2011-2012 University of Texas - Houston Application Thread

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they haven't even had finals yet.

I'm interested in knowing what they hated so much about block week and how much of it is actually avoided at other schools. Nobody's going to be a big fan of tests.
 
just got invited for an interview here! was starting to give up on this one...
 
I'm currently an MS1 at UTH and I'm in the middle of exam prep. Is it fun? No. Am I stressed out? Yes. Do I wish I chose another school? Never (and i almost did based on this very thing because im a non-trad and was worried about getting back into the groove of studying).

This is medical school. It's hard for a reason. But hard does not mean impossible or tortuous. In fact I'm finding med school to be less stressful than my undergrad. They are hard in different ways. I have to know a lot of information for med school but the test questions are far more straight forward than the ones I encountered in undergrad. There are very few curveball questions. If you know everything in the syllabus, you'll honor....at least that's been the case for me. Knowing everything from lecture in undergrad didn't neccessarily guarantee me an A.

What's great about UTH is that the faculty 'get it', and have made adjustments based on past years' complaints. This year we have 2 fewer finals than last year's class. Here's the schedule break down...

Tomorrow 12/1 at 1 pm : biochem block 3 exam
Friday 12/2 at 1pm: histology block 3 written and practical (no final for this course)
Monday 12/5 at 10am: gross anatomy block 3 written and practical
Wednesday 12/7 at 1pm: Developmental anatomy block 3 exam (no final for this course)
Friday 12/9 at 1pm: biochem final (a national board exam)
Monday 12/12: introduction to clinical medicine final (only test we've had in this course so far...year long course)
Wednesday 12/14: gross anatomy final (national board exam)
DONE!

Except for the biochem and histo block 3 exams we have over 24 hours between every exam.

Well, I must get back to biochem prep....feel free to ask questions and I'll reply as I can.
 
PianoMajor said:
interview invite dec. 16.
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Missorleans said:
just got invited for an interview here! was starting to give up on this one...
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Congrats to you two! Hopefully I'll see you at orientation 🙂👍

In response to the discussion about block tests...my feeling as a fellow applicant is 'meh, who cares?' 200 students have done it every year for a while now. It can't be that bad. If it didn't work, it wouldn't still be in place.
 
For those already accepted, are y'all planning on matriculating? If so, do y'all want to get a facebook group together to help facilitate housing agreements? PM me if you're interested.
 
armybound said:
And besides, if you remember all of our smiling faces at the interview, we're very happy here.
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👍

The interview day notwithstanding, that's what I found most attractive about UTH.
 
Missorleans said:
If you're OOS, and you didn't tell them about it, how would they know you got accepted to another Texas school? TMDSAS doesn't reflect it. And in any case, they don't tell schools where residents got accepted. That's not whats holding you up. You've probably just got more waiting ahead, like til after match happens.
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So TX schools still offer spots to OSS after the match? Or, do they stop offering spots after a certain date? I'm just not as familiar with the TMDSAS system and how it works than with AMCAS.
 
andence said:
So TX schools still offer spots to OSS after the match? Or, do they stop offering spots after a certain date? I'm just not as familiar with the TMDSAS system and how it works than with AMCAS.
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OOS applicants can definitely still get accepted off the waitlist after the match. Quite a few people in my class were. 🙂
 
Techmed07 said:
The curriculum at UT-Houston needs to be revamped there has to be a better way then to have hell week for two weeks in a row. I am not a student at UT-Houston but I have a friend that goes there. They start their block exams and after that start their finals. He told me it is NOT easy and it sucks. There is no way to sugar coat it. However, as a student you adapt and looking at their average step scores they are very much prepared for the boards. The hardest thing about the curriculum at UT-Houston is that if you fall behind the system makes it VERY difficult to catch up. In addition, it may create a binge/purge habit in students. In honestly, I would struggle in a curriculum like UT-Houston and UTSW...However, preclinicals grades do not mean much for residency anyways.
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As I student here I have to disagree with you about this entire post. I do NOT think UT Houston's curriculum needs to be revamped... not with an average step score this past year of 236, and a vast majority of students who are content with their medical school experience.

When is it ever easy in medical school to catch up when you fall behind? Never with any school that I know of.

I also don't agree that you would struggle in a curriculum like UTH/UTSW. I don't think curriculum matters almost whatsoever when it comes to doing well in medical school- I think the people, the experience, and ones own attitude, habits, and disposition are much more important factors.

And HighHeels, all your posts are about "easiest" med schools and "not having high numbers" etc etc. You need to realize that you were accepted to multiple schools because their adcoms sincerely believed that you could survive and excel in medical school. If you don't agree with them, it might be best to find another career. But if you do, buck up and find your self confidence. Come in knowing that you belong. Hopefully you will find, as I have, enjoyment in learning about health, disease, and working with people to diagnose, treat, and improve the quality of people's lives. It's pretty awesome.

