2020-2021 UT Austin (Dell)

Applying to Med School? Get In Or Your Money Back
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NPComplete said:
From what I was told by a Dell re-applicant, that was the exact same email word for word as last year. I think the "currently only about 7% of the total applicant pool receives an interview" actually refers to their secondary invite, not a traditional interview invite.

Edit: grammar
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We talked about this on page 1 of this thread. This year they will try to interview 20% of the applicants rather than 7% as in past years.
We all think the "in-person interview" part should have been deleted from this year's spiel.
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harmony14 said:
II received. secondary transmitted July 15.

" Dell Medical School utilizes a unique secondary application, a video secondary. Our goal is to give a greater number of applicants an opportunity to present themselves to the selection committee in their own voice. Currently only about 7% of the total applicant pool receives an interview. We hope to extend this opportunity to more than 20% of the applicant pool this year without the added expense of travel. Once completed and reviewed, we will then invite approximately 360 candidates for an on campus interview. "

does dell have 2 interviews? 1 virtual and the other in-person.
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Its counterintuitive b.c 360 is about 7% lol. But it kinda makes sense since they send out ~100 acceptance and 50 matriculate so interview about 5-6x their class size?
 
I attended today's Dell interview day, so I can try to answer questions about how the day was to the best of my ability (without being too specific about my interview questions and stuff, obviously). Overall, it was very relaxed and I was not as nervous as I thought I'd be!
 
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jazzieyazzie said:
I attended today's Dell interview day, so I can try to answer questions about how the day was to the best of my ability (without being too specific about my interview questions and stuff, obviously). Overall, it was very relaxed and I was not as nervous as I thought I'd be!
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Can you please shed some light on the format (one-on-one, MMI, both)?
 
Chitaku said:
Can you please shed some light on the format (one-on-one, MMI, both)?
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Of course! The one-on-one was a 25 minute interview with a faculty member over zoom. It was very conversational; my interview ended up being about an interesting point I had in my PS and some of my ECs/hobbies, but they were very casual questions, though I’m sure there is some variation based on interviewer. Honestly I felt that the interview should’ve been longer because I was enjoying our conversation so much!
We then had a group interview, which was basically a recorded zoom session in which we were grouped with 4 other applicants and were given a problem, and we spent the allotted time discussing and coming up with a solution to the problem (it’s not a “one correct answer” problem so they really wanna see your justification more than the final answer you choose EDIT: as per wysdoc's comment, this portion of the day is definitely more focused on your ability to work on a team and collaborate without being too uninvolved or too authoritative).
Finally, the MMI part was done on the same platform that the video secondary was conducted, so it’s asynchronous. As you’d expect, it was a mix of scenario based questions and questions about your own experiences. That wasn’t too bad either; there were 5 sets of questions, each with a follow up question = 10 questions total. Just like with the group interview, there isn’t a correct answer for these so they really emphasize that they want you to “think out loud.”
 
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jazzieyazzie said:
Of course! The one-on-one was a 25 minute interview with a faculty member over zoom. It was very conversational; my interview ended up being about an interesting point I had in my PS and some of my ECs/hobbies, but they were very casual questions, though I’m sure there is some variation based on interviewer. Honestly I felt that the interview should’ve been longer because I was enjoying our conversation so much!
We then had a group interview, which was basically a recorded zoom session in which we were grouped with 4 other applicants and were given a problem, and we spent the allotted time discussing and coming up with a solution to the problem (it’s not a “one correct answer” problem so they really wanna see your justification more than the final answer you choose).
Finally, the MMI part was done on the same platform that the video secondary was conducted, so it’s asynchronous. As you’d expect, it was a mix of scenario based questions and questions about your own experiences. That wasn’t too bad either; there were 5 sets of questions, each with a follow up question = 10 questions total. Just like with the group interview, there isn’t a correct answer for these so they really emphasize that they want you to “think out loud.”
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Wow that is a lot
 
harmony14 said:
Wow that is a lot
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@harmony14 normally a school would have all day to see how you interact with not only the interviewers, but the receptionists, med students, and other applicants. It's not "a lot" for them to want to see you in several settings like this, even remotely.

