2012-2013 University of Texas - San Antonio Application Thread

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Well, I have decided to send a letter of interest as this is my #1 school. I have been accepted OOS and have a TCOM interview at the end of the month. However, I am a Texas resident with strong ties to San Antonio and I would really LOVE to have the opportunity to interview here. I did my undergrad in SA and have had the opportunity to visit the school several times and visit with Dr. Jones.

I have decided to send a letter of interest. What's the worst that could happen? Should I send the letter directly to him or should I just email him? Any ideas would be appreciated.

I sent one a few weeks ago, I haven't heard anything from them yet.

I dont think it is a bad idea unless you just write a poor, desperate letter, but other than that, previous SDN posters have had success writing LOI's and then receiving interview invites shortly after. If you look in last years school specific threads, you'll see what I am talking about.

Best of luck, I am still waiting...

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Are pre-match offers all let out at once? Like right on Nov 15? Or do they trickle out?

I'm wondering, if I interviewed in September would a prematch offer come out right on the 15th? Or would it just be anytime before match?
 
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Whenever 12:17am comes and only Sephora coupons and a utilities bill reminder are in my inbox, there is a fair chance my blog will go silent for the rest of the evening.
 
Accepted. Dear God, they're going to let me be a doctor.
 
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Accepted at 8:08!!!! Can't believe it either!!!
 
Also accepted 8:08!!!! wooo hoooo! so excited!!!
:soexcited::clap::claps::banana::zip:
 
Congrats on acceptance!! do you mind sharing your stats and the interview date? Thank you.
 
Congratulations to you all! To those of us still waiting, it looks like they sent out another wave of acceptances around 3:00 last year. And then another big wave a week later.
 
Is there a facebook group for people who have been accepted? (facebook is not my specialty)
 
Accepted! Interviewed late October and did not expect to get prematched at all!
 
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Accepted as well. Interviewed in October. In state. 3.8 , 33 MCAT.
 
My First Acceptance!!! WHOOOOO~~~ I'm going to medical school!! :D
 
Congratulations to all of you who have been accepted. Did all of you with acceptances hear at 8 am this morning or have they been coming in gradually since then? This is my first choice school. Just trying to figure out if I missed the boat for pre matching today.
 
Accepted! 4.0 35 IS
Interviewed mid August!
 
OOS, interviewed mid-October. Does anybody have any idea when more OOS decisions will come out?
 
Wondering the same. Interviewed early August though so you're probably in a better position. It's hard to tell the timing of OOS acceptances from last year's threads.
 
Early Oct- nothing here...
 
OOS applicant here (I interviewed on October 1st). I called admissions yesterday and they said that they'd probably send out another batch of OOS acceptances sometime before Christmas.
 
That's good info. Also, has anybody sent a post-interview letter of interest? Is the school receptive to those?

*I just called admissions office and she said that LOIs are appropriate.
 
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Regarding the new curriculum...What does a typical first year week look like? How many classes do you take at a time? What time do most days end?
 
Just sent a letter of interest. I'm curious to see if anything will come from it.
 
Just declined my interview invitation and withdrew my application. Hopefully one of you who's dying to go here gets a chance :)
 
Just declined my interview invitation and withdrew my application. Hopefully one of you who's dying to go here gets a chance :)

Just curious , where are you going? Enjoy your success!

Sent from my crappy phone
 
For those of you who have been accepted, did you go into the website and accept the offer already? Does that commit us to attending the school in 2013? Or just hold our pre-match offer spot?

I have pre-match offers at the two tech schools as well, and while I'm leaning toward UTSA I'm not 100% yet. I'd love some explanation if you guys can help.

(also, has anyone heard about scholarships?)
 
For those of you who have been accepted, did you go into the website and accept the offer already? Does that commit us to attending the school in 2013? Or just hold our pre-match offer spot?

I have pre-match offers at the two tech schools as well, and while I'm leaning toward UTSA I'm not 100% yet. I'd love some explanation if you guys can help.

(also, has anyone heard about scholarships?)

This is a copy of what I have posted on another thread:
I have read that if you don't respond within a reasonable time frame you would forfeit the offer. Thus (and based on info I gathered talking to other applicants), you should accept ALL offers for now for at least 2 reasons: 1) You would not forfeit the offers. You are entitled to them, as you certainly have worked hard to have the luxury of the choice. You shouldn't feel rushed as this is a critical decision for you. 2) It will give you time to find out about any scholarships, as they may be given a bit later.

You can hold multiple acceptances for a while, not sure what the dates are. As soon as the match starts, if you haven't resolved them, TMDSAS will automatically match you to your higher ranked school. So make sure that the rank reflects your preferences before Jan 21st 2013 after which you cannot modify them.

I am all for withdrawing as soon as possible so that other applicants can have a shot, and I myself will do so, as soon as I get official letters. So as soon as your 100% sure of your decision, it is good practice (and out of respect fo all applicants) to act promptly, freeing acceptances that you won't use. However, make sure the decision is right for you, so take the time you need to make the correct choice.

