TCOM vs UT Rio Grande Valley

[Texas PreMed]

Hello!

I have been lucky enough to pre-match at TCOM and was very excited to go to one of the best DO schools in the world. However, I recently received an II from UTRGV and I really don't know much about this school. I have created a short pros and cons list of each school, and I would love some input on what others think.

TCOM Pros

• In Fort Worth, which is a relatively big city with a lot to do
• A well-established school with matches into amazing residency programs
• Close to home

TCOM Cons

• A DO School, so I will have to take and pay for both COMLEX and USMLE. Will also have to learn 400 additional hours of material (OMM/OMT)
• Close to home so friends and family will want to hang out and distract me

UTRGV Pros

• An MD school with impressive matches
• Gives financial aid to many students with avg indebtedness of around 90k
• Small class size of 55 students

UTRGV Cons

• A new school, so there is not a lot of data on them
• In Edinburg, which is a smaller border town compared to Fort Worth
• Small faculty size, risk might not finding the right mentor

This is just a short list of the things I could think of off the top of my head. If anyone has anything to add please do! Also if there are any current students at either of these two schools reading this thread I would love to hear your point of view as well. Thanks!

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[cander67]

My understanding of the advice in this situation is that if you are interested in anything that’s not primary care you should always go with MD over DO because you will have better chances of matching.

 

[Texas PreMed]

My understanding of the advice in this situation is that if you are interested in anything that’s not primary care you should always go with MD over DO because you will have better chances of matching.

Thanks for the response, I am interested in derm because I have worked in the field as an MA. TCOM does have a derm residency whereas UTRGV does not, so would MD over DO still be relevant in this situation?

 

[cander67]

Hard to say. I would ask @Goro

 

[MyOdyssey]

Thanks for the response, I am interested in derm because I have worked in the field as an MA. TCOM does have a derm residency whereas UTRGV does not, so would MD over DO still be relevant in this situation?

Does TCOM's derm residency take a lot of its residents from TCOM's medical school?

 

[Texas PreMed]

Does TCOM's derm residency take a lot of its residents from TCOM's medical school?

Yes and no. They typically do take TCOM students at a high rate. However, they only accept 2 new residents a year I believe.

 

[whambamarsenalfan17]

no expert but I’m from TX and TCOM is the best DO program in the nation and id say everybody would agree with this. Many knowledgable individuals I have spoken to have even placed it above several MD programs. You’re not going to be fighting to match into residency or at any disadvantage by attending TCOM over an MD program. If I’m comparing TCOM to UTRGV, I would go TCOM. For one, it is not a new school like UTRGV and therefore has a much larger alumni network for you to network with when searching for GME. Also, it is a public/state-school institution (in-state tuition is ~13k/year) and is located in Ft. Worth which is an urban setting with stronger clinical rotation opportunities. Lastly, I would take into consideration your overall well-being and whether you prefer urban area or rural. This will be where you are living and studying for the next 4 years!! Congrats on your acceptances future doctor those are both very great schools!! 🙂