2012-2013 University of Texas Southwestern Application Thread

[vonburen]

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Interviewed here, but at the interview day they gave me a page of the stats of students attending and I was just at the point where the curve started falling off exponentially in both stat categories.

I really enjoyed seeing Childrens and Parkland. I think I heard roughly 100 or so people will get off the waitlist? Lots of time left. 🙂

 

[tn4596]

Come on utsw!! start the wait-list already!!!

 

[duyvtr]

Come on utsw!! start the wait-list already!!!

Don't get me wrong, I'm super anxious as well, but they can't start wait-list movement until people start to decline their offer (crazy people haha)

 

[tn4596]

Don't get me wrong, I'm super anxious as well, but they can't start wait-list movement until people start to decline their offer (crazy people haha)

Well then I hope baylor give out more acceptances soon then... Haha

 

[papercraftlover]

Hello, I've been reading this page since last August but only registered to become a member just now. Nice to finally come out and "meet" you guys 🙂
I was matched to Southwestern last week and have a couple of questions for current med students about MedPark and Pre-Op
If I want to rent a 2 bed room apt at MedPark and share it with someone else, is there a roommate forum available or will I have to find/know another person beforehand?
Is Pre-Op mandatory for all new students?
Southwestern is my first choice and I can't wait to join the school in August 😀

 

[Whatyousay]

Hello, I've been reading this page since last August but only registered to become a member just now. Nice to finally come out and "meet" you guys 🙂
I was matched to Southwestern last week and have a couple of questions for current med students about MedPark and Pre-Op
If I want to rent a 2 bed room apt at MedPark and share it with someone else, is there a roommate forum available or will I have to find/know another person beforehand?
Is Pre-Op mandatory for all new students?
Southwestern is my first choice and I can't wait to join the school in August 😀

On the application for Med Park, there should be spot to specify that you want the apartment administration to automatically assign you a roommate. Most people end up finding roommates beforehand via MS0 weekend / Facebook / email. Just be aware that spots in Med Park are fairly limited.

Pre-OP weekend is mandatory, although I know of one or two people who didn't attend due to extenuating circumstances.

 

[Watah]

Hello, I've been reading this page since last August but only registered to become a member just now. Nice to finally come out and "meet" you guys 🙂
I was matched to Southwestern last week and have a couple of questions for current med students about MedPark and Pre-Op
If I want to rent a 2 bed room apt at MedPark and share it with someone else, is there a roommate forum available or will I have to find/know another person beforehand?
Is Pre-Op mandatory for all new students?
Southwestern is my first choice and I can't wait to join the school in August 😀

the rare UTSW match appears!! lol apparently they only match a very very very low number of people. congrats!!

 

[BoricuaMD]

the rare UTSW match appears!! lol apparently they only match a very very very low number of people. congrats!!

Haha

This is true...but I think maybe the OP meant they were pre-matched before hand and confirmed it on match day? Kind of like how we were pre-matched months ago but on match day it still said we had "matched" to UTSW?

Or maybe it was a legitimate, no previous pre-match, "match"...?

😕

Care to clarify OP? 😉

 

[papercraftlover]

Haha

This is true...but I think maybe the OP meant they were pre-matched before hand and confirmed it on match day? Kind of like how we were pre-matched months ago but on match day it still said we had "matched" to UTSW?

Or maybe it was a legitimate, no previous pre-match, "match"...?