Best of luck.

(also, has anyone heard about scholarships?)

I did, only from Tech Lubbock.

Cheers.
 
This is a copy of what I have posted on another thread:
I have read that if you don't respond within a reasonable time frame you would forfeit the offer. Thus (and based on info I gathered talking to other applicants), you should accept ALL offers for now for at least 2 reasons: 1) You would not forfeit the offers. You are entitled to them, as you certainly have worked hard to have the luxury of the choice. You shouldn't feel rushed as this is a critical decision for you. 2) It will give you time to find out about any scholarships, as they may be given a bit later.

You can hold multiple acceptances for a while, not sure what the dates are. As soon as the match starts, if you haven't resolved them, TMDSAS will automatically match you to your higher ranked school. So make sure that the rank reflects your preferences before Jan 21st 2013 after which you cannot modify them.

I am all for withdrawing as soon as possible so that other applicants can have a shot, and I myself will do so, as soon as I get official letters. So as soon as your 100% sure of your decision, it is good practice (and out of respect fo all applicants) to act promptly, freeing acceptances that you won't use. However, make sure the decision is right for you, so take the time you need to make the correct choice.

Best of luck.



I did, only from Tech Lubbock.

Cheers.

Yeah I saw your post on another page. Thanks.
So I'm assuming this means that the "acceptance" isnt actually a full commitment, right?
 
Yeah I saw your post on another page. Thanks.
So I'm assuming this means that the "acceptance" isnt actually a full commitment, right?

No it isn't. But they shouldn't be used lightly. Many applicants are waiting.

Anyway good luck with your decision. These are exiting times!
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Regarding the new curriculum...What does a typical first year week look like? How many classes do you take at a time? What time do most days end?

This has been discussed somewhat already, but I'll be a bit more thorough.

One of the main points about the new curriculum is that most courses are consolidated by systems into modules. Each module (there are 10 total over the 18.5 pre-clinical months) runs all by itself, you have a final over it, it ends, and you move on to the next module. Anatomy and clinical skills are unique in that they do not get packaged into the modules and run concurrently and longitudinally.

The primary modules run 8-12 Mon-Thur and then there is the mandatory synthesis case quiz/discussions from 8-11am on Fridays. Of the 16 hours you'll have Mon-Thur, several of those sessions will be optional attendance or even no attendance (give you online self-study material to go over). The balance of optional vs mandatory attendance varies with each module, since each module brings a new set of module directors who are in charge of the course.

Clinical skills lab is usually one afternoon each week for a couple of hours, and usually you're required to wear white coat attire that day since you'll be learning/practicing on standardized patients in small groups. The day of the week rotates between Tue, Wed, and Fri, and half the class starts at 1pm while the other starts at 3pm.

Anatomy runs your first semester (head/neck/thorax/abdomen/pelvis) and then you have a full 12 months off, and you return for 2 months during your musculoskeletal module (last module of pre-clinical curriculum). You'll then dissect the extremities on the cadavers that the MS1s behind you will have just completed dissecting. Anatomy is Monday and Thur, 1pm-4pm (1 hr lecture and 2 hour dissection, but don't be fooled... some dissections will take longer than 2 hours). You and 3 other "tankmates" are assigned to a cadaver that you'll stick with all semester, although you're free to roam around and look at other bodies all you want. The lab is open 24/7 and you're welcome to come in anytime to pull up any bodies you want and study.

So the busiest times will be your first semester and the last 6 weeks of your preclinical education, because you'll have your module + clinical skills + anatomy all going at the same time. For the 12 month span between these periods you'll only have the morning module plus one afternoon each week of clinical skills.

You'll very often be done by noon with no other obligations until the next morning at 8. There's a couple other little things, like meeting with your community physician preceptor once every couple of months and an occasional anatomy correlation lecture, but those aren't really going to effect your average week-by-week.

http://som.uthscsa.edu/ume/preclinical.asp

That site gives an overview of each module, and several of them give a sample week's schedule. There's ample opportunity provided for review sessions and one-on-one tutoring. Tutoring is provided free by the Office of Undergraduate Medical Education, which actually pays the tutors for you. However, it is definitely designed to make you into an independent learner, if you're not already, so you have to be quite disciplined in terms of staying caught up. It's not a spoon-feeding curriculum.

Hope that helps!
 
Does anyone know what the average USMLE Step 1 Score was for UTSA last year? I know they told us in the interview, but I've misplaced my notes :/
 
This has been discussed somewhat already, but I'll be a bit more thorough.

One of the main points about the new curriculum is that most courses are consolidated by systems into modules. Each module (there are 10 total over the 18.5 pre-clinical months) runs all by itself, you have a final over it, it ends, and you move on to the next module. Anatomy and clinical skills are unique in that they do not get packaged into the modules and run concurrently and longitudinally.

