Brief Profile:
Overall: I have been married for 11 years and have 2 kids whom I\'m proud of. My seven year old is already doing light calculus. This profile should be good for Texas applicants.
Work experience: Due to my family being poor when I was young, I worked from age 13. When I get my Social Security statements, it shows that the first year I paid taxes was 1994. I acquired a professional license at age 15, and by 16 I was in charge of construction projects as well as hiring/firing/training people. At age 18, my parents moved out, I got married and bought a house. I was making about $75k a year at that point. I had my first child at 22, and my wife\'s father died of melonoma which brought me into medicine. I home schooled myself at 23 and went to community college at 24. I then transferred to UT Dallas. Because I had a wife and kids, I worked an average of 50 hours a week during undergrad except for the last year. By the time I applied to medical school, I had 13 years of management experience. I got hammered for being home schooled on a couple interviews as well. Managing was a most memorable experience for me on the AMCAS.
Undergrad I went to Community College for the first two years, taking all my prereq\'s except for O Chem 2 there. Due to home schooling, I hated sitting through lecture so I never went. I transferred into UT Dallas and majored in Biochemistry. I was naturally curious and took many classes I didn\'t have to because I was interested in them. In my last semester, I took 6 non science hours, 16 science hours, worked 25 hours/ week, worked in a lab 15 hours/week, and tutored for UT Dallas\'s student success department. This provided me with an answer to \"How do you know that you can handle the curriculum in medical school?\" question on interviews.
EC\'s I worked so much I had no time for shadowing. I have about 600 volunteer hours for Habitat for Humanity. I tutored Organic Chemistry for my school\'s student success department. Eventually, I was head of all Organic Chem and Gen Chem tutors. I also trained new tutors. I was also in a band for a long time. Tutoring was a most memorable experience for me on the AMCAS.
MCAT I studied 6 weeks for the MCAT. I started June 1st and took the test July 16th. I worked about 60 hours a week during this time. I studied from 4 AM to 7 AM, worked from 8AM to 6PM 6-7 days a week and then studied till 10:30 PM. When I told this to MSIV\'s they said med school wouldn\'t be that hard, which was nice to hear. I took the test in Waco, TX ( don\'t take it here if you can help it) and some idiot turned off the power strip to my computer in the Verbal section. I was averaging 11. I was out of time and cash so I didn\'t void. I got hammered for my verbal score once on interviews. I used Examkrackers and AAMC practice tests. I also used flashcards and Audio Osmosis when I was driving. I was averaging 35. (12/11/12). I felt cheated after I took the test because my computer getting turned off. I spent about $2,000 on MCAT materials and preps. If I had to do it over again, I\'d use Princeton Review coupled with EK books and Audio Osmosis. I thought I would get off cheap by studying myself and buying practice tests, but you get all that stuff with Princeton Review and more practice tests as well. They also give you many other materials. The only thing I didn\'t like about PR is their Verbal Strategy.
Research I have 18 months Bionano research. I also have submitted a pub. Research is awesome. Most memorable experience too.
LOR I waived my right to view them. My PI wrote me a letter. He said it was two pages. I know this was a strong letter.
An inorganic chemistry who prof who was my mentor for tutoring wrote me a letter. I feel that this was at least a good letter, if not strong.
My boss at the students success department wrote me a letter. I know this was a strong letter as well.
I also have a committee letter packet. At UT Dallas, you receive committee review and they put together some nifty packet for you. I feel that this was also strong. I also got along great with my prehealth adviser.
Personal Statement. I wrote my personal statement in 20 minutes and revised it twice with my adviser. I just told the truth, gave my opinion and what I intended to do. Ill post it later.
Applicant Strengths/Weaknesses
Strengths: Long work history High GPA Decent MCAT Research Crazy story Demonstrated ability to do too much with too little time Good LOR
Weaknesses: NO SHADOWING Community College prereq\'s No SAT Average Verbal score Home schooled Little Volunteer hours
Feel to PM me for questions
// Applications //
Application Cycle One: 08/22/2011
Undergraduate college: UT Dallas
Undergraduate Area of study: Physical Sciences
Total MCAT SCORE: 513
MCAT Section Scores:
B/B 130,
C/P 129,
CARS 124
Overall GPA: 3.91
Science GPA: 3.87
Summary of Application Experience
“Wise men learn more from fools than fools from the wise”-Old Proverb Learn from my mistakes
I applied for MD and MD/PhD. All the schools except UTHSCSA requires you to apply for MD/PhD through AMCAS and all the Texas schools require you to apply for MD through TMDSAS. I got my AMCAS app out really late and that did not help my case at all. My TMDSAS app seemed to be submitted at the best possible time. My AMCAS app should have been submitted a month prior. The Health Advising Committee took a while getting my packet out, mainly because they were waiting for my MCAT scores. Take the MCAT earlier than July 16 too.
