UNTHSC/TCOM Discussion thread 2008-2009

[meganmarie]

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everyone already knows I'm OOS 🙂 but I just interviewed and was strictly told my committee wouldn't meet til the new year.....bummer 🙁

 

[Flushot]

Hmm, maybe they're the same committee that finalizes the ranked list for the match as well. Since there are no more interviews either, I'm guessing that's what the entire latter 2-3 weeks of Jan is for. Although, I don't think it would take them very long unless, like we speculated, they run through all of the applicants again just to make sure.

We've had a few people come around here with reports of rejections, so they definitely aren't leaving people up in the air, at least, I hope not.

 

[symptomz]

What you said makes sense, Flushot. It looks like we all have the match to look forward to. Today's batch of prematches were a little anticlimactic because I was expecting a lot more chatter on here like on the other prematch days.

I really just want to know if I was accepted or not, I really hate all this waiting! But overall I'm glad I still have a shot, and hopefully that will all pay off for ALL OF US, still waiting, on Feb.1st 🙂

 

[marvolush]

did half of the posts on this page get deleted.....

well you guys were talking about getting a rejection from Tech-El Paso? i haven't heard anything from them since my interview. how did you all find out?

anyway, yea i find it extremely odd that none of us out of a supposed 50 people have heard anything. makes me want to hope for them working tomorrow. i was looking on mdapps and someone got accepted via status change on friday, 11/14 but got the call saturday, 11/15. i don't know. maybe some wishful thinking on my part. the quiet day today was definitely odd. 😕

 

[Flushot]

I had a lengthy post devoured by the glitches SDN had earlier. I forgot what it was about too

Anyhow, I sensed that today wouldn't be all that crazy. In my cases, it's usually what works out goes the most difficult way possible, although I don't consider waiting for the match difficult.

Yeah, it is a shame no one else or anyone IS got a notice. I guess we need to keep things going until the big day.

did half of the posts on this page get deleted.....

well you guys were talking about getting a rejection from Tech-El Paso? i haven't heard anything from them since my interview. how did you all find out?

I got an email from them. I think it was a mass email, since my friend here got it at the same time (we were at computers in the library).

If you haven't heard anything, it seems that you'll just have to rank them for the match. Speaking of it, which one is your top pick?

 

[mzebda]

They definetly had has fooled today with the 50 pre-matches. I am kind of curious if they actually gave any out to the in-staters. I know one of the guys got a call early in the morning but I think he was out of state. I am just curious about how much of their class has been filled.

 

[marvolush]

If you haven't heard anything, it seems that you'll just have to rank them for the match. Speaking of it, which one is your top pick?

i've only been interviewed by TCOM and Tech-El Paso (MCAT was the death of my application) but out of those two TCOM is my top choice. i'm definitely not too crazy about El Paso and i'm wary about their new curriculum. they just seem super excited about everything and i'm afraid it's going to be one of those things where the idea is way too big for the reality of life as a med student. just my opinion. El Paso is the biggest turn off about that school though.

the only thing about TCOM that i'm afraid of is the fact that i'll be taking the COMLEX and USMLE. considering how bad i am with standardized tests...i'm terrified of the boards now. but i do feel that TCOM will be the best place to prepare me to pass the boards as well as to be a doctor. and what can i say...their gross anatomy lab is a beauty 😉

ok so that's the little discussion i've had in my head for the past few months in a nutshell. how did you feel about Tech-El Paso?

 

[mzebda]

That is a drawback taking both of the exams, but I have heard TCOM has an excellent passing rate on the USMLE. They mentioned at my interview its about 94-95% for the USMLE which is higher than some of the M.D. schools here in Texas.

 

[meganmarie]

the only thing about TCOM that i'm afraid of is the fact that i'll be taking the COMLEX and USMLE. considering how bad i am with standardized tests...i'm terrified of the boards now. but i do feel that TCOM will be the best place to prepare me to pass the boards as well as to be a doctor. and what can i say...their gross anatomy lab is a beauty

I wouldnt worry about the COMLEX and USMLE....although they are considered "standardized" I really wouldnt look at it this way. I have a professor at my school now that teaches his BIO classes with USMLE flashcards and test questions structured like the boards. Honestly, I am not good at standardized tests either, but the board questions seem way reasonable if you know your stuff, and I really don't compare them to any other standardized test. At least thats what I gather from looking over board study books and like I said, having that professor who writes for the USMLE! Don't sweat it 🙂 Plus, like someone said, TCOM is great at preparing students for BOTH tests!

