Texas Medical Schools

[bigbuddieMD]

Hey for those of you who know I have a question. I was talking to a friend the other day who said chances of getting into a texas med school for a texas resident were really high compared to most states. I was curious so I got on a web site and ran the numbers...ok get this...the average texas resident has a 50% chance exactly of getting into one of their seven med schools down there...not bad odds if you ask me. I ran the numbers twice so I am sure of them. Anyone know anything about that?

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[vivekap2007]

I went to the aamc website and it says that in 2002 33,625 people applied while 16,488 matriculated nationwide so about half of those who applied matriculated. (I don't believe these numbers include non amcas schools) http://www.aamc.org/data/facts/famg62002a.htm

In Texas 1,336 out of 2,931 were accepted for an acceptance rate of just under a half in 2002. http://www.utsystem.edu/tmdsas/stats.htm

It appears that it's as easy to get into a Texas school as anywhere else ('cept Cali of course)

 

[bigbuddieMD]

yeah but the numbers are deceptive. If you look at say Virginia for example...lets say I applied to all the virginia state schools as a resident...I would have a 33% chance of getting in. No when you do the numbers across the entire country they just happen to come out that way...but for the indivdual applicant (besides TX of course) they come out differently. Besides, this is not even mentioning the fact that on average it is easier to get into TX schools rather than schools across the country. So basically that means if you are average at 50% for the country you are probably above average for the 50% in texas...but that assumes a lot of course.

 

[Polar girl]

You can't just look at those two sets of numbers and say that it's pretty much the same. There's lots of private schools thrown into the overall number. BigbuddieMD just mentioned odds of a state resident getting into a state school. To figure out that, you'd have to look at the # of applicants and # of spots in the state schools of all the different states, and compare it on a state by state basis. When you lump things all together, it tends to distort the stats.

edit: Yeah, what BigbuddieMD said. His/her post wasn't there when I replied.

 

[bigbuddieMD]

exactly, plus...I would rather be in the 50% of 2100 applicants than 50% of a larger pool like 32000. More people means more selectivity.

 

[lola]

numbers for cali: if pretend all california residents apply to ucla (uc with most # of in-state applicants), there are 3,434 california residents applying (number is really more than that but don't know where to find that value).

in-state spots at uc's: 512


512/3,434 = 15% (really less b/c 3,434 is an underestimate of total applying) of cali residents can go to a uc for med school.

= depressing

 

[Gleevec]

Originally posted by bigbuddieMD
exactly, plus...I would rather be in the 50% of 2100 applicants than 50% of a larger pool like 32000. More people means more selectivity.

Actually, I think you might have missed polar girl's point. She is saying you have to compare people based on a state-by-state basis as opposed to one state (TX) and then the rest of the nation. I do agree CA is the hardest to get into, but I would imagine TX is average based on the number of applicants and area served. I havent taken a look at any state-by-state comparisons, but I would imagine with the exception of CA and states w/o med schools, and if you include private school preferences, things are probably pretty equal between states once you factor in population.

 

[bigbuddieMD]

Actually, I didn't miss her point...I was simply adding another thought...hence the word "plus". If fact she was supporting an earlier point which I had made. As to your "guesses" about other states...well I have the facts if you want...for several of the more above average states I have checked it runs around 33%...and thats in some of the better states I have looked at...i.e. ones with a low applicant to medschool ratio and a high accepted/applicant ratio. Hence, I would argue that TX probably has one of the highest acceptance to applicant ratios...at 50%...but then again I have not run the numbers on all of the states yet...so I can't be sure. But when you keep in mind that the average TX applicant is maybe less than average for the nation...it looks good.

 

[Gleevec]

But when you keep in mind that the average TX applicant is maybe less than average for the nation...it looks good. [/B]

Im not sure what that means.

Also my mistake, I misread polar girls point in the order of posts and didnt get it til now.

But I do think TX has a ton more medical schools than most states. Also I think the state-only application tends to protect in-state residents more than people think.

Where did you find the average number of applicants/acceptances per state? I couldnt find it from any of the links of this thread.

 

[Mike59]

Here's why TX schools rock (my case as an example):

Texas schools
# schools I applied to: 4
# interviews: 3
# acceptances: 1
# waitlisted at: 2

AMCAS schools:
# schools I applied to: 12
# interviews: 1
# acceptances: 1
7 rejections and counting

Texas is easier, no doubt about it.

 

[bigbuddieMD]

For those who were curious...here is a listing of numbers to start you out. http://www.utsystem.edu/tmdsas/stats.htm . Enjoy.

 

[bigbuddieMD]

Mike out of curiousity...what were your gpa and mcats...good job getting in...where do you think you will go ?

 

[Gleevec]

Originally posted by bigbuddieMD
For those who were curious...here is a listing of numbers to start you out. http://www.utsystem.edu/tmdsas/stats.htm . Enjoy.

Where are the stats for each state individually though?

 

[vivekap2007]

http://www.aamc.org/data/facts/famg22002a.htm

Here is a link to applicant/matriculant by state data. Overall it looks like half of the people apply get in; however Texas is on the high end when you look at the number of people who stay in state.

 

[Saluki]

When you fill out that joint application for all the Texas schools, can they tell which one you ranked as your top choice?

 

[Mike59]

Originally posted by mashce
When you fill out that joint application for all the Texas schools, can they tell which one you ranked as your top choice?

No, its confidential. TMDSAS is simply a service and the schools have no clue what you ranked where.

 

[Saluki]

Thanks... I'm not sure where I want to go, but I'd prefer not to have the admissions people at one school knowing it's my last choice...

 

[Mike59]

Originally posted by mashce
Thanks... I'm not sure where I want to go, but I'd prefer not to have the admissions people at one school knowing it's my last choice...

One word of advice: Be careful who you talk to once the app game starts. TX is a small world, and premed advisors, adcom directors and deans are a lot closer to one another than students think.