*~*~*~*Official TMDSAS Questions Thread 2015-2016*~*~*~*

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Status
Not open for further replies.
Do you think schools screen out applicants who are waiting for their mcat score?

Do you have an old mcat score and are retaking? If you don't even have an mcat score, they won't even look at your application since you won't be considered complete. So to answer your question, no!

I know I already asked this before, but I didn't get much feedback. Do TX schools prefer to have 2 science LOR's or a combination on science and non-science?

Doesn't matter, I do know that they at least want one science. Just use whatever letters you feel are your strongest.

Members don't see this ad.
 
Do you have an old mcat score and are retaking? If you don't even have an mcat score, they won't even look at your application since you won't be considered complete. So to answer your question, no!



Doesn't matter, I do know that they at least want one science. Just use whatever letters you feel are your strongest.
No I don't have a mcat score yet I will be taking it june 20 and get my score back on July 21. I guess I will submit my application without having my mcat score then. They don't look at your application at all until you are fully completed?
 
No I don't have a mcat score yet I will be taking it june 20 and get my score back on July 21. I guess I will submit my application without having my mcat score then. They don't look at your application at all until you are fully completed?
Correct! I'd submit since you don't even have a score yet.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Apologize for the length of this in advance, so TMDSAS transmitted my app to all schools today.

To be brief, I got my degree in Medical Lab Science and my last 60 hrs where taken in that department....a couple of the classes for example where

- Medical Microbiolgy
- Clinical Immunology
-Immunohematalogy
-Medical genetics
- Clinical Paristiology and Virology

So I entered the coursework as it fell under one of the categories of biology or chemistry math based on their names and the website and my BCPM GPA was 3.63 and cGPA 3.6

Now they reclassified ALL of my course work that has MLS as "other science" so my BCPM GPA dropped to a 3.47

I know in previous years TMDSAS just did sGPA and cGPA, but with the change to BCPM it looks like I am in trouble!

I called 4 schools today and TMDSAS. Basically, TMDSAS told me that I could petition for reclassification, by sending in the syllabus and a course description and they make a judgement call based on relevance and course rigor.

Now as for the schools, some told me that they only see sGPA and cGPA and not to worry about it, and others told me that the sGPA is calculated from the BCPM and I should petition TMDSAS.

I'm thoroughly confused at this point, it seems like no one really knows how the sGPA is calculated officially and reported to each school?

What the heck is the point of classifying courses as "other science" if in fact they don't fall under the BCPM category and aren't seen as science courses?

Would you pursue the reclassification?


For what it is worth my stats now are .....

MCAT 30
non-science GPA 3.69
BCPM GPA 3.47
cGPA 3.6
total cGPA (graduate coursework included) 3.62


Thanks in advance!
 
Apologize for the length of this in advance, so TMDSAS transmitted my app to all schools today.

To be brief, I got my degree in Medical Lab Science and my last 60 hrs where taken in that department....a couple of the classes for example where

- Medical Microbiolgy
- Clinical Immunology
-Immunohematalogy
-Medical genetics
- Clinical Paristiology and Virology

So I entered the coursework as it fell under one of the categories of biology or chemistry math based on their names and the website and my BCPM GPA was 3.63 and cGPA 3.6

Now they reclassified ALL of my course work that has MLS as "other science" so my BCPM GPA dropped to a 3.47

I know in previous years TMDSAS just did sGPA and cGPA, but with the change to BCPM it looks like I am in trouble!

I called 4 schools today and TMDSAS. Basically, TMDSAS told me that I could petition for reclassification, by sending in the syllabus and a course description and they make a judgement call based on relevance and course rigor.

Now as for the schools, some told me that they only see sGPA and cGPA and not to worry about it, and others told me that the sGPA is calculated from the BCPM and I should petition TMDSAS.

I'm thoroughly confused at this point, it seems like no one really knows how the sGPA is calculated officially and reported to each school?

What the heck is the point of classifying courses as "other science" if in fact they don't fall under the BCPM category and aren't seen as science courses?

Would you pursue the reclassification?


For what it is worth my stats now are .....

MCAT 30
non-science GPA 3.69
BCPM GPA 3.47
cGPA 3.6
total cGPA (graduate coursework included) 3.62


Thanks in advance!

Correct me if I am wrong but this is what happened. Your MLS classes, in which you classified as other sciences, were not included in your BCPM gap right?

In my opinion, I probably wouldn't even bother with the reclassification. How's the rest of your application? Do you feel your an otherwise strong candidate despite your GPA? Do you good uphill grade trends? There's many other factors that play into the admissions process.
 
