I can't make it to campus until mid-June, which is when my school gets out. Do you think I can still catch up with the course material once I'm back at UNT? Thanks!
UNTHSC/TCOM M.S. in Medical Sciences (Texas)-SMP 2017-2018
- Thread starter whatfield131
- Start date
If you mean for biostats, there are weekly things due. One week you do a discussion post and the next a made up peerwise question. You don't need to be on campus for those. It can all be done remotely and honestly doesn't require a crazy amount of time.
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Could any current medsci student speak to how beneficial the summer MCAT prep was? I haven't decided if I want to retake my MCAT so I'm on the fence about paying for the summer prep course. I've heard that it's via Kaplan or Princeton.. is this true? (asking because I've taken the Princeton Review prep before) Thanks!!
Not sure about how it helped people with MCAT, but it greatly increased my DAT score. Both DAT and MCAT were through Kaplan. The school has some sort of partnership with them.
Current MedSci here:
I took the required MCAT class this year. Like anything in this program, how beneficial something is will be determined by your effort, persistence, and determination to learn and complete the coursework. I used the MCAT prep in the summer as a 7a-7p job for 6 days a week. I dedicated this time to studying, attending the required (but not mandatory) MCAT lectures, as well as completing all the required practice tests (~6 I believe) and easily improved my score by ~8 points.
Others that took the MCAT course used different study schedules, often not attending the physical classes and just using the Kaplan dashboard as a tool for studying material and practice passages. Whatever you do, I suggest establishing a routine of studying/testing with built-in time for dedicated solely for rest. This routine will also give you a leg up when Biochem/Histology/Epidemiology hits hard the first semester!
I took the required MCAT class this year. Like anything in this program, how beneficial something is will be determined by your effort, persistence, and determination to learn and complete the coursework. I used the MCAT prep in the summer as a 7a-7p job for 6 days a week. I dedicated this time to studying, attending the required (but not mandatory) MCAT lectures, as well as completing all the required practice tests (~6 I believe) and easily improved my score by ~8 points.
Others that took the MCAT course used different study schedules, often not attending the physical classes and just using the Kaplan dashboard as a tool for studying material and practice passages. Whatever you do, I suggest establishing a routine of studying/testing with built-in time for dedicated solely for rest. This routine will also give you a leg up when Biochem/Histology/Epidemiology hits hard the first semester!
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Mine does and its killing me!
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This is great advice. When did you take it?
I took my MCAT on August 5th, which was a week before any fall semester classes began. Others chose to take it after the 1st week of classes - it just depends on how prepared you are and whether or not you want a week off to decompress before classes begin.
Osteopathic medical school rankings?
If you just do a search on SDN you'll see so many of these sorts of threads.
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Post in the Facebook group/contact people who have posted so far.
If it's an option, I'd just recommend commuting or finding a temporary housing option during orientation, so you can spend the three-ish days meeting people and whatnot, then you can figure out housing there! Also, as @Aurarice said, posting on the Facebook page is helpful as well since I know some people are looking for housing on there.
Best of luck!
@Felosofer There have also been Orientation Leaders posting on the page regarding previous MedSci students who are looking to pass on their leases, which appear to be pretty good deals.
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When i spoke with TCOM about the mcat prep course, they said they would prefer for me to waive it and focus on doing well in the classes since GPA is my main weakness. I got a 506 which they said is competitive for them and they wouldnt want me to risk somehow getting a lower score. Now that the cutoff is going to be 507 instead of 505 to waive and I will have to take the prep course, should I just go ahead and retake the MCAT then? Main concern is doing worse. What would you guys do? Is anyone else in this situation? Do people who have to take the course take it without actually retaking the MCAT?
The only course in the summer that is calculated into your GPA is Biostatistics, so I feel that there is a good amount of time allotted towards the MCAT prep course. I think you should retake it because the goal of this program is to better your statistics all around and I feel that if you dedicate yourself to the MCAT prep course as you would your courses, then you should inevitably improve your score.
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That is what I am leaning towards too. I was incredibly busy with research and 20 hrs of school when I took it the first time so I am hoping being able to commit more time to it will improve it a lot. Thanks for your input!
If you want a study partner I'm definitely interested! Going to set up a schedule starting from the first day of school, so essentially a 2~3 month plan, but I'm not sure what study material to use.
Last time I took it I just used all EK and did decently, but hoping to score much better this time around.
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I'm definitely down for that! I didnt do a great job studying last time because I was so busy, I literally just did Next Step practice tests and used flashcards for a month or so before the test. We should definitely make a plan!
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I'd like to join yall in the studying if possible!
Teamwork makes the dream work!When are yall planning to retake the MCAT in the summer though? I'm a little concerned about applying late/having to update schools with the new score. Not sure if July or August would be better?
