2023-2024 UT Tyler

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2023-2024 UT Tyler Secondary Essay Prompts (Interviews are in person this year)

1. Answer these checkbox questions:
  • I have direct ties to the East Texas region (born, graduated high school, community college, undergraduate, etc.)
  • I have indirect ties to the East Texas Region (family members, in-laws, visited East Texas frequently, attended summer camp in East Texas, etc.)
  • I have ties to a rural region with similar characteristics to the East Texas region (size, demographics, health disparities, etc.)
  • I do not have ties to the East Texas region; however, I’m interested in practicing in this area after graduation.
  • I do not have ties to the East Texas region but am still interested in attending the UT Tyler School of Medicine.
2. Are you a reapplicant? Yes/No

3. Are you a reapplicant to UT Tyler SOM? Yes/No
If yes, What have you done between the last application cycle to make your application stronger? (no character limit)

4. Why are you interested in applying to UT Tyler’s SOM? (500 words)

5. Describe any experiences/information you have in/about East Texas as it relates to our Mission Statement. (500 words)

6. Please share with the committee what unique skills, experiences, and/or qualities/characteristics and/or ideas you may have/possess that will help you contribute to the mission of UT Tyler School of Medicine if selected for the class. (500 words)

7. Please review the SOM Values and select the value that most resonates with you. Explain why. (500 words)

8. Optional question (highly recommend): Please use this space to share with the committee any additional information that may help us evaluate your candidacy that is not addressed elsewhere in the application. (500 words)

Good luck to everyone applying!

Interview Feedback:
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Was UT Tyler selective on who they send their secondary application to last cycle since they’re very mission focused?
 
countercurrentpremed said:
Was UT Tyler selective on who they send their secondary application to last cycle since they’re very mission focused?
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Yes, also because they have very FEW seats and can't handle a large volume of applicants.
 
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Members don't see this ad :)
New interview!

“The med school’s a great example of that. We sold the med school on the premise that we were focused on accepting students from East Texas, and if you were to look at the 40 students in this first class, something like 34 of them are from Smith County and our surrounding counties. There are a couple, a few students, a handful of students, six or so, that are from more distant areas like Dallas. Everyone’s from Texas. Every one of our students in the new med school are people from Texas but just a few from outside the region. But every single one of those who are outside the region, they have deep ties, family members, parents, someone here in East Texas. They bring that to the table with our goal of being able to meet the medical needs of our region by recruiting young people from our region, keeping them here, educating them here all the way through their residency training programs and having them return to their local communities and practice high quality medicine. I remember someone once told me, “You’re not gonna have very many kids from the region who have the capability of of being successful in medical school.” That requires a lot of a lot of book learning, so to speak, if I want to use that term. In that group of 40, we exceeded the average score for on the Medical College Admissions Test; we exceeded the average score for medical schools around the country. Our grade point average exceeds the average grade point for kids accepted in medical schools around the country. Each year we’re producing plenty of young people from northeast Texas, many young people from northeast Texas, who can do great things in medicine and engineering and business and education and all the different offerings of UT Tyler. So our medical school’s gonna do incredibly well, and I’m so pleased that we’ve had so much support from the local community and in moving it forward.”

Link: Dr. Kirk Calhoun: May 2023 update on UT Tyler growth and the legislative session – UT Tyler Radio 99.7 KVUT
 
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cranberrylimeade said:
New interview!

“The med school’s a great example of that. We sold the med school on the premise that we were focused on accepting students from East Texas, and if you were to look at the 40 students in this first class, something like 34 of them are from Smith County and our surrounding counties. There are a couple, a few students, a handful of students, six or so, that are from more distant areas like Dallas. Everyone’s from Texas. Every one of our students in the new med school are people from Texas but just a few from outside the region. But every single one of those who are outside the region, they have deep ties, family members, parents, someone here in East Texas. They bring that to the table with our goal of being able to meet the medical needs of our region by recruiting young people from our region, keeping them here, educating them here all the way through their residency training programs and having them return to their local communities and practice high quality medicine. I remember someone once told me, “You’re not gonna have very many kids from the region who have the capability of of being successful in medical school.” That requires a lot of a lot of book learning, so to speak, if I want to use that term. In that group of 40, we exceeded the average score for on the Medical College Admissions Test; we exceeded the average score for medical schools around the country. Our grade point average exceeds the average grade point for kids accepted in medical schools around the country. Each year we’re producing plenty of young people from northeast Texas, many young people from northeast Texas, who can do great things in medicine and engineering and business and education and all the different offerings of UT Tyler. So our medical school’s gonna do incredibly well, and I’m so pleased that we’ve had so much support from the local community and in moving it forward.”

