2010-2011 Texas A&M Application Thread

[TheTruckGuy]

At the end of the day, 80 people should not have acceptance spots right now. What about everyone else in the state that didn't match or weren't offered an interview?

If I'm not mistaken, no one that is currently in this problem matched to A&M, they all pre-matched. And some of them even held pre-matches to multiple schools, but chose to rank their A&M pre-match above the others therefore forfeiting their other pre-matches.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[eli20]

Well obviously you are one of those people who think physicians should be altruistic punching bags and should just feel so lucky and warm inside because they were given the gift of an acceptance. I don't prescribe to this world view. There is a middle ground between being entitled and being negligently altruistic.

 

[Admiral]

At the end of the day, some of you all really don't realize how regrettable of an incident this is and how it's a blackeye for the admissions department and school at any medical school in this country.

Yes, there was a major screwup and 80 people got offers that should not have. If you think any school wants that on their record, you're just being ridiculous.

TMDSAS is meeting this year. I'm sure this will be a hot topic and changes will be made. Truth be told, schools became far too lax, IMO, with pre-matches and matching offers. I don't think Texas schools were allowed to offer pre-match acceptances up until maybe five years ago.

Look at the bright side. Texas will probably become a lot more selective and stingier about what gets sent out when. Many medical schools are still interviewing right now. It's been over and done with in Texas for a month now. Hopefully no one will have to experience what you all are going through since it will just be that much tougher to get a pre-match spot and when match does happen, the numbers will jive.

So, for the people that got the short end of the stick, I'm sorry. I truly am. It's heart-wrenching to work this hard and have to sit out another year. The upside is that you are guaranteed a spot in a medical school which is a very special thing.

 

[Jaybie86]

At the end of the day, 80 people, mostly in Texas, were offered admissions to a medical school class that should not have been. So, some of you all can check your entitlement and self-righteous attitude out the window. So, some people are saying "it's too late to find a job", this that and the other.... what would you have been doing right now if you hadn't matched? Again, 80 people should not have had acceptances. 80 people would have to be deciding if they want to continue to apply to med-school or move on with their life. Or, find a new job. Or, find a graduate program.

Unfortunately, this is the harsh reality of the real world.

Ok, I've been staying out of this forum because I prefer the facebook group, where only the people who are actually IN this situation are able to tell us how to feel about it...

but I have to respond to you, Admiral. Your understanding of the situation is a little flawed. Yes, while it's true that if A&M hadn't made this mistake there would be 80 people who hadn't gotten an acceptance at all (and might be trying to figure out what to do with their lives if they don't get accepted somewhere else) the problem is that there are 170 who were completely qualified to get in. If there is a random selection to determine who gets in this year, some of the "top 170" in the class will be chosen to defer over a less qualified applicant in the bottom 80.

And as far as the whole argument about a year off being essentially "the best thing that could happen" to us...MANY of us have already had a year off. I've already had two years off, waiting for a spouse to finish a MS. They were awesome years filled with great experiences, but it's time to start school.

To those of you who aren't in this situation, you are entitled to your opinions about them in this thread...but try to refrain from sounding non-sympathetic, harsh, or jealous that we have a spot in medical school at all (which at least 170 of us earned for THIS year) if you aren't fully educated on the issue.

To those of you who are in this situation and are sick of hearing the opinions of people who don't understand fully what is going on, check out the facebook group! Strangely, the morale is a lot higher there than it is on here.

 

[Admiral]

If I'm not mistaken, no one that is currently in this problem matched to A&M, they all pre-matched. And some of them even held pre-matches to multiple schools, but chose to rank their A&M pre-match above the others therefore forfeiting their other pre-matches.

If that's the case, I did misunderstand the situation. I thought it was a match day issue since it came to be known around the day match went out.

Either way, changes need to be made in the system b/c the schools were getting careless with pre-matches. I'm not excusing or absolving what happened here.

 

[Jaybie86]

Uhhh.... if you're worried about money, you chose the wrong profession.

