University of Houston vs UTMB

[softspokenatlas]

Hey there, I am fortunate to be in the position of picking between these two schools. UH is a brand new school, which is scary, but I think it would be a cool opportunity to be a part of. On the other hand going to a new school is scary, especially with Step being p/f for our class. They also give the inaugural class a 100K scholarship, which covers tuition for four years. I really like UTMB but I'd be facing an extra 100K in loans after four years. Interested in surgical subspecialty.

U of Houston
Pros

• Inaugural Class gets 100k Scholarship
• Small class size
• 18 month pre-clinical curriculum
• Take step 1 after clinicals.
• Humana Institute for research.
• Houston

Cons

• Brand new school.
• Rotations aren't in TMC, not excited about HCA hospital partnership.
• No established free clinics, possibility to work with established clinic for other Houston Med school.
• No 4 year dual degree programs.
• Cost of living allowance is anemic compared to Houston housing prices.
• Outpatient

UTMB
Pros

• Established school.
• More in house residencies, access to surgical subspecialties.
• I really like Galveston
• Cost of living is affordable on housing allowance.
• 4 year MD/MPH
• Opportunities to rotate in TMC or at UTMB.

Cons

• More expensive (~100K more over 4 years)
• 2020 Match list isn't strong in surgical subspecialties.

Summary: (One sentence with highlights)

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[9blade]

eh...I usually take the cheaper school, but in this case, I would choose UTMB

 

[Skittsie13]

Absolutely UTMB. More established school and 100k is worth it for that, especially if you're interested in a surgical subspecialty. Also keep in mind the match list doesn't tell you much -- for example, my school had no neurosurgery matches this year. Doesn't mean no one could match, just means no one was interested.

 

[dno]

I would pick UTMB as well. UH has a lot of mandatory attendance and activities planned. They said 20-24 hours per week! It just seems like that would get old real fast and UTMB offers you more flexibility in terms of independent studying time.
Idk about you, but the longitudinal clerkships stuff at UH looked like a nightmare.
And of course UTMB is very established with a wonderful reputation.

 

[tulip11]

Definitely a tough one since money is the thing that breaks the two apart. My friend who interviewed here was not impressed with the curriculum.

I personally would choose UTMB bc I know I would love the environment and curriculum. I have multiple friends here and they are killing it. Surgery match may not have been as comparable as other because students simply weren’t interested.

$100k less in loans does sound amazing but it all comes down to establishment. For example, I have a friend who was in the first class for a Med school... it was hell for them.

 

[thegrind33]

utmb no brainer

 

[prince_]

I guess I will be the lone Houston supporter here and forgive me, for I cannot stick to the one-sentence rule

1) Research:
TMC gives you unlimited access to research opportunities. I am currently doing research at BCM, and I have so many other options from MD Anderson to UT McGovern, Methodist, Memorial Hermann. I'm currently doing neuroscience research at BCM and am on my way to a publication. Interested in oncology? MD Anderson has you covered. Methodist also has TONS of clinical opportunities. The ultimate goal for many is to get into their preferred residency. Getting that residency doesn't come down to which medical school you went to. It comes down to your scores and what you've done. And research is a big part of that. In Houston, you will have impressive research opportunities in practically any field you desire.

2) Financials:
A lot of people overlook this aspect. $100k is not a small amount of money. Also, people underestimate the power of interest rates on those loans. The feeling of being debt-free from day 1 of graduation will be one of freedom. It cannot be overlooked. You have many years after graduation when you actually start making decent money. 7% rates on those loans for a few years is no small amount. If your ultimate goal is to practice medicine and you believe that you are dedicated, UH is a smart choice. Work hard, get good scores, do clinical research, and get into the residency you want, debt-free.

3) Small class size:
Having a small class size is also a big deal. You get much more 1 on 1 time with your instructors. You can gain better relationships and stronger letters of rec. I don't know much about ranking systems but I imagine UTMB will have many more competitive students than UH (this is purely conjecture). You also learn better in smaller class sizes. A huge class size means a lot of students slack off in class and go home to relearn all the taught information. This is inefficient. Or they simply skip lectures and try to figure it all out on their own. Smaller classes keep you more engaged. You can ask direct questions instead of trying to find answers in google late at night. You have more engaging student collaborations.

