The Republic of Texas XL: If you are riding a high horse, there ain't no way to get down off it gracefully.

[wysdoc]

Welcome, all you Texans and Wanna-be-Texans, to our yearly discussion thread called
"The Republic of Texas".

I chose this year's quote and photo to remind everyone that we don't make ourselves look good by looking down on others. Instead, let's rise by lifting others.

You can be proud of your accomplishments, and you should be,
but also be humble and know that you have much to learn.

Learn it with your classmates: unite, don't divide.

This is a general talk and support thread for Texas school applicants, where we can:
check in with each other
share our news
see where various schools are with their interview process
and just post those things we don't want to put on a school-specific thread.

Later on I'll post admissions news, Wait List updates and such.

I'll answer questions here if I know the answers, but keep the technical questions about TMDSAS process over on the thread we have for that:

*~*~*~*Official TMDSAS Questions Thread 2021-2022*~*~*~*

Hey Texans and wannabe Texans! This will be our official TMDSAS Questions thread for 2021-2022. Here is the link to the EY 2022 TMDSAS Handbook: Application Handbook Download that to your computer and keep it handy, read it for an overview before you get started. Here is the brief...

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[wysdoc]

I'll be sharing things with you as I hear them and as our cycle unfolds.
The exciting news this month is that a few interview invitations are going out!

I'll come back to this thread to edit and add dates of the first invites that I hear about, and update as more schools take action.

Interview Invitations:

Sam Houston State University (DO): July 1, Aug 3, 4, 10, 11, 12, 13, 24, Sept 8,10, 23, 29, Oct 18, 22, 25, Nov 11, 24
TCOM (DO): Aug 4, 6, 8, Sept 2,13, 20, 23, 24, 28, Oct 5, 8, 12, 13, 22, Dec 6, 14, 16 , Jan 6, 19
UIWSOM (DO) Aug 13, 15, 17, 31, Sept 27, Nov 18, Dec 20, 23, Feb 10, 24, 27, April 4, 5, 13, 20, 24

Texas A&M: July 19, 20, 30, Aug 10, 25, 26, Sept 23, 28, 30, Oct 12, 26, Nov 15,16, 17, Jan 6, 12
Dell: July 20, 29, Aug 18, 20, Sept 9, 13, 27, Oct 11, 28, Nov 10, 22, Dec 3, 6, 17, Jan 19, Feb 2
UTSW: July 21, Aug 18, 25, 26, Sept 8, 27, Oct 7, 21, 25, Nov 18
McGovern: July 21, Aug 11, 23, 27, Sept 3, 21, 27, 28, Oct 6, 21, 27, Nov 2, 12, 18, Dec 1
Baylor: July 21, 28, Aug 10, 25, 31, Sept 8,14, 20, 28, Oct 6, Nov 4, 16, Dec 9
Long: July 22, 27, Aug 10, 30, Sept 13, Oct 18, 22, Nov 23, Dec 17, 22, Jan 11, 14, 18, 20
U of Houston: July 26, Aug 4,17, 20, 27, Oct 5, 14, Nov 1, 2, 29, Jan 3
UTMB: July 28, Aug 20, Sept 20, Oct 8, 11, Nov 5, 19
Texas Tech El Paso: Aug 5, 18, 26, Sept 5, 13, 28, Oct 21, Nov 9, Dec 2, 21, Jan 11, 20, 27
Texas Tech Lubbock: Aug 25, Sept 1, 2, 8, 9, 13, 24, 30, Oct 8, 11, 12, 13, Nov 2, 11, 16, 19, Dec 10
UTRGV: Aug 27, Sept 10, 15, 17, 20, 23, 30, Oct 5, 14, 27, Nov 4, 30
TCU: Aug 27, 30, Sept 3, Oct 4, 5, 28, Nov 1, 17, 23, Dec 9, 13, Feb 2

 

[TheGranolaKing]

a handful of A&M IIs seem to have gone out today too

 

[TheGranolaKing]

I was looking through a few of the TMDSAS schools' interview feedback pages and noticed that some interviewers would ask questions relating to why an applicant didn't apply to X school. Are Texas schools still able to see which specific schools you sent your primary to? And if so: if we sent our TMDSAS primary to all schools but didn't submit secondaries for a few, they wouldn't know that, right?

 

[wysdoc]

I was looking through a few of the TMDSAS schools' interview feedback pages and noticed that some interviewers would ask questions relating to why an applicant didn't apply to X school. Are Texas schools still able to see which specific schools you sent your primary to? And if so: if we sent our TMDSAS primary to all schools but didn't submit secondaries for a few, they wouldn't know that, right?

