TEXAS Med Schools Entering Class *2005* Applicant Thread part 01

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TMDSAS stinks!! I have just called all of the schools and my LOR are still missing. I called TMDSAS to see if they could send them again since it would be very easy to leave them out with the large volume of paperwork that they are constantly dealing with. What did they say, you ask...."No." Most schools won't consider applicants for interviews without them unless you have stellar stats, which btw, I don't have. So they say it is my responsibility to contact each of the schools and tell them they have to request my LOR to be re-sent themselves and that I can't do it! They stink and I tried to be super nice to them!

On another note, when I was talking to San Antonio about it they said they did give me an interview on 9/20 anyway....so I will see you there EvoDevo and anybody else scheduled for that date! Yay!

Sorry about the ranting and raving above...the SA interview makes up for it though!
 
Congrats on the interview, Jess!!! Can't wait to see you there. 🙂

As for the LORs, just tell the schools what happened and ask if you can have your writers/pre-med office send a copy straight to them. I think it might be viable. Whaddya think?
 
SFAJess said:
I'm especially worried about this part of the app....how many interviews did you have last year and where did you have them? Do you think it was b/c of the interview you didn't get in? Thanks for your input.

Once again, it was my pre-med advisor who said "they only want to make sure you're not an axe-murderer"....however, I know to take it more seriously than that.

I had 3 interviews last year at Tech, UTMB, and UTH.

I couldn't get a straight answer from any of the schools as to why I didn't get it. The best I can come up with is: 1) I only had 2 LOR (this year I have 4), 2) I was weak in clinical exposure (this year I show at least am trying), 3) I think I gave lame answers to some of the interview questions that made me look reeeeallly dumb, probably b/c I felt like a "deer in the headlights." 😱

I love it how many premed advisors don't know what they're talking about, don't you? Oh well, they try, I guess.
 
Woohoo! Processed by AMCAS today (took 3 wks). Only applied to Baylor though.

Now for TMDSAS, I'd BETTER get processed next week or there will be hell to pay! 😡
 
No, they don't. And the UT Austin office is the worst: Fock you!! 😀

BTW, I'm mailing my acceptance letter to them with a big middle finger stapled to it. :meanie:
 
EvoDevo said:
No, they don't. And the UT Austin office is the worst: Fock you!! 😀

BTW, I'm mailing my acceptance letter to them with a big middle finger stapled to it. :meanie:
What's so bad about the UT Austin...getting them to finish your LOR's?
 
The advisers at UT Austin HPO are rude, tell you wrong info. 👎 One of the student workers told me they'd write a committee letter if I had 2 letters, because TMDSAS requires only 2 letters. What happened 6 mos later when I was trying to apply? Oh, you have to have 3 letters!!!! 😡 And one lady told me I couldn't handle taking 16 hours, and what happened?? I made a 4.0 that semester, beeeotch! 😡 Thanks for the good faith. But I haven't had a problem with them sending my LORs promptly. 👍
 
SFAJess said:
What's so bad about the UT Austin...getting them to finish your LOR's?
No. Back in the day (~1997), they told me, with 1 C on my transcript that I'd NEVER be a doctor. Best just to forget. Plus, I was a serious non-trad and they couldn't give me any advice that was useful to me. None.

👎
 
UTKB said:
The advisers at UT Austin HPO are rude, tell you wrong info. 👎 One of the student workers told me they'd write a committee letter if I had 2 letters, because TMDSAS requires only 2 letters. What happened 6 mos later when I was trying to apply? Oh, you have to have 3 letters!!!! 😡 And one lady told me I couldn't handle taking 16 hours, and what happened?? I made a 4.0 that semester, beeeotch! 😡 Thanks for the good faith. But I haven't had a problem with them sending my LORs promptly. 👍
Heh. How do you know when the UT Austin pre-med office is wrong or lying?

Their lips are moving. :meanie:
 
::Seabass:: said:
pssst! I'm the only girl with gills!