Awesome!
I'd like to join yall in the studying if possible!
When are yall planning to retake the MCAT in the summer though? I'm a little concerned about applying late/having to update schools with the new score. Not sure if July or August would be better?
I'm not too sure.
Right now my plan is to do a "light" application this cycle to just the TMDSAS+a couple of super reach schools, and retake likely early August prior to the Fall Semester. If I get in, woohoo! If not, next cycle with new stats.
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Agreed! I wasnt planning on retaking to begin with so i will just apply the same way I was planning and hopefully adding a newer better MCAT score will just be a bonus later in the cycle.
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Hey all,
I also am another current medical science student at UNTHSC. I just wanted to add a couple remarks at this early hour (sucked into reading this thread out of curiosity/study break). First off, all the other current medical science students are spot on. Be prepared to work your butt off when you get into the program. If you are one of those who likes to procrastinate, it is about time you break that habit. BE ON TOP OF YOUR STUDYING. If you work very hard and study ahead of time, that 4.0 GPA is not unrealistic.
Study tips:
1) One strategy that has worked for me (I have done pretty well in the program) is studying the powerpoint slides before lecture. TRUST ME. If you are like me (zone out easily and can be easily distracted), then this is a MUST. This strategy allows you to be so much more engaged in what the lecturer is saying. Instead of reading the slide for the first time, you can pick up on the details that the lecturer is saying.
2) Another strategy that many med scis employ is listening to the audio recordings (IF ALLOWED). One student in my class has recorded the lectures and graciously uploaded those recordings to a Facebook page for us all to use. Listening to recordings has helped my studying immensely. I hear the professor once during lecture, and as the test draws closer, I listen to the audio recordings again to refresh my memory of what the lecturer says. Some of the professors will drop lots of hints about what will be on the test during lecture. While I agree with @brachialplexus on much of what he/she said, listening to many of the lectures was invaluable. There have been many times where I would have breezed over a minuscule detail on a slide if I had not listened to lecture. I cannot recommend this enough.
DISCLAIMER: The student obtained prior permission from all the lecturers before sharing the recordings with us. Some professors do NOT allow recordings or the sharing of recordings. DO NOT break or bend these rules (they can lead to EXPULSION from the program). Just needed to get that out there. ALSO, if someone in your class ends up recording and sharing with everyone, be sure to remind that person of your appreciation (buy him/her lunch every once in a while).
3) Join study groups! Just my two cents: your friends may not make the best study groups. 'Studying' may turn into trolling and hanging out. Make sure to make study groups with a focused and dedicated group of individuals. Make sure to do your own individual studying before you study with a group. It can be counterproductive studying with a group if you are unprepared.
4) Teach others. If you are on top of your material like I know everyone here will be, you will have the extra time to teach and help others. In this program, most everyone is super chill; we all try and help each other out. Teaching others helps tremendously when comprehending material. Also, teaching others during anatomy lab is one of the best ways (if not the best way) to learn the material.
5) Make your own exam questions and do TONS of practice questions. This personally is one of my favorite ways to study. I currently have a group of people who make questions for every exam so that we can find holes in our understanding and adjust our studying for the exam. Doing practice questions is so CRUCIAL to doing well. Unless you are a natural test taker, doing tons of practice questions is one of the best ways to excel in this program. Get used to doing this as this will be one of the main ways that you will study for the board exams.
6) Know when its time to limit Facebook/social media usage. So many med scis are on Facebook during class (including myself from time to time), and that is just wasting invaluable time. Listen to lecture! You can chat with your friends after lecture. Also, make sure to turn off social media notifications when its time to study.
Leadership Positions and Volunteering:
I think this is super important, and I cannot stress enough how much medical schools/dental schools/PA schools want to see continued volunteering and leadership.
Volunteering: I could care less if you have 1,000,000 community service hours before the med sci program, but you need to continue to serve others first. That is what we signed up for when we decided to enter the healthcare field. JOIN the Medical Science Community Service Organization and try to at least do one service event per month. If you are keeping ahead, you will have the time to volunteer. TRUST ME. Also, there is this thing called the 'Med Sci of the Year' Award that is usually given to the person with the highest GPA AND the most community service hours. (They don't give it to you if you only have a 4.0 GPA. You need to volunteer.) Maybe that might motivate you all to volunteer.
