Running Costs:
Columbia admissions deposit, $0
Duke admissions deposit, $0
Emory admissions deposit, $0
UNC admissions deposit, $100
UVA admissions deposit, $0
VCU admissions deposit, $100
Wake admissions deposit, $100
Total admissions deposits, $300
Baylor travel costs, $351 (flight) $75 (taxi)
Columbia travel costs, $186 (flight), $31 (shuttle)
Duke travel costs, $40 (fuel)
Emory travel costs, $160 (fuel)
UNC travel costs, $40 (fuel)
UVA travel costs, $40 (fuel)
VCU travel costs, $40 (fuel)
Wake travel costs, $40 (fuel)
Total travel costs, $1003
Interview attire: Ladies 3-Piece Suit, $175
Interview attire: Shoes, $100
Interview attire: Portfolio, $30
Total interview attire costs, $305
Baylor secondary fee, $100
Boston secondary fee, $110
Columbia secondary fee, $85
Cornell secondary fee, $75
Duke secondary fee, $85
Emory secondary fee, $120
Harvard secondary fee, $100
Johns Hopkins secondary fee, $90
Stanford secondary fee, $85
UCSF secondary fee, $80
UNC secondary fee, $68
UVA secondary fee, $80
UPenn secondary fee, $80
VCU secondary fee, $80
Wake secondary fee, $100
Total secondary fees, $1338
AAMC AMCAS initial fee, $160
AAMC AMCAS primary application fees, 21 schools, $735
AAMC MCAT initial registration fee, $270
AAMC MCAT post-poning test fee, $90
AAMC MCAT second registration fee, $270
Total AAMC costs, $1525
Running Total Medical Application Cycle Cost: $4,471
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School Impressions:
Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Late October
I was in the morning group so I started the day with an interview with a current M4. It was relatively long (about 1 hour and 15 minutes) but pretty relaxed and conversational. I was super nervous because this is my first interview of the season but overall I feel like I got good vibes from my interviewer. There were no off the wall or “stress” questions. Afterwards we sat through a few informational sessions on the curriculum, financial aid, etc. Next we had lunch then went on a tour of the facilities.
Pro’s:
-Location (close to home, underserved population demographics, great city)
-Early clinical experience through the Practice of Clinical Medicine course
-Personalized board prep!!!
-Spaced out clerkships to allow additional time for exploring specialties outside the core 6
Con’s:
-Would be the “guinea pig” class of new curriculum (students have already complained about the transition)
-M3 and M4 years are a bit disjointed. There are opportunities to pursue a dual degree but they do not seem to fit in very nicely…
Overall: I completely underestimated this school. I was really impressed with the facilities, opportunities to engage in clinical experiences early, and resources available for truly helping you to succeed as a medical student. In terms of “fit”, I’d definitely feel comfortable here. Here’s to hoping for an acceptance come December 15th! [UPDATE 12/16: ACCEPTED =)]
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University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Early November
Throughout the interview day we had many opportunities to speak with current students about the School of Medicine. ALL of the students, and I mean each and every last one of them, were incredibly happy, encouraging, and genuine. The tour was really nice (the campus is BEAUTIFUL). There were 2 interviews, both faculty interviews, 1 of which was an adcom. My interview with my adcom was pretty relaxing although I did trip over an answer or two. The second faculty interview was even more relaxed (we interviewed outside!).
Pro’s:
-Pass/Fail
-Location (similar to home, great city, diverse)
-#2 School of Public Health in the nation with a tailored MD-MPH track
-Cost (easy to become a resident after 1st year)
-Strong SNMA chapter
Con’s:
-Would also be in the guinea pig class for new curriculum
-Parking (most students commute by bus)
Overall: During my second interview, my interviewer spent the majority of our time convincing me why UNC would be the best choice for me based on my interests and preferences. She was ABSOLUTELY right! I enjoy everything about this school! I am hoping for good news in the next few weeks! [UPDATE 12/4: ACCEPTED! XD]
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Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, Early November
The interview day included a Dean's talk, an opportunity to sit in on lecture(s), lunch with current medical students, a tour, and a 30-45min interview. The Dean's talk was absolutely wonderful as Dean Nicholas highlighted something unique about each and every individual interviewee. All of the medical students were insanely happy and eager to share about their experiences at P&S. The tour was nice. And the interview was super relaxed and conversational!
Pro’s:
-Pass/Fail with NO ranking in the pre-clincial years
-Weekly clinical experiences in the pre-clinical years
-The Student Success Network (SSN) has review sessions for tests and anatomy practice tests
-P&S Club!
