The Republic of Texas Thread - Part VI - The Legacy of Chuck Norris

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christexasam said:
My stats aren't great, 2.79 at A&M undergrad, 3.97 at U of H grad 34O. Having a wife and kid and a bunch of other unique life experiences is what got me in. My take on this process is that Texas schools have so many applicants that they look more at numbers to sort applicants. Wake on the other hand seems to like people like me who are more non-traditional.
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Congrats on Wake!
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christexasam said:
My stats aren't great, 2.79 at A&M undergrad, 3.97 at U of H grad 34O. Having a wife and kid and a bunch of other unique life experiences is what got me in. My take on this process is that Texas schools have so many applicants that they look more at numbers to sort applicants. Wake on the other hand seems to like people like me who are more non-traditional.
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That is awesome!!! I am happy for you. I think I interviewed with you at TCOM. I was the one with the red hair that had ethical questions after my interview, and you told me that you would have saved the bread delivery guy b/c chances are his family would not have the means to support themselves without him. Anyways, you might not remember, but gj on your acceptances!!!!!

I think TX schools seem to be married to that undergraduate GPA. It does not matter if you do really well on the MCAT, if you do not have a solid undergraduate GPA, there is nothing you can do. I do not know why this is, but it seems to be the fact of applying to schools in TX. However, if you messed up in your undergraduate education like so many of us have, I think you have a better chance of getting in out of state. Other schools seem to put a lot more weight on MCAT than the schools in TX.
 
sprinkibrio said:
So does my friend and her husband (south of there)... he's in the military, maybe the army I'm not sure. There must be a base there right, guessing from your name you might have been there...? Pardon my ignorance about the military and the number of bases in Germany.
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Could be. The town I lived in is Ansbach, it's a little west of Nurnberg

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Hey, I am filling out the TDMSAS application (I'm a reapplicant) and some of the boxes are filled in yellow whereas others are white. Anyone else experience this? Any explanation?
 
adamMD said:
Hey, I am filling out the TDMSAS application (I'm a reapplicant) and some of the boxes are filled in yellow whereas others are white. Anyone else experience this? Any explanation?
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for the front page, where you fill out your info and your parent's info?

i saw that, I think it's stuff you need to fill out
 
On my application, the yellow boxes appear dispite the fact that I have filled in the box. Also, the page will not let you save unless you have completed the requirements. It must signify something else...
 
GO MAVS!!! Stephen Jackson is such a punk... GRRRRR!!!:mad:

I hate saying this, but...
GO ROCKETS. gotta stick with the Texas folks, at least until next round.
 
adamMD said:
On my application, the yellow boxes appear dispite the fact that I have filled in the box. Also, the page will not let you save unless you have completed the requirements. It must signify something else...
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I don't know. I know that I had them when I filled it out the other day, but I just looked at it again and now they're gone.
 
eternalrage said:
Yeah, it's the last 2006-2007 cycle Texas thread.

How sad.
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I know. I'm getting all nostalgic here. :oops: Sad but happy at the same time. I can't believe this cycle is over. It wasn't that long ago that I was writing my essays.
 
Well, at least the one thing good thing I did hear from Dr. Kellaway is that I don't have anything blatantly wrong with my app...she doesn't think I need to retake the MCAT or take more classes. Basically, I got lost in the shuffle of 4000 applicants. I had her read over my personal statement and she did like the updates to it. So that's that...guess I just gotta keep trying. I'm planning on submitting my app tonight (if I get it done) or tomorrow. It'll be nice to have it done so I can sit back and wait...still praying for UTMB in the back of my mind tho...
 
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DianaUT06 said:
Well, at least the one thing good thing I did hear from Dr. Kellaway is that I don't have anything blatantly wrong with my app...she doesn't think I need to retake the MCAT or take more classes. Basically, I got lost in the shuffle of 4000 applicants. I had her read over my personal statement and she did like the updates to it. So that's that...guess I just gotta keep trying. I'm planning on submitting my app tonight (if I get it done) or tomorrow. It'll be nice to have it done so I can sit back and wait...still praying for UTMB in the back of my mind tho...
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are you going to submit before spring grades?
 
Grr, oh TMDSAS how I hate thee...don't suppose anyone wants to help me consolidate my personal statement? Apparently my additions for this new cycle have put me over the character limit. Dang. :mad:
 
DianaUT06 said:
Grr, oh TMDSAS how I hate thee...don't suppose anyone wants to help me consolidate my personal statement? Apparently my additions for this new cycle have put me over the character limit. Dang. :mad:
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if you want to shoot it to me in an email i'd be glad to help (i'll pm you my email addy)

we could go over it on aim too - javatvip
 
blackrsx said:
if you want to shoot it to me in an email i'd be glad to help (i'll pm you my email addy)

we could go over it on aim too - javatvip
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Thanks for the offer! :D Actually, I managed to get it to fit...in my previous PS I had used a whole blank line between paragraphs! Although now I'm a little worried it's too long, but I think those additions are pretty crucial...
 
