The Republic of Texas XXXII: Everything is better in the Lonestar State

[Chillbo Baggins]

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Apparently, UTSW prematches heavily.

Yeah. I believe UTMB, Tech, and A&M do a fair bit, as well.

 

[PescadoAmor]

is it just me, or has it been really quiet? 🙁

 

[QuantumJ]

is it just me, or has it been really quiet? 🙁

I've seen a lot of activity in the school specific threads this last week. It is getting pretty close to pre-match time though so we'll see a lot of activity then. I wonder if your average SDN member though submits both early and with good stats so perhaps they have been done for some time now?

 

[PescadoAmor]

I've seen a lot of activity in the school specific threads this last week. It is getting pretty close to pre-match time though so we'll see a lot of activity then. I wonder if your average SDN member though submits both early and with good stats so perhaps they have been done for some time now?

I guess it's just silence from schools for me then... either way, I hope everyone does well this cycle!

 

[Dbate]

It's crazy to think that the first pre-matches are in only 12 days!

 

[Chillbo Baggins]

These 12 days can't pass fast enough!

 

[BlueLabel]

These 12 days can't pass fast enough!

Two Fridays. We've made it this far, boys...

 

[Status Sciaticus]

Two Fridays. We've made it this far, boys...

Provided we hear back on Nov 15. It would suck to get a first prematch in December lol

 

[PescadoAmor]

Provided we hear back on Nov 15. It would suck to get a first prematch in December lol

I'm praying for good news on the 15th. I have high hopes you'll hear good news gandalf!

 

[Amygdarya]

I'm sure Gandalf is getting good news on November 15th 🙂 Hoping for the rest of us, too.

 

[QuantumJ]

Next week is going to be a really slow week I'm afraid. My #1 is match heavy so I'm excited for next week but tempered with a little reality check. I'm really excited to see the tx threads blow up though. I remember reading them last year and it seemed like it would never be my turn

 

[Status Sciaticus]

I'm praying for good news on the 15th. I have high hopes you'll hear good news gandalf!

I'm sure Gandalf is getting good news on November 15th 🙂 Hoping for the rest of us, too.

Thanks. I'm really hoping for one school in particular. Hope yall's pre-match goes well too.
8 more days.

 

[Dbate]

I was reading through last year's thread and some applicants who interviewed at up to 4 schools didn't match into any! 😱

Seeing that made me start to freak out that I might not get into med school 🙁

 

[Status Sciaticus]

I was reading through last year's thread and some applicants who interviewed at up to 4 schools didn't match into any! 😱

Seeing that made me start to freak out that I might not get into med school 🙁

Yea I saw that too... very disheartening. No use worrying about something you cant change though.

 

[PescadoAmor]

I was reading through last year's thread and some applicants who interviewed at up to 4 schools didn't match into any! 😱

Seeing that made me start to freak out that I might not get into med school 🙁

that really scares me as I don't have 4 interviews :/ I have high hopes for all of us though. no matter what happens next Friday well all make it somehow!

 

[Starry]

Good luck to all of y'all this Friday! Waiting sure makes time drag.

 

[FSOG]

I realize we don't start ranking until January; however, I've completed all of my interviews (7) and am contemplating how I'll rank them. Is there a strategy involved in ranking? For example, if you don't prematch at a school that's known for being prematch heavy, is it wise to put it as #1 when there are others you like just as much?

 

[BlueLabel]

I realize we don't start ranking until January; however, I've completed all of my interviews (7) and am contemplating how I'll rank them. Is there a strategy involved in ranking? For example, if you don't prematch at a school that's known for being prematch heavy, is it wise to put it as #1 when there are others you like just as much?

After the match you are auto-withdrawn from lower ranked schools if accepted to a higher ranked one. So the obvious strategy is to rank the schools in order of their desirability to you.

 

[QuantumJ]

Rank the schols based solely off where you want to go the most. It doesn't matter if they are prematch or match heavy. Anyone want to share their rankings thus far? For me it's 1. TT lubbock 2. UTH 3. UTMB 4. A&M 5. TT el o aso 6. UNT

 

[armybound]

I realize we don't start ranking until January; however, I've completed all of my interviews (7) and am contemplating how I'll rank them. Is there a strategy involved in ranking? For example, if you don't prematch at a school that's known for being prematch heavy, is it wise to put it as #1 when there are others you like just as much?

you rank them based on where you want to go. it's not any more complicated than that

people will go through all sorts of schemes of trying to figure out how many pre-matches were given and how they thought they did in the interviews. none of it matters. rank them in the order you'd prefer to attend.

