2018-2019 University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley

[gyngyn]

List three adjectives that characterize the community in which you grew up.



Briefly describe the community you anticipate practicing medicine in post-residency: (100 word max)


In the event you are accepted to two or more medical schools, what factors would be most important in determining which school would be the "best fit" for you. (150 word max)


The UTRGV SOM educates future physicians with the following values in mind:
Patient Advocacy, Community-Focus, Cultural Awareness, Collaborative Leadership Style, Lifelong Problem Solving.
Choose TWO (2) of these values and explain their importance to you and how they integrate with each other. Please explain how this integration will impact your medical school education.


DESCRIBE EXPERIENCES YOU HAVE HAD UNRELATED TO SCIENCE OR MEDICINE.
PART 1: Required
PART 2: Select 2 out of the 3*

• briefly describe the experience
• state the circumstances of the experience (why you participated)
• what you learned about yourself through that experience

*Experiences may be used more than once to address each category. Limit your answers to the space provided.


A. A situation in which you interacted with individuals who were different from you: (150 words)

B. Our Mission at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School Of Medicine (UTRGV SOM) is to educate a diverse group of medical students and future biomedical scientists; to develop physicians who will serve across all disciplines of medicine; bring hope to patients and communities by advancing biomedical knowledge through research. Our goal is to provide a forward-thinking medical education experience dedicated to scientific, evidence-based, patient-centered medicine to serve all communities, including those underserved. Submit a 2 minute video that answers the question below. To submit a video of your response, please upload the video to YouTube as either Public or Unlisted. Do not upload it as Private. Enter the URL of the uploaded video into the text box below.
How does your background and/or experiences align with UTRGV SOM Mission?


Part 2

A community service experience: 150 words


A position of responsibility/authority in which others depended on you for direction: 150 words

A creative endeavor (anything that required you to be creative in your approach, such as fine arts, computer programming, web design, writing, etc.): 150 words
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Interview Feedback (Please provide your experiences!): University of Texas Rio Grand Valley School of Medicine

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[wysdoc]

Here is a pretty application flow chart UTRGV has made for this app season, attached below).
They do screen your primary before inviting you to submit a secondary.

 

[suiture]

Are you on staff at UTRGV? Your profile suggests so, though you're an attending. A professor, maybe?

 

[wysdoc]

Are you on staff at UTRGV? Your profile suggests so, though you're an attending. A professor, maybe?

Nope, not on staff at the med school, I just live in the RGV. "Attending Physician" was the only category on the profile drop-down menu that seemed to fit.

 

[suiture]

Ah nice. Thanks for that pdf... it is immensely helpful!

 

[dodolol21]

I recieved the secondary today, is it okay if I don’t fill it out? I selected the school on TMDSAS since it was free, but the secondary is super long and costs $50.. I’m not sure I’d be totally happy attending here

Would it be fine if I decide not to fill the secondary here? Or will it affect my chances at other Texas schools?

 

[SpoiledMilk]

At this point without an offer and with any offers being not 100% guaranteed, my advice is to bite the bullet and fill out the secondary. No matter how much you think you measure up on paper, things can happen at the interviews at your choice schools that result in not getting an offer there e.g. you don't mesh with your interviewers.

Therefore, I would advise that without an offer in hand, to maximize your chances because in the grand scheme of things, $50 is nothing and you only lose a bit of time filling out the 2nd. Don't start eliminating your opportunities before you have an offer in hand...

 

[treesnm3s]

I agree with DV-T. I got the secondary today as well and it really doesn't look that bad.

 

[KD6-3.7]

Got it today as well. How selective are they with secondaries? Is it just the GPA/MCAT screen?

 

[treesnm3s]

Got it today as well. How selective are they with secondaries? Is it just the GPA/MCAT screen?

I think so.

 

[suiture]

According to the very helpful PDF above, yeah, just a GPA/MCAT screen and if you fail that, a second screen by a person. I recommend checking out that PDF; it is very helpful.

 

[premed0431]

Can someone post the questions for the secondary, I would really appreciate it? Please and thank you.

 

[treesnm3s]

Can someone post the questions for the secondary, I would really appreciate it? Please and thank you.

List three adjetives that characterize the community in which you grew up.



Briefly describe the community you anticipate practicing medicine in post-residency: (100 word max)


In the event you are accepted to two or more medical schools, what factors would be most important in determining which school would be the "best fit" for you. (150 word max)


The UTRGV SOM educates future physicians with the following values in mind:
Patient Advocacy, Community-Focus, Cultural Awareness, Collaborative Leadership Style, Lifelong Problem Solving.
Choose TWO (2) of these values and explain their importance to you and how they integrate with each other. Please explain how this integration will impact your medical school education.


