UCLA VS TTUHSC (Lubbock or El Paso)

[Baldlegend]

I’m having a really difficult time deciding between Med schools.
UCLA:
Pros
-Would be amazing as it’s a very big name in Medicine, though I'm leaning towards EM so I don't know how big of a deal this would be.
-It has great weather and is close to the beach which is really nice for study breaks and relaxing.
-Great vibes from the other students at Second Look.
-It’s a little closer to home, so the plane tickets would be much cheaper.
-Access to a really good hospital system.

Cons
-450K in student loans and maybe more since I am also married and have a kid (which would be entirely paid for by loans).
-The housing also would be much smaller and wouldn't have a washer or dryer which with a newborn is really inconvenient.

TTUHSC: I'm on the waitlist for TTUHSC (both El Paso and Lubbock
Pros:
-COA for the 4 years would only be around 200K which would be much easier to pay off.
-Housing would be nicer.
-I've heard that there is a good amount of Nepotism for matching into Residency in Texas which would be great. I’m also fine settling down in or near Texas so local residencies aren’t a big deal for me.
Cons:
-Smaller name
-HP/P/F grading during school
-I haven’t been to either campuses, but have a friend at Lubbock who says that he loves the school and the area, but I’ve also heard it’s really dry and plain

I'm the first in my family to go to Med school and have just been learning as I go. Is the name and resources of UCLA really going to be worth the price if I want to go to a less competitive specialty like EM? The doctors that I've talked with at work and while shadowing have all said that cost without closing doors should be the biggest factor when choosing Medical school and they say TTUHSC wouldn't close any doors, even if I pursue a different specialty from EM.

If you would recommend TTUHSC, which campus would you recommend?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

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[boba_tea]

Reading your post, it seems like you prefer Texas Tech but I could be wrong. Tbh for EM both programs would be fine. The cost is a huge difference almost $250k, so I'd lean Texas Tech here.

 

[studentdoc1414]

im probs going to ucla, but im also in a very diff stage of life than u. if i was married with kids id be much more debt aversive tbh and pick the cheaper option - kids r a huge expense in itself and it just seems easier to raise them somewhere like texas.

 

[staycool4ever]

I will say, I visited TTUHSC El Paso and as a TMDSAS applicant in the "mainland" of Texas, you would not expect it to be that nice. I really liked it and everyone genuinely seemed to care. I prematched to both TTUHSC schools and ranked El Paso over Lubbock given that Lubbock's class size is larger, you likely have to move after first (?) year, and lack of diversity.

 

[DoneDone3451]

Texas Tech, the cost savings is sooooooo much, also TTECH has in house residencies for your specialty

 

[Yhwach]

Since you are married with kids just go to TTUHSC