2010-2011 University of Texas - Southwestern Application Thread

BU Medical Sciences
This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Status
Not open for further replies.
Members don't see this ad.
late post. interviewed in december, accepted 02/01 with a $10k/yr scholarship. i am so GRATEFUL to say the least. i was def not expecting this turnout 🙂

newayz, if i was waitlisted and wanted to go to southwestern, i would not question sending a letter of intent as soon as possible. they probably have a stack of them already, so if you write a generic letter you are shooting yourself in the foot.

in your letter, you need to DO THE WORK FOR THEM. show them why they absolutely NEED you in their class. probably focus on leadership--don't restate your application, but draw together your activities and give them a big picture of who you are what makes you tick. sit down and figure out what makes you more promising than the 100s of other students on the waiting list. also highlight any ideas you have regarding the future of our healthcare system and what part you might play in that--without being assumptive or cocky. another note: keep your letter as short as possible. if you're not sure if a sentence strengthens your letter then delete it. 2/3 page max i would say. the more you write, the less i care.

i felt like there were a lot of ppl more qualified than me when i was applying to both college and medical school, but i was able to express my goals and highlight my strengths more persuasively. this is so important!!!! also, every essay i wrote took me at least 5 drafts---your letter of intent should take no less than that. it is your last shot! give it all you've got and then come what may... hope that helps someone!
 
rawchocolate said:
late post. interviewed in december, accepted 02/01 with a $10k/yr scholarship. i am so GRATEFUL to say the least. i was def not expecting this turnout 🙂
Click to expand...
That's awesome, congrats!

in your letter, you need to DO THE WORK FOR THEM. show them why they absolutely NEED you in their class. probably focus on leadership--don't restate your application, but draw together your activities and give them a big picture of who you are what makes you tick. sit down and figure out what makes you more promising than the 100s of other students on the waiting list. also highlight any ideas you have regarding the future of our healthcare system and what part you might play in that--
Click to expand...

I would be very wary of sending in a letter of the sort described above. We had 3 essays, a supplemental app, and 2 interviews to says these things. These are exactly the letters they've asked us NOT to send at this point.

Now, if you have something meaningful (like a paper that you got published or you grew a third arm) I would definitely write them about that immediately! Especially the 3rd arm thing. They're doctors, they can help.

Now, maybe the "it can't hurt" part comes in. But I'm not certain that's the case here.
(I'm speaking partly from my own knowledge but also partly from my wife's, who used to work for an admissions committee )
 
When I interviewed here moons ago, I too thought utsw was awesome. It's OK. You could get quality medical school education any and everywhere. What I like about this school: 4th year is really chill, the testing schedule only tests 1-2 subjects at a time instead othe block testing schedule done elsewhere and is tested in small chunks of info so retention is better, there's a lot of activities to get involved in. What I hate about this school: 3rd year here is known as malignant amongst schools from west to east coast and this is no rumor, first and second year courses and tests are poor preparation for the clinical years.

Be mentally prepared about med school- it's a really rough and bumpy ride but super rewarding if/when you finish.
 
what does it means when 3rd year is malignant like the attendings/residents are dicks or what?
 
Most are not. But the ones that are are really malignant. UTSW just pushes students to the limit.
texahn said:
what does it means when 3rd year is malignant like the attendings/residents are dicks or what?
Click to expand...
 
lilowangatang said:
Most are not. But the ones that are are really malignant. UTSW just pushes students to the limit.
Click to expand...

Pushing students to the limit is the reason I am looking at UTSW in the first place. I don't want to be a mediocre physician. Do you mean the curriculum/faculty are more demanding, or that Southwestern is just more emotionally taxing than other schools?
 
Tutankhamun said:
Pushing students to the limit is the reason I am looking at UTSW in the first place. I don't want to be a mediocre physician. Do you mean the curriculum/faculty are more demanding, or that Southwestern is just more emotionally taxing than other schools?
Click to expand...



+1 👍
 
Tutankhamun said:
Pushing students to the limit is the reason I am looking at UTSW in the first place. I don't want to be a mediocre physician. Do you mean the curriculum/faculty are more demanding, or that Southwestern is just more emotionally taxing than other schools?
Click to expand...

i live close to utsw so..
 
