*~*~*~*Official TMDSAS Questions Thread 2011-2012*~*~*~*

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I set up the Chronology of activities section when I was a quarter of the way done entering activities/coursework just to get a sneak peak. DO NOT DO THIS. I am an idiot.

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thx Noshie

I'll send them my transcripts when my spring grades come out (i asked tmdsas and they said they don't process until they see spring grades)
 
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Does anybody know how long it takes for TMDSAS to receive the MCAT score after they are released?

I took MCAT on 04/29 and the score will be released on 06/01. If I release the score to TMDSAS immediately after it become available, when will TMDSAS have it in their system?
 
Does anybody know how long it takes for TMDSAS to receive the MCAT score after they are released?

I took MCAT on 04/29 and the score will be released on 06/01. If I release the score to TMDSAS immediately after it become available, when will TMDSAS have it in their system?

You can release your score from the THx system as soon as it is posted, from there it took my score about one day to be processed and received by TMDSAS.
 
How long does it take to fill out the application usually?
 
Also, thanks Noshie for the nice advice!
 
It took me about 2-3 hours to do the initial data entry. That's accounting for six colleges and about 4-5 entries each for employment/healthcare activities. Then figure however long it takes you to proofread/tweak because inevitably you'll find some mistakes when you were furiously typing away the first time.
 
Does anybody know how long it takes for TMDSAS to receive the MCAT score after they are released?

I took MCAT on 04/29 and the score will be released on 06/01. If I release the score to TMDSAS immediately after it become available, when will TMDSAS have it in their system?

I took it on 4/29 as well, hopefully they get posted a little sooner...I don't know if I can wait until 6/1! :D
 
I set up the Chronology of activities section when I was a quarter of the way done entering activities/coursework just to get a sneak peak. DO NOT DO THIS. I am an idiot.

Someone didn't take TMDSAS's instructions seriously ;)
 
Hey all,

After much digging I cannot find specific answers to my question. Most of the threads that discuss how to enter your work activities refer to AMCAS.

For TMDSAS, is the general consensus to separate activities rather than condense?

For example, I have a few random community service projects that lasted for about 8 hours. Together they give me about 50 hours. So would it be better to split these up and talk about them individually or lump them together?

Or for Dean's list awards -- list them together or give them individual spots.

Also, with the character limit does that mean that we should only list what we did and skimp out on the whole "what did I learn aspect."

Why does TMDSAS have to be so crappy?
 
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3 QUESTIONS:

1. Will I have problems getting verified or with medical schools if I list an activity under Leadership in the following way:

I was a member from 07-09 and leader from 08-09 in this organization. I put the duration of the activity as 07-09 when selecting dates, but then in parenthesis wrote that I was a leader from 08-09 so as to tell them when I was a leader. I'm not trying to be disingenuous here, I just don't want to mess the chronology up or underrepresent my commitment to the organization.

Please let me know if this is okay. I don't want it to cause any problems.

2. If I am officer of an activity for two years (whether it's the same position or not) should I create a separate listing for each year? (Ex. Secretary of Club A 08-09, President of Club A 09-10) or should I just list these positions together as "Club A - Secretary, President" from 08-10 (or whatever, I guess this is contingent upon your answer to #1) and then in the description put "Secretary (08-09), President (09-10)"?

3. TMDSAS told me to create a new event for every term in which you were employed (so if I worked Soph thru Jr year, I'd create Job A - Soph Year; Job A - Summer after Soph; Job A - Jr. Year). If anybody else has done this, can you please tell me what you put as the start and end dates? I mean, I started Job A during August of 2008 and finally left the job in the spring of 2010. Should I put those dates for Start and End for each of the 3 employment events I created despite them having different terms? Should I give different start dates but keep them all as ending on May 2010? I don't want to screw up my chronology and am really confused!!!
 
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When you select which Texas schools you want to apply to and the AMCAS schools you plan on applying to, you can still go back and edit the information right?
 
