2012-2013 University of Texas - Houston Application Thread

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Good luck to everyone applying this cycle!
 
OOS, primary sent! Letters won't be sent until late June :/
 
Will be an M1 here starting in August, I cant believe there's already a 2012-2013 forum! It feels like just yesterday I was filling out my application..If you guys have any questions, feel free to message me
 
Hey everyone,

This forum was a huge help for me as I went through a long and sometimes frustrating application cycle. I will be attending UT-H next Fall (top choice) and would like to pay forward all the advice that was given to me. If you have any questions feel free to PM me or post it on here and I'll be glad to help.
 
DCSB6 said:
OOS, primary sent! Letters won't be sent until late June :/
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By OOS, you meant out-of-state, right? If so, did you address why you want to go to school in TX anywhere in the primary (or do you think that will be school-specific within the secondaries)? With the 90% mandate for TX residents, it seems like OOS applicants really need to have some major motivations to go there but nowhere in the primary app seems to address that...

Thanks!
 
Good luck to everyone who is applying this year!
 
Good luck guys, hope to see all of you at interviews :)
 
top choice in Texas!!!! I visited here my freshman year of college and loved it!
 
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Definitely applying here! Good luck everyone save a spot for me :)
 
Hey everyone,

Just like others in this thread, this forum helped me immensely during my application cycle. I just lurked but although it stressed it sometimes, it did more good than harm! Feel free to message me any questions you may have. I was in the last application cycle so a lot of the stuff is still fresh in my head.

Good luck!
 
I was wondering if there is a secondary application for this UT Houston. I couldn't seem to find it online so I didn't know.
 
So assuming we send in our application now or have already sent them in, when should we expect to hear back on interviews and rejections?
 
First interview invite in last year's thread went out on August 15th, first interview day was September 2nd. They don't send out a confirmation email that they got your TMDSAS.
 
ZND said:
First interview invite in last year's thread went out on August 15th, first interview day was September 2nd. They don't send out a confirmation email that they got your TMDSAS.
Click to expand...

They do send out a conformation that they got our TMDSAS. Last year was the first year they did. We got it the first week in August.
 
c3.34 s3.34 taking MCAT July 6, but practices have been 32 so should be transmitted 8/7. Have extensive background working at MD Anderson's diagnostic laboratory where I developed a institution wide software for genome analysis along with shadowing and so on and so forth. What are my chances?
 
bhandal said:
c3.34 s3.34 taking MCAT July 6, but practices have been 32 so should be transmitted 8/7. Have extensive background working at MD Anderson's diagnostic laboratory where I developed a institution wide software for genome analysis along with shadowing and so on and so forth. What are my chances?
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obviously depends a lot on your MCAT score, but it will also depend on your PS and your letters.

I'm sure you know your GPA could be more competitive, but if you have something to grab their attention and get your foot in the door, you could have a chance.
 
I know my GPA is subpar; however, my last 60 hours are all upper levels @ 3.96. I suppose waiting to see what I get on MCAT is most important. Do they go through each application or do they have an automated system that screens?
 
Just submitted my primary, this is my top choice school. Best of luck to all!

Quick question: should I be worried about a 3.48cGPR 3.5sGPR with a 38 MCAT? I only ask because the TMDSAS stats seem a bit ominous for GPRs under 3.5
 
My MSAR indicates your MCAT in the 90 th percentile for that school and Im sure most schools and your GPA is average. With a few ECs on your resume and some good LORs I think you will get an interview by beginning of september. Plus you applied very early, nice!
 
That would be amazing. The surprising thing to me is that only 45.5% of TMDSAS applicants with above a 35 were accepted last year (111/244). Compare that to 47.5% of applicants with a 34-35 (156/328). Unless I'm reading this wrong:

http://www.utsystem.edu/tmdsas/Final Statistics Report-EY11-Medical.pdf

I guess there's some truth to the claim I have seen on here that GPR is a more decisive factor than MCAT performance.
 
I would honestly take those stats with a grains of salt. With such high MCAT scores there are two reasons for the ~50% matriculation rate: 1.) They were accepted out-of-state (OOS) to some big name med school or 2.) It is definitely possible to have high scores and not get in because of the interview. Most people do not score over a 35, so you are definitely a head of the curve. Just remember if you get an interview and no acceptance, it wasn't becausse of grades, MCAT, or ECs. They already processed that info and that is why they extended a invitation, now they need to meet you to affirm a good fit.
 
bhandal said:
c3.34 s3.34 taking MCAT July 6, but practices have been 32 so should be transmitted 8/7. Have extensive background working at MD Anderson's diagnostic laboratory where I developed a institution wide software for genome analysis along with shadowing and so on and so forth. What are my chances?
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I am in a similar boat and I'm hoping for the best. Good luck to you as well! Hopefully I'll be seeing you at orientation next year :laugh:
 
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bhandal said:
c3.34 s3.34 taking MCAT July 6, but practices have been 32 so should be transmitted 8/7. Have extensive background working at MD Anderson's diagnostic laboratory where I developed a institution wide software for genome analysis along with shadowing and so on and so forth. What are my chances?
Click to expand...

