2010-2011 University of Texas - Houston Application Thread

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Congrats guys!

4th round of prematch offers from UTH? Anyone else a little surprised? I wonder if they are moving away from the 10% figure or if they are only giving out... 10 or so each time?

Yes, I would also like to know. For those of you who are already attending UTH, do you think you can find out what the word is?
I know it's not going to change anything, but everytime I hear UTH sent out another round of pre-match offers, I die a little inside 🙁
At this rate, I feel like I will be fully dead on the inside before Feb 1st 😳

On a related note, when I got my interview offer, their email kept getting lost and eventually they had to call me via phone. Do you think I should call the office and see if they tried to send me anything?
 
If its getting filtered out you might try adding:

[email protected]

to your contacts as most (all?) of my email correspondence with UTH has been through that email. Also make sure they have your email correct.
 
Yes, I would also like to know. For those of you who are already attending UTH, do you think you can find out what the word is?
I know it's not going to change anything, but everytime I hear UTH sent out another round of pre-match offers, I die a little inside 🙁
At this rate, I feel like I will be fully dead on the inside before Feb 1st 😳

On a related note, when I got my interview offer, their email kept getting lost and eventually they had to call me via phone. Do you think I should call the office and see if they tried to send me anything?

I have asked. It's not info they're sharing
 
Can anyone tell me what the grading scale is at UTH? Is it pass/fail or what?

I'm torn between UTH and UTMB for several reasons. Probably the main issue i'm deliberating is the curriculum:

UTH - 5 courses over 18 weeks (Dev anatomy, gross anatomy, biochem, histology, clinical skills?) One week of exams each month. No grading cap and classes practically all day


UTMB - 2 classes every 8 weeks; only midterm and final for each class. Grading cap (top 10-15% honors) and half day classes

For those of you that go to UTH How have you felt about the curriculum? I'm indimidated by the 5 class issue, I feel like I can do better academically by taking only 2 classes at a time. I LOVE UT Houston and have wanted to go here since High school, I have had many mentors that are in the faculty and have known everyone in admissions for years, but I'm wondering if their curriculum isnt best for me😕
 
I have asked. It's not info they're sharing


Hmm... I have to say I think that's a little off of them. It'd be one thing to not say what they are doing and then stick to not telling anyone. It's quite a different thing to say they typically do 10% prematch and then possibly change things without any indication.
 
fail, marginal performance, pass, high pass, honors. no grade caps, so everyone can get honors if they score high enough.

"a week of exams every month" isn't exactly accurate. there are usually at least 4 weeks of lecture between exams, so it's a little over a month between exams. "classes practically all day" isn't really completely accurate either -- most days class is from 8-12, with the exception being additional labs that run a maximum of twice per week most days you'll be home by 3 at the latest. hundreds of students have been doing it and have had no complains for years and years, so it's not nearly as bad as it sounds.

I like our curriculum. I think that the amount of material is going to be the same whether you take 4 classes at a time or 2, they'll just spread out the material better with 4 classes. instead of being lectured daily on a topic it will be spread out so you have more time to keep up in each subject.
 
Can anyone tell me what the grading scale is at UTH? Is it pass/fail or what?

I'm torn between UTH and UTMB for several reasons. Probably the main issue i'm deliberating is the curriculum:

UTH - 5 courses over 18 weeks (Dev anatomy, gross anatomy, biochem, histology, clinical skills?) One week of exams each month. No grading cap and classes practically all day


UTMB - 2 classes every 8 weeks; only midterm and final for each class. Grading cap (top 10-15% honors) and half day classes

For those of you that go to UTH How have you felt about the curriculum? I'm indimidated by the 5 class issue, I feel like I can do better academically by taking only 2 classes at a time. I LOVE UT Houston and have wanted to go here since High school, I have had many mentors that are in the faculty and have known everyone in admissions for years, but I'm wondering if their curriculum isnt best for me😕

My fiancee goes to UTMB and he says that it's technically only 2 classes, but you're learning 5 classes of material. Basically you have less class time but you go over a fraction of the material in class and the rest you have to spend all that free time learning on your own as opposed to UTH where they spend a lot of time going over things in the 5 classes
 