Leadership: ... This is something I did not understand with my current class of Med Scis. There are so many opportunities on campus to get involved and to get leadership roles in clubs, but I found that many of my fellow Med Scis did not seize these opportunities. I got pretty involved and have several positions and am in several school programs for leadership, and I still wish I had done a little more. Some of my classmates have told me that they wish they had been as involved as I am. A common misconception is that all these positions will take too much time away from studying. TRUST ME. They did not. In fact, many of the leadership positions, including many of those in the Medical Science Community Service Organization (MSCSO), do NOT take that big of a time commitment, except volunteer coordinators (those are the true heroes). Let me give you some perspective: at the beginning of fall semester, we had the MSCSO officer elections. Every single executive board position ran unopposed except for the position of president (2 people ran). I kid you not. And, guess what: every single MSCSO president has gotten into TCOM throughout the history of the club (except for one but for other reasons). So, be involved in/apply for leadership roles. With that being said, make sure not to spread yourself too thin. Your studies do come first, but if you manage your time well, you can partake in these roles. Leadership looks really good to Medical/dental/PA schools.
Leadership Programs that UNTHSC Offers:
1) Student Leadership Academy - get matched with a faculty or physician mentor who you meet with weekly/monthly; also get to do a unique community service project
2) Academy V - new program but get to do some really cool things like developing other school programs (couldn't find a link)
3) Rising Leaders - attend 4 sessions throughout the year and get to hone leadership skills; receive a certificate at the end; requirements may change for next year
-there are more, but these are the only ones that come to mind at the moment
EDIT: I added links to the UNTHSC programs so that all of you who have been accepted can find out more info if you would like.
Leadership Positions to Run For:
1) Curriculum Rep - please apply to this during orientation; you get direct contact with the administration and there is minimal time commitment; most of the curriculum reps that applied to medical school were accepted with many going to TCOM
2) Medical Science Community Service Organization - one of the best ways to get involved in the community; most of the officers who applied this past cycle got into medical school with many going to TCOM
3) Human Anatomy Society - has a couple of positions open for Med Scis; club offers help in anatomy and leads an amazing event called "Legacy of Life" - check it out; many of the newly-elected officers are current medical science students who will be attending TCOM next year and were very successful in the Med Sci program. I would ask them for insight into why they were so successful.
-to name a few; lots of clubs to join or hold leadership positions in
EDIT: added some extra details about all the clubs/leadership positions.
Closing thoughts:
I just want to reiterate that if you work hard, a 4.0 is not out of reach. Try some of the study methods that I suggested if you want, but everyone learns the material differently. Experiment during the beginning of fall semester a little bit with your studying and optimize it during this time. Once spring hits, you better have an established study schedule because it is a full on sprint in terms of material.
Good luck to everyone again! You can ALL do it!!
I also am another current medical science student at UNTHSC. I just wanted to add a couple remarks at this early hour (sucked into reading this thread out of curiosity/study break). First off, all the other current medical science students are spot on. Be prepared to work your butt off when you get into the program. If you are one of those who likes to procrastinate, it is about time you break that habit. BE ON TOP OF YOUR STUDYING. If you work very hard and study ahead of time, that 4.0 GPA is not unrealistic.
Study tips:
1) One strategy that has worked for me (I have done pretty well in the program) is studying the powerpoint slides before lecture. TRUST ME. If you are like me (zone out easily and can be easily distracted), then this is a MUST. This strategy allows you to be so much more engaged in what the lecturer is saying. Instead of reading the slide for the first time, you can pick up on the details that the lecturer is saying.
2) Another strategy that many med scis employ is listening to the audio recordings (IF ALLOWED). One student in my class has recorded the lectures and graciously uploaded those recordings to a Facebook page for us all to use. Listening to recordings has helped my studying immensely. I hear the professor once during lecture, and as the test draws closer, I listen to the audio recordings again to refresh my memory of what the lecturer says. Some of the professors will drop lots of hints about what will be on the test during lecture. While I agree with @brachialplexus on much of what he/she said, listening to many of the lectures was invaluable. There have been many times where I would have breezed over a minuscule detail on a slide if I had not listened to lecture. I cannot recommend this enough.
DISCLAIMER: The student obtained prior permission from all the lecturers before sharing the recordings with us. Some professors do NOT allow recordings or the sharing of recordings. DO NOT break or bend these rules (they can lead to EXPULSION from the program). Just needed to get that out there. ALSO, if someone in your class ends up recording and sharing with everyone, be sure to remind that person of your appreciation (buy him/her lunch every once in a while).
3) Join study groups! Just my two cents: your friends may not make the best study groups. 'Studying' may turn into trolling and hanging out. Make sure to make study groups with a focused and dedicated group of individuals. Make sure to do your own individual studying before you study with a group. It can be counterproductive studying with a group if you are unprepared.
4) Teach others. If you are on top of your material like I know everyone here will be, you will have the extra time to teach and help others. In this program, most everyone is super chill; we all try and help each other out. Teaching others helps tremendously when comprehending material. Also, teaching others during anatomy lab is one of the best ways (if not the best way) to learn the material.
