*-*-* The Official TMDSAS Questions Thread 2011 *-*-*

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DocMcCoy

DocMcCoy

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Since the official AMCAS thread is already up, you can now post all TMDSAS questions here instead of posting an individual thread.
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One thing I'm generally curious about is that I've held a lot of part-time jobs during my 4 years at college so that I meet my goal of graduating without debt (I didn't, lol). Question is, is it worth it to list every one on my application?
 
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I had to list a lot of jobs as well (five + the military). In order to be thorough you should try to include all or as many as possible. Work experience won't hurt you, although it doesn't provide too much of a benefit either (depending on the type of work).
 
If I was self-employed (as a tutor, painter, landscaper), should I put that down too?
 
Also, where do Honors Societies go on the application? =\
 
Is there any way to calculate your TMDSAS GPA or see it before you submit?
 
armybound said:
you can do it by hand if you want. all As are 4.0, all Bs are 3.0, etc. no pluses or minuses
Click to expand...

Yeah, I can calculate it that way or use the one my school gave me-- the reason I ask is that a class I got a W in (waited too long to withdraw from an unneeded class) shows up as "Q" under TMD Grade. I wanted to make sure that it didn't sink my GPA.

Another question: Is there any way to look at the chronology of activities before submitting, to see them all put together and look for gaps you missed on your own, or do you also have to do that by hand?
 
I created a faux tmdsas application just to see what everyone was working with this year. The format is slightly different than last year, but generally it requires all the same information. There is a link to CHRONOLOGY OF ACTIVITIES on the right hand side of the screen just above pay and submit that you can click to see your timeline.
 
Ok so I got a question about leisure activities. First off, does anyone think fly fishing (400 hours) would be a worthwhile experience to put down? Second, it wants an end date for the leisure activity and I am considering putting 2060 since I am not planning on every really quitting fly fishing until I am super old. Lastly, will adcoms even look favorably on something like this or will it be seen as a negative thing? Thanks!!
 
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PenguinDoc said:
Ok so I got a question about leisure activities. First off, does anyone think fly fishing (400 hours) would be a worthwhile experience to put down? Second, it wants an end date for the leisure activity and I am considering putting 2060 since I am not planning on every really quitting fly fishing until I am super old. Lastly, will adcoms even look favorably on something like this or will it be seen as a negative thing? Thanks!!
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If fly fishing is something you would be up for talking about in interviews (not sure if anyone will bring it up or not), I would put it. I think that is the sort of thing they are looking for with that section. It shows you have interested outside of just school and premed stuff. Not sure about the end date thing though.
 
You're putting it as an actual activity? Is there not a section that asks what your hobbies and such are?

I remember my hobbies coming up in interviews, but I don't remember what part of the application I listed them in.
 
armybound said:
You're putting it as an actual activity? Is there not a section that asks what your hobbies and such are?

I remember my hobbies coming up in interviews, but I don't remember what part of the application I listed them in.
Click to expand...

Ya I am not sure if it is a new section or something, but there is a leisure activites section now so I think that's where I will put it. Otherwise I would just leave it off.
 
Why do they want to know your high school size, class rank, ACT and SAT scores? why would they be relevant to anything?
Anyways, I took both the SAT and ACT, but I only used my ACT scores to get into college. Should I also list my SAT scores, which I have no idea what they are, and it is proving difficult to track them down since I did not use them for college admission.
 
one or the other on ACT/SAT should be fine. you can always get your score from collegeboard, but I think it costs money.

you'd be surprised at how much they actually do pay attention to your high school information. it's to get an idea of what kind of place you come from, how hard you work, etc. it's another piece of your story
 
PenguinDoc said:
Ya I am not sure if it is a new section or something, but there is a leisure activites section now so I think that's where I will put it. Otherwise I would just leave it off.
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Definitely put it. I put stuff like that in mine. In fact one of the optional essays I wrote about a survival camping experience where we got lost and almost died. in several of my interviews we talked more about that than anything else. It was certainly a conversation starter and was a good way to transition into who I am, blah blah blah :barf: lol

Most doctors have hobbies and connecting with one might be a great way to stand out from the crowd, it did for me on several occasions.
 
PenguinDoc said:
Ok so I got a question about leisure activities. First off, does anyone think fly fishing (400 hours) would be a worthwhile experience to put down? Second, it wants an end date for the leisure activity and I am considering putting 2060 since I am not planning on every really quitting fly fishing until I am super old. Lastly, will adcoms even look favorably on something like this or will it be seen as a negative thing? Thanks!!
Click to expand...

Yes, fly fishing would be perfect to put in this category. The Texas Tech secondary last year had a specific question that asked you to list leisure and recreational interests. It looks like TMDSAS is including this in the primary this year. This is pretty much a chance for you to show what you enjoy outside of school. My 'hobbies' included auto engine restoration, WW2 model building, and board games to name a few.
 
addo said:
Why do they want to know your high school size, class rank, ACT and SAT scores? why would they be relevant to anything?
Anyways, I took both the SAT and ACT, but I only used my ACT scores to get into college. Should I also list my SAT scores, which I have no idea what they are, and it is proving difficult to track them down since I did not use them for college admission.
Click to expand...