Maybe you saw this kinda silly post I made last year : The Republic of Texas XXXVIII : The Cowboy Code
I know that a school which has decided to interview you can see which other schools have interviewed you. I am not sure if they can also see where you have applied.
If asked, have some reasonable brief reply but try not to be nervous or spend your interview time discussing other schools 😉

 

[TheGranolaKing]

Maybe you saw this kinda silly post I made last year : The Republic of Texas XXXVIII : The Cowboy Code
I know that a school which has decided to interview you can see which other schools have interviewed you. I am not sure if they can also see where you have applied.
If asked, have some reasonable brief reply but try not to be nervous or spend your interview time discussing other schools 😉

Thank you! Now this has me wondering if each school can see which other schools have invited you to interview before inviting you to interview themselves, and the implications of this if so. But I guess it's completely out of our hands and won't change anything on the applicant side either way, so there's no point in worrying about it!

 

[wysdoc]

Thank you! Now this has me wondering if each school can see which other schools have invited you to interview before inviting you to interview themselves, and the implications of this if so. But I guess it's completely out of our hands and won't change anything on the applicant side either way, so there's no point in worrying about it!

They can't see it until they invite you themselves.
There's also a myth that won't die that some schools think you should apply to all the TMDSAS schools. Apply to those compatible with you.

 

[wysdoc]

Texas lost a treasure today in the passing of songwriter Nanci Griffith.
It's a Hard Life Wherever You Go, that's the truth, Nanci.

 

[deleted1043863]

@wysdoc do you expect the number of II per school to be roughly the same as last year's?

 

[wysdoc]

@wysdoc do you expect the number of II per school to be roughly the same as last year's?

Probably, yes but it might also depend on the # of applicants and I don’t have a good idea about that.
All the TX schools have invited a few folks for interviews except TCU, UTRGV, and Texas Tech Lubbock. Those last 2 are addressing ED applicants first.

 

[deleted1043863]

Probably, yes but it might also depend on the # of applicants and I don’t have a good idea about that.
All the TX schools have invited a few folks for interviews except TCU, UTRGV, and Texas Tech Lubbock. Those last 2 are addressing ED applicants first.

Sorry I mistyped. I meant like the number of II sent dates. I noticed that some sent out like 10 and others sent nearly 20.

 

[Pmvj13]

Very silent … so curious if anyone get any recent ii for completed date July 15 or later completed dates from Texas schools

 

[zdm2022]

Does anyone know how late interview dates that are currently being scheduled are? Trying to gauge how much time we've lost (those who haven't gotten II's from TX schools yet)

 

[wysdoc]

Does anyone know how late interview dates that are currently being scheduled are? Trying to gauge how much time we've lost (those who haven't gotten II's from TX schools yet)

I don't see it as you losing time, there are a lot of months to go. I understand that when you have turned everything in and are just waiting, time seems to crawl...
Most of the schools will only show you 2 or 3 possible dates when they invite you for an interview. They need to fill up the earlier days first before opening up dates further in the future. If by chance you have a schedule conflict with the dates they show, you can ask them for another option. It is usually not possible to change a date once you have chosen one though, barring some emergency.

 

[wysdoc]

How's it going, y'all?
Here's what you should be doing at this stage of the application cycle:

1. Writing secondary essays for all the Texas schools. Most of the TMDSAS schools send you a secondary essay request quite soon after your primary app has been transmitted. The exceptions?
- Dell takes more time, sends fewer secondaries, and the secondary is an interactive video, not an essay.
- U of Houston seems to screen more for mission fit
- Texas A&M wants you to take the initiative to create an account, log in, and get the secondary prompts. Don't wait, they don't invite.
2. Send them in promptly, no more putting it off!
3. TCU/UNTHSC is not a TMDSAS school, and they screen more for their secondary. They are looking for a particular type of student, and if you are "their type" it will come across in your AMCAS primary and essays. Their secondary is an audio-interactive one, not an essay.
4. Start preparing yourself for interviews. How?
- Find out what type of interview each school has (regular interviewer/student conversation, or MMI-type).
- Look up MMI-type interviews on the internet and see what to expect. Don't over-script or over-rehearse. If you have done the CASPer test, they're like doing that with a person listening to you. A little more natural as such, and the person could respond or ask follow-up questions.
- At a one on one interview there's not "a right answer to every question" like on all your college exams. They are trying to meet you, see how you interact socially, and see how you think and express yourself. How do you respond to an unexpected topic? How do you respond when questioned about something you said: reasonably, or defensively, or even aggressively?
5. Read each email from a school carefully, word by word, and be sure you take any action requested therein. File them all in your email for future reference. Make an email folder or tag for each school.
6. Plan for your interview day. Interviews will be "remote" again this year but you still need to:
- be sure you have a reliable internet connection and a quiet room with a non-distracting background.
- no pets or family members interrupting, and none listening to your interview or coaching you off-screen!
- plan your business-formal outfit, hair grooming, etc. and be ready on time.
- Some remote interviews expect you to be online for several hours, interacting with staff, with other applicants, or viewing tours & presentations. Treat it as seriously as if you had traveled there in person. Yes, we're all tired of ZOOM-ing our life but this is an important ZOOM for your future, so be attentive.

