2012-2013 University of Tennessee Application Thread

Started by gettheleadout
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Are there any current students lurking who might be willing to field some questions?
 
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flamm said:
Let me start by saying this – I was happy that they accepted me and am appreciative for being in medical school but being a 2nd year now and looking back at my selection I truly regret picking this school. There aren’t too many in depth reviews on UT College of Medicine and reasons probably being many of the students are probably scared to speak their minds for fear of the administration, alright, here ya go…
Education- Anatomy and immune are pretty well taught here, micro is poorly thaught, pharmacology is awful and you are pretty much reduced to learning it by nitpicking a few things here and there from certain lectures. Organ systems -- the average of our class (170 or so students in our class) at the end of hematology module was 69!!! (passing grade is 68 here)… barely passing as a whole class. Same thing happened (very low grades as a class in cardio and renal modules). They even erased all the exams from the system. The administration said they do not have a clue of what happened.
They curved ALL of the exams that we took throughout the Spring semester--believe it or not, out of 6 exams, all scores got VERY curved in the end. All our grades were pretty bad on all the exams before curving.
Of course, rumors circulate that they manipulate grades. Some people think that if you are borderline passing but you earn a barely passing grade that they actually fail you… say you earned a 69 or 70 – barely passing. You get your score report and somehow you failed according to the score report…many people have asked to see their exams to review and they are denied being able to look at them.
Fortunately, I have not cut it this close but this has happened to a few of my friends…there are multiple other occasions where it appears they manipulate grades to their liking…which just unnerves some people. Overall, UT picks and chooses who they help, who they screw; who they accommodate, who they won't tolerate…
Administration is by far my biggest complaint and many students will agree. There is a rift between administration and students. They say they work for their students but the fact is that they care more about their own reputation than they do about their students. They rule with an iron fist and work by scaring their students into doing things out of fear. I could go on and on – there are just too many things to honestly write down…It boils down to the school feels very oppressive and administration is not friendly at all, education is very poor overall…
I am sure some people wil say that I am one of those disgruntled medical students or whatever but fact is I appreciate UT for accepting me and giving me the opportunity… they are oppressive, multiple courses are taught very, very poorly, high turnover of curriculum, administration is not friendly at all or helpful, sometimes even the opposite of helpful, the school is run like a business (a bad one).
Again, believe me or not – it does not matter to me but just wish someone had put this sort of information out there before I made my decision on UT because I would have 100% percent chosen somewhere else or not gone to medical school. Unless you are looking to become a crappy physician, I'd stay away unless you have no choice or you like this kind of system.
If you have multiple choices for schools I would think long and hard before attending at UT… Being a medical student is stressful enough let alone dealing with the crappy administrative staff, arbitrary grading, personal vendetta, and so on…Hard to describe unless you’re here…
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@Ann would you agree or disagree with anything here?
 
I am an M2 as well. It's not that bad. That person is some combo of whiny and crazy. There have been some miscommunications with our class, but that is mainly due to our class being the guinea pigs for the new curriculum. It has gotten better and will be in a much, much better place for every following year. Best of luck with the decision. Clinicals at UT are pretty great, so that helps too.
 
I would love to have you weigh in on this as well--especially with regard to there existing a rift between students and faculty.

I just interviewed there, and that just wasn't the vibe I picked up at all.
 
Dreamer9713 said:
I would love to have you weigh in on this as well--especially with regard to there existing a rift between students and faculty.

I just interviewed there, and that just wasn't the vibe I picked up at all.
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It's really not. Like at any educational institution, there are professors that are loved and professors that are less than loved. The faculty is very willing to hear all feedback and are willing to make changes based on that feedback. The professors readily answer questions via email, and many set up review sessions. I have not visited any professors in their office, but I have friends that have found it very helpful. Like any place, it's not perfect, but I would chose it again every time.
 
Ann Hedonia said:
I'm currently an M2 at UTHSC. Any questions?
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What’s the student culture like? Or rather, how do you personally feel about the class dynamic? On interview days I get the feeling that I get the most exposure to the people who are most gung-ho about the institution but wanted the opinion of someone not necessarily working admissions. Also, there wasn’t really much of a chance to mingle and get a feel for it myself.

Having not had the chance to tour the anatomy lab on my interview day, what’s the basic set-up in there/ lab teaching style?