5) Make your own exam questions and do TONS of practice questions. This personally is one of my favorite ways to study. I currently have a group of people who make questions for every exam so that we can find holes in our understanding and adjust our studying for the exam. Doing practice questions is so CRUCIAL to doing well. Unless you are a natural test taker, doing tons of practice questions is one of the best ways to excel in this program. Get used to doing this as this will be one of the main ways that you will study for the board exams.
6) Know when its time to limit Facebook/social media usage. So many med scis are on Facebook during class (including myself from time to time), and that is just wasting invaluable time. Listen to lecture! You can chat with your friends after lecture. Also, make sure to turn off social media notifications when its time to study.
Leadership Positions and Volunteering:
I think this is super important, and I cannot stress enough how much medical schools/dental schools/PA schools want to see continued volunteering and leadership.
Volunteering: I could care less if you have 1,000,000 community service hours before the med sci program, but you need to continue to serve others first. That is what we signed up for when we decided to enter the healthcare field. JOIN the Medical Science Community Service Organization and try to at least do one service event per month. If you are keeping ahead, you will have the time to volunteer. TRUST ME. Also, there is this thing called the 'Med Sci of the Year' Award that is usually given to the person with the highest GPA AND the most community service hours. (They don't give it to you if you only have a 4.0 GPA. You need to volunteer.) Maybe that might motivate you all to volunteer
.Leadership: ... This is something I did not understand with my current class of Med Scis. There are so many opportunities on campus to get involved and to get leadership roles in clubs, but I found that many of my fellow Med Scis did not seize these opportunities. I got pretty involved and have several positions and am in several school programs for leadership, and I still wish I had done a little more. Some of my classmates have told me that they wish they had been as involved as I am. A common misconception is that all these positions will take too much time away from studying. TRUST ME. They did not. In fact, many of the leadership positions, including many of those in the Medical Science Community Service Organization (MSCSO), do NOT take that big of a time commitment, except volunteer coordinators (those are the true heroes). Let me give you some perspective: at the beginning of fall semester, we had the MSCSO officer elections. Every single executive board position ran unopposed except for the position of president (2 people ran). I kid you not. And, guess what: every single MSCSO president has gotten into TCOM throughout the history of the club (except for one but for other reasons). So, be involved in/apply for leadership roles. With that being said, make sure not to spread yourself too thin. Your studies do come first, but if you manage your time well, you can partake in these roles. Leadership looks really good to Medical/dental/PA schools.
Leadership Programs that UNTHSC Offers:
1) Student Leadership Academy - get matched with a faculty or physician mentor who you meet with weekly/monthly; also get to do a unique community service project
2) Academy V - new program but get to do some really cool things like developing other school programs (couldn't find a link)
3) Rising Leaders - attend 4 sessions throughout the year and get to hone leadership skills; receive a certificate at the end; requirements may change for next year
-there are more, but these are the only ones that come to mind at the moment
EDIT: I added links to the UNTHSC programs so that all of you who have been accepted can find out more info if you would like.
Leadership Positions to Run For:
1) Curriculum Rep - please apply to this during orientation; you get direct contact with the administration and there is minimal time commitment; most of the curriculum reps that applied to medical school were accepted with many going to TCOM
2) Medical Science Community Service Organization - one of the best ways to get involved in the community; most of the officers who applied this past cycle got into medical school with many going to TCOM
3) Human Anatomy Society - has a couple of positions open for Med Scis; club offers help in anatomy and leads an amazing event called "Legacy of Life" - check it out; many of the newly-elected officers are current medical science students who will be attending TCOM next year and were very successful in the Med Sci program. I would ask them for insight into why they were so successful.
-to name a few; lots of clubs to join or hold leadership positions in
EDIT: added some extra details about all the clubs/leadership positions.
Closing thoughts:
I just want to reiterate that if you work hard, a 4.0 is not out of reach. Try some of the study methods that I suggested if you want, but everyone learns the material differently. Experiment during the beginning of fall semester a little bit with your studying and optimize it during this time. Once spring hits, you better have an established study schedule because it is a full on sprint in terms of material.
Good luck to everyone again! You can ALL do it!!
Last edited:
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Still waiting for my lunchHey all,
I also am another current medical science student at UNTHSC. I just wanted to add a couple remarks at this early hour (sucked into reading this thread out of curiosity/study break). First off, all the other current medical science students are spot on. Be prepared to work your butt off when you get into the program. If you are one of those who likes to procrastinate, it is about time you break that habit. BE ON TOP OF YOUR STUDYING. If you work very hard and study ahead of time, that 4.0 GPA is not unrealistic.
Study tips:
1) One strategy that has worked for me (I have done pretty well in the program) is studying the powerpoint slides before lecture. TRUST ME. If you are like me (zone out easily and can be easily distracted), then this is a MUST. This strategy allows you to be so much more engaged in what the lecturer is saying. Instead of reading the slide for the first time, you can pick up on the details that the lecturer is saying.
