TMDSAS Match: Dell vs McGovern vs EnMed

[kalimba]

Hello! I have received prematch offers to Dell, EnMed, and McGovern and I am conflicted on how to rank them on match day. Can any of you please advise? Cost differences are negligible. As of now, I am interested in a procedural specialty/cardiology but that is open to change. I enjoyed interviewing at all of these schools. Here is my pro/con list for each.

Dell (pm):
Pros:
-Love the curriculum and year 3 dual degree option
-Great match list
-I liked the vibes when I toured the school
-P/F for all 4 years
-Austin is an awesome city

Cons:
-Small class size
-Clinical sites may not be as robust?
-Not sure how it stands relative to the other options

EnMed (pm):
Pros:
-Interesting and innovative program
-Solid match list? Only one year's data but it looked pretty good
-I do see myself pursuing a career blending engineering and medicine in some way though I do not know what that looks like
-Fancy new facilities
-Maybe less competition for resources?? Don't know for sure

Cons:
-New program so I do not know how practical it is in the long run
-Don't know if residency PDs look upon it favorably
-Small class size?
-HPF grading system from day 1

McGovern (pm):
Pros:
-Established school with an established curriculum
-Historically solid match list
-Larger class size
-Better clinical training sites?

Cons:
-Graded preclinicals after first semester
-Class size of 240 may be a bit too large for my liking

Baylor:
Pros:
-Ideal option if it is in Houston/TMC
-Large enough class size for my liking
-Liked the vibes here during the tour
-P/F all 4 years
-Incredible research/innovation opportunities in TMC
-Best match list especially for procedural specialty

Cons:
-I really do not want to live in Temple (have always lived in large cities)
-Small class size if I get placed Temple
-Potential lack of opportunities if placed in Temple
-Dual degree options are not as robust as Dell/EnMed (not a huge concern though)

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[pdidd3]

i think answer to this depends on what exactly your longer term goals are. Do you want to be a physician-scientist/engineer? Hospital Exec? Private practice?

But generally I would go:

1. Baylor
2. Dell
3. McGovern
4. EnMed

Baylor/Rice and Dell/UT Austin have super strong engineering departments, and they are just better schools than the other two IMO. You may just need to self-direct your curriculum to integrate engineering or whatever you wanna do. They are also in major cities.

 

[wysdoc]

You have had a great year, @kalimba, congratulations!

Some points to consider as you make your decision-
Established school with urban location guaranteed - McGovern. It is within a block or two of Baylor in the TMC.
EnMed if you truly want a dual degree (MS Eng + MD) in 4 years
There is no Dell/UT Austin nor Baylor/Rice engineering collaboration and you don't want to be trying to invent something you would be able to get already in motion at EnMed.
Planning for Internal Med residency + cardiology fellowship, do you want or need a dual degree?

Final point to understand - If you rank one of your Pre-Match offer schools at #1, that will be your school.
It looks like you don't have a Pre-match offer at Baylor but if you ranked it #1 there would be a chance you would match there.

 

[wysdoc]

I have to correct my comments, there is a dual degree collaboration available at Dell with UT for a biomedical engineering Masters.
The Masters would be done during your "Growth Year" and requires a separate application which your advisors at Dell would help you with, if you choose Dell.

 

[kalimba]

Thank you! I think I am between BCM and Dell but I am not sure if I want to risk being in Temple over Austin. If I had a choice, I would go

1. BCM Houston
2. Dell
3. BCM Temple

Is there any statistic on the percentage of students that get admitted to BCM on match day that get to pick the Houston campus? Also, if I were placed on the waitlist, would I know which campus I would be assigned to?

 

[pdidd3]

If you absolutely cannot tolerate the risk of ending up at Temple, I agree the safer choice is Dell for you. If you have a comparable OOS option, I would rank Baylor first and roll the dice. Up to you and your goals tho. Dell truly is a unique and innovative option. You really can’t go wrong here.