Are you a computer science major? Your research sounds pretty awesome.

Could boost your GPA by signing up for some undergrad courses at community colleges or UT extension I believe.
 
BlueLabel said:
That would be amazing. The surprising thing to me is that only 45.5% of TMDSAS applicants with above a 35 were accepted last year (111/244). Compare that to 47.5% of applicants with a 34-35 (156/328). Unless I'm reading this wrong:

http://www.utsystem.edu/tmdsas/Final Statistics Report-EY11-Medical.pdf

I guess there's some truth to the claim I have seen on here that GPR is a more decisive factor than MCAT performance.
Click to expand...

111 is the total number of students with MCAT >=35 that matriculated in TX med schools, not accepted.
Obviously much more would be accepted but many with those high MCAT scores chose to matriculate at big-name med schools outside Texas. you should read the stats as you're in the top 7% in terms of MCAT scores out of those matriculated.
 
top choice school.

submitted 5/14, transmitted to UT-H on 5/18/12, and LORs have been sent today (everything else is sent).

Will be doing clinical research this summer at UT-H with some faculty, can't wait to check out the campus
 
Nope I just sort of fell in to it. I developed MD Anderson's next generation sequencing cancer panel and they needed some sort of software to help them when the pathologist needed to sign out cases, so that's when a doctor and I developed a software called OncoSeek. It just helped that I knew how to do databases and code from just previous interest. Now I'm more of a Bioinformatician than a molecular genetic technologist, without the pay :(
 
Latuza said:
111 is the total number of students with MCAT >=35 that matriculated in TX med schools, not accepted.
Obviously much more would be accepted but many with those high MCAT scores chose to matriculate at big-name med schools outside Texas. you should read the stats as you're in the top 7% in terms of MCAT scores out of those matriculated.
Click to expand...

Gotcha. That makes much more sense now, thanks.
 
Here's hoping for the best. 3.34 GPA (pretty low, I know), but I have a 32 MCAT, so hopefully that will get an interview. I'm not traditional and have a 4.0 since I started my post bac work.

I plan on checking out campus in a few weeks. Not sure if that helps by way of getting to meet any adcom types, but I would definitely put UTH at the top of my list
 
jp6285 said:
Here's hoping for the best. 3.34 GPA (pretty low, I know), but I have a 32 MCAT, so hopefully that will get an interview. I'm not traditional and have a 4.0 since I started my post bac work.

I plan on checking out campus in a few weeks. Not sure if that helps by way of getting to meet any adcom types, but I would definitely put UTH at the top of my list
Click to expand...

You sound a lot like I did. Good luck.
 
Could you share, perhaps, your situation? (eg. MCAT score, ECs) I too have a 3.34, but last 70 hours is a 3.96. I have a lot of research and published 5 papers, 2 of which I am 1-3 author. I take my MCAT july 6th and want a realistic goal in mind. Obviously, the highest possible, but I with only ~3 weeks till then I want to start refining my test taking skills. Any help is appreciated, thanks :)
 
Started off undergrad very poorly, had a 2.5 after freshman year. Junior and senior year I had semesters of 3.9, ~3.2 (can't remember), 3.8, and 4.0. Graduated with a 3.31 overall. I had a 31 MCAT and applied without any luck.

I got a Master's with a 4.0 and reapplied, again without any luck though I got more interviews. I worked for a while and retook the MCAT (33) and reapplied, got accepted the third time around.

Probably had more to do with UT-H taking a very personal interest in my personal statement, the more recent improvement in GPA, and getting new letters of recommendation than anything else.
 
Okay, I'm not really in any position to offer advice as I'm just applying this cycle too, but I did fairly well on the MCAT so I can tell you what I did. I accumulated the necessary knowledge base in the pre-reqs, and kept my bio knowledge base pretty fresh by taking related courses every year. Although I had access to an expensive Kaplan book set my friend got when he took the course, I found the $30 Barron's MCAT book with the CD much more helpful. This is because I used practice tests (the Barron's tests are very representative) first to identify deficiencies in my knowledge base, which I corrected through directed study and outlining of the Barron's book and Kaplan set, after which I retook portions of the practice exams I had trouble with to gauge my improvement. For example, I took the first few practices cold, skipping stuff I could only guess on. After identifying my deficiencies and trying to correct, I'd retake to measure my progress. Ultimately, my Barron's practice scores (I saved practice tests to take under more or less test-conditions) accurately predicted my actual score.

