Brief Profile:
I tried to keep my profile a little anonymous during the application cycle but now that it's nearing the end I'll put more information. This site has been a great resource for me so I wanted to give back.
Activities: 3 Years of research + multiple presentation awards at local, statewide, and national symposiums. 1 Summer research program >300 hours of Clinical Experience/Volunteering +80 hours shadowing across a limited number of specialties 2 years as a private tutor for chemistry courses 2 semesters as TA for organic chemistry course >300 hours of nonclinical volunteering in different organizations Founder and vice president of a service organization 2 years as a volunteer EMT 3 years of intramural sports Various employment during school and during the summers. Mostly as a cashier Various awards & scholarships throughout college
TMDSAS submitted 6/12/2014
// Applications //
Application Cycle One: 07/02/2014
Undergraduate college: Public School in Texas
Undergraduate Area of study: Physical Sciences
Total MCAT SCORE: 517
MCAT Section Scores:
B/B 130,
C/P 130,
CARS 126
Overall GPA: 3.96
Science GPA: 3.95
Applied
Stanford University
Applying for combined PhD/MSTP? No
Submitted: Yes
Secondary Completed: No
Interview Invite: No
Interview Attended: No
Waitlisted: No
Accepted: No
Rejected: No
Summary of Experience:
Withdrew. Decided not to do the secondary.
Long School of Medicine - University of Texas Health Sciences Center, San Antonio
Applying for combined PhD/MSTP? No
Submitted: Yes
Secondary Completed: Yes
Interview Invite: 07/21/2014
Interview Attended: 08/10/2014
Waitlisted: No
Accepted: 11/14/2014
Rejected: No
Summary of Experience:
Accepted via TMDSAS prematch on November 15th! $10k/year scholarship. Withdrew via the Texas match
First interview of the season! I wasn't sure what to expect from UT San Antonio but I was impressed on their interview day. The students at this school are very friendly and seemed happy and excited to represent their school. I had two interviews here- one with a faculty member and one with an MS4- and both were very laid back and low stress. They felt more conversational than anything.
The school has lots of opportunities for research and community service- students can volunteer at various free clinics around San Antonio. Students are encouraged to volunteer in clinics near the border of Texas with underserved populations or abroad. The curriculum changed a couple of years ago to one that is organ systems based, and there are less lectures and more learning in small groups. It's also a condensed 1.5 year curriculum.
The atmosphere is very collaborative and friendly, and the faculty really care about their students here. I definitely hope to hear back from this school.
Summary of Experience:
Accepted via the TMDSAS prematch 11/15! $10k/year Scholarship. Withdrew via the Texas Match
I had two interviewers here at Galveston, one MD and one faculty member. My interview with the faculty member went very well, my research was in her field so we spoke about that and my career goals. My second interviewer, the MD, seemed very disinterested and only read off of a list of questions. Questioned if I was even interested in the school since I could "easily get into" top tiers. Well, I wouldn't have driven hundreds of miles, through a thunderstorm and Houston traffic, to come to my interview if I wasn't interested in the school. He left me with a very sour taste.
Besides the interview, the school itself was great. They have a traditional 2 year curriculum (even though many Texas schools are shortening it to 1.5 years) with strong emphasis on PBL and a Honors/High Pass/Pass grading system. The preclinical curriculum is particularly good because it is structured so that there is only a test every ~4 weeks, and they limit lectures so you are usually done around noon on most days of the week, so students have opportunities to pursue other interests. Lots of updated facilities, the students I talked to were very nice and laid back, opportunities for sites in Houston & Austin during clinical years.
Summary of Experience:
Accepted via TMDSAS prematch on November 15th! Withdrew via the Texas Match. When came to ranking schools in the TMDSAS system I got it down to UTSW and UTH for number 1. I ended up picking UTSW for a few reasons: one, UTSW is closer to my family so I wanted to keep that option open. As much as I loved my time during the UTH interview I felt I wouldn't like the block system, which they say they are taking out for the class of 2020. Finally, UTSW gave me a solid scholarship whereas UTH didn't.
I had a couple of my most enjoyable interviews here at UT houston. There was one with a faculty member and one with a physician. They were really interested to learn about you and enthusiastic about the school.
The interview day here is long but I think they do a good job of selling the school. The TMC is a big plus, the class size is large (>240?), and the curriculum is traditional 2 year preclinical/2 year clinical and follows the block system. UT Houston put a lot of effort into their interview day and I think its shows. I felt like I really got a good feel for the school.