DESCRIBE EXPERIENCES YOU HAVE HAD UNRELATED TO SCIENCE OR MEDICINE.
PART 1: Required
PART 2: Select 2 out of the 3*

• briefly describe the experience
• state the circumstances of the experience (why you participated)
• what you learned about yourself through that experience

*Experiences may be used more than once to address each category. Limit your answers to the space provided.


A. A situation in which you interacted with individuals who were different from you: (150 words)

B. Our Mission at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School Of Medicine (UTRGV SOM) is to educate a diverse group of medical students and future biomedical scientists; to develop physicians who will serve across all disciplines of medicine; bring hope to patients and communities by advancing biomedical knowledge through research. Our goal is to provide a forward-thinking medical education experience dedicated to scientific, evidence-based, patient-centered medicine to serve all communities, including those underserved. Submit a 2 minute video that answers the question below. To submit a video of your response, please upload the video to YouTube as either Public or Unlisted. Do not upload it as Private. Enter the URL of the uploaded video into the text box below.
How does your background and/or experiences align with UTRGV SOM Mission?


Part 2

A community service experience: 150 words


A position of responsibility/authority in which others depended on you for direction: 150 words

A creative endeavor (anything that required you to be creative in your approach, such as fine arts, computer programming, web design, writing, etc.): 150 words

 

[SpoiledMilk]

@gyngyn

 

[suiture]

The video is savage. Not sure how to do that.

 

[premed404]

This video makes me not want to do the secondary.

 

[premed0431]

Old video but kinda helpful!

 

[wysdoc]

This video makes me not want to do the secondary.

This is definitely a new request compared to last year. Wonder if they are trying to be trendy @@
On the other hand Dell asks you to do a video interview in which you have to quickly tape your responses to 3 questions. At least with this one you can edit/do more takes until you are happy with it.

 

[Garurumon]

Got the secondary today. Their birthday gift to me, I guess. Ack they removed the option to elaborate on non-science employment experience and added a video requirement. >.<

 

[thegrind33]

Received the secondary as well. I do not know if I would be happy attending this school, as it is so far away from the rest of Texas. I really only applied here because I have heard that some schools, such as McGovern, discriminate against applicants who do not apply to all Texas schools. The video part with the addition of the secondary is rediculous imo for a low tier school (no offense to anyone that attends here), and it really discourages me from doing it because of the extra effort haha. But I do agree with dvt that beggars can’t be choosers, and I don’t have an offer in hand and nothing is guaranteed. I might complete the secondary after (or if fingers crossed) I receive a couple interviews and see how they go. I’m not trying to sound arrogant or anything. IF I were to end up going to this school I’d still get an MD, which is the goal at the end of the day, and getting into an MD program is still a huge accomplishment/deal.

 

[lilsebastian18]

Received the secondary as well. I do not know if I would be happy attending this school, as it is so far away from the rest of Texas. I really only applied here because I have heard that some schools, such as McGovern, discriminate against applicants who do not apply to all Texas schools. The video part with the addition of the secondary is rediculous imo for a low tier school (no offense to anyone that attends here), and it really discourages me from doing it because of the extra effort haha. But I do agree with dvt that beggars can’t be choosers, and I don’t have an offer in hand and nothing is guaranteed. I might complete the secondary after (or if fingers crossed) I receive a couple interviews and see how they go. I’m not trying to sound arrogant or anything. IF I were to end up going to this school I’d still get an MD, which is the goal at the end of the day, and getting into an MD program is still a huge accomplishment/deal.

And it’s a TX MD, I always hear those are look highly upon for residency. I think I saw that you finished the southwestern ones, surely there’s something in those 5000 character essays you can pull from to use for these questions. But I definitely understand your hesitation to complete it. I’m on the other side of the spectrum, so I’d rather spend my time and effort on this one and leave the southwestern for much later lol.

 

[thegrind33]

And it’s a TX MD, I always hear those are look highly upon for residency. I think I saw that you finished the southwestern ones, surely there’s something in those 3 5000 character essays you can pull from to use for these questions. But I definitely understand your hesitation to complete it. I’m on the other spectrum where I’d rather spend my time and effort into this one and leave the southwestern for much later lol.

Hey man everyone has a different approach, whatevs gets that md acceptance!

 

[treesnm3s]

I agree, not all that excited about this secondary (or Dell's on-the-spot video) but I wouldn't mind going here. I'm definitely going to focus on the other TX secondaries first, though.

 

[lilsebastian18]

At the risk of sounding like a total creep, what is everyone wearing for this video?

