UTRGV vs Texas Tech El Paso

[Phantom95]

El Paso (PLFSOM)
Pros

• small class size
• Get to see advanced pathologist and work with the under-served.
• Has been established longer, might have more connections to residencies
• Get to see advanced pathologies and work with the under-served while learning Spanish.

Cons

• More expensive
• the environment there does not seem healthy, as in during my visit in November the students seemed to not really want to be there, with 90% of whom that were asked their reasoning of why they chose the school was because they matched. the remainder said due to financial aid and that it was their hometown.
• 14 hours from family

UTRGV
Pros

• Most students seemed to genuinely want to be there
• Most affordable school
• Small class size
• Get to see advanced pathologies and work with the under-served.

Cons

• New, might still be trying to figure out their curriculum
• New, might not have as many connections to prepare for competitive specialties
• Not sure if a Con but plastinations instead of cadavers for gross anatomy might not best prepare for surgical specialties.
• 6 hours from family

Summary: I liked both schools, PLFSOM was nice but the environment there during my interview left me with a bad feeling. Both schools are near the border so I think they might give me similar experiences with the community. However, UTRGV seemed like a better environment overall. I am interested in surgery and want to go to a school that will best prepare me for that, though I am open to pursuing other specialties as I gain more insight into them through my rotations.

Any comments concerning thoughts and insights into reasoning for ranking each school would be greatly appreciated.

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