UNTHSC MS Med Sci Program 2013-2014

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Does anyone know what the class schedule is like for each semester? I've seen the course list for each on their website but wondering how many days a week you're in class and for what time.

It's a safe bet to say 8-5 usually. Our main classes in Fall started at 8 am and we'd usually have two or three hours worth, then lunch, then some times an afternoon lecture like histo or health disparities. Every Wednesday we had epidemiology lecture from 5-8pm. Some classes we had throughout the semester like histo, health disp, and epi. The rest of the classes lasted a few weeks starting with biochem, then cell bio, and ending with immuno/micro

Now during the spring, class usually starts at 8 and it's physio. We have about two or three hours worth of physio before lunch. Then the afternoon is usually anatomy lecture or lab. Every thursday we have intro to clinical research in the afternoon and we barely started ethics on wednesdays. Anatomy and physio will finish in april and then pharm will start in the mornings.

Exams are usually 8 am

Also our class had a little over 200 when we started. I'm not sure what it is now though.
 
Also our class had a little over 200 when we started. I'm not sure what it is now though.

I remember reading what you wrote from past UNT Med Sci threads, but I'm fuzzy with details. What year did you start the program? And are you in a med school in TX now? How much do you think the program helped you in the whole process?

Our class (the class before UTsksk's) started the summer with 205, started the fall with 185, and started the spring with about 150. I think ~130 graduated on time?

I understand the disparity between summer and fall (med school waitlist spots) but do you know why there was such a difference between the fall and spring? Did those 35 people figure being a physician wasn't for them, or...? Also, the 25 people or so that didn't graduate on time - does that mean they fail a course and had to retake, or...?

Also, same question I posed to UTsksk - what year did you start the program, and are you in a med school? How much do you think the program helped in the app process?
 
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I remember reading what you wrote from past UNT Med Sci threads, but I'm fuzzy with details. What year did you start the program? And are you in a med school in TX now? How much do you think the program helped you in the whole process?



I understand the disparity between summer and fall (med school waitlist spots) but do you know why there was such a difference between the fall and spring? Did those 35 people figure being a physician wasn't for them, or...? Also, the 25 people or so that didn't graduate on time - does that mean they fail a course and had to retake, or...?

Also, same question I posed to UTsksk - what year did you start the program, and are you in a med school? How much do you think the program helped in the app process?

I started the program summer 2013 so I'm currently in the spring semester of the program so I'll be finishing in May. I'm not in med school, but hopefully TCOM gives me an offer so I can start in July. I think the program has helped me quite a bit, but you have the remember that being in the program is somewhat like a double edged sword. If you do well, and it's very possible to do so, it opens doors. However, if you mess around, then I'm not sure what happens. From a panel of admission that spoke to us, it seems that TX med schools look really well on the program and they said it mostly helps applicants after the program is done so they can see how you did. However, I have some friends that got in during the program.

As far as the drop in students, I think that can be attributed to people getting off waitlists in the summer, people just changing their mind, people putting the program on hold, and some not making the grades needed to graduate. You need a 3.0 to graduate from the program so I've heard of people having to retake courses over the summer/fall. The program is hard and it will be challenging, but it is definitely possible to succeed.
 
Our class (the class before UTsksk's) started the summer with 205, started the fall with 185, and started the spring with about 150. I think ~130 graduated on time?

Hmm so they're looking at like 20 OOS? 90% IS right?
 
So the deadline is in 15 days...and since it's rolling admissions and none of us have heard back...maybe we all got rejected 😛
 
Hmm so they're looking at like 20 OOS? 90% IS right?

When I was at orientation they also stated that they do not have a preference for IS or OOS. That's only for their medical school.

Anyone spoke to them as of recently? Wonder if they're just going to wait until March 15th to start reviewing.. I also wonder how many completed apps are in as of now.
 
Hey guys I had a quick question and I don't know if anyone else could answer this, but I requested for copies of my transcripts to have been sent a couple of weeks before I had submitted my online application. MY question is would the transcripts have arrived there and since there wasn't a completed application to match it to, would they have tossed them out? Or would they have kept them and then matched them later to my online application that was submitted afterwards?
 
Hey guys I had a quick question and I don't know if anyone else could answer this, but I requested for copies of my transcripts to have been sent a couple of weeks before I had submitted my online application. MY question is would the transcripts have arrived there and since there wasn't a completed application to match it to, would they have tossed them out? Or would they have kept them and then matched them later to my online application that was submitted afterwards?

This is a question you should ask the admissions office. Let them know you are and what the situation is. My best guess is, since there wasn't an application to match it to, it's probably in paper purgatory, in their office. Something of an "unsorted" pile of papers.

Again, I'd e-mail them ASAP, since the deadline is the 15th. I'm not sure if that hard date is only the app or the app + relevant docs.
 
When I was at orientation they also stated that they do not have a preference for IS or OOS. That's only for their medical school.

Anyone spoke to them as of recently? Wonder if they're just going to wait until March 15th to start reviewing.. I also wonder how many completed apps are in as of now.

At this point, I'm banking on them reviewing about a week after the deadline (an extra week so that all the transcripts / other docs of students can get sorted).
 
