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

[true blue]

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I refuse to try and make sense out of the TMDSAS profile dates. Way too confusing and stress inducing for me. But I'll be there on Jan. 30 at 11:59p. 😕

Gosh this waiting SUCKS!!!!!!!!! 😱

 

[::Seabass::]

You already know this of course but WAY MORE Residents from UTH siphon through Anderson than from Baylor.

Many UTH med students do rotations at MD Anderson as part of their 3rd year surgery rotation and I also know general surgeons at UTH do surgical oncology rotations at MDA as part of their training. I think however 4th year rotations may be counted as electives if you do one at MDA.

In the end, I don't think it really matters that much unless maybe if you're a resident thinking about going into surgical oncology.

 

[USCTex]

Many UTH med students do rotations at MD Anderson as part of their 3rd year surgery rotation and I also know general surgeons at UTH do surgical oncology rotations at MDA as part of their training. I think however 4th year rotations may be counted as electives if you do one at MDA.

In the end, I don't think it really matters that much unless maybe if you're a resident thinking about going into surgical oncology.

Sorry to get so...hyped up 😳
I don't even go there...😕

Leinhart wins the Heisman AND Clemens agrees to arbitration with the Astors?! Too good to be true.

 

[::Seabass::]

I'm a much less qualified candidate than you so I was only at San Antonio and Houston but this troubles me very much about Houston as well. On the other hand their Honors, High Pass, Pass, etc. certainly give any program a good idea about your grades...I mean it's almost identical to an A,B,C, etc system.

2004 match list People match everywhere from Harard to BFE Podunk depending on personality and what they want to do.

Believe me, you'll just be focusing on hoping to get a HP or H, no ranking isn't going to hinder you. Its much harder than you think. And a 83 will be a B at one school but only a P at another.

Do well in clinicals, get good grades on rotations and classes (which could lead to AOA), a great Step 1, good recs and you'll be fine.

 

[::Seabass::]

Sorry to get so...hyped up 😳
I don't even go there...😕

not getting worked up 😛

just clarifying for those interested. I hear doing a month of surgery at MDA is grueling but amazing 3rd year. hope I get the opportunity. 😀

 

[MadameLULU]

Has anyone heard about UT Houston's board scores? A third year told me that 20 ppl failed Step 1 this year. 😱 a 90% pass rate doesn't seem that great. Does anyone know what UT-Houston is doing to prepare their students for the boards better?

 

[::Seabass::]

Has anyone heard about UT Houston's board scores? A third year told me that 20 ppl failed Step 1 this year. 😱 a 90% pass rate doesn't seem that great. Does anyone know what UT-Houston is doing to prepare their students for the boards better?

I think the number is about right from what I've heard, its quite the scandal.

This isn't a curriculum problem since it was a one time occurence. Things don't go suddenly very wrong with a consistent curriculum. A couple schools in TX had problems when they switched to PBL/organ based and it took them a couple years to get back on track. Our curriculum gets tweaked every year according to input but nothing major has occured any time recently. The MS1s have it sweet this year from stuff we got changed for them and they don't even know it. 😀

As for Step 1, it was a personal problem, that class has a couple tools in it and I bet I could pick out who didn't do well and at the same time who rocked the test. I feel like they're preparing me and several course directors (who would be the people who have final approval of what questions go onto our tests) used to or currently write questions for Step 1. My class consistently averages above national average on shelf tests (subject tests written by the NBME given as finals) by several points. The word on the street is the class behind us is doing even better than we did, those kids work their butts off.

As for the changes they have made for us this year, we now get out 2.5 wks earlier but they also added PBL (about 6hrs/week) back to our fourth and final block which they didn't have last year to give them more time to study. Personally I wish they hadn't added it back in, but thats life. I'm happy with getting out earlier.

 

[USCTex]

Has anyone heard about UT Houston's board scores? A third year told me that 20 ppl failed Step 1 this year. 😱 a 90% pass rate doesn't seem that great. Does anyone know what UT-Houston is doing to prepare their students for the boards better?

This is only a problem if you're a "tool"...as was stated...
I've heard it said from adcom members and totally believe that with the work level the same you can tell a persons MCAT from their SAT and their Step 1 from their MCAT...since the majority of people on SDN did fine on the MCAT...and I doubt many of them are lazy I don't think it will be a major prob.