When you select which Texas schools you want to apply to and the AMCAS schools you plan on applying to, you can still go back and edit the information right?

Yes, you can. But once you actually submit it all (says submitted for each school on your status page) I think it is a lot bigger hassle to edit things because you essentially have to re-submit the app.

3 QUESTIONS:

1. Will I have problems getting verified or with medical schools if I list an activity under Leadership in the following way:

I was a member from 07-09 and leader from 08-09 in this organization. I put the duration of the activity as 07-09 when selecting dates, but then in parenthesis wrote that I was a leader from 08-09 so as to tell them when I was a leader. I'm not trying to be disingenuous here, I just don't want to mess the chronology up or underrepresent my commitment to the organization.

Please let me know if this is okay. I don't want it to cause any problems.

2. If I am officer of an activity for two years (whether it's the same position or not) should I create a separate listing for each year? (Ex. Secretary of Club A 08-09, President of Club A 09-10) or should I just list these positions together as "Club A - Secretary, President" from 08-10 (or whatever, I guess this is contingent upon your answer to #1) and then in the description put "Secretary (08-09), President (09-10)"?

3. TMDSAS told me to create a new event for every term in which you were employed (so if I worked Soph thru Jr year, I'd create Job A - Soph Year; Job A - Summer after Soph; Job A - Jr. Year). If anybody else has done this, can you please tell me what you put as the start and end dates? I mean, I started Job A during August of 2008 and finally left the job in the spring of 2010. Should I put those dates for Start and End for each of the 3 employment events I created despite them having different terms? Should I give different start dates but keep them all as ending on May 2010? I don't want to screw up my chronology and am really confused!!!

In the extracurricular section I would list the club membership for its entire duration, and in the description include a brief sentence to the effect of "Served in multiple leadership positions, including president."

Then in the leadership area, make a single entry about being the president, then another about being the secretary, etc. Your descriptions can be brief - do not feel like you have to fill up the entire 300 characters.

For employment, just make one entry and select "other" and put in the months/years. I've worked at the same place for two years and I did that, with my end date being June 2012.

Don't worry about the chronology, it is OK if a bunch of things overlap.

Hey all,

After much digging I cannot find specific answers to my question. Most of the threads that discuss how to enter your work activities refer to AMCAS.

For TMDSAS, is the general consensus to separate activities rather than condense?

For example, I have a few random community service projects that lasted for about 8 hours. Together they give me about 50 hours. So would it be better to split these up and talk about them individually or lump them together?

Or for Dean's list awards -- list them together or give them individual spots.

Also, with the character limit does that mean that we should only list what we did and skimp out on the whole "what did I learn aspect."

Why does TMDSAS have to be so crappy?

In your case you should split up each service experience and award.

As for how to best use the description box, I think the old adage of "show, don't tell" is really useful here. You don't have the space to wax verbose about lessons learned. That doesn't mean to just make a laundry list of the duties you performed, but maybe list things (verbs) you routinely did that show something your character.

You definitely shouldn't feel obligated to fill up the 300 characters with each entry either. Brevity is gold. For some awards and one-time volunteer gigs I just wrote a single sentence. Sometimes the title alone is sufficient.

Imagine reading your application as an admission committee member. You've been reading dozens of applications, and now you pick up your own. It is about six pages long, and you are obligated to read the personal statement closely and look at grade trends and MCAT scores. You also need to learn about the applicant's background, but really aren't interested in hearing all the details about every single extracurricular. You skim the 4 pages of activities, devoting most of your attention to titles and durations. If there is something unique or interesting that stands out you will read the description, but for the most part you are just looking for overarching themes and trends.

Thinking about it from their perspective and then using a little bit of common sense will answer most questions about the "ideal" way to fill these sections out.
 
Submitted this afternoon, just waiting for my check to clear and MCAT score to come in! Time to start on the secondaries...
 
