7.17.08
Submitted my AACOMAS application about a month ago, and it still hasn't been processed. I know it can technically take 4-6 weeks, but my AMCAS app was processed in 10 days, so I guess I'm impatient.
8.1.08
Still no word from Tufts, even though they send secondaries to everyone and I submitted primary awhile ago. I emailed and apparently they did invite me to complete the secondary, only that email got lost in the mail... great. Of course I had to get a late start on one of my in-state schools! Drexel is sending secondaries in two weeks. No word yet from Loyola, which does screen, but my premed advisor said I haven't been rejected yet (he has access to that info)
8.4.08
Composite letter was FINALLY submitted to AMCAS so most of my allopathic apps are now complete! Now I can wait for schools to pass judgement...
8.5.08
AACOMAS has finally verified and submitted my primary application! Yay!
8.8.08
Note to anyone applying to UMass who has participated in one of their summer research programs: you really do need to have a LOR from your PI, even if you worked there a long time ago.
8.11.08
MARATHON weekend where I did four secondaries, including the UMass one. For anyone applying to UMass, here are my pointers:
-If you did research there, make sure your PI is sending in an LOR
-Hang on to your tax returns from the past four years (not kidding)
-Have your PARENTS hang on to THEIR tax returns for the past four years
-Misc info you will need: the date you got your driver's license, and the date you became registered to vote in MA (call Town Hall to check)
Also, the UMass application never actually gets submitted. When you hit 'save' that page goes to them automatically. Once you send the application fee by mail, they start processing that stuff.
8.13.08
UMASS INTERVIEW INVITATION!!!!! UMass is my first choice school so I am REALLY excited!
8.20.08
Wake Forest interview invite! Have also been invited to interview at LECOM.
8.21.08
Rochester interview invitation! I am completely tickled pink, but also a little baffled... Never thought I'd be competitive at a school like that with my numbers! I rescheduled my LECOM interview for early October because it's not as high a priority for me as other schools.
9.5.08
Six interview invitations so far... yay! 3 allo and 3 osteo. I don't know if I should be worried that I haven't heard from other allopathic schools yet; I know some of them are inviting for interviews now.
10.15.08
First admissions decision yesterday... wait-listed at Wake Forest. Obviously not what I was hoping for but I haven't been rejected yet. Getting very antsy to hear from UMass and Rochester!
10.16.08
OMG STRESS. Not sure how I'm going to make it through the next couple of months...
10.23.08
First acceptance! AT Still-Kirksville. Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Had one way-tough interview, but the guy was still pretty nice and totally fair -- it was just really intense! So glad to know that I'm going to school SOMEWHERE next year... now I just need all of my other schools to get back to me!
10.24.08
Wait-listed at Rochester, and I am devastated. I know this school was a reach, but I fell in love with it all the same and I felt like my interviews went really well.
11.5.08
Acceptance from LECOM and Obama is the President elect! Big day...
11.6.08
BU interview invite! I definitely wasn't expecting that. It's weird to me how the schools I considered to be serious 'reach' schools (like Rochester and BU) want to interview me but schools I would have thought I'd be a stronger candidate at haven't shown much interest. Still, no complaints!
11.10.08
Accepted at UNECOM. I think I liked KCOM more as a school, but the prospect of moving an apartment's worth of stuff from Massachusetts to West Buttf*ck, Missouri is incredibly depressing.
11.18.08
Okay, my interview at EVMS was completely depressing. It was a panel interview, and one of the guys just DID NOT like me and was pretty unpleasant the entire time. I loved the school but came out of that interview feeling lousy.
PCOM was a mixed bag. Many of the students I met didn't seem to be particularly enthusiastic -- when I asked about student life, they'd basically respond, 'Yeah, there's stuff to do.' But, this wasn't universally the case, and it's a pretty big class (about 260 people), so I'm sure I'll meet all kinds of people. Philly is nice, the network of clinical sites is really good, and PCOM has a reputation for being a DO school that does NOT push you towards primary care, which I like. But, I just didn't get the warm fuzzy feeling that I got at KCOM. Not sure what to do...
11.20.08
Every once in awhile the stress of not hearing back from some of the schools I really liked just gets to me. I am completely happy and grateful to have three osteopathic acceptances so far. That being said, I really would rather go to an allopathic school, and the wait is killing me... usually I'm fine but sometimes I have days (like today) where all I can do is troll SDN and MDapplicants and find ways to torture myself.
12.4.08
Wait-listed at EVMS -- upper third. Wow, that one hurt. One of my interviewers was a beast but overall I thought it was okay. And I really liked the school, and figured with my numbers I'd be relatively strong. Oh well, I'm not even done interviewing yet!
My NYMC interview went really well, except for the fact that this little fly kept buzzing around my head and going for my eyes and I had to keep swatting it. My interviewer was really nice and said I had a great and unusual personal statement. One of the questions was 'what is the hardest thing you've ever done?' which I happen to have a good answer for -- not that taking my grandmother off of life support was at all a fun thing to do, but it was incredibly difficult and is certainly a relevant answer. The students were REALLY nice and friendly, as were the staff. I even liked the dorms! I will be sad to leave my cat behind for a few years but I think when 98% of the students are in the dorms, you miss an important social aspect of school by living off-campus. Rotations at Westchester and in NYC will be nice. White Plains is pretty cool, and I'll be less than 10 miles from my cousin and her family. Please G-d, let an allo acceptance come through...
UMass continues to accept people who are not me. Boo. Hiss.
12.18.08
I have now officially been rejected from Dartmouth, which in and of itself was not so bad (and entirely expected... have now been rejected by them for undergrad and med school!). However, I found the letter itself to be a little on the snotty side. It began with something like 'we have news that we are sure you will find very distressing.' Um... get over yourselves.