8/1 TMDSAS receives DCCCD transcripts 8/3 UTSW secondary app completed 8/8 TMDSAS app submitted 8/8 TMDSAS app fee received. I used a money order so they didn’t have to wait for the check to go through. $145 8/8 TMDSAS receives UT Dallas transcripts 8/17 MCAT score received 8/19 UTSW receives TMDSAS app 8/19 Texas Tech receives secondary app $60 8/19 Texas A&M receives secondary MD app $60 8/19 AMCAS receives DCCCD transcripts 8/21 Texas A&M receives secondary MD/PhD app 8/22 UTHSCSA receives TMDSAS app 8/22 Texas Tech receives TMDSAS app 8/23 AMCAS app submitted $345 8/25 AMCAS receives UT Dallas transcripts 8/26 UT-H receives TMDSAS app 8/29 UTMB receives TMDSAS application 8/30 Joined SDN 9/2 Interview invite at UTSW 9/8 Interview invite at UTHSCSA for MD and MD/PhD 9/19 Interview invite at UTMB for MD 9/19 Attend MD interview at UTHSCSA 8/20 Attend MD/PhD interview at UTHSCSA 8/26 Received email from Texas A&M wondering where my AMCAS app is 9/19 AMCAS and TMDSAS receive LOR (LOL oops….Committee took forever) 9/23 AMCAS app verified 9/23 Texas A&M again emails me requesting my AMCAS app 9/26 Texas A&M receives AMCAS app 9/26 UTMB receives AMCAS app 9/26 UTSW receives AMCAS app 9/29 Interview invite from Texas Tech for MD and MD/PhD 10/7 Attend rounds at UTSW 10/8 Attend MD interview at UTSW 10/10 Interview invitation at UTH for MD 10/13 Interview invitation from Texas A&M for MD and MD/PhD 10/26 Attend MD/PhD interview at Texas A&M 10/27 Attend MD interview at Texas A&M 10/28 Attend Texas Tech MD/PhD interview 10/21 Attend UTMB MD interview 11/4 Attend UT Houston MD Interview 11/15 Accepted UTMB 11/15 Accepted UTSW 11/16 Accepted UT Houston 11/16 Withdrew from UTMB 11/17 Received admission packet from UTMB 11/18 Received rejection from UTMB MD/PhD program (odd timing) 11/21 Received admission packet from UT-H 11/22 Received admission packet from UTSW
A word about interviews and interviewing in TX: Everybody always get nervous about interviews. I love em. I like to learn about new places and I always like to meet and try to relate to new people. I am usually a happy/go lucky person and usually I view everybody as my friend. Anyways, I feel that it is imperative to remain professional and thoughtful at all times of the interview, but it is also crucial to be able to personally relate to interviewers. Some interviewers approach you like a common person. Others have a god complex, and yet others want to make you look as stupid as they can. Just remain indifferent to these types of people and situations. Never read to much into your interview. You don\'t know what your interviewer is looking for and judging your admissions chances based upon your interviews is foolhardy. Just do your best and most of all BE HONEST. Just like dogs can sense fear, humans can sense a flaky person and most of the time they don\'t like it. Usually people have more respect for someone who disagrees but doesn\'t change their views on a whim, over someone who changes their mind like the wind blows. I thought I blew my interviews at UTH and one at UTSW. I got prematched at both places. For my interviews, I left my house usually at 3 AM and was able to reach all of my schools on time and returned home that night. Avoid this if possible, but I had no choice because I worked the days before and after the interview. Google med school interview questions and practice answering them. Have someone give you a practice interview and tell them to not take it easy on you. I recommend that you be familiar with medical terminology for the interviews. Also, look over the school in general so you have a firm base to answer questions. Does the school have notable faculty, how much money does the school spend in research, what clinical opportunities are available etc. Above all, be prepared and be yourself.
Good Luck
Application Complete
Texas Tech University, El Paso
Applying for combined PhD/MSTP? No
Submitted: Yes
Secondary Completed: Yes
Interview Invite: No
Interview Attended: No
Waitlisted: No
Accepted: No
Rejected: No
Summary of Experience:
Only school with no II. Wonder why...
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: Yes
Interview Attended: Yes
Waitlisted: No
Accepted: No
Rejected: No
Summary of Experience:
San Antonio...
I really liked this place.
Pros: Great opportunities for research. Positive attitude from the faculty and students. The new curriculum looks awesome. There looks to be a good amount of clinical diversity there too. Also, cost of living is low and for someone like me who hates sitting in traffic, the location of the school is a plus. It looks like the faculty are really involved with the students as well. Cons: The school just got placed on probation by the LCME. I feel that this was a little extreme. The problems cited are going to be fixed with the new curriculum and a few minor procedural tweaks.
Summary of Experience:
Tech is awesome.... Lubbock is not. I really like this school too. Basically for MD/PhD they said I could do whatever I wanted because the program is kind of informal.
Summary of Experience:
Awesome school. Interviewed for MD
Pros: If accepted, they break you into small colleges The colleges have their own room and you get a personal study space! Tons of research. Crazy amount of clinical diversity. 4 hospitals right there. Parkland, Childrens, Zale Lipshy and St. Paul. Notoriety, especially with 5 Nobel Laureates on staff. Video taped lectures are great too. The faculty is really friendly. It looks like the school has tried to get rid of that gunner reputation. The feeling I got was that this school demands everything you got, which is what I like.
Cons: The school has recently been slammed in the media. I have my own opinions about this, you draw your own conclusion. I hear that the faculty is not as involved with the students as other schools, but I cannot personally validate that. The school is in the middle of Dallas, so lots of traffic.
Pros: I like the ocean. The town has a certain nostalgic feel to it. The faculty made me feel at ease. The curriculum is PBL based and they give you alot of time to study. Really easy interviews too. The students backed up the claim that the school is really laid back. Personally, this isn\'t my cup o tea, but its appealing for many people. Also, they have a really cool rare medical book library. The town isn\'t that crowded. You could easily ride a bike to school.
Cons: I\'m a little worried about the clinical diversity of the patients here. Houston isn\'t that far away and the hospital didn\'t look that busy. That is it. Really cool place.