The primary modules run 8-12 Mon-Thur and then there is the mandatory synthesis case quiz/discussions from 8-11am on Fridays. Of the 16 hours you'll have Mon-Thur, several of those sessions will be optional attendance or even no attendance (give you online self-study material to go over). The balance of optional vs mandatory attendance varies with each module, since each module brings a new set of module directors who are in charge of the course.

Clinical skills lab is usually one afternoon each week for a couple of hours, and usually you're required to wear white coat attire that day since you'll be learning/practicing on standardized patients in small groups. The day of the week rotates between Tue, Wed, and Fri, and half the class starts at 1pm while the other starts at 3pm.

Anatomy runs your first semester (head/neck/thorax/abdomen/pelvis) and then you have a full 12 months off, and you return for 2 months during your musculoskeletal module (last module of pre-clinical curriculum). You'll then dissect the extremities on the cadavers that the MS1s behind you will have just completed dissecting. Anatomy is Monday and Thur, 1pm-4pm (1 hr lecture and 2 hour dissection, but don't be fooled... some dissections will take longer than 2 hours). You and 3 other "tankmates" are assigned to a cadaver that you'll stick with all semester, although you're free to roam around and look at other bodies all you want. The lab is open 24/7 and you're welcome to come in anytime to pull up any bodies you want and study.

So the busiest times will be your first semester and the last 6 weeks of your preclinical education, because you'll have your module + clinical skills + anatomy all going at the same time. For the 12 month span between these periods you'll only have the morning module plus one afternoon each week of clinical skills.

You'll very often be done by noon with no other obligations until the next morning at 8. There's a couple other little things, like meeting with your community physician preceptor once every couple of months and an occasional anatomy correlation lecture, but those aren't really going to effect your average week-by-week.

http://som.uthscsa.edu/ume/preclinical.asp

That site gives an overview of each module, and several of them give a sample week's schedule. There's ample opportunity provided for review sessions and one-on-one tutoring. Tutoring is provided free by the Office of Undergraduate Medical Education, which actually pays the tutors for you. However, it is definitely designed to make you into an independent learner, if you're not already, so you have to be quite disciplined in terms of staying caught up. It's not a spoon-feeding curriculum.

Hope that helps!

This is really helpful, thanks for putting this together, so what does the exam schedule look like during the school year. Do you test every week or at the end of every module only?
 
Just curious , where are you going? Enjoy your success!

Sent from my crappy phone

I've been accepted to UT Southwestern, and am already 100% positive that I would go there over UTSA. Still waiting to hear from a few other schools before I make my final decision, but I know I'd be perfectly happy there. Plus, my family lives in Dallas :)
 
This is really helpful, thanks for putting this together, so what does the exam schedule look like during the school year. Do you test every week or at the end of every module only?

Anatomy has an exam after head/neck in mid-September. Then you're DONE with head & neck, at least as far as the anatomy course is concerned. You'll have another exam before Christmas over thorax/abdomen/pelvis. Then, 14 months later, you'll have a third exam over extremities. The exams are NOT comprehensive.

Clinical skills has "OSCEs" from time to time and I think a couple of written exams eventually (no written exam in the first semester, just an OSCE over basic HPE (History & Physical Examination).

Every module will be a bit different, but each will have a final exam at the end and some will have a midterm halfway through. There are a hodgepodge of little things like your synthesis case grades, histopath labs, team-based learning quizzes, etc. that "water down" your grade, but overall your final exam +/- midterm in each module will account for about 70% of your course grade.

So really there aren't very many exams, but the ones you do have are worth a lot. Thus far each module has given us a week off before the final... like we'll our last class on Friday and then next Mon-Thur will be off (maybe some optional review sessions) and then Friday morning is the final.

You do have weekly quizzes on Fridays, but its just over the synthesis case material and not necessarily the entire week's content, although there is a lot of intentional overlap. These are generally pretty easy and are usually only 7 or 8 questions. You take the quiz individually and then immediately after that you take the exact same quiz as a group with your synthesis team (8 people), with the group quizzes being weighted much more heavily than the individual quizzes. These are not stressful. My group has gotten 100% on these quizzes for like 6 weeks running now, and we've never scored below a 90%.

The MS2s and upperclassmen I've talked to are jealous of our exam schedule, because during their exam weeks each course has its own final apparently. So they have test after test all week long. We just have one exam, although it's beast and incorporates everything.

The grain of salt to all this info is that I'm just an MS1 who has experienced 2 modules thus far and I'm assuming all the rest will follow similar patterns. Also since this is the first time they are running this new curriculum I have no idea what kinds of changes will be made for next year's MS1s.
 
Wow so helpful, thank you! That sounds really well thought out.
 
Yall know when UTSA stops sending out interview invitations?
 
Is there a facebook group for people who have been accepted? (facebook is not my specialty)

I haven't found it yet....if anyone makes it I'm sure they'll post a link
 
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I've been accepted to UT Southwestern, and am already 100% positive that I would go there over UTSA. Still waiting to hear from a few other schools before I make my final decision, but I know I'd be perfectly happy there. Plus, my family lives in Dallas :)

Great! So we will be classmates:thumbup:
 
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