*~*~*~*Official TMDSAS Questions Thread 2018-2019*~*~*~*

[Lucca]

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I would list this in the research area and ECs. I will be doing research next year and no course credit will be received.

But I’m getting a degree so I need to list the institution no?

 

[thegrind33]

But I’m getting a degree so I need to list the institution no?

Yeah go ahead and list the institution in your description. I'm sure there are other programs similar to the one you are in so adcoms should understand.

 

[KD6-3.7]

Submitted TMDSAS primary today! Quick question: which secondaries can we submit now without waiting for an invitation? I know UT Dell and Texas Tech schools are by invitation, but what about the rest that require a secondary?

 

[wysdoc]

Submitted TMDSAS primary today! Quick question: which secondaries can we submit now without waiting for an invitation? I know UT Dell and Texas Tech schools are by invitation, but what about the rest that require a secondary?

UTSW you can send now
Texas A&M you can do now, by logging in to their application portal. You must ALSO take the CASPer test online.
UTRGV says to wait for a link to get the secondary
Texas Tech Paul Foster will send you a link to the secondary
Texas Tech Lubbock will a) send you a link to the secondary, and b) require you to take CASPer this year
UTMB, McGovern, and Long have no secondary
Dell by invitation only
Baylor (AMCAS application) available 7/1 to all applicants

** Edited to correct my earlier post, it is Texas Tech Lubbock that will begin requiring the CASPer testing.**

 

[KD6-3.7]

UTSW you can send now
Texas A&M you can do now, by logging in to their application portal. You must ALSO take the CASPer test online.
UTRGV says to wait for a link to get the secondary
Texas Tech Paul Foster will a) send you a link to the secondary, and b) require you to take CASPer this year
Texas Tech Lubbock will send you a link to the secondary
UTMB, McGovern, and Long have no secondary
Dell by invitation only
Baylor (AMCAS application) available 7/1 to all applicants

Thanks so much!
Is CASPer easy to "fail"? I was never good at these psychological tests. I remember taking the Walmart job application test and always failing for some reason.

Also, is the TCOM secondary by application only?

I appreciate it 🙂

 

[wysdoc]

Thanks so much!
Is CASPer easy to "fail"? I was never good at these psychological tests. I remember taking the Walmart job application test and always failing for some reason.

Also, is the TCOM secondary by application only?

I appreciate it 🙂

TCOM site says this: Secondary Application
TCOM requires completion of its own web-based secondary application that is completed and submitted.

--------
To prepare for the CASPer, look at their site and read about it on Wikipedia etc.
You can think of it as an "online MMI". It is meant to look for your ability to quickly read a scenario and make some reasonable judgement about it, what your role and responsibilites are, and how you would proceed.
Find videos and practice questions about MMI to give yourself an idea of what to expect.
There is not "one right answer" and you will not get a score back.

 

[chemist13579]

When entering cousework, can we add "and lab" to combined lecture lab courses like in amcas?

 

[wysdoc]

When entering cousework, can we add "and lab" to combined lecture lab courses like in amcas?

I believe there is a drop-down selection on the TMDSAS. See TMDSAS instructions page 27. You will enter course prefix, number, name (title) and then in the dropdown for course area it might say biolec (lecture) or biolab (lab).
If the course is a combined course, you still should enter the title exactly as it appears on the transcript.

 

[GimsUVM]

Thanks so much!
Is CASPer easy to "fail"? I was never good at these psychological tests. I remember taking the Walmart job application test and always failing for some reason.

Also, is the TCOM secondary by application only?

I appreciate it 🙂

Yes, TCOM 2dary is by application only.

Yes, it's easy to fail CASPer. All it takes is for your answers to suck more than your peers. Take it from my own personal experience. You don't get your score, your fingers hurt afterwards and people on SDN always seem to make things easier than they really are.

 

[esob]

I've got a pretty decent list of academic recognition awards and I have listed a couple of the honor society's that I felt were important to me. Is it worth listing a bunch of them or does it just make you look pompous? Or do they not even go in the academic achievements section? I looked at the handbook but from my practice run filling out HPAC paperwork this seemed like the place to put them.