Like it was previously mentioned, this is to get an idea of where you come from. Don't worry, it won't play a large role acceptance/rejection. I would only really look for your SAT scores if they were significantly higher (by percentile) than your ACT.
 
7starmantis said:
Definitely put it. I put stuff like that in mine. In fact one of the optional essays I wrote about a survival camping experience where we got lost and almost died. in several of my interviews we talked more about that than anything else. It was certainly a conversation starter and was a good way to transition into who I am, blah blah blah :barf: lol

Most doctors have hobbies and connecting with one might be a great way to stand out from the crowd, it did for me on several occasions.
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Thanks 7starmantis, I think I will definetely put it down! I guess this whole thing is just about selling yourself to the adcoms so hopefully one of them is also a die hard fisherman :thumbup:
 
DocMcCoy said:
Yes, fly fishing would be perfect to put in this category. The Texas Tech secondary last year had a specific question that asked you to list leisure and recreational interests. It looks like TMDSAS is including this in the primary this year. This is pretty much a chance for you to show what you enjoy outside of school. My 'hobbies' included auto engine restoration, WW2 model building, and board games to name a few.
Click to expand...

DocMcCoy, did any of your hobbies ever come up in interviews? I am considering putting some additional smaller hobbies down
 
addo said:
Why do they want to know your high school size, class rank, ACT and SAT scores? why would they be relevant to anything?
Anyways, I took both the SAT and ACT, but I only used my ACT scores to get into college. Should I also list my SAT scores, which I have no idea what they are, and it is proving difficult to track them down since I did not use them for college admission.
Click to expand...
At our interview day, Dr. Jones at San Antonio said that they compared your SAT and MCAT scores to see how you were performing relative to your potential. I guess he meant something along the lines of a 1200/32 is more impressive than a 1600/32 bc it shoes your work ethic, but I'm not really sure. The same sort of thing goes for SAT and college GPA I think.
 
my school doesn't do a commmittee letter but it does send out letter packets -- does tmdsas accept these? if so, do they count it as one letter?

or am i supposed to just send individ letters?
 
PenguinDoc said:
DocMcCoy, did any of your hobbies ever come up in interviews? I am considering putting some additional smaller hobbies down
Click to expand...

Car talk came up once or twice. My TECH student interviewer was from Austin, he saw I put camping and climbing down on my secondary and we talked about the greenbelt for a minute or two. So ya, I was actually surprised that so much non-medical stuff came up during interviews. Everyone's interview will be different I suppose. Mine were generally 50% about the military, 25% about hobbies, interests, and current events, 25% other.
 
Thanks everyone for your input and advice! I have another question concerning the submit date. I am leaving for Guatamala on May 21st and I will not get back until June 16th, do you think it is important to submit before May 21st, or will it not make a difference?
 
PenguinDoc said:
Thanks everyone for your input and advice! I have another question concerning the submit date. I am leaving for Guatamala on May 21st and I will not get back until June 16th, do you think it is important to submit before May 21st, or will it not make a difference?
Click to expand...

I would say its very important to get it in ASAP. I would get it in before May 21st. That being said, certainly dont submit if your not ready, make sure its "your best" but get your best done by the 21st! :)
 
armybound said:
You're putting it as an actual activity? Is there not a section that asks what your hobbies and such are?

I remember my hobbies coming up in interviews, but I don't remember what part of the application I listed them in.
Click to expand...

It's a leisure activity...
My activities are nice(in terms of cumulative hours), fairly even numbers(20, 40, etc). Is that reasonable given it's based off of an estimated weekly/monthly hours?
I have a problem, it looks like, for some reason, a lot of my health care activities from my previous application(for last year) ended on December 2009. I certainly didn't put that in there and I double checked it when I submitted it. What do I do given I actually ended my activities on different dates.


On planned activities, they want us to put cumulative hours. Do we really sit there and calculate how many hours we might spend on a job til whenever?
 
Does it give you the opportunity just to put 40 hours/week?

I'd say any estimation of time is fine. They're more interested in seeing what you do and the relative amount of time you put into it rather than knowing exactly how you spend every second of your day.

If there's an error with the way TMDSAS is handling the inputs to those fields, you should email TMDSAS and let them know.
 
armybound said:
Does it give you the opportunity just to put 40 hours/week?

I'd say any estimation of time is fine. They're more interested in seeing what you do and the relative amount of time you put into it rather than knowing exactly how you spend every second of your day.

If there's an error with the way TMDSAS is handling the inputs to those fields, you should email TMDSAS and let them know.
Click to expand...

I think so. But they're asking for cumulative, which could add up to thousands of hours, quick.
The errors were on last years apps. I don't know if they'd even pay it any mind. I'm just afraid the med schools might.
 
How do you answer the financial info question in TMDSAS application ? How many percentage of your college expense is from parent, work, loan ..etc. Does it really matter ?
Please help.
 