 

[Flushot]

That is a drawback taking both of the exams, but I have heard TCOM has an excellent passing rate on the USMLE. They mentioned at my interview its about 94-95% for the USMLE which is higher than some of the M.D. schools here in Texas.

Yes, they made a good point to mention this during my interview day too.

Furthermore, you really only have to take both exams at the Step 1 level. After that, it's just step 2 and 3 for the COMLEX, and both pass rates are very good at TCOM.

How do I feel about El-Paso? I guess I have reservations like any other brand new school and the fact that the homicide rate in Jarez is up like 55% or something due to just drug related incidents. Sure, the drug strip isn't like in front of the school but it is fairly close.

Safety isn't my biggest issue with the school, but I think that most people wouldn't want to be the experimental class, which is what they will be for this year. Schools do learn quickly though, so it's not like El Paso 2013 is screwed; they'll just have to put up with a few things.

I guess this is also how you feel about the city too. I've never been there so I would have to judge everything simply by the interview and I'm not sure that would be enough time.

 

[dcowboys22]

Yeah, TCOM board scores and passing rates are very good.

My post from yesterday also got deleted. I'm kind of surprised there wasn't more activity & good news here.

 

[Flushot]

Yeah, TCOM's boards are very impressive and they're proud of it too.

Yeah, it was a pretty low key day yesterday; the errors SDN was having probably made it that way too. I also wonder when our statuses will change from under review to wait until judgment day 😱

 

[dcowboys22]

I also wonder when our statuses will change from under review to wait until judgment day 😱

Will our statuses change or will they just remain the same, until after match day?

 

[Flushot]

According to last years thread, they will change to something along the lines of "Wait until match day". When I get the time, I plan to compile all of the facts from the last thread and post them here.

Well, 'facts' might be a too strong a word. They speculated a lot on what the committee was thinking or how they would act. But, I think dates and notices are steady.

 

[teacherman]

Is anyone here into running? Just checking to see if anyone else was training for the Houston marathon. Ran 21 miles today and it was something. Anyway, best of luck to everyone and hope you all have a happy holidays!

 

[Flushot]

I think TexasTriathelete was big into it. There's a few people in the VCOM thread who are big into extreme sports. I think it's VCOM.

Yeah, happy winter solstice! It happens to be today, so I'm glad someone posted so I wouldn't have to talk to myself

 

[time2go]

im a runner, furthest i have run was a 10k though

 

[Flushot]

Yeah, I'm sure my endurance sucks; I could never run that far.

It's kind of lonely in here...everyone with their friends and family I guess 🙁

Just had an exam and need to study for the next one too.

 

[marvolush]

hah i'm active but not THAT active. i run ~2.5 miles on my treadmill every other day but i don't think i'll ever run 21 miles at once. i hiked 18km in el salvador and it was an all day thing 😛 i'm from houston too btw.

anyway i'm not quite relaxing with the family yet. going to shadow an ER doc on night shift tonight. good luck on your exam Flushot!

 

[teacherman]

I am usually more into 5 and 10 Ks myself. This is my first marathon and while I may not do another, I learned a lot about mental and physical toughess through the training. I really want to be fit before school starts and hopefully there will be a group to run with next year.

 

[Flushot]

Wow, you guys really run a lot. I just hit the gym now and then, although I atrophy in the winter usually out of cold and laziness. I can't imagine running for more than 5 miles.

hah i'm active but not THAT active. i run ~2.5 miles on my treadmill every other day but i don't think i'll ever run 21 miles at once. i hiked 18km in el salvador and it was an all day thing 😛 i'm from houston too btw.

anyway i'm not quite relaxing with the family yet. going to shadow an ER doc on night shift tonight. good luck on your exam Flushot!

Hey, thanks. I'm staying at school for the holidays, so I'm not going to be with family at all. It's surprisingly relaxing for some reason, albeit a little lonely.

 

[dcowboys22]

This thread has become pretty quiet.

I run sometimes, but cant even imagine running 21 miles. But props to you!

 

[symptomz]

I'm exhausted just reading about all this running you all do 😱

 

[Flushot]

Yeah, I thought I was keeping up with working out twice a week but now I feel like a sloth. It's usually because when I don't work out, I get tired quickly while studying.

You people are crazy with your running. Intense 😱

 

[Skyliner]

Want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!! And best of luck to eveyrone waiting on acceptances (cause you know that's all you want for christmas)

 

[Flushot]

Thanks Skyliner and happy holidays to you too. What is everyone up to if they happen to check back?

I'm probably going to the student lounge to study some much needed physiology. Can't waste the days it seems.


As for us waiting, we're all waiting on the fateful match day, so come back in a month for the insanity.

 

[time2go]

how many spots do you guys think are filled at TCOM?