 

[littlelooper]

I submitted my primary app and had it transmitted to the schools about 10 days ago and then got my transcript sent in shortly after. On my TMDSAS portal, it says the transcript was received today. Does this mean the transcript has now been sent to all the Texas schools? Or do we get a notification/email when that happens?

 

[thezekroman]

What should I write under the Extracurricular/Leisure activities section of the application? I'm not sure what they're specifically looking for or what counts as "relevant hobbies".

 

[Lucca]

What should I write under the Extracurricular/Leisure activities section of the application? I'm not sure what they're specifically looking for or what counts as "relevant hobbies".

anything that is a hobby and you feel comfortable sharing / you think contributes to your app is a valid hobby. IM sports? You make music? Poet? You have a dog grooming service on the side? w,e

 

[BBBallIsLife]

What should I do if I created my chronology, but had to go back into my application and make changes and now its not perfect?

 

[wysdoc]

What should I do if I created my chronology, but had to go back into my application and make changes and now its not perfect?

Download the TMDSAS application handbook entry year 2019 here : TMDSAS (under Applicant resources)

Instructions for what to do in your situation are on page 45. The system will only run your "chronology" of activities for you once, and if you make changes after you have done that you will have to enter extra information manually.

 

[KD6-3.7]

Download the TMDSAS application handbook entry year 2019 here : TMDSAS (under Applicant resources)

Instructions for what to do in your situation are on page 45. The system will only run your "chronology" of activities for you once, and if you make changes after you have done that you will have to enter extra information manually.

Out of curiosity, do adcoms prefer to look at the chronology or at the activities sections with full descriptions? What is the chronology used for normally?

 

[premed0431]

This might be a stupid question, but in TMDSAS it ask for 'Total Cumulative Hours'. Lets say that I started participating from August/2018 and plan to finish until May/2019, would I include the hours I plan to do also in the total cumulative hours or just the hours that I have done till today? Thanks!!

 

[KD6-3.7]

This might be a stupid question, but in TMDSAS it ask for 'Total Cumulative Hours'. Lets say that I started participating from August/2018 and plan to finish until May/2019, would I include the hours I plan to do also in the total cumulative hours or just the hours that I have done till today? Thanks!!

I put only completed hours (as of "today") in the total cumulative hours, and hours I plan to do in the planned activities section as projected hours. I think this is what you are supposed to do.

 

[wysdoc]

I put only completed hours (as of "today") in the total cumulative hours, and hours I plan to do in the planned activities section as projected hours. I think this is what you are supposed to do.

I agree with this - your total should be for hours you have already done. There is another category for future planned activities, be conservative and realistic in your estimates of how many hours you will do in the upcoming year.

 

[wysdoc]

Out of curiosity, do adcoms prefer to look at the chronology or at the activities sections with full descriptions? What is the chronology used for normally?

The "chronology" is a nice tool that takes all the dates you have entered for your schooling, activities, research, etc. and combines them into a coherent timeline. Since TMDSAS asks you to account for all your time between starting college and now, this tool allows you to look for any gaps. TMDSAS wants any gaps more than 3 months explained.

However, you can only have the system run this tool for you once, so you have to be very complete, yourself, as you go through your list and try to make sure you have accounted for every bit of time. It's ok to say you took a summer vacation between college terms, or that you had a summer job to earn money. Especially if you decided to apply to med school sometime during college, you might not have been using every summer for relevant activities.

Wait to use the chronology tool after you have double and triple checked your application 🙂
The schools reading your application will read your descriptions, not just the timeline.

 

[droldschool]

Hi, y'all. Can't believe application season is finally here!

I can't seem to find an answer to this question on the TMDSAS site: Will TMDSAS transmit primary applications to schools before letters of evaluation come in? Or will they wait until they receive all letters before transmitting the applications?

And do schools wait for letters of evaluations before sending out secondary invites? Thank you!

 

[esob]

The "chronology" is a nice tool that takes all the dates you have entered for your schooling, activities, research, etc. and combines them into a coherent timeline. Since TMDSAS asks you to account for all your time between starting college and now, this tool allows you to look for any gaps. TMDSAS wants any gaps more than 3 months explained.

