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University of North Texas Health Science Center - Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine

Fort Worth, TX

Osteopathic Medical Schools | Public Non-Profit

📚 General Info

What graduating class are you in?

2014

Are you pursuing any joint degrees (MD/PhD, MD/MPH, etc.)?

No

Are you considered in-state or out-of-state for tuition purposes?

in-state

What is your race/ethnic background?

Caucasian

Overall, how would you rate this medical program?

7 out of 10

What is the reputation of the school in the medical community?

8 out of 10

What is the reputation of the research that goes on at this school?

5 out of 10

What was your MCAT score?

503

What was your undergrad GPA?

3.5

What was your undergrad science GPA?

3.3

What was the zip code of your residence in high school?

76109

What do you like most about this school?

The reputation is good, we do well on the boards, unlike many osteopathic schools we have many opportunities for research, although some of the research departments are highly political (be warned). There are many options for 3rd year rotations, which is good.

What do you like least about this school?

High pressure environment, facilities are new and pretty but not very functional, administration seems in disarray. Unlike many (most?) medical schools we do NOT have course syllabi with all the information we need to know, so we have to hunt for all information from textbooks ourselves during 2nd year.

Please provide any other general comments on your school

No responses
Curriculum

How is the curriculum structured?

Systems-based

How many courses are taken at a given time?

3

How long are you typically in class per day?

3-4 hours

Are courses recorded for medical students?

Powerpoint slides provided only

How many days per week is anatomy lab?

2

How many students per cadaver?

5-6

How long (in months) do you have anatomy?

6 months

Is the curriculum lecture-centric or small-group centric?

3 out of 10

Are standardized patients used?

yes

How much patient interaction is there in the pre-clinical years?

6 out of 10

Are syllabi provided for the student?

no

How frequently do pre-clinical medical school activities have mandatory attendance?

In second year each "class" counts for a raw point in your grade - you must get 60% of the questions asked in class correct to get the point. If you miss the class or answer less than 60% correct, you lose that point from your grade. In first year most classes are not mandatory or point-oriented.

What books are necessary?

I use only board review books. Many students read Robbins and buy the required clinical books in 2nd year (about 25-50% of the material in 2nd year is geared towards Step II). During 1st year information is provided in powerpoints and books are functionally optional.

What books are unnecessary?

The vast majority of books on the booklist are unnecessary.

Is the curriculum designed to promote a specialty? If so, which specialty?

The curriculum is supposed to encourage people to go into primary care, but many people feel put off by how the administration pushes it on us.
Location & Housing

How do you feel about the location of the school?

9 out of 10

Do you feel safe on campus?

10 out of 10

How available and convenient is public transportation?

1 out of 10

Is a car necessary at any point during your education here?

All years

If a car is required for education, how available and convenient is the parking provided to students?

8 out of 10

Is on-campus housing available?

no

What is the quality of available on-campus housing?

5 out of 10

What percentage of your medical school classmates would you estimate live on campus, if on-campus housing is available?

5 out of 10

Is couples housing available?

no

Is nearby off-campus housing available?

yes

How expensive is nearby off-campus housing?

7 out of 10

Please describe the on-campus housing if available (i.e., cost, type - studios, 1-br, 2-br, etc.)?

No housing available on campus
Cost/Financial Aid

Are fees/tuition expensive?

10 out of 10

How is the cost of living (rent, food, bills, etc.)?

7 out of 10

Are many institutional scholarships/grants available?

2 out of 10

Is institutional aid need-based or merit-based?

Merit-based
Faculty/Grades

Are faculty members very open to students during office hours?

5 out of 10

Are faculty members very available to students via email/message board?

10 out of 10

Are there many opportunities to shadow/work with clinical faculty?

5 out of 10

Are the faculty willing to mentor students in regards to career guidance?

8 out of 10

Is the class ranked?

yes

How is the instructional faculty during pre-clinical years?

Most of them mean well, but only a few of them are particularly good lecturers

How is the instructional faculty during clinical years?

I am not a 3rd year, but I have been told that overall the faculty in the clinical years are ok.

What is the grading scale used during pre-clinical years?

A, B, C and F. Class rank is based on your average % score in classes.

What is the grading scale used during clinical years?

No responses
Clinical Rotations

Are the desired rotation sites easy to obtain?

7 out of 10

Is desired rotation order easy to obtain?

4 out of 10

Are the elective rotations easy to obtain?

5 out of 10

Is there substantial hands-on experience for medical students?

7 out of 10

Are the rotation sites conveniently accessible for medical students?

10 out of 10

How far are the clinical sites from the main campus?

10 out of 10

How are clinical rotations scheduled? What are the required rotations?

Rotations are scheduled by the department. You have a choice of having your long or short rotations first, but the order of those rotations are randomly assigned. You may trade with other students to get a schedule more to your liking. You rank your rotation site (Fort Worth, Dallas, Conroe, Baytown, Longview or Corpus Christi), and most people get their 1st or 2nd choice. 6-12 people are located at each non-Fort Worth site. While in Fort Worth you have some influence on which hospitals you rotate with. Required: Family Medicine-8 weeks; Internal Medicine-8 weeks; Surgery-8 weeks; OB/GYN-6 weeks; Pediatrics-6 weeks; Manipulative Medicine-4 weeks; Psychiatry-4 weeks; Emergency Medicine-4 weeks; Geriatric Medicine-4 weeks; Specialty Medicine-4 weeks; PCP (Primary Care Partnership)-4 weeks

What responsibility do med students have on the wards?

No responses

What is the status/condition of the affiliated hospital(s)?

We have JPS, a county hospital, Plaza, Harris, Cook Children's and several other hospitals available downtown. I am told most of these sites are fairly good. Plaza has mixed reviews.

What is the typical patient population medical students work with?

Varies by hospital and rotation - there seems to be a good mix of affluent vs indigent.
Social Environment

Do students do a lot of activities outside of school together?

5 out of 10

How would you rank student involvement in extracurricular clubs?

6 out of 10

What is the range of extracurricular clubs available?

7 out of 10

Is the student body cooperative or competitive?

3 out of 10

Is the environment supportive for underrepresented minorities?

3 out of 10

Is the environment supportive for lesbian/gay/bisexual/transsexual students?

4 out of 10

Is the environment supportive for students with disabilities?

7 out of 10

Is the environment supportive for married students?

9 out of 10

Is the environment supportive for older/non-traditional students?

10 out of 10

What do the students typically like to do in the area?

Some students go to Dallas for the bar scene and such. There are nice dine-in movie theaters around, a comedy club downtown, a nice zoo, botanical gardens and several shooting ranges nearby. Definitely check out the Mellow Mushroom if you like pizza... it's my favorite place to go after a test.
Post Graduation

How do graduates from this school fare in residency and clinical practice?

TCOM students go into great residencies and our doctors are very competent.

Is this school known for producing physicians strong in a certain area? If so, which area?

We are known for good primary care, but it seems that TCOM students are strong in most areas.

What do you believe residency directors think about graduates from this program?

I think they probably see us as hard-working and intelligent.