I listed a bunch of my activities in TMDSAS under Leadership, and my Leadership list is full of really unique and stellar things that I have done but I submitted without cross-listing them all into Extracurricular or Community Service. My Leadership descriptions make it clear that these were Extracurrics or Comm. Service activities but I did not cross list, and TMDSAS strongly encourages this. I thought it would be annoying and somehow missed the instructions at the top of the page.

I'm really counting on my activities to be a strength because while I'm a TX resident with a solid MCAT score, my GPA is not where I would like it to be.

Am I screwed? I am really worried that I won't get any interviews now.
 
Does anyone know if the medical schools will look at the application if they haven't received the letters of recommendation from HPAC? At my school, they won't be sending out the letters until around June 20th so I'm kind of worried that might affect my chances...
 
I am a 2nd time applicant. I will be retaking the MCAT on June 16th. Does anybody know if TMDSAS will process my application (i.e. verify transcripts) while I wait for the new score? I'm planning on submitting everything before June 1st. My major concern is that they won't begin processing anything until they receive the new MCAT score in mid July. My gpa is low so the earlier the submission, the better.
 
I am a 2nd time applicant. I will be retaking the MCAT on June 16th. Does anybody know if TMDSAS will process my application (i.e. verify transcripts) while I wait for the new score? I'm planning on submitting everything before June 1st. My major concern is that they won't begin processing anything until they receive the new MCAT score in mid July. My gpa is low so the earlier the submission, the better.

Theyll start processing your app before your mcat scores are in.
 
Does anyone know if the medical schools will look at the application if they haven't received the letters of recommendation from HPAC? At my school, they won't be sending out the letters until around June 20th so I'm kind of worried that might affect my chances...

They need your packet to be complete before they will even look at it... That means your letters have to be there, or your file will be in the incomplete pile until they get them.
 
Repost of my question because I'm hoping somebody can give me an answer:

I listed a bunch of my activities in TMDSAS under Leadership, and my Leadership list is full of really unique and stellar things that I have done but I submitted without cross-listing them all into Extracurricular or Community Service. My Leadership descriptions make it clear that these were Extracurrics or Comm. Service activities but I did not cross list, and TMDSAS strongly encourages this. I thought it would be annoying and somehow missed the instructions at the top of the page.

I'm really counting on my activities to be a strength because while I'm a TX resident with a solid MCAT score, my GPA is not where I would like it to be.

Am I screwed? I am really worried that I won't get any interviews now.
 
I listed a bunch of my activities in TMDSAS under Leadership, and my Leadership list is full of really unique and stellar things that I have done but I submitted without cross-listing them all into Extracurricular or Community Service. My Leadership descriptions make it clear that these were Extracurrics or Comm. Service activities but I did not cross list, and TMDSAS strongly encourages this. I thought it would be annoying and somehow missed the instructions at the top of the page.

I'm really counting on my activities to be a strength because while I'm a TX resident with a solid MCAT score, my GPA is not where I would like it to be.

Am I screwed? I am really worried that I won't get any interviews now.

so whats your gpa? a 3.99.... you know what? we have better trolls around here.
 
Repost of my question because I'm hoping somebody can give me an answer:

It won't matter, as long as you listed the ECs, they are there for the adcoms to see...
 
@addo- Why are people so quick to shout troll here? I think that's a legit question. I was thankful someone asked it because my bf did the same thing last year and it was horrible for us just wondering.
 
What is the difference between the TMDSAS and the AMCAS website? I'm a little confused here.
 
what would be considered the limit for applying to texas schools "early", would late june/early july still be considered early or average?
 
Um please explain what you're confused about?
The UI is completely different. Have you looked at both apps?
Or are you asking why are there different apps?

Yeah, I'm sorry. I've never even heard of this TMDSAS. I don't know what it is or what UI is either. I'm sorry if this sounds naive, but I have never heard of either of these things. I have only heard of AMCAS.
 
Yeah, I'm sorry. I've never even heard of this TMDSAS. I don't know what it is or what UI is either. I'm sorry if this sounds naive, but I have never heard of either of these things. I have only heard of AMCAS.

