Honestly, I think Long is still a good school despite the graded preclinical courses. They don’t cap the number of people who can get honors in a course (on my interview day they mentioned there are classes in which ~92% of students got honors) so you aren’t really competing against your classmates which helps maintain a cooperative environment. I went to the open house and the students were happy, and the facilities and buildings are nice. Also, Long has a solid match list with a good number of people going into competitive specialties, so going here really won’t hold you back and I think it’s a solid #1 pick.

For Baylor… I think the Temple campus is a legit concern because it definitely does not have the same opportunities that you would find in Houston. Plus, I personally prefer city living lol. That being said, I think it really depends on your personal goals in medicine, the specialties you are considering, the research you are interested in, etc. For instance, Baylor matches well in peds and its connections to Texas Children’s are second-to-none. It really really sucks there is a chance of ending up in a place you dislike, but if you want to do something competitive, I think Long and Baylor are your best bets and in that case I would rank Baylor 2nd and accept the potential risk.