At the end of the day, my personal feeling is that your MCAT effort should be more of a review than anything else - as a comptetitive candidate with an interest in the sciences, my assumption is that you were at least an A - B student in the pre-reqs, which should give you a sufficient knowledge base to handle the MCAT after a thorough review.

I guess the unsaid part of all this is you need to know how to take tests - that is, pace yourself and control your nerves. If you can manage that I think the knowledge base-related preparation isn't too bad. The other point is that studying in this way worked for me without undertaking the $1000+ expense of a course. If you're in a position where money is no object, then more power to you. But if, like me, you aren't, then I think it is important to study smarter - not harder, or more lavishly.
 
Wow that's great armybound. You were really determined, which is quite admirable. Thanks for the advice and best of wishes on your continued pursuit of your doctorate.
 
Thanks for your input BlueLabel. When I stumbled upon SDN it was like a treasure chest of information that truly helps not only on the MCAT, but also eases some nerves by networking with other students. As far as the MCAT goes on my first diagnostic I got a 17 then every two weeks I took an mcat to see the progress. Now the curious thing about the MCAT is that you can be well versed in the sciences; however, still do poorly on the test. This should come to no surprise to anyone, by the time most of us take the test we are in our third or fourth year of college and we sort of forget the simple concepts. So I've taken my last two MCATs and got 34 on AAMC 9 and a 36 on AAMC 10. Here is a little formula I used to keep edging my score up.

You can not expect to jump 10 points from studying a few MCAT topics, this is unrealistc. In the same light it is unrealistic to to attempt all 52 questions in Physical and Biological sciences and 40 questions in verbal. Let me rephrase it is unrealistic during your practice time!!!! You want to always put an answer down, but you want to build your stamina and your confidence at the same time. So here we go.
1.) Take a diagnostic test, see where you are. Do not get discouraged if you get a bad score, even if your test in a month. Remember the MCAT is a thinking test so your score will not only reflect your knowledge set, but your attitude as well. One other thing be sure, I don't know if I need to say this, try as much as possible to simulate a testing environment. got to a library and where earplugs/headphones. You will be surprised how uncomfortable you will be if it is oyur first time trying to take a test with this tools in/over your ears. It's odd and the last thing you want to worry about on test day is the emptiness in your head or the pain from an earplug inserted too far haha.
2.) Review your test, NOT ONLY THE WRONG ONES! Review the right ones because these our your strength areas and you want to be able to confirm to yourself that you know how to do them, because come test day you will answer them in literally <10 seconds, saving time for any surprise questions. I did this in two different ways, I started on a piece of paper just writing the topic then I would write why I got it wrong or right and any sort of formulas that may need to be used, then moved on. Or, you could do it in excel spread sheet and have a tab for physical sciences, verbal, and biological sciences. Within those columns for question number, right or wrong, reason, formula. I would say in your first couple of test it is ok to skip the writing section because it is a make or break sort of section and it is very easy to pick up on the strategy in which they want you to write this in. Definitely once test day is a week or two a way start taking verbal to just get over the fatigue. If it took you 5 hours to take the test it should take you 4-5 hours to review the whole thing, especially in the PHYS AND BIO sections.
3.) Before you take you next exam use this FORMULA: (number correct in section * 20%) + number correct. This number tells you basically how many to attempt in the next test. instead of going for the whole 52 only do the number outputted and guess on the rest. I know this seems counter intuitive, but you are incrementally increasing your score by increasing your accuracy. You should expect to get 90% of the calculated number correct and a 20% increase in your previous score is a dramatic increase. Then on the next test do the same thing and so and so forth.

I took the test every two weeks and made sure that during those 2 weeks I was not only studying, but doing at least 104 questions a day in MCAT. Like 52 physics questions and 52 chemistry question in the exam krackers 1001 series. I would also do 1-2 verbal sections a week (this is 7 passages for those who do not know how many passages there are in a verbal section). Verbal is not difficult, it may seem difficult, but you are only discouraging yourself for thinking that way. If there is any section to shine in it would be verbal because there isn't any outside knowledge you need to bring its all in the passage. Take advantage of that and try to build your stamina for this section. What I found helpful for verbal, this may seem silly, but I do all of mine on the computer and I will highlight an entire paragraph and read it then when I am done I will unhighlight, highlight what I find interest (eg. words I do not know or main ideas), then highlight the next passage. I have an extremely difficult time paying attention in verbal and there is something about the yellow highlight that just draws all my attention against the white background.

