2019-2020 UT San Antonio (Long)

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I interviewed there this month and thought it was the best interview of my life, but I'm still pretty anxious. I know they're match heavy, would you mind PMing me as well so I can get an idea of the type of student that prematches here?
 
I’m a MS1 here and I’ll be glad to answer any questions y’all have about the school + life in SA if you’re still deciding how to rank the Texas schools!
 
Silac said:
Does anyone know if we could potentially hear back about scholarships before we have to rank?
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I just got a call from Dr. Kellaway congratulating me on the acceptance and informing me that I have been selected for a scholarship - she said emails are coming at a later date.
 
So Dr. Kellaway would have mentioned it on the phone call if a scholarship was offered?
 
clumzi00 said:
i got second look email but no acceptance yet
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Same. I'm a little confused as I thought second looks were traditionally for people who were already accepted to the program but the way the email phrases it, it doesn't seem as such. I haven't gotten an acceptance email or call from them or anything yet.

Can someone confirm this email went out to everyone they interviewed?
 
clutchtho said:
Can someone confirm this email went out to everyone they interviewed?
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I believe it did, I received some mail on their newsletter even before my interview. I would assume that this is much the same.

I'm happy to hear from them through the process, it is so much better than silence!
 
Peach the Cat said:
I believe it did, I received some mail on their newsletter even before my interview. I would assume that this is much the same.

I'm happy to hear from them through the process, it is so much better than silence!
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The only thing that concerns me is that this is seems to be inviting us rather than telling us this is happening

also they say to let them know if you can’t make it so they can invite others. No idea what’s up but they’re closed till the 29th so no way to find out haha

here’s to hoping we are on some match list and we just don’t know it and that’s why they want us 😛
 
clutchtho said:
Same. I'm a little confused as I thought second looks were traditionally for people who were already accepted to the program but the way the email phrases it, it doesn't seem as such. I haven't gotten an acceptance email or call from them or anything yet.

Can someone confirm this email went out to everyone they interviewed?
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I interviewed and have not received any emails regarding a 2nd look. I'm not going to read into it though, I interviewed pretty late and I bet there is some priority based on interview date.
 
clutchtho said:
also they say to let them know if you can’t make it so they can invite others. No idea what’s up but they’re closed till the 29th so no way to find out haha

here’s to hoping we are on some match list and we just don’t know it and that’s why they want us 😛
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I think the "If you can’t show please tell us as soon as possible, so that we can fit in the next person" line means that if you schedule a 2nd look date, and end up not being able to attend, please let us know so we can let someone else have that time/date. I'd imagine that everyone that interviewed before December would probably get this email, to be able to refresh their memory on the school.
 
Yeah, I'm not going to try and read into it too much. I interviewed last Tuesday (12/10) but received the Second Look email yesterday. I currently live way out of state, so coming back for another look is just not feasible anyways.
 
Pre-matched 3 hours ago. Interviewed August. Patiently waiting to hear from Baylor. IA 6 ; Prematch 5 ; waiting 1.
 
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Congrats to everyone that got accepted today! Just wanted to add for the people that have interviewed and are still waiting to hear back, don't look too much into this. Seems like most of the people getting pre-matched here are the allstars who already have a handful of prematches/acceptances to other schools, and Long has already said they are very match heavy.
 
BYU Physics dude said:
Before reading this: I’m a current MS2 student writing this review for future students considering attending this school. This is basically a bunch of stuff that would have affected my decision to attend this school if I had known about it before coming here. I ultimately ended up choosing this school because they gave me a 5k/yr scholarship on top of the cheap tuition which I felt like was too good of a deal to turn down- but you get what you pay for as they say! So here we go:

Lecture curriculum is disorganized and has poor overlap with what is tested on national board exams. Beware of using outside exam prep resources at this school! The exam writers at this school like to target obscure material that is not covered in popular board exam prep courses as a means of penalizing students who do not focus on material taught by the school’s lecturers (despite this material being less high yield for medical board exams).

A special course called clinical skills which teaches toward USMLE step 2 is mandatory during first and second year. Because this is critical STEP1 learning time, the clinical skills course is a sort of handicap for those looking to score highly on step 1, since students from other schools spend all of their time studying the basic science. In spite of the grading in the clinical skills course being highly subjective (aka sometimes you do great and sometimes you flunk and they never tell you why), it is worth more grade points than any other preclinical course, thus many straight-A students lose their chance for AOA because of this course (it runs for 2 years and you don't get your final grade until the end of 2nd year), making it another drawback for those interested in applying to competitive residencies. Many students say the clinical skills course was valuable for learning physical exam skills, though, and that it eased the learning curve in 3rd year. My experience is that the general agreement among most students here is that they would have rather not been required to take the course at all, and that either way you’d pick up on what you need to know in the first few weeks of clinical rotations.