Summary of Experience:
Withdrew. Accepted via TMDSAS prematch on November 15th! $10k/year scholarship
UTSW has a 2 day interview schedule, with optional Friday seminars and the actual interviews on Saturday. I skipped the friday clinical rounds (which I heard weren't that helpful) but went to the lunch seminars in the afternoon which were very informative. I had two interviews on Saturday, one with a PhD and one with an MD, and they were both conversational, one interviewer blind to your application. I was surprised that there were no questions about research because I was certainly ready to talk about it, especially at a school like southwestern.
There are so many big changes to UTSW. One, there is the upcoming change to the preclinical curriculum to 1.5 years (Like many other Texas schools) and having true pass/fail during those years, which is absolutely a welcomed change. Second, the school is getting two brand new hospitals, a new Parkland hospital and Clements, both which are opening within the upcoming years and will be available during my clinical years. I have no doubt UTSW provides a superb clinical experience which is one of its biggest selling points imo.Its students do well on the Step 1 (avg 237) and they match well, with most getting into their top choice residency program. Finally, there are more than enough opportunities to get into research.
I really liked the student body here, and the college system sounds to do a good job of creating more of a community feel within a class as large is UTSW's. Everyone I talked to was enthusiastic and interested in helping students on interview day. Southwestern is definitely a top choice school for me and my interview day reinforced that.
Summary of Experience:
Accepted via TMDSAS prematch on November 15th! $12,000/year scholarship. Withdrew via Texas match
I really enjoyed my interview day at Texas Tech. I had an interview with an MS3 and faculty member, both of which were fairly relaxed and informal. Texas Tech has a traditional 2 year preclinical/2 year clinical curriculum, block system courses, very nice and updated facilities, and the Health Science Center is located next door to the undergraduate campus.
To be honest I almost cancelled my Tech interview because I received many others and wanted to save a little money, but I'm happy I went because the school did surprise me. I got a really good vibe from the students and faculty, everyone was extremely respectful and enthusiastic. The major drawback, unfortunately, is the location. Lubbock doesn't seem like the most exciting place to live for me.
Summary of Experience:
Accepted via TMDSAS prematch on November 15th! $4,000/year scholarship. Declined prematch offer
I had 2 interviews at A&M, each with a faculty member; one was fairly conversational while the other had lots of questions about my character, medicine, and healthcare. They weren't stressful but it did require some thought.
Texas A&M is completely revamping their system and curriculum. They are changing to a 1.5 year preclinical curriculum like with Baylor and UT San Antonio starting for the class of 2019. They are also scrapping the initial split between college station and temple campuses; now, everyone starts their first year in college station, then they can split between finishing 3 years in college station, dallas, houston, round rock, or temple.
This medical school is still in its youth but very ambitious. The campus itself is small and isn't attached to a hospital, but they have big plans for expansion. I'm interested in hearing from them in the future.
Had two interviews here at Baylor, one with a MS3 and another with a faculty member. Lots of ethical questions about medicine, so if you interview here you might want to prepare for those. I felt that my interview with the faculty member didn't go so well, probably didn't help that I was extremely tired at the time.
I feel that Baylor could definitely improve on its interview day. Most of the day you are stuck in this room until you either have interviews or your tour. They brought up their LCME accreditation issue a few times to assure the students that it was not because of an issue with the medical students' education. And they're right, the students here on average score some of the highest step scores compared to other schools. A lot of that I think is because of the 1.5 preclinical curriculum. Students here take the step 1 mid to late third year (later than other schools) giving them a whole year of clinical experience, and the school also allows a lot of time off purely for preparation for the Step 1. The Texas Medical Center was also very impressive.
I had a detailed write-up about Yale here that ended up getting deleted so I didn't get around to writing another one.
I had two interviews here at Yale, one with a physician and another with a faculty member. Both of my interviews were the most relaxed out of all the interviews I had, which was encouraging because this was the only interview I came to feeling a bit anxious.
What anyone at Yale will tell you about why Yale is awesome is the Yale System. It seems that everything about the curriculum focuses on allowing you to tailor your medical school education for your own interests without having to deal with as many of the usual obstacles of medical school. Many tests are optional with the exception of some mandatory "qualifier" exams, true pass/fail pre-clinical curriculum, test grades are anonymous, no shelf exams during the clinical year, no grade quotas during the clinical year (aka no restriction on how many people can honor their rotations). The Yale system is very accommodating if you are self-motivated and independent, but students have warned that if you would do better with a structured grading scheme to motivate you to study or not procrastinate, Yale may not be the right environment for you. The students here were extremely happy and friendly, and had nothing but positive things to say about the school and the administration.
Yale actually ended up being my cheapest school to attend thanks to their generous financial aid (so much for Texas schools being the most affordable) which really helped with my decision in the end.
