2014-2015 Baylor College of Medicine Application Thread

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SATXLA2015 said:
Hi everybody!

Long time lurker here! Thanks to everyone who posts about their experiences, and congratulations to everyone who recently got accepted!

I also got accepted today :happy:! OOS! I'm so excited and was NOT expecting the call. Baylor has been my number one for a while now, and this all feels crazy. Having said that, I read some other posts about the interview day feeling underwhelming. I honestly LOVED my interview day up until I got to the tour. My tour guide basically contradicted everything the other students said. He mentioned that the environment was very competitive, the attendings were vicious, and that he "guesses Baylor's not a bad place to train." I'm hoping he is not representative of the general feelings of the student body as a whole. The other students were certainly more positive about their experiences. However, he's also the only 3rd year I came in to contact with. Most of the students that interacted with the interviewees were 2nd years.

So, all that to say... is there anyone here who is an upperclassman at Baylor who can tell me about their experience with the school? Or any current Baylor medical student who can tell me whether you feel most of the upperclassmen are happy with their choice/happy in general? I honestly wonder why that student was a tour guide in the first place if he felt so lackluster towards Baylor. His tour was really the only thing that detracted from my experience on the interview day. Still so excited about Baylor, and I hope many more of you hear back soon!
Click to expand...

What date did you interview at Baylor?
 
SATXLA2015 said:
Hi everybody!
Click to expand...
SATXLA2015 said:
Long time lurker here! Thanks to everyone who posts about their experiences, and congratulations to everyone who r
So, all that to say... is there anyone here who is an upperclassman at Baylor who can tell me about their experience with the school? Or any current Baylor medical student who can tell me whether you feel most of the upperclassmen are happy with their choice/happy in general? I honestly wonder why that student was a tour guide in the first place if he felt so lackluster towards Baylor. His tour was really the only thing that detracted from my experience on the interview day. Still so excited about Baylor, and I hope many more of you hear back soon!
Click to expand...

I only have limited experience, but a friend of mine graduated from Baylor a few years ago and had nothing but good things to say about the entire experience. She matched into derm and felt really well prepared. She's not a gunner by any means, so I doubt she clawed her way through. My tour guide was also a third year and was very happy, but I didn't really ask about competition/attendings.
 
SATXLA2015 said:
Hi everybody!

Long time lurker here! Thanks to everyone who posts about their experiences, and congratulations to everyone who recently got accepted!

I also got accepted today :happy:! OOS! I'm so excited and was NOT expecting the call. Baylor has been my number one for a while now, and this all feels crazy. Having said that, I read some other posts about the interview day feeling underwhelming. I honestly LOVED my interview day up until I got to the tour. My tour guide basically contradicted everything the other students said. He mentioned that the environment was very competitive, the attendings were vicious, and that he "guesses Baylor's not a bad place to train." I'm hoping he is not representative of the general feelings of the student body as a whole. The other students were certainly more positive about their experiences. However, he's also the only 3rd year I came in to contact with. Most of the students that interacted with the interviewees were 2nd years.

So, all that to say... is there anyone here who is an upperclassman at Baylor who can tell me about their experience with the school? Or any current Baylor medical student who can tell me whether you feel most of the upperclassmen are happy with their choice/happy in general? I honestly wonder why that student was a tour guide in the first place if he felt so lackluster towards Baylor. His tour was really the only thing that detracted from my experience on the interview day. Still so excited about Baylor, and I hope many more of you hear back soon!
Click to expand...

Current MS1 here. I love the preclinical curriculum. It's a lot of material coming at your very fast, but the grading breakdown and P/F system removes a lot of the stress about being #1 in preclinicals.

For MS3s and MS4s, I feel the majority of upperclassmen are quite happy with their experience. I've talked to one or two who have complained about the long hours on one rotation or another, but the fact of the matter is that clinicals can be stressful regardless of where you go. The clinical curriculum changes made as a result of the probation will no doubt make it an even better experience for when I and other future classes get there. Even as an MS1, I have spent time working with attendings, residents, and fellows in the Medical Center as part of one of our classes, and I have found them all to be very nice and helpful.
 
How does BCM feel about pre-II update/interest letters?

I was complete in early August and still haven't heard anything from them.
 
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giggglesngrins said:
I only have limited experience, but a friend of mine graduated from Baylor a few years ago and had nothing but good things to say about the entire experience. She matched into derm and felt really well prepared. She's not a gunner by any means, so I doubt she clawed her way through. My tour guide was also a third year and was very happy, but I didn't really ask about competition/attendings.
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Nice to hear! No one in our group asked about competition/attendings either, but he seemed very dedicated to point those things out. Judging by what you, mnmike, and others have said, I'm thinking he was either having a bad day or not an accurate reflection of the student body.
 
dragon mouse said:
How does BCM feel about pre-II update/interest letters?

I was complete in early August and still haven't heard anything from them.
Click to expand...


I think they are helpful if done well.
 