There are many other required attendance activities at this school which seem to waste more time than proving helpful for learning material- Synthesis being one example. Synthesis is an activity where you spend three hours one day per week being quizzed on and discussing various facets of a single patient case in a group setting. The amount of learning in Synthesis equates to about 20 minutes of focused study using a STEP1 question bank. It is a HUGE waste of time.

Overall, I’d say this is a pretty average school and going here is a great idea if you like the idea of doing primary care and didn't get into a lot of other schools. You’ll learn enough to pass the boards and you’ll learn lots of things that might be applicable in practice even if they will not be on board exams.

Really, the challenges with this school highlight the failings in our national education system to determine what makes a good doctor and what things should matter when evaluating residency applicants. Unfortunately, the philosophy held by the leaders of this school doesn’t match up well with the philosophy of most residency directors overseeing admission into competitive specialties.

Per the associate dean of student affairs, speaking in a STEP exam prep meeting for 2nd year students: “STEP1 is a licensing exam. Does it really matter how high you score as long as you pass? Does anyone ask you what your score on your drivers license exam was?”

Contrast this with UTMB (galveston), who cancelled lectures to allow students more time to Anki because they realized it was more efficient for getting good board scores.

Alas I think that is all I have to say.

-------

Just some demographic info about myself for those who are curious, I'm currently gearing up to take STEP1 with practice test scores around 245ish- because I started doing Zanki at the beginning of MS2. Realized that class material alone was barely enough to get a passing STEP score. My MCAT was 520 and GPA from college 3.78. Looking to do Opthalmology (a competitive specialty). So far I have 4.0 in preclinical classes but it's been a heck of a challenge studying for both STEP and studying for class (remember, poor overlap between the two). Got acceptances from all of the Texas schools except Baylor and A&M. Chose San Antonio based on suburban campus and scholarship.
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well wow. i had very similar stats to yours and am stuck between Mcgovern, UTMB and Long. but your assessment is you would have picked UTMB? From interview day they mentioned they give 4 months of straight up time off second year to study for STEP 1 which seems quite generous to me

I've heard McGovern is very very similar to Long in terms of how they think about grades and curriculum

I LOVED Long during my interview but this is good to think about
 
BYU Physics dude said:
Before reading this: I’m a current MS2 student writing this review for future students considering attending this school. This is basically a bunch of stuff that would have affected my decision to attend this school if I had known about it before coming here. I ultimately ended up choosing this school because they gave me a 5k/yr scholarship on top of the cheap tuition which I felt like was too good of a deal to turn down- but you get what you pay for as they say! So here we go:

Lecture curriculum is disorganized and has poor overlap with what is tested on national board exams. Beware of using outside exam prep resources at this school! The exam writers at this school like to target obscure material that is not covered in popular board exam prep courses as a means of penalizing students who do not focus on material taught by the school’s lecturers (despite this material being less high yield for medical board exams).

A special course called clinical skills which teaches toward USMLE step 2 is mandatory during first and second year. Because this is critical STEP1 learning time, the clinical skills course is a sort of handicap for those looking to score highly on step 1, since students from other schools spend all of their time studying the basic science. In spite of the grading in the clinical skills course being highly subjective (aka sometimes you do great and sometimes you flunk and they never tell you why), it is worth more grade points than any other preclinical course, thus many straight-A students lose their chance for AOA because of this course (it runs for 2 years and you don't get your final grade until the end of 2nd year), making it another drawback for those interested in applying to competitive residencies. Many students say the clinical skills course was valuable for learning physical exam skills, though, and that it eased the learning curve in 3rd year. My experience is that the general agreement among most students here is that they would have rather not been required to take the course at all, and that either way you’d pick up on what you need to know in the first few weeks of clinical rotations.

There are many other required attendance activities at this school which seem to waste more time than proving helpful for learning material- Synthesis being one example. Synthesis is an activity where you spend three hours one day per week being quizzed on and discussing various facets of a single patient case in a group setting. The amount of learning in Synthesis equates to about 20 minutes of focused study using a STEP1 question bank. It is a HUGE waste of time.

Overall, I’d say this is a pretty average school and going here is a great idea if you like the idea of doing primary care and didn't get into a lot of other schools. You’ll learn enough to pass the boards and you’ll learn lots of things that might be applicable in practice even if they will not be on board exams.

Really, the challenges with this school highlight the failings in our national education system to determine what makes a good doctor and what things should matter when evaluating residency applicants. Unfortunately, the philosophy held by the leaders of this school doesn’t match up well with the philosophy of most residency directors overseeing admission into competitive specialties.

Per the associate dean of student affairs, speaking in a STEP exam prep meeting for 2nd year students: “STEP1 is a licensing exam. Does it really matter how high you score as long as you pass? Does anyone ask you what your score on your drivers license exam was?”

Contrast this with UTMB (galveston), who cancelled lectures to allow students more time to Anki because they realized it was more efficient for getting good board scores.

Alas I think that is all I have to say.