On the upside, I just had my VCU interview, which I think went fairly well. The guy sort of challenged me on why I hadn't shadowed more (apparently when I email random strangers and they say no, I'm supposed to argue with them), but other than that it went well. We talked about marathons :) The students I met were all really nice, and they all say that the workload there is manageable. At least for the first year, they're in class 8-12, then study until 4-ish, and then they're done. Clinical facilities were nice, and I liked Richmond a lot!
Their admissions process is, comparatively speaking, very transparent, which I appreciate. I sort of wish they didn't accept people on defined dates that are far apart, but oh well... hoping for good news on Feb 1st! Or if not that, March 15th... then, cry.
12.19.08
TULANE INTERVIEW INVITATION! Tulane is one of those schools that I am really excited about, at least on paper... they seem to really emphasize international/underserved medicine and they are strong in tropical medicine and infectious disease, which is an area that I'm really interested in. My app has been complete for awhile, so I sort of wish I could have interviewed earlier, but I am soooo excited!
1.14.09
I had my BU interview on Monday and I *really* liked it a lot. BU is definitely a reach for me, but I think my interview went pretty well, so I'm... hopeful. Not expectant by any means, but hopeful. The students seemed very happy, I could do an MPH in international health, and there are FUNDED opportunities for international experiences! Plus Boston, while expensive, is a very cool place to live. So now I'm in a holding pattern where I expect to hear from some schools approximately around Feb 1, and then BU will let me know the last week of March. So long to wait! I don't know how people manage to bear this.
I also got a phone call from UMDNJ-COM asking me if I was going to complete the secondary application, which they never sent me (or sent me directions for completing online). At this point, I've already put down a deposit at UNECOM and am happy with that decision, so no more osteopathic interviews for me!
1.19.09
I really loved Tulane... I feel like a bit of a broken record because honestly, I haven't visited an allopathic school that I DIDN'T like, but Tulane was just completely awesome. New Orleans is probably one of the neatest cities I've ever been to, the students were really enthusiastic and passionate about what they're doing, the administration was incredibly supportive and helpful, and I think I rocked my student interview. (the faculty one went well too) Not sure how much of a chance I have given how late in the season it is, but I would be really happy at Tulane.
Should start hearing from some schools starting in the beginning of Feb, so I am getting pretty nervous... Although anyone who has been reading this summary from the beginning should know by now that I've pretty much been a walking ball of angst since June.
1.29.09
Oh the agony. It is now officially 8 weeks (and change) since my NYMC interview, so they could technically let me know soon, but my obsessive perusal of SDN suggests that I'm looking at a 12-week wait. Honestly people! Why does it take so long? I heard back from KCOM in 3 days...
I really think I might keel over and die soon if someone doesn't put me out of my misery.
1.30.09
I just called Tulane and was told that they only do status checks on Tues and Thurs 10-2 Central. Not sure why this turned me into such a basket case, but it definitely did -- I feel like I'm having a hot flash. Wow. I really need to get a grip.
2.13.09
Surprise interview invitation from Rosalind Franklin yesterday. I sort of figured schools were done with me -- apparently not! Yay!
I have made a resolution to be less of a spaz about all of this, and that's actually been working well for me. I intentionally did not call Tulane this week, because I have this weird feeling that if I wait for the letter, it will be an acceptance but if I call, it will be a wait-list. Dumb, I know...
2.19.09
So much for not calling Tulane. I cracked under the pressure (again). I GOT IN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY FIRST ALLOPATHIC ACCEPTANCE!!!!!!!! I am going to wait until I officially have the letter in my hands (because I'm completely paranoid that way, and am a little afraid this was a computer glitch), but as soon as that happens I will be cancelling my CMS interview.
The English language fails me as I attempt to describe how psyched I am, so I will resort to punctuation:
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2.25.09
Still basking in my Tulane post-acceptance joy. I don't even really care what happens now. Yes, it would be totally nice for other acceptances to come, but if they don't, I will be VERY HAPPY here.
I cancelled my CMS interview, and gave up my seat at UNECOM, so hopefully some other, more enthusiastic UNECOM-er will take my slot. And YAY I get my deposit back!
I was also rejected from UMDNJ two days ago. But somehow I think life will go on. This was not a school I liked, cared about, or expected to get into.
Now it is time for FAFSA! There is an actuarial aspect to my soul that revels in data entry, so I will probably enjoy this (until I get my EFC).
3.5.09
Double rejections from GW and NYMC. The NYMC one particularly hurt -- I honestly thought I'd at least get a wait-list here. Urg.
3.28.09
Wait-list from VCU, as expected. Have I mentioned how zen I feel now that I have my Tulane acceptance? I admit that NYMC stung a bit, but the VCU business really doesn't have me particularly down. I'll probably stay on the wait-list in case a financial aid miracle happens, but I'd rather go to Tulane.
Should be hearing from BU soon...
4.1.09
BU -- so much for your 'very short wait-list' that people have a 'very good' chance of getting off of! Why did you lie to me? Do you not understand that trust is an essential component of any relationship?
Yes, I was wait-listed at BU -- along with everyone else in the country.
5.12.09
I called UMass admissions today and politely asked for my admissions decision, given that I interviewed about 8 months ago and everyone on the SDN thread has been accepted/wait-listed/rejected by now. Not surprisingly, I was rejected. Definitely a bummer, but it really didn't come as a shock -- I've been expecting this for a LONG time now. Since UMass is the one school that I would drop everything and leave New Orleans for at the super last minute, I'm sort of glad to have been spared the agony of the wait list. Now I can go ahead and make plans, and if BU or maybe Rochester accept me before, say, June 15th, I will consider them. After that, I will be happily committed to Tulane.
8.7.09
At Tulane and loving it!
We help students become doctors. TM
