*~*~*~*Official TMDSAS Questions Thread 2021-2022*~*~*~*

[wysdoc]

Hey Texans and wannabe Texans!
This will be our official TMDSAS Questions thread for 2021-2022.

Here is the link to the EY 2022 TMDSAS Handbook: Application Handbook
Download that to your computer and keep it handy, read it for an overview before you get started.

Here is the brief overview chart of the MD application timeline.
*** NOTE*** Nov 1 is the final deadline to submit TMDSAS, but it's not REALLY the deadline, if you know what I mean. Try to get the primary app submitted in May, June, or July.

TMDSAS application will open up on May 3, 2021.
The first day you can press "Submit" on your application will be May 17, 2021.

To submit, you must have your list of courses completed INCLUDING Spring 2021 courses, so wait until your Spring grades are final, usually some time in mid to late May depending on your college.
Official transcripts are not sent to TMDSAS until later in the year, and are not needed for submission of your primary app.

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[TheGranolaKing]

Hi @wysdoc when should we expect to receive access to schools' portals in order to submit secondaries (assuming we submit on May 17)? Does it happen as soon as our applications are transmitted?

 

[wysdoc]

Hi @wysdoc when should we expect to receive access to schools' portals in order to submit secondaries (assuming we submit on May 17)? Does it happen as soon as our applications are transmitted?

Secondary Applications:

1. Wait until you get a message from TMDSAS that your application has been transmitted to the medical schools.

2. Refer to this page on the TMDSAS homepage for a listing of how/when you can do your secondary essays. Secondary Applications & CASPer

3. In brief, you can create an account on the portal of A&M and TCOM and get the secondary prompts once the school has received your primary. Write them when ready and submit promptly.

4. Long SOM has no secondary. Dell's secondary is not written, but videoed and is by invitation only.

5. All the other schools will read your primary app materials first, and you must wait to be invited to send a secondary. If invited, write it promptly and thoughtfully, then return it to the school in the manner instructed.

 

[deleted771945]

And it begins. So, it seems like the majority of schools do an invitation-only secondary. I wonder how long the transmission-invitation time interval will be.

 

[ArizonaTea]

Given that submission begins May 17th, will the TMDSAS move the transmission date as well? or will it just be transmitted whenever the processing is completed? I'm planning on submitting my primary app by May 31st and taking the MCAT on June 4th (the score comes out on July 7th), and I'm a little worried about those days lining up (day app is transmitted and day MCAT score comes out). I should have enough time to prewrite secondaries while waiting for my MCAT score to come out so that I can quickly send them in (for the automatic secondaries), but I'm worried that a mid-July or late July "completed" app is on the later side? Or will I still be in one of the "early" batches? I'm assuming they are not as lenient about the timeline as they were the last cycle.

 

[wysdoc]

Given that submission begins May 17th, will the TMDSAS move the transmission date as well? or will it just be transmitted whenever the processing is completed? I'm planning on submitting my primary app by May 31st and taking the MCAT on June 4th (the score comes out on July 7th), and I'm a little worried about those days lining up (day app is transmitted and day MCAT score comes out). I should have enough time to prewrite secondaries while waiting for my MCAT score to come out so that I can quickly send them in (for the automatic secondaries), but I'm worried that a mid-July or late July "completed" app is on the later side? Or will I still be in one of the "early" batches? I'm assuming they are not as lenient about the timeline as they were the last cycle.

There aren't really any "batches" of apps being processed, TMDSAS processes them steadily as they come in.
You can submit your primary app without the MCAT score, just be sure to mark the instructions for MCAT to "release" your score to TMDSAS.

There will be a huge number of people submitting in the first 4-6 weeks, so at first the processing time will be a little longer for everyone (4 weeks or so). As the number of submissions taper off, the processing time will be faster.

If your MCAT score comes out a bit later than when your primary app is transmitted, TMDSAS will send it along to schools immediately. Your app will not have to go back into the processing queue.

 

[ArizonaTea]

There aren't really any "batches" of apps being processed, TMDSAS processes them steadily as they come in.
You can submit your primary app without the MCAT score, just be sure to mark the instructions for MCAT to "release" your score to TMDSAS.