😀

It was very nice to meet you today!!! Sorry I didn't go on the heart tour!!

I had a great time at UT Houston and love the school!

-tx
 
*Sigh* ....For those of you who went on the THI tour today, I wish I could've been there, except I was less than 50feet away in the lab at SLEH checking my status page.....*Sigh*

Now I remember how I felt last cycle when tours were going on and I wasn't a participant/interviewee
 
txguy said:
It was very nice to meet you today!!! Sorry I didn't go on the heart tour!!

I had a great time at UT Houston and love the school!

-tx
Tell us more! 🙂 How did you do? I'll be there next Friday...I'm excited and anxious and nervous all in one.
 
It was great! It starts at 7:45am and Dr. Gunn gives an inspiring speech that pumps you up for the rest of the day. Your interviews happen at different times, so you have to pick and choose which tours to go on--I recommend going on the MD Anderson and Herman Memorial Tours. Don't listen to the interview feedback that says you'll eat chicken friend steak--we had some chicken, mashed potatoes, and veggies. My first interview was very laid back and my second one was as well. Good luck on the interview everyone! PM me any questions about UT Houston interview day.

I also got to meet AggieGal (very briefly) and Asiandoc816 (at the night before social), so that was fun!

Have a great wkend guys--I'm going to be chillin in houston... 👍

-tx
 
Munchkin6245 said:
*Sigh* ....For those of you who went on the THI tour today, I wish I could've been there, except I was less than 50feet away in the lab at SLEH checking my status page.....*Sigh*

Now I remember how I felt last cycle when tours were going on and I wasn't a participant/interviewee
Sorry, hon. 🙁 Do you mean your TMDSAS status page?
 
txguy said:
It was great! It starts at 7:45am and Dr. Gunn gives an inspiring speech that pumps you up for the rest of the day. Your interviews happen at different times, so you have to pick and choose which tours to go on--I recommend going on the MD Anderson and Herman Memorial Tours. Don't listen to the interview feedback that says you'll eat chicken friend steak--we had some chicken, mashed potatoes, and veggies. My first interview was very laid back and my second one was as well. Good luck on the interview everyone! PM me any questions about UT Houston interview day.

I also got to meet AggieGal (very briefly) and Asiandoc816 (at the night before social), so that was fun!

Have a great wkend guys--I'm going to be chillin in houston... 👍

-tx
I thought Dr. Gunn was annoying and boring.

It's hit and miss on the interviewers, but my second one, Dr. Entrera, was awesome. He was fun to talk to and since my interviews conflicted with all the hospital tours (nice planning UTH), he found a fourth year (who knew a lot more about what was going on than the 1st and 2nd years) to show me around Hermann.

Overall, I thought Hermann Hospital was awesome and I think the clinical training there is top-notch. I just wish they'd not make their interview day so hellish.

Also, the food has been changing, not everyone has gotten the same thing.
 
SFAJess said:
What's so bad about the UT Austin...getting them to finish your LOR's?
For the most part, their opinion of you is meaningless, so I'm not why anyone would get worked up about that. The only thing they need to really do is gather your letters together and send them out promptly, which they do a fantastic job of.
 
IndyZX said:
For the most part, their opinion of you is meaningless, so I'm not why anyone would get worked up about that. The only thing they need to really do is gather your letters together and send them out promptly, which they do a fantastic job of.
Is this true? What if they didn't like you and you needed the committee eval?
 
EvoDevo said:
Is this true? What if they didn't like you and you needed the committee eval?
They don't write a true committee evaluation. All they do is gather in your letters from professors and send them out. So, they don't compose a committee letter; in fact, they say that all your letter writers act as sort of an ad-hoc committee.
 
Thanks for the interview info, indyzx! Did y'all attend the social? If so, how was it? Was everybody pretty friendly? I'm a little nervous about going by myself.
 