Link: Dr. Kirk Calhoun: May 2023 update on UT Tyler growth and the legislative session – UT Tyler Radio 99.7 KVUT
Click to expand...
Im curious how them being regionally bias will turn out for them. How can they be sure that these students are not just going to go to a more populated city like Dallas areas to practice.
 
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cranberrylimeade said:
New interview!

“The med school’s a great example of that. We sold the med school on the premise that we were focused on accepting students from East Texas, and if you were to look at the 40 students in this first class, something like 34 of them are from Smith County and our surrounding counties. There are a couple, a few students, a handful of students, six or so, that are from more distant areas like Dallas. Everyone’s from Texas. Every one of our students in the new med school are people from Texas but just a few from outside the region. But every single one of those who are outside the region, they have deep ties, family members, parents, someone here in East Texas. They bring that to the table with our goal of being able to meet the medical needs of our region by recruiting young people from our region, keeping them here, educating them here all the way through their residency training programs and having them return to their local communities and practice high quality medicine. I remember someone once told me, “You’re not gonna have very many kids from the region who have the capability of of being successful in medical school.” That requires a lot of a lot of book learning, so to speak, if I want to use that term. In that group of 40, we exceeded the average score for on the Medical College Admissions Test; we exceeded the average score for medical schools around the country. Our grade point average exceeds the average grade point for kids accepted in medical schools around the country. Each year we’re producing plenty of young people from northeast Texas, many young people from northeast Texas, who can do great things in medicine and engineering and business and education and all the different offerings of UT Tyler. So our medical school’s gonna do incredibly well, and I’m so pleased that we’ve had so much support from the local community and in moving it forward.”

Link: Dr. Kirk Calhoun: May 2023 update on UT Tyler growth and the legislative session – UT Tyler Radio 99.7 KVUT
Click to expand...
It is interesting that they are bragging about higher MCATs and higher GPAs although I really want to know how many are there because of free money instead of elsewhere. :)

I am not so concerned that people wont stay back. It is not a requirement that 40 people stay back since there will be future batches and there will be slow growth of people wanting to stick around. What I do see is a growth of good students that might go to UT or A&M attending UT Tyler because they now have a medical school, possible research opportunities and a potential to attend UTT because if the regional and affiliation bias.
 
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I find such a tight focus somewhat frustrating. East Texas' physician shortage is still lighter than most of the rest of the state.

1685644703778.png
 
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Numpostrophe said:
I find such a tight focus somewhat frustrating. East Texas' physician shortage is still lighter than most of the rest of the state.

View attachment 372491
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The reason the dean gives in many interviews is that the mortality rate of E Texans is much higher than that in other parts of the state and it is thought to be due to delays in getting medical care or difficulties for patients to travel far to get it
 
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wysdoc said:
The reason the dean gives in many interviews is that the mortality rate of E Texans is much higher than that in other parts of the state and it is thought to be due to delays in getting medical care or difficulties for patients to travel far to get it
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Wont they start getting better care because of the hospital expansion needed to cater to medical school and the faculty to be hired to teach them etc?
 
texasvandy said:
Wont they start getting better care because of the hospital expansion needed to cater to medical school and the faculty to be hired to teach them etc?
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I would think so as well. My family still has to travel to Houston or Dallas for their specialists so we are definitely in need of something to bring more here!!
 
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Secondary Received! Verified June 7. Strong ties.

There are a lot of checkbox questions about ties that are new this cycle.

There is a reapplicant question. What have you done between the last application cycle to make your application stronger?
 
