2022-2023 Texas Tech Lubbock

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Thank you @FarmHand for supplying us the prompts

2022-2023 Texas Tech Lubbock Secondary Essay Prompts:

Areas of Interest
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center is responsible for providing primary health care to 108 counties of West Texas. We are interested in hearing about the areas of medicine that interest you.

Please indicate the area(s) of medicine you are interested in and briefly describe your significant activities for each respective interest in the available text box (if checked, a box will appear with a 100 word limit)

-Practicing in an underserved area
-Rural health
-Medical Research
-Medical Academics
-Primary Care
-Border Health
-Public Health
-Other (Please describe below)

ESSAY PROMPTS :

The only prompts that are REQUIRED are 2. and 7.


1. Have you experienced any road bumps in your academic career? (Low academic performance, dropping, retaking, or failing courses, etc.) (yes or no)
1. 1 If so, please explain your circumstance. (250 words or less)

2. Please share any lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic that you would like the admissions committee to consider – either regarding yourself or your community – about any or all of the topics below? (300 words or less)

  • Disruptions in your academic, volunteer, work, community and or personal life.
  • Creative ways in which you were able to serve your community during the crisis.
  • Hardships you may have faced as a result of isolation, quarantine or illness
3. If you are applying to a dual degree program, please briefly describe your motivation to pursue this program and any other pertinent information. (e.g. research interests, steps taken to prepare yourself) (Note that if you select more than one program in this section you will be required to rank them in order of importance. 200 words or less)(note that you get 200 words for each program if you choose more than one)
(MD/MBA, MD/MPH, MD/PHD, MD/JD, or NONE)

4. Are you applying to our MD & E progam? (yes or no)
4.1 Describe your motivation to pursue this program, be sure to include how you expect to benefit from the program. (200 words or less)
4.2 How do you anticipate this program making you a more efficient caregiver? (200 words or less)
4.3 Please list the highest-level math/chemistry/physics course you have taken or are currently taking. (200 words or less)
4.4 What projects have you been involved in that require programming and/or machine languages? What languages do you prefer? ( 200 words or less)

5. Are you applying FMAT? (yes or no)
5.1 What motivates you to participate in the FMAT program (200 words or less)?
5.2 What experiences have you had that would prepare you for this intensive program (200 words or less)?
5.3 What, in your opinion, distinguishes Family Medicine from other medical specialties (200 words or less)?

6. Have you experienced any hardship or adversity, personally or professionally? (yes or no)
if so, please share your experience with us. (200 words or less)

7. Please tell us about your favorite recreational/leisure activities (200 words or less)

8. Do you consider yourself from West Texas or as having West Texas ties? (yes or no)
8.1 If yes, what town or county did you reside in, or what other factors would you cite? (100 words or less)

9. Have you participated in any special programs offered by a medical school to help prepare yourself for medical school and a career in medicine? (yes or no)
9.1 If yes, what was the name of the program and where was this program hosted (sponsoring school)? (100 words or less)


Good luck to everyone applying!

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Below are the prompts.

Areas of Interest

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center is responsible for providing primary health care to 108 counties of West Texas. We are interested in hearing about the areas of medicine that interest you.

Please indicate the area(s) of medicine you are interested in and briefly describe your significant activities for each respective interest in the available text box (if checked, a box will appear with a 100 word limit)

Practicing in an underserved area

Rural health

Medical Research

Medical Academics

Primary Care

Border Health

Public Health

Other (Please describe below)

ESSAY PROMPTS

The only prompts that are REQUIRED are 2. and 7.



1. Have you experienced any road bumps in your academic career? (Low academic performance, dropping, retaking, or failing courses, etc.) (yes or no)
1. 1 If so, please explain your circumstance. (250 words or less)

2. Please share any lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic that you would like the admissions committee to consider – either regarding yourself or your community – about any or all of the topics below? (300 words or less)
  • Disruptions in your academic, volunteer, work, community and or personal life.
  • Creative ways in which you were able to serve your community during the crisis.
  • Hardships you may have faced as a result of isolation, quarantine or illness
3. If you are applying to a dual degree program, please briefly describe your motivation to pursue this program and any other pertinent information. (e.g. research interests, steps taken to prepare yourself) (Note that if you select more than one program in this section you will be required to rank them in order of importance. 200 words or less)(note that you get 200 words for each program if you choose more than one)
(MD/MBA, MD/MPH, MD/PHD, MD/JD, or NONE)

4. Are you applying to our MD & E progam? (yes or no)
4.1 Describe your motivation to pursue this program, be sure to include how you expect to benefit from the program. (200 words or less)
4.2 How do you anticipate this program making you a more efficient caregiver? (200 words or less)
4.3 Please list the highest-level math/chemistry/physics course you have taken or are currently taking. (200 words or less)
4.4 What projects have you been involved in that require programming and/or machine languages? What languages do you prefer? ( 200 words or less)

5. Are you applying FMAT? (yes or no)
5.1 What motivates you to participate in the FMAT program (200 words or less)?
5.2 What experiences have you had that would prepare you for this intensive program (200 words or less)?
5.3 What, in your opinion, distinguishes Family Medicine from other medical specialties (200 words or less)?