Tutankhamun said:
Pushing students to the limit is the reason I am looking at UTSW in the first place. I don't want to be a mediocre physician. Do you mean the curriculum/faculty are more demanding, or that Southwestern is just more emotionally taxing than other schools?
Click to expand...

It's definitely good to find a med school that will push you to reach your potential. Many schools I interviewed at seemed to really emphasize how laid back the students were and how they had a lot of free time to play ultimate frisbee or intramural football. While I really enjoy those types of activities and will definitely engage in them when I have time, my first priority is and will remain becoming an excellent physician.

Personally, I'm not too worried about the reputation UTSW has for being super competitive. Some of the college courses I most enjoyed were those where I was surrounded with over-achieving, "excessively competitive" people who inspired me to work harder.
 
I think balance is what's most important. Being too intense all the time leads to burnout which is going to end up decreasing the amount you get out of learning. I found schools that seemed focused on convincing everyone they were fun, and others that wanted to show they were super intense and honestly neither seemed enjoyable to me. I am a little worried about UTSW and solely because of the students in attendance that I met during interviews. However, I think the administration has finally taken some actions to work against the hyper-competitiveness (grade changes, colleges, etc). The first years seemed significantly more happy than the upperclassmen. Maybe I'm just more of a self-motivator, but all super competitive people inspire me to do is move far away from them - they breed negativity and are an emotional, physical and intellectual drain to deal with.
 
Anyone know if there will be some major alternate list movement soon? It's almost mid-March!
 
i think it probable for the waitlist to move this week/next week. right?
 
Anyone receive an email from UTSW about renewing HIPAA training then one from Wes Norred saying the email was sent in error? Just curious...
 
doctor freak said:
Anyone receive an email from UTSW about renewing HIPAA training then one from Wes Norred saying the email was sent in error? Just curious...
Click to expand...

I got this also. I assumed it had to do with the HIPPA training we had to do before the Friday Rounds.
 
First of all, congratulations on everyone who have matched or have gotten offers.

I just want to post some of my thoughts as a recent UTSW graduate who is now in a residency at another "big name" academic medical center for those who are still deciding. Obviously, these are (purposefully) very broad generalizations.

In terms of reputation alone, I would put the Southwestern "name" in the near-elite nationally. Everyone's heard of us, but we probably won't get as much pull as some of the "elite" coast schools.

In terms of quality of clinical training, as in, how much responsibility you are given as a student, how many patients you see, how well prepared you are for autonomy and intern grunt work, I would put UTSW against any other school in the country. No hesitation. (Obviously, I haven't gone to every other medical school in the country, just gut feeling mixed with some school pride 🙂)

When I was in school, I used to think that if it wasn't for the good reputation of certain schools, how well you match and how "good" a doctor you became was purely a result of individual intelligence and perspiration. Now, in residency, I have to admit that I was partly wrong. Personal dedication plays a large role, but so do the habits and "culture" of practicing medicine a certain way. Much of which, you pick up in school. What I learned at Southwestern is how to not be afraid of working hard, go without sleep, approach new situations, deal with sick and acutely crashing patients. To me that was the real value of my Southwestern education and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Of course, UTSW is far from alone in imbuing these values and skills on new doctors, but my gut feeling is that these values are inescapable enough at Southwestern that some of it will stick by the time you graduate.

Finally, I'll say that at my residency program, which is at another nationally known medical school, also with a reputation for working students and residents hard, Southwestern grads stick out. We aren't necessarily smarter or more competent, but from what I've heard from colleagues and attendings, we have a steely, "I've seen it / done it before," look in our eyes, which, I'm not afraid of admitting: I'm proud of.

Congradulations again, and I would like to make myself available for any questions you guys may have about Southwestern, just PM or reply. I'll try to be as honest as I can in my answers. Good, bad, or ugly.
 
LazyDSledge said:
I think "we don't rank" is simply a way of keeping people from calling to ask "OMG WHAT NUMBER AM I." Cause then waitlisted applicants would know *exactly* how many people they have to kill. And that's cheating.
Click to expand...