Last edited:
Correct me if I am wrong but this is what happened. Your MLS classes, in which you classified as other sciences, were not included in your BCPM gap right?

In my opinion, I probably wouldn't even bother with the reclassification. How's the rest of your application? Do you feel your an otherwise strong candidate despite your GPA? Do you good uphill grade trends? There's many other factors that play into the admissions process.




Not exactly.... So according TMDSAS "medical technology" courses fall under other science, but if you look at what constitutes Biology.... you will find Immunology, genetics, paristology, virology, mycology.... etc.

Because my courses were not given in the BIOL dept. they don't count towards BCPM. ( they were in the Science and Technology dept. and have course heading MLS)

I classified my MLS courses that shared the name with ones in the BIOL list on the webpage.... they then reclassified as "other science" I have issues with this because....

1.) The courses that they are in fact counting as BIOL were Pre-reqs to get into my program (your university Immuno, micro, chemistry, bio-chem, Orgo etc.) were required to take the more advanced Clinical Chem, medical micro, medicial genetics, molecular diagnostics etc.

2.) My degree is not "medical technology" this is where I think the whole issue is. There are two different paths MLT and MLS. MLT is an allied health degree or 2 yr. associates degree. Becoming an MLS is a BS degree. We do similar jobs but they can't do level 3 testing in the clinical lab (in TX) and the coursework isn't as "rigorous."

I think they are lumping these all together..... and to be honest it's not surprising because this field is pretty uncommon.... we had a total of 2 graduates from my university in the Fall of 2011 and that's par for the course......most don't end up applying to medical school either.

3.) The coursework among people that know about the degree is extremely difficult you take 54 hrs in 10 months followed by 6 months of clinical rotations and the Board of Registry Exam..... its very fast paced. As far as the material, I could give plenty of examples that go above and beyond what you would be expected to know in the pre-req version of the course.

4.) The program only takes ~ 20 students per class, I had to compete against students from UT Austin, North Texas, UT Arlington etc. for a spot.....and the truth is we all struggled at times with the material... so it I think that should also speak to the "difficulty" of the program... I had the highest GPA from our class which was ~3.8 if that matters.


Rest of my app is solid

100 hrs shadowing
~10,000 total healthcare experience through work
~350 hrs volunteering,
no research,
strong upward trend ~3.8 for last 60-70 hrs.
Very strong letters from dean of Dept and former professor/coworker and MD/DO letters too.
Single mom, disadvantaged, worked full time throughout college.

The truth is this whole game is not the same as it was 3-4 years ago.... 3.6 cGPA , 3.47 sGPA, and 30 MCAT is hardly a guaranteed invite for an interview anywhere in Texas.


In the end I'm arguing that there is no way these courses shouldn't count as Biology and Chemistry.


I don't really care how they are classified if the schools see cGPA and sGPA.... because then my "other science" courses would count in that number. But if the schools use BCPM GPA to define the sGPA then I'm screwed with out going through the appeal process.
 
Last edited:
I'm posting all this nonsense for future MLS students.......I knew this garbage was going to happen 2 years ago and I couldn't find anything on this site of substance.... plus this 100 posts!
 
What does it take to be accepted at a texas medical school if you're an out of state application? Do you have to have a stellar mcat? What if you're extremely committed to working with underserved populations or something that fits their mission? I'm thinking about applying to texas med schools.

Also, do we have to disclose all the non-texas med schools we apply to on the app? it seems kind of sketchy doing so because I don't know how they're gonna use the info.
 
Last edited:
Is anyone else here having a hard time uploading their photo? It's telling me that it's too large and I was wondering if anyone knows how to reduce the file size.
 
@hornstudent, copy the picture into a Word document. You can even drag it in. Then right click, and "Save as Picture..." and select the PNG file type. It will majorly reduce the file size.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
What if you do an activity, like volunteering for a clinic, 4 hours every other week. What it says approximate hours/week, do I put 4? My total cumulative hours would of course imply that I don't do this EVERY week since it would not be as high as what it would be if I did 4 hrs every week.

I thought about averaging it out and putting down 2 hours per week, but for some reason that just looks bad to me. 2 hours is like barely staying to volunteer it feels like haha.
 
What if you do an activity, like volunteering for a clinic, 4 hours every other week. What it says approximate hours/week, do I put 4? My total cumulative hours would of course imply that I don't do this EVERY week since it would not be as high as what it would be if I did 4 hrs every week.

