UTHSCSA vs Arizona

[unhistoried]

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Sorry to clutter the forum with another thread, but I could really use some input. I've withdrawn from every school except for UT-San Antonio and University of Arizona (Tucson). I've narrowed it down to these two schools because of the Spanish opportunities through the school and in the city, and because of the total cost of attendance.

Pros and cons:

Arizona:
+/- An hour away from my family (my wife's family is far from either school)
+ I like their curriculum more (they study anatomy with the organ systems instead of all at once)
+ I can stay in South America for three more weeks right now ("perfecting" my Spanish)
+ I have 2.5 months after first year for research or international travel
+ 120 students
- $29,000/year tuition
- There's nothing to love about Tucson, but I've been happy in worse places
- It’s in Arizona, and both my wife and I are excited about getting out of that state

San Antonio:
+ $14,000/year tuition
+ Both my wife and I love the city (we think)
+ It's in a state I've never lived, and I'm all about new experiences
+ Finish second year in February, so have extra time for whatever
- Only four weeks after first year, so very limited amount of time for international travel or research
- Old facilities (will I care?)
- 220 students
- Faculty to student ration of 1:1

I really liked both of the schools. The biggest difference is when I have time off. Is it better to have time off after first or second year? The only other major difference is their curriculum, where Arizona does anatomy in blocks and San Antonio gets it done during the first semester.

They are both middle-of-the-road schools rank-wise, and I assume they will offer similar residency placement opportunities. My wife is a PA and has already received her Texas license, so there shouldn't be a huge difference in how difficult it is for her to find a job in either city.

Can anyone help me sort through what is most important?

 

[Daodejing]

are the pros of UA-Tuscon worth $60k/4 yrs to you and your wife?

 

[unhistoried]

are the pros of UA-Tuscon worth $60k/4 yrs to you and your wife?

If I knew Arizona was better, then yes, but I don't know that it is the better choice.

 

[Wifey1985]

There's nothing to love about Tucson, but I've been happy in worse places

Have you spent a lot of time in Tucson? I am way biased but I think there is tons to love about Tucson.

 

[unhistoried]

Have you spent a lot of time in Tucson? I am way biased but I think there is tons to love about Tucson.

Not really. Can you explain why you like it or the school so much?

 

[Wifey1985]

Not really. Can you explain why you like it or the school so much?

Well, I'm sure it's not for everyone, but here are some of the things I like about Tucson:

- not too big, not too small; traffic is much better than in phoenix, but shopping is still great
- reasonable cost of living
- multicultural experience; not as culturally segregated as other places
- mexican food (deserves its own shout out)
- natural beauty of the surrounding area; lots of great hiking; unique landscape
- hugely athletic community (running, soccer, cycling, frisbee, any kind of kids' sports league you can dream up)
- swimming pools
- space
- monsoon season
- lots of sunshine and vitamin D 🙂

All said, I don't know much about San Antonio and maybe a lot of it is comparable. I just know that Tucson is a bit of a diamond-in-the-rough.

I can't speak for the medical school at U of A, but the university in general is in a really likeable part of town, and it has a lot of history and school pride.

 

[unhistoried]

Thanks a lot for your input wifey!

Does anyone have opinions on whether it's better to have time off after first or second year?

 

[Daodejing]

Does anyone have opinions on whether it's better to have time off after first or second year?

advantages of more time off after 1st year: last real summer, extensive time for research/preceptorship

advantages of more time off after 2nd year: more prep time for step 1 (careful about this though - you don't want to have more time than you need because you'll eventually and inevitably peak, and you want to peak when your exam happens)

what is better will be dependent on your goals.

 

[Iso4ane]

Well, I'm sure it's not for everyone, but here are some of the things I like about Tucson:

- not too big, not too small; traffic is much better than in phoenix, but shopping is still great
- reasonable cost of living
- multicultural experience; not as culturally segregated as other places
- mexican food (deserves its own shout out) - Really missing this right now
- natural beauty of the surrounding area; lots of great hiking; unique landscape - Yep, lots of great places to hike and camp not too far out of the city (<1hr away)
- hugely athletic community (running, soccer, cycling, frisbee, any kind of kids' sports league you can dream up) - Very True; forgot to mention tennis, swimming
- swimming pools Nice Big outdoor ones, hard to find a indoor pool in AZ if thats your thing
- space
- monsoon season - This can be a plus or minus; just don't drive through any washes if there is water flowing, or else you'll find out why we call it 'The Stupid Motorist Law'
- lots of sunshine and vitamin D 🙂 Yes, lots of it, was in shorts and sandals almost everyday.