Also, for the rest of you with upcoming interviews here or elsewhere, @jazzieyazzie had an opinion on the group activity portion, "they really wanna see your justification more than the final answer you choose". Actually, they want to see if you can work cooperatively. Neither be the group member that says nothing, nor the group member who mows down all the other members because you think your ideas are better and you want to "get the right answer" or want your idea to be "it".

For an MMI type activity, "thinking out loud" to show how you arrive at your opinion is indeed the point.
 
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wysdoc said:
@harmony14 normally a school would have all day to see how you interact with not only the interviewers, but the receptionists, med students, and other applicants. It's not "a lot" for them to want to see you in several settings like this, even remotely.

Also, for the rest of you with upcoming interviews here or elsewhere, @jazzieyazzie had an opinion on the group activity portion, "they really wanna see your justification more than the final answer you choose". Actually, they want to see if you can work cooperatively. Neither be the group member that says nothing, nor the group member who mows down all the other members because you think your ideas are better and you want to "get the right answer" or want your idea to be "it".

For an MMI type activity, "thinking out loud" to show how you arrive at your opinion is indeed the point.
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Thank you for the input and clarification. I understand interview day when you are observed and should be on best behavior the entire day. When I said a lot, I meant that there were a lot of formal evaluations of the interviewee rather than informal. I believe this can result in artificial behavior.

But I'm not complaining by the way. It's just different compared to other interviews I've heard about.
 
For an MMI type activity, "thinking out loud" to show how you arrive at your opinion is indeed the point.
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Can't stress this enough.

wysdoc said:
Actually, they want to see if you can work cooperatively. Neither be the group member that says nothing, nor the group member who mows down all the other members because you think your ideas are better and you want to "get the right answer" or want your idea to be "it".
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And this. Medicine is considered more and more as a collaborative field. If you are in a group discussion, it is important to be nice to everyone, voice your view, ask questions that elicit more input from others, dont try to prove anyone wrong. Consider it a brainstorming session where nothing is shot down.
 
wysdoc said:
@harmony14 normally a school would have all day to see how you interact with not only the interviewers, but the receptionists, med students, and other applicants. It's not "a lot" for them to want to see you in several settings like this, even remotely.

Also, for the rest of you with upcoming interviews here or elsewhere, @jazzieyazzie had an opinion on the group activity portion, "they really wanna see your justification more than the final answer you choose". Actually, they want to see if you can work cooperatively. Neither be the group member that says nothing, nor the group member who mows down all the other members because you think your ideas are better and you want to "get the right answer" or want your idea to be "it".

For an MMI type activity, "thinking out loud" to show how you arrive at your opinion is indeed the point.
Click to expand...
yes absolutely, thank you for clarifying that point!
 
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Interview invite received today via phone call. Complete 7/30. LM 76, IS.
 
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jazzieyazzie said:
Of course! The one-on-one was a 25 minute interview with a faculty member over zoom. It was very conversational; my interview ended up being about an interesting point I had in my PS and some of my ECs/hobbies, but they were very casual questions, though I’m sure there is some variation based on interviewer. Honestly I felt that the interview should’ve been longer because I was enjoying our conversation so much!
We then had a group interview, which was basically a recorded zoom session in which we were grouped with 4 other applicants and were given a problem, and we spent the allotted time discussing and coming up with a solution to the problem (it’s not a “one correct answer” problem so they really wanna see your justification more than the final answer you choose EDIT: as per wysdoc's comment, this portion of the day is definitely more focused on your ability to work on a team and collaborate without being too uninvolved or too authoritative).
Finally, the MMI part was done on the same platform that the video secondary was conducted, so it’s asynchronous. As you’d expect, it was a mix of scenario based questions and questions about your own experiences. That wasn’t too bad either; there were 5 sets of questions, each with a follow up question = 10 questions total. Just like with the group interview, there isn’t a correct answer for these so they really emphasize that they want you to “think out loud.”
Click to expand...

Do you remember how long the MMI is?
 