-Students here take Step 1 after their year of rotations
-Location (proximity to NYC, diverse, centralized campus)
Con’s:
-Primarily traditional lectures with little small group learning
-First year dorm style housing with communal bathrooms
-No simulation labs
Overall: This was my pre-interview top choice. Post-interview, I am still impressed with this school. Moving to NY would certainly be an adjustment coming from the South but I think Columbia is a great fit for me! This will be a long wait but I am hoping for good news in March! [UPDATE 2/27: ACCEPTED! I still cannot believe it!]
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University of Virginia School of Medicine, Mid November
The interview day started with a Dean's welcome and very informative mini orientation on UVA SOM. The administrative staff were all incredibly warm and inviting and do a fantastic job selling the school. Afterwards we had lunch (which was absolutely amazing by the way) with 4th years followed by a tour of both the old and new medical campuses. The students were wonderful and the campus/facilities were absolutely beautiful! After the tour we had our interviews, 2 open file 30 minute one on one interviews with admissions committee members (MDs or 4th years). The interviews were super relaxed, low stress, and enjoyable! We ended the day with an optional financial aid session which I found to be quite helpful.
Pro's:
-curriculum (shortened pre-clerkship period, CPD, nice mix of TBL and lecture)
-facilities (innovative, nice Simulation Lab, new)
-location (close to home, artsy)
Con's:
-not quite the patient demographics I was looking to serve (rural)
Overall: UVA has an amazing turn around time for final decisions. I found out I was ACCEPTED (my first) the Friday after I interviewed! This interview day was definitely the best I have had so far. I really enjoy everything UVA has to offer and really think I would be comfortable here.
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Duke University School of Medicine, Early December
I loved, loved, LOVED everything about interview day and the school. The day was long but not bad at all. There were roughly 16-20 interviewees (I didn't get an accurate count), half were in the morning MMI and half were in the afternoon one (I an afternoon MMI'er). After check-in, you get the chance to speak with current 1st years over coffee and breakfast. Afterwards, you hear a welcome speech by a higher up (Dr. Armstrong was out of town my day), a financial aid info session, and the opportunity to speak with a 4th year about their 3rd year experience. Next, there is a tour of the facilities (superb!!) and lunch where you again have the chance to talk with current students. After lunch I had my MMI, which was a great pretty low stress experience by the way, then they wrap up the day with talk with RDubbs aka Richard Wallace.
Pro's:
-3rd year for research or Master's
-beautiful facilities
-location (suburban, artsy, great food, good climate)
Con's:
-long days during the 1st year
Overall: I am super impressed with Duke! The 1 year pre-clinical year has its drawbacks but I would certainly do it for the 3rd year of research. Duke students fair well in the Match process and I see why. I am crossing my fingers for good news in March!
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Emory School of Medicine, Early December
The interview day here felt pretty long (7:30am-5pm for me but 7:30-4pm for most) but the admissions staff does everything they can to make the day as enjoyable as possible. The day begins with a welcome and mini orientation with Dean Schwartz (he's fantastic by the way!). Afterwards the group of interviewees (15-20 I think) are split into morning vs. afternoon groups. I had afternoon interviews so next we had a very long and thorough (but much appreciated) tour of the school of medicine (which is gorgeous!), Grady, and the Emory University school grounds. After the tour we had a brief lunch with another session on financial aid and 'Why Emory?'. Each interviewee has a short 1 on 1 interview with an adcom and a 3 on 3 panel interview with 3 adcoms, 1 of which is your M4 tour guide. Both interviews are closed file as the interviewers only have access to your personal statement, undergraduate university, hometown, and name (I believe).
Side note: I didn't really enjoy the interviews here. My 1 on 1 felt too short to really gauge 'why medicine' or to dive into important experiences I've had since much of the interview was spent answering basic questions that are readily answered in my application. Going into the infamous panel interview, I expected to feel intimidated since you're interviewing with other interviewees but instead I was surprised and somewhat disappointed that the interview felt more like a personality contest, which unfortunately, if you're the odd one out (for numerous reasons) it is pretty obvious how this can be an uncomfortable experience. Overall, I appreciate Emory's intentions in their somewhat unconventional interview style but I think it is only suited for a certain type of applicant, which I am not.
