU med students, the campus splitting in year 2 gives some people a bit of an unfair advantage/disadvantage in terms of year 3 clinicals and class rank due to some campuses having generally easier rotations than others (and just anecdotally I have hard the dfw campus has some of the harshest attending graders and toughest rotations). I’m going to be honest with you, I have friends in M3 year now that have told me that this has really stressed them out and they feel it is hurting their chances of potentially matching into a residency they want versus if they had attended another school. The match data we have split by campus is very limited since the 4 campus system is still relatively new. I have also heard going to different campuses for year 2,3 and 4 does create a bit of fragmentation among the med students. Despite all this, the TAMU med program is still without a doubt a strong choice with a lot of opportunities.

This wouldn't seem to be a problem at Lubbock as campus change is only in year 3 there from what I’ve heard and then you have the opportunity to return to Lubbock in year 4 if you choose. I also believe Lubbock has a lot of strong home residency programs that allow matching into a more competitive specialty of choice easier than the schools reputation would suggest.

Ultimately they are both really solid choices and I don’t think you can go wrong either way. I would suggest speaking to med students at the schools if you have a way of doing so but based on things I have heard and what you have written, my vote would go to Lubbock.

Hi! thank you so much for your thoughtful reply!!
For some reason this whole time I was under the impression the students split in year 3 like TTUHSC not year 2. This definitely changes things as I would love to be in DFW for 3 years. I do definitely see, however, that a split that early on causes fragmentation. There would also be no guarantee that I would be assigned the Dallas campus so I would be extremely upset if I choose TAMU and it ends up that way. I'm curious, if you know, how many students end up at the Dallas campus, and is it super competitive? I assume a lot of students will have the reasoning that they're from there so I'm not sure how much that would help guarantee me a spot. It also doesn't help that you said it's one of the harder campuses 😭😭 Basically this makes my decision harder as I get the benefit of a potential 3rd year in Dallas, but also the risk of it being much harder, or not being assigned Dallas.

I do vaguely know one TAMU student so I will reach out to her and see what advice she gives! I know one TTUHSC student who told me they like their school, but would choose TAMU bc of it's access to more patients in larger cities and more research opportunities (which are harder to find at TTUHSC). I know other TTUHSC students who do recommend tech tho so it does vary from person to person.

I'm curious, are you also leaning toward Tech yourself? Do you advise me to go Tech because you genuinely believe it is the better program, or because you believe it is better in my case specifically because of my pre-established housing and connections?

 

[RagingBolt34]

Hi! thank you so much for your thoughtful reply!!
For some reason this whole time I was under the impression the students split in year 3 like TTUHSC not year 2. This definitely changes things as I would love to be in DFW for 3 years. I do definitely see, however, that a split that early on causes fragmentation. There would also be no guarantee that I would be assigned the Dallas campus so I would be extremely upset if I choose TAMU and it ends up that way. I'm curious, if you know, how many students end up at the Dallas campus, and is it super competitive? I assume a lot of students will have the reasoning that they're from there so I'm not sure how much that would help guarantee me a spot. It also doesn't help that you said it's one of the harder campuses 😭😭 Basically this makes my decision harder as I get the benefit of a potential 3rd year in Dallas, but also the risk of it being much harder, or not being assigned Dallas.

I do vaguely know one TAMU student so I will reach out to her and see what advice she gives! I know one TTUHSC student who told me they like their school, but would choose TAMU bc of it's access to more patients in larger cities and more research opportunities (which are harder to find at TTUHSC). I know other TTUHSC students who do recommend tech tho so it does vary from person to person.

I'm curious, are you also leaning toward Tech yourself? Do you advise me to go Tech because you genuinely believe it is the better program, or because you believe it is better in my case specifically because of my pre-established housing and connections?

For your first question about campus assignment, I’m not sure how competitive it is to get your desired campus exactly, but I know that the Dallas campus is definitely the most competitive and most desired. I heard from students on interview day that about 1/4 of students won’t get their campus of choice though idk if that is official.

I say you should go to Lubbock specifically for your situation as you seem to have a family connection and I think that really helps throughout the process. I have a lot of friends at TAMU med and next to none at TTUHSC and live much closer to CSTAT so I am leaning towards TAMU. From what I’ve heard from the students at TAMU, it is generally hard to form a solid friend group if you go into it without knowing anyone due to the fact that the class size is so small. After campus split, depending where you end up the class size maybe only around 30 students, so if you’re worried about being far from family or not having a support network I don’t think that helps the case.

I’m looking more into TTUHSC now though because I really loved the community and vibe on preview day and in the interview. It definitely seemed more laid back so I haven’t entirely made up my mind either. They are both schools with a strong primary care and rural medicine push so I don’t think you would find much difference in terms of opportunities. Both have campus splits so I wouldn’t say either is really ideal for long term sustained research opportunities, but you can still make it work at either one.

One more thing I want to mention that I think is very important is that I have heard horror stories both from current students and students online about TAMU’s lack of nbme exams and required attendance for certain classes. You can read more into this with some googling but it seems a lot of the med students have a lot of complaints about how TAMU forces the curriculum on the students and how a lot of it results in wasted time and that the administration is not receptive to change.