 

[Jack_Adam]

UTHSC San Antonio sent out their last interview invites by regular mail this past Friday, for those of you who are wondering.

UTSW has completed their invitations for interview.

Tech may send out invites 10 days prior to their last interview date (January 7th, I believe).

UT-Houston is still inviting people for interviews.

A&M is still inviting.

UTMB sent out their last invites by regular mail on 11/23.

This was all the info I was told when I called the schools on 12/10/04. Hope it helps some of you out there! 🙂

 

[latinfridley]

Thanks! Why do you say they love Cubans? I am glad they do if that's true 🙂

I was kinda exagerating, but I do know several Cuban docs who graduated from Baylor.

 

[synapse lapse]

I was kinda exagerating, but I do know several Cuban docs who graduated from Baylor.

HaHa I hope I am one of those! Maybe you filled the Cuban quota already! 😡 Just kidding, since they are my top choice I am really really excited to interview there though.

 

[latinfridley]

HaHa I hope I am one of those! Maybe you filled the Cuban quota already! 😡 Just kidding, since they are my top choice I am really really excited to interview there though.

It's a pretty sweet place. Out of all the TX schools I interviewed at, Baylor had the best mix of people, academics, and facilities.

BTW - If anyone cares, I just did the TMDSAS applicant preference ranking (even though I'm purdy intent on Baylor):
1. UTH
2. Texas a&m
3. UTMB
4. T.Tech

It was a real toss up b/w UTH and Texas A&M. I really liked the people at A&M, but I really liked the facilities and opportunities at UTH. Anyone else stuck with the decision to rank UTH or A&M #1?

 

[eralza]

Does any1 know when the adcoms meet?

From what I gathered from interviews last week, different schools meet differently. The interviewers at Tech meet the same afternoon as the interview. UTHSCSA interviewers meet the Friday following the interviews.

 

[Brain]

Anyone else stuck with the decision to rank UTH or A&M #1?

Yes! I'm having a tough time choosing between UTH, UTMB and A&M. This may seem trival, but I have them ranked on the city I'd prefer to live in altough I think I would be equally happy in any of those programs.

 

[USCTex]

Yes! I'm having a tough time choosing between UTH, UTMB and A&M. This may seem trival, but I have them ranked on the city I'd prefer to live in altough I think I would be equally happy in any of those programs.

That's not trivial - you get that reason all the time.

Me: "So it came down to A and B; why B?"
MS1: "I just didn't want to spend 4 years of my life in A"

Seems legit to me.

 

[fotolilith]

This is only a problem if you're a "tool"...as was stated...
I've heard it said from adcom members and totally believe that with the work level the same you can tell a person's MCAT from their SAT and their Step 1 from their MCAT...since the majority of people on SDN did fine on the MCAT...and I doubt many of them are lazy I don't think it will be a major prob.

Yeah, there's a correlation between standardized tests scores, although I still find it funny that it's only about .3 regression (ie, 30% of the variation someone's Step 1 score can be explained by their MCAT score).

So a lot more of a med student's step 1 has to do with something OTHER than how they typically perform on standardized tests, such as their motivation/ time management (for study), and whether they are in the right place with the right curriculum for how they learn.

The director of the curriculum at UTMB pointed out that it's very likely that their scores have been going up in the last 2 years because students who learn best by their method (integrated curriculum/ pbl/ self-directed study) might be more drawn to the program. But then again, not EVERYONE who goes there blew the roof off the USMLEs, so the curriculum is not for every med student.

That's why it's VERY important to pick a school based on where YOU know you'll be happy/ successful (and not just where you think everyone else wants to go).

Say for instance someone does very well on their MCAT, but chooses the wrong med school and cannot get the preparation they need for their Step 1 - 70% of their Step 1 score depends on other values besides how well they did on their last standardized test, and so it's still not certain they will rock the USMLEs like they did the MCAT.

There's no definite formula for figuring it out, but it's good that people on here are paying more attention to curriculum and how they would fit in at the schools. That's way more important for your future than whether or not you will get into the most impressive program.

