Texas ranking? Please help..

[katy]

Hi,
I am having a hard time deciding between Texas Tech, UTSA, UTMB? Any suggestions. I will not tell you yet my opinions. I want to hear what you have to say.

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[Warren P. Cheswick]

Tech-YUCKY
San Antonio-cool city
Galveston-half day in class half day on beach.

 

[MD Dreams]

How about UTHSCSA (San Antonio) vs. UT-Houston? Which one would you pick and why?
Thanks.

I interviewed at UTMB last year. I loved the school, although I really disliked the city of Galveston. I really liked their curriculum because it is organ based and all the folks there seemed nice. Plus the campus is so nice and the tropical weather is nice too. However, I've heard that when it comes to residency matching, UTMB has a bad reputation -- it's known as the party school. That's just what I've heard through the grape vine.

 

[katy]

Hi,
Between UTSA and Houston I would go with UT Houston. You cannot beat the Texas Medical Center. Definitely go with Houston! I interviewed there and UTSA last year. Houston waitlisted me, but no interview this year. Oh well.

 

[MD Dreams]

Thanks for your advice. The Texas Medical Center is pretty remarkable.

I was interviewed at UTMB and A&M last year. I got wait listed at both places (7th in A&M). So close, yet so far away, if you know what I mean. Anyways, I got interviewed at UT-Houston and UTHSCSA this year, but not at the school where I was waitlisted last year. Don't you find that odd? It's somewhat dishartening.

Good luck with matching.

 

[WSUreds]

Why not Baylor?

 

[sogo]

What about UT-SW vs UT-Houston?

 

[katy]

As for Baylor. I have applied there. If you are not familiar. They are not included in the match in January. Yes, Baylor would be my choice over UT Houston.

Between UT Houston and UT Southwestern is difficult, but I would go with Southwestern. It is the most reputable Texas school and that must count for something.

In a perfect world I would choose
Baylor
Southwestern
Houston

 

[spacecadet]

I only interviewed at UT Houston and UTMB. I loved both schools, but I ranked UTMB first. Mainly it was because of the 1/2 day classes and PBL curriculum. The students I met at both schools were awesome.

Also, I live halfway between the Medical Center and Galveston, and I decided the commute to Galveston would be less painful. Since I have a husband and kid, I'm also hoping the 1/2-day classes will make my life easier.

 

[idiot]

I interviewed at all of the public schools; my tentative ranking:

UTSA (best location; strong reputation)
UTSW (best credentials; most money)
TXTech (tremendous respect for the El Paso program in particular - there's plans to have a four-year med school in El Paso by 2007)
TAMU (great hospital)
UTH (horrible location; in reality, it's residents - not students - that benefit from being in the TMC; students don't get anywhere near MD Anderson -they give you a tour of it anyway)
UTMB (too many doctors, not enough patients - they've had too close down hosp. beds)

 

[CRS]

Howdy to all Texans. I'm glad this thread is up and going. I'm struggling with rankings in my own mind, and I appreciate the insights offered by others. I offer my own only to add to the discussion. Opinions are welcome.

I am very very fortunate to have been able to interview at 5 of the 6 state allopathic schools. San Antonio did not invite me (dang it!). In the order of my interviews....

A&M - The small class size seems to be a big plus. The class schedule seems very friendly as well. Not 8-5 and Wednesdays off. Big emphasis placed on humanities, and early patient interactions seem to be possible. Of course, I would rather not move halfway through school, and I wonder how A&M is viewed outside of the Scott&White system, which seems to employ a lot of Aggie doctors.

Tech - I was really surprised how much I enjoyed the town and pace out in Lubbock. I have a bit of a background in Agriculture, and there was something comforting about cotton and sunflower fields within sight of the front doors of the school. Everybody there seemed to be happy and pro-Tech. Splitting the class into thirds would presumably lead to more hands-on opportunity. However, again, I don't like the thought of moving halfway through school..and you have to be committed to Tech before you can apply to where you want to do the clinical years. Also, a very traditional 8 or 9 to 5 schedule with block exams. Limited early patient contact. And it is in Lubbock. Far far away.

Houston - Very good vibes from the students there. Probably the best opportunity in the state to 'see and do' as many things as one could hope for in a medical education. Being in place for four years is a plus. Lots of class time, a very traditional curriculum (first year, at least) and lots of congestion (downtown Houston and a crowded TMC) are my only concerns.

Southwestern - Went up expecting to hate it...vicious students who brandished knives and gnashed their teeth at their fellow students. Found a very pleasant campus (frankly, I could care less about the area immediately surrounding the campus). Up there near Houston with the prospects of 'seeing and doing' as much as possible. Pretty traditional curriculum, as far as class and lab...but they did seem to stagger classes a bit permitting one to focus on 2 subjects at a time for the most part. Very pleased to find the students spoke highly of the school and their classmates. All downplayed or dismissed the cutthroat reputation of the school. The cynic in me still worries though. I am a married fellow in my upper 20s and I think SW has fewer of my type than other schools in Texas. Anyway, good feelings here though I still worry about fitting in and being able to be an 'average' medical student (gradewise) while surrounded by the state's best class statistically.