😕

Care to clarify OP? 😉

Thank you guys, I was very surprised at my match too. I kept going back to TMDSAS to quadruple check that I saw the right thing. And even after that, I kept expecting Southwestern to send and email saying it's a computer glitch...
I Interviewed on Jan 12th, so it's definitely a real match

@Whatyousay, thank you for the info 🙂

 

[BoricuaMD]

Thank you guys, I was very surprised at my match too. I kept going back to TMDSAS to quadruple check that I saw the right thing. And even after that, I kept expecting Southwestern to send and email saying it's a computer glitch...
I Interviewed on Jan 12th, so it's definitely a real match

@Whatyousay, thank you for the info 🙂

Haha just kidding! That must have been awesome news! Congratulations and again welcome! We're glad to have ya 😉

 

[duyvtr]

Thank you guys, I was very surprised at my match too. I kept going back to TMDSAS to quadruple check that I saw the right thing. And even after that, I kept expecting Southwestern to send and email saying it's a computer glitch...
I Interviewed on Jan 12th, so it's definitely a real match

@Whatyousay, thank you for the info 🙂

I interviewed on that day also! Hopefully I'll hear some good news from Southwestern soon. Congratulations!

 

[teacher2md]

For what it's worth, I'm a current 3rd year at UTSW and I absolutely love it here; every one of my classmates I can think of I believe would agree that we would definitely choose it again.

While Baylor has the condensed preclinical curriculum which definitely sounds nice, I think there's no way in the world I could have possibly learned UTSW's curriculum in any less time than I did and still have time to have a life. In addition, since our curriculum is so thorough and well taught, and we actually have time to learn it, I found step studying to be much easier than I was expecting, since all the material I encountered really seemed like review. I only studied for 4.5 weeks for step 1 (even though they give us 6 weeks) and scored >250. And I'm not a phenomenal student or anything. I really attribute it to the fact i worked really hard and learned the material taught to us the first 2 years.

And as someone mentioned, yes driving and parking here is really easy. Student parking is $90 a year for a covered garage that's a 2 minute walk from the lecture halls, which are directly connected to the library, and 3 of the 5 hospitals we primarily train at, which is really convenient to say the least.

The biggest advantage of UTSW over Baylor though I think might be the clinical training. When you're applying, it's easy to get caught up on the first 2 years, but as your go through medical school you realize it's the clinical training that matters most. I have loved every single clerkship so far (everyone I know has even loved surgery!), and I have yet to encounter a single malignant attending/resident or anyone really. And compared to my friends that go to Baylor or UT Houston, UTSW students get to do soooo much more hands on stuff and get to take a lot more ownership of our patients. I have done procedures as a med student that even interns haven't done yet at lots of other programs.Our didactics are strong in almost all clerkships so that the shelf exams are very manageable even with limited times studying when not in the hospital (I rarely study at home or outside normal work-day hours now as a third year). There's a reason UTSW students match so well, and program directors will even tell you they love taking UTSW students because we perform on an intern or greater level during med school and on day 1 of residency are ready to hit the ground running.

Anyway just thought I'd share that I really am happy here! Plus, new parkland and new university hospital st Paul are going to be friggin' amazing. =)

(partly copied from an earlier post I made on another thread)

Do any current UTSW students have any thoughts about whether this will change with the building of the new Parkland facility?

I heard the same statements echoed by MS3's on interview day--how much responsibility is placed on med students, how many procedures they do, etc.. The students implied that part of the reason for this (maybe not the entire reason) was that Parkland has so many patients that it's often understaffed. I wonder if this will be affected by the new building--will they be hiring more attendings/residents/nurses to pick up the slack?

Thanks

 

[yellowmamba]

so i matched to another TX school, but ranked UTSW #1 in the match so i am on their waitlist. my question is can i accept the other TX school's offer and still be on UTSW's waitlist?

 

[lovemango]

so i matched to another TX school, but ranked UTSW #1 in the match so i am on their waitlist. my question is can i accept the other TX school's offer and still be on UTSW's waitlist?

Yes, accept the offer, you will be still be on the waitlist. Just keep in mind that after June 1, if you already have a seat at a Texas school, you can no longer come off the waitlist at another school. Waitlist movement at most schools happens around May.

 

[SBR249]

Do any current UTSW students have any thoughts about whether this will change with the building of the new Parkland facility?