I know a handful of professions and fields whose annual bonus is larger than what most physicians make per year. Depending on the size of your school, you will likely be graduating with people who are making $100K+ staright out of undergrad. The problem is, those levels are basically non-existent when you're dealing with the life sciences which are very common amongst pre-med students. Personally, I would never want to look for a job with just an undergraduate biology degree. I don't think I would ever be happy.

Also, would you have held this attitude when you interviewed and were posed a hypothetical if the adcom screwed up?

Admiral, what bubearmed was referring to has nothing to do with finding a job in life sciences right out of undergrad. The issue is that, assuming we all retire at the same age regardless of when we matriculate, we will have lost one full year with a physicians salary AFTER med school/residency/fellowship, because we will finish all that a year later. Depending on the specialty, that can be a very significant amount of money. While it doesn't mean that we are going into this profession for the money, it can definitely be considered money that we would have had were it not for this situation--and that's frustrating for some people.

 

[doctor freak]

That's exactly the right attitude. I hope everything works out for you in the end.

I read these comments and it seems like some people expect to get into medical school straight out of undergrad.

Taking a year off..... could be the best thing that ever happened to you.

You're joking aren't you? None of us are "expecting" to get into med school straight out of undergrad, for your information, we DID get into medical school in NOVEMBER and the acceptance letter said we would matriculate this July. and being forced to wait another year without a choice to go to another school after match day is the issue here. Clearly you're not in this position, and do not understand the situation fully, so I suggest you keep your opinions to yourself. And please, remove yourself from that wonderland.

 

[Admiral]

You're joking aren't you? None of us are "expecting" to get into med school straight out of undergrad, for your information, we DID get into medical school in NOVEMBER and the acceptance letter said we would matriculate this July. and being forced to wait another year without a choice to go to another school after match day is the issue here. Clearly you're not in this position, and do not understand the situation fully, so I suggest you keep your opinions to yourself. And please, remove yourself from that wonderland.

And I apologize to you for misunderstanding the situation.

When people start talking about lawsuits and loss income potential, it makes me wonder why you're even here to begin with?

 

[eli20]

I sincerely hope you are not someone in a position of medical leadership. You're lack of understanding about reality is disconcerting.

 

[Jaybie86]

When people start talking about lawsuits and loss income potential, it makes me wonder why you're even here to begin with?

While many physicians do pro bono cases, it is overall not considered a volunteer position. The education is extremely expensive, and both education and career involve tremendous amounts of work. All people are saying is that, potentially, that lost year of income could have paid for the entire medical education. Or heck, a whole lot of charitable contributions. It is not likely that anyone will be able to work hard enough to match that income in their year off.

 

[SammyfromAustin]

.

 

[Admiral]

We were not told an hour ago that we got accepted. We were told in November at which point many people stopped looking for other acceptances (I for one turned down an interview) because we were satisfied. You can call us whiners and make yourself into some righteous giver of advice, but if you don't understand why this is completely a wrongdoing and completely not our fault I don't think you see the situation clearly.

And I am sorry that that happened to you.

Believe me, no admissions department at any school wants something like this to happen. I can guarantee you that A&M will become much more difficult to get a pre-match from for the Class of 2016 and beyond not just because 80 people already have seats in the worst case scenario.

I think pre-matches are a bit ridiculous to begin with, but that's just me.

 

[Admiral]

I sincerely hope you are not someone in a position of medical leadership. You're lack of understanding about reality is disconcerting.

Rest assured, I am not.

I'm just going to shoot myself in the foot with the mods here on this one, but I really don't think that highly of SDN b/c I do see a lot of people with self-righteous attitudes and the sense of entitlement. Clearly, I took that bias and unfairly applied it to many of you. For that, I am sorry.

The thing is, no school wants this to happen. It was a perfect storm that had been brewing for years. Some schools had become too loose with pre-matches.

 

[TheTruckGuy]

I'm just going to shoot myself in the foot with the mods here on this one, but I really don't think that highly of SDN b/c I do see a lot of people with self-righteous attitudes and the sense of entitlement.

It's not SDN, google "millennials."

 

[Admiral]

It's not SDN, google "millennials."

Believe me, I know.

