TMDSAS Reapplicant with no II. Considering options moving forward.

[Med8597]

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I graduated one year ago and I am a reapplicant this year. I was hoping to have some success this cycle but it’s been quite the opposite. No II’s yet and we are a couple of days into November. Primary was submitted the first week of June and was transmitted by the last week of June. Secondaries were all completed by August 1st with the exception of UTRGV and TTUHSC El Paso. I did send primary to TTUHSC El Paso but never completed the secondary. Kind of kicking myself now. I wish I had applied to both of those schools right about now.

cGPA: 3.62 , sGPA: 3.60 with a slight upward trend.

MCAT: 502 (2017) —> 511 (129/126/128/128) (2019)

Clinical Experience: Well over 1000 hours working with a family physician/ internal medicine as a medical scribe- I had a strong recommendation from one of these physicians (he is also affiliated faculty at Dell and UTSW).

Research Experience: relatively light at 250 hours, had strong recommendation from this professor.

Shadowing: 75 Hours with a pediatrician, family medicine, Plastic surgery, and an anesthesiologist.

Volunteer: 330 hours clinical, ~2000 hours non-clinical

Main EC's: I was a leader in a healthcare organization and was a leader in the two other volunteer groups I was involved in. Also, I trained middle school and high school students at a health professions camp through Dell medical school for two summers.


This is just a rough overview of my application and at this point I think I look like an average applicant, considering I am ORM. At this point, I think I would need to do some sort of SMP to boost my GPA since Texas schools have such high median matriculant GPA's. I know there are quite a few options in Texas that could help me get over the hump. As of right now I have my eyes on UNT’s SMP program but want to hear what other people think.

Also, I have not applied out of Texas and I am starting to wonder if this might be a viable/ smart move. I know it is rare that a Texas resident applies out of state but I am starting to wonder if this would be a good idea.

 

[FutureInternist]

Have to cast a wide net.
Have you considered DO schools?

 

[Ultimax]

Have to apply to DO asap. Its too late to apply to OOS MD schools now. Its already November and considered late for TMDSAS cycle, and since you have not receiver any invitations, I would go all in on DO schools.

 

[OrganRepo]

Well you should have absolutely applied to the in state DO's at least. Not doing el paso was a bad idea. I gotta tell you though it's pretty strange that you haven't heard from tech or A&M. It makes me suspicious that someone wrote you a mediocre letter. Who did your committee packet and have you seen it? Did you do all the essays in TMDSAS? Is there a potential problem with any of your essays?

 

[Med8597]

Have to cast a wide net.
Have you considered DO schools?

My goal was to stay in Texas due to the lower tuition rates, which is why I only applied In-state. I realize that I may have had too many reach schools.

I have considered DO schools. I have applied to TCOM, but this was the only DO school I applied to in Texas. The other Osteopathic schools in Texas are relatively new and I was tentative to apply.

 

[Med8597]

Have to apply to DO asap. Its too late to apply to OOS MD schools now. Its already November and considered late for TMDSAS cycle, and since you have not receiver any invitations, I would go all in on DO schools.

Yes, I agree that it is quite late in the cycle. I am considering applying out of state next year rather than now. I want to maximize my opportunity and don't mind waiting. This is also why I was considering an SMP for the next year. My thought process right now is that it seems too late for me on all fronts and an SMP might give a slight bump in GPA and make me a more attractive applicant, especially in Texas.

Do you think it would be wise for me to start applying to DO schools so late in the cycle?

 

[Med8597]

Well you should have absolutely applied to the in state DO's at least. Not doing el paso was a bad idea. I gotta tell you though it's pretty strange that you haven't heard from tech or A&M. It makes me suspicious that someone wrote you a mediocre letter. Who did your committee packet and have you seen it? Did you do all the essays in TMDSAS? Is there a potential problem with any of your essays?

I did apply to TCOM and was surprised when I did not get a II. However, I suspect one aspect was from my failure to get an II was because I did not submit the "recommended" additional recommendation letter from a DO. I actually don't know very many DO's well enough for them to write a letter, so I opted to submit the secondary without one.

Yes, I am kicking myself right now over El Paso. Seems like I was too ambitious/ confident with my choice of schools.

I did complete all the essays in TMDSAS and I don't think there were any potential problems in my essays. I made sure to have my PS critiqued by multiple physicians and had a writing center evaluate it multiple times.

I did not submit a committee packet to TMDSAS. Instead, I opted for individual letters of recommendation. I had three letters. One from an MD that I scribe for, one from a professor I took multiple classes with and did research for, and another from the leader of the organization I volunteered with all four years of college. Two even let me read the letter prior to submission and it seemed great.