I heard the same statements echoed by MS3's on interview day--how much responsibility is placed on med students, how many procedures they do, etc.. The students implied that part of the reason for this (maybe not the entire reason) was that Parkland has so many patients that it's often understaffed. I wonder if this will be affected by the new building--will they be hiring more attendings/residents/nurses to pick up the slack?

Thanks

From what I understand, it really isn't that Parkland doesn't have the capacity to hire more doctors/nurses now. Parkland has been understaffed and continually recruit new staff for some time now and are having trouble filling empty slots. I doubt this will somehow change just because they build a new hospital. What will change is that the facility will be nicer, bigger, and better designed. The patient load and the responsibilities placed on students will most likely remain the same if not increase.

As for residents, it's almost guaranteed that there won't be many more residents. Residency slots are mostly funded through Medicare subsidies and payments to teaching hospitals. And Medicare funding levels for residencies have been frozen for quite some time meaning there probably won't be any meaningful growth in the number of residency slots at Parkland or anywhere else for that matter unless they sudden receive a windfall donation or something.

 

[jkellum]

From what I understand, it really isn't that Parkland doesn't have the capacity to hire more doctors/nurses now. Parkland has been understaffed and continually recruit new staff for some time now and are having trouble filling empty slots. I doubt this will somehow change just because they build a new hospital. What will change is that the facility will be nicer, bigger, and better designed. The patient load and the responsibilities placed on students will most likely remain the same if not increase.

As for residents, it's almost guaranteed that there won't be many more residents. Residency slots are mostly funded through Medicare subsidies and payments to teaching hospitals. And Medicare funding levels for residencies have been frozen for quite some time meaning there probably won't be any meaningful growth in the number of residency slots at Parkland or anywhere else for that matter unless they sudden receive a windfall donation or something.

So once New Parkland goes up is old Parkland still going to be operating, or are they shutting it down?

 

[496552]

Just got the email about being on the alternate list. Seems the only addition to the email from last year is the fact that they added that we should look for an email from them in "late May" ... I wonder if this means they predict waitlist turnaround to begin later this year (if that's even a possible prediction to make)-- 🙁

 

[Whatyousay]

So once New Parkland goes up is old Parkland still going to be operating, or are they shutting it down?

They're talking about using Old Parkland as an outpatient facility, but I'm not sure about specifics.

Just got the email about being on the alternate list. Seems the only addition to the email from last year is the fact that they added that we should look for an email from them in "late May" ... I wonder if this means they predict waitlist turnaround to begin later this year (if that's even a possible prediction to make)-- 🙁

Seeing as the application timelines for other schools haven't changed (to my knowledge), there shouldn't be any dramatic shift in when waitlist movement occurs this year vs. last year.

 

[yellowmamba]

Just got the email about being on the alternate list. Seems the only addition to the email from last year is the fact that they added that we should look for an email from them in "late May" ... I wonder if this means they predict waitlist turnaround to begin later this year (if that's even a possible prediction to make)-- 🙁

so is everybody who interviewed at southwestern on the alternate list?

 

[20172018MD]

If UTSW were to pull someone off the waiting list, how long does the applicant have to respond? Do they have to withdraw from the school where they are already holding an acceptance immediately, or do they get sometime to do all this?

 

[496552]

Seeing as the application timelines for other schools haven't changed (to my knowledge), there shouldn't be any dramatic shift in when waitlist movement occurs this year vs. last year.

I hope not!

so is everybody who interviewed at southwestern on the alternate list?

I think so--

Does anyone happen to know how many people are generally on the waitlist and how many people they generally pull from the waitlist? I know it's difficult to say for this year, but I'm sure it can't change too much from year to year. I can't seem to find the numbers of those accepted/those interviewed!

 

[drprocast]

so is everybody who interviewed at southwestern on the alternate list?

Is there a difference between a wait list and alternate list?