4) Location:
I know Galveston has beaches and sunshine but how long will this charm last? It doesn't compare to Houston! Rockets games, Texans games, concerts, the food scene.... I could go on. There are great parks, museums, and RODEO! I realize this is coming from a Houstonian but Galveston in comparison is dull! One of my close friend attends UTMB and he really wishes he could live in Houston. If you really love the beaches, you can go every weekend or so from Houston; it's less than 50 min away! Houston is a great place to live!

In the end, it's your choice and I'm not in the lucky boat you're in. Good luck and choose what's best for you!

 

[Wolvvs]

1) Research:
TMC gives you unlimited access to research opportunities.

This is probably true, but University of Houston doesn't currently have any affiliation with TMC. So while there probably will be opportunities available, it could mean jumping through a lot more hoops. I'm not positive though.

Normally I would agree with you, all your other points are good. But OP specifically wants to go into a surgical subspecialty, and not having home departments for these specialties is a massive disadvantage. UTMB has home departments for CT, ophtho, ortho, and ENT, whereas University of Houston only has general surgery. Also, their goal is to send at least 50% of their class into primary care. For someone looking to go into a less competitive specialty I would 100% agree with you, but for competitive surgical subspecialties UTMB is really the better choice.

 

[9blade]

Exactly...I kept wondering why people kept mentioning TMC when I was pretty sure that there is no association as of yet between the two. That's why I think UTMB is the better choice.

 

[reaction mechanisms]

UTMB for sure.

 

[popopopop]

I'm just going to say don't use the match list as a guide since it varies year to year, so take that out as a con. If it's a con for UTMB, should be a con for UH too since it's totally an unknown and it's an unestablished school. One chief resident surgeon I met this year on rotations was from UTMB, total rockstar.

 

[gulli_97]

OP I'm surprised you netted an admission to UofH considering their mission. Go UTMB

 

[Wolvvs]

OP I'm surprised you netted an admission to UofH considering their mission. Go UTMB

Haha I'm guessing OP didn't mention they were going for a surgical subspecialty in their application 😛

 

[dodolol21]

The biggest factors here are location and cost. Decide if the "prestige" of UTMB is really worth giving up Houston + 100K. If you are interested in a competitive specialty, then being in Houston/TMC will make it very easy for you to network with programs at UTH/Baylor. Matching into a specialty has a lot more to do with your ability to work hard, and make strong connections with leaders in the field. UH will only slightly hold you back if you are wanting to go to a name-brand program out of state. If you want to match Ortho, you can match Ortho from UH. Its not like UTMB is a superstar for matching surgical specialties either.

Think about yourself one year from now, will you regret choosing prestige over location+money or the other way around? Really think about what is important to you and your life not just in medicine but outside of medicine. Goood luck!

 

[Wolvvs]

The biggest factors here are location and cost. Decide if the "prestige" of UTMB is really worth giving up Houston + 100K. If you are interested in a competitive specialty, then being in Houston/TMC will make it very easy for you to network with programs at UTH/Baylor. Matching into a specialty has a lot more to do with your ability to work hard, and make strong connections with leaders in the field. UH will only slightly hold you back if you are wanting to go to a name-brand program out of state. If you want to match Ortho, you can match Ortho from UH. Its not like UTMB is a superstar for matching surgical specialties either.

Think about yourself one year from now, will you regret choosing prestige over location+money or the other way around? Really think about what is important to you and your life not just in medicine but outside of medicine. Goood luck!

At least from UTMB, if you want to go Ortho you can do a rotation and get a letter from your home institution. From UH you would have to do away rotations, where expectations are much higher. And again, TMC is not a clinical affiliate of UH meaning any rotations there would be away rotations. Being local might help for making research connections, but in Houston you're competing with students from tons of other more prestigious schools for opportunities anyway, and being in the same city won't matter for getting away rotations.

 

[DokterMom]

U of H is, at this point, a bit of a risk; UTMB is a known (and respected) entity.
$100K in loans is something you can easily knock out in a year or two of attending salary if it's a priority for you.