That's all I can think of for now, y'all. Interview invitations will continue over the next 5 months, so keep your spirits up.

Wysdoc

 

[kva0014]

Anyone else have schools showing up on their school rank preference tab in tmdsas that haven’t offered you an interview yet? Is this just a glitch?

 

[wysdoc]

Anyone else have schools showing up on their school rank preference tab in tmdsas that haven’t offered you an interview yet? Is this just a glitch?

It should typically only show schools where you have interviewed. If you are a reapplicant it might still be on your page from last year, but TMDSAS will clear that out well before your rank order preferences are due.

 

[kva0014]

It should typically only show schools where you have interviewed. If you are a reapplicant it might still be on your page from last year, but TMDSAS will clear that out well before your rank order preferences are due.

Thanks for the response— I’ve never applied before! I’m unfamiliar with it all so I’m just gonna take it as a mistake and hope to get an interview in the future 😅

 

[TheGranolaKing]

Anyone else have schools showing up on their school rank preference tab in tmdsas that haven’t offered you an interview yet? Is this just a glitch?

How do you access your 'school rank preference tab' in tmdsas?

 

[kva0014]

How do you access your 'school rank preference tab' in tmdsas?

When I log into TMDSAS I have a new “pending actions” set of links with a school rank preference link and pre-match offer withdrawal link within that column on the right side of the page with all your application links under “Homepage” link and before the “Application Info” status link.

 

[wysdoc]

How do you access your 'school rank preference tab' in tmdsas?

Here's what the TMDSAS web page says about it. Each school will have to go in to their own portal after an interview day and enter the names of people they interviewed, after that their school will show up. Some schools do this right away, and some do a few interview days as a batch.
I'll talk about this and explain it more on this page as we get close to October.

"Match Process & Entering Your Match Preference​

The ability to enter your match preferences will be available on August 1 at 8:00 a.m. CST. This applies only to medical applicants who are Texas residents.

To enter your match preferences, you must log in to the application. Once you are logged in, click on the [School Rank Preference] link under [Pending Actions] on the right-hand side of the page. You will only see this link once a school has updated your status to "Interviewed". If you do not see the link, your status has not yet been updated by the medical school. "

 

[wysdoc]

By this I mean that all the Texas schools have now sent out some interview invitations.

The last 3 schools to start inviting were Texas Tech Lubbock, UTRGV, and TCU/UNTHSC.
I update dates that I find out about on the second post of this thread: #2

Remember that invitations will carry on regularly between now and early 2022, so if you're not first it doesn't mean you are passed over.
READ each email from each of your schools carefully so you know what you are expected to do.
DON'T email or call schools and ask why you haven't been invited yet. If your application is complete, this is the waiting phase and that wait can be as long as 8 months for some!

Wysdoc

 

[Benevolent_Cauliflower]

Question:
I am a reapplicant, waitlisted at two Texas schools last year. ORM with a 510 mcat and 3.96gpa. I applied to all the Texas schools this year and got my application in the first day with TMDSAS and was complete with my secondary's about 2-3 weeks later. Still no interviews this cycle. I have been complete since mid June. Since college graduation I have completed a course on scribing and currently working about 36 hours a week in the emergency room scribing. Which I must say has been a great learning experience not only for scribing but to be able to shadow the ER Docs. When I sent in my application I was in the process to start training to become a scribe but not yet offered a position so I didn't include that on my reapplication. I feel its time to send an update letter to schools. I have emailed the schools and some accept updates and some don't. Any advice on update letters at this point? Thanks

 

[wysdoc]

Question:
I am a reapplicant, waitlisted at two Texas schools last year. ORM with a 510 mcat and 3.96gpa. I applied to all the Texas schools this year and got my application in the first day with TMDSAS and was complete with my secondary's about 2-3 weeks later. Still no interviews this cycle. I have been complete since mid June. Since college graduation I have completed a course on scribing and currently working about 36 hours a week in the emergency room scribing. Which I must say has been a great learning experience not only for scribing but to be able to shadow the ER Docs. When I sent in my application I was in the process to start training to become a scribe but not yet offered a position so I didn't include that on my reapplication. I feel its time to send an update letter to schools. I have emailed the schools and some accept updates and some don't. Any advice on update letters at this point? Thanks

Send to the schools which accept them, and even though it’s really tough to wait, it is a long game of waiting between June and January

 

[HCKS]

View attachment 342842

By this I mean that all the Texas schools have now sent out some interview invitations.