 

[fotolilith]

It was a real toss up b/w UTH and Texas A&M. I really liked the people at A&M, but I really liked the facilities and opportunities at UTH. Anyone else stuck with the decision to rank UTH or A&M #1?

So you were accepted at Baylor, but haven't committed to it yet?

Yeah, I can understand the vacillation on A&M - the faculty really seems to be there for the students, and Scott and White Hospital has an amazing reputation.

 

[fotolilith]

Baylor was not mentioned by any of the students at UTH when I interviewed there. At the Baylor interview, however, there were a couple of the students that made negative comments about UTH and said things like "MD Anderson is not affiliated with UTH" which is not at all true. Nonetheless, these students probably are not representative of all Baylor students and you'll probably find a few of these at any med school.

The only Baylor ref I heard @ UT H was when the dean talked about how there is more collaboration between the two schools, and our tour guide told us how Dr. Red Duke gets his dog to go wizz on the Baylor sign every once in a while. 🙂

 

[fotolilith]

And san antonio has the spurs. 😀

I thought you LIKED the spurs? 🙂

 

[EvoDevo]

The only Baylor ref I heard @ UT H was when the dean talked about how there is more collaboration between the two schools, and our tour guide told us how Dr. Red Duke gets his dog to go wizz on the Baylor sign every once in a while. 🙂

Yeah, Dr. Duke is fun. It's weird to see him in the gym or whatever and to realize that you grew up watching the dude on TV.....

 

[fotolilith]

Yeah, Dr. Duke is fun. It's weird to see him in the gym or whatever and to realize that you grew up watching the dude on TV.....

Yeah, I saw him at dinner in the village one time! His voice really sticks with you... that scraggly kinda cow poke shout he's got. I remember watching him on tv when I was young too.

 

[true blue]

Yeah, Dr. Duke is fun. It's weird to see him in the gym or whatever and to realize that you grew up watching the dude on TV.....

No one beats Marvin Zindler though. 👍


Did anyone ever figure out why he shouts when he talks?

 

[ajnak182]

Yeah, Dr. Duke is fun. It's weird to see him in the gym or whatever and to realize that you grew up watching the dude on TV.....

Dr. Duke was on TV? Was he in commericals or a sitcom or sumthin? 😕 Whatever he was on, I guess it didn't get beemed up to the great white north, where I spent my days as a youngun.

AJ

 

[AsianDoc816]

Dr. Duke was on TV? Was he in commericals or a sitcom or sumthin? 😕 Whatever he was on, I guess it didn't get beemed up to the great white north, where I spent my days as a youngun.

AJ

I remember him being on TV, as I grew up in Houston. However, I haven't seen him in years (in person or on TV!). On another note, I don't think that Marvin Zindler "yells" on a normal, everyday basis....maybe he does this while on air to stand out? And what's up with those glasses? 😛

 

[LanceP97]

I also remember seeing Dr. Duke on the medical brief portion of the evening news. I saw him in July when I was in Houston taken a Kaplan MCAT prep course. I was studying in Starbucks and he came in and even sat down with some medical students and helped them with any questions they had over the material.

 

[MadameLULU]

I used to see him a lot when I did my EMT rotations at Hermann. I hear he is quite flirtatious, and have heard some stories where he's said some inappropriate things to women..

 

[b-real]

Dr. Duke was on TV? Was he in commericals or a sitcom or sumthin? 😕 Whatever he was on, I guess it didn't get beemed up to the great white north, where I spent my days as a youngun.

AJ

He was also featured prominently on ABC's Houston Medical when it was on a couple of years ago. Dr. Duke's bio on ABC's website

 

[angelinebear]

I wanted to give thank you cards to my interviewers at TAMU, and I was wondering where I should send them. They don't have contact information for the interviewers in my packet. Should I just send it to the office of admissions?

 

[AsianDoc816]

I wanted to give thank you cards to my interviewers at TAMU, and I was wondering where I should send them. They don't have contact information for the interviewers in my packet. Should I just send it to the office of admissions?

I think that A&M has an e-directory on their website. However, one of my interviewers was a medical student, and she was not listed in the directory. In this case, I sent my letter to the office of admissions. I am assuming that someone got the card, as the letter was not returned to me. Hope this helps.