Do you find most courses are taught well? Drawing from the information above, how’s the student-faculty relationship? Do most professors make themselves readily available outside of class?

Most importantly, what’s your biggest complaint so far about the school? Any areas that need some major improvement, or does everything seem to be well-put together?

Thank you for your time! I’m sure it’s hectic this time of year over there.
 
cclewis said:
What’s the student culture like? Or rather, how do you personally feel about the class dynamic? On interview days I get the feeling that I get the most exposure to the people who are most gung-ho about the institution but wanted the opinion of someone not necessarily working admissions. Also, there wasn’t really much of a chance to mingle and get a feel for it myself.

Having not had the chance to tour the anatomy lab on my interview day, what’s the basic set-up in there/ lab teaching style?

Do you find most courses are taught well? Drawing from the information above, how’s the student-faculty relationship? Do most professors make themselves readily available outside of class?

Most importantly, what’s your biggest complaint so far about the school? Any areas that need some major improvement, or does everything seem to be well-put together?

Thank you for your time! I’m sure it’s hectic this time of year over there.
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Class culture is solid. Most of the students do a lot of hanging out outside of class. Everyone shares resources very, very well. Anatomy lab is rooms with about 6 tables per room, and faculty roam around helping out. Yes, professors make themselves quite available as I said above. The organization does not improvement (getting notes on time and such), but that is largely due to the fact that this is their first time with the new curriculum. It has gotten better for the class below me and will continue to get better. I enjoy the school, and Memphis is a fun place to be and learn medicine. Hope this gives some guidance.
 
I'm an M1 at UT. Looking at doomsday post way up there, I haven't caught a whiff of any of that here from anyone. I like going to school here.
 
Thanks for weighing in, guys! I figured as much (and had to laugh at the 'doomsday' comment), but it helps to hear it straight from actual students.

My impression was that this school seems to be a really friendly, helpful,'team' kind of atmosphere. Certainly not without its flaws, but what program isn't? The overall vibe was a good one--glad to hear you guys can back that up with personal experience.

I appreciate the feedback! Good luck as you round out your semester... 🙂
 
Are there any perks to the anatomy lab (e.g., hanging iPads at each table)? Stupid question though it may be, I've visited a school that had this, which was amazing. Definitely not going to attend solely based off of a perk like this, but good to know nonetheless. I hate it when we can't tour the anatomy lab. 🙁
 
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I agree-- pretty basic, no frills. A hallway of rooms, segregated off with a set number of tables in each room. The students who gave our tour said about 4-6 people per table, with a few professors roaming in each room. Lockers are at the end of the hallway, and you have 24/7 access to the lab.

You choose your own anatomy lab partners during orientation week. (Not sure how that works, since most people really don't know anyone... but it must be fine, since they've done this for awhile.)

It's one of 3 courses taken the first semester, and it's stretched out over the full semester (as opposed to QCOM, for example, where you only do anatomy, and it's done after the first 11 weeks.) Different strategies...both seem to work fine.
 
Dreamer9713 said:
Thanks for weighing in, guys! I figured as much (and had to laugh at the 'doomsday' comment), but it helps to hear it straight from actual students.

My impression was that this school seems to be a really friendly, helpful,'team' kind of atmosphere. Certainly not without its flaws, but what program isn't? The overall vibe was a good one--glad to hear you guys can back that up with personal experience.

I appreciate the feedback! Good luck as you round out your semester... 🙂
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One thing I lol at now (and I include myself in this) is that med students will complain about errything, usually about stuff that it not a big deal. We gripe enough about stuff to make a First World Problem's meme every day for the next 100 years.

Guero said:
Are there any perks to the anatomy lab (e.g., hanging iPads at each table)? Stupid question though it may be, I've visited a school that had this, which was amazing. Definitely not going to attend solely based off of a perk like this, but good to know nonetheless. I hate it when we can't tour the anatomy lab. 🙁
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Is it ETSU that has the hanging iPads? I thought I saw something about that. Anyways, our lab is pretty normal. Nothing fancy, it gets the job done.
 
Yup, it was QCOM for those curious. It's pretty wicked because they have an app to help you locate and name structures if you get stuck. There's are indeed a bunch of perks, but much less access to inner city presentations (e.g. GSWs, hard drug presentation volume, etc).
 
