So the race and ethnicity part was kind of tricky because I'm mixed. My mother is Mexican and my father is American, but I'm about as pale as a sheet of paper. I don't remember if there was a 'URM' box, but if there was, I didn't check it. On my AMCAS application, I put:
Race: White
Ethnicity: Mexican-American
10/11 -- I've sent out all of the automatic secondaries and am now just waiting for my MCAT scores. UCSF sent me a secondary before getting my MCAT scores, which is strange, but makes me optimistic about how my application is looking. Hopefully the MCAT scores won't ruin that.
10/13 -- I got a very pleasant surprise last night. 38S on the MCAT! What a relief! Hopefully, some of the admissions committees will want to get to know me a little better now.
10/16 -- Got my UCI secondary. It would be easy if it weren't for the PRIME-LC program questions (two questions, 2000 characters each), but if I get into UCI, I definitely want to do the PRIME-LC program.
10/17 -- Three secondaries in two days! Got UIC and UC Davis today. Man, I have a lot of work to do now and I've got a biochem midterm tonight and a job interview later. This is a lot of stress, although the alternative -- not having any secondaries to fill out -- would be much worse.
10/20 -- After I assured them that I would take another semester of math (statistics, in this case) to meet their math requirements, UCSD has decided to show me a little love.
10/22 -- Submitted the UCI and UCD secondaries. I thought I was all done with Irvine yesterday only to find out that I still needed to do another two essays. I almost sent them the Davis essay on accident. Yikes! Still have UCSD and UIC to do.
10/22 (part II) -- So it turns out UCLA sent me a secondary but I never got an email! This is going to be a busy week.
10/24 -- Got an interview offer from SUNY Downstate this morning! This is my first one, and it's one of my top choices, so I hope it goes well.
10/25 -- Finally got the UCLA secondary done. Now all that's left is UCSD (tomorrow) and UIC (this weekend).
10/27 -- I couldn't sleep last night, so I was checking the SDN forums and I saw a thread about emailing Cornell for an interview if you already have another one in town. So I did. And now I've got two interviews in NY and saved myself a few hundred in airfare! Cornell, I could just hug you!
10/27 (part II) -- So it turns out that UCSF lost my LOR packet even though it was sent over two weeks ago by DHL overnight with signature confiramtion. This is the second time my school has sent it. Monday will be the third. It's a little frustrating. On the bright side, I'm finally done with the UCSD app and it will go out tomorrow. Now only UIC is left. Time to go to bed so I can get up early to tutor the kiddies tomorrow.
10/30 -- Finally finshed the UIC application. I'll mail it tomorrow. That's the end of the secondaries. Now I just have to wait. And wait. And wait. Won't somebody kindly give me another interview offer? (Please?)
11/3 -- Just when I was starting to get worried, Tufts decided to take pity on me this morning. I'm going to Baaaaaahstin! Well, for an interview, anyway.
11/3 (part II) -- Just got an interview invite from UC Irvine. First UC! Woohoo!
11/9 -- Finally complete at UCSF. Due to the paperwork mixup, it took over a month. I think that if I had been complete a month ago, I would've been in good shape (right before the flood of other August MCATers came in). Now I'm not so sure. Oh well, so much for my top choice. Plenty of other good schools out there. Too bad it's been a dry week for interview invites. Maybe tomorrow will be my lucky day.
11/15 -- Well, last Friday was not my lucky day, but I did get another intereview today and a job offer yesterday, so I can't complain. Lesson for the day: when you get an interview offer, schedule it as quickly as you can. By the time I made a decision about my NYMC interview, someone else had already snatched up the date I was about to pick and I ended up having to get more expensive plane tickets. Hrrrmph.
11/17 -- I got a letter from the Black and Latino Students Organization at Columbia yesterday congratulating me on my interview offer. Funny, I didn't realize I had an interview offer. So I called Columbia and it turns out that my next trip to NYC will be extended by a few days. I am soooo in love with New York right now.
11/22 -- Just got back from my first two NY interviews. The SUNY interview was amazing. I don't think they could have put me with a nicer interviewer. We ended up talking for an hour and a half and this doctor does some amazing work and is just a very good, decent person.
I had two interviews at Cornell. The first was also with a very nice doctor. It felt like we were having a good conversation. He had some great stories and the whole thing felt very positive. My second interviewer was hard to read. He was nice enough, but it was a lot more formal, so I don't know if he liked me. Oh well, I can only hope and wait at this point.
11/23 -- Interview invite on Thanksgiving?! That's some serious holiday spirit. Chi town, here I come. I'm going to email the other Chicago schools to see if they might be willing to invite me a little sooner. Can't hurt, right? At this point my wife and I are broke, but I can't cancel any interviews until I get an acceptance somewhere. Unfortunately, SUNY said they're swamped right now and Cornell doesn't send them out until mid-March.