 

[papercraftlover]

We were told during the interview that ~900 people interview, ~300 get accepted, Since class size is ~200, I think about 100 get off waitlist

 

[JABWS]

If UTSW were to pull someone off the waiting list, how long does the applicant have to respond? Do they have to withdraw from the school where they are already holding an acceptance immediately, or do they get sometime to do all this?

They give you some time, but how much depends on when you're accepted. If I remember correctly there's also an official deadline (AMCAS I believe?) by which multiple acceptances must be resolved. There's a FAQ section on TMDSAS and AMCAS that provides helpful answers to similar technical questions.

 

[JABWS]

Is there a difference between a wait list and alternate list?

No difference.

 

[txMed7]

Waitlist e-mail is pretty comparable this year compared to last year.

how sad is it that I'm in a position to compare waitlist email details across years.

 

[sliceofbread136]

Anyone catch the multicultural show? I left early cause I was sleepy

 

[clutch21]

Hope those that attended MS0 weekend had a good time! I wish I could of gone. For those that did go, care to share any highlights?

 

[sliceofbread136]

Hope those that attended MS0 weekend had a good time! I wish I could of gone. For those that did go, care to share any highlights?

I learned I really need to finish my FAFSA

 

[dwills]

I learned I really need to finish my FAFSA

Haha. I also couldn't attend because I had an interview at Baylor.

You still leaning towards Baylor sliceofbread or are you undecided?

I must say I really did like Baylor and the TMC vibe but I am still unsure, plus I would need to get accepted first anyways before I have any decision to make

 

[husky20]

Does anyone know if all out-of-state students are given in-state tuition at UTSW? Did they say anything at MS0 Weekend?

 

[clutch21]

Does anyone know if all out-of-state students are given in-state tuition at UTSW? Did they say anything at MS0 Weekend?

Yes, at the interview they said all out-of-state students are given a $1000 scholarship, which makes them eligible for in-state tuition.

 

[sliceofbread136]

Haha. I also couldn't attend because I had an interview at Baylor.

You still leaning towards Baylor sliceofbread or are you undecided?

I must say I really did like Baylor and the TMC vibe but I am still unsure, plus I would need to get accepted first anyways before I have any decision to make

I've actually done a complete 180. I'm now pretty certain on UTSW.

Big draw for Baylor for me was that my little brother was going to U of H (he is bipolar and I wanted to help him adjust). He is now going to A and M. This kind of made me realized that I just feel like I would be alot happier at UTSW. Baylor vs UTSW is a tough choice, and I am just going with my gut. Goodluck!

 

[InterStudent]

Does anyone know how good is UTSW's financial aid? Or what's the average student debt here?

 

[redoitall]

Does anyone know how good is UTSW's financial aid? Or what's the average student debt here?

Average is 107k out of school. Given my needs, my debt will be closer to 200k. Sucks but it's likely if i don't her any grant or scholarship. I can't speak as to the quality of the financial aid staff

Sent from my LG-MS770 using SDN Mobile

 

[KTD]

Does anyone know how good is UTSW's financial aid? Or what's the average student debt here?

I have received grant money each year (5k, 4k, and 2k for MS1/2/3), which is free money that you dont have to pay back. Obviously, I can't really speak for other people's aid packages but I don't think my package is uncommon. In general, the aid office is pretty good at hunting down money you might qualify for so they should be able to find you the best package available for you. There is scholarship money too but you generally find out about that with your acceptance if they are going to offer you any.

 

[redoitall]

I have received grant money each year (5k, 4k, and 2k for MS1/2/3), which is free money that you dont have to pay back. Obviously, I can't really speak for other people's aid packages but I don't think my package is uncommon. In general, the aid office is pretty good at hunting down money you might qualify for so they should be able to find you the best package available for you. There is scholarship money too but you generally find out about that with your acceptance if they are going to offer you any.

I didn't get any scholarship, so grant money its welcome. Even 10k or do is generous. I have 2 kids, one who will go to daycare. So yep, i will probably Max out to the full cost of attendance and then some. I will probably also work a bit on the side like 10h/week if i can. I want to avoid private loans at all cost.

