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MD Applicants

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  • User #6108

  • Application cycles: 2004
  • Demographics: Male, Caucasian
  • Home state: Texas
  • Brief Profile: Dean's Honor List - NYU
    New York State Reagents Scholarship
    3M Fellow at U of Minnesota - 1984
    Special Recognition Awards ($$$) 1993 and 1996 at work
    Three summers of full time volunteer work at hospitals
  • // Applications //

    Application Cycle One: 2004

    • Undergraduate college: New York University
    • Undergraduate Area of study: Physical Sciences
    • Institution: PhD Chemistry, U of Minnesota - GPA 3.69
    • Area of Study: Physical Sciences
    • Degree Obtained: 1987
    • Institution: MBA, Univ of Texas at Austin - GPA 3.79
    • Area of Study: Computing and Information Science
    • Degree Obtained: 2003
    • Total MCAT SCORE: 519
    • MCAT Section Scores: B/B 130, C/P 130, CARS 127  
    • Overall GPA: 3.45
    • Science GPA: 3.46

    Summary of Application Experience

    I applied both MD and DO since I was a much older applicant seeking a decision on the 2005 cycle. Out of state, I got into AZCOM and Touro in Nevada. Touro was pathetic with poor faculty and facilities and, as with many DO schools, they demanded a huge deposit within two weeks of acceptance so you do not use them as a second choice without suffering a penalty. This is a really cheap sleazy tactic so I said no since I was already accepted to AZCOM. AZCOM demanded a $250 deposit which I was willing to sacrifice to hold a place at a DO school. As you might imagine, I have a strong preference for an MD school so I do not have to deal with the DO stigma or with learning useless manipulation techniques. The interview at Des Moines was utterly pathetic and the faculty seemed very simple and behind the times in their thinking. When asked how to improve certain aspects of medical care delivery to rural areas during the interview, I suggested applying several concepts for the delivery of care to distant sites recently pioneered by the military to the civilian sector. One faculty member actually got angry with me for this since they had no idea how to use these ideas. The city looks like time stopped for them in the early 1970s. I certainly would not want to live in this sad excuse for a city. Got waitlisted at Des Moines but who cares?

    Since I am a Texas resident, I applied to all 8 of the in state schools. I took the August MCAT so I was a later applicant. No interview from Baylor. I received five out of seven possible interviews from the TMDSAS schools (Tech, Southwestern, TCOM, UT Houston and A&M). Really liked the programs at Southwestern and A&M but would strongly prefer UTMB, UT Houston or Baylor due to logistics issues. No interviews at UTMB or San Antonio. I got into Tech and got waitlisted at A&M. No love at all from Southwestern which really sucked since of all the Texas schools I liked that one best. Interviews at Southwestern went great so I cannot explain why I got no love from them. I had the MCAT numbers but maybe not the undergrad GPA to play their game. Tech appears to be a good program with new facilities but the new curiculum still has some real problems yet to be fixed.

    The interview along with the whole application day at UT Houston was horrible. They administration left me with a slimey sensation like the one you get after talking to a used care salesman. I got assigned to some utter jerk as an interviewer who grilled me for half an hour like I was a 9 year old rather than an experienced scientist. We then spent half an hour talking pleasantly about his research program which was about as fresh and original as dirt. He appeared to be an old and bitter close to retirement PhD who resented me for tossing a research career and going into medicine, something he probably thought of doing many times but lacked both the resolve and stones to make it happen.

    UPDATE: I was talking with a member of my class about the application process and all of its imperfections when we got onto the topic of specific interviews and our experiences with particular interviewers. Talk about a small world. He was interviewed by the same loser I got assigned to at UT Houston and developed an identical negative opinion. Same questions, same office, same interview style, same technical specialty so there is no chance of mistaken identity. I wonder if the administration knows about this clown or if they use him to screen out applicants who meet the criteria for an interview but they do not want to accept for reasons that cannot be admitted.

    The med school application process is very fickle and filled with problems as well as being very expensive. Counting all of the books, test fees, new clothing for interviews, travel and other expenses, I probably spent $7K. Good luck to all.

    Application Complete, Rejected

    Long School of Medicine - University of Texas Health Sciences Center, San Antonio
    University of Texas, Galveston
    Baylor College
    Pikeville College
    Touro University - Mare Island
    A.T. Still University - Kirksville
    Washington University in St. Louis

    Attended Interview, Rejected

    University of Texas, Southwestern
    University of Texas, Houston

    Attended Interview, Withdrew

    University of North Texas

    Attended Interview, Waitlisted, Rejected

    Texas A & M University
    Des Moines University

    Accepted

    Arizona College of Mid. University
    Texas Tech University
    Touro University - Henderson

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