12/06 -- I was starting to get a little worried and being in the middle of finals certainly hasn't helped me get any closer to becoming a zen master. But Davis called this morning. Maybe my home state does love me after all. Speaking of which, I sent a love letter to Cornell, telling them how swell I thought they are. Now if only they'd send me one back around...oh...say mid-March when they send out their acceptances.
12/07 -- Well, the good news is Mount Sinai gave me an interview. They're also one of my top choices. The bad news is it's in mid-February, so it means that I have to make another trip to NY ($$$) and I may already be interviewing for a spot on the waitlist at that point. Still, a longshot is better than no shot, and at least it gives me time to save up some money. Nine interviews so far! Maybe I'll be a doctor after all.
12/08 -- Three interviews in one week! Man, that feels nice! Looks like I'll be visiting San Diego soon.
12/13 -- God, I hope I didn't just make a huge mistake. I cancelled my Rush interview because I'm out of money and don't have enough time to prepare after my UCSD interview. I also know that my wife would be miserable in Chicago, but of course, she'd be even more miserable if she had to put up with me while I reapplied to med school. If I only had an acceptance somewhere, this would not be a big deal. Hopefully, it'll all work out. Oh SUNY, where are you when I need you?
12/15 -- I think my UCSD interviews went well. This is only the third school I've interviwed at, but each time I've been pleasantly surprised. I come in expecting a grilling and end up just having a nice conversation. I hope I've got what they're looking for.
12/18 -- UCSF!!! What more can I say? I'm a little nervous about the February interview slot but a small chance is better than no chance.
12/19 -- BU! Man, I love Boston. Still no love from the schools in Los Angeles, but the east coast seems to like me (well, at least on paper). That brings the interview tally up to 12. January's going to be a busy month.
12/19 (part II) -- Northwestern! Well, it looks like I may have to go to Chicago after all. From what I hear, it's a really good school. This is my third interview invite in two days. Looks like a Merry Christmas for me, after all. Oh wait, I'm Jewish. Oy vey!
12/21 -- The good news: USC. The bad news: end of March. I think I can pretty much kiss USC goodbye. This has waitliast interview written all over it. Oh well.
12/29 -- Well, I started writing this as a way to keep a record of the whole application journey. I'd like to have a good, honest record to look back at when I'm done and hopefully accepted. So here goes some honesty. It feels like I just got kicked in the gut. I got a notice from SUNY that I'm on a post-interview hold. I feel horrible. I couldn't imagine a better interview. I genuinely liked my interviewer and he told me that he'd give me a positive evaluation and I believe that he did. That's what worries me. I thought I had good numbers and a good interview. Everything felt right that day. And yet I got the thin envelope. It makes me wonder if my application has some kind of fatal flaw that I missed. If I couldn't get in at my best, what will happen at the schools where the interviews did not go as well? Depressing, isn't it?
But maybe I needed this. I was starting to get a little overconfident. I cancelled Rush and now I regret it. This is a fight and I just got knocked down. I took a full day to mope and be miserable. Now it's time to get back up. I have six interviews in January. Those are my six best shots at this point. Two in Boston, two in Cali, two in NY. Five of those six are at top schools. So here we go. Round 2.
1/15 -- Just got back from NYMC and Columbia interviews. NYMC went well, but I don't think my wife would want to live there. Columbia is an awesome school, but I don't know if my interview went all that well. Here's to hoping. Tufts and UC Davis are next.
1/20 -- Two more interviews done for January. Two more to go. Just got back from Tufts and Davis. I had a good first interview at Tufts. The second one, I'm not so sure about. I think I bored my interviewer a bit with my long-windedness. Not a good sign. Due to some weather delays at the airport on the way over to Sacramento, I basically ended up getting only 2 hours of sleep before my Davis interview. It was the perfect setup for disaster. Fortunately, I think the interviews went well, especially the student interview. We got along really well and I was very impressed by UC Davis. Their facilities are brand-new, they've got a great hospital, and I think they have the best student-run clinics (certainly the most) out of all the schools I've visited. I could definitely see myself going there. Hopefully, they can, too.
1/23 -- I'm gonna be a doctor! I got the call from Dr. Kelly this afternoon. I had my UC Irvine interviews yesterday and I left feeling pretty depressed. I just don't think they went well. Today's news makes everything better. I can finally exhale after months of holding my breath. Whatever happens after my past interviews or at my future interviews, I'm going to be in med school next year. God, that's a great feeling!
1/30 -- Just got back from BU. Man, that was a rough trip! On the plane ride over, I realized I was getting sick. Fever, chills, the whole bit. By the time I got to Boston, I was miserable. Oh well. I sucked it up, took some Tylenol, and did the best I could. I'm sending them my transcripts today (I forgot to bring them with me -- smooth move). I only have to fly to the east coast one more time for interviews. I have MSSM and UCSF back-to-back. I don't think I have much of a shot at those schools this late in the cycle, but at least I have a chance.