I thought about averaging it out and putting down 2 hours per week, but for some reason that just looks bad to me. 2 hours is like barely staying to volunteer it feels like haha.
I had the same issue. I put 2 hours a week, every week 🙂
 
If I worked continuously for 2 years at one job, do I need to put it in 5 different times? EX: freshman, summer, sophomore, summer, junior? Also, different semesters I worked different hours. How am I supposed to indicate this?
 
Not exactly.... So according TMDSAS "medical technology" courses fall under other science, but if you look at what constitutes Biology.... you will find Immunology, genetics, paristology, virology, mycology.... etc.

Because my courses were not given in the BIOL dept. they don't count towards BCPM. ( they were in the Science and Technology dept. and have course heading MLS)

I classified my MLS courses that shared the name with ones in the BIOL list on the webpage.... they then reclassified as "other science" I have issues with this because....

1.) The courses that they are in fact counting as BIOL were Pre-reqs to get into my program (your university Immuno, micro, chemistry, bio-chem, Orgo etc.) were required to take the more advanced Clinical Chem, medical micro, medicial genetics, molecular diagnostics etc.

2.) My degree is not "medical technology" this is where I think the whole issue is. There are two different paths MLT and MLS. MLT is an allied health degree or 2 yr. associates degree. Becoming an MLS is a BS degree. We do similar jobs but they can't do level 3 testing in the clinical lab (in TX) and the coursework isn't as "rigorous."

I think they are lumping these all together..... and to be honest it's not surprising because this field is pretty uncommon.... we had a total of 2 graduates from my university in the Fall of 2011 and that's par for the course......most don't end up applying to medical school either.

3.) The coursework among people that know about the degree is extremely difficult you take 54 hrs in 10 months followed by 6 months of clinical rotations and the Board of Registry Exam..... its very fast paced. As far as the material, I could give plenty of examples that go above and beyond what you would be expected to know in the pre-req version of the course.

4.) The program only takes ~ 20 students per class, I had to compete against students from UT Austin, North Texas, UT Arlington etc. for a spot.....and the truth is we all struggled at times with the material... so it I think that should also speak to the "difficulty" of the program... I had the highest GPA from our class which was ~3.8 if that matters.
Seems as if you have a valid reason to petition for a reclassification. I would do it, if you haven't already done so.
 
Seems as if you have a valid reason to petition for a reclassification. I would do it, if you haven't already done so.


I have started the process and spoke with our Dean about getting this all put together. I don't like my chances because it will be probably be a huge headache for TMDSAS to evaluate 10+ courses and then reclassify. Also with the large amount of applications, flooding etc. it will be easier to just say no.

This all might not even be a big deal, I mailed my transcripts off on the 19th and my TMDSAS status still shows as "Not Received" so I have no idea what each school is actually seeing for my sGPA.


I know it is a long shot, but if anyone on here that has had their transcripts verified and sent to schools..... if you could call one school and ask what they "show" as your sGPA, and then look to see if that matches your BCPM GPA that TMDSAS calculated that would be awesome. I think it would be beneficial for us all to officially understand how schools are looking at the sGPA now that BCPM is the only calculation that TMDSAS shows us.
 
I have started the process and spoke with our Dean about getting this all put together. I don't like my chances because it will be probably be a huge headache for TMDSAS to evaluate 10+ courses and then reclassify. Also with the large amount of applications, flooding etc. it will be easier to just say no.

You might be surprised. I petitioned them to accept two classes from my university, and just sent them pdfs of the syllabi. They replied in two business days. TMDSAS has been very nice to work with.
 
Does TMDSAS send you an email once they verify your GPA/courses with the official transcript?

My transcript finally changed to received after about 10 days and was just wondering how I would know they have verified the stuff.
 
I am not exactly sure @swolebrah.

At one point the column with "Transcript Through" was filled in with the last semester for each transcript. This seemed to occur at a later date than when it was received, so I assumed this was the "verification" marker.
 
I have started the process and spoke with our Dean about getting this all put together. I don't like my chances because it will be probably be a huge headache for TMDSAS to evaluate 10+ courses and then reclassify. Also with the large amount of applications, flooding etc. it will be easier to just say no.

This all might not even be a big deal, I mailed my transcripts off on the 19th and my TMDSAS status still shows as "Not Received" so I have no idea what each school is actually seeing for my sGPA.


I know it is a long shot, but if anyone on here that has had their transcripts verified and sent to schools..... if you could call one school and ask what they "show" as your sGPA, and then look to see if that matches your BCPM GPA that TMDSAS calculated that would be awesome. I think it would be beneficial for us all to officially understand how schools are looking at the sGPA now that BCPM is the only calculation that TMDSAS shows us.
Just take a deep breath! It's going to be okay approved or not!
 
Does TMDSAS send you an email once they verify your GPA/courses with the official transcript?

