8/21: reading the studentdoctor site got me really anxious yesterday, and in many ways i wish i hadn't looked. i'm not one for going public with my academic information, ever, but since i already started checking the discussion boards, i thought maybe posting my own profile will help people who don't usually like to talk about this stuff much or compare stats. i'm in the 'intangibles' boat--i don't have the best grades or scores, but have writing and people skills that i hope the schools will notice. it seems the people who post most often are the ones with great numbers. i know that hasn't helped me much, and i imagine there are others who are in my situation. i also applied to a lot of schools... here's to all the regular people going through it...
if you feel comfortable, please post questions/comments as i would be happy to offer my opinions or advice if i can.
8/24: finished off and sent in oregon and tulane...the last two that i can do, unless i hear back from ucla or uw. so that makes 25 done, which took me about 6 weeks of fairly intensive writing. i really didn't just cut and paste directly from school to school but toward the end, there was more and more overlap and i could use ideas i had already written for some of the other applications. the big question was 'explain your interest in ______ medical school' and for that, i came up with a basic format and then used the school's website information to fill in some specific details. i think half of that question should be about you, and why you would fit well with their system, so that part stayed pretty much the same from school to school unless i wanted to emphasize a particular interest. despite the propensity to burn out after 25 secondaries, i think the biggest benefit is that if i do get some interviews, i have already thought very thoroughly about my reasons for going into medicine, having been asked in so many ways.
8/30: not exactly the big first i was looking for--got my first no from BU today. not the best feeling in the world, but not the worst either...maybe this means i'm due for an interview somewhere soon.
9/15: getting a little anxious because i've been waiting awhile and have been 'complete' for almost a month at a lot of places. still hoping that i'm on the early side. it's a long process and i don't expect to be the first one picked.
9/27: first interview from louisville! i'm really excited to get the first one, no matter where it's at. louisville isn't my top choice so it will be a good place to start, and get a feeling for the entire process. this week would seem to be a good one for hearing back, as almost all of my files have been compelte for about 1 month. the best advice i would give up to this point is to really try and forget about the whole thing for awhile, once the secondaries are in and things are out of your control. i was so pleasantly surprised to see that email, because it was the last thing on my mind, as opposed to torturing myself with all the waiting...
10/22: so after the two interviews i've had, i'm amazed at how completely different the experiences were from each other. louisville was sharply organized and i appreciated that. i liked my interviewers and liked the fact that they knew about me when i showed up. tulane was far, far less formal which at first really bothered me. but as the day went on, i found myself really enjoying tulane as i realized that their casual process was less indicative of a lack of organization as it was the way the people and faculty really are there. all of the students were great at tulane, and i can't say that i had the same feeling at louisville. also, it seems tulane was really focusing on the type of person they are getting with each applicant as the most important factor, not necessarily stats or academic achievements. that is something that really matches what i'm looking for in a medical school. when i pressed about this, one of my interviewers said with confidence 'gunners won't do well here.' my concerns over the state of the campus were mostly eased, and i think by next fall it really will be about back to pre-hurricane status. i also thought tulane had a much richer history than louisville which i also liked, not to mention the character of new orleans as a city...
10/25: just a little annoyed with my state school right now. where ya at? i have been officially complete for 2 months today... all the waiting in this process sucks, no matter how hard you try to have a good attitude about it.
11/5: got into louisville this week! it's really nice to have that first one, though it isn't my top choice. at least i know that i can go to medical school if i want! i'm waiting on tulane at this point as well, should be giving me some kind of decision pretty soon. but i also still have tons of schools that i haven't heard anything from yet. i'm really trying not check all the status pages over and over anymore. i just want to turn to the back of the book and make sure that it all ends up ok in the end.
11/13: killer. the 'acceptable range' aka waitlist. the least decisive of all possible decisions. it is better than a rejection outright, but still very frustrating and it adds significantly to the difficulty of the entire process knowing that i won't hear anything from them until all the action in may. tulane is definitely a special place that attracts a particular brand of person. it would be a great fit for me, but they probably knew that the same sort of loyalty exists here in colorado. i'm a native and my parents are both natives, and from what it sounded like particularly in one of my interviews, if you go to tulane, you're compelled to fall in love with that community and most likely never leave. i value that kind of community and i know they do too, but i can't say i disgree with their evaluation of me if my intuition is correct: despite the great feeling i had there, they knew that at this time there would be no way i could commit to going there. i would've liked to have the upper hand in this and know that they had already accepted me, but i don't have that luxury. man... but in a way, it affirms that there is some reason to this process and that adcoms are really trying to find the best fit for their programs. i can appreciate the integrity in that.
12/4: ....... something happen .........................
2/8: I really enjoy it when you get an email in your inbox that says 'your status has changed.' ... The rejection letter in the mail can be hard to swallow, but I personally would rather know that they spent at least .39 of my $100 application fee to tell me that they cannot offer me a position in their class. IRREGARDLESS. As in, regardless of the fact that these schools have no regard for the time/money/effort we have to put into this. Water under the bridge, it's a business basically. They need to hire Trump to tell us we're fired...at least then it would be almost as dramatic as it is traumatic. ... I sent in update letters last week telling schools about some publications on which I have co-authorship. I have yet to see tangible results from this communication, but I still think it's a good thing to do if only because it draws positive attention to your application.