-------

Just some demographic info about myself for those who are curious, I'm currently gearing up to take STEP1 with practice test scores around 245ish- because I started doing Zanki at the beginning of MS2. Realized that class material alone was barely enough to get a passing STEP score. My MCAT was 520 and GPA from college 3.78. Looking to do Opthalmology (a competitive specialty). So far I have 4.0 in preclinical classes but it's been a heck of a challenge studying for both STEP and studying for class (remember, poor overlap between the two). Got acceptances from all of the Texas schools except Baylor and A&M. Chose San Antonio based on suburban campus and scholarship.
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Thank you so much for the insight. Have you brought these concerns up to admin?
 
BYU Physics dude said:
Before reading this: I’m a current MS2 student writing this review for future students considering attending this school. This is basically a bunch of stuff that would have affected my decision to attend this school if I had known about it before coming here. I ultimately ended up choosing this school because they gave me a 5k/yr scholarship on top of the cheap tuition which I felt like was too good of a deal to turn down- but you get what you pay for as they say! So here we go:

Lecture curriculum is disorganized and has poor overlap with what is tested on national board exams. Beware of using outside exam prep resources at this school! The exam writers at this school like to target obscure material that is not covered in popular board exam prep courses as a means of penalizing students who do not focus on material taught by the school’s lecturers (despite this material being less high yield for medical board exams).

A special course called clinical skills which teaches toward USMLE step 2 is mandatory during first and second year. Because this is critical STEP1 learning time, the clinical skills course is a sort of handicap for those looking to score highly on step 1, since students from other schools spend all of their time studying the basic science. In spite of the grading in the clinical skills course being highly subjective (aka sometimes you do great and sometimes you flunk and they never tell you why), it is worth more grade points than any other preclinical course, thus many straight-A students lose their chance for AOA because of this course (it runs for 2 years and you don't get your final grade until the end of 2nd year), making it another drawback for those interested in applying to competitive residencies. Many students say the clinical skills course was valuable for learning physical exam skills, though, and that it eased the learning curve in 3rd year. My experience is that the general agreement among most students here is that they would have rather not been required to take the course at all, and that either way you’d pick up on what you need to know in the first few weeks of clinical rotations.

There are many other required attendance activities at this school which seem to waste more time than proving helpful for learning material- Synthesis being one example. Synthesis is an activity where you spend three hours one day per week being quizzed on and discussing various facets of a single patient case in a group setting. The amount of learning in Synthesis equates to about 20 minutes of focused study using a STEP1 question bank. It is a HUGE waste of time.

Overall, I’d say this is a pretty average school and going here is a great idea if you like the idea of doing primary care and didn't get into a lot of other schools. You’ll learn enough to pass the boards and you’ll learn lots of things that might be applicable in practice even if they will not be on board exams.

Really, the challenges with this school highlight the failings in our national education system to determine what makes a good doctor and what things should matter when evaluating residency applicants. Unfortunately, the philosophy held by the leaders of this school doesn’t match up well with the philosophy of most residency directors overseeing admission into competitive specialties.

Per the associate dean of student affairs, speaking in a STEP exam prep meeting for 2nd year students: “STEP1 is a licensing exam. Does it really matter how high you score as long as you pass? Does anyone ask you what your score on your drivers license exam was?”

Contrast this with UTMB (galveston), who cancelled lectures to allow students more time to Anki because they realized it was more efficient for getting good board scores.

Alas I think that is all I have to say.

-------

Just some demographic info about myself for those who are curious, I'm currently gearing up to take STEP1 with practice test scores around 245ish- because I started doing Zanki at the beginning of MS2. Realized that class material alone was barely enough to get a passing STEP score. My MCAT was 520 and GPA from college 3.78. Looking to do Opthalmology (a competitive specialty). So far I have 4.0 in preclinical classes but it's been a heck of a challenge studying for both STEP and studying for class (remember, poor overlap between the two). Got acceptances from all of the Texas schools except Baylor and A&M. Chose San Antonio based on suburban campus and scholarship.
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Thank you!! I was having trouble deciding between this and another prematch offer because of the same $5k instate scholarship. It's good to have ALL of the information before I make any decisions and this was definitely necessary for me to see. Appreciate you!
 
Phys270 said:
Before reading this: I’m a current MS2 student writing this review for future students considering attending this school. This is basically a bunch of stuff that would have affected my decision to attend this school if I had known about it before coming here. I ultimately ended up choosing this school because they gave me a 5k/yr scholarship on top of the cheap tuition which I felt like was too good of a deal to turn down- but you get what you pay for as they say! So here we go:
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Wow, there's a lot to unpack here. Current MS3 at Long here. I will not dismiss this student's experiences- everyone is entitled to their opinions. I even agree with some of what they're sharing- but I think it is important to discuss some of their concerns, as someone on the other side of step 1. The applicants agonizing over rank lists deserve as much.

