UTSW vs. McGovern vs. Dell vs. UTMB

[medapplicantal]

I would first like to preface this by saying how grateful I am to have had the opportunity to interview at these places and to pre-match to UTMB. This cycle honestly feels kind of feels like a dream!

I am hoping to pursue orthopedic surgery as a specialty
I am also going to be on HPSP and participating in the military match process so that adds a unique layer of complexity to the situation.

if anyone has any more pros/cons or comments to add about any of the schools that you think I should know about I am open to hearing them

UTSW
Pros

• Seems to be the most prestigious of the schools
• 1.5 year pre-clerkship curriculum allows time for research or scholarly concentration
• Dallas is a new city to live in/explore
• Southwestern Medical Center has an enormous amount of opportunity and sub specialties
• new simulation lab
• P/F curriculum

Cons

• Worried about it being to cut-throat / competitive
• I hear they still rank their students (not really sure how much of a bering this has on a student's experience though)

McGovern
Pros:

• TMC, Memorial Herman and LBJ provides many opportunities and exposure to anything I could think of wanting to participate in
• Scholarly concentrations and career focus tracks sound interesting
• summer research program is an opportunity for research (takes summer away though)
• No student ranking

Cons:

• Only true P/F for the first semester
• I did not grow up in Texas but most people I ask would rank Houston the lowest of the cities to live in
• more traditional / potentially outdated curriculum
• concerns about competing with other medical schools in area for opportunities

Dell
Pros:

• I lived in Austin for a few months and loved it, my parents live there too (not a huge draw, I am used to living away from them)
• true P/F grading
• seems very collaborative and students seem very happy at the school
• 8% of students matched into ortho which I feel like is pretty good
• only 1 year of pre-clerkship classes allows time for research or dual degree – not particularly interested in a dual degree so don't think its worth making a decision based on that

Cons:

• Concerns about it being a "newer" school? - but I feel like there is no doubt that students are successful there
• not sure how I feel about the small class size (smaller student orgs, etc)
• Haven't heard as amazing thing about clinical experiences as compared to UTSW or McGovern
• I feel like the scheduling of STEP exams would be awkward with only 1 year of pre-clerkship

UTMB (pre-matched)
Pros

• Everyone seems very happy here, I honestly love the beach town vibes
• scholarly concentrations seem interesting
• true P/F and no class ranking
• my first MD interview so I got very excited about this school

Cons

• not as close to an airport – husband will be a flight away
• overall concerned with ranking higher than UTSW, McGovern, and Dell because I am not ready to let any of them go
• smaller city = less variety and abundance of opportunities

Summary: Again, I am very thankful to be in this position and attending any of these schools would be an amazing opportunity I want to make the right decision that balances my happiness and mental health while in school while also setting me up for success to achieve my goal of doing orthopedic surgery. I can't quite decide which factors ; prestige, location, etc, are more important to consider so really any help or insight would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks guys!!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[derpyderpderp]

Great options!! just curious how u ended up ranking ur schools?

 

[medapplicantal]

Great options!! just curious how u ended up ranking ur schools?

I ended up ranking UTSW>McGovern>Dell>UTMB
mostly based on wanting to pursue orthopedic surgery