2/1 -- Tufts said yes!! Wow, now I have choices (two at the moment). I guess that means that UCSD wasn't a fluke. March could turn out to be an interesting month. I'm kinda floored right now. I'm actually going to have make a decision at some point.
2/9 -- Got my first official rejection today -- AECOM. Oh well. Honestly, the waitlist at SUNY hurt much more. But then again, I didn't have any acceptances at the time. Getting the large envelope from Tufts in the mail today certainly made getting the small envelope from AECOM a lot easier.
2/16 -- Wow. a lot has happened this week. I had to make a really tough decision a few days ago. I had an interview scheduled at Mt. Sinai and one at UCSF the next day. My flight to New York got cancelled because of a storm and I was left in a bad spot. I could book a last-minute flight to NY that would bypass the Chicago connection (the reason why my flight was cancelled). The only problem is that if I did that, I would miss my UCSF interview because NY was getting snowed in. So it was basically between Mt. Sinai and UCSF. I chose UCSF, but it was a painful choice. I have some really good reasons for wanting to be in NY. At the same time, UCSF is my dream school. I think the interviews at UCSF went well. My first interviewer was great, although I tend to get a little energetic during my interviews so I felt like a little bit of a spaz in front of her. My second interviewer was a little energetic himself and I think we really hit it off. It was one of the most enjoyable interviews/conversations I've had. Now realistically, UCSF is one of the top schools in the country, so I'm not going to hold my breath, but I will stay optimistic.
The other big thing that happened this week is that I got into UC Irvine! I did not expect that. I didn't think I did well at all on my interviews. I have 3 choices now! That's just crazy.
2/20 -- The other shoe finally dropped from NYU -- rejected. Of course, that wasn't a surprise since they told me they stopped interviewing in January when I called them. On the upside (and it's a pretty big upside), UCLA has been kind enough to extend an interview invitation.
3/5 -- Well, this hurts. Just got the rejection from Columbia. Not even a waitlist. Columbia was firmly in my top-3, probably even number 1. Just gotta pull myself together and do well on my Mt. Sinai interview. I don't think my chances are very good at this point, but it's better than nothing.
3/19 -- Got the Cornell waitlist today. Ouch. Better than a rejection, though. I'm having no luck with New York. Mt. Sinai is the last decision left (besides SUNY's Spring Consideration) and according to what the Dean said during my interview day, they're meeting today. If I get accepted, I'll find out tomorrow by email. I really liked Sinai when I visited. I know my chances are pretty lousy this late into the interview season, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed (which makes typing really difficult).
3/20 -- WHOOOOOOHOOOOO!!! Mt. Sinai said YES! God, I couldn't sleep last night because I kept worrying about it. This feels amazing! This process is such a rollercoaster ride. Now it's time to get back to studying for my final -- as soon as I can wipe this silly grin off my face.
3/26 -- Just got an acceptance from NYMC. I think that the school has a lot going for it and my interviewer was one of the coolest and nicest people I've met during this whole med school interview experience, but I beleive I'm going to have to respectfully decline. Sinai is pretty hard to beat.
4/1 -- BU acceptance! Very nice! I really didn't think my interview went all that well. I really liked their medical center. It looks like a great place for emergency medicine. I'm not sure whether I liked Tufts or BU more, but I think it's kind of moot at this point. I'm almost certain that I'm going to Sinai (and I'm very happy about it). I think I'm going to start dropping some acceptances this week so that hopefully the waitlist people won't have to wait as long for good news.
4/6 -- So I was checking my mail today and saw a big white envelope. And there is was, in all its glory, UCSF! Unbelievable! UCSF is my dream school. At the same time, it's a little bittersweet. There are other factors -- family factors -- that will ultimately determine where I go to school. The situation is a little too complicated to write about here. I'm going to withraw from all of the other schools now, except for Siani. Next year, it'll either be MSSM or UCSF.
4/11 -- Rejected by Stanford. Quite alright. The feeling is mutual.
4/19 -- UC Davis acceptance (finally)! I should have withdrawn after I heard from UCSF, but I wasn't really thinking about it at the time. I think I'm going to decline so someone else can get their shot a little earlier. Davis is not a realistic option right now, so there's no point in holding on to it. I really did like the school, though. Next to UCSF, it was my favorite UC. I've dropped pretty much all of my other acceptances now, except MSSM and UCSF. Less than a month left to decide.
4/27 -- Waitlisted at UCLA. Well, what can I say? I kind of expected it. UCLA would have given me more options, but realistically, I would've had a hard time picking UCLA over UCSF. It looks like they're trying to make that choice easy for me. Still, it would've been a good compromise between UCSF and Mt. Sinai and the mysterious circumstances that are forcing me to make that decision.
5/2 -- Got the USC waitlist letter. I know it was a late interview, but this was kind of a surprise. I thought the interviews actually went really well. What can you do? I doubt I would've picked them over MSSM or UCSF.