Galveston - The feel of the campus was great. Somewhat relaxed but with purpose. How can you not like the half-day schedule? I do worry about it however since it is would be uniqe to me having never had to learn in that format. What if I just do not flourish in a system like that? Who knows? But again, the schedule is top in the state. I have my wife to consider and her teaching career. A commute would seem inevitable for one of us. So, I have that to consider, as well.
---------

Anyway, thanks for the opportunity to put my thoughts down and to get them out of my head. If I have been long-winded, I apologize. Feel free to shoot 'em up as much as you like. It can only help myself and others working through their own personal rankings.

And happy holidays to all!

 

[katy]

About the half a day class schedule. If you look at the actual schedule there is not a time blocked off for Anatomy lab, which is most of your first year. It is my understanding you do have a lab in the afternoon. So you are really not in class half a day.


Also to "idiot" why did you say UTSA- more money? could you elaborate?

 

[CRS]

heather-
which school's half day schedule are you referring to? I'll assume Galveston. And lab time is included. Since they focus on a block at a time, they can have some lecture a few days a week in the morning, followed by their PBL group. Then, on the other days (T,R, I guess), they have time for some Practice of Medicine class and a few hours of lab. After 8 weeks, the block changes. But all in all, class time is down between 20-25 a week. I am doing this from memory but my Galveston packet is at home. I'll consult it at lunch.

 

[Warren P. Cheswick]

I'd pick Baylor or Houston. Can't go wrong with the Texas Medical Center.

 

[CRS]

that was makaveiii's 2 cents..literally. ttt for the evening crowd from Texas's thoughts.

 

[idiot]

Heather-

I mentioned money alongside UTSW, not UTSA. UTSW benefits from a number of local philantropists while also receiving the largest allotment of funding from the state.

A word of caution to all - UTMB is currently experiencing financial difficulties. I was told by a physician outside the state (but trained at Baylor) not to attend the school because they were losing faculty due to such difficulties. From other sources I have heard that they are closing down hospital beds; a fourth-year student at the school confirmed this for me when I interviewed there.

 

[lost]

Hey,
I was just wondering what kind of stats one needed inorder to get into UTSA and UTMB. I read that the avg GPA was around a 3.4 and 3.5 and these seemed to be a bit low. I just thought I'd check with people here.
Also, I was wondering if it would be advantageous if I did a summer internship at one of these places.
Thanks

 

[Elysium]

Hey, thought I'd get in on the Texas school quandry.

My dad is an alumn of UTMB and is currently involved in doing the IM rotation for third years.
He tells me that his med students are usually very nice, down to earth people with diverse backgrounds. He has had med students between the ages of 22-45! Since I'm applying a bit later (I'm 28) I find this to be a hopeful fact! He also says that his students love PBL and that they have more patient interaction early on. That said, Galveston is not the most happening place in the free world. I was born there, and all my mother's family live there (Four generations of BOI - BOrn on the Island) and it's kind of a depressing place at times. BUT, so is Houston (family now lives in CLear Lake - oustide Houston) and the crime in Houston (just outside the med center) scares the hell out of me. I think Houston is a rotten city, but then I lived there for 18 years.
All in all, I think UTMB and UTSA are about neck and neck. UTSouthwestern is more research oriented, and wants younger students (more "gunner" types). Same with Baylor. Personally, not my gig.
I kmow this is rambling, but just thought I'd put it out there!

 

[tentative at best]

Does anybody know which Texas schools look most favorably on older applicants? I have been told San Antonio, but was wondering if there were any others.

 

[Jeff698]

Originally posted by tentative, at best:
•Does anybody know which Texas schools look most favorably on older applicants? I have been told San Antonio, but was wondering if there were any others.•••

Based on a grand total of 1 annecdote (me), UTMB is old-fart-friendly. I'm 34 and an MS-I here.

BTW, here's what I've heard about the other schools:

UTSW only admits pedophiles,
Baylor likes to admit people who kick puppy dogs,
UTH has terrible board scores,
UTHSC-SA students are illiterate,
A&M only admits 64 students because they only have 65 applicants,
Tech is actually about to move their school to New Mexico becaue they can't keep their hospital beds open.

I'm sure I forgot someone here, if so, please forgive me. The discerning reader might detect that I have no factual basis whatsoever for posting this type of unsubstantiated garbage but I figured since idiot opened the door, I should go through it.

Take care,
Jeff

PS, you'll get a great education at ANY school in Texas. They are ALL good. Pick the one where you think you'll fit in best and be happiest for the next 4 years.

 

[Warren P. Cheswick]

Just remember to match by January 15th or no med school in Texas for you.

 

[tentative at best]

Can somebody give me a brief explanation of the Texas Match Program? Do all schools in Texas (except Baylor) participate?

