How competitive is UTSW?

[Sarahhuie]

Hi!

Has anyone from the November interview been selected / denied? I interviewed then, absolutely loved it but have yet to hear yet...

Good luck to everyone interviewing in January, it was a great experience and like you have all heard just be yourself and you will be great!

[Cideous]

RELAX! That is the single most important piece of advice you can get. Realize you are not the smartest person at this school or even in the room. UTSW is a world class facility. Some of the smartest people in the world come to this school or work there. Knowing this...RELAX! The school is inundated with 4.0 applicants with the personality of a soap dishes. Guys realize that IF you get an interview you have passed the academic side of the process. The interview is to determine who is real and who is not "patient provider" material. Be friendly, let your guard down and most importantly don't come off as uptight.

 

When I applied to the school I was incredibly unprepared and guess what? It worked to my favor. I will never forget when they asked me what my faults were. I blanked out, and for the life of me I couldn't think of anything to say. I just started smiling and laughing and said "you know I know there is something but I'm just not sure what it is right now!". The two ladies interviewing me at first seemed a little caught off guard and then started laughing with me. The rest of the interview was simply a conversation and it went great. Why? I relaxed totally.

 

A few facts: I went to UTSW in the mid 90's, I applied to one PA school and ONLY one. UTSW, and I was accepted my first application. We had over 600 applicants for 32 slots so you can do the math. It was still VERY competitive back then. I then sat on the entrance board for the next 2 years, which means I was the one along with 2 permanent staff members, interviewing you guys. I know of that which I speak, especially at this school. Good luck!

[beckysuebraden]

I was accepted into the class of 2014 (interviewed in November, accepted in end January). I had also been accepted to UTMB and UTHSCSA, but UTSW was my #1 choice. This was my 3rd year to apply for PA school, so I think my perserverance to be a PA helped finally get me in. My GPA is only a 3.3 and GRE was 1160, so nothing too stellar. However, I've had 5 years of direct patient contact working as an Exercise Physiologist running diagnostic stress tests and many hours of volunteer work in both the medical field and community theater. I guess this goes to show that you don't have to have a perfect 4.0 to be a candidate at UTSW, although it doesn't hurt! For this cycle, there were over 1,100 applicants, around 110 interviewed, and 40 selected. So its pretty competitive, but not impossible. I also thought that I didn't do that well in my interview at UTSW, as it was my first experience with multiple-mini interviews, but I guess they saw my personality show through the nerves. Good luck to anyone who is applying!