My trend
AAMC 3 6P 7V 3B
AAMC 4 6P 8V 7B
AAMC 5 8P 8V 8B
AAMC 7 8P 9V 9B
AAMC 8 10P 8V 9B
AAMC 9 13P 9V 12B
AAMC 10 13P 10V 13B
AAMC 11 TBD

Remember, test day is going to be stressful and you may not score ideally as you have on your practice, but you've prepared for this moment and if you build your confidence outside the test and make that test your bitch, well needless to say, you will do great. PM if you need any other advice.

I take my test July 6, so hopefully I'll be seeing you guys come the interview cycles
 
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bhandal said:
Could you share, perhaps, your situation? (eg. MCAT score, ECs) I too have a 3.34, but last 70 hours is a 3.96. I have a lot of research and published 5 papers, 2 of which I am 1-3 author. I take my MCAT july 6th and want a realistic goal in mind. Obviously, the highest possible, but I with only ~3 weeks till then I want to start refining my test taking skills. Any help is appreciated, thanks :)
Click to expand...

Wow 5 papers with first author! that's impressive! How'd you find a research position like that where you can develop and apply yourself?
 
I got a bachelor of science in molecular genetics from MD Anderson and they have 2 mandatory research projects that you must complete before graduating. First research was with a PhD working with microRNA the other was a internship at emory medical schools genetic laboratory developing new platforms for autosomal rare diseases. Then I got offered a job at MD Anderson's Diagnostic laboratory work on what is called next generation sequencing technology. From that research alone we submitted 5 papers. I recommend to all students who are looking for post bac. Go get a second bachelors at MD Anderson's genetic program, the research is amazing. Plus you get opportunities to work with a lot of doctors. Currently all the doctors I shadow and work with on a daily basis are all directors at MD Anderson in either pathology or bioinformatics
 
bhandal said:
I got a bachelor of science in molecular genetics from MD Anderson and they have 2 mandatory research projects that you must complete before graduating. First research was with a PhD working with microRNA the other was a internship at emory medical schools genetic laboratory developing new platforms for autosomal rare diseases. Then I got offered a job at MD Anderson's Diagnostic laboratory work on what is called next generation sequencing technology. From that research alone we submitted 5 papers. I recommend to all students who are looking for post bac. Go get a second bachelors at MD Anderson's genetic program, the research is amazing. Plus you get opportunities to work with a lot of doctors. Currently all the doctors I shadow and work with on a daily basis are all directors at MD Anderson in either pathology or bioinformatics
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Oh neat, yeah, I looked at the MD Anderson bachelor degree programs. They all looked really practical (because comes with medical certifications), much better than traditional bio degrees, wish all universities have those bio programs that are more practical than theoretical.
However, doesn't seem they have bioinformatics major program.

But I guess I'm more thinking about how to find a good research mentor.
 
Yea bioinformatics is a more specialized field. Usually people with a bachelors in computer science pursue a masters or PhD in bioinformatics. If you are still interested in it. There are really good programs at the GSBS. Bioinformatics fall under the computational biology realm, since its such a new field people are still struggling to see where it fits in. Usually its rare to find docotors who are also computer savvy let alone be able to write computer programs that diagnosis, so usually if you can find one they pay them a hefty amount. I was thinking about doing an MD/PhD with a specialty in bioinformatics, hopefully at UT Houston ;)
 
bhandal said:
I got a bachelor of science in molecular genetics from MD Anderson and they have 2 mandatory research projects that you must complete before graduating. First research was with a PhD working with microRNA the other was a internship at emory medical schools genetic laboratory developing new platforms for autosomal rare diseases. Then I got offered a job at MD Anderson's Diagnostic laboratory work on what is called next generation sequencing technology. From that research alone we submitted 5 papers. I recommend to all students who are looking for post bac. Go get a second bachelors at MD Anderson's genetic program, the research is amazing. Plus you get opportunities to work with a lot of doctors. Currently all the doctors I shadow and work with on a daily basis are all directors at MD Anderson in either pathology or bioinformatics
Click to expand...

Sounds impressive. I bet you'll do well this cycle
 
bhandal said:
Yea bioinformatics is a more specialized field. Usually people with a bachelors in computer science pursue a masters or PhD in bioinformatics. If you are still interested in it. There are really good programs at the GSBS. Bioinformatics fall under the computational biology realm, since its such a new field people are still struggling to see where it fits in. Usually its rare to find docotors who are also computer savvy let alone be able to write computer programs that diagnosis, so usually if you can find one they pay them a hefty amount. I was thinking about doing an MD/PhD with a specialty in bioinformatics, hopefully at UT Houston ;)
Click to expand...

What's GSBS?
Why would it matter if the doctor know programming/bioinformatics, unless for research? If just treating patients, does that matter? I'm interested in what you mean.
Oh cool, yeah Johns Hopkins also offer an online master's in bioinformatics that bio bachelor holders can apply to. Or you can apply to the online computer science program and study the specialty of bioinformatics too.
 
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