UNTHSC/TCOM Discussion thread 2008-2009

[symptomz]

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Adding an MD degree to UNT HSC would be very interesting, I'll be following that story closely...

I'm glad to hear that. The way the President's statements begged the question: why not increase TCOM's class size?

EDIT - I just realized tomorrow may be another prematch day! Good luck to those still waiting. Hopefully I'll be joining the lucky chosen...

I'm with you Flushot, if tomorrow is a prematch day I really hope I'm one of the lucky ones to be accepted!

 

[Dissected]

Adding an MD degree to UNT HSC would be very interesting, I'll be following that story closely...

They have this type of thing at MSU don't they?

 

[Miss Walrus]

The issue with the school exploring the addition of an MD option is going to gain a wave of people focusing on the "red herrings" of opposition to the idea, which would be something like "they're doing it only for the money", "they're doing it to fit in with MDs" etc...

There are more pressing issues facing TCOM students in the next couple of years than most of the student body realize.

Give it a couple of weeks/months for discussions to materialize and bring to the surface the true motive behind the exploration of this idea and then react appropriately.

 

[meganmarie]

The issue with the school exploring the addition of an MD option is going to gain a wave of people focusing on the "red herrings" of opposition to the idea, which would be something like "they're doing it only for the money", "they're doing it to fit in with MDs" etc...

There are more pressing issues facing TCOM students in the next couple of years than most of the student body realize.

Give it a couple of weeks/months for discussions to materialize and bring to the surface the true motive behind the exploration of this idea and then react appropriately.

Ok I understand that this is not supposed to affect students now or in the next couple of years....but if there is opposition from the AOA, couldnt that potentially be dangerous to the school and students? I do not know a thing about accreditation(so please enlighten me 🙄), but if the AOA becomes angry, could there be problems with accreditation?

Also, what are the more pressing issues the student body does not realize you are talking about....that kind of talks makes me nervous 😕

 

[meganmarie]

and YES MSU does have this same thing going on.....they have both a DO and MD school with separate admissions. However, the DO and MD students share all 1st and 2nd year classes like biochem, anatomy, etc. Not sure how TCOM would do it though.

 

[Miss Walrus]

Ok I understand that this is not supposed to affect students now or in the next couple of years....but if there is opposition from the AOA, couldnt that potentially be dangerous to the school and students? I do not know a thing about accreditation(so please enlighten me 🙄), but if the AOA becomes angry, could there be problems with accreditation?

Also, what are the more pressing issues the student body does not realize you are talking about....that kind of talks makes me nervous 😕

Stuff like securing enough rotation spots for med students, especially with the incoming classes getting larger and larger.

Also, the potential for an allopathic medical school to open up in Fort Worth (ie a competitor).

etc...

Don't worry about all this stuff...even if they decided today that they would add an MD degree, it would take at least 10 years before it would materialize.

And no, TCOM's accreditation is not in danger and nor will it ever be.

 

[meganmarie]

Stuff like securing enough rotation spots for med students, especially with the incoming classes getting larger and larger.

Also, the potential for an allopathic medical school to open up in Fort Worth (ie a competitor).

etc...

Don't worry about all this stuff...even if they decided today that they would add an MD degree, it would take at least 10 years before it would materialize.

And no, TCOM's accreditation is not in danger and nor will it ever be.

ok good 🙂 thanks!

 

[veritas1]

I really don't know what to say. It seems that the feeling I got during the interview and tour was confirmed by reading this. I'm a little speechless.....

....One of my interviewers was fervently DO and had 3 generations of DOs, 2 from TCOM, and he is on the board of admissions too, so I'd like to see how he and others respond to this. If this is really only the idea of the top officials, I could also see the faculty and administration shooting down this proposal. In that case, TCOM would seem even more die-hard and independent than it used to be....

Wow! Interesting. I thought my interview there was a little unusual that both of my interviewers were MD's! Of the DO schools I looked at, I felt that the gap between DO/MD was bridged here more than elsewhere.

 

[Sarg's kid]

Wow! Interesting. I thought my interview there was a little unusual that both of my interviewers were MD's! Of the DO schools I looked at, I felt that the gap between DO/MD was bridged here more than elsewhere.

I felt the same way.