For those of you that go to UTH How have you felt about the curriculum? I'm indimidated by the 5 class issue, I feel like I can do better academically by taking only 2 classes at a time. I LOVE UT Houston and have wanted to go here since High school, I have had many mentors that are in the faculty and have known everyone in admissions for years, but I'm wondering if their curriculum isnt best for me😕

Agree with Armybound. I can't remember too many days when I wasn't done by 3. In addition, just because classes are scheduled doesn't mean that you have to be there. Many people watch classes from home (except mandatory classes of course) so you can really make your own schedule. The workload is about the same at most schools I would guess, since they are all trying to prepare students for the same thing (Step One)

My advice to you is to go where you think you'll be happiest. Don't get bogged down with decisions based on things that really won't matter in the long run. Personally, curriculum was never a factor for me. You can have 2 classes or 5 or call them anything you like, but the material will still be the same.

Good luck with your decision.
 
My fiancee goes to UTMB and he says that it's technically only 2 classes, but you're learning 5 classes of material. Basically you have less class time but you go over a fraction of the material in class and the rest you have to spend all that free time learning on your own as opposed to UTH where they spend a lot of time going over things in the 5 classes


Wow! I remember my interviewer at UTMB telling me this. He said if you are a self-directed learner then UTMB is the place for you. I honestly feel like I need the structure of being in class longer, I can't learn everything on my own. Ahh...Decisions, Decisions and to top it off A&M gave me an acceptance yesterday so another school that I have to ponder about. Its looking like UTH for me though, They are my DREAM school😍
 
Do you happen to know when there is an reapplication workshop with UTH? I read in last year's application thread about it but couldn't find the dates. I e-mailed admissions but have not received a reply yet.
I asked someone in the office today. She said there is discussion about having one but it hasn't been decided if or when there will be one. You can follow UTHAdmissions on twitter and they will announce if/when it's happening. Obviously it will be after the match.
 
so for those of us who pre-matched, we need to send our fall semester transcript somewhere, correct?
Do we send it to tmdsas or uth directly?
 
Hmm. I haven't received any correspondence that has indicated the need for sending in a fall transcript. The only thing I've been asked for is a complete transcript at the end of the year that notes the degree conferred.

I could be wrong though...
 
Hmm. I haven't received any correspondence that has indicated the need for sending in a fall transcript. The only thing I've been asked for is a complete transcript at the end of the year that notes the degree conferred.

I could be wrong though...

I think this is correct
 
Hmm. I haven't received any correspondence that has indicated the need for sending in a fall transcript. The only thing I've been asked for is a complete transcript at the end of the year that notes the degree conferred.

I could be wrong though...

TMDSAS mentions something about sending in fall transcripts, but I'm too lazy to go find it.
 
Transcripts Following Acceptance

TMDSAS maintains the records of accepted applicants. Therefore, official transcripts for course work taken subsequent to acceptance up to matriculation must be sent to TMDSAS at the end of each semester that course work is taken. Applicants who are accepted and plan to enroll in medical school will also be required to submit a complete set of transcripts to the school at which they plan to enroll. These transcripts must include all courses taken prior to enrollment. TMDSAS does not reproduce transcripts for the schools.

http://utsystem.edu/tmdsas/medical/acceptance_Match_info.html
 
I'm hoping for the 10 or so each time. I want one UTH!!!!!!!

I am pretty surprised since I was told by someone from admissions they typically only send out 1-2. But 4? Wow. Congrats to those lucky individuals, I wish I was part of your selective group!! Here's to getting one in February :xf:
 
I apologize if this has been answered before, but can any of you current UT-H students tell us about what the call schedule is like during 3rd year? I know it varies based on rotation, but what is it like for the more arduous rotations like surgery and medicine?
 
Has anyone who received their pre-match offer on November 16th gotten their letter packet yet? With Galveston I got mine like 3 days after the e-mail, but it's already been 12 days and nothing...

Do you mean December 16th? I got the prematch on Nov. 15, and the packet took a little over a week to come in the mail. With the holidays Id expect it to take a little longer.
 
I apologize if this has been answered before, but can any of you current UT-H students tell us about what the call schedule is like during 3rd year? I know it varies based on rotation, but what is it like for the more arduous rotations like surgery and medicine?