 

[Dbate]

Rank the schols based solely off where you want to go the most. It doesn't matter if they are prematch or match heavy. Anyone want to share their rankings thus far? For me it's 1. TT lubbock 2. UTH 3. UTMB 4. A&M 5. TT el o aso 6. UNT

Why Lubbock over UTH?!?!?!

UTH had one of the best interview days and really nice facilities (the quality of the facilities is very important to me because I don't like looking at older/run down buildings).

My list is this:

1. UTSW

Reason: Top med school. The buildings were nice and they are building TWO brand new hospitals. When I walked through the "old" parkland it looked really nice and new to me, so I imagine the new hospitals are going to be out of this world. Also, I am really interested in living and potentially settling down in Dallas for my long term future. So it would be nice to go here for the potential residency match boost four years later.

2. UTH

Reason: Awesome facilities and right in the heart of the Texas Med Center. The interview day was the BEST of all the Tx schools. The reason it is lower than UTSW is that UTSW has a better reputation and I grew up in Houston, so it would be nice to live in a different city.

3. UTSA

Reason: In a large city (which is really important to me). The buildings were older looking (which was a turn off) and it doesn't have the TMC asset that UTH does.

4. Texas A&M

Reason: In a more rural area, which I don't find appealing. I interviewed at the Temple campus and that place was awful with nothing to do. That was why I was initially going to place this at the bottom, but if I could get into the other sites, then that would be fine.


5. Texas Tech Lubbock
Reason: (the school was really nice and large, I really want to go to a med school that feels large). But Lubbock is in the middle of nowhere and it would take me so long to drive there that commuting to med school during the holidays would be a huge pain.

My last two are in flux. It really depends upon the location. If the option was A&M Temple versus Tech Lubbock, then I would chose Tech hands down. But if I could get into the Bryan/college station campus, then I would probably choose A&M.

 

[QuantumJ]

I hate big cities and so does my wife. Cost of living is mch cheaper in Lubbock. My family is in north texas too. I liked the block schedule better and regular tests instead of a week of them. Aesthetics has less than zero effect for my decision.

It's really 1a Lubbock 1b UTH. I have my eye on an extremely competitive specialty that Houston would certainly set me up for better than tech and I loved UTH but I just got that feel at tech that that's where I belonged.

 

[Chillbo Baggins]

1. UTSW
2. TT Lubbock
3. UTH
4a. A&M
4b. UTMB

If I had to rank them right now, this is probably how it'd go. If Baylor counted, it'd probably be tied at number 2.

 

[DokterMom]

My list is this:

1. UTSW

Reason: Top med school. The buildings were nice and they are building TWO brand new hospitals. When I walked through the "old" parkland it looked really nice and new to me, so I imagine the new hospitals are going to be out of this world. Also, I am really interested in living and potentially settling down in Dallas for my long term future. So it would be nice to go here for the potential residency match boost four years later.

2. UTH

Reason: Awesome facilities and right in the heart of the Texas Med Center. The interview day was the BEST of all the Tx schools. The reason it is lower than UTSW is that UTSW has a better reputation and I grew up in Houston, so it would be nice to live in a different city.

Have you ever spent any real time in Dallas Dbate? I've lived in both Dallas and Houston, and found Houston to be a much more racially harmonious and open-minded place. I was unpleasantly surprised by the racial tension I felt in Dallas -- especially because, as a white person, it's not something I normally notice, so IMO, it had to be kind of obvious. But in downtown Dallas, just waiting for the pedestrian 'walk' signal, you could feel the hostility and distrust in mixed-race crowds. If I recall, you mentioned this was an important factor for you, so you might want to spend a little more time in Dallas before committing to it for 4 years. (Any word from Baylor?)

 

[BlueLabel]

Have you ever spent any real time in Dallas Dbate? I've lived in both Dallas and Houston, and found Houston to be a much more racially harmonious and open-minded place. I was unpleasantly surprised by the racial tension I felt in Dallas -- especially because, as a white person, it's not something I normally notice, so IMO, it had to be kind of obvious. But in downtown Dallas, just waiting for the pedestrian 'walk' signal, you could feel the hostility and distrust in mixed-race crowds. If I recall, you mentioned this was an important factor for you, so you might want to spend a little more time in Dallas before committing to it for 4 years. (Any word from Baylor?)

