2011-2012 University of Texas Medical Branch Application Thread

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i meant the match result to residencies of the graduating seniors at UTMB.. :)
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An odd amount of people heading to PR.
 
Question for current UTMB students. During the time off after your first year, is there any time for traveling, or is it more important to do a preceptorships or some research? I know it says student can use the time for whatever, but does anyone use this time for a few weeks of traveling? And would it be considered unwise to travel during this time?
 
w1k1 said:
Question for current UTMB students. During the time off after your first year, is there any time for traveling, or is it more important to do a preceptorships or some research? I know it says student can use the time for whatever, but does anyone use this time for a few weeks of traveling? And would it be considered unwise to travel during this time?
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You pretty much get 8 weeks off to do whatever. I know of people from my class who will be traveling, doing research or clinicals abroad, doing clinicals or research in galveston, etc. I'll be doing absolutely nothing all summer :) so that's an option too.
 
w1k1 said:
Question for current UTMB students. During the time off after your first year, is there any time for traveling, or is it more important to do a preceptorships or some research? I know it says student can use the time for whatever, but does anyone use this time for a few weeks of traveling? And would it be considered unwise to travel during this time?
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No one cares what you do during that time. If you think you might want to have research on your CV, it's a good time to do it since you'll be very busy so much of the rest of the time. It is nice to have clinical experiences / preceptorships because you get some 4th year credits knocked out, which makes your 4th year more free for travel or moving to where you do your residency or whatever, but truly.... doesn't matter at all what you do. Travel if you can. You'll literally *NEVER* have time off like that again, unless you schedule it for your 4th year. It is your last summer, so if you want to take the time -- take it! I don't regret doing preceptorships, but I wouldn't have regretted doing nothing either.

(You get 4th year credit for research too as far as I know, just FYI)
 
Does the school of medicine do social events with the other professional schools on campus? Just curious.
 
SoonerFromTexas said:
Does the school of medicine do social events with the other professional schools on campus? Just curious.
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Sure! There are TGITs and professional clubs (Peds, Surgery, etc.) that have social events or lunch meetings. There are also a variety of not specifically social events (like service projects - Halloween carnival for Galveston kiddos, St. Vincent's Free (student-run) Clinic, etc.) that are interdisciplinary.

And in MS2, in the last course of the year, Great Syndromes (which is basically a 4 week review course of big topics - delirium/dementia, fever, diabetes, shock/sepsis, etc.) you work with physician assistants in the PBL (problem based learning) component of the class which actually has been great!

Hope that helps! If any one has any questions, let me know (PM or here).
 
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"Based on experience, withdrawals occur gradually beginning in May, and may continue through the date of matriculation, August 20, 2012. Applicants holding more than one acceptance must make a decision about which school they will attend by May 31, 2012. Applicants holding a position at another Texas school will automatically be withdrawn from the alternate pool at this time."

From their alternate list email, if you guys remember. So, I suppose after May 31st?
I honestly don't feel too good about getting off the waitlist here. It doesn't seem like there is much movement at all at utmb.
 
There is generally at least a little bit of movement with most classes. While I honestly don't remember much, as it was almost 2 years ago, I know a guy who got into UT-H off the waitlist and subsequently withdrew from UTMB over the summer. I think I remember hearing about at least another person or two who did the same thing as the first guy (thus freeing up spots at UTMB), but I don't remember the specifics anymore. All I know is that there is generally movement and some switching around during the summer.

Good luck, everyone :) Let me know if anyone has any questions - I'd be happy to answer them during my (albeit rare) USMLE study breaks ;)
 
Sorry to spam this thread, but I'm in a bit of a time crunch. Any Aggies here? I'm a former student applying, and I need some info on what to input on AMCAS for the committee letter packet thing so I can get the letter of evaluation request form. OPSA said they could mail me the instructions, but that I need the info by Saturday at the latest. If you could hook me up with the info, or know a current applicant that hook me up with the info, it would be much appreciated.

Just shoot me a private message or something if you don't want to post here. Thanks.

Edit: nevermind, I got it
 
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After anxiously waiting months and months for this moment, it finally came today...