Pro's:
-facilities (Grady, CDC)
-clinical opportunities
-financial support to pursue an MPH
-location
Con's:
-no real push to do research outside of the 'discovery period'
-students do okay on Step I but there is more of a push to do well on Step II
-the students seem happy but the class doesn't really seem cohesive
Overall: I was super excited about interviewing here because of the clinical opportunities in Grady, support for pursuing an MPH, and research opportunities at the CDC. Looking back, although I did not enjoy nor feel as though I performed well in my interviews, I still enjoyed the school of medicine as a whole so Emory is still in the running. Should I receive good news in February or March, I will definitely attend Second Look! [UPDATE 2/7: ACCEPTED! Literally in shock over this.] [UPDATE 3/3: Accepted into the MPH program as well =)]
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Wake Forest School of Medicine, Early January
The interview day here was pretty standard. The administrative staff were incredibly welcoming! The interview group was pretty small, there were approximately 6 students including myself interviewing my day. We began the day with a mini orientation session on 'Why Wake?' and Winston-Salem followed by a financial aid information session. Afterwards we had lunch with current med students. During the afternoon, we were split into smaller groups of 3 with one group leaving for the tour and another group (mine) beginning interviews. The interview format included 3 15-20 minute closed file interviews with adcoms. After interviews, another med student came to take us on a pretty informative tour.
Pro's:
-location (extremely low cost of living)
-students are happy
-very supportive diversity office
-scholarship opportunities
Con's:
-almost no emphasis on research
Overall: I enjoyed Wake. I had the opportunity to visit a premed conference here a year ago and at the time found the SOM to be incredibly welcoming and a comfortable place to study medicine. Walking away from the interview I still feel this way. Hoping for good news soon!. [UPDATE 1/23: ACCEPTED!]
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Baylor College of Medicine, Late January
This was by far my largest interview day (roughly 40 interviewees!). Unfortunately, I suppose since there were so many of us, we were treated as such. The day opens with and introduction and lunch with the occasional BCM med student coming by to talk. Afterwards we went right into interviews. Each interviewee attended 2 interviews (one with an MD and the other with an M4). It was somewhat of a hassle because you had to go out and find each interview location which could be anywhere in the medical education building on any floor but other than that the interviews were relatively short (roughly 30 minutes) and casual. I want to point out that my M4 interview was great! I could tell that he had thoroughly read through my entire application which I appreciated. He then went on to highlight why BCM would be a great choice for me in particular, etc, etc. During the break between your 2 interviews you are expected to join one of the mini basic science tours. This was nice (the first time I've actually walked through an anatomy lab with cadavers out on a medical school interview/tour). Later there were student presentations on Why BCM. These were good, a little dry, but okay. We concluded the day with tours of the medical centers. I hopped on a tour by an M4 going into surgery so she pretty much just took us through where she spends most of her time.
Pro's:
-location (my family may be moving here in 2 years, I have a sibling in the area, novel, big city)
-curriculum
-students are happy and extremely proud of their school
-cost
Con's:
-Not much really but based on the interview format, it was hard for me to gauge whether or not BCM was a good "fit" for me
Overall: I enjoyed BCM and they have a ton to offer as a medical school. The interview day went as well as it could have being as large as it is. I have a good friend who raves about her experiences here so I'd like to learn more of Baylor. Their review process is a bit vague but hopefully I hear back from them soon!
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Updates:
06/15/13: AMCAS officially submitted!! (...after 6 Personal Statement rewrites and 3 revisions of my Work/Experiences sections...) Unfortunately it appears as though one of my transcripts never reached AMCAS which will negatively impact my verification time as I put in another request with this institution to have my transcript mailed off. (They do not have FedEx or over night mail options.) I'll take this as a blessing in disguise! I won't have to worry about getting any secondaries in until after I take my MCAT which = no distractions.
06/20/13: Final transcript processed by AMCAS! Apparently the transcript was received on 06/11 but the school reports sending the transcript 05/30. I'm not sure how it took 11 days for a trancript from within the state of Virginia to reach AMCAS in Washington DC...But my primary application is complete and ready for review! ^_^
07/24/13: I just received an email indicating that my primary application processing is complete! Just FYI, for current and future applicants, I was 'Ready for Review' on June 20th, 10 days after the first date of submission for this year and it took me roughly 5 weeks to get verified (34 days). I'm going to send my primary to the remainder of my schools in chunks over the next few weeks and complete ALL secondaries after my MCAT during the second half of August and first half of September while waiting for my score. Now that I am verified my Committee Letter + accompanying letters should be sent by mid-August. The goal is to be complete with all schools that I apply to as soon as possible following receiving my MCAT score mid-September!
07/24/13: Received confirmation email from VCU indicating that my primary has been received.
07/25/13: UVA secondary invite received.
07/30/13: VCU status update: application on hold until MCAT scores received.
08/04/13: Sent primary to Emory, Wake Forest, JHU, Columbia, and Duke.