2) Another strategy that many med scis employ is listening to the audio recordings (IF ALLOWED). One student in my class has recorded the lectures and graciously uploaded those recordings to a Facebook page for us all to use. Listening to recordings has helped my studying immensely. I hear the professor once during lecture, and as the test draws closer, I listen to the audio recordings again to refresh my memory of what the lecturer says. Some of the professors will drop lots of hints about what will be on the test during lecture. While I agree with @brachialplexus on much of what he/she said, listening to many of the lectures was invaluable. There have been many times where I would have breezed over a minuscule detail on a slide if I had not listened to lecture. I cannot recommend this enough.
DISCLAIMER: The student obtained prior permission from all the lecturers before sharing the recordings with us. Some professors do NOT allow recordings or the sharing of recordings. DO NOT break or bend these rules (they can lead to EXPULSION from the program). Just needed to get that out there. ALSO, if someone in your class ends up recording and sharing with everyone, be sure to remind that person of your appreciation (buy him/her lunch every once in a while).
3) Join study groups! Just my two cents: your friends may not make the best study groups. 'Studying' may turn into trolling and hanging out. Make sure to make study groups with a focused and dedicated group of individuals. Make sure to do your own individual studying before you study with a group. It can be counterproductive studying with a group if you are unprepared.
4) Teach others. If you are on top of your material like I know everyone here will be, you will have the extra time to teach and help others. In this program, most everyone is super chill; we all try and help each other out. Teaching others helps tremendously when comprehending material. Also, teaching others during anatomy lab is one of the best ways (if not the best way) to learn the material.
5) Make your own exam questions and do TONS of practice questions. This personally is one of my favorite ways to study. I currently have a group of people who make questions for every exam so that we can find holes in our understanding and adjust our studying for the exam. Doing practice questions is so CRUCIAL to doing well. Unless you are a natural test taker, doing tons of practice questions is one of the best ways to excel in this program. Get used to doing this as this will be one of the main ways that you will study for the board exams.
6) Know when its time to limit Facebook/social media usage. So many med scis are on Facebook during class (including myself from time to time), and that is just wasting invaluable time. Listen to lecture! You can chat with your friends after lecture. Also, make sure to turn off social media notifications when its time to study.
Leadership Positions and Volunteering:
I think this is super important, and I cannot stress enough how much medical schools/dental schools/PA schools want to see continued volunteering and leadership.
Volunteering: I could care less if you have 1,000,000 community service hours before the med sci program, but you need to continue to serve others first. That is what we signed up for when we decided to enter the healthcare field. JOIN the Medical Science Community Service Organization and try to at least do one service event per month. If you are keeping ahead, you will have the time to volunteer. TRUST ME. Also, there is this thing called the 'Med Sci of the Year' Award that is usually given to the person with the highest GPA AND the most community service hours. (They don't give it to you if you only have a 4.0 GPA. You need to volunteer.) Maybe that might motivate you all to volunteer
Leadership: ... This is something I did not understand with my current class of Med Scis. There are so many opportunities on campus to get involved and to get leadership roles in clubs, but I found that many of my fellow Med Scis did not seize these opportunities. I got pretty involved and have several positions and am in several school programs for leadership, and I still wish I had done a little more. Some of my classmates have told me that they wish they had been as involved as I am. A common misconception is that all these positions will take too much time away from studying. TRUST ME. They did not. In fact, many of the leadership positions, including many of those in the Medical Science Community Service Organization (MSCSO), do NOT take that big of a time commitment, except volunteer coordinators (those are the true heroes). Let me give you some perspective: at the beginning of fall semester, we had the MSCSO officer elections. Every single executive board position ran unopposed except for the position of president (2 people ran). I kid you not. And, guess what: every single MSCSO president has gotten into TCOM throughout the history of the club (except for one but for other reasons). So, be involved in/apply for leadership roles. With that being said, make sure not to spread yourself too thin. Your studies do come first, but if you manage your time well, you can partake in these roles. Leadership looks really good to Medical/dental/PA schools.
Leadership Programs that UNTHSC Offers:
1) Student Leadership Academy (get matched with a faculty or physician mentor who you meet with weekly/monthly; also get to do a unique community service project)
2) Academy V (new program - get to do some really cool things tho like develop other school programs)
3) Rising Leaders (attend 4 sessions throughout the year and get to hone leadership skills - receive a certificate at the end)
4) Roundtable (something like that; dont know enough about this but have heard good things)
-there are more, but these are the only ones that come to mind at the moment
Leadership Positions to Run For:
1) Curriculum Rep (please apply to this - you get direct contact with the administration and there is minimal time commitment)
2) Medical Science Community Service Organization (one of the best ways to get involved in the community)
3) Human Anatomy Society (has a couple of positions open for Med Scis; club offers help in anatomy and leads an amazing event called "Legacy of Life" - check it out)
-to name a few; lots of clubs to join or hold leadership positions in
Closing thoughts:
I just want to reiterate that if you work hard, a 4.0 is not out of reach. Try some of the study methods that I suggested if you want, but everyone learns the material differently. Experiment during the beginning of fall semester a little bit with your studying and optimize it during this time. Once spring hits, you better have an established study schedule because it is a full on sprint in terms of material.