CoogsHouse said:
Can you elaborate on the clinical curriculum changes? I don't think they mentioned that during the interview day.
Click to expand...

Patient Physician Society course used to be P/F but is now graded. It's counted as a clinical course but you take it during your preclinical 1.5 years.
 
SATXLA2015 said:
Hi everybody!

Long time lurker here! Thanks to everyone who posts about their experiences, and congratulations to everyone who recently got accepted!

I also got accepted today :happy:! OOS! I'm so excited and was NOT expecting the call. Baylor has been my number one for a while now, and this all feels crazy. Having said that, I read some other posts about the interview day feeling underwhelming. I honestly LOVED my interview day up until I got to the tour. My tour guide basically contradicted everything the other students said. He mentioned that the environment was very competitive, the attendings were vicious, and that he "guesses Baylor's not a bad place to train." I'm hoping he is not representative of the general feelings of the student body as a whole. The other students were certainly more positive about their experiences. However, he's also the only 3rd year I came in to contact with. Most of the students that interacted with the interviewees were 2nd years.

So, all that to say... is there anyone here who is an upperclassman at Baylor who can tell me about their experience with the school? Or any current Baylor medical student who can tell me whether you feel most of the upperclassmen are happy with their choice/happy in general? I honestly wonder why that student was a tour guide in the first place if he felt so lackluster towards Baylor. His tour was really the only thing that detracted from my experience on the interview day. Still so excited about Baylor, and I hope many more of you hear back soon!
Click to expand...


I haven't met any upperclassman who has felt they made the wrong decision coming here. For the most part they all seem happy (especially 4th years, they seem almost too happy....)
 
ynot89125 said:
I haven't met any upperclassman who has felt they made the wrong decision coming here. For the most part they all seem happy (especially 4th years, they seem almost too happy....)
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MS4 are happy because they are almost done with medical school. I would be very happy, too. 🙂
 
redandwhitesox said:
I believe that one of the deans said that we were allowed to do so... I was just wondering if anybody actually has before
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I doubt this is a good idea. If you ever had to request this information, it would be best to do so after a decision has been made about your application (i.e. acceptance, waitlist). If you request this information before a formal decision is made, you may come across as too paranoid/desperate and that would not fair well.

Also, I don't remember any of the deans on interview day saying we were allowed to do this.
 
redandwhitesox said:
I believe that one of the deans said that we were allowed to do so... I was just wondering if anybody actually has before
Click to expand...

Let's suppose you are allowed to do this for a minute what would that accomplish exactly?

1. interviews are still going on so the ranking list will change after each and every interview day. So therefore your position can change up to 60 positions every week.
2. BCM will not tell you when they release new waves of acceptances or how many they accept at a time so you couldn't possibly predict, using your ranking, when you should get accepted.

If you really like BCM instead of bothering admissions with asking about rankings you should be more proactive. i.e. sending post interview letters of interest, update letters, etc.
 
dragon mouse said:
How does BCM feel about pre-II update/interest letters?

I was complete in early August and still haven't heard anything from them.
Click to expand...

Not sure, but I still sent them one last week (pre-interview, same situation as you). Haven't heard back yet, so I can't say if they received it or have been too busy to reply. When I called the admissions office to ask about how to send in a letter of recommendation update, they seemed pretty open to that.
 
How long will it take before Baylor is off probation? I really like the school, best in the state, and I will most likely matriculate in the fall. However, I can't get over the flags that are raised from their probation. It's probably a dumb concern, but once they're off probation I'll feel so much better.
 
texasguy2282 said:
How long will it take before Baylor is off probation? I really like the school, best in the state, and I will most likely matriculate in the fall. However, I can't get over the flags that are raised from their probation. It's probably a dumb concern, but once they're off probation I'll feel so much better.
Click to expand...

I interviewed on Friday and Dr. Johnson said by Feb. 2016.
 
texasguy2282 said:
How long will it take before Baylor is off probation? I really like the school, best in the state, and I will most likely matriculate in the fall. However, I can't get over the flags that are raised from their probation. It's probably a dumb concern, but once they're off probation I'll feel so much better.
Click to expand...


I think it's perfectly normal to be concerned. Even though upperclassmen and administration all tell us to not worry about it I still think about it sometimes. I mean let's assume there's a 99% chance BCM gets off probation well that's all good but in the off chance that the unthinkable happens what happens to me? I basically lose 2 years of my life and two years of tuition and now need to transfer. I mean what an absolute disaster that would be right?

In the end you just have to balance the risk/benefit of BCM vs your other options and I think you should definitely take BCM's probation into account, it would be foolish to ignore it completely.
 
wenbinbin said:
Not sure, but I still sent them one last week (pre-interview, same situation as you). Haven't heard back yet, so I can't say if they received it or have been too busy to reply. When I called the admissions office to ask about how to send in a letter of recommendation update, they seemed pretty open to that.
Click to expand...
I see. Thanks. Did you email or snail mail?
 