Med schools know that most applicants apply to several schools. To help standardize and consolidate this process, schools have agreed to work with application services that collect all pertinent information about an applicant, and send a single, uniform application to whatever schools the applicants wants to apply to. This is called your primary application, and it looks the same to everyone you send it to.

After schools review your primary application, they will usually send you a secondary application that is specific to each school, and you usually access it through that school's website. They may have you answer more question or even write a new essay or two, and there is often a sizable application fee, too.

After you return individual secondary applications, schools will then evaluate both your primary and your secondary to determine whether or not to interview you.

AMCAS (link here) facilitates the primary applications for most US MD schools.

AACOMAS (link here) does the same for US DO schools, except for UNTHSC (TCOM), which uses TMDSAS.

TMDSAS (link here) does the same for the public Texas schools - Baylor is private and uses AMCAS. I think the reason Texas does it differently has to do with their unique 90% IS/10% OOS rules, Texas's independent, do-it-ourselves culture, and the fact that the Texas schools are all kinda networked in some ways and for whatever reason they just wanted to have their own application service instead of using AMCAS.

So if you apply to Texas MD, non-Texas MD, and DO schools, you will have to have your letters of recommendation and transcripts sent to all three services separately. It is perfectly OK to write one really strong personal statement (under 5000 characters, the TMDSAS limit) and submit it to all three services. If you write any of TMDSAS's two optional essays, they may also be good for a lot of non-Texas schools' secondary essays, since diversity and special experiences are common themes.
 
My advisor says the 1st day that submissions are accepted.
 
It won't matter, as long as you listed the ECs, they are there for the adcoms to see...

Thanks. I was really concerned because I know many people are cross-listing everything and I didn't want to seem deficient in one area or another.

Best of luck to you getting into all of your target schools, we're all rooting for you here on SDN!
 
last yr my adviser said mid june is still early
 
what would be considered the limit for applying to texas schools "early", would late june/early july still be considered early or average?

Also interested to hear peoples opinions on this. Trying to find a balance between early submission and a well written PS...
 
Do we have to list at TMDSAS the medical schools we'll be applying other than TMDSAS (like AMCAS?) Why is it necessary? Can't we just leave it a blank?
 
Hey guys I'm going to be taking my MCAT on June 16. I was wondering if this is too late to apply to the Texas schools. I'll be applying OOS.
 
Does anybody know how long it takes for TMDSAS to receive the MCAT score after they are released?

I took MCAT on 04/29 and the score will be released on 06/01. If I release the score to TMDSAS immediately after it become available, when will TMDSAS have it in their system?

The time it takes for TMDSAS to process MCAT scores increases exponentially as the cycle goes on. If your scores are released before august, it can take anywhere from 1 day to about a week. After august it can take anywhere from a week to 2 weeks. I retook the MCAT in July and it was processed by TMDSAS by the end of august FWIW.


How long does it take to fill out the application usually?

Took me about 40 hours total over a span of a week to organize all of my extra-curriculars, fill out everything (correctly), make my essays perfect, and edit/revise the entire application numerous times for typos. YMMV.

I listed a bunch of my activities in TMDSAS under Leadership, and my Leadership list is full of really unique and stellar things that I have done but I submitted without cross-listing them all into Extracurricular or Community Service. My Leadership descriptions make it clear that these were Extracurrics or Comm. Service activities but I did not cross list, and TMDSAS strongly encourages this. I thought it would be annoying and somehow missed the instructions at the top of the page.

I'm really counting on my activities to be a strength because while I'm a TX resident with a solid MCAT score, my GPA is not where I would like it to be.

Am I screwed? I am really worried that I won't get any interviews now.

You're not screwed. As long as things are in the right place and you didn't leave anything out, you'll be fine. Adcoms like to look at each activity by category to see how "complete" an application is, so it helps to see everything that could be considered to go in a certain category. If you think that these extra-curriculars were in the right place then it won't matter. Honestly I think your scenario is better than someone trying to stretch each of their activities to multiple categories when they shouldn't really belong there.