Got the acceptance email today from UTMB!!! :D:D:D
 
waltzendless said:
Wow, not a lot of waitlist movement here at all. Only roguesong?
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Historically, there's not a lot of waitlist movement at UTMB. But in general, 1 acceptance on SDN equates to a few acceptances IRL.
 
Does anyone have any insight on what it's like to do rotations in Houston? Advantages and disadvantages? Are UTMB students well-received in med center? Is this track as stable as staying in Galveston?

UTMB really has my heart and I really like the curriculum but just received an offer from UTH a couple days ago. Originally ranked it 1st in match but think I prefer UTMB now. If I knew my experience with rotations in med center could be just as great as if I were a student at UTH then the decision is so easy.

Thanks for your help!!
 
hailholyqueen22 said:
Does anyone have any insight on what it's like to do rotations in Houston? Advantages and disadvantages? Are UTMB students well-received in med center? Is this track as stable as staying in Galveston?

UTMB really has my heart and I really like the curriculum but just received an offer from UTH a couple days ago. Originally ranked it 1st in match but think I prefer UTMB now. If I knew my experience with rotations in med center could be just as great as if I were a student at UTH then the decision is so easy.

Thanks for your help!!
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While I am starting my rotations (in Galveston) in a few weeks and can't share any personal experience yet, what I have heard from upper classmen has been favorable in all locations.

While the Galveston rotations have been around as long as the school has been (I assume), and the Houston rotations are newer (~10 years, I think), the people I've spoken to seem to be perfectly content with Houston rotations. There are of course certain rotations that some people seem to perfer more in one place or another (like, evidentally Peds in Austin is spectacular), but I think that would be expected in any case.

I don't think there is any problem with the reception of UTMB students down in Houston, as they are pretty used to us at this point ;) I know for Psych, whether you are Houston or Galveston, you have to spend some of the rotation in Houston because that's just UTMB's set-up.

However, wanting to do your entire MS3 year or certain rotations in Houston isn't guarenteed 100%, though in general Austin rotations end up with the wait-list and Houston rotations do not (though my class was evidently unique in that it ended up being the exact opposite haha!). So, technically you may not get Houston if you want it, but basically everyone does, historically speaking.

I was 100% sure I wanted to go to UTH until I interviewed at UTMB (absolutely loved it more than I have ever loved a school / community) and then UTH (did not actually like it that much... despite doing 5 summers of research at their med school and being a Houston native for 20+ years). Galveston is almost painfully friendly and helpful, but it is small which may annoy you if you love big cities. However, as a big city lover myself, I just chose to live off the island near League City so I can be close to the city and close to the school at the same time. Best of both worlds for me :)

The biggest difference I think between rotations in the med center as a UTH or UTMB student is the hospitals you rotate at. I don't honestly remember which ones were UTH and which were UTMB (and which were Baylor, for that matter....) but you can call the schools and ask this easily. If that is deciding factor for you, that'd probably be the only big difference I could see other than where you were a student. If you did a Houston rotation or MS3 year, you would still have to come back to Galveston for certain didactic lectures and tests, so expect to commute some still.

Let me know if I can help more... but go to UTMB :D !! I have never met a more friendly group of health professionals in any other hospital, so I would highly highly highly recommend it!
 
hailholyqueen22 said:
Does anyone have any insight on what it's like to do rotations in Houston? Advantages and disadvantages? Are UTMB students well-received in med center? Is this track as stable as staying in Galveston?

UTMB really has my heart and I really like the curriculum but just received an offer from UTH a couple days ago. Originally ranked it 1st in match but think I prefer UTMB now. If I knew my experience with rotations in med center could be just as great as if I were a student at UTH then the decision is so easy.

Thanks for your help!!
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Oh, and one more thing -- I would really say go where your heart is. You have to spend 2 years of your life in Galveston at UTMB no matter what, and if you love it, it will make 2 of the hardest years of your life much better. I love UTMB... and I have loved the last 2 years despite the fact that they were insanely hard and pushed me more than anything ever has. I am confident I would have gotten a great education no matter where I had gone, but I recommend to ANYONE .. go where your heart is, go where you are happy, go to the school that feels the most like home.. because it will be your home for several years. If you hate where you are, past years' board scores, rotation reputations, etc. are meaningless because you'd wish to be anywhere else or just to be done and out of there. If you love it, for once, put aside the rational part of your brain and go with your heart. It was scary as hell to do so for me, but I would do it again without a second thought if given the choice. As much as I look forward to graduating and getting that MD after my name, it also makes me incredibly sad to realize that I am half done with medical school and just that much closer to leaving so many wonderful friends and potentially UTMB too (should I not do residency here, which again, I would definitely consider!).