However, you can only have the system run this tool for you once, so you have to be very complete, yourself, as you go through your list and try to make sure you have accounted for every bit of time. It's ok to say you took a summer vacation between college terms, or that you had a summer job to earn money. Especially if you decided to apply to med school sometime during college, you might not have been using every summer for relevant activities.

Wait to use the chronology tool after you have double and triple checked your application 🙂
The schools reading your application will read your descriptions, not just the timeline.

So how will the chronology tool work for (and how to input) employment for non-trads who have held the same position for a while. For example, there is a drop down selector for something like "between freshman summer and xxx" and it says to list each instance. Do you just keep listing the same thing over and over?

 

[wysdoc]

Hi, y'all. Can't believe application season is finally here!

I can't seem to find an answer to this question on the TMDSAS site: Will TMDSAS transmit primary applications to schools before letters of evaluation come in? Or will they wait until they receive all letters before transmitting the applications?

And do schools wait for letters of evaluations before sending out secondary invites? Thank you!

From page 48 of the TMDSAS application handbook:
"We won’t wait to begin processing. You may submit your application before your transcripts or letters of evaluations have been received. Applications will be processed and transmitted to schools without these supporting documents. Schools will be updated with these materials as they are received."

Most of the Texas Schools allow everyone to fill out a secondary.
See my list a few posts back about which ones you have to wait & be invited.

 

[wysdoc]

So how will the chronology tool work for (and how to input) employment for non-trads who have held the same position for a while. For example, there is a drop down selector for something like "between freshman summer and xxx" and it says to list each instance. Do you just keep listing the same thing over and over?

from the Application Handbook page 32:
➢ List all jobs (paid work experience) held since graduating from high school to the present, including military service.

• Indicate the employer, job title, when the job was held, start date, end date, city, hours worked per week, country, state and a brief description of the job. Click on [Submit] to save the record.
• If you held a job every summer, enter each time period as a separate record.
• Additional records can be added by clicking the [Add an Employment Activity] link.
  
  so, if you have had the same job every summer, yes you do have to list it over and over with dates.
  If your "non-trad" status means you have been primarily working and not attending college, filling in the start and end dates of your steady job should take care of it.

 

[angelnotangel]

Sorry if there is a list already but I haven't found it. CASPer list only Texas A&M for schools that require the test but I've read that some of the Texas schools are requiring it after interview invite or before admission. Is there a complete list of Texas schools that we need to add to our CASPer file for release of scores?

 

[thegrind33]

This might be a stupid question, but in TMDSAS it ask for 'Total Cumulative Hours'. Lets say that I started participating from August/2018 and plan to finish until May/2019, would I include the hours I plan to do also in the total cumulative hours or just the hours that I have done till today? Thanks!!

Called tmdsas, they said to list future hours under cumulative. Makes sense since it’s the same way the amcas system wants it.

 

[dodolol21]

Sorry if there is a list already but I haven't found it. CASPer list only Texas A&M for schools that require the test but I've read that some of the Texas schools are requiring it after interview invite or before admission. Is there a complete list of Texas schools that we need to add to our CASPer file for release of scores?

Well UTSA emailed today saying the requiring it too. Seems they could decide at any time so better to just take it

 

[angelnotangel]

From what I gathered,
Texas A&M - requires CASPer
UTSA - may require CASPer (will notify applicant by email)
Paul Foster in El Paso - will require before admitted
Texas Tech Lubbock - will require before admitted

Does anyone interpret differently?

 

[dodolol21]

From what I gathered,
Texas A&M - requires CASPer
UTSA - may require CASPer (will notify applicant by email)
Paul Foster in El Paso - will require before admitted
Texas Tech Lubbock - will require before admitted

Does anyone interpret differently?

I dont think El Paso requires it, do they say somewhere?

 

[KD6-3.7]

The "chronology" is a nice tool that takes all the dates you have entered for your schooling, activities, research, etc. and combines them into a coherent timeline. Since TMDSAS asks you to account for all your time between starting college and now, this tool allows you to look for any gaps. TMDSAS wants any gaps more than 3 months explained.

