2023-2024 UT Southwestern (UTSW)

[TheGrindIsAlwaysReal]

Has anyone got off the waitlist after May 15th?

It’s been a week but I was offered an acceptance May 22nd and took it. So I don’t want to give false hope but there still is some movement.

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[wysdoc]

It’s been a week but I was offered an acceptance May 22nd and took it. So I don’t want to give false hope but there still is some movement.

Hey thanks for sharing the news!

 

[KeepAustinWeird]

Received my acceptance a couple of days ago on June 3rd! Like mentioned above, I don't want to give out false hope but waitlist is still alive y'all.

 

[wysdoc]

Received my acceptance a couple of days ago on June 3rd! Like mentioned above, I don't want to give out false hope but waitlist is still alive y'all.

Now how are you gonna keep Austin weird from way up in Dallas?
Congratulations 🎊

 

[stere0psis]

Received my acceptance a couple of days ago on June 3rd! Like mentioned above, I don't want to give out false hope but waitlist is still alive y'all.

Congratulations friend, can't wait to meet ya! (less than 2 months now 🤠)

 

[sdfwr312]

Congratulations friend, can't wait to meet ya! (less than 2 months now 🤠)

isn't it less than 3 months?

 

[stere0psis]

isn't it less than 3 months?

Orientation starts 7/29, crazy how fast time flies

 

[KeepAustinWeird]

Congratulations friend, can't wait to meet ya! (less than 2 months now 🤠)

Likewise! Im so excited, it truly came out of nowhere. BTW, any admitted students here that can send me an invitation to the class group chat/forum?

 

[wysdoc]

Likewise! Im so excited, it truly came out of nowhere. BTW, any admitted students here that can send me an invitation to the class group chat/forum?

You will get a link to the official Facebook group where people are discussing housing and other things

2023-2024 UT Southwestern (UTSW)

Accepted OOS MSTP today! Interviewed 1/5

forums.studentdoctor.net

 

[stere0psis]

Likewise! Im so excited, it truly came out of nowhere. BTW, any admitted students here that can send me an invitation to the class group chat/forum?

DM'd you the GroupMe link!

 

[PolarIceLongLastingFlavor]

However, I will say that UTSW's curriculum is harder/more rigorous than most medical schools. Add to that the very intelligent peers, and you might not be the top of your class for the first time in your life-- this made some people very unhappy.

That being said, the preclerkship curriculum really prepares you well for the rest of your career, and it shows in our ability to care well for patients, what med students contribute on clerkships, STEP 2 scores, residency placements, etc. So if you want an easy med school experience, don't pick UTSW. But if you want a great experience, come join us!

Harder than Baylor's ?

 

[taco1572]

Harder than Baylor's ?

Idk about Baylor’s but i’m currently drowning here so can corroborate @rocketene ‘s comment 🙃

 

[PolarIceLongLastingFlavor]

Idk about Baylor’s but i’m currently drowning here so can corroborate @rocketene ‘s comment 🙃

What MS# are you?

 

[taco1572]

What MS# are you?

MS1

 

[PolarIceLongLastingFlavor]

MS1

holy poop one month into preclerk and youre already drowning lmao im cooked

 

[stere0psis]

holy poop one month into preclerk and youre already drowning lmao im cooked

It's not easy but I don't think anyone heading into med school should expect it to be anything like undergrad; as in a lot more is expected of you on a daily basis. I'm not drowning personally, just busy.

That being said, the MS1 class is doing well according to posted medians/averages and that's before you remember we're a P/F school for pre-clerkship.

 

[taco1572]

holy poop one month into preclerk and youre already drowning lmao im cooked

It's not easy but I don't think anyone heading into med school should expect it to be anything like undergrad; as in a lot more is expected of you on a daily basis. I'm not drowning personally, just busy.

That being said, the MS1 class is doing well according to posted medians/averages and that's before you remember we're a P/F school for pre-clerkship.

100% agree, I think I was just more shocked with the volume of content we had to learn right off the bat, and the consistent studying was also very new to me. We are all hanging in there and doing well, so it’s definitely doable but just a big learning curve for some of us and a lot to get used to.