Actually, I think it's more of a "you're not near the top of our waitlist." When I was applying, I got off the waitlist in May and Wes Norred had sent me several e-mails between Feb and May telling me that I was in the top third or near the top of their waitlist. Maybe they've changed their methods since then but I doubt it.

FYI, very strong match for my class this year in the competitive specialties. 22/22 rads, 9/9 ortho, 7/7 derm, 2/2 neurosurg, 3/4 ENT, 1/1 rad-onc, 1/1 urology, 3/3 ophthal...less so for the less competitive for whatever reason (IM, gensurg, peds)
 
Last edited:
a winner is you said:
Maybe they've changed their methods since then but I doubt it.
Click to expand...
I think they have in fact changed their methods, they made mention of it somewhere I can't recall now. But if a single person has gotten an email like that and just hasn't spoken up, I'd obviously be willing to reassess that opinion.
 
Last edited:
a winner is you said:
Actually, I think it's more of a "you're not near the top of our waitlist." When I was applying, I got off the waitlist in May and Wes Norred had sent me several e-mails between Feb and May telling me that I was in the top third or near the top of their waitlist. Maybe they've changed their methods since then but I doubt it.

FYI, very strong match for my class this year in the competitive specialties. 22/22 rads, 9/9 ortho, 7/7 derm, 2/2 neurosurg, 3/4 ENT, 1/1 rad-onc, 1/1 urology, 3/3 ophthal...less so for the less competitive for whatever reason (IM, gensurg, peds)
Click to expand...

Do you know where can we find the 2011 Match List? I can't find it anywhere on the school's website.
 
Hey guys - just posting this link for those of you who haven't had a chance to check out the website yet. I didn't know it existed until yesterday but have not been able to stop reading. Hope you guys find it helpful 😀

http://www.southwesternstudents.com/unofficialguide/Main_Page

p.s.... Anyone else think Wes Norred looks like the Dos Equis Most Interesting Man in the World?.. On my interview day I seriously considered telling him.. "Stay thirsty, my friend,".. but decided otherwise. I think I'll be doing it now that I'm accepted.
 
Last edited:
I was disappointed to not get a better financial aid package--I'll be giving up my spot today. I'm OOS, so maybe another OOS person will get my spot. Good luck!
 
Invin22 said:
I was disappointed to not get a better financial aid package--I'll be giving up my spot today. I'm OOS, so maybe another OOS person will get my spot. Good luck!
Click to expand...


Thanks for posting. I'm happy to see there is going to be at least a little movement..
 
Tutankhamun said:
Pushing students to the limit is the reason I am looking at UTSW in the first place. I don't want to be a mediocre physician. Do you mean the curriculum/faculty are more demanding, or that Southwestern is just more emotionally taxing than other schools?
Click to expand...

It's emotionally draining. It got better towards the end but I remember my friends and I comparing the clinical year to fraternity hazing. But good education overall and well respected within Texas.
 
a winner is you said:
Actually, I think it's more of a "you're not near the top of our waitlist." When I was applying, I got off the waitlist in May and Wes Norred had sent me several e-mails between Feb and May telling me that I was in the top third or near the top of their waitlist. Maybe they've changed their methods since then but I doubt it.

FYI, very strong match for my class this year in the competitive specialties. 22/22 rads, 9/9 ortho, 7/7 derm, 2/2 neurosurg, 3/4 ENT, 1/1 rad-onc, 1/1 urology, 3/3 ophthal...less so for the less competitive for whatever reason (IM, gensurg, peds)
Click to expand...

Actually 3/5 ENT, and admin not very happy about WHERE we matched.
 
a winner is you said:
Actually, I think it's more of a "you're not near the top of our waitlist." When I was applying, I got off the waitlist in May and Wes Norred had sent me several e-mails between Feb and May telling me that I was in the top third or near the top of their waitlist. Maybe they've changed their methods since then but I doubt it.

FYI, very strong match for my class this year in the competitive specialties. 22/22 rads, 9/9 ortho, 7/7 derm, 2/2 neurosurg, 3/4 ENT, 1/1 rad-onc, 1/1 urology, 3/3 ophthal...less so for the less competitive for whatever reason (IM, gensurg, peds)
Click to expand...