 

[SFAJess]

I think that A&M has an e-directory on their website. However, one of my interviewers was a medical student, and she was not listed in the directory. In this case, I sent my letter to the office of admissions. I am assuming that someone got the card, as the letter was not returned to me. Hope this helps.

Did you have Jennifer Newton? She's from good ol' SFA!! Go Lumberjacks!! 😀

 

[latinfridley]

Im gonna throw in a recommendation for all soon to be medical students to pick up a copy of Iserson's Getting into A Residency. I picked it up on someone's recommendation a while back, and I can tell you there is alot of valuable info / advice for entering medical school students thats worth the price of the book in my opinion. Just FYI.

 

[SFAJess]

Im gonna throw in a recommendation for all soon to be medical students to pick up a copy of Iserson's Getting into A Residency. I picked it up on someone's recommendation a while back, and I can tell you there is alot of valuable info / advice for entering medical school students thats worth the price of the book in my opinion. Just FYI.

For some reason, I thought it said "Iverson's Getting Into A Residency". I was thinking I didn't know Allen Iverson was smart and went to med school.

Let me remind y'all that it is finals week and I'm graduating on Sat....I'm not too clear headed right now!

 

[hmgcoa]

if anyone hears from tech or uth, please post...i'm trying to figure what these two schools are up to in terms of filling up their last few intv dates...

thx!

 

[AsianDoc816]

Did you have Jennifer Newton? She's from good ol' SFA!! Go Lumberjacks!! 😀

No, I had Jocylen Fournet, but she was awesome as well!

 

[Dr.BilkulPagal]

Just thought I'd get in on this thread. Figured since UTMB and UTH are probably done sending out invites, I'd just one up them by showing up to one of the interview dates and going through the whole gamut with them. Then, when the adcom asks me why i'm there, I shall very cleverly reply, "I had an invite, by email ma'm, are you suggesting that I would drive all the way down from San Antonio with no invite and preposterously assume that showing up would gaurantee an interview? Ludicrous I tell you, ludicrous!, now let's have it, come on come on, quickly now...who am I interviewing with?" If that doesn't work...I'll put those portable defribrillators, that they have, to use...preferrably not on myself. Good God that man is comitted, we must have him!

Hope it works,
See yall there,
Pagal 🙂

 

[USCTex]

I called UTMB, Tech, & A&M today (and Baylor 🙄 )

UTMB is done sending out invites.

A & M said that "all our interview spots have been filled" but I suppose that doesn't specifically mean that the invites have all been sent out...just that I shouldn't be looking for one 🙂

Tech is still sending out invites...as everyone else has reported.

 

[PeterGriffin]

😱 Wow USCTex...that's a mighty bold prediction in your sig...

 

[LanceP97]

I don't know if this has been asked yet in this thread, but I was wondering if we are supposed to send in our fall transcripts to TMDSAS. I'm guessing it could only help, especially if the grades help your GPA.

 

[true blue]

I don't know if this has been asked yet in this thread, but I was wondering if we are supposed to send in our fall transcripts to TMDSAS. I'm guessing it could only help, especially if the grades help your GPA.

yes...

 

[AsianDoc816]

I don't know if this has been asked yet in this thread, but I was wondering if we are supposed to send in our fall transcripts to TMDSAS. I'm guessing it could only help, especially if the grades help your GPA.

What if I already graduated and only took 2 classes (one is lab credit)? I guess it's better to be safe than sorry....

 

[USCTex]

😱 Wow USCTex...that's a mighty bold prediction in your sig...

The only way that prediction is going to be wrong or look ridiculous is if USC wins by EVEN MORE 😀

I wish I had won the student lottery for orangle bowl tics...that would've been pretty cool...

 

[Stitch626]

About 1.5 months left...............Are most people done with their fall semester?

 

[synapse lapse]

I have 2 days left yay!!!I am so ready for this semester to be over! I can't wait to hear from Baylor and for Feb. 1!

 

[sben]

Wow, wish I had found this place before now!

I've enjoyed reading a lot of the posts on this thread--I know there are thousands out there, but it's nice to hear from people going through the same thing.

