McGovern vs. UTMB

[phytomed17]

I am grateful and privileged enough to be ranking Texas Tech, UH, UTMB, McGovern, UNT, SHSU, and UTRGV -- and I was hoping for some help. Most of it has been pretty intuitive for me, but I am really struggling with which I should rank for #1: McGovern or UTMB.

I am very interested in medical botany and integrative medicine, and I am trying to find medical schools that will allow me to stay connected with those fields. There is a VERY strong theme in my application around plants -- my mom is an herbalist, I have my MS in Ethnobotany, I am a member of the Society for Economic Botany and was Founder/President for my school's chapter of the American Botanical Society, and all my research in undergrad and publications in post-grad have been centered around phytochemistry and botanical anti-biotic drug discovery within the field of dermatology. It is a competitive aspiration, but my ultimate dream would be MedDerm - internal medicine + dermatology joint residency - with a clinical/research focus on skin-gut connection, MRSA, and other infectious diseases in dermatology.

That being said, I do not believe McGovern has many internal opportunities for integrative medicine (one interviewer loved my approach and was even like, "We don't have much of that in the school itself... but we can structure a program for you!!"). HOWEVER, they do offer an Elective Block in China where students can learn about acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine/Herbalism, and MD Anderson is also an affiliate institution with an Integrative Medicine Program led by potential PIs I could research under.

Alternatively, UTMB has integrative medicine integrated within its curriculum, offers an elective rotation in Complementary and Integrative Medicine, and has many faculty I could work with in the field.

So,

McGovern Pro/Con:

PRO: Higher Ranked, more funding(?)

PRO: Houston > Galveston

PRO: TMC

CON: Less accessible resources for integrative medicine

CON: Only one semester of P/F



UTMB Pro/Con:

PRO: Oldest TX med school with large(st?) class size -- large network

PRO: Internal integrative medicine resources

PRO: True P/F, chill environment

CON: Unranked/Less prestige

CON: On Galveston Island, more disconnected from external resources



What do y'all think? Would you choose prestige and location over lifestyle and (loosely) more applicable resources?

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[happy&hungry]

The first thing that comes to my head is even if McGovern itself doesn't offer opportunities of your interest, it puts you in a more central location to go find those opportunities. Also, you could theoretically START and spearhead those opportunities at the school! That'd be cool!

Do you think you'd be successful in a large class that's not P/F? If you think you might be a student who struggles with staying top-ish of the class/adjusting to the med school pace, perhaps P/F will be safer for you. If you're someone who always excels academically, maybe the non-P/F is an opp for you to shine!

 

[Kracin]

The opportunities available at the Texas Medical Center cannot be overstated, I'd recommend McGovern

 

[velvetcoffee]

The opportunities available at the Texas Medical Center cannot be overstated, I'd recommend McGovern

What do you think about them having a graded curriculum? A lot people say P/F matters A TOM.

 

[Kracin]

to clarify (someone correct me if I’m wrong)

UTMB - pass/fail preclinicals, graded clinics

Mcgovern - pass/fail first semester, graded preclinicals, graded clinics

FWIW i went to baylor with P/F preclinical. It does make a difference in stress levels for the beginning. But then you get to clerkships and realize that schools still find a way to stratify you, and that relying purely on clinical grades is also flawed.

I had success with research connection and career advancements in the Texas Medical Center. Additionally, the general sentiment is that preclinical grades aren’t weighed heavily in residency selection. So true P/F preclinicals decreases stress for the first half of school, but doesn’t seem to alter overall trajectory. Given my experiences, i would recommend people with the option to be in the TMC choose TMC - so in this case, McGovern

 

[Rite1234]

I’m kinda facing the same predicament. McGovern and the TMC definitely have stronger and more abundant opportunities. At the same time, UTMB is closer to family and I have stronger ties to this school. I’m not sure what is more worth it if I am interested in pursuing a competitive specialty: opportunity or location. Any advice is much appreciated.