 

[Eurycea]

Received the secondary as well. I do not know if I would be happy attending this school, as it is so far away from the rest of Texas. I really only applied here because I have heard that some schools, such as McGovern, discriminate against applicants who do not apply to all Texas schools. The video part with the addition of the secondary is rediculous imo for a low tier school (no offense to anyone that attends here), and it really discourages me from doing it because of the extra effort haha. But I do agree with dvt that beggars can’t be choosers, and I don’t have an offer in hand and nothing is guaranteed. I might complete the secondary after (or if fingers crossed) I receive a couple interviews and see how they go. I’m not trying to sound arrogant or anything. IF I were to end up going to this school I’d still get an MD, which is the goal at the end of the day, and getting into an MD program is still a huge accomplishment/deal.

Please don't apply to a school you wouldn't be happy attending. Every school says they're mission-driven, but UTRGV really is. If you don't find yourself fitting into the mission of the school and living in the Valley, four years there is going to suck. I don't believe for a minute that other TX schools discriminate against applicants who don't apply everywhere- not everyone is a great fit for every school, and adcoms recognize that.

 

[Garurumon]

.

 

[dodolol21]

Gonna keep it simple and wear a suit + tie. Don't think the committee wants you to get too creative. This is an application for a professional school and they have tons of applications to go through. A clean and concise approach is the best route in my opinion. IIRC Dell says something similar with their secondary

Lol I wore a suit/tie and just answered the question like I would have in an interview.

 

[lilsebastian18]

Lol I wore a suit/tie and just answered the question like I would have in an interview.

How did you approach Question B on part 1? It’s really hard to talk about experiences unrelated to science and medicine when the mission statement is all about science and medicine lol. I inevitably end up bringing some science experience into it, so going on take 27 at the moment, lol.

 

[suiture]

I doubt it matters much what you wear as long as you don't wear nothing or a ratty t shirt. The Dell thing says not to wear a suit but I doubt it matters.

Has anyone had their video viewed? As in, have you checked the views/stats on youtube to see if they've viewed your video yet.

 

[dodolol21]

How did you approach Question B on part 1? It’s really hard to talk about experiences unrelated to science and medicine when the mission statement is all about science and medicine lol. I inevitably end up bringing some science experience into it, so going on take 27 at the moment, lol.

Well I picked a couple key points in the mission and talked about those, but for research I just said research without talking about the science. ‍

 

[lilsebastian18]

I doubt it matters much what you wear as long as you don't wear nothing or a ratty t shirt. The Dell thing says not to wear a suit but I doubt it matters.

Has anyone had their video viewed? As in, have you checked the views/stats on youtube to see if they've viewed your video yet.

I think the views might be a bit skewed if you don’t mark your video as unlisted. I stumbled upon quite a few last night.

 

[dodolol21]

I think the views might be a bit skewed if you don’t mark your video as unlisted. I stumbled upon quite a few last night.

Lol oh wow, I didnt think anyone would just leave it public

 

[suiture]

I think the views might be a bit skewed if you don’t mark your video as unlisted. I stumbled upon quite a few last night.

Time to do some googling? If they made them public I suppose they don't mind me comparing notes.

Mine is definitely unlisted. And no views even though it was done the first day.

 

[SpoiledMilk]

After googling and watching some of the videos (which are great btw), I think UTRGV has done a disservice to applicants by requiring that they make the videos public. IHMO.

 

[suiture]

They said they could be unlisted. Just not private.

 

[SpoiledMilk]

Yet I still found many videos. So UTRGV needs to better explain to applicants what unlisted means or else create their own database so applicants can upload it to the school's server.

Other schools will be able to find these videos like I did easily...

 

[lilsebastian18]

Yet I still found many videos. So UTRGV needs to better explain to applicants what unlisted means or else create their own database so applicants can upload it to the school's server.

Other schools will be able to find these videos like I did easily...

I agree it would’ve been better to upload to a a database of sorts other than a public forum. I’ve definitely been sitting on my video to make sure I actually know how to post it as unlisted. It’s unnerving already to make the video for adcoms and now there’s the risk others can see it too. Yikes, lol.

 

[KD6-3.7]

Yet I still found many videos. So UTRGV needs to better explain to applicants what unlisted means or else create their own database so applicants can upload it to the school's server.

Other schools will be able to find these videos like I did easily...

Yes, it's strange to me that an institution like UT RGV would have us upload to Youtube rather than creating the infrastructure to upload to a secure database operated by them. I mean, Dell isn't having us upload to Youtube.

 

[wysdoc]

Yes, it's strange to me that an institution like UT RGV would have us upload to Youtube rather than creating the infrastructure to upload to a secure database operated by them. I mean, Dell isn't having us upload to Youtube.