TL;DR: Go to medical school where you will be happy and where your heart says. The brain isn't always the smartest organ in the body.
 
If too many people apply for rotations in Houston or Austin, how do they choose who gets to go? Class rank?
 
RandomHero117 said:
If too many people apply for rotations in Houston or Austin, how do they choose who gets to go? Class rank?
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Everyone who wants to go to Houston or Austin submits a form explaining why they want to go to that location, and spots are initially filled based on how compelling the reason is. For example, if you have a spouse that works in Houston, or if you have a child who goes to school in Houston, or family in Houston, or Galveston gives you anaphylaxis :laugh:.... those might be compelling reasons. After that, I think it is first-come, first-serve... and first-come, first-serve also applies when deciding among the compelling reasons as well (because 100 people could have legit reasons for only 40 spots). When you turn in the form, they time & date stamp it to help with the latter reason. After the spots are tentatively filled, those who applied and were chosen get the chance to accept or decline, and then there is potential for waitlist movement if people decline, pretty much until MS3 starts (I think... don't quote me on that last part about when waitlist movement ends lol).

For individual rotations (like, based in Galveston but wanting to do Peds only in Austin)... I think that is first-come, first-serve only. But, maybe compelling reasons has an impact there too... less familiar with the individual rotation part overall, though. They give you a couple giant class meetings about this midway through MS2, so the above info should be enough to help for the interim :)
 
Anyone have advice on where to purchase supplies like our stethescope, reflex hammer, sphygmomanometer, etc.? Or reccomendations on which specific ones to buy? There seems to be a pretty big price range on things.
 
Shost5 said:
Anyone have advice on where to purchase supplies like our stethescope, reflex hammer, sphygmomanometer, etc.? Or reccomendations on which specific ones to buy? There seems to be a pretty big price range on things.
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I'm probably going to buy a nice stethoscope (littman cardiology 3) and go cheap on everything else. And I'm just going to search online for the best prices.
 
Hey everybody,
I just got off the waitlist so I feel that I'm behind in everything. How do we get our utmb email account and access to mystar and bb?
 
drunkenaznperso said:
Hey everybody,
I just got off the waitlist so I feel that I'm behind in everything. How do we get our utmb email account and access to mystar and bb?
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Congrats! I got in off of the waitlist myself in late May, and am almost done with the process of catching up to everyone else.

As for your question, contact Enrollment Services at UTMB. Here's a link with contact info specific to what you need: http://www.utmb.edu/enrollmentservices/contact.asp

Call either Erica Vasquez or Vicki Barker directly, depending on what letter your last name starts with. Try calling them a couple times if they don't pick up, but they're usually good about answering. If they don't answer, call the main phone number for Enrollment Services. Leave a message if no one picks up, and they'll usually get back to you the next day.

Assuming you've turned in your acceptance packet already, it takes them a while to process it. Once they do, they'll send you an email with your MyStar username, which is the same as your UTMB email ([email protected]) and should be the same as your Blackboard account. It won't hurt to call them to see where they are with creating your account. They'll let you know if you're missing anything or how much longer it will take them to set it up.

Once you do receive your UTMB username, call the UTMB help desk and they'll give you a temporary password to sign in with, then you log in and change it to a password of your choice. The number for the help desk will be in the email that notifies you of your username.

Also, if you haven't already, join us on the FB class of 2016 page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/359335910761029/

There are plenty of upperclassmen in that group who are helpful in answering any questions you might have. Or, if you have a question you think might have been asked already, use the search function within that group (the magnifying glass on the top right of the group page).

Make sure to send in your transcripts if you haven't already, get your FAFSA all squared away (be sure to use the IRS data retrieval tool if you can, it speeds up the process to see if you're eligible for scholarships and grants from UTMB). Also, take care of your immunizations/titers and send them in.

See you in the fall mate. Feel free to PM me if you have any more questions.
 
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