Anyway, here's my story. I decided to do med school early of this year after 3 and a half years at UT focusing exclusively on ecology research. I know, quite a change, and quite late, but I'll leave the explaining for the interview 😉 Suffice to say I am INCREDIBLY jealous of all you people who have done all the right things for med school since freshman year.

Anyway, I didn't have time to take physics II or ochem before the MCAT, and I hadn't taken chemistry or physics I since 1999-2000. Needless to say, teaching myself all that was pretty stressful, but I think I came out OK. I took the August MCAT and applied to all UT schools, Baylor, A&M, and Tech. The last of my application materials were in about a week before deadline (~October 23).

In late November I got interview invites from UTH, Tech, San Antonio, and UTMB...all these came within 7-10 days of each other. Since then I haven't heard ANYTHING. I know it's a weird process, but I figured I would hear back from A&M, having heard from the UT schools.

Anybody have updates on UTSW, A&M, and Baylor? Is it time to give up on those places if I haven't heard back (remember, my app was submitted late October)? The past week or so, I can see varying accounts on UTSW--some say they are done inviting, others say no. I've been pretty obsessed with UTSW, so I am incredibly anxious to hear back from them. I always assumed I should be patient instead of calling the admissions office--what do y'all think?

Sorry for the dissertation; I had a lot to get out 🙂

Now I gotta finish studying for my Ochem final...ha! I bet I'm the only one on here who is taking ochem AFTER applying, lol.

Take care,
Ben

 

[Brain]

About 1.5 months left...............

Yeah, but who's counting? 😀

Kidding! I'll be starting a day count pretty soon. I finished up at Emory Thursday of last week and have been in total slug mode ever since. The waiting until Feb 1st is painful but I kinda like the match because at least we know exactly when to get online and check. There's no standing by the mailbox and getting put on hold like the applicants on other threads are.

 

[Brain]

Wow, wish I had found this place before now!

I've enjoyed reading a lot of the posts on this thread--I know there are thousands out there, but it's nice to hear from people going through the same thing.

Anyway, here's my story. I decided to do med school early of this year after 3 and a half years at UT focusing exclusively on ecology research. I know, quite a change, and quite late, but I'll leave the explaining for the interview 😉 Suffice to say I am INCREDIBLY jealous of all you people who have done all the right things for med school since freshman year.

Anyway, I didn't have time to take physics II or ochem before the MCAT, and I hadn't taken chemistry or physics I since 1999-2000. Needless to say, teaching myself all that was pretty stressful, but I think I came out OK. I took the August MCAT and applied to all UT schools, Baylor, A&M, and Tech. The last of my application materials were in about a week before deadline (~October 23).

In late November I got interview invites from UTH, Tech, San Antonio, and UTMB...all these came within 7-10 days of each other. Since then I haven't heard ANYTHING. I know it's a weird process, but I figured I would hear back from A&M, having heard from the UT schools.

Anybody have updates on UTSW, A&M, and Baylor? Is it time to give up on those places if I haven't heard back (remember, my app was submitted late October)? The past week or so, I can see varying accounts on UTSW--some say they are done inviting, others say no. I've been pretty obsessed with UTSW, so I am incredibly anxious to hear back from them. I always assumed I should be patient instead of calling the admissions office--what do y'all think?

Sorry for the dissertation; I had a lot to get out 🙂

Now I gotta finish studying for my Ochem final...ha! I bet I'm the only one on here who is taking ochem AFTER applying, lol.

Take care,
Ben

This is going off of my memory which is still fried from finals. A&M if I'm recalling correctly had a "priority deadline" of October 1st so if you got your stuff in after that you won't get full consideration. Baylor interviews until Feb and did respond a bit slower than the other schools. I don't know about UTSW but their interview dates are posted somewhere on their website so you should be able to check and see if they're still going on. Also, you can always call the school and ask. Good luck!

 

[Stitch626]

Wow, wish I had found this place before now!

I've enjoyed reading a lot of the posts on this thread--I know there are thousands out there, but it's nice to hear from people going through the same thing.

Anyway, here's my story. I decided to do med school early of this year after 3 and a half years at UT focusing exclusively on ecology research. I know, quite a change, and quite late, but I'll leave the explaining for the interview 😉 Suffice to say I am INCREDIBLY jealous of all you people who have done all the right things for med school since freshman year.