Does anyone know if the medical schools will look at the application if they haven't received the letters of recommendation from HPAC? At my school, they won't be sending out the letters until around June 20th so I'm kind of worried that might affect my chances...

The application will not be processed until the HPAC packet is received AND processed (took about 2 weeks for me in June). As long as you have everything else complete, processed and waiting to go by June 20th I don't think it will hurt you. Regardless, its out of your control, so get the stuff you can control done and don't stress over it. There's no point.

I am a 2nd time applicant. I will be retaking the MCAT on June 16th. Does anybody know if TMDSAS will process my application (i.e. verify transcripts) while I wait for the new score? I'm planning on submitting everything before June 1st. My major concern is that they won't begin processing anything until they receive the new MCAT score in mid July. My gpa is low so the earlier the submission, the better.

TMDSAS will process your application and transcripts while they wait for a new score. You can choose to withhold final processing and sending of the application to schools until your new score comes in. You can also submit the complete application if you've already taken the MCAT, and the new score will be added to your application when it is processed. However, you will need to use your own discretion in this decision, as there are consequences to both sides. As you've noted, if you wait to submit your application with your new scores, you may not get it complete and submitted until late July/early August. If you submit earlier, your application will be processed and sent out early, but you run the risk of schools viewing your application and putting it in the "reject" pile without them ever seeing your new score. Supposedly when a new MCAT score is received schools will reevaluate your application, but I find this unrealistic. I went through this scenario last year, and chose to submit my complete application (with bad MCAT score) in early June. I took the MCAT in July and did better, and the score was processed by august. I didn't hear anything until October, when I sent out letters of intent noting my higher score.

what would be considered the limit for applying to texas schools "early", would late june/early july still be considered early or average?

My opinion goes like this: May is super, extremely, almost dangerously early (as in how can you complete this early with finals, etc. and have no mistakes). If you have time to do your application this early then you should really take the time to make it perfect (as in all of May). it is better to have a perfect application sent in June, or even July, then send in May and even have one typo. June is considered early. If you submit anytime in June you will be processed and complete before interview season starts. Anytime after July, and you are in the "bulk" of processed applications. Definitely not early, but not necessarily "late". If you have a strong application and your numbers will stand out, you'll still be fine. Starting in August, processing by TMDSAS really starts to bog down. It can take up to 6 weeks for your application to be processed if you submit in August. Obviously, your chances diminish when you are competing against a larger pool of applicants and have less time for your application to be looked at (October). FWIW, I know people that got interviews/acceptances that submitted on the first day TMDSAS opened, the very LAST day TMDSAS was open, and everywhere inbetween. Just get it in as soon as you can while still having a perfect application with no mistakes or typos.

Do we have to list at TMDSAS the medical schools we'll be applying other than TMDSAS (like AMCAS?) Why is it necessary? Can't we just leave it a blank?

If they ask, include it. They can look it up regardless, so might as well make their job easier. Its necessary because it can reveal your "attitude" about applying to med school. Whether you apply to 3 schools or 50 schools (and which schools) can reveal the expectations you have for yourself and more importantly reveal if you are a good fit for their school. For example, if you apply to all DO schools and one MD, it would raise some questions about your intentions. Another example would be if you claimed in your PS you wanted to be involved in rural primary care medicine in Texas, but applied to 50 schools out of state.

Hey guys I'm going to be taking my MCAT on June 16. I was wondering if this is too late to apply to the Texas schools. I'll be applying OOS.