Woah... this thread just got intense

 

[Status Sciaticus]

Have you ever spent any real time in Dallas Dbate? I've lived in both Dallas and Houston, and found Houston to be a much more racially harmonious and open-minded place. I was unpleasantly surprised by the racial tension I felt in Dallas -- especially because, as a white person, it's not something I normally notice, so IMO, it had to be kind of obvious. But in downtown Dallas, just waiting for the pedestrian 'walk' signal, you could feel the hostility and distrust in mixed-race crowds. If I recall, you mentioned this was an important factor for you, so you might want to spend a little more time in Dallas before committing to it for 4 years. (Any word from Baylor?)

Ill second this comment. I lived in Dallas last year, and I'm Indian. But I've seen some pretty messed up racial discrimination against AAs... kind of like what you see in NYC.

 

[Status Sciaticus]

Have you ever spent any real time in Dallas Dbate? I've lived in both Dallas and Houston, and found Houston to be a much more racially harmonious and open-minded place. I was unpleasantly surprised by the racial tension I felt in Dallas -- especially because, as a white person, it's not something I normally notice, so IMO, it had to be kind of obvious. But in downtown Dallas, just waiting for the pedestrian 'walk' signal, you could feel the hostility and distrust in mixed-race crowds. If I recall, you mentioned this was an important factor for you, so you might want to spend a little more time in Dallas before committing to it for 4 years. (Any word from Baylor?)

Ill second this comment. I lived in Dallas last year, and I'm Indian. But I've seen some pretty messed up racial discrimination against AAs... kind of like what you see in NYC.

 

[Amygdarya]

I'll third this comment. I've been uncomfortable about the de facto racial segregation in Dallas, and I'm white.

 

[DokterMom]

Ill second this comment. I lived in Dallas last year, and I'm Indian. But I've seen some pretty messed up racial discrimination against AAs... kind of like what you see in NYC.

I'll third this comment. I've been uncomfortable about the de facto racial segregation in Dallas, and I'm white.

I'm really sad to hear that. I was honestly hoping that 'N was only equal to 1' and that my perceptions would be in the tiny minority

 

[chickensoupdr]

I hate big cities and so does my wife. Cost of living is mch cheaper in Lubbock. My family is in north texas too. I liked the block schedule better and regular tests instead of a week of them. Aesthetics has less than zero effect for my decision.

It's really 1a Lubbock 1b UTH. I have my eye on an extremely competitive specialty that Houston would certainly set me up for better than tech and I loved UTH but I just got that feel at tech that that's where I belonged.

Couldn't agree more. The curriculum of the school is a huge deciding factor, and that's why Tech is also my top choice. I'm also interested in a competitive specialty, but I feel like the people, the curriculum, and their amazing facility will allow students to match into any specialty without a problem. Having no distractions (since Lubbock is not the party city of TX) is also a plus

 

[Status Sciaticus]

Guess I'll chime in with my tentative rank list:

1 UTSW
2 UTHSCSA
3 Tech
4 Foster
5 A&M
6 TCOM

 

[Ja3ger]

Anyone know how heavily UTHSCSA prematches?

 

[SCX1]

I love UTHSCSA too...so I would like to know if they prematch heavily as well.

 

[Mavs88]

Have you ever spent any real time in Dallas Dbate? I've lived in both Dallas and Houston, and found Houston to be a much more racially harmonious and open-minded place. I was unpleasantly surprised by the racial tension I felt in Dallas -- especially because, as a white person, it's not something I normally notice, so IMO, it had to be kind of obvious. But in downtown Dallas, just waiting for the pedestrian 'walk' signal, you could feel the hostility and distrust in mixed-race crowds. If I recall, you mentioned this was an important factor for you, so you might want to spend a little more time in Dallas before committing to it for 4 years. (Any word from Baylor?)

Lived in Dallas over half my life and don't have a clue what this is about. Not to mention, if the person wants to settle down in Dallas as a doctor, they won't be living in downtown Dallas lol, they'll be living in some hot shot suburb and lord knows we've got some awesome ones in the area.

 

[BlueLabel]

Lived in Dallas over half my life and don't have a clue what this is about. Not to mention, if the person wants to settle down in Dallas as a doctor, they won't be living in downtown Dallas lol, they'll be living in some hot shot suburb and lord knows we've got some awesome ones in the area.

Yeah I've never lived in Dallas but I've visited many a-time and never picked up on this. Nothing noticeably different from other major Texas cities

 

[Status Sciaticus]

Yeah I've never lived in Dallas but I've visited many a-time and never picked up on this. Nothing noticeably different from other major Texas cities

It might have to do with the small possibility that you are white 🙄

 

[BlueLabel]

It might have to do with the small possibility that you are white 🙄

Haha fair enough, but a couple of white folks above said it was really obvious to them.