I'm not coming back here, and I'm sorry this is happening to you all. I really am. I'd definitely be upset as well.

It really grinds my gears and spurred me to create an account when a lot of you have a spot in a medical school.... hopefully you will start in August 2011. But, with so many people graduating without jobs and being forced to either go home, be underemployed, or go back to graduate school, I think medical school, even waiting a year, isn't that bad of an option.

 

[kedrin]

sooo whats up with Texas Tech sending out offers of acceptance today?

 

[ninefivethree]

sooo whats up with Texas Tech sending out offers of acceptance today?

love the transition lol

 

[etherealbreeze]

If you're concerned about money, you should have stated that in the interview. Or, did you bring it up in the essay?

At the end of the day, 80 people should not have acceptance spots right now. What about everyone else in the state that didn't match or weren't offered an interview?

Is it about the patients, or the money?

I turned down an acceptance from an out-of-state school as well as Texas schools once I received a pre-match from TAMHSC. I did that because I knew if I gave it up early, then other students will get that seat. So FYI, there are many students like me who received multiple offers but are now stuck in the same rut. Please don't assume to know what we are going thru.

 

[etherealbreeze]

A. First of all, on behalf of most students, I want to tell you that we do NOT want to start off by talking about lawsuits. We, the students, are NOT interested in suing Texas A&M or giving it a bad name in public. There are several reasons for this, including that we have friends who are attending this school and we ourselves want to attend it despite all this confusion. I personally fell in love with Texas A&M HSC so I would not want to give this school a tarnished reputation.

B. Please undersand that although we are upset, we are still on YOUR side. We want to help you find a honest solution to this problem. There have been many suggestions to remedy this situation on facebook groups. Some of them are:

1. Increase Class Size by atleast a few students

2. Increase monetary compensation.

I know you have said there are not enough funds... but there is NO other way around this. Cut some salaries, cut maybe even some minor jobs and cut funding for unnecessary expenses. If needed to, BORROW money form the state or ask the rich of the Texas for some grants and donations. Do you really want to punish the young students of Texas? I want to repeat: THERE IS NO ALTHERNATIVE TO COMPENSATION.

3. Increase tuition rate.

I say this because even if you raise more funds, there may not be enough to pay full-rate tuition to all 50 - 60 deferring students. So, for each student entering Class of 2015 that does not defer, raise the tuition by $1500 to $2000. This would give you upto $340,000 in extra funds. Yes, I know it's difficult to raise tuition immediately. But extreme circumstances call for extreme measures. For students that are not happy about tuition rate, please consider that raising tuition bumps it up from $13000 to $15000 per year. This is STILL much lower tuition that most states. I understand that it is unfair to have students pay more money for a mistake that is made by the TAMHSC administration. However, I would much rather pay $2000 more each year than have some of my classmates (or myself) kicked out for a year when I know how hard they have worked to get here.

C. Finally, I want to reiterate that forcefully deferring students is NOT AN OPTION. It is unbelievable that you can even consider that. We chose Texas A&M because we fell in love with the campus, we admired its ethical stances and believed the Dean when he said students are treated with utmost respect. I had so many friends at the medical school who talked about how much they enjoyed their stay at this school. We really do LOVE this school. If forced deferrals happen, how can we ever believe anything that you say? When we were accepted to Texas A&M HSC, your letter clearly stated: Welcome, Class of 2015. You guranteed us a spot. Now you are saying that if we are forced to defer, we are guaranteed a spot the next year. How do you honestly expect us to trust your word again?

 

[rjmn]

Believe me, I know.

I'm not coming back here, and I'm sorry this is happening to you all. I really am. I'd definitely be upset as well.

It really grinds my gears and spurred me to create an account when a lot of you have a spot in a medical school.... hopefully you will start in August 2011. But, with so many people graduating without jobs and being forced to either go home, be underemployed, or go back to graduate school, I think medical school, even waiting a year, isn't that bad of an option.

Don't let the door hit you on the way out!

