UTSW vs McGovern

[browntexaspremed]

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McGovern
Pros

• Overall students seem happier, relatively relaxed, and friendlier
• A large percentage of remote learning opportunities (beyond just lectures) instead of making us come in-person
• NBME exams after first semester
• TMC resources cannot be overstated

Cons

• Graded preclinical after first semester 🙁 (no cap on how many people can get honors though)
• 2 year preclinical
• 5 hours from Dallas (where I'm from)

UTSW
Pros

• God-tier in-house residencies
• More prestigious (not sure how much this matters due to plethora CV-building opportunities at TMC)
• I'm from Dallas and my family is here
• P/F 1.5-year preclinical

Cons

• Way more stressful preclinical according to current students
• From my limited exposure, there seem to be more competition/Type A behavior here?
• Current students have noted that the school has too many in-person activities. I've been told that 4 or 5 days a week of visiting campus is the norm

Summary: I feel that regardless of whether I pick McGovern or UTSW, I can succeed if I apply myself. I prefer the majority of my learning to be asynchronous, and despise having to go to in-person events if I don't find them helpful. I am basically trying to figure out whether the extra prestige of UTSW is worth the added stress and more in-person activities.

 

[etxaccepted36]

Sounds like a tough choice. UTSW has a lot of their own opportunities; Clements is not the TMC but it holds its own with the added benefit of only housing one medical school. Additionally, you mention their in-house residencies which is a big factor for the future if you choose to not go OOS for your residency.

On the other hand, it’s hard to tell if UTSW is a good fit for you considering the culture and modality they have. You seem to want a more collaborative experience and value asynchronous learning, which McGovern can bring and UTSW certainly does not. I’m sure you would still find your people but having to be on campus a lot can be a knock.

Finally, the matter of being near family. How often do you feel like you would be able to visit them considering how busy you’ll be? At UTSW, you could be even more pressed for time than at McGovern… personally, I think you can take the distance factor out of consideration, but if you think you’ll visit often, you can disregard.

My personal ranking is UTSW > McGovern, but it sounds like you may want the opposite if you want to be happier (I promise I’m not saying that with an ulterior motive 😉 )

 

[FarmHand]

Any idea if you want a more competitive specialty?

If I was in your shoes I'd view UTSW as the better career move and being close to family/support system will be quite valuable during trying times. Its funny to hear they complain of lots of in-person mandatories, I guess some things are universal!

 

[browntexaspremed]

Any idea if you want a more competitive specialty?

If I was in your shoes I'd view UTSW as the better career move and being close to family/support system will be quite valuable during trying times. Its funny to hear they complain of lots of in-person mandatories, I guess some things are universal!

I am interested in more competitive specialties but I am not sure whether there will be much of a difference in my chances from either school as long as I apply myself. (Basing this off of previous match lists having very similar percentages of the class in competitive specialties)

 

[FarmHand]

I am interested in more competitive specialties but I am not sure whether there will be much of a difference in my chances from either school as long as I apply myself. (Basing this off of previous match lists having very similar percentages of the class in competitive specialties)

sounds like your heart and the vibes are pushing you towards McGovern. I think its a great idea to go where you feel you'd be secure and happy rather than second guess your decision down the line. The best part is that these are both great schools so there is no wrong choice!

As an aside, I feel that McGovern should also have many mandatory events 1st year too no? With anatomy dissections and clinical skills training I'd imagine going to campus is hard to avoid.