However, you can only have the system run this tool for you once, so you have to be very complete, yourself, as you go through your list and try to make sure you have accounted for every bit of time. It's ok to say you took a summer vacation between college terms, or that you had a summer job to earn money. Especially if you decided to apply to med school sometime during college, you might not have been using every summer for relevant activities.

Wait to use the chronology tool after you have double and triple checked your application 🙂
The schools reading your application will read your descriptions, not just the timeline.

Cool. Do you think they'll care about the summer before starting college, since it technically says "since graduating high school?" I didn't do much that summer but I was thinking May-Aug is less than 3 months

Called tmdsas, they said to list future hours under cumulative. Makes sense since it’s the same way the amcas system wants it.

I called them too and they said to not list them in cumulative hours. For whatever it's worth.

 

[KD6-3.7]

So how will the chronology tool work for (and how to input) employment for non-trads who have held the same position for a while. For example, there is a drop down selector for something like "between freshman summer and xxx" and it says to list each instance. Do you just keep listing the same thing over and over?

I was told you could also list under "Other", since as long as your start and end dates are accurate, it will populate into the chronology correctly

 

[angelnotangel]

I never got any email from UTSA or El Paso. Only schools I know of that require it this year are Lubbock and A&M.

My app was submitted the first week of May

UTSA assumption was gathered from people posting in the school specific thread

 

[raf1ki]

Called tmdsas, they said to list future hours under cumulative. Makes sense since it’s the same way the amcas system wants it.

I called them too and they said to not list them in cumulative hours. For whatever it's worth.

I'm seeing this same conflict recurring here and Reddit. What the hell is going on

I wonder if this results in any major discrepancies in the hour counts as perceived by adcoms, who may not be going over apps with a fine-toothed combed. If at first glance, the people who add future under cumulative appear to have many more hours...

 

[KD6-3.7]

I'm seeing this same conflict recurring here and Reddit. What the hell is going on

I wonder if this results in any major discrepancies in the hour counts as perceived by adcoms, who may not be going over apps with a fine-toothed combed. If at first glance, the people who add future under cumulative appear to have many more hours...

It's frustrating how unclear it is, but I went with the safer option. Nowhere in the TMDSAS guide does it say to include projected hours, and nobody can fault you for being conservative and only including hours you actually did. I am also concerned about adcoms' impressions, but I think it'll be clear when they look and see how the math adds up.

Also, about Long and CASPer, I'm fairly sure it will not be required because it isn't on their website. I think only Tech-Lubbock and A&M require it.

 

[wysdoc]

I dont think El Paso requires it, do they say somewhere?

re: Paul Foster - I can't find anything on their website about CASPer.

I made an error on an earlier post saying that they would require it, but corrected it to say that it is Texas Tech Lubbock that will require the CASPer.
Sorry for my error y'all.

 

[thegrind33]

It's frustrating how unclear it is, but I went with the safer option. Nowhere in the TMDSAS guide does it say to include projected hours, and nobody can fault you for being conservative and only including hours you actually did. I am also concerned about adcoms' impressions, but I think it'll be clear when they look and see how the math adds up.

Also, about Long and CASPer, I'm fairly sure it will not be required because it isn't on their website. I think only Tech-Lubbock and A&M require it.

With all the discrepancies, I’m pretty sure adcoms will still know what the hours are and what not. So if you put total cumulative then I’m sure they will understand. If you put current then they should still know that you are going to have future hours based on your chronology and planned activities.

 

[thegrind33]

I'm seeing this same conflict recurring here and Reddit. What the hell is going on

I wonder if this results in any major discrepancies in the hour counts as perceived by adcoms, who may not be going over apps with a fine-toothed combed. If at first glance, the people who add future under cumulative appear to have many more hours...

If that’s the case then list the total cumulative hours as your hours now plus future. They will check into your hours (if they even do) before you matriculate (probably next spring). So if what you said is true then it seems like you are putting yourself st a disadvantage doing that.

 

[thegrind33]

It's frustrating how unclear it is, but I went with the safer option. Nowhere in the TMDSAS guide does it say to include projected hours, and nobody can fault you for being conservative and only including hours you actually did. I am also concerned about adcoms' impressions, but I think it'll be clear when they look and see how the math adds up.