First off, this should NOT be a reason to choose one school over another. Hopefully you are asking this for general information after making the excellent decision to attend UTH!

I'm a fourth year now, so I can tell you how it was last year. Rotations change all the time, and the rotations I did were significantly different in their specifics from the ones the class above me did. There are also brand new rules from the ACGME regarding work hours for residents, specifically interns restricting them to 16 hour shifts, so who knows what medical student schedules will look like. There are no regulations from on high for med students like there are for residents, but most schools adhere to the current 80-30 rules. Certainly UTH does.

Surgery is two four-week blocks, one of which is a general surgery month and the month in which you take call. You take five calls in four weeks, split among those in your group. No call, no weekends on the second month, which is two sets of two weeks on specialty services.

IM is three four-week blocks, two of which are wards and one is specialty/geriatrics/lecture. For us, the ward months were q4 (on call, post call, regular day, regular day, rinse, repeat). This was done with your team, and I don't know how the new regulations will affect the IM schedule - I'm applying to surgery programs.

Pediatrics is two four-week blocks, one inpatient, one outpatient. Call is only during inpatient, I think we were supposed to take five calls that month.

OB/GYN depends on your site - it can range from night float and two calls in six weeks to much more regular call. Tough rotation anywhere you go.

Psych... well, the psych residents kept sending me home after arriving at 6pm for my 6-11pm "call shift" after hearing that I wanted to do surgery. 🙂 I think technically you're supposed to stay for 2-3 of those in six weeks.

Neuro - two calls in four weeks.

Family - no call, no weekends.

Please feel free to ask anything regarding clinical years or UT-H that you think a more senior student might be able to answer, since armybound and friends do such a great job with the preclinical and admissions stuff - I'm on vacation this month for interviews and have a little time on my hands. 🙂
 
geez, I'm lost on this -- do they keep interviewing through January or are the done?
 
First off, this should NOT be a reason to choose one school over another. Hopefully you are asking this for general information after making the excellent decision to attend UTH!

I'm a fourth year now, so I can tell you how it was last year. Rotations change all the time, and the rotations I did were significantly different in their specifics from the ones the class above me did. There are also brand new rules from the ACGME regarding work hours for residents, specifically interns restricting them to 16 hour shifts, so who knows what medical student schedules will look like. There are no regulations from on high for med students like there are for residents, but most schools adhere to the current 80-30 rules. Certainly UTH does.

Surgery is two four-week blocks, one of which is a general surgery month and the month in which you take call. You take five calls in four weeks, split among those in your group. No call, no weekends on the second month, which is two sets of two weeks on specialty services.

IM is three four-week blocks, two of which are wards and one is specialty/geriatrics/lecture. For us, the ward months were q4 (on call, post call, regular day, regular day, rinse, repeat). This was done with your team, and I don't know how the new regulations will affect the IM schedule - I'm applying to surgery programs.

Pediatrics is two four-week blocks, one inpatient, one outpatient. Call is only during inpatient, I think we were supposed to take five calls that month.

OB/GYN depends on your site - it can range from night float and two calls in six weeks to much more regular call. Tough rotation anywhere you go.

Psych... well, the psych residents kept sending me home after arriving at 6pm for my 6-11pm "call shift" after hearing that I wanted to do surgery. 🙂 I think technically you're supposed to stay for 2-3 of those in six weeks.

Neuro - two calls in four weeks.

Family - no call, no weekends.

Please feel free to ask anything regarding clinical years or UT-H that you think a more senior student might be able to answer, since armybound and friends do such a great job with the preclinical and admissions stuff - I'm on vacation this month for interviews and have a little time on my hands. 🙂
Thank you arroser for your very detailed response! I was actually asking more to gauge how much responsibility various schools give to their med students, and I figured whether students take call would give me some insight into that. I've heard that some schools don't really trust their students to do much and don't have students take call, and I would rather be at a school that expects students to take a lot of responsibility (but with an adequate amount of guidance, of course!) because I want to be as prepared as possible for being a intern/resident. But I'm not using this as the only factor to decide which school to go to! 🙂

If you have any other insights about the clinical years at UTH, please share them with us! I'm sure that the TMC has provided you with some awesome experiences!

edit: and I'm sure that all the Texas med schools provide exceptional clinical experiences...I'm just trying to parse out all the little differences so I can figure out my match list...
 