 

[Agentcross]

Applying three years back to back to back will look bad. You will likely have to take a gap year to strengthen your app. If you want to be a doctor, you’ll apply DO OOS now. Worrying about cost of school when you have no IIs is a bit silly. You will make more than enough to pay it back

 

[Med8597]

Applying three years back to back to back will look bad. You will likely have to take a gap year to strengthen your app. If you want to be a doctor, you’ll apply DO OOS now. Worrying about cost of school when you have no IIs is a bit silly. You will make more than enough to pay it back

Do you think I have a legitimate shot at DO OOS this late in the cycle? I am tempted to take a gap year/complete an SMP, then reapply two cycles from now. Not sure what would be a better option at this point.

 

[Agentcross]

Do you think I have a legitimate shot at DO OOS this late in the cycle? I am tempted to take a gap year/complete an SMP, then reapply two cycles from now. Not sure what would be a better option at this point.

Definitely. OOS doesn’t matter as much for DO schools. Generally, the app is considered late if you submit post thanksgiving for DO

 

[Faha]

Do you think I have a legitimate shot at DO OOS this late in the cycle? I am tempted to take a gap year/complete an SMP, then reapply two cycles from now. Not sure what would be a better option at this point.

You are fine to apply this month to DO schools and you are competitive for all DO schools with your stats: I suggest these schools:
UIWSOM
Sam Houston State
BCOM
AZCOM
TUNCOM
ARCOM
NYIT-ARKANSAS
ACOM
VCOM (all 4 schools)
CUSOM
DMU-COM
CCOM
KCU-COM
ATSU-KCOM
MU-COM
LECOM (all schools)

 

[Isoval]

I did apply to TCOM and was surprised when I did not get a II. However, I suspect one aspect was from my failure to get an II was because I did not submit the "recommended" additional recommendation letter from a DO. I actually don't know very many DO's well enough for them to write a letter, so I opted to submit the secondary without one.

The TCOM DO letter recommendation is a weak recommendation at best. I would bet more than half of my class did not submit one, and neither did I.

With that being said, I know people last year who had numbers in the 3.6/511 range that received a late TCOM interview -> waitlist -> reject.

If you think the letters you submitted this cycle are stronger than the one you would have gotten from the DO physician, my recommendation is to continue using the letters you had this cycle. If it would simply be an addition to the letters you already have, it probably can't hurt. I would take a very hard look at your personal statements. If you applied this cycle with the 502, then that's a very easy reason to cite why you didn't get an invitation to interview at TCOM - our lowest accepted MCAT score last year I think was a 501 or 502 (don't recall if this included or excluded waitlist). I think you will have much more luck with a 511 if you didn't have the 511 last cycle.

Additionally, about 50 students in my class are previous UNTHSC SMP students, comprising almost a fourth of our class. Many others of our SMP students fanned out to other Texas medical schools. If you make it out of this cycle with nothing, it would be a reasonable option. However, given your MCAT retake, I see minimal use for the program.

 

[TwoHighways]

Every year you put off practicing comes at a huge cost. Yes, it's nice to get into a Texas school and benefit from the much more affordable tuition that you'd get here vs UIW, Sam, or OOS DO, but it costs far more to wait around so to speak.

 

[FutureInternist]

TCOM is essentially an MD school as far as stats are concerned.
Given that it is within the Texas “match” for med students it can afford to be more choosy.

Apply to any and all DO schools you are able to afford (and factor in interview costs) stat

 

[Belphegor]

Did you end up hearing back from any schools or applying to OOS DO schools?

I’m a TX re-applicant with similar stats (3.6x GPA, 500–>508).

I applied same time as you but received more luck for TX II but no prematch thus far.

However, I did not want to risk a 3rd cycle for many reasons, so I applied to OOS MD and OOS DO schools that are very friendly to OOS applicants. Ended up hearing from 2 OOS MD schools and all 5 DO schools I applied to. So, don’t expect a TX bias with your stats as long as you apply to schools within your range.

Currently holding a DO acceptance at DMU, so super thrilled for that. It’s going to cost more than TX tuition but, like others have said, waiting for a TX acceptance that may never come means taking a huge loss in future profits.

I know it might be late for DO schools, but I think you should toss a couple apps in if you don’t mind going OOS. I know you’re thinking of doing an SMP but that just seems unnecessary with your stats. If you do an SMP, you will have to wait 2+ years before applying again and 3+ years to start. Do you really not mind waiting that long?

Note: I didn’t apply to UIW, Sam U, or TCU for personal reasons. Plus they would cost just as much as an OOS school.

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