Sorry to post my question here, I am new and take me a while to find where to ask.
I am working on my TMDSAS application, I need help to answer the question what percentage of college expense were provided by your parent, loan, spouse, work..etc..
Does it really matter ?
Thanks for your help.
 
SHUGA said:
Sorry to post my question here, I am new and take me a while to find where to ask.
I am working on my TMDSAS application, I need help to answer the question what percentage of college expense were provided by your parent, loan, spouse, work..etc..
Does it really matter ?
Thanks for your help.
Click to expand...

This is the perfect spot for your question. Sadly, I don't have a very good answer for you so hopefully someone else will chime in. I don't think you need to muster up your family's tax forms, but you want to be as accurate as possible. All this seemingly trivial and detailed information is useful for determining where a potential student comes from (background) and is also used for statistical analysis by medical schools. They aren't expecting you to have it down to the penny, but it would probably be best to get accurate to within 5-10% without exhaustively searching for exact values.
 
Ok, about personal statements:
TMDSAS said that med schools prefer one block of text(this is how it will show up, regardless of indents you put).
So is it a good idea to put spaces between paragraphs so that they show up?
 
Vanguard23 said:
Ok, about personal statements:
TMDSAS said that med schools prefer one block of text(this is how it will show up, regardless of indents you put).
So is it a good idea to put spaces between paragraphs so that they show up?
Click to expand...
I think thats what I did. Seems like it would make it a lot easier on the reader.
 
Another question... I want to put my honors societies in my academic recognition section but they want to know the exact date I was inducted. If I can't remember, should I really worry about trying to hunt down calendars/certificates or if I make an estimate will that be ok?

Thanks!

*Edit: Also, as soon as I get in somewhere, I'm going to make a spreadsheet to keep track of all my awards and achievements through medical school. I never want to go through this rustling papers thing again.
 
Last edited:
TexasHopeful said:
Another question... I want to put my honors societies in my academic recognition section but they want to know the exact date I was inducted. If I can't remember, should I really worry about trying to hunt down calendars/certificates or if I make an estimate will that be ok?

Thanks!

*Edit: Also, as soon as I get in somewhere, I'm going to make a spreadsheet to keep track of all my awards and achievements through medical school. I never want to go through this rustling papers thing again.
Click to expand...
The exact date really isn't all that important. I'm sure as long as you can narrow it down to the month and put it as the 1st or something, it will be fine. There's no inherent value in a specific date.
 
SHUGA said:
How do you answer the financial info question in TMDSAS application ? How many percentage of your college expense is from parent, work, loan ..etc. Does it really matter ?
Please help.
Click to expand...
Sure it matters. You don't have to be exact, though.

The way I did it was to look back at my old tuition bills, then look at my financial aid award. It was pretty easy to figure out that I had paid roughly (for example) $100,000 over 4 years for tuition + living expenses, received $25,000 in scholarships and grants, and the rest were loans, with a minor contribution from my parents and a couple of jobs.

It doesn't have to be exact, but ballpark it.
 
Thanks a lot armybound. I have another question:

For things like research activities, where do I put my PI's name or information?
 
In the description, if you want to. When I described my research I said "I worked in Dr X's lab at Y University studying ____ ...."
 
The application history page wants previous non-TMDSAS schools that I applied to. I applied through AMCAS two years ago, but couldn't finish the secondaries because of financial problems. I only remember like two out of ten schools that I submitted my primary app to. Think I could get by with omitting this part since I never really went all the way with that application and it was two years ago anyways?
 
Probably not a big deal, or you could list the 2 you remember. I doubt it will make any big difference in the adcoms' minds either way.
 
armybound said:
Probably not a big deal, or you could list the 2 you remember. I doubt it will make any big difference in the adcoms' minds either way.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I second this. I did a lot of "rounding" on my application when it came to dates of employment (I'm 32 I can't remember that far back!), etc. I doubt something like this even makes it to the conscious mind of adcoms. If by some weird act of god you got a question I would think an honest, "I can't remember that far back since I've slept since then" would suffice. :D
 
DocMcCoy said:
Since the official AMCAS thread is already up, you can now post all TMDSAS questions here instead of posting an individual thread.
Click to expand...

This is probably a really stupid question, so forgive me..

Why/How is TMDSAS different from AMCAS? Wouldn't the AMCAS cover the Texas Med schools? Or is TMDSAS specifically for medical schools in Texas?

I live in TX, so I was just curious. I'm trying to get all information that I can.
 
TMDSAS is the Texas Medical & Dental Schools Application Service. It's the system you use for applying to the schools in Texas, for the most part.

It is separate and distinct from AMCAS.
 
armybound said:
TMDSAS is the Texas Medical & Dental Schools Application Service. It's the system you use for applying to the schools in Texas, for the most part.

It is separate and distinct from AMCAS.
Click to expand...

Oh, wow. Well, you learn something new every day.

So, I'd have to apply through AMCAS for all schools outside of TX, and use TMDSAS for all schools inside of TX?

That seems unnecessarily annoying. :laugh:
 
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