Good luck to everyone again! You can ALL do it!!
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Current Med Sci folks,
Can you guys please give an idea of how many people have been accepted into medical school from your class so far? Does the program help you in improving your application for reapplying? Do many students get into TCOM? How about to out of state programs? I know that this information is kept private but any information in regards to this would be appreciated.
Thank you!
Can you guys please give an idea of how many people have been accepted into medical school from your class so far? Does the program help you in improving your application for reapplying? Do many students get into TCOM? How about to out of state programs? I know that this information is kept private but any information in regards to this would be appreciated.
Thank you!
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Does anyone know when more acceptances are being handed out? My application was completed 2/27 but I still have not heard anything from UNT.
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Hey all,
I also am another current medical science student at UNTHSC. I just wanted to add a couple remarks at this early hour (sucked into reading this thread out of curiosity/study break). First off, all the other current medical science students are spot on. Be prepared to work your butt off when you get into the program. If you are one of those who likes to procrastinate, it is about time you break that habit. BE ON TOP OF YOUR STUDYING. If you work very hard and study ahead of time, that 4.0 GPA is not unrealistic.
Study tips:
1) One strategy that has worked for me (I have done pretty well in the program) is studying the powerpoint slides before lecture. TRUST ME. If you are like me (zone out easily and can be easily distracted), then this is a MUST. This strategy allows you to be so much more engaged in what the lecturer is saying. Instead of reading the slide for the first time, you can pick up on the details that the lecturer is saying.
2) Another strategy that many med scis employ is listening to the audio recordings (IF ALLOWED). One student in my class has recorded the lectures and graciously uploaded those recordings to a Facebook page for us all to use. Listening to recordings has helped my studying immensely. I hear the professor once during lecture, and as the test draws closer, I listen to the audio recordings again to refresh my memory of what the lecturer says. Some of the professors will drop lots of hints about what will be on the test during lecture. While I agree with @brachialplexus on much of what he/she said, listening to many of the lectures was invaluable. There have been many times where I would have breezed over a minuscule detail on a slide if I had not listened to lecture. I cannot recommend this enough.
DISCLAIMER: The student obtained prior permission from all the lecturers before sharing the recordings with us. Some professors do NOT allow recordings or the sharing of recordings. DO NOT break or bend these rules (they can lead to EXPULSION from the program). Just needed to get that out there. ALSO, if someone in your class ends up recording and sharing with everyone, be sure to remind that person of your appreciation (buy him/her lunch every once in a while).
3) Join study groups! Just my two cents: your friends may not make the best study groups. 'Studying' may turn into trolling and hanging out. Make sure to make study groups with a focused and dedicated group of individuals. Make sure to do your own individual studying before you study with a group. It can be counterproductive studying with a group if you are unprepared.
4) Teach others. If you are on top of your material like I know everyone here will be, you will have the extra time to teach and help others. In this program, most everyone is super chill; we all try and help each other out. Teaching others helps tremendously when comprehending material. Also, teaching others during anatomy lab is one of the best ways (if not the best way) to learn the material.
5) Make your own exam questions and do TONS of practice questions. This personally is one of my favorite ways to study. I currently have a group of people who make questions for every exam so that we can find holes in our understanding and adjust our studying for the exam. Doing practice questions is so CRUCIAL to doing well. Unless you are a natural test taker, doing tons of practice questions is one of the best ways to excel in this program. Get used to doing this as this will be one of the main ways that you will study for the board exams.
6) Know when its time to limit Facebook/social media usage. So many med scis are on Facebook during class (including myself from time to time), and that is just wasting invaluable time. Listen to lecture! You can chat with your friends after lecture. Also, make sure to turn off social media notifications when its time to study.
Leadership Positions and Volunteering:
I think this is super important, and I cannot stress enough how much medical schools/dental schools/PA schools want to see continued volunteering and leadership.