I know that San Antonio has a program where you graduate with an emphasis on research, but without having to get an M.D./Ph.D. It's called an M.D. with Distinction in Research. I can't seem to find a similar program at Houston--is there one?
 
Thank you arroser for your very detailed response! I was actually asking more to gauge how much responsibility various schools give to their med students, and I figured whether students take call would give me some insight into that. I've heard that some schools don't really trust their students to do much and don't have students take call, and I would rather be at a school that expects students to take a lot of responsibility (but with an adequate amount of guidance, of course!) because I want to be as prepared as possible for being a intern/resident. But I'm not using this as the only factor to decide which school to go to! 🙂

If you have any other insights about the clinical years at UTH, please share them with us! I'm sure that the TMC has provided you with some awesome experiences!

edit: and I'm sure that all the Texas med schools provide exceptional clinical experiences...I'm just trying to parse out all the little differences so I can figure out my match list...

It's a tough process, and I'm glad you aren't using whether or not you'll be in the hospital a couple extra nights as a reason to rank high or low. As I get closer to graduation, though, the idea of "autonomy" as a med student seems almost laughable - you will get what you put into your education at every point in this process. As a med student, your "responsibilities" will be pretty much following your patients and keeping up with your reading, neither of which you need permission for. 🙂 You can write notes and discharge summaries and call for reads, but very little, especially in this age of EMR, can be done alone. I didn't write admit orders until January of my third year, and I hear that with the switch to computer orders even that is disappearing for students. Hopefully residents will figure out ways to teach these skills.

I of course can only speak of my experiences, which are pretty much limited to UT-H, but I am curious as to what types of things you mean regarding autonomy. I know you don't expect to be managing your own patients, so... do you mean procedures? H&Ps? Participation in the OR? I will say that my call nights usually just meant me sleeping in the call room as opposed to my bed with the exception of a couple services. We brag about actually staying in the hospital on call as opposed to other schools that send their students home at 10, but I've had residents forget I'm there, or just refuse to call after a certain time, at which point staying on call is just a badge of honor.

I don't know... I am very happy with the training I've received at UT-H, but I do wish that if I'm going to be at the hospital all night that they actually gave me something to do. If not, you might as well just go home... which is what, as I said, many schools have moved to. 🙂
 
I know that San Antonio has a program where you graduate with an emphasis on research, but without having to get an M.D./Ph.D. It's called an M.D. with Distinction in Research. I can't seem to find a similar program at Houston--is there one?

There are ten optional "Scholarly Concentrations" which have started being offered just recently.
They include:
Primary Care/ Family Medicine
Geriatric and Palliative Medicine
Global Health
Medical Humanities
Nanomedicine and Biomedical Engineering
Neurosciences
Emergency Preparedness and Response
Clinical Quality, Safety and Evidence-Based Medicine
Molecular Basis of Medicine
Child Health and Advocacy
 
It's a tough process, and I'm glad you aren't using whether or not you'll be in the hospital a couple extra nights as a reason to rank high or low. As I get closer to graduation, though, the idea of "autonomy" as a med student seems almost laughable - you will get what you put into your education at every point in this process. As a med student, your "responsibilities" will be pretty much following your patients and keeping up with your reading, neither of which you need permission for. 🙂 You can write notes and discharge summaries and call for reads, but very little, especially in this age of EMR, can be done alone. I didn't write admit orders until January of my third year, and I hear that with the switch to computer orders even that is disappearing for students. Hopefully residents will figure out ways to teach these skills.

I of course can only speak of my experiences, which are pretty much limited to UT-H, but I am curious as to what types of things you mean regarding autonomy. I know you don't expect to be managing your own patients, so... do you mean procedures? H&Ps? Participation in the OR? I will say that my call nights usually just meant me sleeping in the call room as opposed to my bed with the exception of a couple services. We brag about actually staying in the hospital on call as opposed to other schools that send their students home at 10, but I've had residents forget I'm there, or just refuse to call after a certain time, at which point staying on call is just a badge of honor.