 

[wysdoc]

The biggest factors here are location and cost. Decide if the "prestige" of UTMB is really worth giving up Houston + 100K. If you are interested in a competitive specialty, then being in Houston/TMC will make it very easy for you to network with programs at UTH/Baylor. Matching into a specialty has a lot more to do with your ability to work hard, and make strong connections with leaders in the field. UH will only slightly hold you back if you are wanting to go to a name-brand program out of state. If you want to match Ortho, you can match Ortho from UH. Its not like UTMB is a superstar for matching surgical specialties either.

Think about yourself one year from now, will you regret choosing prestige over location+money or the other way around? Really think about what is important to you and your life not just in medicine but outside of medicine. Goood luck!

"location" LOL Galveston is 30 minutes from Houston. But if by location you mean urban -vs-suburban there's a difference.

 

[ElPeligro]

Somebody up there said UH has no 4-year dual degree programs. That’s only partially true. MD/MPH and MD/MBA programs are in the works. The first class will very likely get to participate in these. I do think they are 5-year programs, however. I also would not be surprised if they choose to permit highly motivated students to do a PhD, on a case-by-case, as other schools have done (in their first year of opening).At the end of the day, those who want to shine will do so by working as diligently as possible in the environment they’re in, seeking opportunities in and outside the institution and not squandering those available.

I also want to add that UH seems to have a focus in broadly touching on business topics in healthcare, such as compensation structures and pay incentives (p4p), in part resulting from their clinic partnerships which use those structures to provide value-based care.

 

[dodolol21]

"location" LOL Galveston is 30 minutes from Houston. But if by location you mean urban -vs-suburban there's a difference.

30 min is a very optimistic estimate unless you already live on the deeper south side of Houston. If you live in Katy, Cypress, Tomball, any of the suburbs around Houston its gonna be at least an hour if not more usually. But if you have a significant other that would have things to do in Houston, or family that you want to be with much more frequently, than the location is definitely significant.

 

[wysdoc]

30 min is a very optimistic estimate unless you already live on the deeper south side of Houston. If you live in Katy, Cypress, Tomball, any of the suburbs around Houston its gonna be at least an hour if not more usually. But if you have a significant other that would have things to do in Houston, or family that you want to be with much more frequently, than the location is definitely significant.

I agree with you @dodolol21 I would never recommend someone live in Houston and try to commute daily to UTMB. Recipe for a traffic-related ulcer right there.
I meant more for someone choosing between these 2 schools who is from out of the area, the location is not much a a factor between the 2.

 

[mcatstudent1]

This is a difficult decision. Having 100k less debt is an important consideration. New school is a little more risk to match but not as much as you think as long as it’s MD allopathic. If you end up going into lower paying specialty, less debt is a big plus. Lots of people do research years for competitive specialties at outside institutions. I would pick the scholarship. New school/ curriculum is annoying but with the standardized curriculum and resources used at all schools it’s similar. Competitive surgical specialties are competitive everywhere. Get good steps and clinical grades.

 

[mcatstudent1]

This is a difficult decision. Having 100k less debt is an important consideration. New school is a little more risk to match but not as much as you think as long as it’s MD allopathic. If you end up going into lower paying specialty, less debt is a big plus. Lots of people do research years for competitive specialties at outside institutions. I would pick the scholarship. New school/ curriculum is annoying but with the standardized curriculum and resources used at all schools it’s similar. Competitive surgical specialties are competitive everywhere. Get good steps and clinical grades.

UH I think wins by a 60:40 margin here. Not familiar with the locale, but they usually over estimate COA and it’s more than you need unless you have a big family to support. Pre clinical shortened is important given the step 1 grading change making step 2 more important. All the other details of joint degrees and free clinics are not as important as you may think as you have way less time in med school then you think. I’m in the camp of unless that joint degree is free, don’t increase debt. If MPH or a free clinic is important to you and you are headed for a primary care track, you can chose UTMB and pay off the debt and be OK too! But you mentioned surgical specialty so that would be less of a concern for those competitive fields. Letters/experienced department head may be less organized for your app but your away rotations and scores matter the most and I think you can match these from the newer school without it being affected too much.

 

[wysdoc]

@softspokenatlas care to share which one you chose?

 

[mcatstudent1]

@softspokenatlas care to share which one you chose?

Looks like they chose UT Houston

 

[123OkayGoogle]

University of Houston *