Sent from my LG-MS770 using SDN Mobile

 

[KTD]

I didn't get any scholarship, so grant money its welcome. Even 10k or do is generous. I have 2 kids, one who will go to daycare. So yep, i will probably Max out to the full cost of attendance and then some. I will probably also work a bit on the side like 10h/week if i can. I want to avoid private loans at all cost.

Sent from my LG-MS770 using SDN Mobile

The financial aid guys are really nice so if you have questions or concerns I'm sure they would love to answer them for you. They really are super helpful and readily available so I would recommend shooting them an email or giving them a call.

 

[redoitall]

The financial aid guys are really nice so if you have questions or concerns I'm sure they would love to answer them for you. They really are super helpful and readily available so I would recommend shooting them an email or giving them a call.

Thx a lot ktd for the piece of advice. Will do.

Sent from my LG-MS770 using SDN Mobile

 

[Dabo]

Is there a place on the internet where incoming students are finding roommates?

 

[redoitall]

Is there a place on the internet where incoming students are finding roommates?

I don't know but you could start with the Facebook page.

Sent from my LG-MS770 using SDN Mobile

 

[InterStudent]

For the current students or anyone who's familiar with Dallas area, how early can you reserve a space at an apartment? Where I am currently living is a big city, and apartments will hold a place for you only 1~2 weeks even with deposit money down. I'm wondering how are the apartments in Dallas. Let's say, if I want to visit Dallas in May or June and find an apartment I like and want to start renting in July or August. Would they hold a place for 1~2 months? Thank you!

 

[sliceofbread136]

How hard is it to get a single at med park if you were put on the waitlist during ms0?

 

[redoitall]

How hard is it to get a single at med park if you were put on the waitlist during ms0?

I lived there for a while. There was quite a turnover. I don't honoree about a single specifically, but i remember they had many empty apartments. So my guess is that it shouldn't be hard to get one. At least 6 years ago it didn't feel like it was hard.

Sent from my LG-MS770 using SDN Mobile

 

[Dabo]

I don't know but you could start with the Facebook page.

Sent from my LG-MS770 using SDN Mobile

Thanks for the tip. If anyone sees this and needs a roommate feel free to pm me. I'm interested in living in Medpark because it seems to be the best deal.

 

[EBLoneStar]

For the current students or anyone who's familiar with Dallas area, how early can you reserve a space at an apartment? Where I am currently living is a big city, and apartments will hold a place for you only 1~2 weeks even with deposit money down. I'm wondering how are the apartments in Dallas. Let's say, if I want to visit Dallas in May or June and find an apartment I like and want to start renting in July or August. Would they hold a place for 1~2 months? Thank you!

Dallas is on a 60-day notice for apartments so there is no reason to look for places really until it's within 60 days of your move in date or else the properties are not going to be able to tell you what is going to be available when you're moving.

If you find a place you like but want a move in date farther out, the best thing to do is once you're within that 60 days, you can find a unit that is still currently occupied but is going to be coming available when you need it. Lots of the properties are on a "yield star" system around here so that once a unit is available, they can hold it for something like up to two weeks, but every day that you delay beginning the lease, the monthly rent goes up a couple of dollars so that in the end, it's mostly a crapshoot.

I don't know of any property that would be willing to hold a vacant unit for you for weeks or months without you paying the rent. Maybe a private person leasing you their property would. The only exception to this if it you look at new properties that are still under construction but will be open by the time you need to move. (there are quite a few in Dallas near the med school). In that case, they will often hold units for you for up to 60 days with no additional charge since they're starting from zero occupancy and trying to fill up with tenants. At least that has been my experience in the past.

Hope that helps!!

 

[dwills]

Can any current student talk about what the current schedule is like?

M-F? 9 - 5? How many mandatory activities a week? What times days start? Etc.