Also interviewed at UTH today. Both interviews went well, though my second interviewer was REALLy weird. We talked about psychics and I listened as he bashed osteopathic medicine (I mentioned how I had interviewed at TCOM in early August). Anyway, I really enjoyed the MD Anderson tour, and must say that the lunch was pretty good. I also must agree that Dr. Gunn almost put me to sleep this morning at 7:45 AM. Overall, I enjoyed the school, and can see how it will be VERY tough to rank the Texas schools in January.

Oh what a long day....back to Austin tomorrow.
 
AsianDoc816 said:
Also interviewed at UTH today. Both interviews went well, though my second interviewer was REALLy weird. We talked about psychics and I listened as he bashed osteopathic medicine (I mentioned how I had interviewed at TCOM in early August). Anyway, I really enjoyed the MD Anderson tour, and must say that the lunch was pretty good. I also must agree that Dr. Gunn almost put me to sleep this morning at 7:45 AM. Overall, I enjoyed the school, and can see how it will be VERY tough to rank the Texas schools in January.

Oh what a long day....back to Austin tomorrow.
from your previous posts, ive gathered that youre female, asian, and on the short side. if you have blonde hair, then i think i saw you.

i was the indian guy with the tie that was too long.
 
I was the guy that was invisible and kind of "not there" b/c TMDSAS still holding my app and I don't know why... this sucks. 👎
 
Piece of advice. I would watch what I say on this board. I had TWO interviewers mention that they had seen me on SDN. It's not hard to pick most people out from this board when most of you have posted stats and what day you interviewed. You can either say I am lying or be a little cautious.
 
shawred said:
Piece of advice. I would watch what I say on this board. I had TWO interviewers mention that they had seen me on SDN. It's not hard to pick most people out from this board when most of you have posted stats and what day you interviewed. You can either say I am lying or be a little cautious.
Yikes! 😱 Had you posted anything that you were ashamed of? Even if we haven't posted anything to be ashamed of, it just kind of makes you nervous. How did you react when they identified you?
 
SFAJess said:
Yikes! 😱 Had you posted anything that you were ashamed of? Even if we haven't posted anything to be ashamed of, it just kind of makes you nervous. How did you react when they identified you?


I don't think I had said anything too bad. But it was an eye opening experience the first time it happened. I just laughed when he said it.
 
I am just about ready to submit, only thing left is "special expereices" section. This is optional. Did anyone fill this blank? If so, what kind of stuff should I include?

Thanks peeps!
 
hey guys, just wanted to post a few thoughts about UH. I REALLY liked this school, the living in Houston part kinda stinks but I think it could be worked out. My first interview was kind of short (like 20 min) and I thought for sure that was a bad sign. My second interview lasted for about an hour and 15 minutes! She was so awesome and helpful and I really felt good leaving yesterday. I would definetly be happy here- the hospitals were great! I saw txguy (really short and in passing) and I saw AsianDoc, but I didn't get the chance to talk to her. AsianDoc I think we were in Galveston together on 8/20. If so then I sat at your table during the morning orientation. Well that's it for now...feel free to PM for more info. Hope you all have a great weekend!
 
Indy--yes, I have blonde highlights. You got me, but I'm still not sure who you are....were you at the night before?

AggieGal--I think I saw you too at both UTMB and UTH.

Anyway, that's kinda scary about the interviewers checking SDN. I'll be more careful about what I post. Overall, however, I haven't had much to say that was negative. I've liked ALL of the schools I've been to so far, and haven't had a bad interview yet....knock on wood. I think it's gonna be really neat to see where everyone ends up--hopefully we will all get in =)

Okie guys, you all have a WONDERFUL Saturday. Gotta drive back to Austin today....
 
