TEXAS Med Schools Entering Class 2004 Applicant Thread

Discover Your Odds of Getting into Medical School
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So, what's everyone doing for the holidays???

I'll be spending Christmas Eve & Day with my family and my in-laws. Day after Xmas we're driving to Ark where my parents are currently living. Day after that I'm flying with my daughter to Colorado to see my brother and his family for 5 days! My neice in CO is being treated for Leukemia and I just need to lay my eyes on her in person. She's a tough little curly, red-headed cookie!😍

I'll be back to AR for New Year's 🙄 not exactly a big party, but my parents will be happy. Besides, all these years of med school and residency coming up will seriously cramp my travel time. Then it's back to sweet Houston, TX! haha

Ya'll?

Theresa
 
Hey Theresa,

you have way more exciting plans than me, since you're actually leaving for a tangible destination 🙂 i'm with the fam and working most of this holiday...a ton of my friends are coming into town so i get to catch up w/everyone. in sadder news, one of my really good, older adult friends has recently been diagnosed w/ovarian cancer 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁 although she's doing *very* well ( 🙂 ) so i have to get the perfect present for her and spend some time w/her.

but other than that, i'm finding it nice to be with my family esp since once med school starts it's going to be rare that i get to spend so much time with them. my sis and i are pretty close and her 16th bday is coming up, so we're starting our annual shopping marathon (both of us are serious shopaholics.) and i'm trying to arrange a surprise party for her (which is *exhausting*).

btw, your niece sounds like quite a spirited, inspiring character...hope to have a chance to interact w/kids like her as a doctor... 😉 i wish her the best of luck in the treatment process - i'm sure she'll come out of it w/flying colors. 🙂

here's to a happy holiday for the tx peeps.... :clap:
 
Originally posted by vikvaz
anyone know if UT-Houston has already sent out invites for the January 7th interview? thanks. happy holidays!
Click to expand...
Anyone know if UTMB is finished interviewing? I had an AWESOME interview at TCOM on Friday by the way!
 
bumpin up my original question from a while back:

anyone know if UT-Houston has already sent out invites for the January 7th interview? thanks. happy holidays!
 
Originally posted by vikvaz
bumpin up my original question from a while back:

anyone know if UT-Houston has already sent out invites for the January 7th interview? thanks. happy holidays!
Click to expand...
I can't say for sure, but I would guess that they have already finished sending out invites with people out for Christmas this week and New Years next week. They usually try to send out their invites 1 month prior.
 
Merry Christmas fellow Texans!!! 😀

I hope the holiday finds you in good health and surrounded by the ones you love.

Theresa
 
Originally posted by TheresaW
Merry Christmas fellow Texans!!! 😀

I hope the holiday finds you in good health and surrounded by the ones you love.

Theresa
Click to expand...

Merry Xmas everyone and a happy new year! :clap:
 
Merry Xmas all...

I woke up at 12:00 p.m. today...first time in a couple of years! 😱

hope everyone enjoys this day of doing nothing as much as i will. 😀
 
Here's to hoping all my Texas peeps have a Christmas thats off da hizzle fo shizzle my Texas nizzles:

Merry Christmas! :hardy:
 
Well I didn't get what I asked Santa for... an interview. Now I have an entire year to be depressed and play the role of "loser." I hate to beat myself up over this but I suppose I deserve it. I have no idea what to do now. Congrats to all who received interviews and good luck on match day... I missed the boat. 🙁
 
Hi Sparkles:

I'm so sorry to hear that! 🙁 It's not what you'd call a good Christmas gift...

First off, you are NOT a loser. Please get that out of your head. And you're not allowed to
banghead.gif
yourself up, either. 🙂

Second, if I remember you correctly, you applied at like the last minute...so there's one possible reason for your lack on invites.

Thirdly, what do you do? You pick yourself up, knock the dust off, and get ready to turn in the most amazing application EVER next July...

Evo
 
Originally posted by Sparkles
Well I didn't get what I asked Santa for... an interview. Now I have an entire year to be depressed and play the role of "loser." I hate to beat myself up over this but I suppose I deserve it. I have no idea what to do now. Congrats to all who received interviews and good luck on match day... I missed the boat. 🙁
Click to expand...

I'm so sorry to hear that, Sparkles. Next year you will be one of the first to turn in your application!😉 In the meantime, have a hot cocoa and after New Year's, start planning how to improve your app. Many people apply more than once. You can do it!

Theresa
 
TMDSAS appl. submitted: mid May (applied to seven schools, including Baylor)
Secondaries: June - early July
Interviews: TCOM (8/03),UTHSCA (8/03), UTMB (9/5/03), Southwestern (10/4/03), Tech (11/5/03)

I can't wait until Feb 1st!!!!....the agony of waiting.
 
