UTHSC (Tennessee, in-state) vs University of Rochester

[grist]

Tennessee:

Pros
-No grant-based aid (probably), but IS tuition is cheapish (35K)
-The difference between the estimated COA (70k) and tuition+fees is about 30k, which is more than enough to live comfortably in Memphis
-Not blisteringly cold
-Can apply into 3 year MD program after matriculating (but only for FM, IM, peds, med-peds, OBGYN and psych, and would match at a UT program)

Cons
-Huge class size (170+)
-Match list is just okay
-Graded curriculum all four years with hardly any clinical exposure in the first two years


Rochester:

Pros:
-Smaller class, seems pretty diverse too
-Great research and a good match list
-P/F preclinical, neat curriculum
-Potential to backdoor into MSTP (Was on the fence about applying to MSTPs originally but didn't because I didn't think I was competitive enough. UT's MD-PhD program is unfunded so it isn't really an option)

Cons:
-90k COA and financial aid is all loans, no grants (was hoping for at least a bit of need-based aid as I'm a FAP applicant)
-Difference between COA and tuition+fees is about 18k which is a pretty tight budget anywhere. I'm married but my partner does not make much
-Blisteringly cold winters

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With equal costs I would pick Rochester, but I estimate that the difference in cost after interest would amount to over 200k by the time I pay my loans off. Rochester is a great school but my family has no assistance to offer and I'm not sure that the moderate bump in prestige/resources justifies the substantial cost difference, especially since I'm interested in academic (read: lower paying) practice and I'm an older matriculant to begin with. On the other hand, I'm potentially interested in competitive specialties and with the increasing competitiveness of the match each year, I wonder if I would be doing myself a disservice by not taking advantage of every edge I can get.

Any thoughts are greatly appreciated! I wonder if I'm overthinking it. The loan burden will be pretty big regardless, but even a modest physician's salary can handle it. I'm also on the waitlist at several T10 schools, so I would be curious if anyone thinks that full COA at a tippy-top program over UT, but not at Rochester over UT. Thank you!

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[deleted1065184]

I don't think UT would be an issue matching into competitive specialties (Dr. Death became an MD/PhD-trained neurosurgeon who did his training at UT, after all....okay, maybe bad example 🤣).

The point about transferring into an MSTP is valid, but ultimately you'd be making the decision based on something that is not at all guaranteed. Assuming you are able to transfer into Rochester's MSTP, the main benefits would be guaranteed funding for your final 2 years and a more solid physican-scientist training structure. You likely will not be able to transfer until year 2 at the earliest, but please correct me if I'm wrong about that.

I also think you are greatly underestimating the research opportunities available at UT. Not only does UT have decent research, you can also do your PhD at St. Jude (which does not only study cancer and is EXTREMELY well-funded). UT + St. Jude brought in ~$167M in NIH funding last year, compared to ~$174M brought in by Rochester. The difference is negligible. For that portion, your PhD would be fully-funded. You'd still have to pay for your final 2 years of medical school, though. However, the COA difference will likely offset quite a bit of that.

Lastly, I think you're also missing one of the most important factors....at UT, you get constant access to West Tennessee barbecue 😉

I think another thing to consider is where you hope to match. If you wanna stay in the South, being at a more local program could help some. If you wanna match in the Northeast, Rochester would definitely help.

 

[grist]

Lastly, I think you're also missing one of the most important factors....at UT, you get constant access to West Tennessee barbecue 😉

HUGE, NEARLY INSURMOUNTABLE con. I am absolutely putting disrespect on the name 😡😡😡😡 kidding... Kind of. But I'm from a friendly neighboring state originally and have a strong preference for vinegar-based barbecue

Good points otherwise! I do think UT+SJ is significantly bigger in terms of number of faculty than Rochester so I wonder if the funding per investigator is lower, though I'm not sure if that really matters. I definitely don't think I'll be in want of research at either program, I just got the feeling that the student body was less interested in research at UT and the institutional support for that isn't as strong as it is at Rochester.

I'm going to reach out to Rochester about the backdoor into their MSTP—they briefly mentioned it during interview day and I think I would enter after M1. I could be mistaken though, and like you said being admitted to the MSTP isn't even a sure thing. I'm also not married to matching into either region, but I am married to my wife and she seems more interested in Rochester than Memphis. I appreciate the input!

 

[deleted1065184]

HUGE, NEARLY INSURMOUNTABLE con. I am absolutely putting disrespect on the name 😡😡😡😡 kidding... Kind of. But I'm from a friendly neighboring state originally and have a strong preference for vinegar-based barbecue

Good points otherwise! I do think UT+SJ is significantly bigger in terms of number of faculty than Rochester so I wonder if the funding per investigator is lower, though I'm not sure if that really matters. I definitely don't think I'll be in want of research at either program, I just got the feeling that the student body was less interested in research at UT and the institutional support for that isn't as strong as it is at Rochester.

I'm going to reach out to Rochester about the backdoor into their MSTP—they briefly mentioned it during interview day and I think I would enter after M1. I could be mistaken though, and like you said being admitted to the MSTP isn't even a sure thing. I'm also not married to matching into either region, but I am married to my wife and she seems more interested in Rochester than Memphis. I appreciate the input!

Haha I have fam from there too and it's pretty good, I just gotta be in the mood for it. But West TN BBQ is also the origins for East TX BBQ and Kansas City BBQ, so I think the people chose which is better between West TN and Carolina 😉

The student body may be less interested in research, but that won't affect you. If anything, it'll help you stand out more! Switching to MSTP after M1 would be very nice though!

And you should've led with the part about your wife! Happy wife, happy life. Choose Rochester lol