2019-2020 UT Austin (Dell)

Med School Insiders
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MS1 at Dell checking in to answer any questions y'all may have. Feel free to comment or DM me. I don't check this site super often, but I thought I'd give my two cents about my experience here so far, hopefully to give you an idea of what life is like here and to quell your fears about applying/starting medical school in general.

A little background: Grew up in Houston, went to undergrad out of state and applied from out of state (as a TX resident), had decently high stats and pretty normal EC's. I had my primary in by mid June, transcript processed by the end of June, and received a secondary invite by early July. I think I took about a week to get the video secondary in because I wanted to be calm and collected. Interviewed here in mid-September of 2018 and pre-matched by Thanksgiving, I think. I received a scholarship offer by mid-December. With a few other acceptances, I was pretty torn about which school I wanted to attend right up until April 30th of this year, when I finally settled on Dell. And I'm super glad I did!

The interview/offer/acceptance schedules of all of my classmates have varied pretty widely, so don't read too much into my schedule of those events.

Good luck, y'all!
 
neurotx said:
MS1 at Dell checking in to answer any questions y'all may have. Feel free to comment or DM me. I don't check this site super often, but I thought I'd give my two cents about my experience here so far, hopefully to give you an idea of what life is like here and to quell your fears about applying/starting medical school in general.

A little background: Grew up in Houston, went to undergrad out of state and applied from out of state (as a TX resident), had decently high stats and pretty normal EC's. I had my primary in by mid June, transcript processed by the end of June, and received a secondary invite by early July. I think I took about a week to get the video secondary in because I wanted to be calm and collected. Interviewed here in mid-September of 2018 and pre-matched by Thanksgiving, I think. I received a scholarship offer by mid-December. With a few other acceptances, I was pretty torn about which school I wanted to attend right up until April 30th of this year, when I finally settled on Dell. And I'm super glad I did!

The interview/offer/acceptance schedules of all of my classmates have varied pretty widely, so don't read too much into my schedule of those events.

Good luck, y'all!
Click to expand...

Dell is one of my top choices! It felt so innovative as a school and the students seemed really close and collaborative when I interviewed. I felt like I was in awe the entire time.

Is that how you would describe the environment at Dell? And what made you finally decide to go?
 
iliketurtlez said:
Dell is one of my top choices! It felt so innovative as a school and the students seemed really close and collaborative when I interviewed. I felt like I was in awe the entire time.

Is that how you would describe the environment at Dell? And what made you finally decide to go?
Click to expand...

The environment here is extremely collegial/collaborative. Resource/study help sharing is at an all time high. A lot of us actually sort of struggle with resource overload because of how helpful everyone is with sharing what they've found works with them. But that's a good problem to have. Additionally, we do tons of team-based learning, and with a small class size where we all see each other every day, the environment feels very pro-collaboration. It's a cool place in that regard. Of course, most of my time is spent studying individually, but there is just enough collaboration to remind me that I'm not in it alone and to help me cover the bases/perspectives that I couldn't cover alone.

Ultimately, Dell just felt right. The city and social life available here was important to me. I can't study 10-12 hours a day and stay effective/sane; I always knew I would need outlets, and I find I have plenty of time and opportunity to fulfill that need. I also wanted to feel like I was in a place that was intent on training physicians who would be part of changing healthcare. Additionally, I wanted to be in a place that could train me to be a compassionate physician before anything else, and I felt from the start that Dell fit the bill more closely than any other place I interviewed.

Sorry if this response isn't super clear--I'm in lecture right now and trying to sort of pay attention at the same time I am typing.
 
neurotx said:
The environment here is extremely collegial/collaborative. Resource/study help sharing is at an all time high. A lot of us actually sort of struggle with resource overload because of how helpful everyone is with sharing what they've found works with them. But that's a good problem to have. Additionally, we do tons of team-based learning, and with a small class size where we all see each other every day, the environment feels very pro-collaboration. It's a cool place in that regard. Of course, most of my time is spent studying individually, but there is just enough collaboration to remind me that I'm not in it alone and to help me cover the bases/perspectives that I couldn't cover alone.