I don't know... I am very happy with the training I've received at UT-H, but I do wish that if I'm going to be at the hospital all night that they actually gave me something to do. If not, you might as well just go home... which is what, as I said, many schools have moved to. 🙂
I definitely didn't mean "autonomy," as I know from what I've heard/read that med students do exactly what you talked about in terms of following patients and stuff, which is why I didn't use the word "autonomy." As a patient, it would definitely be kind of scary if a med student had autonomy lol...And in terms of responsibility, I didn't mean procedures (which I suppose would be really important for someone hoping to go into surgery, but I could never be a surgeon 🙂 ) I think I meant that I want to be in a situation where med students are an important part of the team - not so much in what they do, but in that the other team members feel that they have a duty to teach the med student what is going on. I'm not sure if that makes sense. I definitely agree that there is no point just staying at the hospital not doing anything, and it would be better not to have call if that were the case. But I suppose if the atmosphere was such that residents felt it was their duty to train med students, then maybe they would use that time during the night to teach things to the med students that they may not have been able to teach during the daytime, in which case call may benefit the student. I guess that is overly idealistic and may not happen at every school, but I think that some schools tend to stress the "teaching" role of residents more than others do, and I believe that has an impact on what/how med students learn in the third year, though I may be wrong 🙂
 
I definitely didn't mean "autonomy," as I know from what I've heard/read that med students do exactly what you talked about in terms of following patients and stuff, which is why I didn't use the word "autonomy." As a patient, it would definitely be kind of scary if a med student had autonomy lol...And in terms of responsibility, I didn't mean procedures (which I suppose would be really important for someone hoping to go into surgery, but I could never be a surgeon 🙂 ) I think I meant that I want to be in a situation where med students are an important part of the team - not so much in what they do, but in that the other team members feel that they have a duty to teach the med student what is going on. I'm not sure if that makes sense. I definitely agree that there is no point just staying at the hospital not doing anything, and it would be better not to have call if that were the case. But I suppose if the atmosphere was such that residents felt it was their duty to train med students, then maybe they would use that time during the night to teach things to the med students that they may not have been able to teach during the daytime, in which case call may benefit the student. I guess that is overly idealistic and may not happen at every school, but I think that some schools tend to stress the "teaching" role of residents more than others do, and I believe that has an impact on what/how med students learn in the third year, though I may be wrong 🙂

Sorry to put words in your mouth - I've been thinking a lot about autonomy with my own interview process. 🙂

Your explanation makes more sense and is definitely what you should expect from your clinical rotations. Although the nighttime stuff... if the resident has all that free time at night they're probably going to be sleeping. 🙂 And you'd rather be sleeping too... there's nothing more painful than someone trying to teach you something on hour 26. Doing something, admitting a patient, looking at a film, being in the OR, fine, but don't try to teach me the endocarditis prophylaxis guidelines at 3AM.

That atmosphere you speak of is something that varies from team to team, attending to attending, resident to resident, and really, ultimately, student to student. Certain attendings teach more than others, certain residents teach more than others, and students are more or less receptive to teaching as opposed to reading depending on how you believe you learn best. I do agree that being in the hospital more maximizes your teaching time, and things happen differently overnight than during the day. I think it is important for students to be on call, as long as they are involved in the team's work, but I don't think that whether or not a school requires its students to stay overnight is necessarily a great indicator of their clinical training atmosphere. Really, the only way to truly figure out if the students become good interns is to talk to program directors in other schools to see if those students have performed well. Which is not really doable. I guess a secondary indicator could be to look and see how many students stay at home/are ranked high enough to stay... obviously the home program likes their skills enough!
 
Sorry to put words in your mouth - I've been thinking a lot about autonomy with my own interview process. 🙂

Your explanation makes more sense and is definitely what you should expect from your clinical rotations. Although the nighttime stuff... if the resident has all that free time at night they're probably going to be sleeping. 🙂 And you'd rather be sleeping too... there's nothing more painful than someone trying to teach you something on hour 26. Doing something, admitting a patient, looking at a film, being in the OR, fine, but don't try to teach me the endocarditis prophylaxis guidelines at 3AM.

