UT Southwestern vs Baylor

[UKingdom]

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If one had to choose between both schools, what would be the factors you would take into consideration?

I know most people generally regard these two schools as the two best in Texas, mostly based on the prestige, academic reputation, and difficulty to get acceptance, so what sets them apart, other than the physical location?

Certainly, there are individual preferences for Dallas vs Houston, etc, but on objective levels, can anyone share their opinions? Has anyone interviewed at both and had to make that decision? Since UTSW is part of TMDSAS and Baylor is AMCAS, it's possible one would have to make that decision.

Some things I've noticed:

Strengths of UTSW
=============
-Excellent research reputation
-lots of nice brand new facilities
-perhaps slightly lower living expenses
-Parkland one of the best hospitals in the country
-Dallas Mavericks (okay, that doesn't really count)

Weaknesses
=========
-rumored uptightness of the atmosphere and students (true?)

Strengths of Baylor
==============
-Ranked slightly higher based in US News (like 4 spots, so quite negligible)
-more diverse student body since they take more out of state
-resources of the amazing Medical Center
-unique curriculum (can anyone talk about this in more detail?)

Weaknesses
=============
-horrific parking

I get the general impression a lot of people pick Baylor because it "seems" harder to get into? Or that it's ranked higher in US News and gets more exposure? Or maybe because they're AMCAS they get a more broad applicant pool?

What are the reasons one would want to go to one over the other? I've actually tried doing a search and wasn't to able to tell that much. Mostly it's comparisons with one of the above schools with the other UT schools, but usually nothing between UTSW and Baylor. I know they are quite similar but there must be certain factors that differentiate them. Thanks for the opinions, everyone!

 

[Trek]

done to death. Do a search and you'll get all your info. In a word, they're the same. Pick which one suits you better. One of the few decisions in life where it'd be tough to go wrong. --Trek

 

[DrBlueDevil]

Baylor gets you out of the classroom and into clinics a half-year earlier than most places. That's the biggest difference you should consider.

 

[Trek]

you're still up DrBlue? Isn't it past your bedtime? 🙂

 

[UKingdom]

BUMP

Does anyone else have any comments to add or insights they can share?

 

[UKingdom]

Um...anyone?

 

[Gleevec]

I think you stated all the key differences already.

 

[sdnsdn]

Just my two cents...
I do not know about southwestern, but, it seems that almost everything I hear about Baylor is good. (Aside from parking) I was really impressed with Baylor because it had a sort of small school feel with national recognition and was really well organized. I really like the accelerated pre-clinical idea. I think it gives more time for exploring career options before having to make the big decision. In addition, I heard that Baylor is humane to its students during clinicals. If you are choosing between Southwestern and Baylor, you are an excellent applicant and will excel wherever you go. For myself, I am stuck on the TMC, including Texas Childrens and Ben Taub.
Good Luck!

 

[UKingdom]

Thanks for the reply. I was also very curious if anyone could comment on the students or mentality of the students. It seems like most people have negative things to say about Southwestern Students; ie they're uptight and competitive. Can anyone comment on this? As well as compare to the climate at Baylor? Are either cutthroat or negative in atmosphere? Most people have positive things to say about the friendly students at UT Houston, San Antonio, Tech, and A&M, but I rarely hear such things from UTSW or Baylor.

 

[SouthernGirlie]

Originally posted by UKingdom
It seems like most people have negative things to say about Southwestern Students; ie they're uptight and competitive. Can anyone comment on this?

Well, I can comment on this. I have quite a few friends at UTSW and they're all nice people. Competitive, yes. Mean blood-sucking bastards set out to destroy you... no. 🙄 🙂

On the same note, Baylor students are competitive, too.

 

[indianboy]

I second what SouthernGirlie said, I heard the same thing about Baylor students, and found it to be patently false. Unless you are under something akin to the Yale system, strict P/F, or an equivelant, there will be competitiveness. I'm sure you will also find a fair share of collegial people as well.

Hope that Helps

P 'Gunner to the Bone' ShankOut

 

[UKingdom]

Thanks for the comments everyone.

 

[UKingdom]

Can anyone comment on the difference in clinical training?

Would Baylor be lopsided in advantage because of the resources of the Medical Center and the flexibility of being able to star earlier and choosing the order in which to do the rotations?