AggieGal said:
hey guys, just wanted to post a few thoughts about UH. I REALLY liked this school, the living in Houston part kinda stinks but I think it could be worked out. My first interview was kind of short (like 20 min) and I thought for sure that was a bad sign. My second interview lasted for about an hour and 15 minutes! She was so awesome and helpful and I really felt good leaving yesterday. I would definetly be happy here- the hospitals were great! I saw txguy (really short and in passing) and I saw AsianDoc, but I didn't get the chance to talk to her. AsianDoc I think we were in Galveston together on 8/20. If so then I sat at your table during the morning orientation. Well that's it for now...feel free to PM for more info. Hope you all have a great weekend!

Just to clarify, I'm not actually "really short" in height, she just saw me for a short period of time 🙂

Have a great wkend guys...

-tx
 
txguy said:
Just to clarify, I'm not actually "really short" in height, she just saw me for a short period of time 🙂

Have a great wkend guys...

-tx
LOL...sounds like you're a little paranoid. Are you just kinda short? Just kidding! 😀
 
SFAJess said:
LOL...sounds like you're a little paranoid. Are you just kinda short? Just kidding! 😀

5' 7" not short not tall

-tx
 
Yay!! Finally got internet set up in my apt...once again, I can be obsessively compulsive about checking my email and stalking the pages of SDN!

Anyway, all that talk yesterday about getting interviews but not getting in has really got me worried. I mean, what are the chances that you interview at most, if not all, the schools and get rejected? Maybe some of you with more experience can shed light on this. And if it is true that a lot if it depends on your interviews (which seems to be the case from what I've been told about UTH and others have said about Tech), then a bad interview/interviewer can really screw with your chances, can't it?
 
GutsyGal said:
Yay!! Finally got internet set up in my apt...once again, I can be obsessively compulsive about checking my email and stalking the pages of SDN!
Cool_653.gif


Anyway, all that talk yesterday about getting interviews but not getting in has really got me worried. I mean, what are the chances that you interview at most, if not all, the schools and get rejected? Maybe some of you with more experience can shed light on this. And if it is true that a lot if it depends on your interviews (which seems to be the case from what I've been told about UTH and others have said about Tech), then a bad interview/interviewer can really screw with your chances, can't it?

I am worried about the same thing 🙁

Seeing all these re-applicants who had interviews last year scares me 😱

-tx
 
GutsyGal said:
Yay!! Finally got internet set up in my apt...once again, I can be obsessively compulsive about checking my email and stalking the pages of SDN!
Cool_653.gif


Anyway, all that talk yesterday about getting interviews but not getting in has really got me worried. I mean, what are the chances that you interview at most, if not all, the schools and get rejected? Maybe some of you with more experience can shed light on this. And if it is true that a lot if it depends on your interviews (which seems to be the case from what I've been told about UTH and others have said about Tech), then a bad interview/interviewer can really screw with your chances, can't it?


ok guys, here's the deal.......you are all going to med school next year, okay? so take a deep breath. trust me, i know how it feels, but this is just AUGUST.........do you know how far away feb. 1 is? you guys are almost done interviewing and some people haven't even applied yet...........you're golden. don't let all this talk about interviews freak you out. if you get an interview, it is your spot to lose. the school is saying, "we want you. you are qualified to come here." they just want to see if your personality fits what they are looking for. as for the number of interviews, somebody at san antonio told me last year that the percentages of acceptance are very high with 3 interviews. and a lot of you guys have like 6 or 7 already! i only had 3 and things worked out great for me. that's not to say if you have less than three you have no shot. i have a friend who had one interview and he got in, b/c he was relaxed, composed, and himself. the interviewer even said he should be a used car salesman b/c he sold himself so well (at the time, he didn't know what to make of that comment :laugh: ). i also knew a guy who got 7 interviews and didn't get in anywhere, and that was no suprise at all b/c this guy was one of the biggest tools i have ever met, extremely arrogant. none of you guys seem like that at all. besides that guy, everyone else i have ever known with 3 or more interviews has gotten in. interviews are stressful, and the interviewers know that. they know you are going to be nervous. just don't sound like you are feeding them programmed answers. i got into the school where i thought i had my worst interview, so don't rank schools based on how well you think your interview went. oh yeah, and if it is at all reassuring, almost everyone from this thread last year got in. so best of luck, but i'm sure you won't need it. feel free to pm me if you have any questions about san antonio. now i better go study, or i'll be interviewing for nursing school next semester! only HALF A YEAR until you guys find out! hehe. :luck: :luck: :luck:
 
You would think that if you get lots of interviews in Texas you'd be sure to get in somewhere. Yes that's true statistically, but each person is a separate case.

