TCOM (UNTHSC) vs UT Tyler

[ghettoelmo]

Hi! I wanted to post this so I could get advice on which school to rank higher for the TMDSAS match. Here are a list of pros and cons:

TCOM (pre-matched)
Pros
- One of best DO schools
- Established school with great match list
- Large class size with good student culture (I've heard)
- Located in Fort Worth
- Easy transition as I am from the DFW area

Cons
- DO stigma
- Extra COMLEX board prep

UT Tyler
Pros
- Faculty and Staff seemed very welcoming and dedicated to the mission
- MD
- Free tuition
- UT Health System

Cons
- I would be the first class in a very different and new curriculum
- Strong indication that rotations and residency placement will ONLY by in Tyler Tx
- Strong primary care dedication (I am oriented towards primary care but am not 100% sure)

Please let me know what you think, thank you for your time!

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[ese2]

@hadv3r

I don't think you can go wrong either way. If you do have a real interest in primary care, UTT's free tuition will be hard to pass up

 

[m1redsox]

TCOM is great—maybe the best DO school—but at the end of the day, if you save money, get an MD, take half the amount of board exams, don’t waste time on OMM, and face less bias in the match, I think the choice becomes clear. You might as well simplify life for yourself. I would go with UTT.

 

[wysdoc]

Hi! I wanted to post this so I could get advice on which school to rank higher for the TMDSAS match. Here are a list of pros and cons:

TCOM (pre-matched)
Pros
- One of best DO schools
- Established school with great match list
- Large class size with good student culture (I've heard)
- Located in Fort Worth
- Easy transition as I am from the DFW area

Cons
- DO stigma
- Extra COMLEX board prep

UT Tyler
Pros
- Faculty and Staff seemed very welcoming and dedicated to the mission
- MD
- Free tuition
- UT Health System

Cons
- I would be the first class in a very different and new curriculum
- Strong indication that rotations and residency placement will ONLY by in Tyler Tx
- Strong primary care dedication (I am oriented towards primary care but am not 100% sure)

Please let me know what you think, thank you for your time!

I don't think the curriculum at UT Tyler will be that "different and new" from other schools.
Free tuition is very tempting.

A con you didn't mention, and part of being in the inaugural class, is there will be no upperclassmen to turn to for guidance.

 

[Isoval]

I went to TCOM and I likely would have gone to UT Tyler in your shoes.

To be frank, I think UT Tyler is going to be a worse experience for you in almost every way. But the free tuition and lack of DO stigma are two very strong pros, especially the free tuition. It’s hard to overstate the value in free tuition.

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

General consensus on the choose school boards is MD over DO every time unless it’s Cal northstate. Free tuition is an added bonus

 

[Isoval]

General consensus on the choose school boards is MD over DO every time unless it’s Cal northstate. Free tuition is an added bonus

I actually think a TCOM DO is probably going to do more favors than a brand-new MD school generally-speaking, especially regionally. The only reason that would be false is for ultra-competitive specialties. I do often think this is case-by-case, especially when looking at brand new schools with no backing to speak on.

But like I mentioned, the free tuition absolutely destroys whatever balance there was and I think there is no real reason to rank TCOM over UT Tyler, at least in this situation with the free tuition AND bonus of the MD, which will certainly make a difference especially the further you get from the south.

 

[deleted1106377]

TCOM is great—maybe the best DO school—but at the end of the day, if you save money, get an MD, take half the amount of board exams, don’t waste time on OMM, and face less bias in the match, I think the choice becomes clear. You might as well simplify life for yourself. I would go with UTT.

As I am making my own list between the two, I found I came to the same conclusion. I think the main thing drawing me towards TCOM was the location, but if you take that away UTT becomes the clear choice between the two.

 

[PB2464]

TX schools are pretty cheap. So if you're living at home in DFW or something then that makes your expenses almost a joke when it comes to an attending salary. In that case, don't base it off tuition alone.