There will be a huge number of people submitting in the first 4-6 weeks, so at first the processing time will be a little longer for everyone (4 weeks or so). As the number of submissions taper off, the processing time will be faster.

If your MCAT score comes out a bit later than when your primary app is transmitted, TMDSAS will send it along to schools immediately. Your app will not have to go back into the processing queue.

Wow, thank you for the fast response!
But from past cycles, is a "completed" app (with secondaries, CASPer, and LORs in) in Mid/Late July still considered to be a decent spot? (In terms of the trend of early applicants receiving better chances of getting interviews)

 

[wysdoc]

Wow, thank you for the fast response!
But from past cycles, is a "completed" app (with secondaries, CASPer, and LORs in) in Mid/Late July still considered to be a decent spot? (In terms of the trend of early applicants receiving better chances of getting interviews)

Yes that would be plenty early. But those charts you may have seen showing % of students getting interview month by month refer to when they submitted their primary.

 

[overnightoats4ever]

Thank you for starting this thread! I had a question about activities. I have worked as a medical assistant continuously since my Freshman year, but I worked more full time the past summers than I do during the school year. I know that TMDSAS requires hours per week, how do you think I should handle this. Thanks !

 

[wysdoc]

Thank you for starting this thread! I had a question about activities. I have worked as a medical assistant continuously since my Freshman year, but I worked more full time the past summers than I do during the school year. I know that TMDSAS requires hours per week, how do you think I should handle this. Thanks !

Here's how TMDSAS suggests to handle this issue. You could list it as 2 job entries (fulltime MA in the summers, with your fulltime hours per week and start/end dates) and (Part time MA, with your other shorter hours per week)

4. Employment
☐ List all jobs (paid work experience) held since graduating from high school to the present, including military service. Paid healthcare activities may be listed here in addition to the healthcare activities section.
› 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 (300 characters). Click on [Submit] to save the record.
› If you held a job every summer, enter each time period as a separate record.
› Additionally, if you held this job for consecutive terms, select “Other” for the question “When did you hold this job?” You will be able to provide more details if you wish.
› Additional records can be added by clicking the [Add an Employment Activity] link.

 

[overnightoats4ever]

Here's how TMDSAS suggests to handle this issue. You could list it as 2 job entries (fulltime MA in the summers, with your fulltime hours per week and start/end dates) and (Part time MA, with your other shorter hours per week)

4. Employment
☐ List all jobs (paid work experience) held since graduating from high school to the present, including military service. Paid healthcare activities may be listed here in addition to the healthcare activities section.
› 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 (300 characters). Click on [Submit] to save the record.
› If you held a job every summer, enter each time period as a separate record.
› Additionally, if you held this job for consecutive terms, select “Other” for the question “When did you hold this job?” You will be able to provide more details if you wish.
› Additional records can be added by clicking the [Add an Employment Activity] link.

Thanks so much! I also had one last Texas school related question on CASPer. Do you have any insight into how TX schools specifically look at it? I am taking it May 4th and am super nervous!

 

[wysdoc]

Thanks so much! I also had one last Texas school related question on CASPer. Do you have any insight into how TX schools specifically look at it? I am taking it May 4th and am super nervous!

Two schools review it before making their interview decisions (Texas Tech Paul Foster and UTMB) and the others use it later on in the cycle.
Look over the practice questions CASPer gives you and get ready to type fast!

 

[overnightoats4ever]

Two schools review it before making their interview decisions (Texas Tech Paul Foster and UTMB) and the others use it later on in the cycle.
Look over the practice questions CASPer gives you and get ready to type fast!

Thank you SO much, I am going to move my test to the 20th so I can focus on finishing out the semester then.

 

[deleted771945]

Can we use numerals in our activity descriptions to save space? I.e. "100 organizations" vs. "one hundred organizations."

Also, is there a character limit for activity titles?

 

[wysdoc]

Can we use numerals in our activity descriptions to save space? I.e. "100 organizations" vs. "one hundred organizations."

Also, is there a character limit for activity titles?

Yes you can use numerals
No clue on the titles question

 

[TheGranolaKing]

In the activities section, if I intend to continue with most of my activities until December (when I graduate), should I list them all under the planned activities section too (i.e. Oct-Dec)? Or is that a bit overkill? I just can't tell if it would be extra to have like 7 different activities in my 'planned' section but 5 of the 7 of them will only be for two months. And is it okay to just have one entry as a 'catch all' for my assorted other hobbies (surfing, backpacking, rock climbing, etc)?

