Hey everyone,
I'm a MS2 at TTUHSC and I thought I'd put together a FAQ in this post. I'll slowly add more as time allows or as questions come up.
If you have a question, I'd prefer to answer it in the thread so everyone can see the answer and so that other students can contribute, but you can also send me a PM if you want.
Some great references:
-
Office of Admissions website
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FAQ from the Office of Admissions
What are the average stats for students at TTUHSC SOM?
Here's the
statistics page from the Office of Admissions. It is a little out of date. I think they said the class entering in 2012 was GPA of 3.7 and MCAT of 30.
The TTUHSC FAQ lists GPA of 3.65 and MCAT of 31. So somewhere in that range is the average
I don't see TTUHSC on AMCAS! How do I apply?
TTUHSC, like the other public Texas schools, uses a different application service called TMDSAS for their normal MD applications. Check out their website for more information
https://www.utsystem.edu/tmdsas/. It should be noted that state law requires the medical school to be 90% in-state students.
What are the course prerequisites?
The prerequisites are
listed here on the TMDSAS website for all Texas schools and are also listed
on TTUHSC's website here. One thing of note is that Texas Tech is one of the few schools that requires biochem.
What are the LOR requirements?
The detailed requirements are
listed on the TMDSAS website and also
on the TTUHSC site. Basically, they want to see a committee letter if your school has one, or two letters from either faculty and/or physicians who know you well if you don't have a committee.
Any application tips?
I would definitely recommend applying as early as possible! TTUHSC typically starts their interview season in August and wraps it up in December or January.
The TTUHSC FAQ says that an "early" application is from May 1 to July 15.
What's the name of the school? Is the med school part of the undergrad campus?
Technically, the medical school at Texas Tech is a part of Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC), which is a separate university from the main undergraduate campus Texas Tech University (TTU). They are both part of the Texas Tech University System. The TTU campus is just across the freeway from TTUHSC's main campus in Lubbock and TTUHSC medical students have access to lots of stuff on the undergrad campus, from the Rec Center (lots of stuff there, like the
Student Leisure Pool,
indoor climbing wall,
indoor pools, track, basketball courts, weight rooms,
etc) to the sporting events (free admission to all sporting events).
Is it terrible living in Lubbock?
I don't mind it at all. There's no doubt that Lubbock is smaller than most other cities that have a medical school. However, there are still over 250,000 people who live here and an undergrad campus of over 30,000. I love the lack of traffic around here and "The Loop" (circular freeway system around the city) makes everything accessible within a few minutes of drive time. I've always been able to find everything I need right here in Lubbock. Your class will end up finding lots of stuff to do together, both here in Lubbock and by organizing informal trips elsewhere. You'll spend a lot of time studying no matter where you go so I never placed much importance on where I went for med school, but it's obviously a personal decision.
What's the grading system like?
See this FAQ answer
Where do third and fourth year rotations take place?
In order to ensure that all students have a great clinical rotation experience and have opportunities to work in smaller groups with faculty, the SOM uses a multi-campus system for the third and fourth years of medical school. To accommodate the addition of 30 seats starting with the Class of 2018, the Lubbock campus will expand to be around 100 slots. Students will be split up between three campuses: Lubbock, Amarillo, and the Permian Basin (Midland and Odessa). The approximate number of spots per campus will be over 100 at Lubbock, over 50 at Amarillo, and a little over 20 at the Permian Basin. Lubbock is always the most popular choice and therefore gets full.
In order to make campus assignments, admitted students fill out a Campus Preference form where you rank the campuses and explain your ranking. Students who have a compelling reason to stay in Lubbock (like a spouse or partner working in Lubbock, school age kids, or an ongoing illness with medical care established in Lubbock) will pretty much always get Lubbock if they request it.
The campus assignment process is completed before school starts your MS1 year. In your MS2 year, you can petition for a change in campus assignment.
What are some of the special programs and degree types available at TTUHSC?
TTUHSC offers some innovative programs and many of the traditional options as well. TTUHSC was the first U.S. medical school to offer an accelerated 3-year MD program specifically designed for family medicine. More information
can be found here, but the basics are that you graduate in 3 years (you're in school year-round), one of your years of med school is covered by a scholarship (so you only pay for 2 years of med school), and you are under an obligation to do a family medicine residency at one of Texas Tech's Family Medicine residencies (you have a guaranteed residency position in family medicine).
TTUHSC also has a 4-year MD/MBA program, which is offered in conjunction with the
Rawls School of Business at TTU, and a 6-year MD/JD program, offered in conjunction with the
School of Law at TTU. There is also an MD/PhD program (7 years), a Research Honors program (adds a year to the MD degree), and students can work with administrators to customize a MD/MS degree if desired.
