Brief Profile:
Now that the application cycle is over, I am happy to report that I will be attending the University of Pittsburgh. It was one of my top choices from the get-go, and I feel very fortunate to have been accepted. I thought that I would end up in NYC, as I am very familiar with the city, but I fell in love with Pittsburgh during my interview and revisit days. I think I will really enjoy myself there over the next 4+ years. :)
Also, as a disclaimer for my MCAT score, I do not think that I scored to the best of my ability. I studied for about a month, but several unforeseen circumstances also hindered my prep time. However, because it was balanced, I decided to keep the score and apply to a mix of schools. My success just goes to show that you don\'t need a degree from an Ivy League school and a 35+ MCAT to break into the top 20 medical schools.
// Applications //
Application Cycle One: 06/14/2011
Undergraduate college: Mid-Tier Private School
Undergraduate Area of study: Biological/Life Sciences
Summary of Experience:
Threw an application into UPenn as an afterthought in September. Didn\'t really think I had a chance, but I also didn\'t want to say \"what if?\" 10 years down the line. I probably would have declined the acceptance for Pitt anyway. My experiences at HUP let me know that UPenn operates on a hierarchy system, and the docs act like they are super elite.
Summary of Experience:
Placed on hold earlier in the season, and I decided to withdraw because I can\'t see myself attending here over Temple. Hershey is in the middle of nowhere!
Summary of Experience:
Cornell was my last (surprise) interview, and I didn\'t know what to expect. I had heard some rumors of a malignant environment, but I did not see any evidence of this on my interview day. However, one of my tour guides seemed very lackluster. Perhaps she had just taken a difficult exam? The older tour guide said that he was jealous of the new grading scheme and \"free\" iPad give-a-way.
Unfortunately for me, one of my interviewers was terribly late for his appointment. I was the last interviewee there, all alone in the board room for about an hour. Fortunately I was staying in New York that evening for a preplanned event, so the delay was not a huge deal. I was quite bored, though!
In the end I was waitlisted, and I was bummed at first. Cornell managed to land itself as one of my \"top 4,\" perhaps behind Sinai, Pitt, and NYU. After acceptances at the latter two, I feel as though it\'s safe to withdraw. I don\'t feel like dragging this process out any longer!
Summary of Experience:
I really enjoyed my experience at GW. The students are great, and their facilities are new (especially GW Hospital that was built in 2002!). D.C. is a fun city, so I think it would be a good place to live. However, it is certainly very expensive, and GW doesn\'t offer any merit-based aid (only need-based). Their SIM center is small compared to other schools, but they update it with new mannequins every so often. The track system seems cool on paper, but I am interested to see how it plays out in med school itself (is it too busy when all of your lunch breaks are taken up by lectures)? What\'s great about GW though is that they have note-takers for every class and the students are all super collaborative. No block scheduling though, ugh!
Update: Withdrew shortly after waitlist status - COA was too high, and I didn\'t love it as much as some of the other schools I was accepted to.
Summary of Experience:
Mount Sinai was one of my top choices (if not THE top choice) after I found out about my interview. I was absolutely ecstatic! The school has an awesome location on the edge of Central Park, and it would be the perfect place to spend four years of my life. I was also interested in the PORTAL program, though I\'m not really sure how their acceptances work.
When I got waitlisted it was a pretty big blow to my self-esteem. I sent them a few letters, but they never responded to anything! Even my email with the subject of \"Admissions Questions\" went unanswered. Their office only accepts calls from 2-4 on M/W, and those happened to be the only hours during the week that I was completely unavailable! Needless to say, I was a bit off-put by their negligence to even answer simple questions, even though the admission staff on the interview day seemed very nice.
Once I was accepted to Pitt and found housing, I decided that it was time to pull from the Mount Sinai waitlist. I think I actually prefer Pitt\'s curriculum, as it\'s more blocked and the clinicals start earlier. Sorry Sinai, it\'s your loss! :-P
Summary of Experience:
Absolutely loved Pittsburgh! It\'s a great school with a really great program. All of the students there seem very happy, and there are plenty of opportunities. The facilities are excellent, and Pitt is affiliated with many of the area hospitals (no competition from other med schools). I don\'t really see too many downsides to the school.
Update: Bummed about the waitlist, but I figured that it was going to happen. After all, Pitt waitlists ~75-80% of its interviewees. They don\'t even initially accept enough students to fill their entire class!
Update: ACCEPTED! Yahoo! I went for a second visit and loved it. I will be matriculating here. :)
Summary of Experience:
I had a great experience at NYU! The facilities were beautiful, especially Bellevue Hospital. The interview day was well-scheduled, and we got to meet a lot of students from varying years (mostly 1st and 2nd). My interviewer was extremely chill, and it was so conversational!
The housing was okay, as the rooms were pretty small. However, it was definitely cheap in terms of NYC housing, and the rotations are all super close to the apartments (big plus)!
I could definitely see myself coming to NYU. I\'m hoping for an acceptance here!
Update - I was pulled from the waitlist at the end of May. At this point, it was between Pitt/NYU. I researched the opportunities, and I decided to stick with Pitt. NYU has a higher COA and COL, and Pitt has a slightly better reputation. I think that both schools are FANTASTIC, and I\'m blessed to even have this choice! My decision went to Pitt, though.
Summary of Experience:
Albert Einstein seems like a great school. Unfortunately, the interview day was structured a little weirdly, and I felt as though I didn\'t get to see the whole institution. I would definitely need to go back for a second look!
Pros: cheap housing for med students on campus, free shuttle/taxi service to other clinical sites, big on research
Cons: location is not great (would not be easy to catch a bus back home)
Accepted! :D
Update - Withdrew because I didn\'t get a great feel for the school.
Summary of Experience:
BU was great! The facilities are nice, the revamped curriculum is impressive, and they have a great hospital system. I loved exploring Boston, and BU med students were so nice and friendly! I could see myself attending here (especially if I got to live in the new dorms!).
Update - I LOVED the school, especially after the Open House, but it was too expensive. I unfortunately withdrew.
Summary of Experience:
Drexel is an up-and-coming school with three different campuses - main (undergrad), Queen Lane (med school), and Hahnemann (hospital). They are all disconnected which is kind of unfortunate, and students have said that living at Queen Lane can be boring as opposed to CC. The option for PIL or IFM curriculum is appealing because choices are always good! I think I would do well at the school, but we\'ll have to see!
Update: Withdrew - I couldn\'t see myself spending 4 years here. I\'m sure it\'s a great school and all, but it\'s ranked pretty poorly and I\'m not too keen about the location. Drexel was honestly my safety school, and I am giving up my spot for someone else!
Summary of Experience:
Temple was my first interview and I was very nervous, but it went extremely well! The students were super helpful, and I got a good feel for the school while I was there. I can definitely see myself attending here.
Pros: gorgeous new building, very friendly docs (according to students), lots of opportunity for clinical experience in the first 2 years, free time in the afternoons for activities, known for producing good clinicians (stressed here)
Cons: was told that there are not too many scholarships available (cost can be high but at least I am in-state), most students do not live on-campus because it\'s a sketchy neighborhood beyond the med school
Update: ACCEPTED! First acceptance - I am going to be a doctor! Yay for some Philly love. :)
Update: Received 10k/year scholarship, but I\'m turning the school down after a waitlist acceptance from Pitt.