Transcripts Sent to AMCAS: 5/14
Transcripts Received by AMCAS: 5/27
AMCAS Submitted: 6/4
AMCAS Verified: 6/4
AMCAS Received Letters of Rec: 7/14
I started keeping track of this stuff a little late...
SS - Secondary Submitted
C - Application Complete
R - Rejection
H - Pre-Interview Hold
II - Interview Invite
I - Interview
WL - Waitlist
W - Withdraw
A - Acceptance
TIMELINE:
9/7:Got an interview invite to Temple. Scheduled it on 9/30, the day before my Jefferson interview. I'm stoked to see Philadelphia. What can be better than Rocky and Philly cheese steaks?
9/8:Penn State told me my app was complete... that took a while.
9/9:Interview invite at Drexel. There weren't any available dates near my other Philadelphia interviews, so I scheduled it for October 24th.
9/16: Interviewed at Albert Einstein. The interview went great. It was relaxed with no pressure. I basically had an hour long conversation. The students at Einstein all seem extremely happy with the school, and I dig the true P/F grading for the first two years.
9/17: Interview invite to Tulane. I'm stoked to see New Orleans! Tulane's Institute of Sports Medicine is a center of excellence, which I like. Hopefully the interview goes well.
9/22: Got a rejection letter from Georgetown via snail mail.
9/29: Interview invite at University of Maryland.
9/30: Interviewed at Temple. Very laid back interview. I was asked some hypothetical questions. (e.g. If you were to address one issue in health care, what would it be? What do you think the next big break through in medicine will be?) I thought I handled them pretty well. I guess I'll find out in a few weeks. Pros: Chill student body. Brand new 160 million dollar medical building. Heavy emphasis on clinical training. Cons: Wasn't big on the location. Almost all students commute to campus. I also got an interview invite to OHSU today (my state school).
10/01: Interviewed at Jefferson. I was really impressed with the school. I stayed with an excellent student host, and got a great vibe from the students there. I liked the location. It's in a nice area of downtown Philly. I think the interview went pretty well. there was one 30 min interview with a 2nd year student, which was more of a conversation. Also, a 1 hour interview with a faculty member. My faculty interview started 35 minutes late (he was an ortho guy who was running late from a procedure), but it still went well. Just asked the standard questions... why this school... why medicine. The school has a new academic building which is nice. Of my 3 interviews thus far, Jefferson is definitely the front runner.
10/6: Interviewed at Tulane. I liked the students I met. New Orleans is a very interesting place to say the least. There is a lot of culture in that city. I visited the French Quarter, which was awesome. I wasn't big on how most the students commute to campus from other areas of the city, but on campus apartments are available... just not as nice. They have a P/F grading system which is nice too. Ultimately, Tulane's selling point is its students. They balance work and play really well.
10/20: Acceptance! Tulane let me into their school. I'm ecstatic. On top of the world... overjoyed. This has been the best day in a long time. They mailed a letter a mi casa.
10/22: Pre-interview hold at Albany.
10/25: Waitlisted at Jefferson. I received notification via letter. I got placed on the 'high-priority' waitlist... so hopefully that will pay dividends down the road. Guess I have to hurry up and wait.
10/27: A rejection from Rochestor via letter was accompanied by an acceptance at Temple. I had a voice mail on my cell phone breaking the good news to me. It's nice to be able to have options on which med school to attend. I have some thinking to do.
10/28: I withdrew from OHSU. I've spent my entire life in Oregon, and it is time to see a different part of the country. Don't get me wrong, Portland is a great place... I just want to explore.
11/10: I interviewed at U of Maryland. I liked the school. It's in an urban setting in sort of a business area. I wish there were more restaurants, pubs, and shops near the school, but what can you do? I didn't stay in Baltimore too long, so I didn't get a great feel for the area.
11/11: I got an interview invite to Albany.
11/24: Withdrew from Albany. I guess my relationship with Albany was pretty short lived.
11/30: Accepted at U of Maryland. Right now I think it's between here and Tulane. I'm going to wait to see what financial aid packages they offer.
12/2: Interview invite to Dartmouth. I'm stoked about this one. It was one of my reach schools, so it's nice to get some interview recognition.
12/3: I withdrew from SUNY Upstate, SUNY Downstate, and New York Medical College today. More interviews in NY are not in my future.
12/18: Rejection email from UNC... Just in time for the holiday season.
12/23: Interviewed at Dartmouth. Getting there was a pain. It is located in the middle of nowhere in Hanover, NH. The weather caused airline delays, and the bus I took from the airport was packed, so I ended up standing for 2 hours. That being said, I really liked Dartmouth. The campus was beautiful (though covered in snow), the hospital was one of the more innovative ones that I've seen, and I like the fact that the med school is next to the undergrad. Hanover would be a great town for all lovers of the outdoors. It's one of the few med schools in a rural setting. It's location has both positives and negatives, but I could see myself being very happy there. Dartmouth has one of the better track records for financial aid that I've seen. (I believe they said the average grant was $22,000). Big plus in my book. The only drawback of my interview was that I only talked to 1 actual Dartmouth student. Everyone was home for break 2 days before Christmas, which is understandable. I liked the school, and I hope they let me in. Now begins the 6 week (minimum) wait.
1/15: I'm like an addict... just went through a massive withdrawal session. I pulled out of Temple, Drexel, George Wash, Wake, St. Louis, and Penn State. It's almost like I get to reject them... which feels good.
1/16: Letter from Einstein explaining my waitlist status. Not to upset about it. Einstein the scientist = Beast Mode. Einstein the med school = not as cool as Tulane. I withdrew from the waitlist.
2/16: Dartmouth has sent me to the land of waiting around. I got the waitlist notification via email. It's like Dante's Purgatorio... only med school status. I still haven't heard back from Tulane or Maryland on the financial aid situation yet... and the datt when I have to make $500 deposits is approaching faster than I would like.
2/22: So apparently I was supposed to be filling out school specific supplemental financial aid applications to go along with the FAFSA... that's my bad. Bummer. I just filled out Tulane's and mailed it in. Perhaps they'll get a chance to look at it after the Mardi Gras hangover subsides. I'll probably be doing one for Maryland as well. Though Mardi Gras does sound like fun...
5/15: I'm heading to Tulane in August. I'm very excited about the school... not so much about the $70,000 a year I will be borrowing to attend. This whole process was time consuming and expensive, but worth getting into a school that fits my personality.