 

[ninefivethree]

A. First of all, on behalf of most students, I want to tell you that we do NOT want to start off by talking about lawsuits. We, the students, are NOT interested in suing Texas A&M or giving it a bad name in public. There are several reasons for this, including that we have friends who are attending this school and we ourselves want to attend it despite all this confusion. I personally fell in love with Texas A&M HSC so I would not want to give this school a tarnished reputation.

B. Please undersand that although we are upset, we are still on YOUR side. We want to help you find a honest solution to this problem. There have been many suggestions to remedy this situation on facebook groups. Some of them are:

1. Increase Class Size by atleast a few students

2. Increase monetary compensation.

I know you have said there are not enough funds... but there is NO other way around this. Cut some salaries, cut maybe even some minor jobs and cut funding for unnecessary expenses. If needed to, BORROW money form the state or ask the rich of the Texas for some grants and donations. Do you really want to punish the young students of Texas? I want to repeat: THERE IS NO ALTHERNATIVE TO COMPENSATION.

3. Increase tuition rate.

I say this because even if you raise more funds, there may not be enough to pay full-rate tuition to all 50 - 60 deferring students. So, for each student entering Class of 2015 that does not defer, raise the tuition by $1500 to $2000. This would give you upto $340,000 in extra funds. Yes, I know it's difficult to raise tuition immediately. But extreme circumstances call for extreme measures. For students that are not happy about tuition rate, please consider that raising tuition bumps it up from $13000 to $15000 per year. This is STILL much lower tuition that most states. I understand that it is unfair to have students pay more money for a mistake that is made by the TAMHSC administration. However, I would much rather pay $2000 more each year than have some of my classmates (or myself) kicked out for a year when I know how hard they have worked to get here.

C. Finally, I want to reiterate that forcefully deferring students is NOT AN OPTION. It is unbelievable that you can even consider that. We chose Texas A&M because we fell in love with the campus, we admired its ethical stances and believed the Dean when he said students are treated with utmost respect. I had so many friends at the medical school who talked about how much they enjoyed their stay at this school. We really do LOVE this school. If forced deferrals happen, how can we ever believe anything that you say? When we were accepted to Texas A&M HSC, your letter clearly stated: Welcome, Class of 2015. You guranteed us a spot. Now you are saying that if we are forced to defer, we are guaranteed a spot the next year. How do you honestly expect us to trust your word again?

I don't know if you're a member of the larger fb group, but a member called the admissions office and discussed all these options. The responses were on there. Basically, they cannot increase the size of their class beyond a certain point without having a site visit first from the accreditation people. It takes a long time to set that up and they have one schedule for 2012 and they don't want to mess anything up by doing anything early. They say that at this point they cannot increase the amount of money compensation. There's a possibility that they might at some point in the future, but of course they're not going to say that right now. They cannot increase the tuition because they don't independently set their own tuition rates.

Go look at the posts on the fb group for more details.

 

[aggie08]

1. Increase Class Size by atleast a few students

They can't just increase class size. ACGME tells schools when to increase class size and by how much. Seat increases take years of planning and cannot just happen overnight.


2. Increase monetary compensation.

I know you have said there are not enough funds... but there is NO other way around this. Cut some salaries, cut maybe even some minor jobs and cut funding for unnecessary expenses.

In other words, lay their mistake on the secretaries, janitors or coffee shop employees? You are going to volunteer someone else's JOB be taken from them? Do you realize you are offering the idea of taking someone's livelihood? They may be working their butt off to feed their family and keep a roof over their heads. You can't just fire someone in order to give money to a med student as a bribe to take a year off.

3. Increase tuition rate.
I would much rather pay $2000 more each year than have some of my classmates (or myself) kicked out for a year when I know how hard they have worked to get here.

First off, raising tuition by $2000 would not prevent people who worked hard from being forced to defer - it would only increase the compensation they got for being the one with the short straw.

Second off, if A&M decided to pay for their mistake by forcing their students to take the monetary hit it would make this situation even worse. "Oh we screwed up and 80 people have to defer? Just tell the long-straw students to pay for it - 80 people will defer, but EVERYONE will get higher tuition rates. It's a win-win."