Edit: ok, I do think curriculum matters, but I don't think it matters as much as people would think. And considering what I stated above, I don't think ours 1.) Is going anywhere anytime soon and 2.) needs to be revamped anyway
 
Also, 3rd block + finals first year wasn't fun. It was really hard. But we all got through it (and finals actually raised my grade in every class). This year the faculty were so nice as to remove finals from two MS1 classes- instead I believe they have to write a group paper or something? Sounds too easy 😉...

I still realize sometimes on MWF afternoons that last year I would have been in the anatomy lab at that time and bask in pure satisfaction as I run or study or watch tv. It's a great feeling, haha. On that subject however, MS1's are rarely (almost never) in class 8-5. Fall semester is more of a time-suck because of anatomy (no one really goes to histo lab except for nerds like me) but spring semester is literally 8-12 everyday except Tuesday when neuro lab is 1-4. And then you do stuff with standardized patients like maybe once every two weeks. I don't know how a med school schedule gets lighter than that (especially if you stream from the comfort of your own home or a coffee shop).
 
So is there going to be another interview date in January or are UTH sticking to the official Dec16th as the last interview date?
 
Does anyone know when they may send out the next batch of pre match offers? or are they done until match day?
 
Did anybody who attended the reapplicant workshop last April received an II here yet? I had a decent 20 min chat with Dr. Gleason, and improved my application as Dr. Love suggested. Yet, still no word. Maybe I will email them before they send out invites to the last interview date 🙁
 
Are there any pakistanis at this school? my so is pakistani and i guess wants to know if there is any support group, cultural group, or spouse group she can also participate in...
 
Lovebox said:
Are there any pakistanis at this school? my so is pakistani and i guess wants to know if there is any support group, cultural group, or spouse group she can also participate in...
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I will ask around and try to find out for you. I know that there are Pakistani students but I will ask about groups and such.
 
Looking forward to interviewing this Friday. I've heard plenty who love UTH. I'm interested to see how it compares to UTSW. Anything standout to those who've already interviewed at both?


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SanAntonian said:
Did anybody who attended the reapplicant workshop last April received an II here yet? I had a decent 20 min chat with Dr. Gleason, and improved my application as Dr. Love suggested. Yet, still no word. Maybe I will email them before they send out invites to the last interview date 🙁
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Just curious, did you interview here last application cycle?? I interviewed last cycle and never got off the waitlist. I decided not to apply this year but will be applying next year and just wondering if I should worry that there's no chance I'll get an invite next time around.

Anyone else with a similar experience, please feel free to chime in - I'd very much appreciate any info.
 
STxHorn said:
Looking forward to interviewing this Friday. I've heard plenty who love UTH. I'm interested to see how it compares to UTSW. Anything standout to those who've already interviewed at both?


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I got the feeling that UTH had a more cohesive student body compared to UTSW, although the students that I bumped into at both schools seemed relatively happy and well-adjusted.

UTH has nicer facilities compared to UTSW, and it has the benefit of being located in the Texas Medical Center. The caseload you see at Parkland is nothing to sneeze at, though ... plus, they're building two new hospitals (a new Parkland + university hospital) that should be completed by the time 3rd or 4th year rotations roll around.

UTH does block scheduling, UTSW does not (benefits and drawbacks to each).

Research-wise, I don't really think UTH stacks up compared to UTSW. I think UTH mentioned during my interview day that they had recently expanded some of their research facilities, but at the end of the day, UTSW is Texas' flagship medical research institution. UTSW's biomedical research building is gorgeous. That being said, if you're into research, both institutions seems to have plenty of opportunities for medical students, so you should be good wherever you go.
 
I disagree about facilities (unless you are referring to clinical rotation sites). UTSW had a nice student center, plenty of space to study, and overall seemed to be student centered.
 
Guess no more interviews here? UT-H doesn't seem to like me too much :meanie:
 
WhiteCoatFuture said:
Just curious, did you interview here last application cycle?? I interviewed last cycle and never got off the waitlist. I decided not to apply this year but will be applying next year and just wondering if I should worry that there's no chance I'll get an invite next time around.

Anyone else with a similar experience, please feel free to chime in - I'd very much appreciate any info.
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I don't have the exact same experience, but I did apply twice to UTH without so much as an interview before they interviewed and accepted me.
 
Anyone know about when the next pre-matches will be sent out?
 