First, step 1 is a very important test- everybody knows that. However, it's only important insofar as it helps you match to the residency program of your choice. It is a big factor in what is ultimately a multifactorial process. That being said, I think there are two, much more proximal factors applicants should consider when evaluating how a school will prepare them for residency:

1) How do students actually score on step? Additionally, how do those students seeking high step scores do?

2) How do students actually do in the residency match?

These are the important outcomes applicants should be looking at. Long students do at or above the national average on Step 1 (similarly to most Texas schools, especially when UTMB stopped fudging their stats). Long also consistently matches to competitive residencies and top programs. Students have no trouble matching to derm, ortho, ophtho, neurosurg, ent, uro, etc year after year. (As an aside- can we stop acting like having a good number of students go into primary care specialties is a failing on the part of the school?)

The above poster has also not yet experienced the absolute transcendent magic that is the 4 months we get off to study for step. Whatever deficiencies, whether individual or curricular, a student identifies in his or her preparation for step are handily solved with up to 4 months of self-directed learning.

Second, Long frequently emphasized in the preclinical coursework that not everything was designed to be directly relevant to Step 1- much of the teaching was geared toward clinical knowledge and evolving science. Now that I am in the clinical years, I actually really appreciate this. Step 1 material is some of the most out-there esoteric crap you can imagine- it correlates poorly with real world medicine. Unfortunately, as the above poster mentioned, schools are faced with the dilemma of increasingly ridiculous pressure for students to perform well on Step 1, which they must balance with the ultimate goal of actually training good doctors. I think for some curricula, the pendulum has swung a little too far toward board preparation. Long still does a good job striking that balance. That being said, ask 10 people about their opinions on this and you'll get 10 different answers.

I agree with some of the points about the clinical skills class- no reason it should be worth that many credit hours. However, in my opinion it's a pretty easy class to get an A in. Most do- it's a grade buffer if anything. It forces you to be efficient with your history and physical exam skills. Cast a wide net and you're bound to catch fish. It's also being scrutinized by admin- every year they're making improvements, holding focus groups with students to improve things, etc. I can't imagine not having the class and trying to start third year. It was a hassle at times trying to balance it with other coursework, but helpful- and as another commenter pointed out, every school will have some variation of the same.

I agree with the comments regarding Synthesis. Great in theory, not that efficient in practice. I did anki during. A counterargument is that our Synthesis component is essentially a one day per week "flipped classroom". If you're considering schools with a completely flipped classroom model.... hope you like Synthesis.

Finally, I studied for the class exams primarily using outside step 1 resources, with a cursory review of the class material in the week we have off prior to each exam. Never felt I was at a disadvantage. Hit my target score for step, as did every one of my classmates I've talked to about it.


I think it is possible the above poster has had a uniquely sour experience with the clinical skills course so far, is worried it will hamper their chances at a competitive residency they've set their sights on, and hoped to warn applicants against a similar fate. Ultimately you have to make your rank list/decision by taking many data points into account. Don't let one comment (including mine) make your decision for you.

N = 2
 
Phys270 said:
I actually have an A in CS currently, and no particularly negative experiences out of the ordinary from the other students that I can think of. But hey I like all the extra things you pointed out. A second opinion is always good, especially from someone who has already taken STEP. Just curious, what specialty are you interested in?
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I apologize if my post mischaracterized you. Probably applying to PM&R.
 
Phys270 said:
Before reading this: I’m a current MS2 student writing this review for future students considering attending this school. This is basically a bunch of stuff that would have affected my decision to attend this school if I had known about it before coming here. I ultimately ended up choosing this school because they gave me a 5k/yr scholarship on top of the cheap tuition which I felt like was too good of a deal to turn down- but you get what you pay for as they say! So here we go:

Lecture curriculum is disorganized and has poor overlap with what is tested on national board exams. Beware of using outside exam prep resources at this school! The exam writers at this school like to target obscure material that is not covered in popular board exam prep courses as a means of penalizing students who do not focus on material taught by the school’s lecturers (despite this material being less high yield for medical board exams).

A special course called clinical skills which teaches toward USMLE step 2 is mandatory during first and second year. Because this is critical STEP1 learning time, the clinical skills course is a sort of handicap for those looking to score highly on step 1, since students from other schools spend all of their time studying the basic science. In spite of the grading in the clinical skills course being highly subjective (aka sometimes you do great and sometimes you flunk and they never tell you why), it is worth more grade points than any other preclinical course, thus many straight-A students lose their chance for AOA because of this course (it runs for 2 years and you don't get your final grade until the end of 2nd year), making it another drawback for those interested in applying to competitive residencies. Many students say the clinical skills course was valuable for learning physical exam skills, though, and that it eased the learning curve in 3rd year. My experience is that the general agreement among most students here is that they would have rather not been required to take the course at all, and that either way you’d pick up on what you need to know in the first few weeks of clinical rotations.