Ultimately, Dell just felt right. The city and social life available here was important to me. I can't study 10-12 hours a day and stay effective/sane; I always knew I would need outlets, and I find I have plenty of time and opportunity to fulfill that need. I also wanted to feel like I was in a place that was intent on training physicians who would be part of changing healthcare. Additionally, I wanted to be in a place that could train me to be a compassionate physician before anything else, and I felt from the start that Dell fit the bill more closely than any other place I interviewed.

Sorry if this response isn't super clear--I'm in lecture right now and trying to sort of pay attention at the same time I am typing.
Click to expand...

Could you explain the purpose of the third year? Even after my interview day I was a bit uncertain.
 
neurotx said:
MS1 at Dell checking in to answer any questions y'all may have. Feel free to comment or DM me. I don't check this site super often, but I thought I'd give my two cents about my experience here so far, hopefully to give you an idea of what life is like here and to quell your fears about applying/starting medical school in general.

A little background: Grew up in Houston, went to undergrad out of state and applied from out of state (as a TX resident), had decently high stats and pretty normal EC's. I had my primary in by mid June, transcript processed by the end of June, and received a secondary invite by early July. I think I took about a week to get the video secondary in because I wanted to be calm and collected. Interviewed here in mid-September of 2018 and pre-matched by Thanksgiving, I think. I received a scholarship offer by mid-December. With a few other acceptances, I was pretty torn about which school I wanted to attend right up until April 30th of this year, when I finally settled on Dell. And I'm super glad I did!

The interview/offer/acceptance schedules of all of my classmates have varied pretty widely, so don't read too much into my schedule of those events.

Good luck, y'all!
Click to expand...

For those of us still clinging to hope for a secondary: Do you know the latest we can potentially receive one? If we don’t hear back from Dell by November, can we assume soft R? Is it possible to receive a secondary in December? Thank you for taking time out of your day to help us out.
 
Dirachlet_Dirac said:
if we sent a secondary in early Sept, and have not heard back, should we assume R?
Click to expand...
No, you shouldn't assume that. Ultimately, they'll interview their top ~300 or so students and you might be sitting pretty at #280. If you do get a late interview date, don't think it's a death sentence. If your interview shows your personality and goals align with the mission of Dell, you'll move up the match list. Likewise, some people interviewed in the first group will never receive an offer. My own roommate interviewed at the veryyyyy last January interview date and matched like 3 weeks later. It is a crapshoot, just be patient.

Also, imma give some advice I didn't take when applying: stay off these forums unless you've got a real question about schools or interview prep or selecting a school. Don't look at stuff that stresses you out because you ultimately can't change anything at this point. Spend any time you would've spent lurking on this forum with family and friends, exercising, learning guitar, etc. Bc that's the kind of stuff that will ultimately make you happy. I'm in med school now and yeah, its cool, but spending time w/ friends and playing soccer keeps me sane.
 
Silac said:
Could you explain the purpose of the third year? Even after my interview day I was a bit uncertain.
Click to expand...

To take a break, lol. In reality though, it's a way to expand your horizons. Interested in academic medicine and teaching? Masters in Educational Psychology might prepare you for that and look good on a resume. Like working on major projects as a health advisor? Masters in Healthcare Design students are currently participating in designing the new psychiatric state hospital here in Austin and helping out with a Gates Foundation global health project. Get some projects like that on your resume and doors might start opening for you on health-related planning committee. Perhaps you want an MPH or MBA, those are pretty self-explanatory. Going into a competitive field? research year.

A lot of people getting masters are also doing smaller research projects on the side, getting publications and an extra degree. It is a year to explore what you might be interested in *outside* of practice, because Dell is all about innovation and innovation requires you to export those ideas beyond yourself. If you're saying "wait I hate all of those things, I just want to be a good, community-oriented doctor", you could do Dell's original third-year pitch and create a community health project here in Austin.