 

[Flushot]

You know that's interesting too, because I thought the consensus what the most of the spots would be filled via the match. However, if we go off what happened last Friday (50 spots) and estimate that 50-75 spots were filled on Nov 15, along with a few here and there in between, then I would say about 125-150 were offered.

TCOM's class size is 175, so if we're generous and double that, it'll be 350, so I suppose that is still inline with what people have been saying. Then again, it seems that they'll be more likely to offer around 300.

We can also count on a large percentage dropping their offers there too. If the RoT thread is any indication, most people got multiple acceptances in addition to TCOM. Since maybe half of them bothered to stop by here to share the news while the other half made like 1 post, I wonder if it is their top choice.

It seems like most of us still waiting around here, it is our top choice, right? I'm holding out everything for them right now, so I hope there is good news in a month.

 

[symptomz]

Here are some statistics that TCOM has for the previous entering medical school classes:

Fall 2008

• 1983 applications
• 615 students interviewed
• 393 offers of admission
• 175 student entering class

Fall 2007

• 1966 applications
• 614 students interviewed
• 409 offers of admission
• 165 student entering class

 

[Flushot]

Yeah, I completely forgot about those numbers. If they hold, that's about 400 offers, with about 150 already gone out? Not bad; it seems we'll have a good shot come match day if it is the first on the list.

 

[Sarg's kid]

I'm exhausted just reading about all this running you all do 😱

Seriously. I like to run a couple of miles a few days a week, but just joined the Army to pay for school, so I guess I'll be looking forward to running a lot more in the future.

Still don't think I'm up for a marathon, although that is something that I could see on a "things you have to do once in a lifetime" list. Kudos.

 

[Flushot]

Sarg, did you do the National Health Services thing or the full blown military route? I've been looking into the former to pay for some expenses as it seems there is a NHS hospital nearby. The subforum on SDN for it is kind of empty though.

 

[Sarg's kid]

Sarg, did you do the National Health Services thing or the full blown military route? I've been looking into the former to pay for some expenses as it seems there is a NHS hospital nearby. The subforum on SDN for it is kind of empty though.

Dad did 28 years in the Army. My father in law was in the Air Force. Little brother and sister in law are Air Force. Brother in law is Army. My other brother is joining the Marines. To quote Hank Jr, it's a family tradition.

I did the active duty Army route. My uncle is an Air Force doc paying back his time at an NHS hospital though. He seems to like it well enough.

Here's the skinny on the military paying situation. Basically, they pay tuition and fees for all four years plus you get a living stipend of $2200 a month (it has been going up every year as well). During medical school, you are a reserve officer and during the summer months, curriculum allowing, you do 45 day rotations at military hospitals. After graduation, you do a military residency while being promoted to Captain. The long and short is: it makes sure that you have more money than your civilian counterparts for residency (60-80k vs 30-40k civilian resident... but don't quote me) and you leave school with no debt. You owe the military 4 years after residency, so it's a commitment of 8 years or so post med school.

I always wanted to be an Army doctor, so it wasn't ever really a question for me. I don't know very much about the NHS route. I would imagine that the deal is similar. The military forum abounds with pros and cons (cons more vocal).

Anyway, that's the story.

 

[Langerhans]

For those of you who were accepted, do you know if the Agreement Form is binding? That is, by accepting the position offered to us, do we HAVE to attend TCOM? They want me to return it in a couple weeks, but I'm waiting to hear back from another Texas school during the match.

 

[marvolush]

wow a military family. at least you have support. i've actually been highly considering joining the Air National Guard but the family is not too supportive of anyone joining anything remotely military related and on top of that i'm female so you know how that goes with old fashioned relatives... anyway, anyone ever looked into ANG and have a perspective on it?

 

[briton]

For those of you who were accepted, do you know if the Agreement Form is binding? That is, by accepting the position offered to us, do we HAVE to attend TCOM? They want me to return it in a couple weeks, but I'm waiting to hear back from another Texas school during the match.

You can accept as many pre-match offers as you like from Texas schools but have to narrow it down to one by January 15th. If you match to a school higher on your list of preferences during the match you will end up going there even if you have a pre-match offer that you already accepted. Accepting the TCOM offer is binding on the school, not on you. Hope this helps.

 

[Flushot]

Dad did 28 years in the Army. My father in law was in the Air Force. Little brother and sister in law are Air Force. Brother in law is Army. My other brother is joining the Marines. To quote Hank Jr, it's a family tradition.

I did the active duty Army route. My uncle is an Air Force doc paying back his time at an NHS hospital though. He seems to like it well enough.