22 rads?!!??!?!? damn, parkland must've really made a lot these folks reconsider the contact they want with patients lol. oh what am i getting myself into 😛
 
Tutankhamun said:
Pushing students to the limit is the reason I am looking at UTSW in the first place. I don't want to be a mediocre physician. Do you mean the curriculum/faculty are more demanding, or that Southwestern is just more emotionally taxing than other schools?
Click to expand...

but that begs the question, do we really need to be pushed to the limit to become great physicians? or can it be counterproductive to our education?

i was talking to a 4th year(?) student recently and she told me someone in her class committed suicide. that's pretty damn severe, but from what i hear, this happens throughout the nation. point is, med schools need to challenge their students but they need to be concerned and protective about their own physical and mental well-being.
 
lilowangatang said:
They don't post that information online. Sorry.
Click to expand...

They do. http://www.utsouthwestern.edu/utsw/cda/dept493066/files/633712.html

asnfruitcake said:
i was talking to a 4th year(?) student recently and she told me someone in her class committed suicide. that's pretty damn severe, but from what i hear, this happens throughout the nation. point is, med schools need to challenge their students but they need to be concerned and protective about their own physical and mental well-being.
Click to expand...

I'm not going to get into it much on here, but that suicide may or may not have had anything to do with medical school. There were other issues going on and I'll just leave it at that.
 
Hey guys!

This is my first post ever (yikes!) on SDN. I've usually kinda just watched from the sidelines. I know I don't belong on this page just yet; I'm a pre-med in my junior year. I was, however, looking into applying into UTSW for med school. I had a question, though. How many OOS people do they want/accept? Do the people they accept OOS generally have better stats, MCAT score, GPA, etc.? Also, is the financial aid they offer for OOS people decent, if they offer any at all?

Any help would be great, thanks. 🙂
 
kittenmittens7 said:
Hey guys!

This is my first post ever (yikes!) on SDN. I've usually kinda just watched from the sidelines. I know I don't belong on this page just yet; I'm a pre-med in my junior year. I was, however, looking into applying into UTSW for med school. I had a question, though. How many OOS people do they want/accept? Do the people they accept OOS generally have better stats, MCAT score, GPA, etc.? Also, is the financial aid they offer for OOS people decent, if they offer any at all?

Any help would be great, thanks. 🙂
Click to expand...

By law, 90% of Texas medical school admissions must be Texas residents. That should give you an idea.
 
I just randomly checked my status page today and the page was unavailable...wonder if that means something 🙁
 
What are the pros and cons of living in the apartment (near the north campus?) owned/managed by UT-SW as compared to other living arrangement? I heard a quite high percentage of MS1 students live there. Is it true?

Is the apartment in the relatively safe neighborhood? Do most students commute to the campus by taking the shuttle bus? How long is the ride and how frequently do we have the shuttle bus services?

Thanks!

Edit: found the schedule of the shuttle service: http://www8.utsouthwestern.edu/vgn/...7/41/37/176147Schedule_Med_Park_Apts_Line.pdf
 
Last edited:
doctor freak said:
I just randomly checked my status page today and the page was unavailable...wonder if that means something 🙁
Click to expand...

I can't even access the page where you would log in to check your status, so I'm assuming it's just down for maintenance or something. I wouldn't take it as a sign either way.
 
peabody2 said:
What are the pros and cons of living in the apartment (near the north campus?) owned/managed by UT-SW as compared to other living arrangement? I heard a quite high percentage of MS1 students live there. Is it true?

Is the apartment in the relatively safe neighborhood? Do most students commute to the campus by taking the shuttle bus? How long is the ride and how frequently do we have the shuttle bus services?

Thanks!

Edit: found the schedule of the shuttle service: http://www8.utsouthwestern.edu/vgn/...7/41/37/176147Schedule_Med_Park_Apts_Line.pdf
Click to expand...

I wouldn't say that being owned by UTSW gives MedPark much of an advantage...the best reason to live here (I live here currently) are the price, proximity, and the shuttle. The neighborhood around is probably not somewhere you want to walk around too much late at night, but the complex is gated and there is a cop at the front gate at nights.