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HeretoSeekAdvice said:
Do you remember how long the MMI is?
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It took me like 30-40 minutes, but they gave us an hour in case we needed to take breaks between questions. They gave us like 1-2 minutes to think about each question, and the initial questions had 4 min of speaking time, and the follow up questions had around 1.5 minutes of speaking time.
 
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jazzieyazzie said:
It took me like 30-40 minutes, but they gave us an hour in case we needed to take breaks between questions. They gave us like 1-2 minutes to think about each question, and the initial questions had 4 min of speaking time, and the follow up questions had around 1.5 minutes of speaking time.
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So is it just like we are speaking into our own camera
 
QUick question guys, for those who attended the social zoom meeting, is it mandatory to have our cameras on throughout the entire time? I'd have a class during that same period which I really do not want to miss, but I also want to listen in the conversations during the social. Any help :(
 
Does anyone know if we can have our cameras off during the social? I'd love to listen in but I also have to be in class.
 
Soooo does anyone want to wildly speculate about whether Dell is still giving out secondary invites? I realize it's a bit late in the TX cycle; my TMDSAS app wasn't verified until late Aug, unfortunately (OOS but w/ ties to TX). Still holding out hope though!
 
golgibubbles said:
Soooo does anyone want to wildly speculate about whether Dell is still giving out secondary invites? I realize it's a bit late in the TX cycle; my TMDSAS app wasn't verified until late Aug, unfortunately (OOS but w/ ties to TX). Still holding out hope though!
Click to expand...

The priority deadline for the secondary isn’t until 15 November, so I imagine they’ll be giving them out for a while yet.
 
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golgibubbles said:
Soooo does anyone want to wildly speculate about whether Dell is still giving out secondary invites? I realize it's a bit late in the TX cycle; my TMDSAS app wasn't verified until late Aug, unfortunately (OOS but w/ ties to TX). Still holding out hope though!
Click to expand...
Yes they take their time reading your primaries and space out secondaries
 
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Received the invitation to the secondary yesterday, 9/14. (primary was submitted/received to Dell on 9/1/20)
 
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Lot of fun during Interview Day —

And for those worried about the Group Activity, I wouldn’t be. It was actually one of the most enjoyable parts.
 
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Havelock Vetinari said:
Lot of fun during Interview Day —

And for those worried about the Group Activity, I wouldn’t be. It was actually one of the most enjoyable parts.
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Would absolutely agree! I found the group activity mentally stimulating and fun. Overall an amazing experience. shoutout to those who interviewed today, you guys were super amazing. <3
 
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So.. should I be worried if I submitted my secondary end of July and haven't heard back yet?
 
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Has anyone heard anything from them recently? Seeming pretty silent compared to other TX schools so far
 
AHH got an II! IS, URM, LM 70.5, WARS 80, secondary complete 7/30
 
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secondary submitted!

the more i read up on Dell & their EDGE curriculum, the more they've solidified their spot as my #1 choice. really hoping for an II here. :lol:
 
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Should i just give up on receiving a secondary? :bang:
 
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manudrama said:
Should i just give up on receiving a secondary? :bang:
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Someone said they submitted in May and received a secondary in December, so it is possible. But I’m not sure how often this happens, so I would be optimistic but don’t place all your bets on this school :)
 
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FBaritone said:
Someone said they submitted in May and received a secondary in December, so it is possible. But I’m not sure how often this happens, so I would be optimistic but don’t place all your bets on this school :)
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Isn't the secondary due in November though?
 
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Got the II call earlier today. I honestly thought I had no chance since I thought I had totally bombed the secondary. Keep your head up if you felt the same way about the video secondary.
 
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Received call this morning for II! Complete 9/2, LM 77, IS
 
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Has anyone submitted an update to Dell? If so, did you just email the admissions office?
 
They dont accept updates (at least they said no last year).
 
I received a II on 10/2, interviewing tomorrow morning (10/13). LM 67, IS, ORM. Just thought I would share some hope for those with a less than stellar LM!
 
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gsims2 said:
I received a II on 10/2, interviewing tomorrow morning (10/13). LM 67, IS, ORM. Just thought I would share some hope for those with a less than stellar LM!
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Goodluck tomorrow! You got this :) When did you submit your secondary if you dont mind me asking?
 
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