The last 3 schools to start inviting were Texas Tech Lubbock, UTRGV, and TCU/UNTHSC.
I update dates that I find out about on the second post of this thread: #2

Remember that invitations will carry on regularly between now and early 2022, so if you're not first it doesn't mean you are passed over.
READ each email from each of your schools carefully so you know what you are expected to do.
DON'T email or call schools and ask why you haven't been invited yet. If your application is complete, this is the waiting phase and that wait can be as long as 8 months for some!

Wysdoc

I am getting really anxious my stats are 515, 3.87 not got a single interview and so many IIs have already been sent.

 

[Xerxyie]

I am getting really anxious my stats are 515, 3.87 not got a single interview and so many IIs have already been sent.

So many would be an overstatement. We’re barely reaching mid September.

your stats are good for essentially all Texas schools anyways.

 

[GoSpursGo]

Am I allowed to say hello if I don't currently live in Texas?

Good luck everyone!

 

[wysdoc]

Today seems to be a lucky day - I guess Monday the 13th is a lot better than Friday the 13th!

5 of our TMDSAS schools sent out interview invitations today:

Dell
Long
Texas Tech Lubbock
Texas Tech El Paso
and TCOM

Get your interview outfits ready and go impress them, y'all!

 

[ASP-99]

Hi! If we update grades on TMDSAS for those completed in the summer, will schools automatically get the update or should I manually upload a transcript to my school’s portals?

 

[wysdoc]

Hi! If we update grades on TMDSAS for those completed in the summer, will schools automatically get the update or should I manually upload a transcript to my school’s portals?

Schools will get it automatically from TMDSAS.
If you are unable to enter your new grades on the portal, please ask your TMDSAS liaison for help with a message in the portal.
TMDSAS will ask for transcripts only after your first acceptance, and the individual school where you matriculate will ask for it as part of the on-boarding process next spring.

 

[Bored_Conscious]

So do most schools send out around 10 to 15 interviews throughout the cycle? Does that mean we are around half-way through the cycle since most schools have sent out around 6 or so?

 

[wysdoc]

So do most schools send out around 10 to 15 interviews throughout the cycle? Does that mean we are around half-way through the cycle since most schools have sent out around 6 or so?

As you already know, there is never one simple answer.
Looking at last year's dates, the last interview invitations were sent out in:
October by 1 school
December by 7 schools
January by 5 schools
February by 2 schools (TCU which is AMCAS and U of Houston).
*** I only used last year's dates for comparison as it was our 1st year for a March Match Day.

The window for submitting a primary TMDSAS application is still open until October 30. Although the wise applicants have already submitted, there are always some latecomers. Current applicants who already submitted might have some new MCAT scores coming in that would trigger a re-look by schools.
Schools might like to see their "total applicant pool" (including those later test scores and late submissions) before filling their last few interview days. That means some folks who submitted earlier, but have been waiting to hear something, could get called in for an interview as well. (Now that the school can see their full array of applicants, some of those 'on hold' are judged to measure up well).

What has already happened? Interview invitations in August and September, and a few in July.
What's still to come? Interview invitations in September, October, November, December and maybe January.

While waiting, read about your schools and continue with school or activities.

 

[Benevolent_Cauliflower]

Just curious how many fellow Texans still haven't been offered any interview invites. I know many people are still completing secondaries and its still early in the cycle. I am a re-applicant 510mcat/3.96gpa/ORM. I did scroll through last years data. I am being optimistic in that, many people who interviewed late in the cycle in December still got an acceptance.

 

[Bill Haas]

@wysdoc
What is likely the post-interview acceptance rate before Oct 15 vs after Oct 15 ?

 

[wysdoc]

@wysdoc
What is likely the post-interview acceptance rate before Oct 15 vs after Oct 15 ?

There's not really much to compare in relation to that date.
Before October 15th, in Texas, the only school that can give out acceptances is UIWSOM (a non-TMDSAS DO school).

TMDSAS schools who have already interviewed you before October 15th might have made up their mind about you, and they could make you a pre-match offer, or may be holding off so they can compare you to others who interview in the future.

Interviews will still be going from now until December at some schools and until February at others.

People often ask me the number of pre-match offers but I don't have that data and TMDSAS doesn't publish it.
My opinion on the number of pre-match offers is that it has little meaning because:
1. Sought-after students might get several pre-match offers but they can only attend one school
2. TMDSAS match system is our way to make it as fair as possible (you can match even with zero prior pre-matches).
3. Some schools give very few pre-match offers, notably Long in the last 2 years has stated that almost all admissions offers will happen on Match Day.

