Texas schools: UT vs. UH

[blackrsx]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

I generally hang out in the pre-allo forum, but I'm posting for a friend.

Me: i;m going to make a thread for you on SDN
Her: a thread?
Her: whats that mean?

😳

Anyway, I was wondering what the opinions of these two schools are. She has already been accepted at UT and is interviewing soon at UH. For any of you with experience at either schools, what do you think of the location, curriculum, and students? Pros/Cons and any advice is appreciated.

TIA

 

[Lateralus1441]

alerady accepted to UT? When did she find out about that one?

 

[blackrsx]

alerady accepted to UT? When did she find out about that one?

Interview Feb 16, Accepted via email Feb 27

(i wish med school responses were that fast)

<3 tool btw!

 

[Lateralus1441]

your friend isn't ludmilla is she? that's her screen name here on SDN I mean

 

[PharmDs]

UH is the best!!!😀

 

[blackrsx]

your friend isn't ludmilla is she? that's her screen name here on SDN I mean

nope, she's relatively forum illiterate, i'll work on that though

 

[bigdogc]

I havnt been accepted to either yet, but Im trying to figure out where to go myself. Both are in great locations for their city. UT is ranked higher though.

 

[blackrsx]

I havnt been accepted to either yet, but Im trying to figure out where to go myself. Both are in great locations for their city. UT is ranked higher though.

definitely, but I think the main things she wants to consider here are those outside of the rankings

 

[Jbuprepharm]

if you want to do something other than retail, I'd go UT.

I say that because it is more widely recognized and respected. For retail it won't matter one bit, but UT will probably look better on a CV if you're trying to get a good residency (ie, if you want to do clinical)

 

[TexasTwinner]

so i suppose if we didn't get that email on feb 27th then we didn't get in? 🙁

 

[TXRX]

Just so everyone knows, UT continually accepts students, even up to 2 weeks before the semester starts.

 

[TexasTwinner]

Thanks for that post txrx!

So, do you guys think that I would piss them off by calling them tomorrow and asking about letters of acceptance/denial? I mean, I know they said probably after spring break, but some people have already been accepted.

 

[pharmacistUH]

Ok, just to clear things up.
1) UT is ranked higher simply because the Government gives more money to UT to fund it's projects
2) UH has a campus in the medical center where you learn, any employer will know this and say "Well, they have definately done clinical work before..."

Don't let UH's undergraduate reputation fool you. UH has some of the best graduate programs in the state, if not the country. People will get hired just as easily from UH as from UT because pharmacists are in high demand and it doesn't matter where you get your Pharm.D from, not that UT is better than UH or vice versa. In my opinion, it just depends if she wants to live in Houston or Austin, that's about it.

 

[lvp0021]

I completely agree that UT has a seemingly higher reputation due to the money they get from the state. Plus, it's the official unversity of the state and branhces out everywhere. I have decided to go to UH among other schools including famous ones like OSU or Mercer largerly due to the TMC that houses UH and all the connection students will get when they do rotation. There are UT and Baylor students in that TMC too. Besides, it's a large center with concentrated activity for health professions. If you look at the NAPLEX passing rate and the employment rate, UT and UH and Tech are not that much different (all very high). Now if you compare these with TSU, then yeah there is a huge difference! I know UH undergrad does not have that much of a favorable say; that's why I did not go there for prepharm. But their pharmd program is quite good. Besides, Houston is a large and diverse city that offers a lot 🙂

 

[bigdogc]

Not trying to say one school is better than another, but if you are going entirely on city then hands down choose Austin.
As for career path, ive heard that UofH produces a lot of retail pharmacists, while UT produces more clinical pharmacists.
I think both schools have high standards, but id rather be in Austin peronally.
Hope this helps! 👍

 

[pharmacistUH]

Not trying to say one school is better than another, but if you are going entirely on city then hands down choose Austin.
As for career path, ive heard that UofH produces a lot of retail pharmacists, while UT produces more clinical pharmacists.
I think both schools have high standards, but id rather be in Austin peronally.
Hope this helps! 👍

everyone has their own personal tastes. i would suggest visiting both cities if your friend is still undecided after both interviews and whatnot. I know both cities have something to offer everyone. Personally, I love Houston. It's so big, yet it is still friendly. However, i do hear that Austin is better if you like music and art and stuff. I just had to add this comment after the quote. Hands down Houston, but that's just me 😀.