Not to mention, like the above person stated, it's highly unlikely they have any immediate control over their tuition costs.

C. Finally, I want to reiterate that forcefully deferring students is NOT AN OPTION.

Actually, it is an option and one A&M has already laid on the table. One way or another 80 people are deferring, whether they do it kicking and screaming or walking away happily with a full-ride is yet to be seen, but there is no way around it. Is it a fair option? No. Is it the best option? Absolutely not. Will it piss people off? For sure. But, it IS an option and one A&M has unfortunately made very clear they are prepared to utilize.

I am so sorry for you guys going through this. I truly hope something good comes out of it for all of you. I have enjoyed reading most of the posts here, though. There are some very intelligent and level-headed future med students hanging out here. I hope A&M gets it worked out soon. In the mean time, it'd be really nice of them to at least apologize to you guys. What the heck is this no-apologies attitude about??

 

[Jaybie86]

I am so sorry for you guys going through this. I truly hope something good comes out of it for all of you. I have enjoyed reading most of the posts here, though. There are some very intelligent and level-headed future med students hanging out here. I hope A&M gets it worked out soon. In the mean time, it'd be really nice of them to at least apologize to you guys. What the heck is this no-apologies attitude about??

Thanks for not attacking us for having feelings . We appreciate sympathy, when a lot of people are offering uneducated opinions.

I just wanted to add that they are being very apologetic. Although the initial email discussing forced deferrals seemed somewhat harsh, they have since acknowledged our feelings about all this and actually used the words "the buck stops here" as far as "blame" goes. It was a mistake, and they acknowledge that it was theirs. For me, that went a long way. There are a lot of issues to work through, but I'm hoping that the class of 2015 (and some 2016, perhaps) can work through this WITH admissions, not against them. Filo and Leila are great people, and this is tearing them up. Yes, it's also tearing us up, and it's fine to be upset about it--but I think a cooperative attitude is the best thing we can all adopt right now. I'm just looking forward to seeing what will happen!

 

[SammyfromAustin]

Can you post this statement about blame? To my knowledge A&M has yet to apologize, I would like to see.

 

[ninefivethree]

Can you post this statement about blame? To my knowledge A&M has yet to apologize, I would like to see.

I believe it was during a phone call.

 

[etherealbreeze]

I am so sorry for you guys going through this. I truly hope something good comes out of it for all of you. I have enjoyed reading most of the posts here, though. There are some very intelligent and level-headed future med students hanging out here. I hope A&M gets it worked out soon. In the mean time, it'd be really nice of them to at least apologize to you guys. What the heck is this no-apologies attitude about??

Yeah I see your point about not cutting the jobs of coffee shop employees and janitors. It's not fair for them to have to pay... but I guess it's ok for us to pay Honestly, I am expecting to see some high-level resignations resulting form this whole deferral affair. I don't see how this big of a mistake could have happened. They told us that these kind of mistakes happen all the time, but I called another school's Dean of Admissions and he admitted that to his knowledge this sort of forced deferrals has never happened before. I guess you guys are very sympathetic and understanding people by nature. But, for me, Leila and Filo feeling bad about this situation is somehow not making it ok for me. Even if they offer condolences, the possibility that once will get kicked out for a year is very scary.

 

[rjmn]

This situation could also be frightening for people who need to be enrolled full-time in school in order to receive health insurance.

 

[TheTruckGuy]

This situation could also be frightening for people who need to be enrolled full-time in school in order to receive health insurance.

Didn't the new healthcare law change that? Assuming you're still under 26 years of age.

 

[slammer922]

Didn't the new healthcare law change that? Assuming you're still under 26 years of age.

Yes,
Assuming that you still have parents around.
Assuming that your parents even have coverage.
Assuming that your parents want to pay extra to cover you.

thats just too many assumptions

 

[Doctorforlife]

If you're concerned about money, you should have stated that in the interview. Or, did you bring it up in the essay?

At the end of the day, 80 people should not have acceptance spots right now. What about everyone else in the state that didn't match or weren't offered an interview?

Is it about the patients, or the money?