 

[PolarIceLongLastingFlavor]

It's not easy but I don't think anyone heading into med school should expect it to be anything like undergrad; as in a lot more is expected of you on a daily basis. I'm not drowning personally, just busy.

That being said, the MS1 class is doing well according to posted medians/averages and that's before you remember we're a P/F school for pre-clerkship.

the reason im asking is because ive been fortunate enough to get an II from baylor and UTSW so I am trying to see how each of their curriculum is like from the students there. only baylor student i've heard from is mcathiccy but that person seems very very biased and skews towards the positive side a bit much, but on the other hand all the other UTSW students ive read from seem to say its very very difficult even as p/f. super small sample size but you know

 

[stere0psis]

the reason im asking is because ive been fortunate enough to get an II from baylor and UTSW so I am trying to see how each of their curriculum is like from the students there. only baylor student i've heard from is mcathiccy but that person seems very very biased and skews towards the positive side a bit much, but on the other hand all the other UTSW students ive read from seem to say its very very difficult even as p/f. super small sample size but you know

I think this is a position many applicants find themselves in: seeking unbiased opinions from medical students who have committed their futures to one institution. The reality is, these students are often biased, and they don't have much insight into what it's like elsewhere in most cases. Getting as many perspectives as possible, which it seems you're doing, is a wise approach.

I’m not going to contradict my classmate by saying UTSW has been a walk in the park so far, but for me (and many of my peers), the rigor hasn’t been too big a surprise because we had a good sense of what we were signing up for. When it came down to choosing UTSW over Baylor, I had to weigh the benefits of a pre-match offer from UTSW against the non-pre-match option at Baylor, along with other factors. At the end of the day, it was a very personal choice; as it is for most. If you'd like any more details though, feel free to DM me!

 

[taco1572]

I think this is a position many applicants find themselves in: seeking unbiased opinions from medical students who have committed their futures to one institution. The reality is, these students are often biased, and they don't have much insight into what it's like elsewhere in most cases. Getting as many perspectives as possible, which it seems you're doing, is a wise approach.

I’m not going to contradict my classmate by saying UTSW has been a walk in the park so far, but for me (and many of my peers), the rigor hasn’t been too big a surprise because we had a good sense of what we were signing up for. When it came down to choosing UTSW over Baylor, I had to weigh the benefits of a pre-match offer from UTSW against the non-pre-match option at Baylor, along with other factors. At the end of the day, it was a very personal choice; as it is for most. If you'd like any more details though, feel free to DM me!

the reason im asking is because ive been fortunate enough to get an II from baylor and UTSW so I am trying to see how each of their curriculum is like from the students there. only baylor student i've heard from is mcathiccy but that person seems very very biased and skews towards the positive side a bit much, but on the other hand all the other UTSW students ive read from seem to say its very very difficult even as p/f. super small sample size but you know

Not sure if you have heard this yet @PolarIceLongLastingFlavor , but there's a saying that the #1 things med students like to do is complain . I could very well be falling into that cadence as a med student now
Med school anywhere is gonna be HARD. However I do think UTSW has a more front loaded curriculum than other schools (I have lots of friends over at Baylor and UTMB etc so I have been keeping up with their curriculums as well). So far though, classes here have been very doable and the admin does whatever they can to help us pass. When I was deciding between BCM and UTSW, I also heavily considered the temple/houston placement which eventually made me decide on UTSW. It really depends on what your priorities are and where you feel you would fit in the best, but I will say that if you got an interview to UTSW then they already believe you can handle the rigor of their curriculum.

 

[PolarIceLongLastingFlavor]

Not sure if you have heard this yet @PolarIceLongLastingFlavor , but there's a saying that the #1 things med students like to do is complain . I could very well be falling into that cadence as a med student now
Med school anywhere is gonna be HARD. However I do think UTSW has a more front loaded curriculum than other schools (I have lots of friends over at Baylor and UTMB etc so I have been keeping up with their curriculums as well). So far though, classes here have been very doable and the admin does whatever they can to help us pass. When I was deciding between BCM and UTSW, I also heavily considered the temple/houston placement which eventually made me decide on UTSW. It really depends on what your priorities are and where you feel you would fit in the best, but I will say that if you got an interview to UTSW then they already believe you can handle the rigor of their curriculum.