Lots of people use the year to get married or have kids, since the commitments are a little more flexible compared to hospital hours.
 
medicalbread said:
I think it's possible to receive a secondary in December and interview in January. I interviewed here early October and adcoms said they interview people all the way through January before sending out offers in February so theres still hope!
Click to expand...

Yeah, my friend who also applied and interviewed here but ended up going somewhere else submitted his primary around the same time as me but didn’t get a secondary until like late November I think. I guess they liked his secondary enough that he ended up interviewing almost right away in like mid-December. And yeah, they interview all the way through January and those interviews are as legit as any—they keep spots open all the way through January so that everyone who interviews has a fair shot.

Really, the point is it ain’t over till it’s over. Don’t read into anything until you’ve heard a solid yes or no. Also, just trust that you are a great applicant who is committed to becoming a great physician, and try to relax. You’ll get in somewhere!
 
Silac said:
Thank you! I have to say I like that they call. The Dean even mentioned specific parts of my application that they liked. Very impressed.
Click to expand...
Congratulations. Looks like you already have several other admissions. What will you do?
 
Silac said:
Acceptance. I was an idiot and trying to edit my post to include that and deleted it instead.
Click to expand...
Congrats, @Silac You seem to be the first SDN member to announce a pre-match at Dell!

Any lurkers with good news?
 
I was told at my interview that acceptances will come out in February and that they don't do rolling. Is this a pre-match/match thing?
 
TheGhostOfBobStoops said:
I was told at my interview that acceptances will come out in February and that they don't do rolling. Is this a pre-match/match thing?
Click to expand...
If an admission is given before January 17th where you can pick and choose a school - it is prematch. If you are ranking a school but you were not officially already admitted, then it is a match. Essentially, you rank a school highest where you want to attend and if the school also ranks you highest, you get admitted there.
 
TheGhostOfBobStoops said:
I was told at my interview that acceptances will come out in February and that they don't do rolling. Is this a pre-match/match thing?
Click to expand...

If you are out of state, admissions are rolling.
If you are in-state, you can pre-match at Dell starting mid October until about December. Then, things go silent until match in February.

Dell is not pre-match heavy. At some Texas schools, almost the whole class will be filled by pre-match offers. In years past, Dell has done about 50% pre-match offers, 50% match day offers for their initial 50 slots. When students holding Dell offers decide do relinquish them to go elsewhere, those spots go to people on the waitlist who interviewed but did not match.
 
tulsajoe94 said:
If you are out of state, admissions are rolling.
If you are in-state, you can pre-match at Dell starting mid October until about December. Then, things go silent until match in February.

Dell is not pre-match heavy. At some Texas schools, almost the whole class will be filled by pre-match offers. In years past, Dell has done about 50% pre-match offers, 50% match day offers for their initial 50 slots. When students holding Dell offers decide do relinquish them to go elsewhere, those spots go to people on the waitlist who interviewed but did not match.
Click to expand...

TYSM!
 
If I did not get an II by now do I need to worry about it?????
 
There is one more interview day, so you have a chance but your odds aren’t ideal.

Edit: sorry, 2. I thought they were done sending invites for December interview but I guess not!
 
Last edited:
Got pre-match offer last week. How much financial aid do they offer? anybody has any insight? Any suggestions please. Thanks!
 
WannaBeDocSoon said:
Got pre-match offer last week. How much financial aid do they offer? anybody has any insight? Any suggestions please. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Financial aid at state schools means it is a loan. All medical schools offer full cost of attendance as loans.
 
WannaBeDocSoon said:
Got pre-match offer last week. How much financial aid do they offer? anybody has any insight? Any suggestions please. Thanks!
Click to expand...

I personally know of someone who received a full ride to UTSW and a half-tuition scholarship to Dell if that puts it into perspective. (Not this cycle though)
 
Does anyone know if there’s still hope for an II here? :’)
 
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