Look above. I think it would be slightly more important for an OOS-er to get complete/processed before a Texas resident, as the competition is much more stout for OOS.
 
hi guys. i was the president of a student organization this year and i had to plan a bunch of volunteering, meetings, and projects. i spent about 3-4 hours per week planning and organizing events. i was wondering if i can add these hours to the community volunteer hours in addition to adding it under leadership positions. is this a good idea or would i look like i'm desperate for volunteer hours? i did a lot of regular volunteering within my organization (like at non profit places, shelters, etc.), which i plan to add under the community service section, but i wanted to include the times i had meetings with officers, meetings with faculty, and running errands.
 
hi guys. i was the president of a student organization this year and i had to plan a bunch of volunteering, meetings, and projects. i spent about 3-4 hours per week planning and organizing events. i was wondering if i can add these hours to the community volunteer hours in addition to adding it under leadership positions. is this a good idea or would i look like i'm desperate for volunteer hours? i did a lot of regular volunteering within my organization (like at non profit places, shelters, etc.), which i plan to add under the community service section, but i wanted to include the times i had meetings with officers, meetings with faculty, and running errands.

Those things aren't really community service. If, as part of your club leadership, you spent significant time participating in service projects you organized, then you could put those projects down as service as well as leadership. But meetings and the logistical management of a club is not community service.

Sure you could put it, and probably get away with it because TMDSAS specifically asks us to list things multiple times if they meet the criteria for multiple sections and you can almost always rationalize all day long about how it somehow meets criteria for service, but you run the risk of looking foolish and/or like your excessively padding your resume when your application is read by real people.
 
ok, so tmdsas says that i shouldn't submit transcripts w/o spring grades...

but i wen to two schools... can i just send my first school in now?

Also, can i submit my app now, and just put on the college coursework for my spring classes 'not yet reported'?
 
hi guys. i was the president of a student organization this year and i had to plan a bunch of volunteering, meetings, and projects. i spent about 3-4 hours per week planning and organizing events. i was wondering if i can add these hours to the community volunteer hours in addition to adding it under leadership positions. is this a good idea or would i look like i'm desperate for volunteer hours? i did a lot of regular volunteering within my organization (like at non profit places, shelters, etc.), which i plan to add under the community service section, but i wanted to include the times i had meetings with officers, meetings with faculty, and running errands.

You should include all of this under your leadership position in the student organization. I also had to do this, and I think it looks way better all packaged together. I agree with the above poster, don’t try to pad your experiences, it will look desperate.

ok, so tmdsas says that i shouldn't submit transcripts w/o spring grades...

but i wen to two schools... can i just send my first school in now?

Also, can i submit my app now, and just put on the college coursework for my spring classes 'not yet reported'?

Just wait… You can send in the first set of transcripts for that school where you have your spring grades posted. However don’t submit until the other school has the grades ready. It will not hold your application back too much, but submitting it now when you didn’t do what they asked of you might create an unnecessary delay and some confusion. Its only like a week or so until your grades are posted for Spring… I'm sure you can hold out that long…
 
hi everyone. i was a DJ for my university's radio station. i had my own segment and played music in the Christian music genre. in the middle of the segment i spent about 10-15 min discussing everyday struggles everyone goes through and overcoming them.

i want to list it under the Community Service section since I was a volunteer instead of the EC & Leisure section. what do yall think?
 
hi everyone. i was a DJ for my university's radio station. i had my own segment and played music in the Christian music genre. in the middle of the segment i spent about 10-15 min discussing everyday struggles everyone goes through and overcoming them.

i want to list it under the Community Service section since I was a volunteer instead of the EC & Leisure section. what do yall think?

That sounds about right... It wasn't really leisure, and even though it could be listed as an EC, as long as it is listed somewhere, and you make it sound like community service, then it should be fine.
 
So I submitted a few days ago and they received my check today and now my status is "TMDSAS processing". Transcripts were received last week.

At this stage in the game how long will the processing take?

Once it is complete when do schools start sending out secondary applications? Or am I suppose to make an account on their websites and do the secondary myself?

The only thing I'm still waiting on is my letter writers to finish up so my school can send the packet. Will I be on hold until this is done too, or can secondaries be sent without LORs? Just out of curiosity, would any school interview (I know the season doesn't start until August) without LORS?
 
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