 

[Bill Haas]

Thank you @wysdoc !

 

[wysdoc]

Upcoming Live Presentation about Match, Pre-match on Facebook October 5, 2021, noon Central Time Zone

TMDSAS Office Hours

TMDSAS/TXHES staff will make a presentation about the TMDSAS Match and then will be available for your questions.
Tune in to watch it live and you will be able to type in questions to the presenters and have them answered then and there!

If you miss it, you can watch it on the TXHES YouTube channel later, but of course you wouldn't have a chance to ask questions.

 

[pssowers34]

Hi all,

Please redirect me if I’ve posted in the wrong forum. Thanks in advance for any help.

I’m premed at OOS school. I was born and raised in Texas and will be returning home to Texas to, hopefully, attend medical school. I really miss Texas a lot, and I would love the in-state tuition, so my having the best possible chance of getting into a Texas school is crucial to me.

I’m having a problem meeting the biochem requirement as described on TMDSAS. Specifically, Texas A&M, UTSW, AND UTRG emphasize the TMDSAS description of the appropriate biochem course.

Prescribed Coursework Definitions

Note that TMDSAS says, “Cannot be an introductory course.” UTSW, TAMU, and UTRG also use this wording and redirect to, or copy from, TMDSAS.

My problem is that my current school offers the appropriate biochem course (as do most schools in this state). But basically, according to this state, this course is an INTRO course and is labeled as such. So, to be clear, the biochem course at my current school is upper level, requires both semesters of O CHEM as a prereq, AND covers all the required topics, BUT it is titled “introduction to biochemistry.”

I have done a ton of research on this, and I even found the taxonomy site for my state, where courses are titled, labeled, and described. In my current state, the biochem class that covers these topics is always upper level, always requires O Chem, and is always titled “intro to” or “fundamentals of.”

I have spoken to the head of the biology dept. at my school, and he is more than willing to work with me. Yet, to be frank, I’m not exactly sure what I should ask him to do. Is my only option to ask him to create a new course, covering the same topics as the current one, but ask him to drop the word “intro” in the course title? I don’t know if he has that kind of authority.

Am I just overthinking this since the correct topics are covered, O Chem is a prereq, and it’s an upper-level course?



TLDR

Texas is saying, “take COURSE X”

My state is saying “No problem. We offer COURSE X. It’s called intro to biochem.”

Then Texas says, “Do not take an intro course.”

And then I say, “Help.”



Please help!

Thanks!

 

[wysdoc]

Hi all,

Please redirect me if I’ve posted in the wrong forum. Thanks in advance for any help.

I’m premed at OOS school. I was born and raised in Texas and will be returning home to Texas to, hopefully, attend medical school. I really miss Texas a lot, and I would love the in-state tuition, so my having the best possible chance of getting into a Texas school is crucial to me.

I’m having a problem meeting the biochem requirement as described on TMDSAS. Specifically, Texas A&M, UTSW, AND UTRG emphasize the TMDSAS description of the appropriate biochem course.

Prescribed Coursework Definitions

Note that TMDSAS says, “Cannot be an introductory course.” UTSW, TAMU, and UTRG also use this wording and redirect to, or copy from, TMDSAS.

My problem is that my current school offers the appropriate biochem course (as do most schools in this state). But basically, according to this state, this course is an INTRO course and is labeled as such. So, to be clear, the biochem course at my current school is upper level, requires both semesters of O CHEM as a prereq, AND covers all the required topics, BUT it is titled “introduction to biochemistry.”

I have done a ton of research on this, and I even found the taxonomy site for my state, where courses are titled, labeled, and described. In my current state, the biochem class that covers these topics is always upper level, always requires O Chem, and is always titled “intro to” or “fundamentals of.”

I have spoken to the head of the biology dept. at my school, and he is more than willing to work with me. Yet, to be frank, I’m not exactly sure what I should ask him to do. Is my only option to ask him to create a new course, covering the same topics as the current one, but ask him to drop the word “intro” in the course title? I don’t know if he has that kind of authority.

Am I just overthinking this since the correct topics are covered, O Chem is a prereq, and it’s an upper-level course?



TLDR

Texas is saying, “take COURSE X”

My state is saying “No problem. We offer COURSE X. It’s called intro to biochem.”

Then Texas says, “Do not take an intro course.”

And then I say, “Help.”



Please help!

Thanks!

Pm me so you can discuss

 

[Bill Haas]

Hi all,

Please redirect me if I’ve posted in the wrong forum. Thanks in advance for any help.