Here's the skinny on the military paying situation. Basically, they pay tuition and fees for all four years plus you get a living stipend of $2200 a month (it has been going up every year as well). During medical school, you are a reserve officer and during the summer months, curriculum allowing, you do 45 day rotations at military hospitals. After graduation, you do a military residency while being promoted to Captain. The long and short is: it makes sure that you have more money than your civilian counterparts for residency (60-80k vs 30-40k civilian resident... but don't quote me) and you leave school with no debt. You owe the military 4 years after residency, so it's a commitment of 8 years or so post med school.

I always wanted to be an Army doctor, so it wasn't ever really a question for me. I don't know very much about the NHS route. I would imagine that the deal is similar. The military forum abounds with pros and cons (cons more vocal).

Anyway, that's the story.

Pretty interesting. It seems that you know a lot about it; most of my colleagues that talk about that option have little idea about what they're getting themselves into. I'm happy that you've got not only the tradition but the motivation.

I thought about it too, but like marvolush, it was shot down by my parents. I'm not female, but there are other reasons I suppose.

The NHS deal is a government position but I don't think it is military. There are NHS hospitals around the country for government sponsored care. For example, here in AZ, the NHS hospital is for Native Americans only from my understanding. I don't think that VA hospitals count but it is possible.


On the topic of the match, did everyone remember to set their offers yet? I know it's a little early, but I did my preference after I read about offers.

 

[mzebda]

I have a question that maybe someone could help me answer. So I got accepted to an out of state D.O. school, and I already sent in my deposit but still waiting to hear back from TCOM. Does the fact that I submitted the deposit make it binding that I go there eventhough TCOM is my preference.

 

[Flushot]

I don't think so, although it would be nice to let that DO school know if you get the good news from TCOM.

I also don't understand this whole binding thing people feel. Believe it or not, all you really lose is the deposit unless there is a refund. It's not like the school can hunt you down, shackle you up, and drag you to their school.

I know several instances of people getting accepted days before the 1st day of class because of no shows and people who just flaked at the last minute. Odds are they didn't say a word to the school and instead the school is left with a deposit and an empty seat, which I know a lot of people would be more than happy to fill even if it is a last minute notice.

 

[Sarg's kid]

wow a military family. at least you have support. i've actually been highly considering joining the Air National Guard but the family is not too supportive of anyone joining anything remotely military related and on top of that i'm female so you know how that goes with old fashioned relatives... anyway, anyone ever looked into ANG and have a perspective on it?

If my little sister wanted to be a ground pounder, I'd try to stear her away as well. But there's a big difference between a Captain in the Medical Corps and a PFC. I met with LOTS of folks at Ft. Sam Houston who where in command positions with the Army's Medical Command who were females. (Just putting it all out there. You do what you think is best for you.)

The national guard has a scholarship as well, about which I am not well informed, but if you skip over to the military forum there's a whole thread about it.

The rest of the extended family is funny about the military. Very conservative, pro-invasion (of Iran, Iraq, China, Venezuela, etc), but whenever the fact that any of us are actually joining (or have joined) the military comes up, they belittle the service. "That's crazy. You're going to get shot. Can you quit?" All I can do is roll my eyes.

Flushot: You've got it. NHS is not the military. Indian reservations are NHS territory for sure. I only knew that my uncle was able to serve his military obligation at an NHS site. I am positive that the reverse is not possible, so don't worry about going to the sand box if you do NHS.

It's all not for everybody, but I say do what you love and the rest will take care of itself.

 

[veritas1]

If my little sister wanted to be a ground pounder, I'd try to stear her away as well. But there's a big difference between a Captain in the Medical Corps and a PFC. I met with LOTS of folks at Ft. Sam Houston who where in command positions with the Army's Medical Command who were females. (Just putting it all out there. You do what you think is best for you.)

The national guard has a scholarship as well, about which I am not well informed, but if you skip over to the military forum there's a whole thread about it.

The rest of the extended family is funny about the military. Very conservative, pro-invasion (of Iran, Iraq, China, Venezuela, etc), but whenever the fact that any of us are actually joining (or have joined) the military comes up, they belittle the service. "That's crazy. You're going to get shot. Can you quit?" All I can do is roll my eyes.

Flushot: You've got it. NHS is not the military. Indian reservations are NHS territory for sure. I only knew that my uncle was able to serve his military obligation at an NHS site. I am positive that the reverse is not possible, so don't worry about going to the sand box if you do NHS.

It's all not for everybody, but I say do what you love and the rest will take care of itself.

Good stuff ... I'll add on a little. I am active duty Air Force and have been for 11 years - doing the flying thing. The HPSP is now offering 20K up front in addition to the 1900/month. I know this is for the military route, but no sure if it is for the public health route.