Volunteering: I could care less if you have 1,000,000 community service hours before the med sci program, but you need to continue to serve others first. That is what we signed up for when we decided to enter the healthcare field. JOIN the Medical Science Community Service Organization and try to at least do one service event per month. If you are keeping ahead, you will have the time to volunteer. TRUST ME. Also, there is this thing called the 'Med Sci of the Year' Award that is usually given to the person with the highest GPA AND the most community service hours. (They don't give it to you if you only have a 4.0 GPA. You need to volunteer.) Maybe that might motivate you all to volunteer
Leadership: ... This is something I did not understand with my current class of Med Scis. There are so many opportunities on campus to get involved and to get leadership roles in clubs, but I found that many of my fellow Med Scis did not seize these opportunities. I got pretty involved and have several positions and am in several school programs for leadership, and I still wish I had done a little more. Some of my classmates have told me that they wish they had been as involved as I am. A common misconception is that all these positions will take too much time away from studying. TRUST ME. They did not. In fact, many of the leadership positions, including many of those in the Medical Science Community Service Organization (MSCSO), do NOT take that big of a time commitment, except volunteer coordinators (those are the true heroes). Let me give you some perspective: at the beginning of fall semester, we had the MSCSO officer elections. Every single executive board position ran unopposed except for the position of president (2 people ran). I kid you not. And, guess what: every single MSCSO president has gotten into TCOM throughout the history of the club (except for one but for other reasons). So, be involved in/apply for leadership roles. With that being said, make sure not to spread yourself too thin. Your studies do come first, but if you manage your time well, you can partake in these roles. Leadership looks really good to Medical/dental/PA schools.
Leadership Programs that UNTHSC Offers:
1) Student Leadership Academy (get matched with a faculty or physician mentor who you meet with weekly/monthly; also get to do a unique community service project)
2) Academy V (new program - get to do some really cool things tho like develop other school programs)
3) Rising Leaders (attend 4 sessions throughout the year and get to hone leadership skills - receive a certificate at the end)
4) Roundtable (something like that; dont know enough about this but have heard good things)
-there are more, but these are the only ones that come to mind at the moment
Leadership Positions to Run For:
1) Curriculum Rep (please apply to this - you get direct contact with the administration and there is minimal time commitment)
2) Medical Science Community Service Organization (one of the best ways to get involved in the community)
3) Human Anatomy Society (has a couple of positions open for Med Scis; club offers help in anatomy and leads an amazing event called "Legacy of Life" - check it out)
-to name a few; lots of clubs to join or hold leadership positions in
Closing thoughts:
I just want to reiterate that if you work hard, a 4.0 is not out of reach. Try some of the study methods that I suggested if you want, but everyone learns the material differently. Experiment during the beginning of fall semester a little bit with your studying and optimize it during this time. Once spring hits, you better have an established study schedule because it is a full on sprint in terms of material.
Good luck to everyone again! You can ALL do it!!
Just wanted to say THANK YOU so much for taking your time to post all of this invaluable information! I've heard about the academic dedication needed, but I am extra grateful for you giving us the low-down on extracurriculars
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This. If it makes you feel better, you aren't alone. My application has been complete since 3/10 with no activity whatsoever.
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This data will be provided at orientation.
During MyHSC day, Dr. Gwirts said that for the 2015 cycle, 47 students from the MedSci program matriculated into TCOM and that for the 2016 cycle, 52 students matriculated into TCOM. Note that TCOM doesn't guarantee any spots for students in the MedSci program though.
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I heard that UNT and TCU are joining to create a new Med School in Fort Worth. Some articles mentioned that 20/60 seats for the first class are set aside for TCU students. By chance does anyone know if UNTHSC students will get a leg up?
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Where did you find out about a new med school? Link?
edit: found info here: https://newsevents.tcu.edu/stories/tcu-and-unt-health-science-center-to-create-new-medical-school-2/
I am definitely interested in hearing whether MedScis would have a leg up! Would love to stay in Fort Worth long term.
edit 2: says here they pushed back the start date--- Newsmaker: Dr. Stuart Flynn pushes start of FW med school back to 2019 | Fort Worth Star-Telegram
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I have spoken with administration about this before. There will most likely not be a leg up for UNTHSC students.
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Haha that actually seems right on time for the next class. Apply for TCU's med school as soon as you finish the Med Sci Program
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I'm applying this cycle. I will apply there if I need to reapply next cycle.
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If it makes you feel any better, My app has been marked as "you application is currently under review" since SPRING BREAK LOL I don't even know what to think. But patience is key i guess.
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I'm in the same boat as you. Been "currently under review" for over a month. Do you think they forgot about us?
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I'm in the same boat as you. Been "currently under review" for over a month. Do you think they forgot about us?
NOPE! haha man we prolly just in the "oh we aren't gonna reject these guys so we need to take another look pile" or something like thatI'm in the same boat as you. Been "currently under review" for over a month. Do you think they forgot about us?
:::crickets:::
I went looking through last year's thread (for the nth time!) and it looked like there was a good chunk of acceptances the week of April 24-28. The first wait-list decisions were the following week (1st week of May). Two of the acceptances had MCAT's of 497 and 23 if that makes anyone feel better.