My transcript finally changed to received after about 10 days and was just wondering how I would know they have verified the stuff.
No I don't believe they do. But once everything is verified (through dates, classes, and etc.) your GPA that TMDSAS has calculated will show once you have paid and submitted your app.
 
I am not exactly sure @swolebrah.

At one point the column with "Transcript Through" was filled in with the last semester for each transcript. This seemed to occur at a later date than when it was received, so I assumed this was the "verification" marker.

No I don't believe they do. But once everything is verified (through dates, classes, and etc.) your GPA that TMDSAS has calculated will show once you have paid and submitted your app.
Thank you both
 
I agree! I will spare the neurotic posts from here on out, thanks to all that have commented/helped.
They're not neurotic! Lol The process is stressful. Just control/do what you can and everything will fall into place!
 
Anyone else freaking out over transcripts not being received? I sent mine almost 2 and a half weeks ago and all but one have been received. My school did not attach the cover sheet so I am worried that it got lost. Should I resend it?
 
Anyone else freaking out over transcripts not being received? I sent mine almost 2 and a half weeks ago and all but one have been received. My school did not attach the cover sheet so I am worried that it got lost. Should I resend it?

I sent my first ones without cover sheets and they were received fine.

2.5 weeks is a bit, but if you include the holiday, and long processing time from your school - it is not unreasonable. You could always resend if worried.
 
Anyone else freaking out over transcripts not being received? I sent mine almost 2 and a half weeks ago and all but one have been received. My school did not attach the cover sheet so I am worried that it got lost. Should I resend it?

Same here, except ALL of mine are still marked as "not received"
 
If I worked continuously for 2 years at one job, do I need to put it in 5 different times? EX: freshman, summer, sophomore, summer, junior? Also, different semesters I worked different hours. How am I supposed to indicate this?

I just called about that and the representative told me you need separate entries for each time you held the job, even if it was continuously held. She implied that schools use that so they can look at your employment along with the semester in school. This would take care of your hours issue because you could indicate your varied hours (working less during a busy semester, for example) for each entry. You can use the same description for each entry. It doesn't need to be different or adjusted for each entry.

HOWEVERRRR, can someone PLEEEEASE call and verify this? Because my friend got a different answer and the representative was confused as to why you would need seperate entries for the same, continuous job. lol
 
Last edited:
I just called about that and the representative told me you need separate entries for each time you held the job, even if it was continuously held. She implied that schools use that so they can look at your employment along with the semester in school. This would take care of your hours issue because you could indicate your varied hours (working less during a busy semester, for example) for each entry. You can use the same description for each entry. It doesn't need to be different or adjusted for each entry.

HOWEVERRRR, can someone PLEEEEASE call and verify this? Because my friend got a different answer and the representative was confused as to why you would need seperate entries for the same, continuous job. lol


Just called, they said they want you to put it in per time period (freshman,sophomore). She recommended that if the hours were significantly different then put it in per semester and repeat the entry with different hours/wk. So for me, I would have two entries for sophomore year. 10+ hours different to be specific.
 
Hey everyone! I have a quick question for my friend applying this cycle.

Would you put volunteering at a nursing home (playing bingo, talking to the elderly, etc.) under healthcare or community service? The community service section says "non-healthcare related", so that is the fuel for the question.

Thanks!
 
Just called, they said they want you to put it in per time period (freshman,sophomore). She recommended that if the hours were significantly different then put it in per semester and repeat the entry with different hours/wk. So for me, I would have two entries for sophomore year. 10+ hours different to be specific.

Thank you so much!

Hey everyone! I have a quick question for my friend applying this cycle.

Would you put volunteering at a nursing home (playing bingo, talking to the elderly, etc.) under healthcare or community service? The community service section says "non-healthcare related", so that is the fuel for the question.

Thanks!

Personally, I would list that as community service and not healthcare based on that activity description you just gave. When I think healthcare, I think of well, a more medical or even office/insurance company type environment where you may be dealing with medical records, patients, etc.
 
Just as I paid for next day air shipping to resend my transcript, literally 2 minutes later my transcript was marked received! I sent it out on May 7th, I'm going to guess the lack of the transcript request form caused the long delay. Luckily, I got my refund 🙂
 
Just as I paid for next day air shipping to resend my transcript, literally 2 minutes later my transcript was marked received! I sent it out on May 7th, I'm going to guess the lack of the transcript request form caused the long delay. Luckily, I got my refund 🙂

Lets hope it's not due to a large increase in applicants!
 
