(urgent) UTMB vs Loyola

[veryconfused2020]

Hello everyone, I have grown up in Chicago and gone to SLU for undergrad. I am ready for a change of scenery, but am very confused between schools. Both schools are comparable in stats and styles of learning, as well as tuition. I am curious if anyone has any deeper thoughts.

UTMB-- offers a phenomenal place to live with Island living, a super beautiful campus and, a warm environment for the next four years.
Downside is I leave friends and family in Chicago.

Loyola Med School-- offers an equal caliber education in Chicago, but it is in the cold and around the campus area seems to be unsafe.
The plus is that family is about an hour away.

I think both programs for me have pluses and minuses, both are financially equal except in different areas, and I do like Texas, but I also would like to possibly come back to Midwest for residency (unsure). I have not been able to find any information on if that is going to be difficult, or if either one or the other of these programs will stand out in name on a residency app as the better program. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

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[Skittsie13]

I think they are about equal reputation-wise. If you're interested in going back to the Midwest for residency, I'd recommend Loyola, especially with the family nearby.

Are you sure they are the same price? I would UTMB to be a lot cheaper. OOS students generally pay in-state tuition anyway and COL is quite low.

Also side note -- Galveston is extremely humid and generally not considered to be a great place to live within Texas, since the island is pretty small. Of course, everyone has different opinions on what they prefer in a living environment, but I would caution a non-Texan that Galveston might be a big culture shock.

 

[TheDataKing]

You should be fine to match back into the midwest from either school but Loyola will likely be a bit easier because of geographic bias (it's easier to match in the area where you went to med school). Loyola is slightly better ranked by program directors but both schools are reputable.

 

[veryconfused2020]

I think they are about equal reputation-wise. If you're interested in going back to the Midwest for residency, I'd recommend Loyola, especially with the family nearby.

Are you sure they are the same price? I would UTMB to be a lot cheaper. OOS students generally pay in-state tuition anyway and COL is quite low.

Also side note -- Galveston is extremely humid and generally not considered to be a great place to live within Texas, since the island is pretty small. Of course, everyone has different opinions on what they prefer in a living environment, but I would caution a non-Texan that Galveston might be a big culture shock.

Thanks so much for your thoughts! I actually wish I had a better idea tuition-wise if I could qualify for IS down the line. As it stands, Loyola has offered me a small scholarship and comparing this to UTMB's out of state tuition is pretty much the same for me. I had inquired about the process or likelihood of gaining IS tuition down the line, but no one has really given me a super clear cut answer- if you've had any experience with this I'd love to know!

Also, thanks so much for the insight in the side note too! I actually visited Galveston for just a couple days this past week and while the island life would be a little bit of an adjustment for me, the people there seemed super friendly and welcoming and it seemed like a really stress-free place. Also having Houston nearby eases a bit of my tension when it comes to looking for a little bit more commercial stores and places to eat. I might be wrong in my thinking, but maybe a quick drive off the island would be okay for some city life? Or would you still caution that the heat/humidity and culture shock overall would wear me down over time on the small island?

 

[Skittsie13]

Thanks so much for your thoughts! I actually wish I had a better idea tuition-wise if I could qualify for IS down the line. As it stands, Loyola has offered me a small scholarship and comparing this to UTMB's out of state tuition is pretty much the same for me. I had inquired about the process or likelihood of gaining IS tuition down the line, but no one has really given me a super clear cut answer- if you've had any experience with this I'd love to know!

Also, thanks so much for the insight in the side note too! I actually visited Galveston for just a couple days this past week and while the island life would be a little bit of an adjustment for me, the people there seemed super friendly and welcoming and it seemed like a really stress-free place. Also having Houston nearby eases a bit of my tension when it comes to looking for a little bit more commercial stores and places to eat. I might be wrong in my thinking, but maybe a quick drive off the island would be okay for some city life? Or would you still caution that the heat/humidity and culture shock overall would wear me down over time on the small island?

I thought it was customary for Texas schools to give a small scholarship to all OOS students -- there's apparently a rule that any OOS who gets a scholarship automatically gets IS tuition. Maybe that's just my school, though.

Houston is about an hour from Galveston -- you might be able to make time during preclinical but probably not MS3 to go. I think how much you'd like Galveston depends on how much you need city amenities, and how much you like the heat. It's a personal thing.