How is Southwestern regarded in terms of clinical training?

 

[Thewonderer]

Originally posted by UKingdom
Can anyone comment on the difference in clinical training?

Would Baylor be lopsided in advantage because of the resources of the Medical Center and the flexibility of being able to star earlier and choosing the order in which to do the rotations?

How is Southwestern regarded in terms of clinical training?

They give equal clinical training.

As a med student, you are not out there to save lives and cure weird, rare diseases.

Instead, you are there to learn the basic. You start with learning body fluid and electrolytes, neonatal hyperbilirubinemia, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, etc. You are not there to diagnose and treat chromosome 16 imbalance, prophyrias, etc.

 

[ktat72]

i would choose Baylor because the tuition is cheaper and there are so many cool things about the Texas Medical Center. I go to a public medical school in Missouri and since I finished my Basic Sciences last month, I applied for an Advanced Standing position to Baylor (I am a Missouri resideny and Baylor's tuition is actually cheaper for me as an out of state than my school as a Missouri resident). Have not been rejected yet, nor have I received an offer for an interview. I think you will not regret your choice if you choose Baylor.

 

[Trek]

Originally posted by ktat72
i would choose Baylor because the tuition is cheaper and there are so many cool things about the Texas Medical Center. I go to a public medical school in Missouri and since I finished my Basic Sciences last month, I applied for an Advanced Standing position to Baylor (I am a Missouri resideny and Baylor's tuition is actually cheaper for me as an out of state than my school as a Missouri resident). Have not been rejected yet, nor have I received an offer for an interview. I think you will not regret your choice if you choose Baylor.

The tuitions are the same for in-state students at UTSW and Baylor (6550). Out of state is the same too, i believe. While the medical center is amazing, you'll rarely get to actually see these amazing things going on. Clinics (i hear) are about the daily bread and butter of medicine, not watching debakey do heart surgery. In that vein, i'd say parkland is just as good as anything the med center can throw at you. I'd say you won't regret your decision if you choose either one. --Trek

 

[Naphtali]

A few points:

1. Tuition: At UTSW, it's $6550 for BOTH in state and out of state. There's some creative math done so that out of staters pay the same as in staters. I heard this right from the horse's mouth, at my Southwestern interview.

2. Yes, parking at the TMC is a b*tch. Whaddya gonna do?

3. Clinical: It's hard to pick a winner here. Parkland rocks, and so does Ben Taub/TX Children's. Don't pick one or the other just for the clinical training, since they're both good.

4. Mentality: UTSW actually has a pretty nice bunch of students, from what I can tell. Certainly the ones I met were pretty calm. Sure, there are some gunners, but that's true everywhere. And if you're not going for a residency that's super competitive, just let the gunners stress, and relax. If you're going the high pressure route (ortho, derm, ect.), than YOU'LL have to be the gunner yourself.

It may come down to geography: do you like Houston or Dallas better? Don't discount the effect of location on your happiness.

-Naphtali

 

[Thewonderer]

Originally posted by Naphtali
A few points:

1. Tuition: At UTSW, it's $6550 for BOTH in state and out of state. There's some creative math done so that out of staters pay the same as in staters. I heard this right from the horse's mouth, at my Southwestern interview.

Another thread also mentioned something on this issue....

http://www.studentdoctor.net/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=560538#post560538

The info I got at Baylor interview a couple years earlier is that you pay out-of-state tuition that first year. But if you buy a condo at condo land that year, you are eligible to pay in-state tuition starting your second year, perhaps because you pay property tax in TExas.

I am not sure about the accuracy of that. but this is REALLY REALLY easy thing to find out. If you really really want to know, just call the financial aid offices up. Just one person needs to call and can come back to post the info. I assume you all have interviewed there. That phone number should be within your arm's reach.

 

[rjhtamu]

Another thing that they mentioned at my Baylor interview, is that Baylor doesn't rank their students. A lot of competitiveness comes out of med schools because people are obsessed with their ranking. Baylor eliminates this by not having rankings, instead they use the capabilities and skllls of their students to show for themselves when evaluating them for residencies.

 

[vivekap2007]

in response to above post:

However, baylor does use rankings for scholarship eligibility; for example I know someone who has to remain in the top half (could be top quarter) of the class in order to keep their scholarship. So rankings are probably known to the students, but not released when residency time comes around.