What do you mean by front loaded? I have a friend at Mcgovern who mentioned that Mcgovern is super front loaded as well, in that the first semester that's pass fail you get some of your hardest classes, then you lose the P/F after the first semester but the classes get more manageable. Also yes, I agree with the whole houston/temple thing, it's literally the biggest turn off for me, especially as a guy who would want to go to baylor mostly because of its proximity to TMC, MD anderson, and the graduate schools there as I did my masters with them.

I agree with the difficulty thing though, but I'm splitting hairs here so.

 

[itsonlyrobert]

FWhat do you mean by front loaded? I have a friend at Mcgovern who mentioned that Mcgovern is super front loaded as well, in that the first semester that's pass fail you get some of your hardest classes, then you lose the P/F after the first semester but the classes get more manageable. Also yes, I agree with the whole houston/temple thing, it's literally the biggest turn off for me, especially as a guy who would want to go to baylor mostly because of its proximity to TMC, MD anderson, and the graduate schools there as I did my masters with them.

I agree with the difficulty thing though, but I'm splitting hairs here so.

MS2 here. What they mean by front loaded is that the first semester is usually packed with multiple classes and required activities that are meant to be the building blocks for the Integrated Medicine (IM) blocks that follow. I do agree with @stere0psis and their take on finding unbiased info on here or reddit. what we can give you is our experience, but your values and that of the school's is what you should focus on during interview and/or visiting the school. For my experience and what others have mentioned, once you have completed first semester, the load of material does not necessarily become less, but it is more manageable during the IM blocks. Less required sessions, but you start to fill in the gaps with more of your interests (extracurriculars, research, shadowing, etc.) so it becomes a time management thing. Simultaneously, you can hone down on your study skills during IM blocks since it is P/F which is a huge plus during pre-clerkships. Feel free to DM if you got any more doubts!

 

[texasvandy]

Lot of great information being shared here but unfortunately many of the current year applicants are missing out on the questions and answers. Would be nice if you all moved the discussion to the current year thread.

 

[stere0psis]

Lot of great information being shared here but unfortunately many of the current year applicants are missing out on the questions and answers. Would be nice if you all moved the discussion to the current year thread.

I didn't even notice, thanks for saying something!

 

[IJUSTWANTOPARTYDOC]

I agree with most of what @stere0psis and @taco1572 said about the preclinical curriculum.

1. Above all n=1, everyone's experience/priorities/level of pessimism/optimism/everything are different, and no one (that I know of) has been enrolled at both UTSW and Baylor, or any other school, so even if you have friends there, it's all going to be subjective/second hand info.
2. We don't have perspective. Everything we complain about (or like) may or may not be useful to us later on and we'll have no idea until we get there, and even then subjectivity and bias will be impossible to differentiate from objective reality. Unfortunately, that's just life.
3. Our pre-clerkship curriculum is very challenging, often without reason in my opinion (see #2). E.g. we so many mandatory events that only serve to distract us from studying for our classes, leading to us having to spend more time 'studying' (including all that extra time wasted). I have found it almost imposible to prepare for and/or gain anything from these experiences (pt interactions, standardized pt stuff, "wellness" meetings, etc.). They all sounded cool at the interview day, but I promise you, you will just be thinking "I could be doing Anki right now." And you would be 100% right that it would be a more efficient use of your time (which you absolutely have to maximize in order to not feel stressed out, see #5.). It's made me a bit jaded that we can't even enjoy what is supposed to make medicine special (getting to be a part of a field where we get to genuinely help people). I'm hoping this gets better after this semester, we'll see.
4. I had the notion that med school content wouldn't be much harder than undergrad, and tbh that's kind of true (subjective ofc), but every lecture is about as difficult as the hardest lecture/content you had in undergrad, and there's 3-5 lectures a day (plus pbls, plus dissection, plus meetings, plus etc. etc. etc.) and managing that amount of content/random stuff is difficult and puts a strain on mental health, relationships, etc. You can't truly understand the fire-hose analogy until you've lived it.
5. I had the notion that UTSW's curriculum was "harder "than other schools in part, because the type of students that end up at UTSW '28 are more neurotic than other schools, and that's also kind of true. (at least for me). Everyone I've talk to IRL feels like they are drowning. But most of my classmates and I have done perfectly fine in our classes so far. But the subjective feeling of struggling is immense and widespread. This is somewhat of a curriculum problem as well, e.g. every quiz we take (which matters almost nothing for our grade) is harder than the final exam, which we have to pass to pass the class, which contributes to our stress for sure. And due to our personalities, even when we cognitively know we are doing OK, we still feel very stressed because it feels like we're going to fail. I've had to learn to be OK with not understanding everything 100% and being OK with a sense of impending doom, because I really don't need to study as much as I think I do. If you can master this you might have a life, but it will still be difficult. I didn't want medical school to be my entire life, and at UTSW '28 that's just not realistic imo. You might be able to carve out time for a hobby or two, but you'll be 'behind' and probably stressed out because of it.