Oh please don't give us this BS...the least we need is someone like you trying to make us feel that we don't deserve the acceptances we have gotten. Maybe some of us are concerned about money but anyways why should one year of our life be wasted for no fault of ours??? Btw some schools are offering seats to Texas a&m students to help them out...if you cannot help then PLEASE don't...

 

[etherealbreeze]

Oh please don't give us this BS...the least we need is someone like you trying to make us feel that we don't deserve the acceptances we have gotten. Maybe some of us are concerned about money but anyways why should one year of our life be wasted for no fault of ours??? Btw some schools are offering seats to Texas a&m students to help them out...if you cannot help then PLEASE don't...

Absolutely! And it's not just about one year of salary. What about one year of our lives??? What about people esp girls that want to start families when they finish residency? One year matters a lot then

 

[rjmn]

Yeah I see your point about not cutting the jobs of coffee shop employees and janitors. It's not fair for them to have to pay... but I guess it's ok for us to pay Honestly, I am expecting to see some high-level resignations resulting form this whole deferral affair. I don't see how this big of a mistake could have happened. They told us that these kind of mistakes happen all the time, but I called another school's Dean of Admissions and he admitted that to his knowledge this sort of forced deferrals has never happened before. I guess you guys are very sympathetic and understanding people by nature. But, for me, Leila and Filo feeling bad about this situation is somehow not making it ok for me. Even if they offer condolences, the possibility that once will get kicked out for a year is very scary.

I'll bet the Dean of Admissions is well-paid.

 

[packattack]

I just want to start out by saying congrats to everyone who got accepted, and I'm really sorry that you guys are going through all of this. I can't imagine how difficult it is to have your future in limbo now after you found out in November/December that you were accepted.

I'm an MS1 at A&M and I will say that admissions and all of the administration are incredibly helpful and they really do care about all of the students. They told us what has been going on with you guys, and I just wanted to let all of you know that all the current students sympathize with your situation.

As far as $$ compensation goes, I have no idea how they are going to afford more than $2000 for each student who wants to defer. The State is cutting COMs funding by 5-10%, so they already made the decision to close the Houston campus and increase tuition (by as much as 10% we've been warned). They've been making all kinds of cuts everywhere, and I know there are students who participate in the budget meetings.

Also, for all of you accepted students who are graduating from undergrad in May - I would seriously consider taking a year off. I went right from undergrad into medical school, and you can get burnt out pretty easily. You might think that would never happen to you, because you're sure this is what you want to do and undergrad was really easy for you, but taking a year off (if you can afford it) can really be beneficial for your mental health. Just my two cents!

 

[manojp77]

I was having trouble locating the facebook group...could someone post a link or what I should search for..thanks

 

[TheTruckGuy]

https://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_164331440273370

search 'Texas A&M 2015' and it's like the 4th result

 

[pdiddy916]

hey guys so it took a while but i was sent my app review from open records. I thought my interview day went well and looks like both of my interviewers agreed.... both scored 9.5 out of 10 and said i would be an excellent fit at a&m.

I ranked them as number 1 and ended up being put on Alternate List. I guess that shows how much importance interviews have. :-/

 

[BoDiddly]

hey guys so it took a while but i was sent my app review from open records. I thought my interview day went well and looks like both of my interviewers agreed.... both scored 9.5 out of 10 and said i would be an excellent fit at a&m.

I ranked them as number 1 and ended up being put on Alternate List. I guess that shows how much importance interviews have. :-/

I got my app review today too. Interesting to see the forms and comments. Makes this process seem a little less random.

I wish all states had this policy.

 

[eli20]

So you can make openrecords requests at any of the public med schools in TX? I'm interested to see what people had to say, even if it isn't really going to be useful information it would still be nice to have interview feedback.

 

[babycarrots]

So you can make openrecords requests at any of the public med schools in TX? I'm interested to see what people had to say, even if it isn't really going to be useful information it would still be nice to have interview feedback.

I would very much like to know this information, as well. Maybe it's been asked before, but does it cost anything?