I wouldn't get too worked up about interviews, because then you'll just be nervous when you're talking to the interviewers and you might say stupid stuff like I did. But it does help to prepare by thinking of answers to questions that people post on the interview feedback.

A lot of this process really depends on your luck. There are so many qualified applicants for med school and the schools want to pick people who they think will make the best doctors for Texas. When they have 2000 applications to sort through, it's hard to be really fair when evaluating subjective qualifications like ECs and LORs.

If it doesn't work out for anyone this year, just keep in mind that the application process is itself a big weedout thingy and making it this far is really remarkable and impressive. Don't give up on yourself and try again if it's really what you want to do. There is always a way! 🙂
 
Ghost said:
ok guys, here's the deal.......you are all going to med school next year, okay? so take a deep breath. trust me, i know how it feels, but this is just AUGUST.........do you know how far away feb. 1 is? you guys are almost done interviewing and some people haven't even applied yet...........you're golden. don't let all this talk about interviews freak you out. if you get an interview, it is your spot to lose. the school is saying, "we want you. you are qualified to come here." they just want to see if your personality fits what they are looking for. as for the number of interviews, somebody at san antonio told me last year that the percentages of acceptance are very high with 3 interviews. and a lot of you guys have like 6 or 7 already! i only had 3 and things worked out great for me. that's not to say if you have less than three you have no shot. i have a friend who had one interview and he got in, b/c he was relaxed, composed, and himself.
Thanks for the luck and the info! We will probably need constant reality checks over the next 5 months. :clap:
 
Ghost said:
ok guys, here's the deal.......you are all going to med school next year, okay? so take a deep breath. trust me, i know how it feels, but this is just AUGUST.........do you know how far away feb. 1 is? you guys are almost done interviewing and some people haven't even applied yet...........you're golden. don't let all this talk about interviews freak you out. if you get an interview, it is your spot to lose. the school is saying, "we want you. you are qualified to come here." they just want to see if your personality fits what they are looking for. as for the number of interviews, somebody at san antonio told me last year that the percentages of acceptance are very high with 3 interviews. and a lot of you guys have like 6 or 7 already! i only had 3 and things worked out great for me. that's not to say if you have less than three you have no shot. i have a friend who had one interview and he got in, b/c he was relaxed, composed, and himself. the interviewer even said he should be a used car salesman b/c he sold himself so well (at the time, he didn't know what to make of that comment :laugh: ). i also knew a guy who got 7 interviews and didn't get in anywhere, and that was no suprise at all b/c this guy was one of the biggest tools i have ever met, extremely arrogant. none of you guys seem like that at all. besides that guy, everyone else i have ever known with 3 or more interviews has gotten in. interviews are stressful, and the interviewers know that. they know you are going to be nervous. just don't sound like you are feeding them programmed answers. i got into the school where i thought i had my worst interview, so don't rank schools based on how well you think your interview went. oh yeah, and if it is at all reassuring, almost everyone from this thread last year got in. so best of luck, but i'm sure you won't need it. feel free to pm me if you have any questions about san antonio. now i better go study, or i'll be interviewing for nursing school next semester! only HALF A YEAR until you guys find out! hehe. :luck: :luck: :luck:

Thank you Ghost!! I feel much better!

Even though its raining in Houston, I'm going to venture outside now!