Lovebox said:
Are there any pakistanis at this school? my so is pakistani and i guess wants to know if there is any support group, cultural group, or spouse group she can also participate in...
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Well I'm Pakistani and I've been accepted into the incoming 2016 class. I'm not exactly sure whether i'm headed to UTH yet (I'm confused between UTH and UTSW right now), but houston is home so I just as well may go to UTH.

And according to MSAR, the last year's incoming class had 4 pakistanis as well. So I'd think this years class would have around that many too.

Having said that, why would you think that a support group based on race is necessary? I was born and raised in Pakistan for 19 years, but my support group and closest friends are mostly all non-pakistani. Do not restrict yourself, there are a lot of amazing people out there.
 
Well, I think that it's wrong to assume that we are culturally restricting ourselves.

My SO grew up in Pakistan and then married me who grew up in the U.S. came from a half irish half german background. She has no family in this country, and she has been wonderful throughout this process. At this time, we have no south asian friends simply as it happens. It was not planned this way, but that's how it ended up. Understandably, imo, she wants to interact with people from a similar cultural background. I don't think that's being closed-minded or selective....I think it's already having a bunch of diverse friends but also looking for people who remind you of home and who can relate to you about traditions.
 
Lovebox said:
Well, I think that it's wrong to assume that we are culturally restricting ourselves.

My SO grew up in Pakistan and then married me who grew up in the U.S. came from a half irish half german background. She has no family in this country, and she has been wonderful throughout this process. At this time, we have no south asian friends simply as it happens. It was not planned this way, but that's how it ended up. Understandably, imo, she wants to interact with people from a similar cultural background. I don't think that's being closed-minded or selective....I think it's already having a bunch of diverse friends but also looking for people who remind you of home and who can relate to you about traditions.
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I didn't mean to come across as judgmental in anyway. But most Texas schools have a large representation of Pakistanis and Indians (about 15 - 20 southasians in every class). So once your spouse goes to medical school, she will have no trouble in finding individuals who share the same cultural values as her. On a side note, its very admirable that you are making an effort and trying to make sure that the transition that your spouse is making is as comfortable as possible. Having gone through the same transition 3 years ago, I can understand the huge culture shock she may be going through right now. But, she will be fine, UTH has a week long orientation where one gets to know their peers and form social circles.
 
WhiteCoatFuture said:
Just curious, did you interview here last application cycle?? I interviewed last cycle and never got off the waitlist. I decided not to apply this year but will be applying next year and just wondering if I should worry that there's no chance I'll get an invite next time around.

Anyone else with a similar experience, please feel free to chime in - I'd very much appreciate any info.
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No, I didn't interview last year. My mcat wasn't that great, and I took it for a second time in May. My second score was in the 30's, which is why I'm a little surprised I haven't received an II. This school is really popular and it's tough to receive an invite, even with good stats. But there's still a chance some of us will have the opportunity to be interviewed in January :xf:
 
Hi everyone, I prematched on November 15th and I was wondering are there any students involved in the Texas Medical Center Orchestra? It sounds really cool and I don't think there's anything similar at UTSW but I could be wrong. One of the things I look for in a school is a vibrant atmosphere for art, culture, music, etc...
 
BlakeV said:
Hi everyone, I prematched on November 15th and I was wondering are there any students involved in the Texas Medical Center Orchestra? It sounds really cool and I don't think there's anything similar at UTSW but I could be wrong. One of the things I look for in a school is a vibrant atmosphere for art, culture, music, etc...
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That sounds awesome! I'm a music major. please post if you find out anything about it.
 
BlakeV said:
Hi everyone, I prematched on November 15th and I was wondering are there any students involved in the Texas Medical Center Orchestra? It sounds really cool and I don't think there's anything similar at UTSW but I could be wrong. One of the things I look for in a school is a vibrant atmosphere for art, culture, music, etc...
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You should send a message to the SDN user "Jolie South". She goes to BCM but she plays in the TMC Orchestra.
 
Whatyousay said:
I got the feeling that UTH had a more cohesive student body compared to UTSW, although the students that I bumped into at both schools seemed relatively happy and well-adjusted.
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Hey there-- I'm a current MS1 (currently in the middle of this dreaded Block III + Finals multiweek testing extravaganza everyone is fretting about) who thought he'd pop his head and give his $0.02 along with an offer to field questions via posts or PMs.

Without taking too much time away from my studying-- I will say this: I think the above quote is very true. Obviously (and this is true of 99.99% of medical students who give their opinion about their school's class/curriculum/facilities in comparison to any other school) I have only experienced what we have here in Houston-- but I have worked in research at Baylor and have many friends at other schools. I'd say our class is very cohesive, friendly towards each other, and interested in propelling each other towards being successful as a class, rather than as individuals. You'll hear about the Google Group, the CD full of resources, the MS2 buddies who hand down textbooks and advice, and the tutoring systems, the pre-school retreat with the games and skits and costume party-- what you won't hear as much about is the informal review sessions put on my MS2s, the faculty member (and MS2 pedagoges) who spends a cumulative week's worth of extra time (and here I mean 24 h x 7) helping MS1s preparing for anatomy practicals, and the faculty mentors who invite students into their homes for Thanksgiving dinners.