 

[FSOG]

Still not sure -- a couple of ties:

1) UTSW
1) UTH
3) UTHSCSA
4) UTMB
5) A&M
6) TTU
6) TTU El Paso

 

[Mavs88]

It might have to do with the small possibility that you are white 🙄

I'm "Brown" like you and know hundreds of "Brown" people and families in the area and have never heard of this, now of course if you go to the ghetto aka Oak Lawn, you're going to feel out of place. I went to a very diverse High School in the DFW area and we rarely had discrimination issues despite so many races.

I lived in Houston for a year and hated it compared to Dallas, but saw no difference what so ever in the way I was treated based on my skin color.

And for the record, I have been all over the DFW area and have seen the best and worst in terms of standard of living. I'm not discrediting your experience because I know it can happen as it can anywhere else...just that I have a much bigger sample size.

 

[Dbate]

Have you ever spent any real time in Dallas Dbate? I've lived in both Dallas and Houston, and found Houston to be a much more racially harmonious and open-minded place. I was unpleasantly surprised by the racial tension I felt in Dallas -- especially because, as a white person, it's not something I normally notice, so IMO, it had to be kind of obvious. But in downtown Dallas, just waiting for the pedestrian 'walk' signal, you could feel the hostility and distrust in mixed-race crowds. If I recall, you mentioned this was an important factor for you, so you might want to spend a little more time in Dallas before committing to it for 4 years. (Any word from Baylor?)

Ill second this comment. I lived in Dallas last year, and I'm Indian. But I've seen some pretty messed up racial discrimination against AAs... kind of like what you see in NYC.

I'll third this comment. I've been uncomfortable about the de facto racial segregation in Dallas, and I'm white.

Well this is unfortuante. I haven't spent any real time in Dallas. I've only ever been for debate tournaments and to interview at UTSW. I have family that live in Dallas (my cousin did his PhD in Electrical Engineering at SMU).

They're black (obviously), so I can ask them about their experiences. They've lived there their whole life, so I thought it would be an okay place to live. But from this, I might be completely wrong.

Could y'all elaborate on the experiences? I find it interesting that white people would cite racial antagonism (no offense, but I imagine it would be mostly non-noticeable to them.)

 

[DokterMom]

Well this is unfortuante. I haven't spent any real time in Dallas. I've only ever been for debate tournaments and to interview at UTSW. I have family that live in Dallas (my cousin did his PhD in Electrical Engineering at SMU).

They're black (obviously), so I can ask them about their experiences. They've lived there their whole life, so I thought it would be an okay place to live. But from this, I might be completely wrong.

Could y'all elaborate on the experiences? I find it interesting that white people would cite racial antagonism (no offense, but I imagine it would be mostly non-noticeable to them.)

Rats! Lost my post...

Yeah, as a white person, racial tensions are not generally in the forefront of our minds -- but in Dallas, it was sometimes palpable. I rarely saw social groups that included both black and white people. And the suburbs were very segregated. A co-worker (black) once quipped to me about the suburb where I lived "They don't allow black people there!" I asked her about suburbs with good school districts that were more diverse and she snorted "In Dallas!?" I came to the conclusion that 'Dallas is where the South meets the Midwest' -- and not in a good way.

N=1

Do ask your cousin, and I do hope his experiences will be different.

 

[Mavs88]

Rats! Lost my post...

Yeah, as a white person, racial tensions are not generally in the forefront of our minds -- but in Dallas, it was sometimes palpable. I rarely saw social groups that included both black and white people. And the suburbs were very segregated. A co-worker (black) once quipped to me about the suburb where I lived "They don't allow black people there!" I asked her about suburbs with good school districts that were more diverse and she snorted "In Dallas!?" I came to the conclusion that 'Dallas is where the South meets the Midwest' -- and not in a good way.

N=1

Do ask your cousin, and I do hope his experiences will be different.

I really have never met someone who felt this way from the area. Will try to be more aware of it but I really am not getting where this is coming from...

 

[Status Sciaticus]

Mavs, since you are brown like myself, I can understand why you wouldnt feel as discriminated. However, racism is much more overt towards AAs in Dallas.

Next time you go to Uptown, count how many AAs you see there. It might not be intentional, but there is some socioeconomical segregation. The Downtown area where BUMC is located and the towns south of it ( DeSoto, Duncanville, Oak Lawn, etc..) are all ghetto.

Where did you live in Dallas?

 

[Mavs88]

Mavs, since you are brown like myself, I can understand why you wouldnt feel as discriminated. However, racism is much more overt towards AAs in Dallas.