6. Have you experienced any hardship or adversity, personally or professionally? (yes or no)
if so, please share your experience with us. (200 words or less)

7. Please tell us about your favorite recreational/leisure activities (200 words or less)

8. Do you consider yourself from West Texas or as having West Texas ties? (yes or no)
8.1 If yes, what town or county did you reside in, or what other factors would you cite? (100 words or less)

9. Have you participated in any special programs offered by a medical school to help prepare yourself for medical school and a career in medicine? (yes or no)
9.1 If yes, what was the name of the program and where was this program hosted (sponsoring school)? (100 words or less)
 
Submitted secondary this past week! Applying FMAT. Anyone else submitted yet? Also, the wording of their statement about CASPER seems like they do not require CASPER for an interview, just for admission. Anyone able to confirm?
 
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Very early in the cycle, if anyone comes here looking for information. Completed secondary 5/26, my portal status changed to "complete" 6/2. Perhaps later commenters can mention if this likely means my app has been reviewed or is under review?
 
Will it negatively affect me if leave question 6 (adversity question) blank as I am filling out the COVID-19 question about hardship of family matters and balancing my academics?
 
Will it negatively affect me if leave question 6 (adversity question) blank as I am filling out the COVID-19 question about hardship of family matters and balancing my academics?
You can say no, or you can mention you discussed it when talking about the pandemic
 
Does anyone else have trouble accessing the link to make an account for the secondary? The GoMed website won't load for me even when I change devices or browsers
 
I used my optional essay in TMDSAS to talk about growing up as a queer person in a home hostile to queer people. I feel like I would be re-hashing that in the secondary for question 6. Would it be okay to leave that blank since I've already provided in my primary?
 
I used my optional essay in TMDSAS to talk about growing up as a queer person in a home hostile to queer people. I feel like I would be re-hashing that in the secondary for question 6. Would it be okay to leave that blank since I've already provided in my primary?
6 is optional so yes
 
If we don't have any real hardships to write home about that haven't been mentioned am I better off leaving 6 blank? or is similar to the TMDSAS "optional" essay?
 
If we don't have any real hardships to write home about that haven't been mentioned am I better off leaving 6 blank? or is similar to the TMDSAS "optional" essay?
The only required essay prompts are 2 and 7, and I highly recommend writing about at least one type of practice that interests you in that other heading "Areas of Interest".

Answer the other questions yes/no as applicable, and don't feel you need to manufacture a hardship if nothing comes to mind.
COVID-19 hardships are addressed in essay #2.
 
The only required essay prompts are 2 and 7, and I highly recommend writing about at least one type of practice that interests you in that other heading "Areas of Interest".

Answer the other questions yes/no as applicable, and don't feel you need to manufacture a hardship if nothing comes to mind.
COVID-19 hardships are addressed in essay #2.

So in your opinion, would it be best to choose a few areas of interest or every area. I was previously told by someone that it was best to select as many as possible.
 
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I know the TMDSAS website says that TTUHSC will invite for secondaries "after reviewing TMDSAS." Does anyone have any insight if that means just GPA/MCAT "review" or do you think members of the admissions team review the application and then send out the invite?
 
I know the TMDSAS website says that TTUHSC will invite for secondaries "after reviewing TMDSAS." Does anyone have any insight if that means just GPA/MCAT "review" or do you think members of the admissions team review the application and then send out the invite?
For this school it's pretty much a review to see if your MCAT and primary are transmitted.
 
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For the areas of interest question, it asks to list any significant activities for each respective interest...would shadowing an extended family member count? As in shadowing an aunt who practices in a very rural area. also living with the aunt...lol (for a little)
Did you go to work with her and observe her at work? Then you have shadowed a rural physician.
Just spending time with aunty? Not so much.
 
Will it negatively affect me if leave question 6 (adversity question) blank as I am filling out the COVID-19 question about hardship of family matters and balancing my academics?
Wysdoc offered some good advice. I would say if tech is a school that you want to go to, then look at it as another opportunity for them to learn about you handling hardship, aside from Covid
 
Very early in the cycle, if anyone comes here looking for information. Completed secondary 5/26, my portal status changed to "complete" 6/2. Perhaps later commenters can mention if this likely means my app has been reviewed or is under review?
Likely under review. I think first interview dates are in July
 
Wysdoc offered some good advice. I would say if tech is a school that you want to go to, then look at it as another opportunity for them to learn about you handling hardship, aside from Covid
You make a good point, that it's always good to take an opportunity to tell a little more about yourself. These essays are short, too, so it's not going to ruin your day to write something. Most of us have faced some problem in recent life or in a job.
If you truly can't think of any hardship you haven't discussed in #2, though, you don't want to use a trivial incident just to be writing.
 