There are many other required attendance activities at this school which seem to waste more time than proving helpful for learning material- Synthesis being one example. Synthesis is an activity where you spend three hours one day per week being quizzed on and discussing various facets of a single patient case in a group setting. The amount of learning in Synthesis equates to about 20 minutes of focused study using a STEP1 question bank. It is a HUGE waste of time.

Overall, I’d say this is a pretty average school and going here is a great idea if you like the idea of doing primary care and didn't get into a lot of other schools. You’ll learn enough to pass the boards and you’ll learn lots of things that might be applicable in practice even if they will not be on board exams.

Really, the challenges with this school highlight the failings in our national education system to determine what makes a good doctor and what things should matter when evaluating residency applicants. Unfortunately, the philosophy held by the leaders of this school doesn’t match up well with the philosophy of most residency directors overseeing admission into competitive specialties.

Per the associate dean of student affairs, speaking in a STEP exam prep meeting for 2nd year students: “STEP1 is a licensing exam. Does it really matter how high you score as long as you pass? Does anyone ask you what your score on your drivers license exam was?”

Contrast this with UTMB (galveston), who cancelled lectures to allow students more time to Anki because they realized it was more efficient for getting good board scores.

Alas I think that is all I have to say.

-------

Just some demographic info about myself for those who are curious, I'm currently gearing up to take STEP1 with practice test scores around 245ish- because I started doing Zanki at the beginning of MS2. Realized that class material alone was barely enough to get a passing STEP score. My MCAT was 520 and GPA from college 3.8. So far I have A's in preclinical classes but it's been a heck of a challenge studying for both STEP and studying for class (remember, poor overlap between the two). Got acceptances from all of the Texas schools except Baylor and A&M. Chose San Antonio based on suburban campus and scholarship.
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Im an MS1 here so take this with a grain of salt, but I use outside resources as primary studying so far and no problem getting Honors. However I do agree that the material could be wayyyyy more organized and its made me wonder why they dont just change it because clearly something isnt working if alot of us are complaining about it. The funny part is they send us some many surveys for feedback and the change they do between the years is very minimal.

Clinical skills is the same pain at every school you go to and no matter where it’ll conflict with time studying for pre clinicals I have friends at almost all med schools in Texas and they say the same thing. But I definitely agree its blown out of proportion and looking ahead and from what ive heard from MS2s is that its just overall unorganized which is a bummer because it actually is worth the most points (GPA wise) in the preclinical curriculum which makes it feel like youre just doing it for points rather than learning the actual exams.

Synthesis is really just a waste of 1 hour and 30 minutes which you could definitely do something more efficient but it’s not that bad. Most quizzes for Synthesis covers material from the week so if you keep up all the material from the current week then it’s easy and beneficial!

Mandatory lectures are a buzz kill but it’s only 7-11 lectures per module(For background we average about 4 lectures a day so it’s not that bad).

Some material is unorganized but believe me, if you go to med school Reddit it’s literally like that every school that’s why outside resources are used nation wide lol.

Overall pre clinical curriculum is the same everywhere you can go anywhere and run into the same problems. I had options to go to other schools and I dont regret going here nor do i wish i had gone somewhere else because from every other school Ive heard the same problems or other stuff that i would have found annoying.
 
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MS4 at UT Health San Antonio aka Long here.

The school's clinical skills curriculum is solid and prepares you well going into the clinical year. I can't speak for other medical schools, but as a Long student you pass STEP 2 CS comfortably with minimal efforts.

Curriculum - Some instructors are PhDs who love to teach basic science. I didn't want to just learn for STEP so it was fine. If you don't like it, skip the lectures and focus on whatever study resources that you find important for your education/STEP prep. FOUR months dedicated study time is more than enough.

It's true that there are many mandatory group activities (i.e. Synthesis, TBL) during the first two years. Most of the people in our class used the time not just to learn how to discuss cases professionally (crucial in third year) but also to get to know others/make lifelong friends. They can take away your study time, but after the first semester you have all the afternoons to study...

It's not a school for people who "like the idea of doing primary care and didn't get into a lot of other schools". First of all, don't talk down on primary care as a second year medical student nor any level in medicine. I'm not going into primary and I don't care for the attitude. Fourth year students were given data on the past match results, and it's lit. DM me if you want some info on that.

Bottom line: Go with your gut feelings.
 
Phys270 said:
Before reading this: I’m a current MS2 student writing this review for future students considering attending this school. This is basically a bunch of stuff that would have affected my decision to attend this school if I had known about it before coming here. I ultimately ended up choosing this school because they gave me a 5k/yr scholarship on top of the cheap tuition which I felt like was too good of a deal to turn down- but you get what you pay for as they say! So here we go:

Lecture curriculum is disorganized and has poor overlap with what is tested on national board exams. Beware of using outside exam prep resources at this school! The exam writers at this school like to target obscure material that is not covered in popular board exam prep courses as a means of penalizing students who do not focus on material taught by the school’s lecturers (despite this material being less high yield for medical board exams).