@athlete421 when did you send your transcripts in?
May 15th, so I'll probably have to wait longer since Thoracic Bean's was sent May 7th and only just now was marked as received. AMCAS received some of my transcripts, so I suppose it's just the heavy backlog of TMDSAS.
 
So for the planned activities are we putting the end date as August 2016? Cuz that's always bolded in the manual but med school I think usually starts in July...so would I put my end date as July 2016 to indicate that I would doing the activity all the way through July 2016?

And let's say I am currently doing a job that I placed under Healthcare, Leadership, and Employment. That's 3 sections...Since I'm going to continue this work up until med school would start, I need to list this under planned activities. Does that mean I again list this three times, each under a different type, for the planned activity section?
 
Last edited:
So for the planned activities are we putting the end date as August 2016? Cuz that's always bolded in the manual but med school I think usually starts in July...so would I put my end date as July 2016 to indicate that I would doing the activity all the way through July 2016?

And let's say I am currently doing a job that I placed under Healthcare, Leadership, and Employment. That's 3 sections...Since I'm going to continue this work up until med school would start, I need to list this under planned activities. Does that mean I again list this three times, each under a different type, for the planned activity section?
Question 1 youre overthinking if you're worried play it safe and say july, plans change regardless... question 2 since you're doing it now you do not need to list it again as planned activity, just set the end date as next July/August.
 
Looking for opinions/suggestions.

When describing a shadowing experience on the application, should I lean more towards talking about what I did or more of what I got out of it/what I learned? I'm trying to do best with the 300 character limit -- which in my opinion is too little.

Also, if I'm going to be participating in an activity for the next year, do I make my total number of hours equal to the amount I'll have when I'm done or the number of hours I have now?
 
Last edited:
Just a quick update to those who are waiting for their transcripts to arrive and get verified by TMDSAS. Took about 10 days ~ for transcripts to arrive from the school sending them out and 3 days for the transcript to get verified through spring 2015.

I also used a transcript ancillary form when sending my transcripts, so maybe that had something to do with the timings.
 
Last edited:
Question:

I now finally have all of my letters, transcripts, and MCAT in with a received date for each. The transcripts were each marked in the "Semester Through" column and I am "Transmitted to Schools".

Is there any further "verification" or "finalization" notation that TMDSAS provides? Or is it once it is all in, you are good to go?
 
Question:

I now finally have all of my letters, transcripts, and MCAT in with a received date for each. The transcripts were each marked in the "Semester Through" column and I am "Transmitted to Schools".

Is there any further "verification" or "finalization" notation that TMDSAS provides? Or is it once it is all in, you are good to go?
If you submitted all your secondaries, you are good to go!

You're a champ! I am a little jealous that you have everything done already. 😛 Lol

Edit: Keep checking your email (as well as your spam) for interview invites and etc.
 
If you submitted all your secondaries, you are good to go!

You're a champ! I am a little jealous that you have everything done already. 😛 Lol

Edit: Keep checking your email (as well as your spam) for interview invites and etc.

Thank you,

I wish! I am applying OOS with an odd set of stats, but I can hope. I submitted the TX secondaries from 5/14 to 5/18, and I check constantly. 🙂
 
Hello,

I am filling out the "Terms Attended" section currently, and there are three options for adding summer coursework: Summer, Summer 1, and Summer 2. I know that the courses I took during the summers occurred during either Summer 1 or Summer 2, and this is how my school registers summer students, but my transcripts only list them as Summer (YEAR). Should I add these terms as they appear on my transcripts or as the specific session I completed them?

Thank you
 
Hello,

I am filling out the "Terms Attended" section currently, and there are three options for adding summer coursework: Summer, Summer 1, and Summer 2. I know that the courses I took during the summers occurred during either Summer 1 or Summer 2, and this is how my school registers summer students, but my transcripts only list them as Summer (YEAR). Should I add these terms as they appear on my transcripts or as the specific session I completed them?

Thank you
Just put summer 1 or summer 2. If it was a class that was throughout the summer (usually 8 weeks instead of 4) just put summer.
 
Thank you,

I wish! I am applying OOS with an odd set of stats, but I can hope. I submitted the TX secondaries from 5/14 to 5/18, and I check constantly. 🙂
I bet you'll still have a successful application cycle, rather in Texas or not.

If I'm not mistaking you for someone else, you killed the mcat right? Lol
 
Hey Guys, I have two questions:
1) would you put a HIV/AIDS prevention internship as medical or non-medical activity? There is a testing component, outreach, medical files. Just a little unsure about classification.
2) Would you put study abroad in your activities? - I know you put it under colleges and coursework, but that doesn't really allow you to describe the experience or what you did.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top