Also, about Long and CASPer, I'm fairly sure it will not be required because it isn't on their website. I think only Tech-Lubbock and A&M require it.

Casper is required at long, I received an email from them today saying it is. The CASPer will not be factored into receiving interviews however.

 

[wysdoc]

Called tmdsas, they said to list future hours under cumulative. Makes sense since it’s the same way the amcas system wants it.

@thegrind33 and @raf1ki , Put projected (future) hours on the separate section in the TMDSAS application.
If you read the AMCAS Official work/activities tips thread here:*~*~*~*Official AMCAS Work/Activities Tips Thread 2018-2019*~*~*~* you will see that the advisor Catalystik recommends only including cumulative hours up until the date you are submitting your application, and keeping projected hours separate.

 

[thegrind33]

@thegrind33 and @raf1ki , Put projected (future) hours on the separate section in the TMDSAS application.
If you read the AMCAS Official work/activities tips thread here:*~*~*~*Official AMCAS Work/Activities Tips Thread 2018-2019*~*~*~* you will see that the advisor Catalystik recommends only including cumulative hours up until the date you are submitting your application, and keeping projected hours separate.

Welp I already submitted the app

 

[raf1ki]

@thegrind33 and @raf1ki , Put projected (future) hours on the separate section in the TMDSAS application.
If you read the AMCAS Official work/activities tips thread here:*~*~*~*Official AMCAS Work/Activities Tips Thread 2018-2019*~*~*~* you will see that the advisor Catalystik recommends only including cumulative hours up until the date you are submitting your application, and keeping projected hours separate.

Right, but the FAQ in the OP for this thread says:

13) If the date range for a particular activity spans into the future, do they want us to list completed hours + projected hours under Total Cumulative Hours or do we just list the hours we have completed thus far? For example:

Date Range: September 2013-June 2015
September 2013-Present: 100 hours completed
Present-June 2015: 100 hours projected

Total Cumulative Hours = 200 or 100

TMDSAS, when called, said if the date range spans into the future, one should include projected hours in the Total Cumulative Hours.

 

[wysdoc]

Right, but the FAQ in the OP for this thread says:

you are right - well I think just do your best and if you project those hours be sure and fulfill them 🙂

 

[KD6-3.7]

Casper is required at long, I received an email from them today saying it is. The CASPer will not be factored into receiving interviews however.

Weird, I haven't gotten anything yet. I transmitted last week. Hopefully that's not a bad sign.

Right, but the FAQ in the OP for this thread says:

That's why I was confused, but it doesn't say so in the TMDSAS guide itself. Hopefully, it won't matter. I imagine there are all kinds of minor application mistakes that applicants make, and I hope adcoms aren't that strict about it.

 

[angelnotangel]

re: Paul Foster - I can't find anything on their website about CASPer.

I made an error on an earlier post saying that they would require it, but corrected it to say that it is Texas Tech Lubbock that will require the CASPer.
Sorry for my error y'all.

Ohhhh...... I guess that’s where I saw it. Thanks for letting us know.

 

[ThatAggieGuy]

hey guys! I have a volunteer trip i did abroad back in high school in 2014 and i think it's a big part of my life should i mention it or not even bother?
also, i have two other trips I did during college, should I mention these under "community service" on the tmdsas?

 

[Lucca]

Update on my earlier question for posterity:

Since I have to enter my graduate institution but have no coursework associated with it, the TMDSAS people told me to list any course (BCH 1 “Biocjemistry”) in that field for the purposes of the app and the transcript will provide context.

 

[premed0431]

Can anyone give me input on my characteristics essay? Please and thank you!

 

[Neuro244]

Would someone please be willing to look over my work/activities section as I have spent a LOT of time on perfecting it, and would appreciate the feedback/tips/suggestions/edits. If you can PLEASE help me as I want to finish this ASAP and submit it next week, I would really appreciate it. I can go ahead and PM you and send you a link to the Google Docs for it. Thank you!

 

[ThatAggieGuy]

is submitting by May 31st considered late? or is it still relatively early?

 

[wysdoc]

is submitting by May 31st considered late? or is it still relatively early?

very early 🙂