Anyway, I didn't have time to take physics II or ochem before the MCAT, and I hadn't taken chemistry or physics I since 1999-2000. Needless to say, teaching myself all that was pretty stressful, but I think I came out OK. I took the August MCAT and applied to all UT schools, Baylor, A&M, and Tech. The last of my application materials were in about a week before deadline (~October 23).

In late November I got interview invites from UTH, Tech, San Antonio, and UTMB...all these came within 7-10 days of each other. Since then I haven't heard ANYTHING. I know it's a weird process, but I figured I would hear back from A&M, having heard from the UT schools.

Anybody have updates on UTSW, A&M, and Baylor? Is it time to give up on those places if I haven't heard back (remember, my app was submitted late October)? The past week or so, I can see varying accounts on UTSW--some say they are done inviting, others say no. I've been pretty obsessed with UTSW, so I am incredibly anxious to hear back from them. I always assumed I should be patient instead of calling the admissions office--what do y'all think?

Sorry for the dissertation; I had a lot to get out 🙂

Now I gotta finish studying for my Ochem final...ha! I bet I'm the only one on here who is taking ochem AFTER applying, lol.

Take care,
Ben

Yea! Another UT person. So you're a grad student?

 

[PeterGriffin]

The only way that prediction is going to be wrong or look ridiculous is if USC wins by EVEN MORE 😀

I wish I had won the student lottery for orangle bowl tics...that would've been pretty cool...

I'm not an OU fan, by the way, just seemed like a very confident prediction. As for me, I'm an Aggie and I'll be at the Cotton Bowl on New Years watching A&M BTHO Tennessee! WHOOP! 👍

 

[sben]

This is going off of my memory which is still fried from finals. A&M if I'm recalling correctly had a "priority deadline" of October 1st so if you got your stuff in after that you won't get full consideration. Baylor interviews until Feb and did respond a bit slower than the other schools. I don't know about UTSW but their interview dates are posted somewhere on their website so you should be able to check and see if they're still going on. Also, you can always call the school and ask. Good luck!

Thanks for the info! In a twisted sort of way, my ego is actually a bit relieved to hear why A&M didn't call back. I grew up in College Station--I loved it there, but at the same time I would have had lots of mixed feelings about going back. I'll keep my fingers crossed on UTSW and Baylor. All the things I've heard about UTSW's research really really makes me want to go there. Of course, if I've learned one thing from this thread, it's that interviews can change these opinions quite a bit.

Yea! Another UT person. So you're a grad student?

Nope, I'm an undergrad, graduating May 05. Spanish & Bio. major. What about you?

I took college courses in high school for physics & I took AP chem in 1999, which got me 301 & 302 credit. Anyway, that explains why it's been so long since I took those classes, in case you were wondering.

 

[AsianDoc816]

Thanks for the info! In a twisted sort of way, my ego is actually a bit relieved to hear why A&M didn't call back. I grew up in College Station--I loved it there, but at the same time I would have had lots of mixed feelings about going back. I'll keep my fingers crossed on UTSW and Baylor. All the things I've heard about UTSW's research really really makes me want to go there. Of course, if I've learned one thing from this thread, it's that interviews can change these opinions quite a bit.

Nope, I'm an undergrad, graduating May 05. Spanish & Bio. major. What about you?

I took college courses in high school for physics & I took AP chem in 1999, which got me 301 & 302 credit. Anyway, that explains why it's been so long since I took those classes, in case you were wondering.

I would call UTSW if I were you. It's hard to get in touch with Dr. Wright, but it's worth a shot. I just interviewed at UTSW this weekend, and I must say that the school is absolutely awesome (this is coming from someone who thought that it was probably over-hyped). They definitely sold their school well, and I currently have UTSW tied with UTMB for my number one choice in the match. Anyway, if you're interested in research, I would look to Baylor if you don't hear from UTSW. Baylor is my personal dream school, and I'm holding out until February in hopes of getting an interview....

BTW, I always wished that I had majored in Spanish as well (I wound up with Psych and Bio). Guess it's too late for a complete major; I'm hoping to pick up pieces of the language during medical school if I have time.