UT Southwestern vs Rochester vs USC Keck

[mogwa1]

Hello all,

I was lucky enough to be accepted to 3 schools I really love, and I'm having a hard time deciding. I was wondering if anyone had deeper insight into the schools to add to my own pros-cons list. Just as an aside, I would really appreciate not focusing too much on prestige, because these schools are all within a few ranks of each other and I don't care about prestige.

In terms of my own background, I'm very interested in working with socioeconomically disadvantaged communities as an Ob/Gyn, Psychiatrist, or FM physician.

UTSW:

Pros:
+ Very cheap. Tuition = 19k/year with OOS scholarship
+ I know people in Texas.
+ 1.5 year curriculum
+ Warm
+ County hospital as main rotation site
+ Opportunity to improve my Spanish

Cons:
- Largest class size of 230.
- Urban sprawl of Dallas
- Didn't really mesh with the other interviewees, but I liked the students I talked with?
- I'm a queer immigrant of color so I'm not sure I want to be in Texas especially with the current political climate leaning right.
- I don't see myself practicing in Texas exclusively as a physician, and although I don't care about prestige for its own sake I don't want to be geographically locked

Rochester:

Pros:
+ Really loved the people and faculty here. They all seemed happy and close-knit, which is important to me.
+ Biopsychosocial model of medicine originated here and it's exactly the foundation I come from in terms of my major and experiences.
+ Small class size of 105, so more personal attention and easier to get to know everyone.
+ Med school and hospital and peds hospital all connected

Cons:
- Cost is 53k/year although maybe slightly lower CoL
- Freezing cold. I reeaaallly hate the cold.
- Smaller city with not as much going on that's also isolated
- Class attendance is mandatory

Keck:

Pros:
+ LAC+USC is the dopest hospital to learn in
+ Really seem to give a lot of responsibility to students right away
+ In Cali, where I've never been and would love to try out.
+ Also warm
+ Opportunity to improve my Spanish

Cons:
- I know literally no one west of Texas so I'm worried about mental/emotional support during med school
- Soooo expensive. Tuition is comparable to Rochester but then also CoL is much higher. I'm worried that this would factor into my speciality selection. It would be like $80,000 in loans at UTSW versus $230,000 at Keck
- All the students here seemed pretty wealthy, and I've heard concerns that it's sort of a commuter med school.

Feedback on these pros and cons would be appreciated!

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[RunawayGrape]

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[efgih]

M O N E Y - agreed with the grape, go where it's cheapest. UTSW seems cheapest BY FAR. If cost were closer, might consider USC since I'm dying to go to the West Coast.

 

[DoctHouse]

+ Also warm

SoCal isn't necessarily warm.. the weather here is random. Could rain. Could be really hot. Anytime any day.

 

[enchantediris]

I went to a university that I liked but wasn't my top choice because they offered me a very large scholarship, and I can't even begin to explain how relieving and freeing it is to graduate without student loan debt. For that reason, I would lean toward UTSW (especially because you mentioned that you hate the cold, which Rochester will be – cold and snowy). Although Texas as a whole is conversative, the larger cities with big universities like Dallas and Houston tend to be more liberal. So I think you would be fine in Dallas, although maybe not so much in the more rural areas – but this is true of almost every state to varying degrees.

 

[mogwa1]

Thanks for your input everyone! I agree that cost is like the most important factor. Has anyone had any luck with prodding fin aid offices to match offers from other schools?

 

[mogwa1]

Congrats! Great position to be in.
Can't speak of Rochester, don't know much about it. I am Canadian but I had the opportunity to live in Cali and Dallas recently, and you really can't go wrong with either, even with your sexuality, although the point there probably goes to cali as literally no one cares there. Lived about 5mins from UTSW and no one seemed to care there either but I'm sure that may not be the same for other parts of Texas. Both are great schools, but UTSW would get my vote as well, really hated traffic in cali/la a lot, although Dallas is becoming the same but there are so many apartments surrounding UTSW that are right next to the DART train so that makes it tolerable and well cheaper is always great.

I went to a university that I liked but wasn't my top choice because they offered me a very large scholarship, and I can't even begin to explain how relieving and freeing it is to graduate without student loan debt. For that reason, I would lean toward UTSW (especially because you mentioned that you hate the cold, which Rochester will be – cold and snowy). Although Texas as a whole is conversative, the larger cities with big universities like Dallas and Houston tend to be more liberal. So I think you would be fine in Dallas, although maybe not so much in the more rural areas – but this is true of almost every state to varying degrees.

Thanks for these great replies guys. I really do hate the cold and traffic so those are good points. I guess you're right, my main concern is that is it worth giving up my "top choice" to go to a slightly less favored choice to save ~$150,000 and the opinion points to yes.

 

[WedgeDawg]

Moving to SSD

 

[stickgirl390]

I can only tell you about Rochester as a city. I lived in Buffalo for 23 years which is about an hour away, so I've been to Rochester a ton.

Freezing cold doesn't even begin to describe how cold it gets. We're talking change-your-plans cold so you can avoid going outdoors. Ruin-your-car cold because everything stays frozen for so long. It is very smart to include this in your decision.

You mentioned that Rochester is a small town, and it really isn't. You won't have a whole ton of time to go out anyway, but when you want to there is plenty to keep you entertained. Also Buffalo is so close, you can go there for professional sporting events or concerts. And Niagara Falls is about 2 hours away. Rochester is also close to Syracuse which has a lot of things to do.

Best of luck! Congrats on your acceptances!!

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Very cheap. Tuition = 19k/year with OOS scholarship

And we have our winner. USC would be sweet if the cost was lower but it isn't worth that much more

 

[mogwa1]

I'm all for go for what you love but when it is a choice that includes top choice and slightly "less fav0red", cheaper wins all the time. 150k is too much for schools that close in choice. Not sure financial aid prodding starts till much later but from posts here you might be able to get a full scholarship from UTSW so definitely worth looking up that post and trying. Dallas does "attempt to get cold". It was quite cute to see people all dressed for the winter while my family and I were literally in dresses because compared to Canadian cold, was a complete joke. You better like the heat though, it gets burning hot.

Could you tell me what post you're referring to with the full-ride thing? Yeah, it's probably early if I haven't submitted FAFSA yet. I know what you mean about cold-sensitive Texans, when it gets up to 50 degrees here during Spring I'm out in shorts and a t-shirt! I love the heat. I lived in Houston for a year so I can handle it.

 

[texastonybacktotx]

As a native of Dallas, I would say you shouldn't worry too much about prejudice against you. As someone mentioned above, the big cities of Texas are pretty liberal, and Dallas is no exception. Weather wise, it might snow once a year, and I mean might. It does get very hot during the summers, but the heat for the most part is dry rather than humid like you would find in Houston.

 

[redferrari]

UTSW. No bout adout it.

Dallas is very modern, and is not like the stereotype of Texas being a hellhole for anybody not white or straight. It's a very inviting city, and the metroplex as a whole is center-left.