UHCOM vs. Texas Tech

[hiddenhamster]

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Prematched to UHCOM and was hoping to get some outside opinions before making my final decision on rankings. I’m not super set on any particular specialty but would like to eventually end up in an urban area (I have lived in several major cities and my family is currently in Houston) and would like to generally keep options open. The tuitions are pretty comparable to each other and both schools have true p/f pre-clinicals. Both schools seems to have great communities with both students and faculty.

UH
Pros

• Houston + Family
• Small class (60 students) with faculty on a first name basis with students
• Lots of opportunities to lead initiatives
• Brand new facilities
• School seems to be very good about providing resources for students (health resources in the med school building, gym across the street)
• Super diverse class that are a little more left leaning and all seem very passionate about health disparities
• Financial Aid advisor seems pretty helpful and a unique pro who’s supposed to help throughout school and with residency financial education

Cons

• Newer school, not fully accredited program (less connections, still fixing up the curriculum, less readily available academic resources)
• Clinical rotations are still getting hammered out but currently don’t seem to be the greatest
• Seems pretty independent from the Texas Medical Center

Texas Tech
Pros

• Established program that seems really good at preparing you + very good clinical opportunities
• Lots of opportunity for research
• Solid choice of electives + certificate programs
• Lower cost of living (not a huge deal breaker, personally)
• Everything is super close by

Cons

• Lubbock (8-9 hours from Houston, comparatively not as much to do)
• Following pre-clinicals, high chance of moving to one of the satellite campuses with 2/3 of the class
• Greater focus on rural health
• Larger class with less diversity

 

[obiwan]

I can't really weigh in on UHCOM but am intimately familiar with TTUHSC as am a graduate from their medical school. While the school was not my top choice in the match, I actually look back on my time at Tech quite fondly. Even the experience of having to live in Lubbock and then Amarillo for my clerkship years weren't even as bad as you would expect especially coming from the city. However, I wouldn't blame you for ranking living in Houston above Texas Tech even if the school itself if a brand new program.