For those of you currently at BCM, when is a good time to start looking for housing? My range will probably be like $700–900 and I know living near the TMC can be very expensive.
 
texasguy2282 said:
For those of you currently at BCM, when is a good time to start looking for housing? My range will probably be like $700–900 and I know living near the TMC can be very expensive.
Click to expand...

I started looking in June and found a place within a week. There's tons of housing available if you are just renting and your range is just about right. It's a different situation if you wanna buy a condo.
 
ynot89125 said:
I started looking in June and found a place within a week. There's tons of housing available if you are just renting and your range is just about right. It's a different situation if you wanna buy a condo.
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~~~~~~~~
We bought a 2 BR condo just 14 minutes away via the public bus line ($1.20/day) on Holly Hall St. back in 2012. They were selling then for just > $110k. IF you are OOS, you want to buy if at all possible to establish residency before matriculating so tuition will drop to just $6k in year 2 (versus $19k+). Condo prices vary widely because of catering to different target markets. Normally, a student would not qualify for a condo mortgage loan because of no normal income source, but it can make a LOT more sense for a family not to pay rent for 4 years, ESPECIALLY since you save ~$40k over years 2-4 on tuition if OOS.
 
dragon mouse said:
How does BCM feel about pre-II update/interest letters?

I was complete in early August and still haven't heard anything from them.
Click to expand...

~~~~~~~~~~~

You have until the end of February to go in for an interview, and there seems to be no bias against those they interview then versus those they had interviewed back in October. I DO recommend POST-interview update/interest letters, but perhaps no point to PRE. On these fora, MANY had felt that the post-interview love notes helped at Baylor. Dr. Michael (Admissions) SAID when he called with the offer (including a merit scholarship) that he was holding and reading the post-interview (affirmation of interest) letter.
 
dragon mouse said:
I see. Thanks. Did you email or snail mail?
Click to expand...

Sent an email since when I called and asked about sending another letter of recommendation from my new PI, the admissions office requested email. But it's been over a week and I've yet to receive a reply.....
 
SATXLA2015 said:
Hi everybody!

Long time lurker here! Thanks to everyone who posts about their experiences, and congratulations to everyone who recently got accepted!

I also got accepted today :happy:! OOS! I'm so excited and was NOT expecting the call. Baylor has been my number one for a while now, and this all feels crazy. Having said that, I read some other posts about the interview day feeling underwhelming. I honestly LOVED my interview day up until I got to the tour. My tour guide basically contradicted everything the other students said. He mentioned that the environment was very competitive, the attendings were vicious, and that he "guesses Baylor's not a bad place to train." I'm hoping he is not representative of the general feelings of the student body as a whole. The other students were certainly more positive about their experiences. However, he's also the only 3rd year I came in to contact with. Most of the students that interacted with the interviewees were 2nd years.

So, all that to say... is there anyone here who is an upperclassman at Baylor who can tell me about their experience with the school? Or any current Baylor medical student who can tell me whether you feel most of the upperclassmen are happy with their choice/happy in general? I honestly wonder why that student was a tour guide in the first place if he felt so lackluster towards Baylor. His tour was really the only thing that detracted from my experience on the interview day. Still so excited about Baylor, and I hope many more of you hear back soon!
Click to expand...

~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you cannot take some heat, do not enter a kitchen. Understand, your iconoclastic tour guide was ONE PERSON.

My daughter is halfway thru year 3 (like your guide) at BCM and loves it. She has honored at least 2 rotations. BCM simply knows what the heck they are doing-- witness the recent nation-leading 244 Step 1 average and ongoing impressive match lists. The concern here about "probation" is likely of no bearing to the medical community nationwide. Some attendings (and others) might lean toward being imperious (but that is TRUE at many places), but learn to play the game. She has NOT seen a negative attitude among the students...she has liked the PRN(?) thing (mentoring from upper classes).

Oh, I always like to add this-- BCM will have saved our daughter $77k over the tuition cost ALONE versus her instate PUBLIC school. BCM calls itself America's best private medical school value...hell, I would proffer it as the best medical school value PERIOD, especially in terms of bang for the buck-- measurable results versus net costs.
 
When is the last time they called and gave out acceptances? Are they calling every wk? I've lost track...interviewed in early September and hoping to hear back!
 
What kinds of merit scholarships does Baylor give (ex. full tuition, full cost of attendance, etc)?
 
I think they've only made 2 rounds of calls so far
 
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Status update change from has been reviewed to is being reviewed! Good signs right?
 
ces393 said:
Status update change from has been reviewed to is being reviewed! Good signs right?
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I thought it was the other way around that was good? I'm still "is being reviewed" too!

I would guess that if I don't get the call tomorrow, it will be 2015 (or never!)
 
Yes, that is a good sign @ces393. Congrats! When did you get the email saying they received your secondary?
 
Thanks for the responses. I guess they haven't gotten to my application yet.
 
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