Also, is there anywhere to input contact information for each of my activities or is it just on the honor system?

Lastly, is there such a thing as putting in too many activities on TMDSAS? It's looking like I'll have ~25 entries (since you have to double-dip for some activities) which feels like too much, but I'm also not really seeing places where I can cut out entries.

 

[wysdoc]

In the activities section, if I intend to continue with most of my activities until December (when I graduate), should I list them all under the planned activities section too (i.e. Oct-Dec)? Or is that a bit overkill? I just can't tell if it would be extra to have like 7 different activities in my 'planned' section but 5 of the 7 of them will only be for two months. And is it okay to just have one entry as a 'catch all' for my assorted other hobbies (surfing, backpacking, rock climbing, etc)?

Also, is there anywhere to input contact information for each of my activities or is it just on the honor system?

Lastly, is there such a thing as putting in too many activities on TMDSAS? It's looking like I'll have ~25 entries (since you have to double-dip for some activities) which feels like too much, but I'm also not really seeing places where I can cut out entries.

Planned activities are less important, but you can list the ones you are going to continue from October 2021 and onward. You don't have to list hobbies again in planned activities, but you can, and you can lump them together into physical pursuits.
I believe that contact info is asked for on the AMCAS application but not on TMDSAS. But "honor system" is the right idea!

Let's talk about the term "double-dipping". On TMDSAS you can't put the same activity in 2 categories. You need to think about which category fits it best, or which is more important for your well-rounded application. One example would be a club where you were the president, but also the leader of community service projects which took up a lot of time. Does your application need an entry in the Leadership category? Then list your president role, and in the description mention the projects. Would you like to highlight the community service aspect? Then list it in Community service and mention your title in the description. The only exception to the "no double-dipping" rule is: a paid healthcare job can be listed in both employment and healthcare activities.

Last of all, the TMDSAS 2022 Handbook explains all of this better than I have, plus you will find links to at least 2 helpful podcasts on pages 33 to 36 of the 2022 TMDSAS Handbook.

 

[TheGranolaKing]

Planned activities are less important, but you can list the ones you are going to continue from October 2021 and onward. You don't have to list hobbies again in planned activities, but you can, and you can lump them together into physical pursuits.
I believe that contact info is asked for on the AMCAS application but not on TMDSAS. But "honor system" is the right idea!

Let's talk about the term "double-dipping". On TMDSAS you can't put the same activity in 2 categories. You need to think about which category fits it best, or which is more important for your well-rounded application. One example would be a club where you were the president, but also the leader of community service projects which took up a lot of time. Does your application need an entry in the Leadership category? Then list your president role, and in the description mention the projects. Would you like to highlight the community service aspect? Then list it in Community service and mention your title in the description. The only exception to the "no double-dipping" rule is: a paid healthcare job can be listed in both employment and healthcare activities.

Last of all, the TMDSAS 2022 Handbook explains all of this better than I have, plus you will find links to at least 2 helpful podcasts on pages 33 to 36 of the 2022 TMDSAS Handbook.

Thank you! I was confused by how the handbook says "Additionally, any activity that also results in a leadership role may be listed in both of those categories" on page 33; I served as president of a service organization for a year and was an active member (i.e. was completing two very different roles) for two years so I was unsure if I should have a general community service entry for the activity and a leadership entry specifically for my role as president. To confirm, the right thing to do would be to just list it all under leadership (or community service) and try to describe both roles in 300 characters? I'll be sure to check out the podcasts as well!

 

[wysdoc]

Thank you! I was confused by how the handbook says "Additionally, any activity that also results in a leadership role may be listed in both of those categories" on page 33; I served as president of a service organization for a year and was an active member (i.e. was completing two very different roles) for two years so I was unsure if I should have a general community service entry for the activity and a leadership entry specifically for my role as president. To confirm, the right thing to do would be to just list it all under leadership (or community service) and try to describe both roles in 300 characters? I'll be sure to check out the podcasts as well!

