URGENT: U of Houston vs. TCU

[happysunshine21]

UH vs. TCU

*I HAVE UNTIL THURSDAY TO DECIDE

TCU
Pros

• Impressive match list
• Seems more supportive to their class matching surgical sub-specialites
• Can live with my friend in PA school; rent $600/month
• Better clerkship rotation sites + working one-on-one with attendings
• Close to my grandparents and cousins
• NBME exams

Cons

• 57k per year; would be an extra 150k over 4 years compared to UH
• No AOA; no internal rankings whatsoever -- heard this could be a con or even neutral...

UH
Pros

• Already live in Houston
• Close to large medical center
• Rent is $450/month
• 24k/year
• NBME exams

Cons

• VERY very primary care based (this is why the school was created) and this is not my interest; I do not feel like I resonate with the school’s mission. Starting the first week we do 1/2 day outpatient primary care clinic. We also do home visits in the underserved communities in Houston
• Rotate at HCAs in Houston which I’ve heard negative things about ?
• Heard from a student that their class did not perform well on shelf exams
• Hasn’t graduated a class yet and no match list available
• No family here (but I have established a nice babysitting/housesitting gig on the side for extra income)

Summary: I am highly interested in plastic and reconstructive surgery. Minor interests in OBGYN. No interest in primary care. Matching plastics is hard regardless where you go. Also I understand people can change their minds, but I’ve been out of school for a few years now and have a lot of experience working in healthcare. Pretty set on my interests. Of note, both schools have the same class size and LIC curriculum and probably are on the same level ranking wise. Both are newer schools too. Both are P/F pre-clinical. I’ve spoken with the presidents of the plastic and reconstructive surgery interest groups at both schools. TCU’s seems to be more active. Both students said they sort of had to pave their own way and could help facilitate connections for me. Regardless of where I go I know I will have to be self-motivated and seek out opportunities. Just not sure if the outcome would be different for me at either school and if TCU is worth the extra debt. An MD is an MD?

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[wysdoc]

TCU's mentorship system of assigning you a community physician mentor would be of value to your goals, so cost isn't the only thing to consider when deciding between schools. It sounds like your goals will be better served at TCU.
Take a look at a recent (2 weeks ago) Texas Health Education Service YouTube video in which the admissions dean of U of H speaks to the question of whether students who are not interested in primary care are welcome at U of H

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Any insight on scholarships or opportunities after matriculation? How does your financial aid packages compare?

 

[happysunshine21]

Any insight on scholarships or opportunities after matriculation? How does your financial aid packages compare?

Every student at TCU gets a 15% grant which brings tuition down to 57k/year. They’ve had anonymous donors in the past that have paid for a full year of med school, but obviously not banking on this. My estimated COA is about 100k/year at TCU, but I think it will be lower due to a lower cost of living at 600/month in rent. I have not received a financial aid package from UH yet. Both schools have said they do not have additional scholarships or money at this time to give out.

 

[happysunshine21]

TCU's mentorship system of assigning you a community physician mentor would be of value to your goals, so cost isn't the only thing to consider when deciding between schools. It sounds like your goals will be better served at TCU.
Take a look at a recent (2 weeks ago) Texas Health Education Service YouTube video in which the admissions dean of U of H speaks to the question of whether students who are not interested in primary care are welcome at U of H

Based on what Dean Turpin said it sounds like they will support students in their speciality of choice, but that their focus is really on primary care and other opportunities are harder to seek out, yet still possible.

 

[wysdoc]

Based on what Dean Turpin said it sounds like they will support students in their speciality of choice, but that their focus is really on primary care and other opportunities are harder to seek out, yet still possible.

That’s what I took from her comments as well

 

[Dr. Anonymouss]

Sounds like TCU all the way. The price difference definitely sucks, but if you actually plan on specializing then it is a drop in the bucket. You will have no problem paying off your loans. If you were dead set on primary care then I would have told you to just go to the cheapest school. But I can tell you from experience that MANY students change their specialty over the course of medical school, so I would always go to a place that gives you more options and flexibility with career choices. Also you don't realize this now, but no internal rankings is a blessing in disguise. The amount of stress that gets placed on you when you are constantly ranked amongst your peers is unfathomable and to some students it consumes them. This is unavoidable for step II, but it can be avoided during pre-clinical years when it really doesn't matter.

 

[happysunshine21]

Sounds like TCU all the way. The price difference definitely sucks, but if you actually plan on specializing then it is a drop in the bucket. You will have no problem paying off your loans. If you were dead set on primary care then I would have told you to just go to the cheapest school. But I can tell you from experience that MANY students change their specialty over the course of medical school, so I would always go to a place that gives you more options and flexibility with career choices.

Thanks for your insight — appreciate it. I think my gut says TCU but the tuition difference is a hard pill to swallow.

 

[Dr. Anonymouss]

Thanks for your insight — appreciate it. I think my gut says TCU but the tuition difference is a hard pill to swallow.

Trust me, you will be fine. If you want to specialize --> TCU if you want primary care --> cheapest school.