I've spent time in organizations that focus on fostering a sense of community and shared vision among their members, and realize that difficult experiences forge strong bonds no matter what the context is or what the school provides-- medical school is difficult, and so it lends itself to that happening organically. But I really believe that the adcom here does a good job selecting a student body with an emphasis on *people*, alongside the usual metrics.

As far as the whole curriculum thing goes, I think there's a grain of truth in what I heard at one school (not UTH, actually) on interview day-- we're all studying for the same big test at the end of basic sciences. The amount of work you put in to preparing for that big test will correlate strongly with how you do on it-- the average at UT Houston speaks for itself with respect to how well-aligned our curriculum is with the USMLE boards. There is streamed video of lectures, and no mandatory attendance with the exception of a few things, so there is a lot of flexibility in terms of how you approach the volume of work-- but the amount of work will be fairly static no matter where you matriculate. I don't think the design of the curriculum matters that much. As someone interested in education theory, I thought that the curriculum at El Paso was really innovative and sounded awesome. For some people, if you know a lot about how you learn, that might be a lot better-- if you love the idea of PBL (and in my experience, even if you love the idea like I do you might not love it in practice), maybe UTMB would be great. But other than that, it's six of one and half-dozen of the other. Places like UTH and Southwestern, like most other schools, are grounded in traditions built upon traditions. They're slowly becoming more integrative (ask about Clin Apps and TBL on your interview day) and some people like that, others don't-- but for now, medical school is what it is, and until the Flexner Report Part Deux, the basic principles underlying it aren't going anywhere.

So anyway, long story short-- I'm very happy here, and I'm someone who takes education very seriously. School is hard. But it's not impossible, and the faculty and other students here go out of their way to help you make it through. Please feel free to shoot me PMs with any questions, or better yet post them here-- and after finals I'll do my best to answer them from the perspective of someone halfway through first year.
 
Interview invitation received this week after +4 months since application was submitted, and after interviewing at all other Texas schools and even out-of-state ones that are "reach schools" for me.

At this point I am just looking forward to the much-commented chocolate cake, not so much the interview day :laugh:.
 
Cinematographer said:
Interview invitation received this week after +4 months since application was submitted, and after interviewing at all other Texas schools and even out-of-state ones that are "reach schools" for me.

At this point I am just looking forward to the much-commented chocolate cake, not so much the interview day :laugh:.
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Haha glad to hear there still shootin out offers. Care to share any background/stat info?
 
Cinematographer said:
Interview invitation received this week after +4 months since application was submitted, and after interviewing at all other Texas schools and even out-of-state ones that are "reach schools" for me.

At this point I am just looking forward to the much-commented chocolate cake, not so much the interview day :laugh:.
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Cake was awesome. I was anticipating it so much that it made it even better. :laugh:
 
armybound said:
Do you mean you're not interested in interviewing here?
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Don't get me wrong, I want to learn more about UTH. Have plenty of friends currently going there as MS1s and MS2s. However, after interviewing about twice a month since August, I think it is fairly natural for someone to feel worn out and just not want to interview at all.

Kind of tedious to go through my TMDSAS app again for the +20th time, so the famous cake is a big incentive :laugh:

SanAntonian said:
Haha glad to hear there still shootin out offers. Care to share any background/stat info?
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30<My MCAT<35 / +3.9GPA / Lots of research, global health / TX resident
 
Cinematographer said:
Don't get me wrong, I want to learn more about UTH. Have plenty of friends currently going there as MS1s and MS2s. However, after interviewing about twice a month since August, I think it is fairly natural for someone to feel worn out and just not want to interview at all.

So the cake is a big incentive :laugh:
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Right, I didn't know if you meant you were just worn out or if you wouldn't even consider attending UTH if they accepted you. The latter would obviously suggest that the interview spot is best reserved for someone who would like to attend this school.

I was just trying to clarify what you meant. I understand how tiring the process is.
 
Cinematographer said:
Interview invitation received this week after +4 months since application was submitted, and after interviewing at all other Texas schools and even out-of-state ones that are "reach schools" for me.

At this point I am just looking forward to the much-commented chocolate cake, not so much the interview day :laugh:.
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When is the invite for?
 
As far as clinical experiences are concerned, what are the major differences between uth and bcm? (besides the extra time Baylor students have due to shorter preclinical years)
 
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