Hey guys, I'm a current MedSci and just wanted to reach out and give y'all some info about the program I wish I knew before going in:
1) This program does an amazing job of preparing you for medical school, especially for TCOM itself if you're lucky enough to be accepted. The classes are rigorous and you will have an overwhelming amount of resources to help you succeed.
2) If you're applying this upcoming cycle, your MedSci grades will NOT help you for Texas schools (except TCOM--more below). Texas schools will use your undergraduate work to determine your interview/acceptance status at their schools. That is something that I was completely unaware of and was told the exact opposite of by former students and faculty. Imagine my disappointment at not getting many interviews despite earning a 4.0 in the summer and fall haha. However, if you apply next cycle, or end up having to reapply, your MedSci grades will be CRUCIAL to your cycle and it's IMPORTANT TO EXCEL. This might be some of y'alls last shots at showing schools you can handle the level of coursework.
3) TCOM will be watching your grades in the MedSci program. To be honest, only the top percentage of students get interviews to their school, but there is no guarantee. I can't say how many people got interviews, but most that did were maintaining a 4.0 at the time of their interview (you will get called between October-December). I honestly don't know anyone that had a B in any of their classes at the time of their interview/now being accepted, but that's just my class. Having said that, a 4.0 does NOT GUARANTEE AN INTERVIEW. Unfortunately, I know a handful of people that fell into that category, and it sucks.
4) I'm going to assume that most of y'all that apply to this program have subpar GPA/MCATs, which is OK since you're taking this step to improve on yourself. Good job! If you don't care much about the whole DO vs MD thing, then apply liberally. There are a lot of DO schools who know our program very well and love to take students from here and do consider your MedSci grades as you concurrently apply. Judging from others experiences, since I didn't apply OOS, if you apply early then you will hear back much sooner than Texas schools.