UTHSCSA vs. Virginia (UVA)

[vy2005]

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Hey guys! Got my match results earlier this week and I'm struggling to make a choice. Here's my thinking so far. I'm fairly likely to be interested in a competitive specialty

Long:

Pros:
-4 hour drive away from home
-Cheap (about $40k less per year than UVA)
-More metropolitan area/better patient population than UVA
-4 months of STEP prep time (seems unnecessary but you can schedule whenever)
-Week off before module exams

Cons:
-Talking to students, the curriculum does not train you for STEP well at all
-Effectively 2 year preclinicals
-Weekly quizzes/required time
-Doesn't have a publicly available match, and the information they give at interview day is much less detailed than the norm. Makes me think they have poor stats/they're insecure about it
-Have heard bad things about research availability
-Very likely won't be able to schedule any elective rotations before applying for residency
-Lower ranked (~50s); I'm unsure of how much to weight this, especially since I want to be in Texas for residency
-Overall, most of my worries are about how it will prepare me for a competitive specialty

Neutral:
-San Antonio isn't my favorite city but it's metropolitan and in my home state
-They emphasize EM more than most, maybe I'll be interested we'll see

Virginia:

Pros:
-Higher ranking (Is this difference relevant??)
-1.5 year preclinical
-Flexibility in taking tests
-Seems extremely chill in general; admin appeared very supportive and they emphasize trusting students
-INOVA allows for a more metropolitan rotation site (I think, but idk Virginia geography at all)
-Charlottesville is beautiful

Cons:
-Much more expensive
-Far from home; never lived outside Texas
-Charlottesville is a college town and I'm a little worried about feeling limited by the amount of things to do
-If I do not get INOVA, Charlottesville doesn't seem like a huge hospital area and clinicals might not be as great
-I am very foolish and lot my interview day booklet so I'm relying on my memory, please fill me in on anything I'm missing

Neutral:
-I picked INOVA campus for my clinical rotations, not sure if this is good or not but it was a more diverse patient population than Charlottesville
-Not sure about research options but I imagine they are good giving UVA's ranking

Overall, I'm most concerned with having proper resources for a competitive specialty should I want to pursue it

 

[tessellations]

Staying in Texas for medical school will help you match in Texas and having your support systems nearby can be helpful. Also an additional $40k a year is significant, that would end up costing you $160k plus interest. There are a ton of great Step 1 prep resources out there if you are worried about the curriculum at Long. I would personally go with Long.

 

[xkcd6330]

If you’re from Texas, residency directors will see that, and you should have no problem convincing them that you’d like to come back.