Hey Sparkles,

I'm with Theresa and Evo -- there are a ton of people who reapply, especially people who got their aps in a little late. Have a really nice holiday, and get ready for next year -- you'll be great!

Good luck, sweetie.
 
Sparkles,

I know it must be crushingly disappointing right now but it's definitely not over!! you are probably a very strong candidate and a victim of submitting late.. 🙁 but most probably, this year will turn out to be a blessing in disguise. 🙂 now that you've already gotten your app more or less together and know what's involved, you'll be a near-expert next year and will submit it pretty much the 1st week the app is able to be submitted. also, maybe in the year to follow you can supplement your app by doing some research or shadowing/volunteering.

best of luck! let us know if you need any support/help/advice.

🙂
 
Originally posted by Sparkles
Well I didn't get what I asked Santa for... an interview. Now I have an entire year to be depressed and play the role of "loser." I hate to beat myself up over this but I suppose I deserve it. I have no idea what to do now. Congrats to all who received interviews and good luck on match day... I missed the boat. 🙁
Click to expand...
I am sorry to hear about your disappointment and I know it hurts!!! However, I agree with Spumoni that this will probably end up being a blessing in disguise. From my personal story I thank God that I did NOT start medical school this year. I was waitlisted and did not get the call I was desperatly waiting for at the time. But I believe that God has a way of working everything out and that HIS timing is perfect!
When I look back over the year and the work it took in retaking the mcat and doing the applications it was so much easier than had I been in school. I was married one year ago and my wife and I were dealing with all sort of difficult things during this time. She lost her job, I lost my job and had to get a job at WALMART, she went to grad school, we bought a house then moved in with my sister for five months while the house was finished and on and on the list goes! I KNOW that there is noway I would have been able to handle all of that stuff had I been in school...NO WAY!!!
It all works out in the end and be patient with yourself and especially the admissions process. Some doctors have told me that the most difficult part is just getting in. Maybe there is some truth to this.
Have a Happy New Year and don't let anyone take away your dreams!!! RC
 
hey teresa,
is this the same teresa i met at the TCOM (8/7/03) and the San Antonio (8/25/03) interviews. How are things going? Good luck on match day!
nikki😀
 
🙂 Thank you guys so much for all the support. I really appreciate your kind words of encouragement. I'm planning on retaking the MCAT in April and go on from there. I'll keep everyone posted if anything happens. Does anyone have any further suggestions on what to do in my year off? Thanks a bunch!
-Sparkles
 
I think that working on your MCAT score is the most important part of the process in getting an interview. Unless it is already a 27+. If you have a verbal >8 I would improve this part of the test which is said to be a large determining factor and more important than the bio and phys sections. Other than that, continue to shadow and do whatever it takes over the next six months to make sure you get awesome letters of recommendation from someone in the medical field or a upper division science teacher. Just some thoughts. RC
 
hey sparkles,
see if there is anything new and improved that you can add to your personal statement for the next go round. make sure you apply extra early (in May) if you didn't do so last time. did you do okay on your MCAT? I took the MCAT twice. Before, the second one I took Princeton Review. It was expensive ( esp. since i paid for it myself), but it forced me to study. I didn't get the score i wanted but i improved my score by 3 points. I think this improvement, along with adding new volunteer and research experiences in my personal statement,and of course applying in May (the first time I applied in early Sept.) really helped in getting interviews. I hope this helps. Good luck!
nikki😀
 
Sparkles-

A definate improvement on MCAT is a big thing. However, there are people who have great MCAT scores who can't get in. You have to look at your application in detail and figure out where you can improve. (personal statements are a big thing as well and one of the weakest areas of most applicants)

Also, call the medical school deans of admissions and ask them. I dont' know about the other Deans but Dr. J at san antonio is great.

If you want some feedback, I can offer some. I have done advising for a large number of my students.

PM me all your details and your personal statemtns and I will be happy to help, if you want it.


And I just got an email from one of my students who got into medical school this year and it was her 2nd go round... so dont' worry about it. You can do it.
 
Are all the schools really finished with sending out interview invites? There could be a possibility that their might be a few spots open up for those who turned down the interview invites, which is really only next week. Which schools have interviews then?

Sparkles, I would apply first thing next year, but also improve upon the weak parts of your application. Good luck to you. I know people with better stats than me, but with less interviews since they applied so much later. That could be the downfall. Good luck next year.
 
Happy New Year everyone!!!!

Remember as we count down tonight to 2004, that in one month, we will be counting down to Match Day!!!:clap: :clap: :clap:

Also, by the way, we will be counting down to a Patriots win in the superbowl.
 