A special course called clinical skills which teaches toward USMLE step 2 is mandatory during first and second year. Because this is critical STEP1 learning time, the clinical skills course is a sort of handicap for those looking to score highly on step 1, since students from other schools spend all of their time studying the basic science. In spite of the grading in the clinical skills course being highly subjective (aka sometimes you do great and sometimes you flunk and they never tell you why), it is worth more grade points than any other preclinical course, thus many straight-A students lose their chance for AOA because of this course (it runs for 2 years and you don't get your final grade until the end of 2nd year), making it another drawback for those interested in applying to competitive residencies. Many students say the clinical skills course was valuable for learning physical exam skills, though, and that it eased the learning curve in 3rd year. My experience is that the general agreement among most students here is that they would have rather not been required to take the course at all, and that either way you’d pick up on what you need to know in the first few weeks of clinical rotations.

There are many other required attendance activities at this school which seem to waste more time than proving helpful for learning material- Synthesis being one example. Synthesis is an activity where you spend three hours one day per week being quizzed on and discussing various facets of a single patient case in a group setting. The amount of learning in Synthesis equates to about 20 minutes of focused study using a STEP1 question bank. It is a HUGE waste of time.

Overall, I’d say this is a pretty average school and going here is a great idea if you like the idea of doing primary care and didn't get into a lot of other schools. You’ll learn enough to pass the boards and you’ll learn lots of things that might be applicable in practice even if they will not be on board exams.

Really, the challenges with this school highlight the failings in our national education system to determine what makes a good doctor and what things should matter when evaluating residency applicants. Unfortunately, the philosophy held by the leaders of this school doesn’t match up well with the philosophy of most residency directors overseeing admission into competitive specialties.

Per the associate dean of student affairs, speaking in a STEP exam prep meeting for 2nd year students: “STEP1 is a licensing exam. Does it really matter how high you score as long as you pass? Does anyone ask you what your score on your drivers license exam was?”

Contrast this with UTMB (galveston), who cancelled lectures to allow students more time to Anki because they realized it was more efficient for getting good board scores.

Alas I think that is all I have to say.

-------

Just some demographic info about myself for those who are curious, I'm currently gearing up to take STEP1 with practice test scores around 245ish- because I started doing Zanki at the beginning of MS2. Realized that class material alone was barely enough to get a passing STEP score. My MCAT was 520 and GPA from college 3.8. So far I have A's in preclinical classes but it's been a heck of a challenge studying for both STEP and studying for class (remember, poor overlap between the two). Got acceptances from all of the Texas schools except Baylor and A&M. Chose San Antonio based on suburban campus and scholarship.
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I'm just a lowly pediatrician with 20+ years of practice behind me and an active advisor on the SDN Texas Med School threads.
Your opinions are yours.

I would like to chime in with my perspective.

Being able to relate to a patient and listen to their symptoms, while asking followup questions and doing a physical exam, is THE ESSENCE of being a physician. Watch and listen to them and try to sense what they are worried about. Or flat out ask them: "You came for a yearly exam today, but is there something more you are concerned about? Ask away." Those "by the way, doc" questions are often the clue to the real pathology.

Getting comfortable with taking a history and learning what else to look for, what common or uncommon conditions might have similar symptoms, and then knowing when to investigate further, are what you are in medical school to learn. This is a skill that improves with practice, and isn't best learned quickly right before your 3rd year rotations. Trust me on this.

Your attitude as a student is HUGE in coloring what you get from your learning experiences, or don't get.
For example:
If you go into the case study class thinking, "What if this was a patient in my office? How can I best pay attention to the important clues and know where to go from here? What if this patient has been blown off by 4 doctors about her belly pains but nobody considered endometriosis, or ovarian cancer? Has anyone done an ultrasound or any radiologic study?" With this mindset you WILL find the class relevant and you will learn something.
If you go into the class thinking, "This actor is lame, this is not a real class, they don't even know WTH they are talking about. I wish I were at home and not wasting my time here." With this mindset you are NOT learning, your apathetic attitude WILL come across, and your evaluation will reflect your poor effort.

I think we try to train doctors with good knowledge base, good instincts, good judgment. We are not looking for people who would rather do flash cards in their apartments than interact with other humans. Is getting good step scores the endpoint? Or is learning doctoring the endpoint?
 
MS2 here at Long SOM! I'm not here to discredit anyone's opinions or experiences, but I just wanted to throw my hat in the ring here.

First off, I would just like to say that I have never been that thrilled with the idea of "teaching to the test". Yes, it is very important. I won't sit here and diminish it's value for residency applications. While I have yet to take STEP1, it is looming in the corner of my mind as it likely is for many MS2s in our class - as it is for all medical students at some point. I'll be honest and say that I'm scared of STEP1, but I'm confident that I have been given the tools I need to do well (plus an additional 4 months of dedicated time to study just for STEP). I don't have any issues with Anki/Zanki. If that's how you choose to study and it works well for you, then that's great. However, you can do well in medical school and on STEP1 even if you don't use it. Numbers are important (which is why schools care so much about them and won't let you do badly), but your perception and impression of the school is important.

