Texas Medical Schools

[Zach123!]

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Hello everyone,

I am a junior at UCF, and plan on applying to medical school the summer following my senior year (meaning I will be taking a gap year). I am highly interested in Texas medical schools, but I know that they are very strict on OOS. My numbers are generally below average (around a 3.2 cGPA, 3.5 sGPA, over 1500 clinical hours (paid and shadowing), 250 non clinical volunteering), but I hear with "strong ties" to the state your chances are increased. However, I'm not really sure what that means. My dad's whole family lives in Texas, including relatives in San Antonio, Dallas, Fort Worth, Longview, and Houston. One of those relatives, my great-uncle, is a well known med-onc (in SA), and my aunt is a nurse at UT Southwestern. My dad went to UNT, and his twin brother also went there. Are these ties considered strong enough to make it worth applying? Would going there and doing an SMP at UNTHSC help? I love Texas, it's been my dream place to live for years. Dying to get out of this swamp called Florida, so any advice helps

 

[wysdoc]

Hello everyone,

I am a junior at UCF, and plan on applying to medical school the summer following my senior year (meaning I will be taking a gap year). I am highly interested in Texas medical schools, but I know that they are very strict on OOS. My numbers are generally below average (around a 3.2 cGPA, 3.5 sGPA, over 1500 clinical hours (paid and shadowing), 250 non clinical volunteering), but I hear with "strong ties" to the state your chances are increased. However, I'm not really sure what that means. My dad's whole family lives in Texas, including relatives in San Antonio, Dallas, Fort Worth, Longview, and Houston. One of those relatives, my great-uncle, is a well known med-onc (in SA), and my aunt is a nurse at UT Southwestern. My dad went to UNT, and his twin brother also went there. Are these ties considered strong enough to make it worth applying? Would going there and doing an SMP at UNTHSC help? I love Texas, it's been my dream place to live for years. Dying to get out of this swamp called Florida, so any advice helps

The OOS students who get accepted generally have higher than average stats, so just having relatives in Texas won’t help you with your chances.
The students who do well in the UNTHSC SMP also do well applying to TX medical schools. There is no direct linkage to admission though.
Another choice would be to move to Texas to live and work for over a year, then apply as a Texas resident. Moving to Texas primarily to go to school does not count towards your year of resident status. See TMDSAS site for specific TX resident rules.

 

[Med Ed]

Hello everyone,

I am a junior at UCF, and plan on applying to medical school the summer following my senior year (meaning I will be taking a gap year). I am highly interested in Texas medical schools, but I know that they are very strict on OOS. My numbers are generally below average (around a 3.2 cGPA, 3.5 sGPA, over 1500 clinical hours (paid and shadowing), 250 non clinical volunteering), but I hear with "strong ties" to the state your chances are increased. However, I'm not really sure what that means. My dad's whole family lives in Texas, including relatives in San Antonio, Dallas, Fort Worth, Longview, and Houston. One of those relatives, my great-uncle, is a well known med-onc (in SA), and my aunt is a nurse at UT Southwestern. My dad went to UNT, and his twin brother also went there. Are these ties considered strong enough to make it worth applying? Would going there and doing an SMP at UNTHSC help? I love Texas, it's been my dream place to live for years. Dying to get out of this swamp called Florida, so any advice helps

Your ties might get your application looked at, but your GPA would then get it discarded.

Move to Texas, establish residency, rack up more nonclinical volunteering, get a post-bacc or SMP under your belt, and post a solid MCAT score. This is a probably a 3-year project, but would leave you in a favorable position to fulfill your dream.

 

[Zach123!]

Your ties might get your application looked at, but your GPA would then get it discarded.

Move to Texas, establish residency, rack up more nonclinical volunteering, get a post-bacc or SMP under your belt, and post a solid MCAT score. This is a probably a 3-year project, but would leave you in a favorable position to fulfill your dream.

That was actually something I was considering! I feel confident I'll do well on the MCAT, since my health issues have been taken care of and I can focus and study hard. I've been considering going to UNTHSC for their SMP, then working for a year and applying. Thank you for the advice!

 

[Med Ed]

That was actually something I was considering! I feel confident I'll do well on the MCAT, since my health issues have been taken care of and I can focus and study hard. I've been considering going to UNTHSC for their SMP, then working for a year and applying. Thank you for the advice!

If you can, work for a year and establish residency first. Everything is easier when you're in-state.

 

[Lucca]

That was actually something I was considering! I feel confident I'll do well on the MCAT, since my health issues have been taken care of and I can focus and study hard. I've been considering going to UNTHSC for their SMP, then working for a year and applying. Thank you for the advice!

I don’t think your GPA is low enough to warrant an SMP. If you want TX for sure, you may be better off simply moving here and working a job that will enhance your overall app or give you enough free time to do so otherwise.

 

[dodolol21]

I don’t think your GPA is low enough to warrant an SMP. If you want TX for sure, you may be better off simply moving here and working a job that will enhance your overall app or give you enough free time to do so otherwise.

I disagree, 3.2 cGPA is low enough for an SMP

 

[Lucca]

My bad, I thought the 3.5 was the cGPA. A 3.2 cGPA does warrant an SMp as @gonnif and @dodolol21 correctly pointed out

 

[Zach123!]

Just to reiterate and expand on what others have already said, unlike most other states, Texas does not simply take into account "ties" to the state. By law, the Texas state medical schools are legally required to have at least 90% state residents in a matriculating class. In addition, residency is strictly legally defined and that determination is made by the TMDSAS prior to ever having your application seen by a school

Additionally, while your sGPA is 3.5, which puts you in the bottom 20% of matriculants if you were to be accepted. your 3.2 cGPA, puts you in the bottom 1% (not 10%, but 1%). As @Med Ed has said this is a 3 year project, but unlike @Lucca, I think an SMP is warranted. If your goal is to be a doctor, there are better paths for your time, money and resources then heading off to the Lone Star state

https://www.tmdsas.com/forms/FinalStatisticsReport-MedEY18.pdf

So would staying in Florida be the smarter move? USF does have an SMP but from what I've read, there's no linkage to any medical school. UMiami has one too, but that's very very expensive, not including the expensive cost of living in Miami. UCincinnati has an SMP that qualifies students for Ohio residency, plus Cincinnati's children's hospital is magnificent (interest in peds neurosurgery), so that's a consideration but I prefer warmer weather for sure.