I think that refers more to applicants who haven't been elected or appointed to a leadership role, but feel they have had leadership responsibilities within a healthcare employment experience.
A lot of applicants seem to get hung up on this club leader / club member dichotomy so don't feel alone in this. Just use your judgement on which role you would like to emphasize, and don't worry too much about it.
Remember also that you have the "3 most meaningful activities" essays to expand on and, more importantly, lend insight to the meaningfulness of 3 of your activities.

 

[TheGranolaKing]

I want to include a few economics classes that I've taken as part of my BCPM gpa since they're essentially algebra- and calculus-based applied math classes full of linear regression and the like (specifically microeconomics, macroeconomics, and econometrics). Would I just code them under 'Mathematics' or 'Statistics', and then appeal the decision if TMDSAS decides to change their course area? How much would the appeal process delay my application, if I were to submit on the first day possible (May 17)?

 

[wysdoc]

I want to include a few economics classes that I've taken as part of my BCPM gpa since they're essentially algebra- and calculus-based applied math classes full of linear regression and the like (specifically microeconomics, macroeconomics, and econometrics). Would I just code them under 'Mathematics' or 'Statistics', and then appeal the decision if TMDSAS decides to change their course area? How much would the appeal process delay my application, if I were to submit on the first day possible (May 17)?

You might get by with econometrics as a stats class. It will not delay your application verification because they will always message you to check the course categories before sending your app to schools.
Even if those classes don’t end up in your BCPM GPA, they will be in your cumulative and semester by semester GPA.

 

[overnightoats4ever]

Hello again! I am filling out my activities and I am confused, because we are told to only list experiences once yet are required to input hours per week. If I did multiple periods with large pauses this makes the hours per week and cumulative hours not line up. For example, hospital volunteering had a large gap due to COVID yet I will be continuing through October 2021 at 3 hr/wk. Is there a way to address this or should I just assume they will look closely at the overall hours inputted? Thank you!

 

[wysdoc]

Hello again! I am filling out my activities and I am confused, because we are told to only list experiences once yet are required to input hours per week. If I did multiple periods with large pauses this makes the hours per week and cumulative hours not line up. For example, hospital volunteering had a large gap due to COVID yet I will be continuing through October 2021 at 3 hr/wk. Is there a way to address this or should I just assume they will look closely at the overall hours inputted? Thank you!

See how I explained it above, #10
and if that doesn't make sense, you may send a message with your question to TMDSAS in the portal

 

[overnightoats4ever]

See how I explained it above, #10
and if that doesn't make sense, you may send a message with your question to TMDSAS in the portal

Oh sorry, I thought this only applied for employment. Thank you so much!

 

[peiwei]

If I am still looking for a job with the hope of starting around June, is it better to put it as a Planned Activity and ONLY as a planned activity because there is no definitive start date/commitment yet? Or is it okay to also include it in the Employment section for June-October, even though it may start later than June and is not yet set in stone? I am a bit wary about how important it is to adhere to dates and planned activities. Thank you!

 

[ArizonaTea]

Is anyone taking the MCAT on June 18th (I currently have a June 4th seat)? Or know if it would take me out of the advantages of applying early? I have 6 finals to take while trying to study for the MCAT, and it's really killing me rn . I'm not worried about getting the primary and Casper done in time (plan to submit late May)... it's the score release on July 20th that worries me. I heard that most schools will start asking for secondaries the day or few days after the primary is transmitted, but in this case, they would have to wait for my MCAT score on the 20th before sending those out. I definitely have enough time to prewrite them so I can most likely submit them a day or two after med schools ask for them.

If it does take me out of the advantages of being early, I think I'll just suck it up and take it June 4th. But if not, I honestly believe I would do better without having to worry about school.
**also, sorry for the midnight rant...just super stressed**

 

[mjmad]

Is anyone taking the MCAT on June 18th (I currently have a June 4th seat)? Or know if it would take me out of the advantages of applying early? I have 6 finals to take while trying to study for the MCAT, and it's really killing me rn . I'm not worried about getting the primary and Casper done in time (plan to submit late May)... it's the score release on July 20th that worries me. I heard that most schools will start asking for secondaries the day or few days after the primary is transmitted, but in this case, they would have to wait for my MCAT score on the 20th before sending those out. I definitely have enough time to prewrite them so I can most likely submit them a day or two after med schools ask for them.

