Baylor v Maryland (OOS with a family)

[dillydally]

I've been accepted to the University of Maryland (OOS) and think there's a good chance I'll be accepted to Baylor (OOS). I'm having a really hard time deciding between the two. I'd appreciate any help deciding between the two.

Baylor Pro:
6 months to do whatever you want after basic science courses
Texas Medical Center is amazing

UMD Pro:
My brother, some cousins, and aunt are in Maryland/back east
Also has nice new facilities
Only 4 hours/day of lecture or lab (I can't remember what Baylor is like)
Living in the east (I've grown up in AZ) sounds fun


Obviously, UMD is much more expensive. However, I'm not factoring this into account, partially because I'm planning on doing HPSP (I don't want to discuss the merits of HPSP).

Is Baltimore really that bad? I'm married and will have 2 kids when school starts. Which place is better for families?

They are both good schools. Most people will probably say Baylor is better, but the more I think about it I'm not sure why.


Advice/opinions appreciated!

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[Dr Gerrard]

Houston would no question be better for a family.

This is based off of my experience watching the wire.

I think you would have to send your kids to private school in Baltimore.

I'm sorry I have no information on the schools

 

[Geekchick921]

It seems to me like you prefer UMD. No one is going to MAKE you live within the Baltimore city limits if you go there. Granted I'm unfamiliar with the commute in/out of that city, but I'm sure the suburbs would be a better option for a family. You are going to have to do more research on this, and SDN probably isn't the best place for it, as most of the posters here are not non-trads. The forums at City-data might be a good place to look.

I completely understand your situation. Personally, I'm going to be going to Temple for medical school. It's in the hood, if you didn't know. I have a 2 year old and another baby on the way. My husband and I have been looking into buying a house. We had more options in our price range within the city (we were looking in areas much better than around Temple), but the school district sucks and we didn't want to have to pay for Catholic school. Yesterday our offer was accepted on a house in the surburbs. It is only about a 25 minute drive down a major road to my school. It's also really close to one of the hospitals that takes medical students from most of the schools in the area for clerkships. The school district in that township is excellent, as well.

A quick Google search tells me that Ellicott City, MD, just outside of Baltimore, was recently listed on a 10 best list. Googlemaps tells me it's about a 25 minute commute to UMD School of Medicine, but I don't know what the home prices around there or anything are.

Point is, I'm sure you could find a family friendly area within a reasonable commute to either school, and the bad parts of Baltimore or the quality of the city's school district shouldn't be a reason to rule it out. Best of luck to you!

 

[cetac]

dillydally,

You're in a great position to be deciding between these two; honestly, you can't go wrong with either. I know very little about Baylor, other than they produce some stunning research and are known to have one of the best cost/education ratios of any med school (Admittedly, a purely subjective evaluation).

I can't speak of UMD on first-hand experience, but I currently have around half a dozen friends in their first year there and they seem to love it, especially the schedule. Here's how I'd like to put my evaluation of the school: if med schools were a stock market, and you wanted to put your money on a great company that's sure to skyrocket in the future, there's probably no better stock than UMD to buy. While other states are furloughing staff and cutting back on new building projects UMD is putting up new facilities left and right. They're already a solid school with a world renowned trauma center, and they're only getting better everyday.

As for Baltimore, I can speak from first-hand experience. Houston is a huge metropolitan center, Baltimore is a far smaller "alt" culture type of town with an abundance of artists, physicians, researchers, and poverty. Some people don't like it, admittedly, but I love it. Living in Baltimore gave me the chance to experience living on the East Coast in a city full of people that remind me so much of the cordial, relaxation I am used to being from the Midwest (Even more so than Houston).

As for having a family, you will have no issues whatsoever - both within, and outside of, city limits.

 

[Carbon inc]

Houston would no question be better for a family.

This is based off of my experience watching the wire.

I think you would have to send your kids to private school in Baltimore.

I'm sorry I have no information on the schools

Please do not perceive Baltimore solely as what is portrayed in The Wire. Of course the city is gonna look bad when the focus of the show is crime, drugs, prostitution, etc. All cities have these problems if you know where to look.

 

[samuraiR]

you can find some amazing places in the suburbs of bmore (columbia, elicott city, reisterstown, towson etc) and the commute will be about 20-25 minutes even during rush hour from any of those places. gl!

 

[HeresHoping62]

One other thing to consider is cost of living in Houston vs. Baltimore. If you would be looking to buy a house, Houston is SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper than Ellicott City/Columbia/etc etc. In general, $300k+ to get into a modest place in these areas.

 

[dillydally]

Thanks everyone. I probably should check out the City-data forums.

Either way, I'd like to be able to commute without driving, so we're probably looking for areas closer to the school (don't think we could afford the nicer suburban areas, anyway).

I was expecting to hear more Baylor love. I guess I am slightly partial to UMD and it's good to hear some validation.

 

[Stixman28]

One other thing to consider is cost of living in Houston vs. Baltimore. If you would be looking to buy a house, Houston is SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper than Ellicott City/Columbia/etc etc. In general, $300k+ to get into a modest place in these areas.

Maryland student here. I dont like baltimore... so I dont live there!