I think on average most people around campus are better looking, than students you might find elsewhere, but thats just my opinion and with a dataset of two schools.

One more thing though, it gets hot as hell. Now, I hear you 'But, its a dry heat', now turn on your oven and then stick your head inside after a while, thats a dry heat too. Now, I'm pretty sure San Antonio is a tad more humid, but not really as hot. In Tucson it can hit upper 90's low 100's by early May, oh and never trust the weather reports, cause their thermometer is always in the shade and 10 feet off the ground or something

All said, I don't know much about San Antonio and maybe a lot of it is comparable. I just know that Tucson is a bit of a diamond-in-the-rough.

I can't speak for the medical school at U of A, but the university in general is in a really likeable part of town, and it has a lot of history and school pride.

.

 

[Salaam]

San Antonio is a very vibrant city as well. A lot of the same things said for Tucson could also be said of San Antonio. The culture is lively; the area is a lot of fun. Living is VERY affordable.

I vote UTHSCA because the price is right!

 

[Watah]

Well, I'm sure it's not for everyone, but here are some of the things I like about Tucson:

- not too big, not too small; traffic is much better than in phoenix, but shopping is still great
- reasonable cost of living
- multicultural experience; not as culturally segregated as other places
- mexican food (deserves its own shout out)
- natural beauty of the surrounding area; lots of great hiking; unique landscape
- hugely athletic community (running, soccer, cycling, frisbee, any kind of kids' sports league you can dream up)
- swimming pools
- space
- monsoon season
- lots of sunshine and vitamin D 🙂.

which is funny because this is almost word for word what I'd say about San Antonio, especially the mexican food part lol 😍

I can't really speak about Tucson but UTHSCSA is located in the middle of a huge medical center, the south texas medical center, so there are many opportunities there. The cost issue is another reason why people choose Texas medical schools. In my opinion San Antonio is the most humble, family oriented city in Texas and a huge hispanic population (60%+) so the latino culture is very prevalent here. Texas is a great state to live in (there's a reason why Texas state pride and "everything's bigger in Texas" is commonly thrown around)

Also, if you're a basketball fan you can become a part of the Spurs family 😀

 

[unhistoried]

Thanks again for the feedback so far. Even if Tucson isn't quite as bad as I think it is, I can't be convinced it will be better than San Antonio. I do hate the Spurs (my desire for them not to be alive is second only to Miami, which may make for a messy finals), but the city just seems great. I've lived in Phoenix for a few years so I know what "dry heat" means.

Any additional comments on the difference in when you have time off or the curriculum from students with more experience?

 

[spelledout]

Thanks again for the feedback so far. Even if Tucson isn't quite as bad as I think it is, I can't be convinced it will be better than San Antonio. I do hate the Spurs (my desire for them not to be alive is second only to Miami, which may make for a messy finals), but the city just seems great. I've lived in Phoenix for a few years so I know what "dry heat" means.

Any additional comments on the difference in when you have time off or the curriculum from students with more experience?

I recently graduated from UA in Tucson (as in 3 weeks ago) and very much enjoyed my experience. Tucson has a lot of great things going for it, which has been listed in a generalized fashion already. With regards to the curriculum... I think that having time off after first year is nice to be able to get research projects and as you mentioned international experience under your belt. We finished at the end of April and didn't start 3rd year until July so we had 6 weeks plus a little extra time to study for step 1. you don't want more than that or as someone mentioned, you are likely to burn out.

the advantages to finishing 2nd year early actually play less into more time to prep for step 1 and more into when does your third year begin and consequently when does 4th year begin? The sooner 3rd year starts, the sooner you cement which specialty you like and the more time you have to tailor your CV and experiences/get letters for your choice prior to interviewing. I had no trouble despite not starting early but I can understand some of the advantage of being able to do some away rotations very early.

You mentioned in another thread about UA match list. I don't believe it is published but if you PM me, I'd be more than happy to discuss it. Our class did extremely well and everyone was thrilled on match day.