 

[pharmdiva]

Not trying to say one school is better than another, but if you are going entirely on city then hands down choose Austin.
As for career path, ive heard that UofH produces a lot of retail pharmacists, while UT produces more clinical pharmacists.
I think both schools have high standards, but id rather be in Austin peronally.
Hope this helps! 👍

Perhaps someone can clear up my confusion. What does it mean when people say that a school "produces more retail/clinical pharmacists"? Don't all pharmacy programs have about the same curriculum? The NAPLEX exam is the same regardless of what school you attend. So, wouldn't it be fair to say that all graduating pharmacists are expected to have the same level of education? I would think that the amount of people who go into retail vs. clinical pharmacy would strictly depend on personal choice. (plus I'm sure the attractive salaries and sign on bonuses have an effect as well). My #1 choice is U of H!!! I love Houston (grew up in a Houston suburb) and the program has a 99% passing rate on the NAPLEX exam! If anything, I would say both schools have great reputations, but the cost of living in Austin is much higher.

 

[pharmacistUH]

I was actually wondering what that person was talking about when they said "produces more clinical". I just assumed that maybe UT focuses more on clinical curriculum than UH or other schools. No idea, however I am going to have a blank page when it comes to which field i will dedicate my life to....

 

[Jbuprepharm]

If you are referring to me, I never said UT produced more clinical.

I said, that UT (for whatever reason) is generally a more respected name. So if you're competing for a residency, all other things being equal, UT is the better NAME (not school). No need to take things personally, just stating the general perception.

For someone to say that one school is soo much better than another is dumb, PharmD = PharmD. I commented on perception and reputation, not on who is better

 

[pharmdiva]

If you are referring to me, I never said UT produced more clinical.

I said, that UT (for whatever reason) is generally a more respected name. So if you're competing for a residency, all other things being equal, UT is the better NAME (not school). No need to take things personally, just stating the general perception.

For someone to say that one school is soo much better than another is dumb, PharmD = PharmD. I commented on perception and reputation, not on who is better

I don't think anyone is taking your opinion personally. We are simply stating our opinion. Furthermore, if you read a little more closely you would have noticed that your comment was not the one I quoted in my question. In fact, I had to scroll all the way back up to even find out what you were talking about. Relax...🙂

 

[Jbuprepharm]

I noticed, but then I decided to leave it anyway... juust because

 

[Leb]

Guys,
Do you know any thing about UT MEMPHIS?
How good is it?
Is it clinically oriented or retail oriented?

 

[that1guy]

Academics: UT is the 2nd ranked pharmacy school in the nation, soon to be number one. Some would have you believe that this is hype based on "money from the state". In truth, it is because the UT faculty is respected nationwide, and their research drives the career. They are the best at what they do, and being taught by them is a privelege...and sometimes a headache.

As a side note, UT students do their internships across the state, including the Texas Medical Center in Houston. While much closer, UH does not hold the keys to the TMC.


Location: Austin is number two on CNN's best places to live "Big Cities" category.

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2006/top100/bigcities.html

It's number one in Sperling's Best Places for singles.

http://moving.about.com/od/whymove/a/best_places.htm

Men's Journal ranks Austin #2 among "Heart Healthy" cities.

http://www.austintexas.org/visitors/austin_rankings

Houston, meanwhile, was ranked the fattest city in 2005 by Men's Fitness, the fifth fattest in 2006, ranked the fifth worst city for traffic by Forbes magazine in 2006, and the fifth worst for air pollution by the American Lung Association in 2005.


To my colleagues in Houston: QED.

End of discussion.😎

 

[nguyenkd]

fattest city = GOOD food...and plenty of it

I can only speak for UH and Houston as it is the only school that I have ever been to and the only city that I have lived in. That being said, I love UH. Our clinical faculty are experts in their fields and actually work in the TMC (MD Anderson, St. Luke's, Methodist, etc.) I know UH doesn't "hold the key to the TMC" but we're housed here so it provides great opportunities.

I'm sure Austin beats Houston in the things to do category, BUT we have three new arenas for football, baseball, and basketball. Oh yeah, now that we have a soccer team (and maybe soon to be hockey?), we get a chance to see Beckham! 😀 How does it get any better than that??? And our theatre district is only second to NYC. Who needs 6th street, rolling hills, and rivers when you can sit in traffic for over an hour and breathe in the wonderful smog? 😛

I think we should stop throwing stats around because anywhere that the OP's friend decides to go, she'll get a good education, even if it's not at the "2nd ranked pharmacy school." Just to throw one stat in (and an important one)...both schools have very high NAPLEX passing rates and that shows that they produce good and competent pharmacists.

I guess it all comes down to which school would be a better fit for her.