DianaUT06 said:
Thanks for the offer! :D Actually, I managed to get it to fit...in my previous PS I had used a whole blank line between paragraphs! Although now I'm a little worried it's too long, but I think those additions are pretty crucial...
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sure no prob - i needed something to distract me from this other paper I have to write

good luck :luck:
 
go SPURS!!!! man i miss the texas thread...im going to miss texas
 
So who is going to make the next thread. I don't care if I'm done with my app cycle I'm going to stick around like it or not :)

And are we still going to call it Ask Chuck Norris?
 
Hm, last year I didn't do either of the optional essays...but this year it says that they "strongly recommend that you complete them." Don't recall it saying that last year...

EDIT: looks like I'll probably submit tomorrow, so if anyone would like to read over my PS i'd love any last minute advice!
 
DianaUT06 said:
Hm, last year I didn't do either of the optional essays...but this year it says that they "strongly recommend that you complete them." Don't recall it saying that last year...

EDIT: looks like I'll probably submit tomorrow, so if anyone would like to read over my PS i'd love any last minute advice!
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i'm still at the library, writing this paper - send away if you don't mind
 
DianaUT06 said:
Hm, last year I didn't do either of the optional essays...but this year it says that they "strongly recommend that you complete them." Don't recall it saying that last year...

EDIT: looks like I'll probably submit tomorrow, so if anyone would like to read over my PS i'd love any last minute advice!
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oh, the special experiences part. I guess I need to work on those.
 
If you can think of something to write I would. I know last year it was insider info that they really wanted people to write the what about you makes you different/diverse. I know mine came up several times in interviews, I guess because I've had some unique life experiences that don't have anything to do with medicine. I don't think I wrote very well, and I certainly didn't put as much time into it as I did for my PS, but I guess it still went over well. So just try to think of something if you can, even if you might think its silly.
 
I really don't like writing essays. I think my least favorite question is what makes me unique. I really don't know. I mean I have some experiences that might be different from most people, but they're not unique, and probably not special (like living in Germany or growing up in a military family). they obviously have absolutely nothing to do with medicine, either.

what will I add to a med school class? no idea. I'm just kinda your average, normal guy.

it's sad, I honestly think I need someone to help me find something unique about myself.
 
armybound said:
I really don't like writing essays. I think my least favorite question is what makes me unique. I really don't know. I mean I have some experiences that might be different from most people, but they're not unique, and probably not special (like living in Germany or growing up in a military family). they obviously have absolutely nothing to do with medicine, either.

what will I add to a med school class? no idea. I'm just kinda your average, normal guy.

it's sad, I honestly think I need someone to help me find something unique about myself.
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Yeah, that's kind of how I feel. Maybe I'll ponder that second question tomorrow...
 
you guys want to give your examples so we can get an idea of what we should focus on?

I gave a couple examples of my own but I don't know if that's totally off-topic.
 
I think that living in Germany IS something you add to the class. Not everyone has been overseas, let alone live there for very long. One of the things I talked about was how even though on the surface it seems like i'm a well off white girl, I have a diverse group of friends. My best friend is a gay guy, my roommate is hispanic, and I've just always had a mix of people I hang out with. I tied that into some other life experiences that aren't super important and probably don't need to be aired out on SDN :)

I don't even think it necessarily needs to tie into medicine, it ties into YOU and who YOU are. That leads all into how you think and how you make decisions.

Off the top of my head since I don't really KNOW know you guys...
Armybound, you're out a couple years from undergrad, you have EMT-B (if you don't already address it in your PS) and obviously there is some uneasyness you're happy with dealing with, since you did live overseas you obviously didn't live in one place your whole life so how did moving around shape you. Even if you think it didn't, talk to someone who has lived in the same town their whole life. Living other places does shape you :)

And DianaUT, you're a little off the beaten path by being so involved in band and getting to travel through that. You've also put a whole lot of work into band and probably have had some cool experiences with it (I know I had cool stuff in orchestra, even as far back as elementary school).

Maybe you've had some unique family experiences, or special friends who have impacted your life in a non-medical way, but still very important. :)

I hope maybe that gives some ideas if you do want to write the essay. I HATE writing, and when I was told I should write it, I immediately complained to my dad that I wasn't unique and how in the world was I going to write about it. Then he told me some of the things that make me special, like only a dad can, and it helped me write the essay!

So GOOOOOOD luck with TMDSAS! Sorry that was longwinded. I'm sure none of you wanted that much out of me. :)
 
thanks Sarah, I think I might be able to BS something now ;)

I definitely have had a very unique family situation and childhood.
 
armybound said:
thanks Sarah, I think I might be able to BS something now ;)

I definitely have had a very unique family situation and childhood.
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See! It seems really odd at first, but I think that is what they want to know. What special things have you been through that will add to the class :) And its totally non medically related! Good luck pumping it out and getting it all submitted! I hope this year pans out much better than the last
 
aggiesarah2007 said:
See! It seems really odd at first, but I think that is what they want to know. What special things have you been through that will add to the class :) And its totally non medically related! Good luck pumping it out and getting it all submitted! I hope this year pans out much better than the last
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yeah, you definitely helped me realize that those things aren't as unimportant as I thought. I sincerely appreciate your effort to help.