If it does take me out of the advantages of being early, I think I'll just suck it up and take it June 4th. But if not, I honestly believe I would do better without having to worry about school.
**also, sorry for the midnight rant...just super stressed**

How are your other stats/activities? If you have a strong application submitting in June should still be fine, but it would put you behind the first couple looks at applications.

You can also submit you app without your mcat score, they just won’t process it without the score

personally I think I would want a better score than to submit 2 weeks earlier. but I guess it depends on what range of mcat score you’re wanting to get in also. And if you’re in your range then I’d say go for it sooner

 

[wysdoc]

Is anyone taking the MCAT on June 18th (I currently have a June 4th seat)? Or know if it would take me out of the advantages of applying early? I have 6 finals to take while trying to study for the MCAT, and it's really killing me rn . I'm not worried about getting the primary and Casper done in time (plan to submit late May)... it's the score release on July 20th that worries me. I heard that most schools will start asking for secondaries the day or few days after the primary is transmitted, but in this case, they would have to wait for my MCAT score on the 20th before sending those out. I definitely have enough time to prewrite them so I can most likely submit them a day or two after med schools ask for them.

If it does take me out of the advantages of being early, I think I'll just suck it up and take it June 4th. But if not, I honestly believe I would do better without having to worry about school.
**also, sorry for the midnight rant...just super stressed**

First priority is your finals!
Wait and take CASPer after you have submitted your primary and while you are waiting for/writing your secondary essays.
Be sure to check each school you are applying to see which ones require CASPer. You will select each name on the CASPer site so the schools will get the report.

 

[ArizonaTea]

How are your other stats/activities? If you have a strong application submitting in June should still be fine, but it would put you behind the first couple looks at applications.

You can also submit you app without your mcat score, they just won’t process it without the score

personally I think I would want a better score than to submit 2 weeks earlier. but I guess it depends on what range of mcat score you’re wanting to get in also. And if you’re in your range then I’d say go for it sooner

If I don't screw up finals, I should have a 3.9, and I believe my activities are pretty strong as well.

I thought they do process and transmit the app, but med schools won't look at it until MCAT comes in.

I agree with you, I would prefer a better score than to submit early. We shall see...if some miracle happens in these couple of weeks with studying I'll try to take it sooner, if not I'll try to see if I can grab a June 18th spot.

-Thank you for the response! It's really helpful talking through this!

 

[ArizonaTea]

First priority is your finals!
Wait and take CASPer after you have submitted your primary and while you are waiting for/writing your secondary essays.
Be sure to check each school you are applying to see which ones require CASPer. You will select each name on the CASPer site so the schools will get the report.

If I took the CASPer test last cycle and scores were sent to schools, but I withdrew before my app was processed, would schools know that I "sorta" applied? On paper, I'm not a reapplicant, but idk if they would think I'm sus...since there is that one last piece of evidence (my CASPer exam) that I could not take back. I feel like it won't matter, but I'm not sure lollll

 

[wysdoc]

If I took the CASPer test last cycle and scores were sent to schools, but I withdrew before my app was processed, would schools know that I "sorta" applied? On paper, I'm not a reapplicant, but idk if they would think I'm sus...since there is that one last piece of evidence (my CASPer exam) that I could not take back. I feel like it won't matter, but I'm not sure lollll

Message TMDSAS and ask them. I know that if you submitted the primary last year you are considered an applicant, even if you didn’t do your secondaries and follow through on the application process.
If you didn’t even submit, that’s different.

 

[wysdoc]

How are your other stats/activities? If you have a strong application submitting in June should still be fine, but it would put you behind the first couple looks at applications.

You can also submit you app without your mcat score, they just won’t process it without the score

personally I think I would want a better score than to submit 2 weeks earlier. but I guess it depends on what range of mcat score you’re wanting to get in also. And if you’re in your range then I’d say go for it sooner

@mjmad I want to stress the bolded part (you can submit TMDSAS primary without an MCAT score)

but the second part of your statement is incorrect.
TMDSAS WILL process your primary without an MCAT score.
On your MCAT registry, release your scores to TMDSAS and the scores will be sent along to your schools as soon as the scores are available.

The individual schools will wait until your app is complete (primary + score) to read it, if that's what you meant.