You can go back and change the settings on your Youtube video if you find that you have accidentally made it public. Choose Unlisted and then save the setting.
The comparison you made between Dell and UTRGV gives you a clue about the sophistication and technological competence of each.

 

[thegrind33]

You can go back and change the settings on your Youtube video if you find that you have accidentally made it public. Choose Unlisted and then save the setting.
The comparison you made between Dell and UTRGV gives you a clue about the sophistication and technological competence of each.

So is it safe to assume the staff at utrgv is inept? This kind of mistake in an application process is bush-league and unprofessional, really looks bad on the school.

 

[dodolol21]

So is it safe to assume the staff at utrgv is inept? This kind of mistake in an application process is bush-league and unprofessional, really looks bad on the school.

Woah, I don't think it should be taken that far. They may have decided on this last minute and not had the time or resources to set something up so fast. If you feel like this about the school you should probably withdraw

 

[wysdoc]

So is it safe to assume the staff at utrgv is inept? This kind of mistake in an application process is bush-league and unprofessional, really looks bad on the school.

Through your experiences and communications with each medical school, keep track of things (Make notes for yourself as they will eventually blur in your mind) and draw your own conclusions. Some may be cold and impersonal via email but win your heart on the interview day. All the things added up will later help you make your choices.

 

[thegrind33]

Woah, I don't think it should be taken that far. They may have decided on this last minute and not had the time or resources to set something up so fast. If you feel like this about the school you should probably withdraw

Yeah that could very well be the case. It just really looks badly on the admin for not protecting the confidentiality of an applicant/application. Whoever came up with this idea is for sure probably taking some heat.

 

[KD6-3.7]

You can go back and change the settings on your Youtube video if you find that you have accidentally made it public. Choose Unlisted and then save the setting.
The comparison you made between Dell and UTRGV gives you a clue about the sophistication and technological competence of each.

I didn't mean to imply I thought worse of the UT RGV staff. I have no idea how difficult it would be to set up a direct portal to upload videos, but I was just guessing that for an institution that is part of the University of Texas system, it should have been doable. Regardless, it is what it is, and I will happily fill out the secondary since nothing is certain.

 

[JPmoleymole]

So is it safe to assume the staff at utrgv is inept? This kind of mistake in an application process is bush-league and unprofessional, really looks bad on the school.

I don’t know if inept is the right word, but it is important to analyze how medical schools operate their admissions departments - since they know this is your first impression of the school

After all, they are analyzing your own application

Definitely make your school decisions carefully if you end up having multiple options

 

[JPmoleymole]

Please don't apply to a school you wouldn't be happy attending. Every school says they're mission-driven, but UTRGV really is. If you don't find yourself fitting into the mission of the school and living in the Valley, four years there is going to suck. I don't believe for a minute that other TX schools discriminate against applicants who don't apply everywhere- not everyone is a great fit for every school, and adcoms recognize that.

This is very good advice if you end up having multiple acceptances, but at this point it would be ridiculously stupid not to keep all your options open.

Yes, the valley is not a very attractive place to live - but who knows how anyone will feel after interviews

 

[lilsebastian18]

So is it safe to assume the staff at utrgv is inept? This kind of mistake in an application process is bush-league and unprofessional, really looks bad on the school.

I wouldn’t say it’s ineptiude. They do provide instructions to say that the video can be uploaded as unlisted, in which case it’ll never show up in search. I think with any new system, things are going to be a bit slow to catch up to the level of sophistication we all expect in 2018. However, this doesn’t and shouldn’t dissolve any responsibility we have as applicants to ensure our application is submitted the way we see fit. I think it’s really on us to ensure that our video is uploaded as unlisted. After all, we’re all trying to enter a career where people’s lives literally depend on us, so we have to share some of the responsibility in this whole process. So while I agree, it’s not ideal to upload to YouTube, those guys should’ve double checked their settings. Heck, they might not care that others can view their videos.

 

[suiture]

What is more interesting is that if you use your normal youtube account, your likes and any other videos posted can be viewed depending on your account settings. That is worse than the video itself being viewable.

 

[SpoiledMilk]

I can see the real possibility of an interviewer at another school after seeing the applicant's video spiel about why they love and fit UTRGV's mission, etc, asking, "Why our school?" and then "Why should I believe you? This is what you said to UTRGV, blah blah blah..."

NOTE: To applicants, be prepared for this possibility...

 

[thegrind33]

I can see the real possibility of an interviewer at another school after seeing the applicant's video spiel about why they love and fit UTRGV's mission, etc, asking, "Why our school?" and then "Why should I believe you? This is what you said to UTRGV, blah blah blah..."

NOTE: To applicants, be prepared for this possibility...

And this ^^^^^^^^ is what I’m worried about!