UTMB vs UVM Larner

[tyranid441]

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After getting off a waitlist I now have 1 week to make this decision. My ultimate goal is to match for a neurosurgery residency, so really I am looking for which school will most help me achieve that goal. I am a Texas resident (from Houston), however, the cost for out-of-state tuition is not a factor because I am doing the HPSP scholarship with the air force so no matter where I go it will be fully paid for.

UTMB pros include the Galveston National Labs and research opportunities that I know are important for competitive residency programs. It is also close to Houston/my family. Additionally, I can do my rotations in the Texas Medical Center which is an amazing hospital system. Cons for UTMB are that Galveston is not a great place to live from everything I have heard and it is possibly not the best school for matching to a very competitive residency, however, I do not know how it compares to Larner. Larner pros are that Burlington is absolutely beautiful and that it is also well established in the North East with a large hospital system throughout New York and Connecticut. I do not know how it compares in *status* to UTMB however. One Larner con is that it is far from my friends and family. I do not know a ton about Larner to be honest which is also making this decision harder. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[Go2Mars]

First off, your mind will change during medical school in terms of specialties. Majority of students completely switch after rotations. Also, being close to friends and family is really important as you never know what can happen (family emergencies, support systems, homesick, etc). Saying that, both medical schools get about 1 neurosurgery match per year (in 2019, UTMB actually had about 2 neurosurgery matches).

You honestly can't go wrong here, but I personally would say UTMB for two reasons: location (Texas > Vermont in terms of weather, friends, and family) and UTMB had a broad range of competitive matches in 2021 (about 6 ortho matches apparently??!). UTMB would not be at a disadvantage when compared to Larner. Both schools would both provide you enough opportunities to go to whatever specialty you want.

UTMB Match lists: Match Day

Larner Match lists: Match Lists

 

[Banco]

Prestige/status are nebulous and hard to assess. I agree with above - as long as on match lists others have matched into what you want, it is also theoretically possible for you to. Yes that doesn’t tell the whole picture but that’s the only data we have. The rest are personal factors that you can assess.

 

[wysdoc]

Your post said, "Additionally, I can do my rotations in the Texas Medical Center which is an amazing hospital system."

I don't generally chime in on the X-vs-Y threads unless I see an inaccuracy, and I don't believe this is accurate.
UTMB students rotate at Galveston hospitals, the TDCJ hospital (prison acute care facility), suburban clinics like League City and Texas City, and some rotations in Tyler. Sometimes inpatient psych in Houston, but not at TMC.

TMC hosts med students from McGovern, Baylor, and Texas A&M.

 

[tyranid441]

Your post said, "Additionally, I can do my rotations in the Texas Medical Center which is an amazing hospital system."

I don't generally chime in on the X-vs-Y threads unless I see an inaccuracy, and I don't believe this is accurate.
UTMB students rotate at Galveston hospitals, the TDCJ hospital (prison acute care facility), suburban clinics like League City and Texas City, and some rotations in Tyler. Sometimes inpatient psych in Houston, but not at TMC.

TMC hosts med students from McGovern, Baylor, and Texas A&M.

If you go down to Hospital Sites on UTMB's website about clinical education (Student Information) then included in the list of options for Hospital Site rotations (the link is in the PDF) are hospitals in the texas medical center including Houston Methodist.

 

[tyranid441]

Prestige/status are nebulous and hard to assess. I agree with above - as long as on match lists others have matched into what you want, it is also theoretically possible for you to. Yes that doesn’t tell the whole picture but that’s the only data we have. The rest are personal factors that you can assess.

This is very true, I guess I just need to look more into Larner to see how much of a personal match it is compared to UTMB which I am much more familiar with.

 

[wysdoc]

If you go down to Hospital Sites on UTMB's website about clinical education (Student Information) then included in the list of options for Hospital Site rotations (the link is in the PDF) are hospitals in the texas medical center including Houston Methodist.

From my knowledge not typical

 

[tyranid441]

First off, your mind will change during medical school in terms of specialties. Majority of students completely switch after rotations. Also, being close to friends and family is really important as you never know what can happen (family emergencies, support systems, homesick, etc). Saying that, both medical schools get about 1 neurosurgery match per year (in 2019, UTMB actually had about 2 neurosurgery matches).

You honestly can't go wrong here, but I personally would say UTMB for two reasons: location (Texas > Vermont in terms of weather, friends, and family) and UTMB had a broad range of competitive matches in 2021 (about 6 ortho matches apparently??!). UTMB would not be at a disadvantage when compared to Larner. Both schools would both provide you enough opportunities to go to whatever specialty you want.

UTMB Match lists: Match Day

Larner Match lists: Match Lists

Seeing those matches is definitely encouraging. And yeah I am sure I may change my mind however I just want to make sure I am setting myself up to have the possibility of achieving what are my current goals. Your points are definitely sound, seeing my friends and family is a huge plus

 

[LunaOri]

Galveston is hot and humid. Burlington is cold and snowy. Which climate do you prefer?

 

[photovoltaic123]

Seeing those matches is definitely encouraging. And yeah I am sure I may change my mind however I just want to make sure I am setting myself up to have the possibility of achieving what are my current goals. Your points are definitely sound, seeing my friends and family is a huge plus

This wasn’t mentioned on the thread earlier, and I missed this when I read the thread originally, but I think UTMB appears to match more broadly because they have a class size nearly twice as high as Larner, so they likely have a class size that reflects a more diverse range of specialty interests. So I guess if you didn’t see certain matches (or a smaller number) at larner, it implies there wasn’t enough student interest that year. I did see quite a few prestigious matches on larners list too. You can’t go wrong picking either school in any case.