 

[czanetti]

🙂 soon we will find out what will be going on Ransom agreed to a meeting w/ the students I'll keep you guys updated

 

[Flushot]

The issue with the school exploring the addition of an MD option is going to gain a wave of people focusing on the "red herrings" of opposition to the idea, which would be something like "they're doing it only for the money", "they're doing it to fit in with MDs" etc...

There are more pressing issues facing TCOM students in the next couple of years than most of the student body realize.

Give it a couple of weeks/months for discussions to materialize and bring to the surface the true motive behind the exploration of this idea and then react appropriately.

Yeah, it was kind of a gut reaction. I realize this is far from being reality, so I was just discussing it. When the dust settles, I guess then we can really talk.

Wow! Interesting. I thought my interview there was a little unusual that both of my interviewers were MD's! Of the DO schools I looked at, I felt that the gap between DO/MD was bridged here more than elsewhere.

Yeah, my 2nd interviewer was MD as well. I'm just saying who my first interviewer was. It's not like he was slamming MDs or anything either; he was just very proud of the tradition in his family and TCOM's history too.

I don't think any school that I have come to know has a 'rift' if you will, but TCOM has a special feel to it, at least to me. I wrote specifically about it earlier, but I think they are proud of what they are and it doesn't have to involve widening the divide between the degrees.

 

[Flushot]

Here is an interesting tid bit on how much money TCOM has
President Scott Ransom's Salary:
http://startelegram.typepad.com/extra_credit/higher_education/

Wow, he gets that much at a time like this? I wonder if the economy will affect him.

Also, to add on to Miss Walrus said, I'm sure the reason he suggested this and put it out to the press of TCOM introducing the MD degree is part of the 'real' reason behind it being suggested. When I first read the story, I saw no input or comment from the Dean of TCOM or anyone in the UNT system regarding it, so it was either very, very preliminary or the higher ups decided this on their own.

EDIT - Anyone get any good news today? No changes for me 🙁

 

[marvolush]

nope, nothing for me. the only good news is that we only have 5 possible dates left to predict as opposed to about 30 😛 relieves some anxiety.

 

[symptomz]

yeah nothing for me either. when is the last date that they would send out? since I assume they will close for winterbreak

 

[Flushot]

We speculate it will be next Friday, if anything.

I hope to have my LoI sent out tomorrow or Monday, if that will change anything, but for most of everyone, I think we can just sit tight.

 

[dcowboys22]

No news for me either. Hopefully we will get some good news next week! The offices close from the 24th on. So I think we might have more than a week.

 

[Flushot]

They might close up shop as early as the 19th. It seems unreasonable for staff to stay an additional day or so unless they're really bogged down.

I honestly would just give them this week. They're already making preparations for it according to megan's report, so let's just hope this one is a big one.

On another note, I think I'll hold off on the LoI after reading another thread just started today about them. I think these things are more intended for the waitlisted people, at least, that's what the consensus suggests.

Sooooo, what to talk about for a week...😕

 

[time2go]

first VY, now Colt robbed of the heisman...

 

[Flushot]

Is that the current issue in the RoT thread?

 

[time2go]

im not sure but i was hoping anyone but bradford

 

[Flushot]

I'm also guessing that everyone is studying for finals right now, thus the emptiness of the thread. That said, I wonder if people will be around next week too since the holiday break really starts then.

It's also sad to see that not many TCOM people show up on SDN either. I'm glad czanetti stopped by and will even update us on the Ransom meeting about the MD thing, so that's cool. It's just when I look at the 07-08 thread, I haven't seen many of them around or even to stop by in this thread. I guess med school is busy 🙂

 

[marvolush]

yup studying for finals....*sigh*...

anyway i had a dream the other night that i was checking my status page and it said "You are accepted!!" what a cruel thing it was to wake up 😛

sidenote: Go Texans! (beat the Titans today)

 

[Flushot]

Haha, ah the old acceptance dream. I had both yours and a malicious one where they called me and said congrats only to say they were just kidding and I was rejected, followed by copious amounts of laughter on their end.

It's been a rough few weeks 🙁

 

[marvolush]

haha okay you win in terms of the cruelty of the dream. perhaps they'll send out their last pre-match offers at the beginning of the week so it won't be a hellish full week 😉 plus we'll have the lovely SDN to let out our frustrations.

 

[Flushot]

Oh you know that's why I signed up to SDN in the first place

Even so, I wouldn't call Friday the end all. At this rate, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Feb 1st.