I’m premed at OOS school. I was born and raised in Texas and will be returning home to Texas to, hopefully, attend medical school. I really miss Texas a lot, and I would love the in-state tuition, so my having the best possible chance of getting into a Texas school is crucial to me.

I’m having a problem meeting the biochem requirement as described on TMDSAS. Specifically, Texas A&M, UTSW, AND UTRG emphasize the TMDSAS description of the appropriate biochem course.

Prescribed Coursework Definitions

Note that TMDSAS says, “Cannot be an introductory course.” UTSW, TAMU, and UTRG also use this wording and redirect to, or copy from, TMDSAS.

My problem is that my current school offers the appropriate biochem course (as do most schools in this state). But basically, according to this state, this course is an INTRO course and is labeled as such. So, to be clear, the biochem course at my current school is upper level, requires both semesters of O CHEM as a prereq, AND covers all the required topics, BUT it is titled “introduction to biochemistry.”

I have done a ton of research on this, and I even found the taxonomy site for my state, where courses are titled, labeled, and described. In my current state, the biochem class that covers these topics is always upper level, always requires O Chem, and is always titled “intro to” or “fundamentals of.”

I have spoken to the head of the biology dept. at my school, and he is more than willing to work with me. Yet, to be frank, I’m not exactly sure what I should ask him to do. Is my only option to ask him to create a new course, covering the same topics as the current one, but ask him to drop the word “intro” in the course title? I don’t know if he has that kind of authority.

Am I just overthinking this since the correct topics are covered, O Chem is a prereq, and it’s an upper-level course?



TLDR

Texas is saying, “take COURSE X”

My state is saying “No problem. We offer COURSE X. It’s called intro to biochem.”

Then Texas says, “Do not take an intro course.”

And then I say, “Help.”



Please help!

Thanks!

I think you would have to do an Appeal.
Call the folks at TMDSAS and Send a copy of your Intro to Biochem syllabus to TMDSAS. They will review it and make a determination. They are usually very considerate as long as you explain to them in detail.
Good luck !

 

[wysdoc]

Hi all,

Please redirect me if I’ve posted in the wrong forum. Thanks in advance for any help.

I’m premed at OOS school. I was born and raised in Texas and will be returning home to Texas to, hopefully, attend medical school. I really miss Texas a lot, and I would love the in-state tuition, so my having the best possible chance of getting into a Texas school is crucial to me.

I’m having a problem meeting the biochem requirement as described on TMDSAS. Specifically, Texas A&M, UTSW, AND UTRG emphasize the TMDSAS description of the appropriate biochem course.

Prescribed Coursework Definitions

Note that TMDSAS says, “Cannot be an introductory course.” UTSW, TAMU, and UTRG also use this wording and redirect to, or copy from, TMDSAS.

My problem is that my current school offers the appropriate biochem course (as do most schools in this state). But basically, according to this state, this course is an INTRO course and is labeled as such. So, to be clear, the biochem course at my current school is upper level, requires both semesters of O CHEM as a prereq, AND covers all the required topics, BUT it is titled “introduction to biochemistry.”

I have done a ton of research on this, and I even found the taxonomy site for my state, where courses are titled, labeled, and described. In my current state, the biochem class that covers these topics is always upper level, always requires O Chem, and is always titled “intro to” or “fundamentals of.”

I have spoken to the head of the biology dept. at my school, and he is more than willing to work with me. Yet, to be frank, I’m not exactly sure what I should ask him to do. Is my only option to ask him to create a new course, covering the same topics as the current one, but ask him to drop the word “intro” in the course title? I don’t know if he has that kind of authority.

Am I just overthinking this since the correct topics are covered, O Chem is a prereq, and it’s an upper-level course?



TLDR

Texas is saying, “take COURSE X”

My state is saying “No problem. We offer COURSE X. It’s called intro to biochem.”

Then Texas says, “Do not take an intro course.”

And then I say, “Help.”



Please help!

Thanks!

You can also look up the course at your particular college here: Course Listings
and see if it qualifies as a TMDSAS pre-req. As @Bill Haas mentioned you can ask TMDSAS for a ruling or file an appeal if there is doubt after looking up your college's version of the course.

 

[pssowers34]

You can also look up the course at your particular college here: Course Listings
and see if it qualifies as a TMDSAS pre-req. As @Bill Haas mentioned you can ask TMDSAS for a ruling or file an appeal if there is doubt after looking up your college's version of the course.

Thanks so much! PM'd as well

 

[wysdoc]

TMDSAS Pre-match and Match (Match is just for Texas applicants)
This year's dates:
Oct 15, 2021 to Jan 31, 2022: Pre-Match offer period
Feb 18, 2022 before 5PM: Your Match Rank order list is due on your TMDSAS portal
March 4, 2022: Match Day. Match release time officially 8AM
April 30, 2022: Applicants holding more than one acceptance must narrow it to one.
May 15, 2022: No offers of admission may be offered after this date to anyone already holding a TMDSAS offer of admission.