How easy or difficult is it to do research at TTUHSC?
It is very easy to get involved with research at TTUHSC. One of the most popular summer activities between MS1 and MS2 year is a
summer research program organized by the dean's office. The program is very non-competitive, meaning that you don't need prior research experience to be involved and everyone that applies can receive the stipend if they do their proposed project. They make is super easy to hook up with faculty for projects, putting together a website listing the PI's and projects available and also a lunch meeting where faculty present their research projects and you can hook up with mentors for a project. Projects in both the basic sciences and clinical research are available. You can also set up something on your own with a faculty mentor.
How much does it cost to attend TTUHSC?
The cost is one of the great things about the school. Tuition is currently at just over $16,000 for in-state students, making it one of the
cheapest schools in the nation. If you are lucky enough to be part of the 10% OOS students, then they almost always give you a scholarship for $1000. According to Texas law, if you get a scholarship of $1000 or more, you are charged at
in-state tuition rates, resulting in a fantastic option for medical school. Additionally, the cost of living in Lubbock is below national average.
What's the class environment like? Is everyone super competitive?
Personally, I love the class environment and think that the environment is a big selling point for Tech. This is one of those schools where people are always posting their study notes, new websites they found that they thought were helpful, reminding others about upcoming deadlines for assignments or scholarships, or pointing out books or other resources that explain the material. Also, students are constantly trading babysitting for their pets, asking for rides to the airport, or organizing a night out or a weekend trip somewhere. I consider the class to be really helpful and friendly and I think you'll get that vibe if you come out to interview day, which is one of the big reasons I ended up here.
What is the pre-clinical curriculum like? What's your schedule like?
First of all,
here's the website explaining the curriculum and the exact order of classes.
Tech is on a block schedule so we are only studying for one exam at a time. Although I think some webpages state we have a "systems based" approach, I wouldn't really describe it that way. Some of our classes are broken down into systems (like physiology, where we had different units for the different major organ systems) but the overall curriculum is more structured by grouping disciplines (i.e. physiology, histology, biochemistry, etc) than organ systems.
The first block is anatomy. Anatomy is very much a hands on experience where you will spend plenty of time in the lab. Attendance is required for most things during anatomy and the days are pretty long. Fortunately, anatomy is only 10 weeks long.
After anatomy, our schedule is pretty awesome. Throughout the remainder of the preclinical years, a typical day is class lecture for a max of 4 hours (8am-noon for MS1's and 1pm-5pm for MS2's). This is way less than most schools. Attendance is not required for most lectures, and classes are both audio and video recorded and lecture slides are available online. Less than half of the class attends any given lecture with the rest studying from home. In addition to those lectures, we do have some additional activities. The schedule for these required things varies but I would say it averages out to about once per week. Examples of these things include a small group meeting, practicing clinical skills in the simulation center or hospital, or a quiz.
Between blocks, they now have a week-long period where you have your P3 class every day. This is basically your doctoring class mixed with ethics and other tidbits they need to teach.
Tell me everything about studying for Step 1 at Tech!
My opinion is that Step 1 preparation and your final score are very much a reflection of the individual student's preparation and dedication. That being said, Texas Tech certainly does everything possible to make sure you can get the score you want. To start off your Step 1 studying, the school will buy you access to UWorld's QBank for 9 months. You can do some searches around here for reviews, but suffice it to say that most students find UWorld to be the best QBank available. There has also been a recent push to make sure that our professors are covering material relevant for Step 1, so they are referencing the "First Aid for the Basic Sciences" two-volume set of books throughout the first 2 years. Another thing they did this year was buy Pathoma (an excellent pathology teaching and review system geared for Step 1 prep, providing both the book and online access to the video lectures for all students) for the MS2 class.
Then, starting in about March of your MS2 year, you will be taking the CBSE exam (Comprehensive Basic Science Exam, testing fees also covered by the school). This is like a mini-Step 1 written by the NBME, the same people who write Step 1. In order to make sure you're ready for Step 1 (and to avoid a retake, which is potentially damaging to your residency application), Tech wants to see you pass the CBSE before you take your Step 1. The school gives you the opportunity to take it up to 3 times.
Finally, you will also get about 6-7 weeks off to study for and take Step 1. Most students take it in the middle of that time and use the rest of the break for vacation.
Tech's averages for Step 1 score and % passing on the first attempt are at or above the national average, so the administration's efforts must be paying off!
Where else can I get information once I'm admitted? Where's the Facebook page?
There's a Facebook page for admitted students for the Class of 2018!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/741969805832167/