Tbh this semester has been a bit of a rollercoaster, and I keep vacilating between 'drinking the koolaid' and embracing the suck, and being pretty jaded and borderline burned out already. Once again, this may or may not be a general medical school thing (I've had some personal stuff that has made things a bit harder than some of my classmates, as far as I can tell).

This is probably more important for ranking than interviewing, so we should revisit this later.

One last thing, I've had at least one faculty team member outright say our pre-clinical curriculum is not what makes UTSW special, but that our clerkships will prepare us to be some of the best physicians in America, which I honestly believe (at least right now lol).

 

[Reanox24]

While we are at it, will add my 2 cents as an MS1.
Firstly, regarding all the required stuff, the majority of it is Ankiable. Granted, you won't be as efficient, but nobody is going to know/care if you are doing Anki during a required zoom session where everyone's cameras are turned off. One of the cardinal rules of medical school is that with the proper will, there is opportunity to Anki at EVERY mandatory event, and the sooner you learn that, the more efficient you will be

Secondly, it kind of ****ing sucks at times. To simply reduce the rate at which I am falling behind (not even to keep up), I have had days start at the crack ass of dawn and go very late into the night, working all day except for spending enough time with my partner to where they won't shoot me.

However, we are learning a lot. Some of it is arbitrary bs, but they did listen to student feedback from last year and cut out some of the arbitrary bs protein names from the curriculum. I would much rather prefer this fate as opposed to diddling around for a month learning about public health and ethics in Houston or Temple in an already hyper-condensed curriculum... The way I see it, it's a bit like having to choose between a salad with a pinch of salt and olive oil and a nice, juicy burger. Obviously, the burger will stimulate your taste buds more and cause a greater release in dopamine that your brain interprets to mean "better," but the salad is much better for you (and your patients).

Will also say that I am in shock and awe of everybody here. 95% of the people that I met are people whom I would entrust to give medical treatment to my mother in ~10 years. The gunner reputation that UTSW has, at least among MS1's is non-existent

 

[stere0psis]

While we are at it, will add my 2 cents as an MS1.
Firstly, regarding all the required stuff, the majority of it is Ankiable. Granted, you won't be as efficient, but nobody is going to know/care if you are doing Anki during a required zoom session where everyone's cameras are turned off. One of the cardinal rules of medical school is that with the proper will, there is opportunity to Anki at EVERY mandatory event, and the sooner you learn that, the more efficient you will be

Secondly, it kind of ****ing sucks at times. To simply reduce the rate at which I am falling behind (not even to keep up), I have had days start at the crack ass of dawn and go very late into the night, working all day except for spending enough time with my partner to where they won't shoot me.

However, we are learning a lot. Some of it is arbitrary bs, but they did listen to student feedback from last year and cut out some of the arbitrary bs protein names from the curriculum. I would much rather prefer this fate as opposed to diddling around for a month learning about public health and ethics in Houston or Temple in an already hyper-condensed curriculum... The way I see it, it's a bit like having to choose between a salad with a pinch of salt and olive oil and a nice, juicy burger. Obviously, the burger will stimulate your taste buds more and cause a greater release in dopamine that your brain interprets to mean "better," but the salad is much better for you (and your patients).

Will also say that I am in shock and awe of everybody here. 95% of the people that I met are people whom I would entrust to give medical treatment to my mother in ~10 years. The gunner reputation that UTSW has, at least among MS1's is non-existent

This is a great take. If you're comfortable, consider posting this to the UTSW 24-25 thread so the current applicants can see.