At the bottom of this post I will link the TMDSAS video explaining the Match process fully. Please watch it!

TMDSAS Pre-Match:
Pre-match offers can be made to students who have interviewed, any time between Oct 15, 2021 and Jan 31, 2022.

1- By making you a pre-match offer, a school is letting you know you are high on their list and they want you to attend. A pre-match offer is a REAL offer of admission. If you get one, you know you will be going to medical school.
2- Why don't they just wait until Match Day? Giving you a pre-match offer is intended to take the pressure off. Even if you have more interviews coming your way after a pre-match offer, won't you feel more relaxed and confident at those interviews?
3- Yes, maybe a school who offers you a pre-match offer hopes they will be your favorite on Match Day. If you have more interviews, you are free to rank schools that didn't give you a pre-match offer higher, or lower, than your pre-matched school. If you don't match with those, you STILL have your pre-match school.
4- Pre-match offers are uncommon. Most people who match did not have one. My next post on this thread will delve into the stats on this, which TMDSAS analyzed and published for the first time, for the 2020-2021 cycle.

If you get a pre-match offer, it probably won't be on October 15, though that date seems to generate a lot of anxiety here on SDN.
If you get a pre-match offer, be proud, and take the pressure off yourself.


TMDSAS Match: (March 4, 2022)
1- Every Texan who has had a TMDSAS interview will be in the Match.
If you have had no interviews by Feb 18th, so sorry, you are done for this application cycle.
2- Rank ALL the schools that interviewed you in your true order of preference, on the TMDSAS portal, before 5PM Feb 18, 2022.
3- You will come out of Match Day with either 1 school or zero schools.
4- Yes, you can have interviews and still not match. You could still be eligible for an offer of admission from a waiting list later in the spring.
5- If you match to your top choice, you're done!
6- If you match to school 3 on your list, for example, you can still be on the WL for the schools you ranked 1 and 2. If they make you an offer from their WL before May 15th, you can accept it, or you can stick with your Match school. It's your choice. You must tell the new-offer school of your decision by their stated deadline.
7- After May 15th, no offers can be made to anyone already holding a TMDSAS acceptance. Hence, any offers after May 15 will be to
un-matched Texans or OOS applicants.

Watch this video!
The TMDSAS Match (dates on this archived video may not be applicable to this year's cycle, but it's a great video and explains everything well)

 

[TheGranolaKing]

My next post on this thread will delve into the stats on this, which TMDSAS analyzed and published for the first time, for the 2020-2021 cycle.

Do you mind sharing where TMDSAS published these stats? Thanks @wysdoc !

 

[wysdoc]

They talked about the stats in the TMDSAS Office Hours Live from October 5 which I mentioned above: #37

You can find this episode on Facebook, wait another week or so for it to be archived on Texas Health Education Service YouTube page, or check back to this page a little later because I took notes on the stats and I'll post it here.

 

[wysdoc]

Pre-Match offer statistics, application year 2020-2021 (EY2021)

I have often been asked how many applicants get a pre-match offer, and what it means if you don't.
I have consistently told y'all that it is not necessary to get one, that a minority of people get one, and that you can still match if you have no pre-match offers. Well, I just love it when I'm right and now I have some numbers from TMDSAS to back up my opinion.

For the first time, TMDSAS has tracked, calculated, and and reported these numbers. The information was presented in the October 5 TMDSAS Office Hours Live Facebook session. These numbers are from the 2020-2021 application season, and for completeness I will note that Baylor was not part of the TMDSAS system last year, but is now, beginning this year 2021-2022.

TMDSAS Director Enrique Jasso Jr. stated it like this:
A pre-match offer:
-is a true acceptance, before the Match
-is not common
-tells the applicant that the school will rank them highly

Let's get to the numbers:
In 2020-2021 application cycle,
6235 people submitted a complete TMDSAS application
3508 people were interviewed (56% of applicants)
502 people got a pre-match offer (1 out of 7 who interviewed got a pre-match offer, or 14%)
Since some people got more than 1 pre-match offer, the total number of pre-match offers was 830
Breaking down the action for the 502 people with offers:
287 got 1 offer
143 got 2 offers
46 got 3 offers
14 got 4 offers
9 got 5 offers
3 got 6 offers

This leaves 3508 minus 502 = 3006 who interviewed but did not pre-match.
The total number of matriculants was 1855

Roughly, 1855 matriculants and 3508 people interviewed = 52.9 % of people who interviewed with TMDSAS will matriculate.
I hope you enjoyed this math lesson. If you get a pre-match, breathe a sigh of relief.
If you don't, you're in the majority, but can still match.