Cya,

-tx
 
I dont know if you want me to say your name but i think we had ochem lab and ani. phys together. anyway good luck with your interviews hope you get your first choice, if you are who i think you are see around campus
 
sorry about the unclear short remark..txguy is not short, he is of average height. Ghost-thanks for the helpful post, we definetly all need a reality check. Well guys, I am having a pretty terrible night so I think I am going to go to sleep, wake up tomorrow and pray it was all a bad dream. Good night everyone and good luck to all of you with interviews next week.
 
AggieGal said:
sorry about the unclear short remark..txguy is not short, he is of average height. Ghost-thanks for the helpful post, we definetly all need a reality check. Well guys, I am having a pretty terrible night so I think I am going to go to sleep, wake up tomorrow and pray it was all a bad dream. Good night everyone and good luck to all of you with interviews next week.
Hope everythings alright and I hope you have a better day tomorrow! 🙂
 
AggieGal said:
sorry about the unclear short remark..txguy is not short, he is of average height. Ghost-thanks for the helpful post, we definetly all need a reality check. Well guys, I am having a pretty terrible night so I think I am going to go to sleep, wake up tomorrow and pray it was all a bad dream. Good night everyone and good luck to all of you with interviews next week.

I hope everything is alright 🙂

back to dallas tomororow.....good luck for the people interviewing this week 🙂

-tx
 
Bump...and g'nite! 😴
 
Hello

I have checked information regarding Texas schools on MSAR. It seems for all Texas schools the earliest acceptance date is Feb. 1. Can I assume all Texas schools are non-rolling?

I am an out of stater, and have recently decided to apply for Texas schools. Since I am kinda late to file an application through University of Texas system, I really would like to know whether those schools are non-rolling or not.

Thanks. 🙂
 
Highspirits said:
Hello

I have checked information regarding Texas schools on MSAR. It seems for all Texas schools the earliest acceptance date is Feb. 1. Can I assume all Texas schools are non-rolling?

I am an out of stater, and have recently decided to apply for Texas schools. Since I am kinda late to file an application through University of Texas system, I really would like to know whether those schools are non-rolling or not.

Thanks. 🙂

They aren't rolling admission. I'd get your application in ASAP b/c inteview spots fill up quickly and its going to be harder for them to grant you one since you are Out-of-state...that is unless you have really good stats. Good luck!
 
Highspirits said:
Hello

I have checked information regarding Texas schools on MSAR. It seems for all Texas schools the earliest acceptance date is Feb. 1. Can I assume all Texas schools are non-rolling?

I am an out of stater, and have recently decided to apply for Texas schools. Since I am kinda late to file an application through University of Texas system, I really would like to know whether those schools are non-rolling or not.

Thanks. 🙂

Given that the Texas schools only accept about 5% of out-of-staters at any one school (besides Baylor, which is more like 15-20%), I'd say you need to get your app. in ASAP (like, by the middle of September). Most of the people on this thread have already received the majority of their interviews--if you read through the thread, it takes about 4 weeks to get processed by TMDSAS and anywhere from 1-3 weeks to receive interview invites. The Texas schools only interview until the first week of January, with the match date on February 1. Even if you have excellent stats, I'd say that your best bet would be Baylor because they accept more out-of-staters. They also interview until February (maybe March?) and are under the AMCAS application system. Anyway, good luck to you, and welcome to the Texas thread!
 
Thanks for the replies.

I have one more question. Is there such a thing that if you are accepted to one Texas school, you will have to drop your applications to all others?

Thanks again.
 
Highspirits said:
Thanks for the replies.

I have one more question. Is there such a thing that if you are accepted to one Texas school, you will have drop your applications to all others?

Thanks again.

With the match system, you rank the TEXAS schools (except Baylor). If you get into your top-ranked school, you will not know of your acceptances to the other Texas schools. They are automatically withdrawn. If you don't get into you are waitlisted at your top-ranked school and get into a lower ranked school, you can wait for acceptance to the top-ranked school. Does that make sense?
 
So who all is going to be in Houston this Friday? 🙂
 
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