I love columbia, commute is a cinch. Maryland repeatedly is named the best schools in the country, and that is in large part to Howard county. consider it!

and about not driving. Youd basically have to live in baltimore not to drive. there are areas other than near the school of course, but maryland is very much a vehicular commuting state.

 

[samuraiR]

Maryland student here. I dont like baltimore... so I dont live there!

I love columbia, commute is a cinch. Maryland repeatedly is named the best schools in the country, and that is in large part to Howard county. consider it!

and about not driving. Youd basically have to live in baltimore not to drive. there are areas other than near the school of course, but maryland is very much a vehicular commuting state.

yea, unless ur metro accessible and heading into dc...ur driving. since baltimore and dc are fairly far... chances are that isnt an option

if you live in maryland, get a car...promise

 

[dillydally]

yea, unless ur metro accessible and heading into dc...ur driving. since baltimore and dc are fairly far... chances are that isnt an option

if you live in maryland, get a car...promise

What do you mean DC? Perhaps you are thinking of the undergrad campus in college park?

We have a car, but don't really want to get another one. Is it true that car registration in Maryland is way expensive?

 

[Hoody]

Maryland is A/B/C/D/F right? what is Baylor?

I would think P/F would be a slight bit less stressful than traditional grades....

 

[dillydally]

Maryland is A/B/C/D/F right? what is Baylor?

I would think P/F would be a slight bit less stressful than traditional grades....

Baylor is p/f, but all schools end up ranking students in one way or another. I've heard many times that there is little difference in pass/fail and regular grades.

 

[OoEeOoAhAh]

Baylor is p/f, but all schools end up ranking students in one way or another. I've heard many times that there is little difference in pass/fail and regular grades.

I would think that a pass/fail system, regardless of whether the school ranks or not, has a calming effect on the students. They chill out. I've seen this at a number of schools and I've heard from numerous students that they were so glad they went to a pass/fail school over their friends at ones with grades.

 

[samuraiR]

What do you mean DC? Perhaps you are thinking of the undergrad campus in college park?

We have a car, but don't really want to get another one. Is it true that car registration in Maryland is way expensive?

what i meant was if your in bmore ur gonna need a car... lol. The dc reference was me mentioning the only way you can survive in maryland w/o a car is if where your heading is metro accessible. Since bmore isnt you need a car.

I went to college park, i know the difference

 

[afob100]

Baylor is p/f, but all schools end up ranking students in one way or another. I've heard many times that there is little difference in pass/fail and regular grades.

I believe most schools that are pass/fail base their class rank solely on the clinical years.

At Maryland (with grades), they use a formula to calculate your GPA for years 1-2 and clinical years and combine them (with heavier weighting on the clinical years) to get an overall GPA. This then translates into a class rank.

The thing that irritates me most about Maryland's grading system is that it's not just A/B/C/D/F, it is actually H/A/B/C/D/F.

"An award of "Honors" is given to a student who receives a final grade of "A" and performs at a clearly outstanding level and/or who performs an additional scholarly effort."

http://medschool.umaryland.edu/osa/handbook/gpa.asp
http://medschool.umaryland.edu/catalog08/academic_grades.asp

I'm leaning toward a P/F school that I've been accepted to (even though I'm a MD resident) because of this among other factors. Maryland's grading system seems to create unnecessary stress during the pre-clinical years.

I would go for Baylor personally.

 

[Stixman28]

I'm leaning toward a P/F school that I've been accepted to (even though I'm a MD resident) because of this among other factors. Maryland's grading system seems to create unnecessary stress during the pre-clinical years.

I would go for Baylor personally.

the stress from med school has nothing to do with the grades, you'll see that soon enough. You'd have to be rich to make a decision like going oos over maryland due to something so piddling as the H/A. (generally its just top 10%)

 

[BreezyHJS]

OOS at Baylor is not the same as going out of state for most other schools. Tuition for OOS at Baylor is 19k. Once you buy a house and live there for a year you qualify as a Texas resident and the tuition drops to about 6k.

Here is the link I am looking at for this info http://www.bcm.edu/medschool/index.html

You could also check out the Baylor thread, or the FB 2015 group. Current students seem to be really helpful and responsive on the FB page.

 

[dillydally]

Once you buy a house and live there for a year you qualify as a Texas resident and the tuition drops to about 6k.

Buying a house is no simple task

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?p=9221609

Thank you for the advice, everyone.

I almost feel silly having this debate and thinking about Baylor when I haven't been accepted yet. The truth is that I'm not actually 100% planning on doing HPSP. If I go to Baylor I don't want to do HPSP, but if I go to UMD I do want to do HPSP, and if I do HPSP I need to send in my application really soon. Hence, I basically need to know if it's worth waiting around for Baylor, and I've been going back and forth. Right now I think I've decided it's worth the wait.

 

[BreezyHJS]

Buying a house is no simple task

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?p=9221609

Thank you for the advice, everyone.

