AMCAS Verified: 8/2/11
Still waiting for AACOMAS to be verified (decided to apply DO late-ish in the game)
Hoping that my EC\'s make up for borderline stats (several years working full time in the ED, research, great recs).
8/10/11 At this point, I\'m trying to get the secondaries back to schools as quickly as possible (within two days or so). Tulane was pretty easy given the short essays. Oakland only required one. Stony Brook took a little longer with three essays required. I have the UW secondary ready to go but have to wait for my residency status to be confirmed (way more work than ever expected). In the pre-secondary screening phase still with VCU. No word from UNR yet, starting to question why I applied (so little love for the WICHE states). Still waiting for the AACOMAS to be verified...
8/11/11 Received a secondary from VCU! Somewhat surprised by this being that I have very mediocre stats and that they only send ~35% of OOS applicants secondaries. Hopefully this means they take a holistic view. Finished the secondary an submitted it pretty promptly. Now the neurotic waiting game begins...
8/16/11 Got the completed application status at UW! Not that it makes all that much difference this early on, but hopefully this gets me in line early for an interview. Crossing fingers. Must. Go. To. This. School.
9/6/11 AACOM finally verified! Should go out to schools tomorrow, I\'m guessing. Which means more secondaries to complete. Awesome.
9/26/11 Decided to drop MSU. The supplemental app, particular the LOR requirements, are simply too much. Plus, the tuition (OOS 70k+) is outrageous. Getting some DO secondaries in (CCOM, AZCOM), but no other big movement yet. This whole process really does require a ton of patience. How many times can you check your email per day? I\'m really putting that question to the test.
10/3/11 First interview invite! From Midwestern (AZ)! Checked my portal today and it said to schedule it. For now the earliest date I could get was November 29th, but I plan on checking neurotically to see if anyone else drops their (hopefully earlier) date and I can grab it. Exciting.
10/12/11 Annnd the first rejection, from Tulane. I knew when I had an email with \"IMPORTANT INFORMATION FROM TULANE MEDICAL SCHOOL\" as the subject, it wasnt good. That\'s okay, it was a long shot considering how many thousands of apps they get. Staying optimistic!
10/13/11 Received the \"further\" status with VCU...apparently means I have decent shot of receiving an interview. Took two months to get this, hopefully its not another two til I hear more!
10/18/11 Interview invite from Western! Nice phone call to receive as I left to do some fly-fishing. Plus, I can drive to this one, nice.
10/20/11 Rejected from Oakland...that\'s okay, I got tired of having to say \"it\'s a new school in Michigan\" everytime I brought it up.
11/14/11 Attended an interview at Western-NW and just have to say...wow! What an incredible school. From the first moments in the door I really felt that I was part of a family there. Remarkably kind and inviting students and faculty members. I definitely could see myself spending 2-4 years here.
11/15/11 Sent an email to CCOM asking for a status update, prompt response with a \"unfortunately you will not be receiving an interview...\". Oy, too bad, Chicago would have been a neat place to live. Strange how it was this school who sent me no less than three letters recommending I apply because of my MCAT score.
11/18/11 Finally bought the tickets for my AZCOM interview, will be heading there next Tuesday and interviewing on the 30th! I\'ve heard great things about the school, excited to see it!
11/23/11 ACCEPTED TO WESTERN! Yessss! The best possible phone call to receive one day before Thanksgiving. It\'s incredible to know that I will officially be a doctor!
11/27/11 Decided to officially withdraw from PCOM and PNWU after the Western acceptance. In terms of NW med schools I think Western simply is more established and doesn\'t have to worry about the privisional accreditation stuff. PCOM is a great school but I only have minimal interest in going to school in Philadelphia. So, I\'m now left with UND, Stony Brook, VCU, Midwestern, and UW. I\'m probably pretty screwed with UND - they only accept a few WICHE people per year, plus I sent in all of my LOC\'s before realizing that one needs to be from a friend (strange requirement). Headed down to AZCOM in a few days, really looking forward to it. If it comes down to AZCOM and Western it\'s going to be a rough choice. But, having choices is a luxury when it comes to this whole process!
12/1/11 Back from Arizona...AZCOM was fantastic. Really really fantastic. The campus is incredible, the students friendly, and the weather perfect (this time of year). The actual interview went pretty well although there were some unexpected questions. I really like how many different schools are actually on campus (i.e. dentistry, PA, optometry, podiatry, CRNA, etc), it made everything seem so active. I could really see myself spending a couple years here. Although I liked the presentation and the family feel of Western, if I get in, I see myself going to AZCOM!
12/5/11 Accepted to Midwestern-AZCOM! Although I plan on thinking about it over the next week, I foresee myself withdrawing from Western and putting a deposit down on AZCOM. I was just more impressed by the campus, quality of rotations, and happiness of students there. It sucks paying $1000 knowing that I still have a bunch more applications pending (particularly UW), but in the long run not a big deal. So happy to have OPTIONS!
12/14/11 Assigned to Chicago for my third and fourth year rotation sites with Midwestern! My first pick, very happy with it. Two years in Arizona (hot) followed by two years in Chicago (cold), sounds perfect. Expecting to hear from UW regarding an interview any day now...
12/19/11 Sweet baby jesus I got on interview invite at the University of Washington! I assumed that most went out last week and had lost most hope, but alas, got the email today. Scheduled in early January! Being that it\'s by far my #1 choice, the stress level definitely just got upped. Plus, I\'ve heard that it\'s a relatively difficult interview. But, so happy to have the opportunity. Now to begin reviewing the UW bioethics site...
1/11/12 UW interview was really great. Such an impressive school. I went in concerned I was going to get drilled on health care reform or medical ethics questions but instead had a very conversational, enjoyable interview. I\'ve wanted to go to this school for the last six years, so here\'s hoping! Unfortunately for me, the best of the best applicants from Idaho also want to go here, tough competition. In the meantime I ended up placing $1,000 down on Midwestern to save my spot just in case.
1/25/11 Yayyy, got an update from UW today that I was placed in the \"under consideration\" pool, meaning that I\'ll find out if I\'m accepted or rejected in early to mid February after the next round of Idaho interviews finish up in Seattle. A couple more weeks of waiting and I will officially know where I\'m going to medical school!
2/14/12 Placed on the alternate list for UW....and with that, my application cycle has officially come to an end! I\'m too far down on the alternate list (>5) to have any hope of acceptance (being that #1 is typically the only person pulled off it). So, Midwestern University-AZCOM it is! I\'m really pleased with how this all turned out. I loved the school, the people, and the area. Plus, AZCOM has fantastic board scores and residency placement, making me more comfortable with the enormous (and nauseating) amounts of debt to come. The best part about the whole process was knowing as early as November that I had a school to matriculate to. It really took the stress away. I\'ll no doubt update this with some more reflections on everything, but for now, I\'m going to have a beer and start looking at housing options in Glendale!
3/28/12 I guess it\'s worth noting that I am indeed interviewing for one other program here shortly. I\'m headed to Portland next week to interview for the Sackler School of Medicine which is actually located in Tel Aviv, Israel. The program is through New York and subsequently not considered a foreign medical school (no ECFMG or anything). It\'s an MD program, has a great match list, costs significantly less than AZCOM, and when the hell else am I going to be able to live in Israel for four years? If accepted (a big if), I think I\'ll take it. Eating falafel, sitting on the Mediterranean, studying medicine - sounds fantastic. Plus, I have some (distant) family and friends living there. So, in about four to five months, I\'ll find myself either in Arizona or Tel Aviv. Oy.