No matter where you go, I'm willing to bet that you will receive a great education from a Texas medical school. Our school is no different as we consistently score at or above national average. With that said, I also want to state that this is not a forum for us to discuss the relative "worth" of some specialties over others. Regardless of how you chose to practice medicine, this school will in no way hinder your ability to get where you want/need to go. If you had a wonderful experience on your interview day, then let that speak for itself.

As a student, I pride myself on how genuine and honest our student body is. We really are a family, and I hope that we have managed to convey that sense of community to you when you interviewed. I, like many of my peers, had options and chose to attend this school. For some context, I am a non-traditional student and a re-applicant. I turned down a sizable scholarship, a dual degree, and a down payment on an apartment to come here (yikes)....but I was absolutely in love with the school with I interviewed, and I gladly accepted a spot off wait-list when it came my way. If I had do it over again, I wouldn't change a thing. I could not be happier with my experience thus far, and I regret nothing! Our faculty is supportive, my classmates are incredible, and I have learned so much!

If you have made it this far, it's pretty obvious that I love my school. I don't benefit from writing this long post when I should probably be studying, but I just wanted to give you all some additional perspective and another view to consider. Again, my experiences and opinions are my own, and I can only speak for myself.
 
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MS2 at Long here! I would also just like to chime in on the discussion going on and offer my perspective in addition to those already given.
Everyone has a right to voice their own opinions about their experiences at this school and I will by no means negate the statements that have already been said. In general, I feel that every medical student in Texas is caught up in the whole "the grass is always greener on the other side". While we can listen to things our friends say, we can't truly understand what things are like at other schools unless we are put in that environment. I have heard pros and cons of almost every medical school in Texas, and at some point, it all levels out to be the same. You give some and you take some.
My decision to attend this school was pretty much solely based on my interview day experience- which was AMAZING. All of the students were super cheerful and had good things to say about this school (while being honest), the faculty were very approachable, and students/faculty went out of their way to make me feel welcome. That was the kind of environment I saw myself in.
When medical school stress hits high, the LAST thing you want to worry about is quality of student life. I can definitely say that is not a worry here at all. Majority of the students are willing to help you out whenever you're struggling with something and always ready to offer advice when needed. Never have I felt that someone was trying to hinder my learning experience, bring me down, or "sabotage" me.
As per concerns echoed about STEP preparation, I think the 4 months of dedicated step studying we receive is more than enough to make up for any gaps in the curriculum. Yes, the curriculum is a bit shaky in terms of its correlation with STEP material, but I have heard this being said about other Texas schools as well. I see how students who are 100% only prioritizing STEP1 at this moment would be frustrated with how our curriculum is structured. But for those who like to keep the long term goals in mind, my friends who are MS3s and MS4s said they entered their clinical rotations feeling prepared because of the clinical skills class we have to go through and the general curriculum as well. Your medical school experience is very much what you make it out to be, and dwelling on the negative things will hinder you from seeing the positive things this school has to offer! Open to answer any questions you all may have- this is an important decision to make 🙂
**Couple other things: I have some amazingly intelligent and driven classmates, and to read a post that implies they chose Long SOM because they had nowhere else to go is shocking and untrue. Also, primary care is by no means any less of a specialty- imagine having to constantly remember every tiny thing about everything.
 
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Another Long student here! Making ranking lists is hard and I went back and forth between Long and McGovern (an interview I had much closer to the rank deadline and therefore fresher) and actually ranked McGovern first. While I can’t speak to what McGovern is like personally, I am SO glad I ended up at Long primarily because of the student body and faculty.
While it is true that several of my classmates have complaints about Clinical Skills, I personally enjoy the class and have found it really valuable in boosting my confidence in patient exams. I did a summer internship with a doctor and felt comfortable on my own doing real patient encounters. Besides that, our faculty truly cares about us. We are required to evaluate every class and when some students voiced concerns about clinical skills, our class director emailed all of us and specifically addressed how they would improve every single concern.
No school is perfect and I can only speak to mine, but I’m thankful I go to a school that values my opinion. Just today after a lab I ran into one of our deans of student affairs and he stopped to talk to me for several minutes (he knows almost all if not all of us by name). I would be happy to answer any questions anyone has! But I also have friends at other medical schools in Texas and elsewhere and they have also had good experiences. Texas rocks and it would be difficult to make a wrong one! Best of luck applicants!
 
Another student from LSOM chiming in a little here. As evidenced by the string of comments, this thread reached a few of us. I’m speaking if for nothing else so that those considering Long can have another perspective and a better picture especially regarding this little clinical skills thing. This is geared more towards the school for those on the fence. For a little background I am a first-generation college student that has worked incredibly hard to be here and is now a straight honors student looking into competitive specialties.