Hey guys I had a quick question and I don't know if anyone else could answer this, but I requested for copies of my transcripts to have been sent a couple of weeks before I had submitted my online application. MY question is would the transcripts have arrived there and since there wasn't a completed application to match it to, would they have tossed them out? Or would they have kept them and then matched them later to my online application that was submitted afterwards?

Hi there! I submitted my application a couple of days ago, and I had sent in my transcripts and everything else the week before. Today, I received an email saying that everything had been processed, and when I logged in to the system, it said that my application was complete. I called the office, and they verified that everything had been received. So, I'm pretty sure that they would have kept everything. Again, I would call to verify, just to make sure.
 
Thanks for the replies guys! So I emailed Jessica Brewer and she let me know if the transcripts had come in first they would've kept them in a file to match up with the application later on. I also called their office though and the guy let me know unfortunately the only thing they had for my app was the mcat score but that they're adding stuff received on Feb 19th today so they're definitely swamped with sorting it all out. The guy assured me though that as long as the all the documents are in by the 15th then you're all good even if they haven't sorted it all out by then. I'm assuming by in he meant in the pile of stuff to be sorted lol.

My issue is a letter of recommendation I asked for almost two months ago that I'm still waiting to be sent in...needless to say with the deadline this close I'm riddled with anxiety over this.
 
It's quite the opposite. I called last week. Turns out the committee's not meeting until a couple of more weeks, so I'm guessing early March? I asked about the matriculants, and it turns out this year, there's a bunch of applicants. They usually accept about 50%, but this year, it's looking to be more about 35% or even less.

Is this a guess or did u ask them and they said that they are accepting 35%? I went to the open house and they gave me a number that corresponded to a 50% acceptance rate. It's kind of hard to believe that in one year it's going to drop to 35%..
 
That's the number Jessica gave me. It's because they have more applicants this year than previous years. But it seemed like she was just estimating so it might be higher or lower than 35
 
That's the number Jessica gave me. It's because they have more applicants this year than previous years. But it seemed like she was just estimating so it might be higher or lower than 35

So that must meant their getting at least 700 apps.. That's nuts. Well they told me that the average stats were a 3.2 and 25 so I wonder if that's gonna change
 
So I spoke with Jessica today and she said that they have started to review files and have not sent out any acceptances yet.

Hmm, she said she'd e-mail the applicants when they started reviewing.

Oh well, I'm just glad they've finally started to review. Hopefully we all hear back soon.
 
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My issue is a letter of recommendation I asked for almost two months ago that I'm still waiting to be sent in...needless to say with the deadline this close I'm riddled with anxiety over this.

This is definitely the time to politely harass your letter writer, lol.
 
Finding this thread is a double edged sword.
Pros: you know what others are going through, and you can see the if the process is moving along
Cons: I will check it everyday and get paranoid every time someone else gets an acceptance and I have not heard anything.

Best of luck to you all...
 
I started the program summer 2013 so I'm currently in the spring semester of the program so I'll be finishing in May. I'm not in med school, but hopefully TCOM gives me an offer so I can start in July. I think the program has helped me quite a bit, but you have the remember that being in the program is somewhat like a double edged sword. If you do well, and it's very possible to do so, it opens doors. However, if you mess around, then I'm not sure what happens. From a panel of admission that spoke to us, it seems that TX med schools look really well on the program and they said it mostly helps applicants after the program is done so they can see how you did. However, I have some friends that got in during the program.

As far as the drop in students, I think that can be attributed to people getting off waitlists in the summer, people just changing their mind, people putting the program on hold, and some not making the grades needed to graduate. You need a 3.0 to graduate from the program so I've heard of people having to retake courses over the summer/fall. The program is hard and it will be challenging, but it is definitely possible to succeed.

Is this program any good for pre-dental students??
 
it's about time to send out those acceptances. This waiting game is annoying ....:nailbiting:
 
it's about time to send out those acceptances. This waiting game is annoying ....:nailbiting:

I think threads from past years had people getting acceptances up until the start of May. So the anxiety might not end for some of us, lol.
 
I think threads from past years had people getting acceptances up until the start of May. So the anxiety might not end for some of us, lol.

that's a bummer. I guess being non-trad sucks, it is nearly impossible to predict when to quite your job 🙁
 
It seems like last year, most people who applied before the first of the year heard something on or at the application closing date. I submitted in November of 2012 and got my acceptance e mail on March 15th, 2012, which was the application closing date. Even though they review the apps and accept students on a rolling basis, they do not notify students on a rolling basis (at least this is how it was when I applied last cycle.)

My advice is, learning to be patient for this program is just a warm up for being patient in the med school admission process. It is all a waiting game, and you need to get used to playing it. It sucks, I know. I was a non trad student with a wife and two kids, and it makes your life nearly impossible to plan.