08/05/13: JHU secondary invite received.
08/06/13: Columbia, Duke, and Emory secondary invites recieved.
08/07/13: Received notification that AMCAS has received my letters of evaluation.
08/16/13: I took the MCAT this afternoon. This month long wait for my scores is going to be tough! Received confirmation email from Wake Forest indicating that my primary has been received.
08/20/13: Wake Forest status update: application on hold until MCAT scores received.
09/17/13: MCAT score received! Sent primary to BU, NYU, UPenn, Vandy, Cornell, and GW.
09/18/13: BU, NYU, and UPenn secondary invites received. BU secondary submitted. Primary sent to UNC.
09/19/13: BU secondary complete! GW and Cornell secondaries received.
09/23/13: EVMS secondary received.
09/24/13: Wake Forest secondary received.
09/25/13: Primary sent to Harvard.
09/30/13: Columbia secondary submitted and complete!
10/01/13: Harvard secondary submitted!
10/02/13: Columbia interview invite received! My first! AAAAAH So excited! VCU status update: secondary received.
10/03/13: UNC secondary received! Finally!
10/04/13: Rejected pre-secondary from Vandy. This stung a bit as I was looking forward to applying here. On another note, I am spending this entire weekend pushing out secondaries. I have already started most of them and finally have the money to actually pay the fees and submit. At this point I am contemplating adding Baylor, Northwestern, and Howard. I will decide soon!
10/05/13: UNC secondary submitted. VCU secondary submitted and complete.
10/07/13: Emory secondary submitted. Primary sent to UCSF.
10/08/13: UNC interview invite! UCSF Status Update: Primary received and ready for review.
10/09/13: Hopkins secondary submitted!
10/11/13: VCU status update: "MAY" status. Primary sent to Baylor.
10/13/13: Baylor, UVA, and Stanford secondaries submitted. UVA secondary complete. VCU status update: Interview Received!
10/14/13: UPenn secondary submitted and complete. Wake Forest and Cornell secondaries submitted. Stanford secondary complete. Northwestern secondary received.
10/15/13: Cornell secondary complete. Duke secondary submitted and complete.
10/17/13: UVA interview invite today! UCSD secondary received.
10/19/13: Received the following notice from BU today: "It has been 30 days since we sent you a notice indicating that your application was complete and had been referred to our Committee on Admissions for review....Please accept our apology for any inconvenience caused by our extended review of your file. We expect to complete our evaluation quite soon, and wish you success with all your applications."
10/22/13: VCU interview attended! Duke interview invite received!
10/23/13: Wake Forest secondary marked complete.
10/31/13: Received secondary from UCSF!
11/04/13: Received interview invite from Wake.
11/12/13: Marked complete at Hopkins. UCSF secondary submitted.
11/19/13: Received post-interview hold status from VCU!
11/22/13: Received an interview invitation from Emory! Received first acceptance from UVA!
11/28/13: Happy Thanksgiving everyone!! At the very beginning of the application cycle, I made it a personal goal to get an acceptance by this holiday. After taking my MCAT late and submitting secondaries late, my confidence in actually getting an acceptance this cycle wavered a bit but everything ended up working out anyway. I'm going to be a doctor! God is good!!
12/04/13: Received an acceptance to UNC!
12/11/13: Interview invite from BU received.
12/16/13: Rejected from Cornell pre-interview. Received an acceptance to VCU!
12/26/13: Interview invite from Baylor received.
01/07/14: Withdrew from BU. =(
01/08/14: Interview to UCSF received!
01/16/14: In the area email sent to Stanford.
01/21/14: Rejected from Hopkins. =(
01/22/14: A bit of reflection: Well I think I have finally reached the point in my application cycle where I'm really not expecting to receive any more interview invitations. I technically still have applications in review at Harvard, Penn, and Stanford but I believe those will likely result in rejection letters come March. I feel extremely blessed with my application season! Of the 16 schools I actually completed applications for, I have received 3 rejections (1 pre-secondary and 2 post-secondary) but I also received 10 interview invitations (9 of which I am attending interviews for) and so far I have 3 acceptances. Applying for medial school has been really stressful but I am happy with my turn out! =D
01/23/2014: Accepted to Wake!
02/07/2014: Accepted to Emory!
02/27/2014: Accepted to Columbia! OMG OMG OMG!
03/03/2014: Accepted into Emory's MD/MPH program!
03/08/2014: Accepted to Duke!
03/24/2014: Withdrew from Wake.
04/09/2014: Received a scholarship to VCU!
04/15/2014: Committed to VCU!
We help students become doctors. TM