Guero said:
Yup, it was QCOM for those curious. It's pretty wicked because they have an app to help you locate and name structures if you get stuck. There's are indeed a bunch of perks, but much less access to inner city presentations (e.g. GSWs, hard drug presentation volume, etc).
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Quillen is awesome. I have seen some iPad apps for anatomy that are pretty amazing. IMO in TN, we are lucky to have schools like UT and ETSU. Can't go wrong.
 
I couldn't agree more! Both our state schools produce amazing physicians, even though their strategies and facilities are different. I feel really lucky to be applying in Tennessee! There are so many strengths to each program, and so much to choose from... good stuff all around.
 
Dreamer9713 said:
I couldn't agree more! Both our state schools produce amazing physicians, even though their strategies and facilities are different. I feel really lucky to be applying in Tennessee! There are so many strengths to each program, and so much to choose from... good stuff all around.
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Yup yup, we're so fortunate to have 4 schools in our state, especially considering its size and the schools' qualities/strengths.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN Mobile app. Please excuse brevity and/or typos.
 
You know, the more I think about it...I bet we'll have to wait until after New Years. I don't think he realized that they'd be out for Christmas break this week. If they met on Friday, 12/14 (and he said they were), I doubt any letters will go out until they get back. We can hope, though! It would be a nice Christmas present to have a decision!
 
Rejected. I don't understand. I've been waitlisted the past 2 cycles. I've improved my application both times. I thought my interview went well. I just don't understand.
 
I love Tennessee and would like to live there at some point in my life.
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Guero said:
Ouch, I'm so sorry TreyT. WTH? Do you have any other acceptances?
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Here's the kicker: Had an acceptance from LMU, but they required a $1200 deposit due last Friday. Because of the early interview here and how confident I felt after (which I never do coming out of an interview) I turned it down. I'm going to call in the morning and pray that there's some sort of mistake. I just don't get how I can be in a worse position after doing everything they've told me to do. My interviewer was very complimentary of me during the interview. I didn't say anything outrageous. I'm baffled.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using SDN Mobile
 
Aw, man--so there goes my whole "we'll have to wait until after Christmas" theory! Congratulations on the acceptance AllDay, and I'm so sorry for the rejection, Trey...that has to be such a disappointment after two waitlists. Hopefully it was a mistake??

Guess I'll be opening my mailbox and trying not to pass out over the next several days!! This wait is such an emotional roller coaster.
 
Accepted! I'm one of those perpetual lurkers. Interviewed 11/19 and I live in Nashville if anyone is trying to track where the letters are in the world
 
FYI, finally received my official interview invite for 1/23/13 earlier this evening. I wrote back in November to check my status and was told that the committee wanted to interview me, but that they hadn't yet scheduled me. Stats and official timeline available via MDApps. GL everyone.
 
Guero said:
FYI, finally received my official interview invite for 1/23/13 earlier this evening. I wrote back in November to check my status and was told that the committee wanted to interview me, but that they hadn't yet scheduled me. Stats and official timeline available via MDApps. GL everyone.
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Congrats man!!!!!!! Hopefully I will be getting one of those emails soon as I received that same notice in November
 
Guero said:
FYI, finally received my official interview invite for 1/23/13 earlier this evening. I wrote back in November to check my status and was told that the committee wanted to interview me, but that they hadn't yet scheduled me. Stats and official timeline available via MDApps. GL everyone.
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Did you receive this interview invite via email? I'm keeping my fingers crossed for one soon also!
 
congrats to everyone who was accepted! i'm a deferred matriculant from the 2012 cycle but starting this fall, so can't wait to meet everyone!
meanwhile, is anyone going to start a facebook group for the UTHSC class of 2017?
 
confuciusjs said:
congrats to everyone who was accepted! i'm a deferred matriculant from the 2012 cycle but starting this fall, so can't wait to meet everyone!
meanwhile, is anyone going to start a facebook group for the UTHSC class of 2017?
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I don't know anyone else going here, or I'd start a facebook group. It would be helpful finding a roommate!
 
I was accepted a bit earlier, and I'd join the facebook group 🙂 I haven't decided if I want a roommate or not, so I would be interested in starting to get to know my other potential classmates!
 
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