First and foremost, there are negatives and I in no way want to act as if there aren’t, but all schools have negatives and I think it’s silly to act like the grass is surely greener elsewhere. As has been touched on already by others, clinical skills is a controversial class. Some people like it, some people don’t, and there is a general consensus that its organization needs some tightening. Admittedly yes it can be a bit daunting at times, but I will say having not come from any medical background prior to school, I actually liked the class and thought it was a fair demonstration of techniques and cases. Especially as coupled with clinical skills is a preceptorship program in which you get to actually be in clinics practicing the techniques you learn.

The other major negative people speak about is synthesis which are just group cases done once a week. Many schools have some variation of it and from what I’ve seen elsewhere it isn’t enormously different. I will say that synthesis really is a get out what you put in scenario. It really is just a weekly case that covers material (loosely) connected to the rest of the week. You can put in a lot of energy and gain some better insight, or you can sit in the back and do flashcards and truth be told both are valid options.

As someone stated above, outside resources are widely used nationwide because every school to some extent or another has these same notions of being unorganized or filled with things that waste time. Both of which I feel are being blown a little out of proportion. Every school is really only aware of their own issues and students will always have some degree of feeling the grass is greener elsewhere. Every school covers the same material just in its own approach, and Long does have clinical application mixed in a decent bit with the more board-based information. For me, I like that, it adds to feeling the practical application beyond just memorizing things for a test.

But all that said one of the major reasons I do love Long, and chose it over other schools I was accepted to, is that they are constantly trying to better the program. As much as has been said about clinical skills or synthesis, both have been altered year to year based on feedback. I speak with MS1s and they have a notably different clinical skills class than I had. Heck, one of the organ system modules my class struggled with that they are going to get to soon was heavily altered to my understanding.

Also, as I’m sure is evidenced by multiple students chiming in to speak about Long, there really is a close-knit community that cares for this school and looks out for one another. Truth be told aside from one fellow classmate who treated me poorly, I have never felt out of place or unwelcome by my (other) classmates, the faculty, or the staff. Having really struggled with imposter syndrome initially, having that support really allowed me to grow and I will always be grateful for it.

I can only speak for my experience, and I have no leg in this race other than wanting to help those still stuck on the fence have another view to help.
 
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How can anyone feel that strongly one way or another about clinical skills. It’s just...there. I mean it’s a bit sloppy and kinda annoying time wise in the first semester but still overall pretty good imo. Synthesis, I’m gaining more appreciation for as school goes along. Even if you dislike these two parts of the curriculum, they are minor inconveniences at worst.
Really not gonna ramble on but I do love being at school here, and the MS2s I’ve talked to have loved their time in preclinical period. My class has some amazing people that I’m thankful for having met during this first year
 
A friend of mine is an MS1 at Long and she said that a lot of students are upset because the school surprised them by switching from providing 2 years of UWorld to a cheaper option (Lecturio). Students were told since the beginning that they would be getting UWorld for their Step studies, but I guess the schools looking to cut costs. I'd be concerned about any program that doesn't listen to their students.
 
TxMedStud said:
MS4 at UT Health San Antonio aka Long here.

The school's clinical skills curriculum is solid and prepares you well going into the clinical year. I can't speak for other medical schools, but as a Long student you pass STEP 2 CS comfortably with minimal efforts.

Curriculum - Some instructors are PhDs who love to teach basic science. I didn't want to just learn for STEP so it was fine. If you don't like it, skip the lectures and focus on whatever study resources that you find important for your education/STEP prep. FOUR months dedicated study time is more than enough.

It's true that there are many mandatory group activities (i.e. Synthesis, TBL) during the first two years. Most of the people in our class used the time not just to learn how to discuss cases professionally (crucial in third year) but also to get to know others/make lifelong friends. They can take away your study time, but after the first semester you have all the afternoons to study...

It's not a school for people who "like the idea of doing primary care and didn't get into a lot of other schools". First of all, don't talk down on primary care as a second year medical student nor any level in medicine. I'm not going into primary and I don't care for the attitude. Fourth year students were given data on the past match results, and it's lit. DM me if you want some info on that.

Bottom line: Go with your gut feelings.
Click to expand...
Hey I can’t message you Bc your profile is on private, could you send me a DM?
 
Some interesting perspectives here. Want to add that "our students pass step2CS" is not really a great talking point.

Did the school's CoA allow for you to get the Step1 resources that you want? What about money for residency interviews, do you feel that the school's CoA was enough or did you feel stretched?

There's been a big focus on preclinical in this thread so far but can any students here talk about clinical years? How often do you have to rotate at some place across the city? Do you get to choose clinical sites or is it all random? What is the split in 3rd year between UH and VA and whatever other sites you're at?
 
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