Nikki! Hi, yeah, it's Theresa from TCOM and san Antonio. 😉 Looks like you got a bunch of interviews, that's awesome. 🙂 PM me and we'll catch up. I'm still out of town so I don't have email access and limited internet at the moment. I'll be back in Houston on Sat.

Happy New Year everyone!!! It's gonna be a good one! :clap:

Theresa
 
Okay guys!

I am kind of starting to worry a month too early. I know there have been some postings before, but exactly how does the match work. Some people said it really only mattered who you ranked 1st through 3rd. Is that true or wrong? Also... how many names do each school submit the the system to fill their spots. Thanks!!!
 
That's wrong. As I mentioned on another thread, I know several people who matched at schools that they ranked below third.

Essentially what happens is that you submit a list ranking the schools at which you interviewed. Each school also submits TWO lists -- one that includes accepted students, one that includes waitlisted students. The list of accepted students will, of course, be much larger than each school's anticipated class size; for example, to get a class of 200, a school might list 350 accepted students. I don't know what the actual ratio of accepted to matriculating students is expected to be, but the schools have been doing this for a while, so they've got the number thing pretty well down.

After you and the schools have submitted the lists, the match service takes YOUR list and starts at the top. If you are on the accepted list for your first choice, you are matched there. If not, they move on to your second choice, and so on.

If you are not matched at your first choice (or second or third or fourth or whatever) but are on their waitlist, you'll be notified of that as well as your match (i.e., the highest school on your list to which you were accepted).

Schools are never notified of your rankings -- they only find out about whether you matched there or not.


Hope that clears it up . . .
 
Originally posted by HollyJ
That's wrong. As I mentioned on another thread, I know several people who matched at schools that they ranked below third.

Essentially what happens is that you submit a list ranking the schools at which you interviewed. Each school also submits TWO lists -- one that includes accepted students, one that includes waitlisted students. The list of accepted students will, of course, be much larger than each school's anticipated class size; for example, to get a class of 200, a school might list 350 accepted students. I don't know what the actual ratio of accepted to matriculating students is expected to be, but the schools have been doing this for a while, so they've got the number thing pretty well down.

After you and the schools have submitted the lists, the match service takes YOUR list and starts at the top. If you are on the accepted list for your first choice, you are matched there. If not, they move on to your second choice, and so on.

If you are not matched at your first choice (or second or third or fourth or whatever) but are on their waitlist, you'll be notified of that as well as your match (i.e., the highest school on your list to which you were accepted).

Schools are never notified of your rankings -- they only find out about whether you matched there or not.


Hope that clears it up . . .
Click to expand...


Actually, the schools don't have a list of accepted vs waitlisted. What they do is submit a ranking of say 1-500. Then the computer system looks through a schools first 200 and finds out of all of those the ones that ranked them first. Then say if 100 ranked it first and 100 didn't, it goes to the next 100 and sees if those ranked it second (and din't match to their first). So essentially, the program works to the students best interests givning you your highest ranked match possible. Once you have 'matched' (then you are dropped from the list for all of the other schools that way you can't hold up places).

This is why the match is so mysterious. The waitlist is then generated *after* a school has filled all its spots. It then decides on a certain number of students to be waitlisted.
 
Originally posted by roja
Actually, the schools don't have a list of accepted vs waitlisted. What they do is submit a ranking of say 1-500. Then the computer system looks through a schools first 200 and finds out of all of those the ones that ranked them first. Then say if 100 ranked it first and 100 didn't, it goes to the next 100 and sees if those ranked it second (and din't match to their first). So essentially, the program works to the students best interests givning you your highest ranked match possible. Once you have 'matched' (then you are dropped from the list for all of the other schools that way you can't hold up places).

This is why the match is so mysterious. The waitlist is then generated *after* a school has filled all its spots. It then decides on a certain number of students to be waitlisted.
Click to expand...

That's how I thought that it worked, but an adcom member at Southwestern told me that it was a simple accepted/waitlisted/rejected system, which is why you are never penalized by the ranking.

I guess there's more mystery to it than we know. 🙂
 
Less than a month guys....bumpizzle
 
hey everyone,

this is the first time i've posted on this website, but i have to say, all the stuff that i've read off and on has been very helpful... thanx guyz... given that match day's less than a month away, i figure my anxiety is probably shared by a lot of yall as well...

what i was wondering is, a colleague of mine mentioned to me that if you interview at three or more schools, it is pretty much a lock that you will match someplace... is this true???

i interviewed at UT-SA, UTMB, UT-Swest, and TAMU, but since this is my second time applying (wasnt a Texas resident last year, parents juz moved back after ten years out of the great state), i am paranoid and apprehensive about everything....

i dont know how many second time applyers are out there, but right now i juz want to get in someplace, i dont even care where...
 