That atmosphere you speak of is something that varies from team to team, attending to attending, resident to resident, and really, ultimately, student to student. Certain attendings teach more than others, certain residents teach more than others, and students are more or less receptive to teaching as opposed to reading depending on how you believe you learn best. I do agree that being in the hospital more maximizes your teaching time, and things happen differently overnight than during the day. I think it is important for students to be on call, as long as they are involved in the team's work, but I don't think that whether or not a school requires its students to stay overnight is necessarily a great indicator of their clinical training atmosphere. Really, the only way to truly figure out if the students become good interns is to talk to program directors in other schools to see if those students have performed well. Which is not really doable. I guess a secondary indicator could be to look and see how many students stay at home/are ranked high enough to stay... obviously the home program likes their skills enough!
ohhh that makes so much sense! thanks for the insight. i think i sort of understand what the preclinical years of med school are like, but i am pretty clueless about the clinical years and will be for a few more years lol. your posts definitely helped.

good luck with all your interviews!
 
Does anyone plan on living in the university housing?
 
There are ten optional "Scholarly Concentrations" which have started being offered just recently.
They include:
Primary Care/ Family Medicine
Geriatric and Palliative Medicine
Global Health
Medical Humanities
Nanomedicine and Biomedical Engineering
Neurosciences
Emergency Preparedness and Response
Clinical Quality, Safety and Evidence-Based Medicine
Molecular Basis of Medicine
Child Health and Advocacy

Excellent, thanks!

Is this distinction listed with your degree, or just noted on your transcript, or what?
 
Excellent, thanks!

Is this distinction listed with your degree, or just noted on your transcript, or what?

It will be included in the residency application packet that the school sends out. You also get special recognition at graduation and a separate certificate.
 
If we were thinking about doing university housing, when should we apply for an apartment/sign a lease/et al.?
 
If we were thinking about doing university housing, when should we apply for an apartment/sign a lease/et al.?

I think someone mentioned somewhere earlier in the thread that the sooner the better. Can't remember who it was. Perhaps armybound?

Edit: Just searched the thread for "housing" and found it. Although it doesn't specifically state when to apply, I guess earlier is better.

I applied for it but I made the mistake of telling them I wanted to move in in August. They finally offered me a place for a Sept 11 move-in. I highly recommend telling them you want to move in in June or earlier. Paying an extra month or two of rent will pay off in the long run.

There's a particular day that the housing waitlist starts. I think it's in January or February.
 
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If we were thinking about doing university housing, when should we apply for an apartment/sign a lease/et al.?

I currently live in University Housing and the date that the list opens is Jan 20. As mentioned above, get on it ASAP. You can always decline later if you decide on another place.
 
So what's the deal with housing? Are you guys just planning on signing up for a single apartment, or are you going to try to find a roommate? Do they help you find a roommate at all, or are you pretty much on your own to do that over the "Welcome Weekend"
 
I currently live in University Housing and the date that the list opens is Jan 20. As mentioned above, get on it ASAP. You can always decline later if you decide on another place.

Do you live in the old or new one? And which one is closer to the campus, gym, trolley, etc? I remember going by the old one on the tour, but I can't remember where the new one was...
-thanks
 
So what's the deal with housing? Are you guys just planning on signing up for a single apartment, or are you going to try to find a roommate? Do they help you find a roommate at all, or are you pretty much on your own to do that over the "Welcome Weekend"


I do research at UTH and squeaked into getting an interview this Friday. Anyways for those who want a higher standard living situation, I live on the 17th floor, have an amazing dt view with a free private shuttle and every amenity you can think of (gym,pool,business center,valet,24 hr coffee) ... Its pricey, but hey whats another couple grand on top of your huge debt anyways. PM me if you want more info
 
also, can you receive a pre-match from one school and a match from another without automatically droping your pre-match ?
 
does anyone know how many matches will be given out?
matches will fill the rest of the class 🙂
also, can you receive a pre-match from one school and a match from another without automatically droping your pre-match ?
well, no. you'll match at your pre-match school unless you match to a higher ranked school, in which case you'll automatically forfeit your prematch acceptance and will accept the higher-ranked, matched school
 
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