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@cranberrylimeade I got you, you can't see them until you verify your pre-requisite coursework
@wysdoc Seconday application here:

You have to select one of the following (but to my knowledge, no text box pops up for you to explain your choice)
  • I have direct ties to the East Texas region (born, graduated high school, community college, undergraduate, etc.)
  • I have indirect ties to the East Texas Region (family members, in-laws, visited East Texas frequently, attended summer camp in East Texas, etc.)
  • I have ties to a rural region with similar characteristics to the East Texas region (size, demographics, health disparities, etc.)
  • I do not have ties to the East Texas region; however, I’m interested in practicing in this area after graduation.
  • I do not have ties to the East Texas region but am still interested in attending the UT Tyler School of Medicine.
Are you a reapplicant? Yes/No
Are you a reapplicant to UT Tyler SOM? Yes/No
What have you done between the last application cycle to make your application stronger? (no character limit, pretty sure you only answer if relevant)

Secondary essay questions:
  • Why are you interested in applying to UT Tyler’s SOM? (500 words)
  • Describe any experiences/information you have in/about East Texas as it relates to our Mission Statement. (500 words)
  • Please share with the committee what unique skills, experiences, and/or qualities/characteristics and/or ideas you may have/possess that will help you contribute to the mission of UT Tyler School of Medicine if selected for the class. (500 words)
  • Please review the SOM Values and select the value that most resonates with you. Explain why. (500 words)
  • Optional question (highly recommend): Please use this space to share with the committee any additional information that may help us evaluate your candidacy that is not addressed elsewhere in the application. (500 words)

EDIT: I am IS, no ties to East TX.
 
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Members don't see this ad :)
Just received an secondary invite as well. I'm surprised since I'm originally from the eastcoast and currently live in Cent TX.

Granted, I grew up in a rural underserved area. Only minor ties to East Texas.
 
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Do they screen for secondaries? Other than the 3.0 GPA and 493 MCAT cutoffs I saw from last years thread
 
Under the prerequistite section, if we have have coursework credit from our current undergraduate institution that satisfies the prereq, do we need to input any AP or Dual Credit that also satisfy it?
 
Secondary received, IS, no ties to East TX.
 
Could someone clarify what this question means?

Describe any experiences/information you have in/about East Texas as it relates to our Mission Statement.

I don't have any experiences in East Texas, so when they say describe information I have about East Texas do they just want me to talk about how I understand that there is a physician shortage and how it affects the population?
 
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I think the question is pretty clear and leaves you room to answer it a couple of ways.

Y'all, read and interpret these questions and answer them from your own point of view...
Asking others what to write will make you all sound like clones of each other o_O
 
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In state. No ties. Received secondary last year. None so far. Primary sent 5/18.

Edit: received morning 6/14
 
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Based on data and their statements I wouldn't focus my time completing this secondary if you don't have ties to East TX or a strong connection to a rural community/rural health in TX. Maybe after I completed all other ones but the chances of no ties students getting even an interview seem pretty small compared to other programs. They barely interviewed a hundred people last cycle if I remember correctly.

And definitely don't over exaggerate your interest in rural health on your secondary without real world experience to back it up...you are not fooling anyone.
 
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medstudent13579 said:
Based on data and their statements I wouldn't focus my time completing this secondary if you don't have ties to East TX or a strong connection to a rural community/rural health in TX. Maybe after I completed all other ones but the chances of no ties students getting even an interview seem pretty small compared to other programs. They barely interviewed a hundred people last cycle if I remember correctly.

And definitely don't over exaggerate your interest in rural health on your secondary without real world experience to back it up...you are not fooling anyone.
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they interviewed about 220ish i think. but yes they’re looking for experiences for EVERYTHING. i had over 800 community service hours and they said that was where i was deficient in my reapp session.
 
cranberrylimeade said:
they interviewed about 220ish i think. but yes they’re looking for experiences for EVERYTHING. i had over 800 community service hours and they said that was where i was deficient in my reapp session.
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They said 800 community service was low?
 
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purkinjekitty said:
They said 800 community service was low?
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Find that hard to believe they said that without context from OP, but if you don't have full time work experience then you will definitely have to beef up your ECs elsewhere to show your interest in this schools mission.
 
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medstudent13579 said:
Find that hard to believe they said that without context from OP, but if you don't have full time work experience then you will definitely have to beef up your ECs elsewhere to show your interest in this schools mission.
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Not all community hours are same. If the school is looking to see if you served in a rural health center and your service is volunteering at high schools there is a big disparity.
 
