UTH vs UTSA

[fallen rock]

ok... i'm sure someone already talked about this, but i couldn't find the thread...

i'm debating between UTH & UTSA. 😕

Could someone give me the pros and cons of each school? Thanks so much!

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[TexasFool]

I´ve been living in San Antonio for a while and i´ve had nothing but bad experiences at UTSA

 

[MonkeyNuts!]

I´ve been living in San Antonio for a while and i´ve had nothing but bad experiences at UTSA

Could you elaborate?

 

[cookiesncream07]

UTH -- HOUSTON!!! the TMC (which has a rainbow building now!), Memorial Hermann and other great places to train, really friendly and laid back student body, HOUSTON!!!!!!!!
UTSA -- Dental school's nice.... med students / school also laid back and chill.... but I doubt the med school facilities compare to those in Houston?

I dont know... I personally have neither to debate between, but Id pick Houston over UTSA anyday.

 

[Sol Rosenberg]

UTH -- HOUSTON!!! the TMC (which has a rainbow building now!), Memorial Hermann and other great places to train, really friendly and laid back student body, HOUSTON!!!!!!!!
UTSA -- Dental school's nice.... med students / school also laid back and chill.... but I doubt the med school facilities compare to those in Houston?

I dont know... I personally have neither to debate between, but Id pick Houston over UTSA anyday.

Totally disagree.

However, I didn't interview at UTH, so I didn't observe the facilities in person.

TMC is great, but consider that you will only (probably) be rotating through one hospital, so what's the big deal. You will be exposed to an excellent spectrum of pathology at both UTH and UTSA (where University Hospital has been ranked as a top-15 teaching hospital for the past few years.)

UTH and UTSA have similar average board scores, IIRC.

UTSA has a much lower cost of living, and I personally like San Antonio much better than Houston.

UTSA has the option to spend a year in Harlingen where there are no residents competing for attendings' attention.

UTSA receives more research $$$ than UTH, and wants to move toward more and more research in the future (probably meaning more $$$, which attracts more/better faculty.)

I don't think it's as clear-cut a decision as you make it sound. I always thought of UTH as "the other school in the TMC," but then again, I didn't interview there, so I didn't get a chance to be wowed by the school.

 

[NCF145]

Totally disagree.

However, I didn't interview at UTH, so I didn't observe the facilities in person.

TMC is great, but consider that you will only (probably) be rotating through one hospital, so what's the big deal. You will be exposed to an excellent spectrum of pathology at both UTH and UTSA (where University Hospital has been ranked as a top-15 teaching hospital for the past few years.)

UTH and UTSA have similar average board scores, IIRC.

UTSA has a much lower cost of living, and I personally like San Antonio much better than Houston.

UTSA has the option to spend a year in Harlingen where there are no residents competing for attendings' attention.

UTSA receives more research $$$ than UTH, and wants to move toward more and more research in the future (probably meaning more $$$, which attracts more/better faculty.)

I don't think it's as clear-cut a decision as you make it sound. I always thought of UTH as "the other school in the TMC," but then again, I didn't interview there, so I didn't get a chance to be wowed by the school.

Yes, it is true that as a student at UT-Houston you will not do rotations at all of the hospitals. However, you do most of your rotations at Memorial Hermann, and LBJ with some occurring at the Texas Heart Institute and MD Anderson. In my opinion, one reason why being at the TMC is better than San Antonio is away rotations. If you want to do away rotations then your options at the TMC are much better than they would be at SA. You don't have to move and/or pay extra to live in a different city and you have access to some of the most prestigious hospitals in the country (i.e. Methodist, St. Lukes, THI, Texas Childrens, MD Anderson, Ben Taub, Memorial Hermann and eventually Baylor's new hospital).

In regard to UTH lacking in research, I don't want to do research so it doesn't really bother me. On the other hand, the new research building built by UT Houston is very promising and could mean that it will become a well-known and respected research center in the future http://www.uthouston.edu/sarofim/

If I were you, I would revisit both campuses to decide where you feel the most comfortable and could see yourself living for 4 to 11+ years (if you decide to stay at the school for residency and/or a fellowship). Good Luck