EDIT: Nevermind, I went back and checked the thread, and on page 10 is a nice overview. Looks like you can ask any of the public schools for this information, and I don't think they charge. Would it be strange if I asked the school I matched with for their interview comments?

 

[pdiddy916]

what about this as an option. The last 80 people who were offered acceptances should be the first to be asked to defer. It seems like the fairest option.

I'm sure adcom has documentation of the order in which acceptances were offered?

 

[ieightkate]

what about this as an option. The last 80 people who were offered acceptances should be the first to be asked to defer. It seems like the fairest option.

I'm sure adcom has documentation of the order in which acceptances were offered?

I think the problem with this is that they tend to give out pre-match acceptances in big batches. It might be hard to find an exact "80 person" mark, because they may have accepted more than 80 in batch, or they may have accepted like, 30 in the last batch, and 60 in the second to last batch - how do you determine which 10 don't go, because technically they were all accepted at the same time?

To be honest, I feel like they must have had some way of ranking applications, they should just go down the list from top to bottom, asking people if they want to defer, and once they get to the bottom, make however many are left defer. Because if you think about it, the ones on the bottom theoretically shouldn't have gotten in anyway.

But the long and short of it is that this situation is incredibly complicated and it stinks both for A&M and the applicants. There is no easy answer unfortunately.

 

[kedrin]

Would it be detrimental to perform an open records request while being on the waitlist?

 

[paul411]

Would it be detrimental to perform an open records request while being on the waitlist?

Probably not at A&M since waitlist movement is going to be non-existent anyways.

 

[ninefivethree]

So you can make openrecords requests at any of the public med schools in TX? I'm interested to see what people had to say, even if it isn't really going to be useful information it would still be nice to have interview feedback.

I just googled it and apparently there's an Open Records policy at UTMB: http://www.utmb.edu/site-policies/open-records/. The address is [email protected]

How did other people word their requests?

 

[Cyguy]

I'm an OOS student who requested records through open records. I got them in less than 2 weeks and was able to see the letters of rec, the summary that admissions put together before my interviews, and the interviewer comments / scores. Don't expect to see much in the way of comments. Also, don't expect it to make you feel any better. I thought it would be nice to know, nice to see if the interviewers responses on paper were the same as in the interview. They were, and they ranked me in the top 5-10% of applicants they had seen and yet, I'm still on the waitlist which I think we can all agree is a soft-rejection, especially given A&M's current situation. Really, it was bittersweet to see that my interviewers were so positive and then realize, it makes no difference. If you are really interested, go ahead and contact OR, but think about it first because ultimately, it makes to difference and in my case, it just salted the wound.

 

[noshie]

So... If we are throwing around ideas to fix this situation, I think I have an amazing one...

I think that all reapplicants should not be deferred because they are already behind in terms of time. It would not be fair to defer them when they have spent years applying already... This would probably weed out a good bit of people.

 

[biceps brachii]

.

 

[Cyguy]

2 Questions:

1.) Do y'all think there is any benefit for me to make an openrecords request even though I was not invited to interview? I would like to see any written comments as to why I was not invited.

2.) If I waived my right to see my letters of rec (by signing next to a waiver statement on the TMDSAS Evaluation Form), do you think my openrecords request will include the letters of rec?

You aren't going to get much in the way of comments if you didn't get an interview. They only thing you'll see (I think) is the admissions summary of your file (i.e. their perspective on what you've presented them with). As far as your LOR's - you WILL get them once your request is processed.

 

[aggiefrog]

I requested records from schools I interviewed with and those I did not. From the schools that I didn't interview with, there has not been any new information regarding why I wasn't interviewed. I did recieve my letters of recommendation from one school but all the others sent rather accusatory emails asking if I was trying to see the confidential letters using my open records right when I had signed away my right to see them.

 

[doctor freak]

I requested records from schools I interviewed with and those I did not. From the schools that I didn't interview with, there has not been any new information regarding why I wasn't interviewed. I did recieve my letters of recommendation from one school but all the others sent rather accusatory emails asking if I was trying to see the confidential letters using my open records right when I had signed away my right to see them.

Do you mind mentioning which schools sent you the accusatory emails?