 

[time2go]

TEXANS??? How bout them cowboys?!?!?

 

[dcowboys22]

TEXANS??? How bout them cowboys?!?!?

Yeah cowboys!! Great Win! Now we just gotta continue and roll over the ravens on saturday!

 

[symptomz]

No news for me today. Sheesh it was really cold here in fort worth today. (go cowboys! although I am starting to like the Texans as well).

Hopefully we'll all get some good news this week!🙂

 

[Sarg's kid]

No news for me today. Sheesh it was really cold here in fort worth today. (go cowboys! although I am starting to like the Texans as well).

Hopefully we'll all get some good news this week!🙂

I've been having fantasies of being in Texas ALL DAY. It's running -5 here in Minnesota and -25 with the wind chill effect.

 

[meganmarie]

I've been having fantasies of being in Texas ALL DAY. It's running -5 here in Minnesota and -25 with the wind chill effect.

I feel you, we are in a wind advisory here in the mitten.....hopefully I will get some good news in January and I can too dream of Texas

 

[Flushot]

I've been having fantasies of being in Texas ALL DAY. It's running -5 here in Minnesota and -25 with the wind chill effect.

Wow, really? It hit 75 F here in AZ on Saturday. Now it's down to 45 and a bit chilly if you ask me 🙂

 

[Miss Walrus]

It's also sad to see that not many TCOM people show up on SDN either. I'm glad czanetti stopped by and will even update us on the Ransom meeting about the MD thing, so that's cool. It's just when I look at the 07-08 thread, I haven't seen many of them around or even to stop by in this thread. I guess med school is busy 🙂

TCOM will keep you extremely busy, this is true. However, most of the students are on Facebook and rarely use SDN.

With that being said, I think there are TCOM students who browse the forums and will post in response to questions, rather than creating new posts. Also, folks tend to monitor the medical student forums rather than the pre-med stuff 🙂

 

[Flushot]

TCOM will keep you extremely busy, this is true. However, most of the students are on Facebook and rarely use SDN.

With that being said, I think there are TCOM students who browse the forums and will post in response to questions, rather than creating new posts. Also, folks tend to monitor the medical student forums rather than the pre-med stuff 🙂

Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. This thread is like a second home online to me now it seems, so it would be so hard for me to imagine not coming back next year if I get in.

That said, it makes sense for them to move up forums, so to speak.

 

[Manipulation]

I am a TCOM student. The lowest MCAT I am aware of in my class is a 21 (and I am not that close with everyone to know their scores). GPA's have a broad range, the lowest I know is 2.6 (that person applied 3 times). Any thing is possible, persistence pays off. TCOM really does look at the entire package, special circumstances and no one number is going to make or break you. Afterall, osteopathy is all about looking at the whole person.

Prematch is the devil...match isn't much more fun....waitlist is torture, but it can be magic. Don't write it off until they have told you no...I ended up getting into 1/3 of med schools I applied to...all on the waitlist at the end of June...so it really isn't over unitl it is over. Make your backup plan, start it if you have to, and relax and enjoy your friends and family while you can (important moments so don't let them slip by). I know it sounds like the most awful thing ever right now...but you can reapply and it isn't the end of the world (persistence pays off) and on day one of orientation everyone is on the same playing field, nobody really cares how you got there.

 

[Manipulation]

Hi Everyone,
I've been following this thread for awhile but haven't posted anything. I have been accepted to UNT and just received the letter today, however it says that was accepted into the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine- Rural Medicine Curriculum. I did apply and interview to the ROME program when I went for my formal interview because I do have a genuine interest in rural medicine-- I wanted more information than anything else, though. I did not realize that I was committing if I was admitted. Are there any current students out there that can advise? Am I really committed to this, and if so would you recommend it? I don't want to pigeon-hole myself if I choose to go into a non-primary care specialty later. Just need more info...

I am a current ROME student. It is an interesting program and I love it, but it is definately not for everyone...too much to talk for this thread. For more information send Dr. John Bowling (program director) an email (you can get it from TCOM website) and tell him you want to talk to a ROME student in person...he will respond with someone's info...I would give you mine now, but I don't really want the whole world to have my personal info (I am sure you understand).