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would discussing how I almost had to quit my job as a ER tech because I couldn't handle looking at needles. but stuck through with it and now am very comfortable with blood and stuff work?
In my opinion, that may have been hard for you but not a hardSHIP

Bonus points, though, for your phrase "stuck through with it" :lol:
 
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For the second FMAT question, "What experiences have you had that would prepare you for this intensive program (200 words or less)?", are they looking for something about my experiences in family medicine/primary care or something about "intensive" programming?

Looks like the essays have been shortened from 300 to 200?

Since there are 3 separate essays, I believe you have to prepare your essays in conjunction with each other. So you need to be able to pinpoint to your interest in family medicine, why you are capable of finishing in 3 years vs a standard 4 year program to still get to family medicine, and why family medicine is really the field to be in.

your first and second essay are tightly aligned since you should be able to say why family medicine in conjuction with your prior experiences with family medicine along with how you have been able to handle much higher than work load than normal, whether you worked a job while studying or handled much more than standard courseload during college etc.
 
I used my optional essay in TMDSAS to talk about growing up as a queer person in a home hostile to queer people. I feel like I would be re-hashing that in the secondary for question 6. Would it be okay to leave that blank since I've already provided in my primary?
Yeah I have a similar issue with already using my biggest adversity in my optional essay for TMDSAS. I'm assuming for question 6 they mean an adversity that we did not already mention? It doesn't explicitly say that so I wasn't sure.
 
I'm trying to submit my secondary today and the portal won't let me click anything. I can't check boxes, type in the essay boxes, pay my fee, anything. I've tried multiple browsers, different computers, and clearing cookies. Has anyone else experienced something like this?

Edit: Resolved.
 
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I'm trying to submit my secondary today and the portal won't let me click anything. I can't check boxes, type in the essay boxes, pay my fee, anything. I've tried multiple browsers, different computers, and clearing cookies. Has anyone else experienced something like this?
Same. I'll give them till tomorrow before emailing.
 
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I'm trying to submit my secondary today and the portal won't let me click anything. I can't check boxes, type in the essay boxes, pay my fee, anything. I've tried multiple browsers, different computers, and clearing cookies. Has anyone else experienced something like this?
Same
 
Anyone have any insight on what they mean by "medical academics"? Is that like being a TA/tutor? Or does it mean more along the lines of scholarly work? I have an experience I am thinking of using, but I want to make sure I am interpreting the term correctly.
 
Anyone have any insight on what they mean by "medical academics"? Is that like being a TA/tutor? Or does it mean more along the lines of scholarly work? I have an experience I am thinking of using, but I want to make sure I am interpreting the term correctly.
9. Have you participated in any special programs offered by a medical school to help prepare yourself for medical school and a career in medicine? (yes or no)
9.1 If yes, what was the name of the program and where was this program hosted (sponsoring school)? (100 words or less)

Are these the questions you are referring to?

Usually they are referring post bac or other programs that medical colleges offer to enhance or get into qualifying to apply.
 
9. Have you participated in any special programs offered by a medical school to help prepare yourself for medical school and a career in medicine? (yes or no)
9.1 If yes, what was the name of the program and where was this program hosted (sponsoring school)? (100 words or less)

Are these the questions you are referring to?

Usually they are referring post bac or other programs that medical colleges offer to enhance or get into qualifying to apply.
I think @pugsygirl17 means the areas of interest list in the first question
I would interpret "medical academics" to be anything from being a med school professor to being an attending physician in the future supervising residents or allowing med students or pre-meds to follow you in clinic.
 
I think @pugsygirl17 means the areas of interest list in the first question
I would interpret "medical academics" to be anything from being a med school professor to being an attending physician in the future supervising residents or allowing med students or pre-meds to follow you in clinic.
Ok I see! Thank you for clarifying!
 
Has anyone heard back yet or know when we should expect to hear back?
 
II today around 2.5 hours ago! What a week it has been!
 
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It's overwhelming! I have been so apprehensive about my essays, so I'm hoping this means what I wanted to express came across well. I sure hope I can convert at least one of these into an acceptance.
You got this homie! And don’t forget to try some practice interviews!
 
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You got this homie! And don’t forget to try some practice interviews!

I appreciate it! I've got mock interviews lined up. Also reading this book by Desai and Katta that's been highly recommended on the site. Grabbed their newest MMI book as well. Lots of reading and preparing to do, and I hope it pays off lol!
 
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II received 7/29. Secondary submitted 6/18, complete 7/7. 511, 3.8, TTU grad.
 
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I'm currently attending this school, so please feel free to PM me if you have any questions. :)
 
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Got the II on July 29 for FMAT. First interview of the cycle!
 
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Secondary submitted July 3rd, 517, 3.93, OS
 
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