The only real "cons" about living at MedPark, as far as I can think of, is that some people get tired of living in a place that is ALL med students/grad students/residents etc... also, some people move to uptown/west village to be closer to the bars 🙂

The shuttle will first drop off at North Campus (research) and then head over to South Campus, so all in all it takes about 8 minutes? It will drop you off pretty close to where our classes are (closer than the parking garage).

My opinion? MedPark is a good place to live at least your first year (there are quite a few of us who are staying at MedPark next year) because you can meet a lot of classmates and its so convenient.
 
lilowangatang said:
When I interviewed here moons ago, I too thought utsw was awesome. It's OK. You could get quality medical school education any and everywhere. What I like about this school: 4th year is really chill, the testing schedule only tests 1-2 subjects at a time instead othe block testing schedule done elsewhere and is tested in small chunks of info so retention is better, there's a lot of activities to get involved in. What I hate about this school: 3rd year here is known as malignant amongst schools from west to east coast and this is no rumor, first and second year courses and tests are poor preparation for the clinical years.

Be mentally prepared about med school- it's a really rough and bumpy ride but super rewarding if/when you finish.
Click to expand...
Are you a med student here? Because as a current MS3, I've found nothing further from the truth. 97% of people are down-to-earth and collaborative here.
 
TheLesPaul said:
Are you a med student here? Because as a current MS3, I've found nothing further from the truth. 97% of people are down-to-earth and collaborative here.
Click to expand...

To be fair, she said nothing about the people although I do disagree with some of her points anyway. Third year is going to be malignant everywhere, how UTSW stacks up relative to other places I don't know since I've only personally experienced it here but I didn't think it was that bad (however, I'm one of those people who don't need a lot of sleep to function and regularly stayed up late at night in college, whether to party or pull all-nighters). I thought second year was actually pretty good preparation for both step 1 and third year. I do agree that first year is a complete waste of time.
 
kittenmittens7 said:
Hey guys!

This is my first post ever (yikes!) on SDN. I've usually kinda just watched from the sidelines. I know I don't belong on this page just yet; I'm a pre-med in my junior year. I was, however, looking into applying into UTSW for med school. I had a question, though. How many OOS people do they want/accept? Do the people they accept OOS generally have better stats, MCAT score, GPA, etc.? Also, is the financial aid they offer for OOS people decent, if they offer any at all?

Any help would be great, thanks. 🙂
Click to expand...

Under Texas law, Texas medical schools can only accept a maximum of 10% OOS students. I would also try to score as high on the MCAT as possible. So maybe you didn’t do as well on the MCAT as you hoped and you think that you might have a slim chance getting in because someone with a 24 MCAT was accepted last year. Think again. Below is a message from a UTSW faculty member:

We had a great deal of discussion about the 1 person of 230 new students who had an MCAT of 24.As part of our agreement with JAMP, we were required to take that person as that applicant was part of the JAMP which guarantees medical school admission. JAMP has a separate admissions process/ match . No one else who was not part of JAMP was admitted to our medical school with a 24 or lower through the non-JAMP admissions process.
 
goodthoughts said:
10749369] We aren't necessarily smarter or more competent, but from what I've heard from colleagues and attendings, we have a steely, "I've seen it / done it before," look in our eyes, which, I'm not afraid of admitting: I'm proud of.
Click to expand...

Another recent grad here, and I couldn't have put it any better than this.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

wysdoc
2024-2025 UT Southwestern (UTSW)
15 16 17 18 19
Replies
939
Views
188K
kayruns
kayruns
wysdoc
2024-2025 University of Washington
10 11 12 13 14
Replies
680
Views
143K
stew_md
S
wysdoc
2024-2025 University of Chicago (Pritzker)
12 13 14 15 16
Replies
778
Views
202K
X0001234
X0001234
wysdoc
2024-2025 Medical University of South Carolina
3 4 5 6 7
Replies
302
Views
57K
hbic2025
H
wysdoc
2024-2025 University of Central Florida (UCF)
3 4 5 6 7
Replies
318
Views
72K
LaurelePoole
L
Top