 

[Flushot]

I am a TCOM student. The lowest MCAT I am aware of in my class is a 21 (and I am not that close with everyone to know their scores). GPA's have a broad range, the lowest I know is 2.6 (that person applied 3 times). Any thing is possible, persistence pays off. TCOM really does look at the entire package, special circumstances and no one number is going to make or break you. Aferall, osteopathy is all about looking at the whole person.

Hey, thanks for the info. It's really nice to see some more TCOM people come back to the bowels of the pre-med thread for some inspiration.

That said, I have to ask: is there anything we can do as of now to affect the match? Or does our supplemental materials, i.e. transcripts, LoIs, etc. only work afterwards? I'm just curious if you would know, since from the flowerly language the admissions is giving me, it's after Feb 1st we can start showing our interest.

Thanks again.

 

[teacherman]

Has anyone been able to open up the Scholarship Application that is on the TCOM website?

 

[meganmarie]

Has anyone been able to open up the Scholarship Application that is on the TCOM website?

I have tried to open it too, but all that comes up are some tabs that I can't click on. Maybe it will become available next year sometime?

 

[teacherman]

I have tried to open it too, but all that comes up are some tabs that I can't click on. Maybe it will become available next year sometime?

Thanks. Just wanted to make sure that it wasn't just me.

 

[Manipulation]

Hey, thanks for the info. It's really nice to see some more TCOM people come back to the bowels of the pre-med thread for some inspiration.

That said, I have to ask: is there anything we can do as of now to affect the match? Or does our supplemental materials, i.e. transcripts, LoIs, etc. only work afterwards? I'm just curious if you would know, since from the flowerly language the admissions is giving me, it's after Feb 1st we can start showing our interest.

Thanks again.

most likely after the match...that is when waitlist jockeying begins

 

[veraisme]

Miss Walrus posted answers to some common questions on the Class of 2013 TCOM thread if you want to check it out.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=585861

 

[Flushot]

I have tried to open it too, but all that comes up are some tabs that I can't click on. Maybe it will become available next year sometime?

I can open to the point where it asks to search for an existing application. When did you guys notice this? I just noticed when you two brought it up.

most likely after the match...that is when waitlist jockeying begins

Yeah, I figured that's what was going to happen.

 

[mlclonghorn]

so i've been mia for a while because of finals and packing and traveling. bleh. so, my mom mentioned something about unthsc adding md... funny that she heard it, too.

and reading over the thread... i am po'd beyond belief that COLT did not get the Heisman... I was sure it was a set... sigh, he really is a good leader. Anyway, maybe next year?!

Everyone ready for Christmas? I am! It's finally cold, but I love how the forcast for Fri/Sat here in Dallas says 70, then back to the lower temps. Freezing fog... oh so bizarre.

 

[Flushot]

Haha, the break is so minor for me...we have tests right after the break too. I'm also not a big fan of the cold, so it'll be an uneventful, studying holiday for sure.

 

[meganmarie]

ohhh boo hoo the cold.....right now its 23 here and we are going on around 4 inches of the white stuff since about 3 hours ago so I dont wanna hear it 😡 Oh but on the upside, its supposed to be a BALMY 30 tomorrow 🙁

 

[Flushot]

Oh megan, if you only knew the temp here in the desert...you'd be furious with me. Even I think it's too cold over here 🙁

 

[Live4Life]

It was cold as could be yesterday (12/15) in Dallas. I was flying through DFW and my plane got stuck on the tarmac for 5 hours while we waited to be de-iced. Unfortunately, since Dallas doesn't get cold all that often, they only have like 3 de-icing machines for the 100 planes in lines to take-off, so it took forever. I was only "outside" while walking the gang plank onto the plane but the pilot said it was 17 degrees and I could definitely see the breath out of my nostrils every time I exhaled.

 

[Flushot]

I think Dallas gets pretty cold it's fair share of days. The problem is that it is so inconsistent sometimes that it's cheaper to just not have that many machines. Overall, it doesn't make sense, but when you're bleeding money, you have to seal up somewhere.

On a possibly related note, TCOM closes on Monday, Dec 22 according to the Home page to get to status, so Thursday or Friday will probably be the last pre-match run. It's also possible that they released offers today, but no one's run in with the good news yet, so maybe not. I didn't get any 🙁

 

[Live4Life]

I called earlier in the week and they didn't have any updates and couldn't tell me when I would be reviewed so who knows. (I'm OOS by the way).

 

[dcowboys22]

Anybody get any news today?