I could even get my idea from the great Wikipedia (this entry is "military brat")
A "military brat" (also known as a "brat", "base brat", "army brat", "navy brat/junior", "marine brat/junior", or "air force brat") is a term for a person whose parent or parents have served full-time in the armed forces during the person's childhood. In conventional usage, the word "brat" used alone may be derogatory; in a military context, however, it is neither a subjective nor a judgmental term for most,[1] and it is a term in which many in the military community take pride.[2]

Although the term "military brat" is used in other English-speaking countries, only the United States has studied its military brats as an identifiable demographic.[3] This group is shaped by frequent relocations and the periodic absence of a parent who is on TDY, or a tour of duty overseas. It has also been viewed as having strong family dynamics, strong emphasis on respect for authority, the threat of parental loss in war, and respect for patriotism, valor, and service.[4] While non-military families share many of these same attributes, military culture is unique due to the tightly knit communities that perceive these traits as normal. Although they do not choose to belong to it, military culture can have a long-term impact on brats.[5]

As adults, military brats can share many of the same positive and negative traits developed from their mobile childhoods. Having had the opportunity to live around the world, military brats can have a breadth of experiences unmatched by most teenagers. Regardless of race, religion, nationality, or gender, brats might identify more with other highly mobile children than with non-mobile ones.[6] A few can struggle to develop and maintain deep, lasting relationships, and can feel like outsiders to U.S. civilian culture, but most assimilate quickly and well as they have to do so with each move.[7]
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Those are some interesting characteristics for a med school applicant, maybe? Different, anyway
 
Maannnnnn, I really don't care that much about sports, but it PAINED me to see the Mavs last night...
 
uhhhh mavs....... :(

hey fun though! They are doing CPR on Regis and Kelly. Even though it is really Anderson Cooper (swoon!) and Kelly today.
 
I hate applications. I took me like 2 weeks of non-stop work + correcting 10+ times my personal statement and I refuse to write another one... :mad: I hate life
 
DianaUT06 said:
Hm, last year I didn't do either of the optional essays...but this year it says that they "strongly recommend that you complete them." Don't recall it saying that last year...

EDIT: looks like I'll probably submit tomorrow, so if anyone would like to read over my PS i'd love any last minute advice!
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I would definitely stick something in there. TMDSAS doesn't give a whole lot of room to describe your activities (compared to AMCAS) so I decided to loosely interpret the prompts. I don't remember what they were, but it is possible to talk about yourself in there. I think it helps you stand out more in a good way, especially if you went to A&M or UT like half the other applicants.
 
armybound said:
I really don't like writing essays. I think my least favorite question is what makes me unique. I really don't know. I mean I have some experiences that might be different from most people, but they're not unique, and probably not special (like living in Germany or growing up in a military family). they obviously have absolutely nothing to do with medicine, either.

what will I add to a med school class? no idea. I'm just kinda your average, normal guy.

it's sad, I honestly think I need someone to help me find something unique about myself.
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I think the Germany thing is extremely unique. How has living in a foreign country influenced your values/outlook on life/appreciation of tolerance etc? I think in one of my secondaries that had a similar question I talked about how I moved around a lot when I was younger and how it's brought me closer to my family. It may not be the most unique or interesting thing, but I think the point is to show off an experience or quality that you really hold critical to who you are. I think in another one I talked about my trip to Cuba and how special it was to me because I'm half Cuban and I got to visit the place where my dad's side of the fam grew up but cant return to. In the TMDSAS I think I just described my extracurriculars (mostly research) in more depth. These all sound kind of corny, but I wrote them in such a way that I think anyone could understand my passion for talking about these experiences and how they've shaped me. If you try writing about something really different or unique and don't get really excited writing about it, I would choose something else.

Thanks for the map btw, I was looking for one online and couldn't find one.
 
trevagandalf said:
I hate applications. I took me like 2 weeks of non-stop work + correcting 10+ times my personal statement and I refuse to write another one... :mad: I hate life
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just keep your head up and fight the good fight to get yourself into medical school! You can do it! You have your SDN family behind you all the way
 
Anastasis said:
Is anyone else shocked at the relative lack of Texas threads for this cycle? It just seems really bizarre to me.
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Yeah, I noticed there were no new threads...and I believe there are 3 possible reasons:

1. The FAQ thread is so awesome (thanks Ana!) that people just don't need to make new threads.

2. Applicants this cycle are way too quiet.

3. Applicants from this past cycle (meaning, us :D ) talk waaaaay too much.

Or a combination of all three.
 
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