UTSW vs Baylor

[luna0720]

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Hello! I'm sure a lot of threads have posted this before, but I wanted to get some thoughts on other factors that are important to me as well!

UTSW (prematched!)
Pros

• College system (came from large public school and having this was very appealing)
• Parkland!
• Close to family

Cons

• In-house exams (not sure how important this will be)
• Internal ranking for sem 2 and 3. Graded clinicals (again, I'm not too sure how much stress this provides on students)
• Further away from SO (but will prob be only LDR for one year)

Baylor
Pros

• True p/f all 4 years!
• NBME-style exams

Cons

• Temple (Go here often for work, and absolutely cannot imagine myself living here)
• Lack of structured 1-on-1 support? (I'm not entirely sure how true this is, but baylor seems to have less faculty advising and small groups like the college system provides at UTSW. I would love to talk to current student about this)
• Houston housing (Apartments seem a lot more expensive around TMC area and parking is expensive)

Summary: All the clinical opportunities are equal to me, and as someone who doesn't know what they want to do, these schools will be great. However, I find myself being less stressed at Baylor, but UTSW seemed to have a tighter knit community and faculty mentorship from the college system.

 

[bojanglesss]

i've seen a lot that the general sentiment is that if you absolutely can not do temple, don't rank it #1. I believe Dean Vallejo said this too

 

[obiwan]

Is the cost the same ? I personally would not want to live in Temple if there was that possibility but thats just me

 

[Frostrow]

If someone is towards the bottom of Baylor's interview ranks, then they are likely heading towards Temple. If you dont know your rank and dont want to go to TEmple, how can you rank it above UTSW (or any other school)

 

[chartingappseas]

If someone is towards the bottom of Baylor's interview ranks, then they are likely heading towards Temple. If you dont know your rank and dont want to go to TEmple, how can you rank it above UTSW (or any other school)

This is false, actually.

The campus assignments are randomized. However, after the assignments have been made, you could be on the wait-list for a spot at Houston, if you were assigned to Temple, at which point the wait-list would be based on your committee ranking.

I pre-matched, and I'm honestly torn between the Temple and Houston campuses.

Some Temple pros:
*The smaller class size at Temple means the student-faculty ratio is incredible!
*The cost of living is lower in Temple.
*It would be hard to get lost in the shuffle in Temple. There's no traffic. There's no $300/mo parking permit fee for convenient parking. (Houston does have a parking pass that's like $100/no for a remote lot, and then you could take a shuttle into campus, but that sounds like a real pain, esp for $100/mo.)

The curriculum is the same, and there are still opportunities to do clinical research with Baylor faculty based in Houston.

If you hate the possibility of Temple, maybe don't rank Baylor first though.

 

[Frostrow]

This is false, actually.

The campus assignments are randomized. However, after the assignments have been made, you could be on the wait-list for a spot at Houston, if you were assigned to Temple, at which point the wait-list would be based on your committee ranking.

I pre-matched, and I'm honestly torn between the Temple and Houston campuses.

Some Temple pros:
*The smaller class size at Temple means the student-faculty ratio is incredible!
*The cost of living is lower in Temple.
*It would be hard to get lost in the shuffle in Temple. There's no traffic. There's no $300/mo parking permit fee for convenient parking. (Houston does have a parking pass that's like $100/no for a remote lot, and then you could take a shuttle into campus, but that sounds like a real pain, esp for $100/mo.)

The curriculum is the same, and there are still opportunities to do clinical research with Baylor faculty based in Houston.

If you hate the possibility of Temple, maybe don't rank Baylor first though.

Thanks for your reply. I hope the admissions office makes their methodology more transparent or forks off Houston and Temple as two distinct choices.

 

[chartingappseas]

Thanks for your reply. I hope the admissions office makes their methodology more transparent or forks off Houston and Temple as two distinct choices.

You're welcome! Hopefully it helps as you make your decision 🙂

They sent an email on January 23rd regarding campus selection, and I've shared a quote from that below in case it's helpful! (I'm not sure if the email was sent to everyone who interviewed or just those who pre-matched.) They also talked about it openly at the open house I attended in Houston, where they basically communicated the same thing as the email.

"Shortly after Match Day, students who match to the MD program will receive a link to the campus selection survey. Please note that this process applies only to matched MD applicants. All MSTP (MD/PhD) accepted applicants are assigned to the Houston campus.

MD students may indicate a preference for either the Houston or Temple campus. Campus assignments are made through a computerized selection process and are subject to campus capacity. Assignment notifications will begin in mid-March. If your preferred campus is not available during the initial assignment, you will be placed on a waitlist for that campus. Placement on the campus waitlist is determined by Admissions Committee rank, and movement from the waitlist occurs as space becomes available."

 

[luna0720]

hi everyone! I decided to rank UTSW first! Thank you everyone for your input!

 

[chartingappseas]

hi everyone! I decided to rank UTSW first! Thank you everyone for your input!

Congratulations!
And I bet having your family support network nearby at UTSW will be really valuable.
Good luck in med school, future doc! 🙂