UT Southwestern Medical School & Parkland (Houston, Dallas: 2013, university, calculating)

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by mSooner

No. Parkland is fine. UTSW is fine--excellent actually. The Dallas Morning News is just...bored? I don't know. My husband is a med student and it hasn't made a hill o beans of difference.

As far as choosing a school based on what you think you might want to go into...honestly that is kind of a moot point at this stage, with those choices. He will likely change his mind over the course of the next 3 years and honestly choosing a residency program is way more important when it comes to specialties. Your rotation is likely not going to make *that* much difference in schools as big as all of these 3. He's better off doing away rotations in 4th year at strong programs for his chosen specialty AFTER he is sure.

He cant really go wrong. I'd choose UTSW of UT Houston based on scores/reputation alone, but I'd say Baylor and UTSW are equally excellent, (relatively) low cost choices. It really just depends on which he preferred.

If he is considering a residency in Dallas, UTSW does like to "take their own" so that may be something to think about, but it certainly isn't foolproof. Damn, if it were we wouldn't be planning to drop $10-20k on interviews next year!

Outstanding thanks.

ETA - what does your husband think about the strict bell curve grading system supposedly in place at UTSW? One of my son's few older friends in med. school is at UTSW and he says it's beyond competitive and actually demoralizing.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by mSooner

ETA:



He was likely accepted to one or both after the November "match" deadline. My husband had to decide between 3 schools and choose UTSW. After Nov. UTSW was his only Texas option unless Baylor had accepted him.

He was a "pre-match accept" (hopefully I have that term right) into UTH, he and and a few others were accepted the first day possible. UTSW was in January and Baylor was this week - apparently Baylor except for a handful of offers is very late relative to the other TX schools.

[mSooner]

No to hijack the thread but if someone's heart is set on UTSW then which undergrad college is better yet cheaper? UTD? Which good pre-med programs are located in our state?

Pre-med isn't really a program or a major, just a designation, meaning you are taking the certain classes required by the med schools you are applying to (and there is some difference depending on the school)

UTD and UT-Austin would be great options within Texas. So would A&M. Really anyplace, as long as you have good scores. I'd focus on doing a good job in undergrad, getting a good MCAT, etc. We did notice a lot of people from UT at UTSW, but I suspect it has more to do with the student population at UT than anything else.

[mSooner]

ETA - what does your husband think about the strict bell curve grading system supposedly in place at UTSW? One of my son's few older friends in med. school is at UTSW and he says it's beyond competitive and actually demoralizing.

First semester is pass/fail. The next 3 aren't so bad, just a lot of studying. I'll ask my husband again, but it really didn't seem like a strict bell curve.

What does stink is how they recently changed 3rd year grading. They went from a fail/pass/high pass/honors system to fail/pass/honors, but the attendings rarely and don't like to give honors (and are somewhat unaware of the change) so it has hurt students in that regard. UTSW also looks at shelf exam scores as a grade vs percentile which is really not how it should be. It can make it hard to get an A.

That being said, UTSW also ranks highly on residency director's lists, so while it is difficult, it hasn't seemed to hurt anyone yet.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by mSooner

First semester is pass/fail. The next 3 aren't so bad, just a lot of studying. I'll ask my husband again, but it really didn't seem like a strict bell curve.

What does stink is how they recently changed 3rd year grading. They went from a fail/pass/high pass/honors system to fail/pass/honors, but the attendings rarely and don't like to give honors (and are somewhat unaware of the change) so it has hurt students in that regard. UTSW also looks at shelf exam scores as a grade vs percentile which is really not how it should be. It can make it hard to get an A.

That being said, UTSW also ranks highly on residency director's lists, so while it is difficult, it hasn't seemed to hurt anyone yet.

Any input from your husband would be greatly appreciated. In recognition of your efforts I'll promise to use my blinkers for a while.

[mSooner]

Lol!

[mSooner]

Talked to the husband--UTSW apparently hasn't graded on a curve in a long time. PM me if your son has any more questions.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by mSooner

Talked to the husband--UTSW apparently hasn't graded on a curve in a long time. PM me if your son has any more questions.

Thanks. I'm sure he'll have a question or two for you all in a few days. I began using my blinkers this afternoon!

Thanks very much.

[dallasboi]

Originally Posted by EDS_

Q for students, grads and maybe staff.


Our son is sitting on some medical school offers. After more soul-crushing thought and research his "top 3 list" is exactly what it was a year ago - LOL. He has been accepted to all three and he wants to practice in Texas preferably somewhere in DFW.

1. UTSW
2. Baylor
3. UT-Houston

It's really complex but he has to kick either UTSW or UTH off the list or accept one of the three offers by 5/27. Just go with me on this.

To my real question. Clearly, UTSW has enjoyed a splendid reputation for many years. With Parkland's recent issues - IMO some are real others pure press-tripe - do you all see UTSW suffering in significant ways over the next several years?

I never knew this existed.

[Willsson]

3. UT-Houston

Originally Posted by dallasboi

I never knew this existed .

choke... cough... gag... Somebody call Dr. Red Duke... my head just exploded