I almost feel silly having this debate and thinking about Baylor when I haven't been accepted yet. The truth is that I'm not actually 100% planning on doing HPSP. If I go to Baylor I don't want to do HPSP, but if I go to UMD I do want to do HPSP, and if I do HPSP I need to send in my application really soon. Hence, I basically need to know if it's worth waiting around for Baylor, and I've been going back and forth. Right now I think I've decided it's worth the wait.

After reading the thread I thought you were looking into owning a house/townhouse/condo wherever you went to school - comprehension fail. My basic point was the being OOS at Baylor is generally comparable to a lot of IS tuitions.

Good luck on getting accepted to BCM and congrats on UMD!

 

[Coug42]

Is Baltimore really that bad? I'm married and will have 2 kids when school starts. Which place is better for families?

They are both good schools. Most people will probably say Baylor is better, but the more I think about it I'm not sure why.

Advice/opinions appreciated!

PM me if/when you get into BCM, I have some good advice for you. I turned down some good schools (including ones out east) for Baylor, and I have absolutely no regrets. Funny, I also grew up in AZ.

I am currently an MS1, was an OOS applicant, and I also have two kids (ages 1 & 3). My wife stays home and takes care of the kids, and so the cheaper tuition is definitely a plus. I don't want to get into anything about the HPSP, but the advice I received was that unless you are not currently in the military, do not do HPSP. There are other ways to get in-state tuition for years 2-4 even if you don't buy a house. I also live in a more suburban area just south of the med center/houston and we love it.

BCM is Awesome!

 

[URHere]

I grew up just outside of Baltimore, and I think you need to keep a few things in mind if you want to commute and raise your family there:

1) Schools vary greatly from one county to another. If you want great schools for your kids, look into Howard or Anne Arundel counties. If you end up in Baltimore city (or even most parts of Baltimore county, really), you will probably need to go the private school route. Many Baltimore private schools are Catholic schools, so that's also something to keep in mind.

2) Unfortunately, it isn't cheap to live in Howard or Anne Arundel counties. Even a 2 bedroom house or small townhome can cost upwards of 400k. Also, many new houses in those counties are 65+ only due to severe overcrowding of schools, so it can be hard to find an affordable house where you are allowed to have children.

3) If you end up in Howard or Anne Arundel Counties, your commute may not be as nice as you like. There is a light rail that is kind of like a bootleg metro, that goes very close to the U Maryland campus. However, light rail parking lots are notorious for car theft, and the light rail itself can be quite slow and inconveinent. Also, the best places to live aren't always light rail accessible (you could live in Glen Burnie or near the airport easily, but then you're stuck living in Glen Burnie...).

4) If you are going to drive (which really does make the most sense from a time standpoint), you will need to avoid rush hour traffic, which can reliably turn a 25 min commute into a 90 minute one. The best way to do this is to plan to be on campus by no later than 7:30 or 8am. On the upside, there is plenty of street parking at that time. If you show up later, garages will easily run you $20/day.

All in all, I think that Baltimore is a good city, but you do need to make some smart housing choices if you are bringing a family there.

 

[Stixman28]

I grew up just outside of Baltimore, and I think you need to keep a few things in mind if you want to commute and raise your family there:

1) Schools vary greatly from one county to another. If you want great schools for your kids, look into Howard or Anne Arundel counties. If you end up in Baltimore city (or even most parts of Baltimore county, really), you will probably need to go the private school route. Many Baltimore private schools are Catholic schools, so that's also something to keep in mind.

2) Unfortunately, it isn't cheap to live in Howard or Anne Arundel counties. Even a 2 bedroom house or small townhome can cost upwards of 400k. Also, many new houses in those counties are 65+ only due to severe overcrowding of schools, so it can be hard to find an affordable house where you are allowed to have children.

3) If you end up in Howard or Anne Arundel Counties, your commute may not be as nice as you like. There is a light rail that is kind of like a bootleg metro, that goes very close to the U Maryland campus. However, light rail parking lots are notorious for car theft, and the light rail itself can be quite slow and inconveinent. Also, the best places to live aren't always light rail accessible (you could live in Glen Burnie or near the airport easily, but then you're stuck living in Glen Burnie...).

4) If you are going to drive (which really does make the most sense from a time standpoint), you will need to avoid rush hour traffic, which can reliably turn a 25 min commute into a 90 minute one. The best way to do this is to plan to be on campus by no later than 7:30 or 8am. On the upside, there is plenty of street parking at that time. If you show up later, garages will easily run you $20/day.

All in all, I think that Baltimore is a good city, but you do need to make some smart housing choices if you are bringing a family there.

the drive can increase, but coming from 95 from the south, you're almost always going against the heavy traffic heading to dc. So i rarely hit traffic cept in baltimore itself. so my 20 min drive occasionally turns into 30-35. never been a 90.

also, student parking at umb is 33 dollars a month!

 

[URHere]

the drive can increase, but coming from 95 from the south, you're almost always going against the heavy traffic heading to dc. So i rarely hit traffic cept in baltimore itself. so my 20 min drive occasionally turns into 30-35. never been a 90.

Good point. I used to commute to Hopkins, and a good deal of my traffic happened North of Pratt St. UMB would require significantly less downtown time.

also, student parking at umb is 33 dollars a month!

Some schools have student parking? Man, I feel jipped...