Hang in there all the "defer decisions" (like myself), "completed's", and "under review's"! Keep being positive, confident, patient and all those other really annoying adjectives in our current situation.
I went looking through last year's thread (for the nth time!) and it looked like there was a good chunk of acceptances the week of April 24-28. The first wait-list decisions were the following week (1st week of May). Two of the acceptances had MCAT's of 497 and 23 if that makes anyone feel better.
Hang in there all the "defer decisions" (like myself), "completed's", and "under review's"! Keep being positive, confident, patient and all those other really annoying adjectives in our current situation.
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By chance could a current or former Medsci help me with this dilemma:
Approximately how many hours per day does the online BioStats course require? Also, is it manageable to learn the Summer Biochem through self-study?
I'm currently working as a teacher in Dallas, and I won't be free until the second week of classes. I would like to take the summer biochem since I haven't taken a biochem course before before, but I'd prefer not to commute to Fort Worth everyday for that one class or move immediately due to my lease (I drove to UNT in Denton every day last summer and that left me with nightmares)
I learned a bit on my own when taking the mcat, so I was curious if the content would be manageable on my own.
I'm also curious how much time BioStats takes each day since I'm hoping to finish my current Master's this summer, if doable.
Thanks!
Approximately how many hours per day does the online BioStats course require? Also, is it manageable to learn the Summer Biochem through self-study?
I'm currently working as a teacher in Dallas, and I won't be free until the second week of classes. I would like to take the summer biochem since I haven't taken a biochem course before before, but I'd prefer not to commute to Fort Worth everyday for that one class or move immediately due to my lease (I drove to UNT in Denton every day last summer and that left me with nightmares)
I learned a bit on my own when taking the mcat, so I was curious if the content would be manageable on my own.
I'm also curious how much time BioStats takes each day since I'm hoping to finish my current Master's this summer, if doable.
Thanks!
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I am not a current MedSci but on the facebook group, the OL's said "it's really only there for people who haven't seen that material in a long time or for those who feel they don't grasp the concepts" so if you are really unfamiliar with biochem it may be a good idea. OL's also said the MedSci biochem course in the fall is two semesters crammed into four weeks, "it's fast but not impossible."
I am also in a lease until fall and I had wanted to take the biochem course just for the refresher since I haven't taken it since 2015, but it doesnt seem like it would be worth it for me to take on another lease and stretch my finances just for a course that would probably not significantly benefit me (I am pretty comfortable with biochem concepts even though I had it awhile back) I think it just depends on your comfort level! Many of the OL's said they didnt take it and were perfectly fine. You may be able to just do some DIY reviewing if the commute would be too much but I think the benefit of the refresher is you get to know the professor who teaches it and his/her teaching and testing style.
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Hey y'all!
So my application is still marked as "Complete", and the suspense is truly killing me! Anyways, I'm interested to know who is planning on applying to medical school while in this program (versus waiting until the program is complete and applying the next cycle)? Also from the current MedSci students, was it recommended to apply to med school while in this program and how successful were you all if you did?
*Sorry if this has already been discussed! I haven't had the opportunity to really go through and read the thread.
Thanks!
So my application is still marked as "Complete", and the suspense is truly killing me! Anyways, I'm interested to know who is planning on applying to medical school while in this program (versus waiting until the program is complete and applying the next cycle)? Also from the current MedSci students, was it recommended to apply to med school while in this program and how successful were you all if you did?
*Sorry if this has already been discussed! I haven't had the opportunity to really go through and read the thread.
Thanks!
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I will be applying this cycle! I spoke with TCOM and they recommended to do so, although they said it is likely they will hold the app because they will want to see the MedSci grades on my application as they become available, since my GPA is my weakness. It may be helpful to reach out to some of the schools you are interested in and see what they would recommend based on your situation!
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Sounds good. Thanks!
By chance have you heard anything about how much time BioStats takes?
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no... i've been searching threads from past years but haven't seen anything yet. I have info on all the other classes except that one. I remember reading that someone thought it was one of the easier courses though!
Not sure if this helps at all, but previous MedSci's/current Med students mentioned that per class they spent like 1 hour prepping for it and like 2 hours outside of class reviewing the notes and everything - so if this is applicable to Biostatistics, then I'd imagine like 2-3ish hours daily (tentative) with like an hour of online lecture.
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not too bad, and leaves plenty of time to do preceptorship!
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Thanks for the encouragement for us all! I am over the waiting...The suspense has officially died for me, I no longer check my portal/email multiple times a day. Although obvious, I finally accepted the truth that worrying will not change the outcome so I'm saving all that stress for med school! We have done all we can do so hope for the best outcome but prepare for the worst.
