Medical TMDSAS & AACOMAS (reapply)

[Catalystik]

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Hello,

I applied to all Texas schools and UIWSOM through AACOMAS. I was accepted to UIWSOM and am waitlisted at two Texas MD schools. I called several admissions offices and asked for a review of my application and was told that my application is good, but that I had submitted it too late (completed early August). I was wondering if my chances at reapplying for Texas MD schools through TMDSAS would be affected if I choose to decline my acceptance at UIWSOM.

Thank you in advance!

Your chances of success on reapplying with an early application to Texas public schools will rely heavily on whether you improved your application since you last applied. If you have not enhanced your activities in any way, you'd be better off taking the acceptance you have, or waiting another year before applying again.

One cannot quantify individual adcomm bias when it comes to giving full consideration to an applicant who got accepted somewhere, but then declined without a good explanation. Personally, I think high cost of private school attendance is a good reason, but I cannot speak for every adcomm; it's my impression that overall there is definitely a negative bias. You might consider posting this question in wysdoc's thread here: *~*~*~*Official TMDSAS Questions Thread 2019-2020*~*~*~* for additional feedback.

Take a close look at post #27 while you're there.

 

[Catalystik]

Thank you so much for your reply!
The high cost is one of the reasons, and also because I know someone who goes there currently and told me that because UIW is a relatively new school, the curriculum seems disorganized.

1) New additions to my application include working as a pharmacy technician, was accepted into a summer research program, and will start working as a scribe in June. Do you think these are enough, considering it has only been 1 semester since I've graduated from college?

2) Do you know if AACOMAS share information with TMDSAS? Like, if I don't reveal that I had been accepted before, would schools from TMDSAS know?

1) For these new activities, how many hours will be completed at the time you'd reapply? New activities with few hours won't give much benefit.

I was hoping you'd be involved in some form of community service. Did you by chance add new hours to a previously listed activity? Texas schools love nonmedical community service to those in need.

2) The TMDSAS application requires reapplicants to list past schools applied to and outcome, like whether they were accepted or not. TMDSAS and AACOMAS do not share information.

 

[Catalystik]

1. I've worked ~200 hours as a pharmtech. Both research and scribing will start in June, and I was hoping to submit new application late May. Should I push it back to until early June? maybe then I will have some hours to report. I do have more hours doing hospital volunteering, around 30 hours volunteering with the Red Cross club in college, and around 20 hours helping out at community health fairs. Those listed were completed over a 5 months period since I did leave the country for a whole month after graduating to visit family.

2. I know it'd be a dishonest thing to do and am just wondering, but would TMDSAS schools know I had that DO acceptance if I marked that I haven't been accepted anywhere before?

1) Early June would be best, and odds would still be in your favor, per the graphs I suggested you view in post #27 of the link above. You really, really need to get involved in some new nonmedical community service for a cause you care about, for 3-4 hours a week. Can you do that? This is more important than research.

2) Adcomms talk to each other. Don't take a chance.

 

[Catalystik]

@CatalystikI have a question regarding letters of evaluation.

1) If I send in a letter that I also sent in last application cycle, will that have a negative impact on my application?
2) Do adcomms usually re-read an applicant's letters from previous application cycles as well?
3) I have two new letters, but I wanted to reuse the letters that my professors had written for me before I graduated from undergrad.

1) No.

2) Not in my experience.

3) If an old letter is only a year or so old, go ahead and use it. If it's two years old, see if you can get the faculty person to reissue the letter with a new date.

 

[Catalystik]

2) Not in my experience.

Let me add a disclaimer, so as not to be misleading. It would be impossible for any one adcomm to speak for the policies of every institution and every admissions committee affiliate who works there.