 

[premedchances2021]

When adding my coursework, when classifying a science I took it is labeled as "Biomedical Microbial Diseases" which is microbiology. How would I classify this under course area? Would I select Bio lecture and lab or Other Science?

 

[wysdoc]

When adding my coursework, when classifying a science I took it is labeled as "Biomedical Microbial Diseases" which is microbiology. How would I classify this under course area? Would I select Bio lecture and lab or Other Science?

That sounds like Biology to me!

Classifying Coursework
TMDSAS has a nice list on their web page to help you out:
TMDSAS Coursework Definitions

You can even look up specific course numbers by university to see what category it qualifies for here: Course listings BY UNIVERSITY

And if you misclassify something, they'll fix that for you during verification. Don't stress, use your best judgement after referring to the lists!

 

[mjmad]

@mjmad I want to stress the bolded part (you can submit TMDSAS primary without an MCAT score)

but the second part of your statement is incorrect.
TMDSAS WILL process your primary without an MCAT score.
On your MCAT registry, release your scores to TMDSAS and the scores will be sent along to your schools as soon as the scores are available.

The individual schools will wait until your app is complete (primary + score) to read it, if that's what you meant.

That’s what I meant, that the schools won’t process your app until the mcat score is in.

but it’s also the same for the Casper test, that the schools won’t process your app without, so id rather Casper first bc it takes about 3 weeks for them to submit the score to the schools you’re applying to. It doesn’t require a lot of studying so you can set aside 3 hours on a Saturday and finish it and already have it behind you. I’d take it ASAP if you’re not swamped with other stuff @Blackpink_Lisa

 

[overnightoats4ever]

That’s what I meant, that the schools won’t process your app until the mcat score is in.

but it’s also the same for the Casper test, that the schools won’t process your app without, so id rather Casper first bc it takes about 3 weeks for them to submit the score to the schools you’re applying to. It doesn’t require a lot of studying so you can set aside 3 hours on a Saturday and finish it and already have it behind you. I’d take it ASAP if you’re not swamped with other stuff @Blackpink_Lisa

I'm confused, I thought that CASPer was only required by interview date for some schools? I believe most Texas schools look at it later in the cycle.

 

[wysdoc]

I'm confused, I thought that CASPer was only required by interview date for some schools? I believe most Texas schools look at it later in the cycle.

Look, if some schools want it before they decide on you for an interview and some don't, you have to cover your bases and take it kinda early.
You only take it once.

 

[MD-PhD-NonTrad]

To what extent does TMDSAS communicate with AAMC beyond MSAR? Is TMDSAS just the application system and the schools still fall under AAMC for statistics and such? And is there any communication between them and AMCAS?

 

[wysdoc]

To what extent does TMDSAS communicate with AAMC beyond MSAR? Is TMDSAS just the application system and the schools still fall under AAMC for statistics and such? And is there any communication between them and AMCAS?

They don't chit-chat. Late in the season AMCAS schools might see where you plan to enroll or commit to enroll at a TMDSAS school.

 

[KnightDoc]

To what extent does TMDSAS communicate with AAMC beyond MSAR? Is TMDSAS just the application system and the schools still fall under AAMC for statistics and such? And is there any communication between them and AMCAS?

This:

Please note, only applicants with an AMCAS application will be able to use the Choose Your Medical School tool. Applicants who have applications in both AMCAS and TMDSAS will be able to select TMDSAS schools when using the Choose Your Medical School tool.

Even though they are totally separate application systems, TMDSAS schools apparently load their admission decisions into AMCAS' CYMS system, which allows you to select a TX school as PTE/CTE, and allows any TX school that has accepted or WL you to see if you have selected any other AAMC school as PTE/CTE after 4/30. That's the exact same information, on the same timeline, that all non-TMDSAS schools have about you, assuming you used AMCAS to apply to at least one school. Otherwise, AMCAS and CYMS are irrelevant to you.

 

[Dadhat99]

Is anyone taking the MCAT on June 18th (I currently have a June 4th seat)? Or know if it would take me out of the advantages of applying early? I have 6 finals to take while trying to study for the MCAT, and it's really killing me rn . I'm not worried about getting the primary and Casper done in time (plan to submit late May)... it's the score release on July 20th that worries me. I heard that most schools will start asking for secondaries the day or few days after the primary is transmitted, but in this case, they would have to wait for my MCAT score on the 20th before sending those out. I definitely have enough time to prewrite them so I can most likely submit them a day or two after med schools ask for them.