 

[spacecadet]

I'll give the question about the Texas match a shot. Feel free to supplement or correct my information.

For the UT's you submit your application through TMDSAS (kind of like AMCAS but much, much better) in Austin. They have an online application and you have the schools submit your transcripts to them. You also submit your letters of recommendation to them.

The schools receive your application when it is complete at TMDSAS. Then they pick who they want to interview, etc...

The schools rank the students that interviewed, and the students rank the schools at which they interviewed. I don't know exactly how the matching process works, but I assume it all goes into a computer and then you get one (and only one) acceptance from a Texas school on match day. This year, match day is 2/1.

If you don't get an acceptance, you might get put on the waitlist for a school. However, since people aren't getting multiple acceptances from UT's, the waitlist doesn't move much (only if someone chooses an out-of-state school or Baylor instead).

I'm not sure if they continue to interview applicants after 2/1 (don't see what the point would be).

Hope this helps. Hopefully I'll know more after I complete the process. I'm at the point of waiting for match day.

 

[jaeida8]

This is how I understand it works. Each school ranks every interviewed student from 1 to 1000 if they interviewed 1000 students. This is all done by January 15th. Each student ranks the schools they interviewed at by this day as well. Now lets say that Galveston interviewed 1000 students for 200 spots, so ideally they want their top 200 students on the list. Lets say that Texas Tech interviewed 600 students for 120 spots.

Now assuming that you only interviewed at Texas Tech and Galveston, and assuming that you ranked within the top 200 at Galveston and the top 120 at Texas Tech lets also assume you ranked Galveston # 1. You will match at Galveston, but at Texas Tech now the list goes to student ranked # 121. That goes on and on because things never go ideally.

Now lets assume that you weren't ranked top 200 at Galveston but rather, you were ranked a lot lower because you didn't match with them even though you ranked it # 1. However you did match with Texas Tech because lets say you were ranked 212 and they got to go that far down the list. You will be accepted at Texas Tech. However your application at Galveston is still open
and if there's an opening later on and you're up there on their waitlist, you can still be headed to Galveston.

If you rank 5 schools and you get accepted at the 2nd, your application is still open at the first and is withdrawn from schools 3 to 5.

 

[spacecadet]

jaeida,

That's great information. Did you learn that from your premed advisor? I guess having one would come in handy sometimes...

Thanks!

 

[tentative at best]

Thanks for the explanation.

How did all of the Texas applicants end up ranking the Texas schools?

 

[SocialistMD]

Originally posted by heather:
•Between UT Houston and UT Southwestern is difficult, but I would go with Southwestern. It is the most reputable Texas school and that must count for something.
•••

This is probably some of the most sound logic I have ever seen. Seriously, though, if this is how you think then you probably wouldn't be happy at UT-H, so stick with what you have down.

idiot, as for your comment, I have to disagree. During your fourth year you can do as many rotations at MD Anderson as you wish. Depending on what IM or surgical specialties you choose in your third year, I believe it is also possible to go over there then as well. First years also have the opportunity to do paid summer research at MD Anderson if they so choose. In addition, it is also possible to do rotations at Texas Children's, St. Luke's and Methodist. Hermann is no slouch (nice level one trauma center), either, and at LBJ they pretty much will let med students do whatever they want (aside from the major surgeries). Who were your tour guides at UT-H? I need to have a talk with them...

 

[jaeida8]

1. UTMB
2. A&M
3. Houston
4. Texas Tech
5. San Antonio

 

[katy]

San Antonio
Texas Tech
UTMB
A&M
TCOM

 

[Ranger Bob]

Several posts on this thread have suggested that UTSW students tend to be "gunner" types, and that the school isn't a good place for older students. When I interviewed at UTSW, the students went to great lengths to dispel the "gunner" stereotype, yet I was left wondering whether there might be some truth to it. What evidence (e.g., personal experiences, stories from current students, etc.) is there to support or refute this stereotype about UTSW?

 

[Sterling]

Ranger Bob--I went to undergrad with many UTSW students from several different years and not a single one (not even one) thought the school was overly competitive or cutthroat. Several mentioned this was a concern of theirs which was proven to unfounded. However, most of them mentioned a particular class--the one selected following the Hopwood decision, which was notoriously UNdiverse. This class was described as full of gunners and not very fun. My apologies to any members of that class, this is just what many current med students believe/heard about that class.

When I interviewed at UTSW, I loved it. The students are very passionate about the school, and they rave about their clinical preparation and responsibilities. I am sure every med school in America has their share of gunner types, but UTSW seems to be getting bad press on this, because I'm pretty sure at least one of my friends would have the courtesy to tell me otherwise. Of course, you never know...Hope this helps.

 

[Ranger Bob]

Sterling, thanks for your response. I agree with your statement about the clinical preparation at UTSW. My interview day left me with the impression that UTSW offers one of the toughest, but also one of the most rewarding, third years of any medical school.

I hope that what you said about the cutthroat attitude, or lack thereof, is also true.