And my last bit of math for the day:
Overall 6235 applicants divided by 1855 matriculants = 29.7% of TMDSAS applicants ended up attending a TMDSAS school in 2021.


Here is the graph from the presentation, if you like a good pie chart:

 

[globdom]

Pre-Match offer statistics, application year 2020-2021 (EY2021)

I have often been asked how many applicants get a pre-match offer, and what it means if you don't.
I have consistently told y'all that it is not necessary to get one, that a minority of people get one, and that you can still match if you have no pre-match offers. Well, I just love it when I'm right and now I have some numbers from TMDSAS to back up my opinion.

For the first time, TMDSAS has tracked, calculated, and and reported these numbers. The information was presented in the October 5 TMDSAS Office Hours Live Facebook session. These numbers are from the 2020-2021 application season, and for completeness I will note that Baylor was not part of the TMDSAS system last year, but is now, beginning this year 2021-2022.

TMDSAS Director Enrique Jasso Jr. stated it like this:
A pre-match offer:
-is a true acceptance, before the Match
-is not common
-tells the applicant that the school will rank them highly

Let's get to the numbers:
In 2020-2021 application cycle,
6235 people submitted a complete TMDSAS application
3508 people were interviewed (56% of applicants)
502 people got a pre-match offer (1 out of 7 who interviewed got a pre-match offer, or 14%)
Since some people got more than 1 pre-match offer, the total number of pre-match offers was 830
Breaking down the action for the 502 people with offers:
287 got 1 offer
143 got 2 offers
46 got 3 offers
14 got 4 offers
9 got 5 offers
3 got 6 offers

This leaves 3508 minus 502 = 3006 who interviewed but did not pre-match.
The total number of matriculants was somewhere near 1815 (I don't have the exact number).

Roughly, 1815 matriculants and 3508 people interviewed = 51.7 % of people who interviewed with TMDSAS will matriculate.
I hope you enjoyed this math lesson. If you get a pre-match, breathe a sigh of relief.
If you don't, you're in the majority, but can still match.

And my last bit of math for the day, assuming that the 1815 matriculants is a correct number,
Overall 6235 applicants divided by 1815 matriculants = 29% of TMDSAS applicants ended up attending a TMDSAS school in 2021.


Here is the graph from the presentation, if you like a good pie chart:

I think this is misleading.

From what I can see the Stats reflect the total number of interviews across the application year. What would be interesting is the number of interviews prior to Oct 15 and the number of pre-match offers by say Nov 1st.

If say 50% of interviews are given by Oct 15 and the pre-match offers were say 500 the odds of getting a pre-match would be closer to 30%.
Harder to ascertain (but crudely extractable from the sdn data) would be the likelihood of getting matched or receiving no offer conditional on not getting a pre-match offer.

 

[wysdoc]

I think this is misleading.

From what I can see the Stats reflect the total number of interviews across the application year. What would be interesting is the number of interviews prior to Oct 15 and the number of pre-match offers by say Nov 1st.

If say 50% of interviews are given by Oct 15 and the pre-match offers were say 500 the odds of getting a pre-match would be closer to 30%.
Harder to ascertain (but crudely extractable from the sdn data) would be the likelihood of getting matched or receiving no offer conditional on not getting a pre-match offer.

I don't have those numbers, but with the prematch period stretching from October 15 to January 31 it is not a useful number, at least in my view.
Some people who will eventually matriculate haven't been interviewed yet by October 15th.
Prematch on October 15 or on January 30 is still a prematch. The total number of prematch offers last year was 830 offers, made to 502 people.
The information on my post only lists the number of matriculants. I do not have the number of admission offers made in total last year, but those will be published eventually.
Examples of why # of matriculants and # of acceptances offered are not the same:
Someone offered TMDSAS admission may choose to attend an OOS school
One person may be offered admission at several TMDSAS schools over the season but can only attend one
Someone may be offered admission once on Match Day, then again later from a TMDSAS wait list
Spots relinquished for various reasons necessitate another offer of admission to fill the seat later in the year

 

[Bill Haas]

Which school made 170 pre-match offers (see graph above) in the last cycle ?

 

[wysdoc]

Which school made 170 pre-match offers (see graph above) in the last cycle ?

Ahahaha, I knew somebody would ask me that.
In the presentation, Mr. Jasso said he will not tell which school is which. You can only assume that the school which gave 170 prematch offers is one of the schools with a large class size.
And remember, all the offers are not made on October 15, but can happen any time in the following 3.5 months!