Also, if you are applying for this program, you need to be very honest with yourself. Utsktsk is spot on with his "double edged sword" comment. If you are not prepared for this program, you will fall on your sword. This is not undergrad, which has probably come easily to most of you. Do not start this program if you are not ready to step up and make learn the material. There are very rarely "make or break" moments in the med school process, but this program comes very close to being one of those situations. If you make the grades, and all other things are in place (MCAT, undergrad not horrible, etc.) then you should almost certainly find a place to go to med school, especially if you apply broadly. On the other hand, if you do not make the grades, screw around, make a reputation for yourself as a "problem student", etc. then you can almost certainly say goodbye to your chances of getting accepted somewhere. Granted this is just my opinion on the matter, others may have more to say.

The major benefit of this program, which I feel is the underadvertised advantage, is how well it will prepare you for your first year of med school. Talking to MS-1 students who did this program last year and those who did not, it is clear that MedScis have a distinct advantage, and most are in the top 10% of the class. Those who are not in the top 10% are in the top 50% and probably do not have to put in a lot of effort to stay there (fully where I expect myself to be next year...haha.)

Lastly, I will agree again with what Utsktsk said, regarding the program being viewed favorably by most Texas med schools. I was also surprised at how positively the program was received by OOS med schools. OOS schools would go through my profile, and more often than not this program is what received the most positive response over many other things in my app. Keep in mind I lived and worked in Saudi Arabia as a flight paramedic for over a year, worked as a flight paramedic for a children's hospital, along with a few other things, and people wanted to talk about this program...I was a little surprised.

A lot of people kept telling our class prior to when we started that this program would be one of the most intense, annoying, satisfying, frustrating, happy, sad, mad, experiences thus far in our academic career. I wrote it off when people said that to me, thinking they were being mellow dramatic. So now it is my turn to tell you, that this program is definitely all of those adjectives and more. You won't understand it until you are knee deep in it, but get yourself mentally prepared for it.

Best of luck.
 
Thanks for the advice WTEngel

Anyone think there's a possibility some people will find out today? lol it's nerve wrecking
 
At the beginning of the week, I requested for the transcripts from each of the four colleges I attended to be sent to UNTHSC. If one college is currently on spring break and unable to send my transcript out in time, am I out of luck if my application is complete if only three out of four transcripts received by March 15?

At the open house they told us that they would accept one or two items that were late. So don't worry I think ur ok.
 
Thanks for the advice WTEngel

Anyone think there's a possibility some people will find out today? lol it's nerve wrecking

I don't think so. It's my guess that people might start hearing maybe next week.
 
I was wondering if they send out rejection emails? Or do they silently reject u?
 
I don't think so. It's my guess that people might start hearing maybe next week.
The campus is closed today for spring break and will reopen on Monday. From my understanding students in MedSci do not get a spring break while students at TCOM do. Perhaps the time off next week will give them the time needed to review apps.
 
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Another question here, I had a complete application minus one letter of recommendation that was emailed directly to their office via interfolio when my letter writer finally got it in to my account on Tuesday, but my application still shows as incomplete with the yellow triangle today...does this mean that I missed the deadline? or does everything need to simply be sent to them BY the 15th and they'll update the status later as a 'complete' application?
 
damn i wish i knew about this before.

guess its too late to apply.

how many end up at UNTHSC the following year with no gap year?
 
From my understanding they told us that it would be ok if material were to come in a little late. If the material is already there but not processed yet then I think ur good.

The waiting is killing me. And I have a feeling people are going to start hearing this week....

And to answer the last question. I think they usually accept around 30 med sci students to tcom every year but that can change from one year to the next. This program is designed for the u to apply during the year u are doing the program. Which is different then most SMPs, which want u to wait a year then apply. It has a great rep in Texas and they claim to have a 100 percent placement rate for people who maintain a 3.5 Gpa or better into medical school. But this doesn't include any time frame.
 
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This year there are around 40 or so medscis in the class of 2017. I think there were 55 in the class of 2016.
 
Does anyone think we will hear some news today?
 
Last year the first batch of acceptances went out on the 15th. But that was on a Friday. So I'm wondering if there gonna make us wait til Friday. And last year they seemed to release the each batch on Fridays..
 
The campus is closed today for spring break and will reopen on Monday. From my understanding students in MedSci do not get a spring break while students at TCOM do. Perhaps the time off next week will give them the time needed to review apps.

Lol we got a spring day. We had this past Friday off, but I think people were mentally out of it by Thursday since we had Anatomy exam Monday and Physio exam Wednesday.
 
No I don't think so. I'm guessing we might hear something Friday. I called and Jessica said that we could start hearing something from now until the end of April...
 
I called and Jessica said that we could start hearing something from now until the end of April...

waiting.gif



Amirite or amirite?
 
Hopefully you all don't have to wait much longer since the program starts in two months
 
I don't know if this is consolation to any of you, but my transcripts were sent there 2/25/2014 and they haven't gotten to them yet in the pile of documents. I'm not terribly surprised about the delay given the incredible number of snow days they would have been forced to comply with this winter. Looking forward to hearing how it turns out for everyone! ^_^
 
Did you confirm the transcripts were sent to biomedical sciences? I was informed that if biomedical sciences was not specified the transcripts could be anywhere. In my case I had to resend on my own, yours should be posted already.
 
I did; they also updated my letter of rec status only yesterday and that was sent in February as well. Patience is going to be a virtue this round it seems.
 
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