Thanks 🙂

 

[EBLoneStar]

Can any current student talk about what the current schedule is like?

M-F? 9 - 5? How many mandatory activities a week? What times days start? Etc.

Thanks 🙂

MS1 year the mandatory things are anatomy dissection and lecture 1-4 or 5 (leave when you are done) on mon, tus, and fri in the fall semester. Then in the spring for about 2 months you have cell biology that has a lab component which is mandatory in the afternoons s couple days a week, usually 2-4 but you are often done early. Throughout the year you have colleges which is mandatory on Wednesday 1-2:30.

All other lectures are optional and video and audio recorded, and also you get a syllabus that has all the information you are responsible for.

Ms2 year is similar, with the only mandatory things being lab components for micro, pathology, etc. These last an hour or two a couple times a week. Then colleges again is wednesday 3-4:30. All other lectures are optional and video recorded, and there were many weeks ms2 year that's never went to campus except for 2 hours on Wednesdays.

Obviously ms3 and 4 the hours are like a full time job depending on the rotation.

Hope that helps.

 

[Whatyousay]

Can any current student talk about what the current schedule is like?

M-F? 9 - 5? How many mandatory activities a week? What times days start? Etc.

Thanks 🙂

As an addendum to EB's post above...

First year lectures are usually 9-11a. You'll have lectures 1-2p for anatomy and cell bio, which encompasses ~50% of first year. These are all recorded, so many people don't come.

At least for this year, the anatomy dissection was entirely optional, but everyone went during lab sessions (when the TAs were in). I knew a few anatomy groups that would skip out every now and then, and either make up the lab ahead or time, or just finish it with another lab (i.e. finish Friday labs on Tuesday --> early weekend). How you do things in anatomy lab will be largely dependent on what your group wants to do.

Cell bio labs are completely optional. I was say maybe 50% of the people in my carrel went to every lab session. The lab sessions were just so you could ask TAs/profs questions. Many people just did the labs on their time.

TL;DR The only real required activity every week are colleges (1-2:30 on Wednesdays). There are a pretty decent chunk of students that I only ever see on test days.

 

[dwills]

MS1 year the mandatory things are anatomy dissection and lecture 1-4 or 5 (leave when you are done) on mon, tus, and fri in the fall semester. Then in the spring for about 2 months you have cell biology that has a lab component which is mandatory in the afternoons s couple days a week, usually 2-4 but you are often done early. Throughout the year you have colleges which is mandatory on Wednesday 1-2:30.

All other lectures are optional and video and audio recorded, and also you get a syllabus that has all the information you are responsible for.

Ms2 year is similar, with the only mandatory things being lab components for micro, pathology, etc. These last an hour or two a couple times a week. Then colleges again is wednesday 3-4:30. All other lectures are optional and video recorded, and there were many weeks ms2 year that's never went to campus except for 2 hours on Wednesdays.

Obviously ms3 and 4 the hours are like a full time job depending on the rotation.

Hope that helps.

As an addendum to EB's post above...

First year lectures are usually 9-11a. You'll have lectures 1-2p for anatomy and cell bio, which encompasses ~50% of first year. These are all recorded, so many people don't come.

At least for this year, the anatomy dissection was entirely optional, but everyone went during lab sessions (when the TAs were in). I knew a few anatomy groups that would skip out every now and then, and either make up the lab ahead or time, or just finish it with another lab (i.e. finish Friday labs on Tuesday --> early weekend). How you do things in anatomy lab will be largely dependent on what your group wants to do.

Cell bio labs are completely optional. I was say maybe 50% of the people in my carrel went to every lab session. The lab sessions were just so you could ask TAs/profs questions. Many people just did the labs on their time.

TL;DR The only real required activity every week are colleges (1-2:30 on Wednesdays). There are a pretty decent chunk of students that I only ever see on test days.

Thanks guys! Exactly what i was looking for. I'd definitely prefer a schedule like this as i anticipate not being on campus very often and studying from home.