Next time you go to Uptown, count how many AAs you see there. It might not be intentional, but there is some socioeconomical segregation. The Downtown area where BUMC is located and the towns south of it ( DeSoto, Duncanville, Oak Lawn, etc..) are all ghetto.

Where did you live in Dallas?

I've lived in the Richardson and Murphy suburbs. Murphy is a lot nicer than most suburbs though and many of my neighbors were AA. A good percentage of my high school was AA too. Richardson has its nicer parts and shabby parts, but again I never noticed a lack of AA or discrimination.

I've also been uptown a lot and in the Arts district area...seen plenty of AA. I've just really never seen it as an issue at all unless you're at the extreme...

 

[ccook]

Couldn't agree more. The curriculum of the school is a huge deciding factor, and that's why Tech is also my top choice. I'm also interested in a competitive specialty, but I feel like the people, the curriculum, and their amazing facility will allow students to match into any specialty without a problem. Having no distractions (since Lubbock is not the party city of TX) is also a plus

I attend Texas Tech for undergrad and you might be disappointed if you're expecting no distractions! College town = distractions...whether you're in college or not. Though, on your other points I'm sure you will be pleased!

 

[armybound]

I hate big cities and so does my wife. Cost of living is mch cheaper in Lubbock. My family is in north texas too. I liked the block schedule better and regular tests instead of a week of them. Aesthetics has less than zero effect for my decision.

It's really 1a Lubbock 1b UTH. I have my eye on an extremely competitive specialty that Houston would certainly set me up for better than tech and I loved UTH but I just got that feel at tech that that's where I belonged.

I hate big cities, too. My wife and I said we'd never move to Houston...

We ended up loving it there. It doesn't feel as big as it is when you're there. It's like a bunch of smaller neighborhoods that happen to abut each other. And the upside is that you have all of the restaurants, activities, etc you could ever want.

That being said, go where you feel you belong. Absolutely nothing wrong with Tech. I have some good friends who went there and matched competitive specialties. Which one are you interested in?

 

[armybound]

Couldn't agree more. The curriculum of the school is a huge deciding factor, and that's why Tech is also my top choice. I'm also interested in a competitive specialty, but I feel like the people, the curriculum, and their amazing facility will allow students to match into any specialty without a problem. Having no distractions (since Lubbock is not the party city of TX) is also a plus

🙁

One of those things we just can't get pre-meds to stop thinking about. I don't believe curriculum matters at all. Not one bit.

 

[QuantumJ]

I hate big cities, too. My wife and I said we'd never move to Houston...

We ended up loving it there. It doesn't feel as big as it is when you're there. It's like a bunch of smaller neighborhoods that happen to abut each other. And the upside is that you have all of the restaurants, activities, etc you could ever want.

That being said, go where you feel you belong. Absolutely nothing wrong with Tech. I have some good friends who went there and matched competitive specialties. Which one are you interested in?

Rad onc. I did theoretical physics as an undergrad, did one semester of independent topics in physics in medical physics, was in a graduate program for medical physics, and it was the exposure to rad onc that initially started on this path so I have (in my mind) enough exposure of the field to feel like I can be fairly certain it's my top choice. I think it's a no brainer that UTH would put me leagues ahead if that's my ultimate goal but I just feel like choosing a school based on just one specialty might be a mistake. Even if I crush step 1, publish multiple times and honor rotations there's still no guarantee of matching (and I don't even know if I CAN do these things). I guess it's a first world problem and I don't even have an acceptance yet but it's something I guess I have to keep in mind.

 

[Chillbo Baggins]

🙁

One of those things we just can't get pre-meds to stop thinking about. I don't believe curriculum matters at all. Not one bit.

That's one thing I've thought about recently. In undergrad, you had to adapt to whatever testing method your profs decided to use, so why wouldn't you be able to adapt in med school?

Then again, a solid week of med school tests sounds pretty brutal.

 

[armybound]

Rad onc. I did theoretical physics as an undergrad, did one semester of independent topics in physics in medical physics, was in a graduate program for medical physics, and it was the exposure to rad onc that initially started on this path so I have (in my mind) enough exposure of the field to feel like I can be fairly certain it's my top choice. I think it's a no brainer that UTH would put me leagues ahead if that's my ultimate goal but I just feel like choosing a school based on just one specialty might be a mistake. Even if I crush step 1, publish multiple times and honor rotations there's still no guarantee of matching (and I don't even know if I CAN do these things). I guess it's a first world problem and I don't even have an acceptance yet but it's something I guess I have to keep in mind.

yeah, the connections to MDA would probably be good for you. I'm sure TTU could get you in to rad onc as well.