 

[TX_NFS]

wow a military family. at least you have support. i've actually been highly considering joining the Air National Guard but the family is not too supportive of anyone joining anything remotely military related and on top of that i'm female so you know how that goes with old fashioned relatives... anyway, anyone ever looked into ANG and have a perspective on it?

There is a thread on the Military Medicine forums here on SDN, but it refers to the Army NG program... since I have no idea how it compares to the AF's, I don't think you have anything to lose if you start a new thread and ask for input, especially if you have specific things you are curious about.

On the topic of the match, did everyone remember to set their offers yet? I know it's a little early, but I did my preference after I read about offers.

I'm not setting my preferences yet, even though they're due in just over two weeks. I'm probably gonna visit TCOM again, either next week or the week after that, as I want to gather as much info as possible before submitting my preferences. This is especially so because the day I went over to interview, I don't recall meeting (m)any students as they were all stressing over a test they were about to take.

 

[teacherman]

There is a thread on the Military Medicine forums here on SDN, but it refers to the Army NG program... since I have no idea how it compares to the AF's, I don't think you have anything to lose if you start a new thread and ask for input, especially if you have specific things you are curious about.



I'm not setting my preferences yet, even though they're due in just over two weeks. I'm probably gonna visit TCOM again, either next week or the week after that, as I want to gather as much info as possible before submitting my preferences. This is especially so because the day I went over to interview, I don't recall meeting (m)any students as they were all stressing over a test they were about to take.

How did you like Texas Tech? How did it compare to TCOM? I am interviewing there in Jan, so if you have any info about what the interview, etc. was like let me know. Congrats on the TCOM acceptance. BTW, you have great stats.

 

[Flushot]

Flushot: You've got it. NHS is not the military. Indian reservations are NHS territory for sure. I only knew that my uncle was able to serve his military obligation at an NHS site. I am positive that the reverse is not possible, so don't worry about going to the sand box if you do NHS.

It's all not for everybody, but I say do what you love and the rest will take care of itself.

Yeah, I figured that's how it worked out. I'm thinking about it, but it seems I'm running out of time. I might have to put some serious thought into it. Thanks for letting us know more details.

I'm not setting my preferences yet, even though they're due in just over two weeks. I'm probably gonna visit TCOM again, either next week or the week after that, as I want to gather as much info as possible before submitting my preferences. This is especially so because the day I went over to interview, I don't recall meeting (m)any students as they were all stressing over a test they were about to take.

When did you interview? Congrats on getting a prematch!

It seems you have some choices too, so yeah, I would need to think about it too. TCOM is the only one I've got so yeah, it was pretty simple

 

[time2go]

does anyone have the residency match statistics for TCOM?

 

[Flushot]

Yeah, Chocolate Bear posted them awhile back. To look at them again, go out to the main forum and click on the paperclip icon that corresponds to this thread. It will list all attachments ever posted in the thread.

If you can't find them, I can sift back through and quote CB's post, but I think the paperclip icon is a handy thing to know for other threads too.

 

[malalaurka]

I an OOS, interviewed at TCOM in November. Just now got my acceptance lettee. WHOO hoo , so much less pressure on my shoulders, though still have couple interviews left over for other schools, at least I know Ill be attending medical school next year.😍😍😍

sent in my acceptance form for TCOM. Odd they dont have a fee u have to pay to hold ur spot.

 

[teacherman]

I an OOS, interviewed at TCOM in November. Just now got my acceptance lettee. WHOO hoo , so much less pressure on my shoulders, though still have couple interviews left over for other schools, at least I know Ill be attending medical school next year.😍😍😍

sent in my acceptance form for TCOM. Odd they dont have a fee u have to pay to hold ur spot.

Congratulations! Where else are you interviewing?

 

[Flushot]

I an OOS, interviewed at TCOM in November. Just now got my acceptance lettee. WHOO hoo , so much less pressure on my shoulders, though still have couple interviews left over for other schools, at least I know Ill be attending medical school next year.😍😍😍

sent in my acceptance form for TCOM. Odd they dont have a fee u have to pay to hold ur spot.

Hey, congrats! Did your status change long before you got the letter?

 

[meganmarie]

I an OOS, interviewed at TCOM in November. Just now got my acceptance lettee. WHOO hoo , so much less pressure on my shoulders, though still have couple interviews left over for other schools, at least I know Ill be attending medical school next year.😍😍😍

sent in my acceptance form for TCOM. Odd they dont have a fee u have to pay to hold ur spot.

I thought they called people with acceptance offers once a decision is made? 😕