If it does take me out of the advantages of being early, I think I'll just suck it up and take it June 4th. But if not, I honestly believe I would do better without having to worry about school.
**also, sorry for the midnight rant...just super stressed**

I took the MCAT on the same day last year, after having it canceled 3x due to COVID. My scores were released on July 7th (due to COVID early release date), but I got accepted this cycle and had 4 IIs in TX and 2 OOS with a 3.9 GPA and 509 MCAT. I am not sure if being a bit later in submitting my app hurt too much but I definitely think it would have been beneficial to apply earlier. So all-in-all, I would say go for it, the process is wild and you never know what to expect from med schools

 

[LemonFinagler]

For activities that go through the Oct 2021 cutoff for current vs. planned activities, is it bad to copy and past the descriptions? For example, I have an activity that I'm starting now in May 2021 and will continue through May 2022. Should I list it in both current and planned activities and just copy and paste the description?

 

[wysdoc]

For activities that go through the Oct 2021 cutoff for current vs. planned activities, is it bad to copy and past the descriptions? For example, I have an activity that I'm starting now in May 2021 and will continue through May 2022. Should I list it in both current and planned activities and just copy and paste the description?

You can keep it the same or even make it briefer for the continuing portion.

 

[Malenkaya]

Hello @wysdoc

I know you mentioned not double-dipping activities but what about with Honors/Awards? I have a couple of activities where I received a scholarship to attend a certain extracurricular, would I mention this twice by listing the extracurricular and also listing it under honors where I was selected for the award? Or what about organization like honor societies where it is recognized as an honor to be chosen for the society, would I list this in awards and again under extracurriculars by being a part of the society?

 

[wysdoc]

Hello @wysdoc

I know you mentioned not double-dipping activities but what about with Honors/Awards? I have a couple of activities where I received a scholarship to attend a certain extracurricular, would I mention this twice by listing the extracurricular and also listing it under honors where I was selected for the award? Or what about organization like honor societies where it is recognized as an honor to be chosen for the society, would I list this in awards and again under extracurriculars by being a part of the society?

I would say to list just the honor societies/awards but not the "scholarship to attend an extracurricular" as honors.
If you spent hours in your honor society doing volunteer work you could list those under the specific thing you did (campus cleanup, food collection for food bank, big brother/big sister, etc)

 

[Malenkaya]

I would say to list just the honor societies/awards but not the "scholarship to attend an extracurricular" as honors.
If you spent hours in your honor society doing volunteer work you could list those under the specific thing you did (campus cleanup, food collection for food bank, big brother/big sister, etc)

Also should I include healthcare certifications like I completed a medical assisting program (clinical experience) should I include the certifications I earned (phlebotomy/EKG) under awards?

 

[wysdoc]

Also should I include healthcare certifications like I completed a medical assisting program (clinical experience) should I include the certifications I earned (phlebotomy/EKG) under awards?

Those sound like healthcare activities, mention the certificate in the description.

 

[classydolphin]

Hi @wysdoc
I have seen a lot of people recommend we write the ECs and such with a show don't tell mentality. Does this carry with TMDSAS's EC descriptions, or can we write a nice job description? It's hard to make the descriptions informative of what the EC or position entails while also showing in 300 characters or less.

 

[wysdoc]

Hi @wysdoc
I have seen a lot of people recommend we write the ECs and such with a show don't tell mentality. Does this carry with TMDSAS's EC descriptions, or can we write a nice job description? It's hard to make the descriptions informative of what the EC or position entails while also showing in 300 characters or less.

Your choice of words, active voice rather than passive, and making each word count can give life to your descriptions.
TMDSAS gives you 300 characters which seems short compared to AMCAS 700 characters.
On the other hand TMDSAS gives you 2 extra essay spaces to talk more, while AMCAS has just the personal statement.

 

[premedchances2021]

If an organization I was in had a multiple different volunteer opportunities (i.e. clothing drive, food bank) that I was involved in heavily. Could I separate those activities to be by themselves or is that double dipping?