 

[FarmHand]

I think TTUHSC would be a good choice, you have strong connections to the area, Tech has quite a few in house residency programs and I've heard great things about the program.

I've enjoyed my time at A&M, but I have to agree that the campus system does cause some inequities in grading and opportunities, I imagine something similar plays out with the other satellite campus that Tech has for 3rd year rotations. Also theres a good chance you wouldn't get Dallas, which would defeat the biggest pro.

 

[ris4]

For your first question about campus assignment, I’m not sure how competitive it is to get your desired campus exactly, but I know that the Dallas campus is definitely the most competitive and most desired. I heard from students on interview day that about 1/4 of students won’t get their campus of choice though idk if that is official.

I say you should go to Lubbock specifically for your situation as you seem to have a family connection and I think that really helps throughout the process. I have a lot of friends at TAMU med and next to none at TTUHSC and live much closer to CSTAT so I am leaning towards TAMU. From what I’ve heard from the students at TAMU, it is generally hard to form a solid friend group if you go into it without knowing anyone due to the fact that the class size is so small. After campus split, depending where you end up the class size maybe only around 30 students, so if you’re worried about being far from family or not having a support network I don’t think that helps the case.

I’m looking more into TTUHSC now though because I really loved the community and vibe on preview day and in the interview. It definitely seemed more laid back so I haven’t entirely made up my mind either. They are both schools with a strong primary care and rural medicine push so I don’t think you would find much difference in terms of opportunities. Both have campus splits so I wouldn’t say either is really ideal for long term sustained research opportunities, but you can still make it work at either one.

One more thing I want to mention that I think is very important is that I have heard horror stories both from current students and students online about TAMU’s lack of nbme exams and required attendance for certain classes. You can read more into this with some googling but it seems a lot of the med students have a lot of complaints about how TAMU forces the curriculum on the students and how a lot of it results in wasted time and that the administration is not receptive to change.

Yeah it makes sense Dallas is most desired and 1/4 is a scary percentage 🙁

Yeah I agree having solid connections beforehand will definitely be beneficial in any case. I understand why you would be leaning TAMU. Did a lot of you college friends end up at TAMU or sm

I also really like the vibe of TTUHSC! Were you at the December preview day? Bc I was too! I mostly agree about long term sustained research opportunities, but I think bc you will be at one campus for 3 years (and for some people all 4) it might be more practical at TAMU. And I just generally believe they have more opportunities anyway.

Ooo I didn't know about the lack of nbme exams and required attendance. I will definitely read more about that thanks for letting me know!

Anyway if you end up choosing tech definitely lmk, we can connect later and I can introduce you to a few other students I know!! Thanks for all your help!

 

[ris4]

I think TTUHSC would be a good choice, you have strong connections to the area, Tech has quite a few in house residency programs and I've heard great things about the program.

I've enjoyed my time at A&M, but I have to agree that the campus system does cause some inequities in grading and opportunities, I imagine something similar plays out with the other satellite campus that Tech has for 3rd year rotations. Also theres a good chance you wouldn't get Dallas, which would defeat the biggest pro.

Thank you so much for your advice!! Hearing from someone who has actually gone through the TAMU program is especially helpful. Do you feel you personally were at an advantage or disadvantage from the campus you're at? Do you mind sharing which campuses seem to be better/ harder?

There is some talk of certain TTUHSC campuses being better or having harder grading, but from my sister and her friends' experiences it seems to be pretty negligible. I agree about the Dallas assignment

 

[RagingBolt34]

Yeah it makes sense Dallas is most desired and 1/4 is a scary percentage 🙁

Yeah I agree having solid connections beforehand will definitely be beneficial in any case. I understand why you would be leaning TAMU. Did a lot of you college friends end up at TAMU or sm

I also really like the vibe of TTUHSC! Were you at the December preview day? Bc I was too! I mostly agree about long term sustained research opportunities, but I think bc you will be at one campus for 3 years (and for some people all 4) it might be more practical at TAMU. And I just generally believe they have more opportunities anyway.

Ooo I didn't know about the lack of nbme exams and required attendance. I will definitely read more about that thanks for letting me know!

Anyway if you end up choosing tech definitely lmk, we can connect later and I can introduce you to a few other students I know!! Thanks for all your help!

Haha thanks! And yea I was at the December preview. Everyone was so friendly there I really liked it.

 

[FarmHand]

Thank you so much for your advice!! Hearing from someone who has actually gone through the TAMU program is especially helpful. Do you feel you personally were at an advantage or disadvantage from the campus you're at? Do you mind sharing which campuses seem to be better/ harder?

There is some talk of certain TTUHSC campuses being better or having harder grading, but from my sister and her friends' experiences it seems to be pretty negligible. I agree about the Dallas assignment

I know that Dallas can have some intense attendings especially in the surgical service. At my campus, willowbrook, I had an issue with one attending grading hard but other than that I feel its been easier for me to honor compared to other places that demand more from students and take away from study time. Of course ive only ever been to one medical school and one campus.

Research is all on the student at WB, with lots of my classmates working with PIs at the TMC or college station. I think in Dallas has better Research opportunities but A&M is mediocre in this regard.