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texasvandy said:
Not all community hours are same. If the school is looking to see if you served in a rural health center and your service is volunteering at high schools there is a big disparity.
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I agree. That’s what I was getting at, this school you will definitely need extensive rural health experience to justify your interest. 800 hours ‘volunteering’ a tutor is not going to move the needle.
 
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medstudent13579 said:
Find that hard to believe they said that without context from OP, but if you don't have full time work experience then you will definitely have to beef up your ECs elsewhere to show your interest in this schools mission.
Click to expand...
I have full time healthcare experience including continued during COVID. I only had 3 mins with them so I didn’t get much context either. But I had no “healthcare” volunteering
 
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cranberrylimeade said:
I have full time healthcare experience including continued during COVID. I only had 3 mins with them so I didn’t get much context either. But I had no “healthcare” volunteering
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I don't think you need healthcare volunteering if you had full-time experience personally, I had maybe 30 hours of volunteering total before working full-time. With the school being so heavily mission-focused, they are looking for very specific activities and secondary answers to help fill those few interview spots for non-east TX folks that it will come down to minute details. No one can possibly know what exactly they use to differentiate between two candidates, but lots of hours doing an activity doesn't always equate to better.

I would warn that, sometimes, reapplicant sessions can be difficult to navigate because they won't reveal to you exactly how they viewed your application against others. 3 minutes, or even 15 minutes for that matter, is just not enough time to fully evaluate and talk through an application when placed against 50 other similar students.

N=1, but in a reapplicant seminar for another school, the dean told me I didn't need to change anything and I had a great application, but at the very end hinted at doing an SMP or post-bacc program. I learned a lot more from that single statement than the other 25 minutes we spoke.

From what I've seen from your posts it seems like you're doing the right things, as a three-time applicant I can resonate with the frustration of this process. Best of luck to you.
 
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Reapplicant sessions are more useful for people who didnt get an interview than those who did. @cranberrylimeade did get an interview which means his application was not lacking. What is needed is to find out how they score before and after the interview to admit people which would not be told during this type of process.
 
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texasvandy said:
Reapplicant sessions are more useful for people who didnt get an interview than those who did. @cranberrylimeade did get an interview which means his application was not lacking. What is needed is to find out how they score before and after the interview to admit people which would not be told during this type of process.
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yeah i thought it was weird too that they were noting something from my primaries. i did get waitlisted so i’m sure it was just one of those things.
 
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cranberrylimeade said:
yeah i thought it was weird too that they were noting something from my primaries. i did get waitlisted so i’m sure it was just one of those things.
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It is important for you to figure out how they they decide on admissions (considering only interview when people are interviewed versus having a score before interview and then interview just adding more points).
 
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texasvandy said:
It is important for you to figure out how they they decide on admissions (considering only interview when people are interviewed versus having a score before interview and then interview just adding more points).
Click to expand...
i believe it’s being scored pre-interview and the interview adds more points

they have the four pillars which all have their own score (academic preparation index, ties, mission fit index and casper/duet). i don’t think they’ve shared if the interview fits into the fourth pillar or if it adds on.
 
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How is it possible that UT Tyler received my CASPer score but not my Duet score? I thought they were sent together.
 
I'm looking at the optional question right now, and I'm wondering if anyone had any ideas for what to talk about in this area. From my perspective, it seems like all the other questions are quite thorough, so I'm just stuck on what to put for this one.

Edit: Could I talk about COVID maybe? Maybe a challenge/leadership essay? Just some thoughts.
 
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Rite1234 said:
I'm looking at the optional question right now, and I'm wondering if anyone had any ideas for what to talk about in this area. From my perspective, it seems like all the other questions are quite thorough, so I'm just stuck on what to put for this one.

Edit: Could I talk about COVID maybe? Maybe a challenge/leadership essay? Just some thoughts.
Click to expand...
i think any of those 3 would work. i used it for a preemptive LOI since they don’t accept them later in the cycle.
 
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As someone from South Texas idk if i’m even gonna turn in this secondary. The regional bias is kind of insane.
 
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