Well, I think that we can (probably) all agree that your chances of matching somewhere are better with four interviews than with one. On the other hand, it's never a lock. I do happen to know someone who interviewed at all eight of the Texas schools, and didn't nab an acceptance.

The good news is that (1) you probably did pretty well this time around, given that you already knew the ropes, and (2) there's less than a month left to wait and worry. 🙂

Also, and this is purely anecdotal, so take it with a grain of salt, but it seems like there are a lot of second time applicants around Texas, but not so many third time applicants (at least not without special circumstances).

Try not to spend too much of your time listening to rumors and trying to mathmatically calculate your odds of acceptance. It won't help and it will make you 100% more crazy. Do something fun.

Good luck! I hope that you have great news on February 1st.
 
Hey! You changed your avatar!!!


EvoDevo approves:👍 👍 👍
 
Originally posted by EvoDevo
Hey! You changed your avatar!!!


EvoDevo approves:👍 👍 👍
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Heh. Well, after our conversation at Star Pizza, I realized that I just couldn't have the same avatar as our favorite high school troll. Now it's my puppy, Jack, who is much, much cuter. 🙂
 
Wow, your puppy is really cute! 😍
 
HollyJ

Why do you think that person didn't get into anywhere. I would say they had the numbers at least and a good application to get interviews everywhere? I didn't think the system was that weird, but that is scary. Did they get in off a waitlist?
 
Thanks, Gleevec. I love my doggies. 😀

Giving, the person that I am thinking of didn't get in off the waitlist. He reapplied the next year, and he's now an MS1 at UTMB. I have no idea why he didn't get in. I guess it's just a testament to the craziness of the process. On the other hand, I know someone who only got one interview and got in.

Okay, now that I've raised your panic level about ten notches, don't worry. I'm sure that you will be absolutely fine. Only 27 days left to wait!
 
I am going to pretend blissful ignorance about the date. What match???? Huh? :meanie:
 

Okay, now that I've raised your panic level about ten notches, don't worry. I'm sure that you will be absolutely fine. Only 27 days left to wait! [/B]
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Yes, you did raise my panic level a bit, but I won't worry unless there is a blank on the website on 2/1.
 
I expect much posting on match day.
 
Originally posted by roja
I expect much posting on match day.
Click to expand...

Roja,

It was 80 degrees here last week and now it's 31 freaking degrees and my bones hurt!!! It is supposed to warm up to the 60's by the weekend though. I'm not used to seeing my breath when I walk outside.

Have you found any good breakfast tacos/Tex-Mex up yonder to comfort you?
 
Originally posted by roja
I expect much posting on match day.
Click to expand...

Ya what time on 2/1 will the post the results?
 
I called TMSDSAS yesterday and they told me that the match would be posted at midnight Feb 1 even though that is Sunday.
 
Just back from the dentist and lets say I have a lot of cavities. It must be all that coffee and Dr. Pepper from studying late into the night after brushing. I have also really been grinding my teeth. Man... I am not in medical school yet, and I am realizing if I want to keep my teeth for the next 60+ years, I am going to have to make some drastic changes. Good thing I am not pe-dent. I would not be a good example to my patients.
 
Originally posted by STAC
Roja,

It was 80 degrees here last week and now it's 31 freaking degrees and my bones hurt!!! It is supposed to warm up to the 60's by the weekend though. I'm not used to seeing my breath when I walk outside.

Have you found any good breakfast tacos/Tex-Mex up yonder to comfort you?
Click to expand...

Well, I have found one good place that does a number of good tex mex dishes. Their enchiladas verdes are quite good. However, it is pretty pricey (for what I am used too).

Sadly, I think breakfast tacos are a decidedly texas thing. Egg sandwhiches seem to be the thing here.

It as gotten very cold here as well and I am longing for the carribean. *sigh*

I suppose miami will have to do in febuary.
 
How funny!!! What are you talking about?!
 
Originally posted by STAC
How funny!!! What are you talking about?!
Click to expand...

Sorry Roja...that was intended for 2cents.

I think its cold everywhere in the US these days. Besides the mountain cedar is killing us down here right now.

Stay warm and stay in touch! RC
 
It is really cold here. I really don't eat much except for cereal or coffee for breakfast, but there is a place starting a chain called Rosa's Cafe and Tortilla Factory that you can find in West Texas, the Panhandle, and the Metroplex. It is the best thing, if you have never eaten there before.

Here is link to their locations.

http://rosascafe.net/locations.htm

Really good food for a really low price. However, I am ready for this cold weather to pass by because it makes me feel lazy being kept inside.
 
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