Final verdict: I'm going to be matriculating at UBC medicine in the fall of 2008.
*COMMENTS ARE MORE THAN WELCOME* :D
OKAY I have been asked many times why I got rejected from Cdn schools. Now, I would like to make it clear that I do not know why... because if I did, trust me, I would be doing something different and fixing whatever is 'wrong'. I am a firm believer that I did my best and submitted my best.
I got rejected last year from the following schools (I had nov-dec apps - AMCAS verified Nov 15 so you can imagine how late):
1) George Washington
2) VCU
3) NYMC
4) Albany (Pre-interview hold = delayed rejection!)
5) Stanford
6) U of Maryland (Pre-interview hold; never got the interview offer)
7) Creighton
8) Michigan State - my one and only interview last year, waitlisted, then rejected
07/17 - Submitted AMCAS app
08/03 - AMCAS app verified! (17 days?! woohoo! and a whole 3.5 months earlier than last year's verfication date)
08/20 - 3 of my reference letters have been sent; still waiting on two more writers to send the letters!
09/04 - Finally all my letters have been sent!
10/19 - BU!!!! MY FIRST INTERVIEW INVITE!! wooohoooo...! I am in complete shock... I had to pinch myself to make sure I was not dreaming. I'm super excited!
11/1 - Okay so I am officially done with submitting all my secondaries to both U.S. and Cdn schools, and now I just have to wait. This time last year, I had not even had my AMCAS verified yet. Waiting is so hard to do! I just hope that this invite hiatus from schools doesn't mean that I will get rejections from them all in March.
11/2 Okay so I got two pre-interview holds from SUNY Upstate and GWU. Maybe I'm gonna be the queen of pre-interview holds.
11/06 Just received another pre-interview hold. 4 pre-interview holds to date. 1 interview. 1 rejection. 2 'moved to potential interview pool.'
11/15: Make that 5 pre-interview holds.
11/21: 6 pre-interview holds. *sigh*
11/26: Another pre-interview hold. *SIGH* To date: 1 rejection. 1 interview. 9 holds (5 pre-interview holds. 4 possibly-to-be-interviewed holds.)
12/15: Keep the hope alive.
12/21: YES! MSU-CHM is giving me another chance!!!!!!!!!!! wooohoooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
12/28: I hope I get an acceptance this year. Please please please God!
01/05: I cannot believe Dalhousie invited me for an interview. Miracles do happen.
01/09: SLU invite! After a 4.5 month silence, SLU actually invited me! I'm real happy about this.
01/17: UBC invite!! UBC is my top choice currently. Of course UofT may trump UBC for the one reason that it is close, but I'm going to wait and see if UofT actually invites me for interview or not.
01/21: 4 American schools have yet to respond: NYMC, NYU, Jefferson and Wayne. I'm guessing I will hear from them in March when the thin envelope arrives. 3 Canadian schools have yet to respond: UofT (who knows when!), McMaster and Ottawa (both should respond within the first week of February). Here's hoping that I get UofT! I applied 3 times here and please please please just an interview this time.
01/25: I decided to put all my pre-interview holds in the 'rejected' pile. It makes it easier to keep track of which schools have yet to even respond!
01/28: McMaster rejection. Meh. I just want a UofT invite and I'd be the happiest person alive. Of course I'm excited as heck for UBC! But it would be nice to get UofT after applying there 3 times.
01/31: Ottawa rejection. I knew that Mac and Ottawa were going to reject me. Expected. Now please UofT come through!
02/07: So I was waitlisted at MSU (for the second time!). I must be a really poor interviewee. I'm starting to doubt if I will get in anywhere in N. America this year. Rejection, then waitlist. Things are looking bleak, especially with my horrible SLU interview that lasted only 30mins (as opposed to the 45min slot)...probably rejection. I don't know what to make of Wayne's interview because it went just as well (or bad?!) as my MSU interview...so another waitlist?
02/27: First acceptance! How happy Wayne has made me feel is indescribable!
04/04: So as it stands right now, I'm going to be going to Wayne for sure unless Canadian schools respond favourably. (BU may have trumped Wayne but they rejected me so it's all good. MSU/SLU don't stand a chance against Wayne for personal reasons.) UBC was my #1 choice in Canada (and elsewhere!) from the start and since they gave me a chance to interview, I'll be attending there if they accept me. If UBC rejects me and Dalhousie accepts me instead, then I'm not sure if it will be Dal or Wayne. If neither Canadian school accept me, then I'm happy to attend Wayne. Wayne has a lot of pros; the only con is the cost of tuition (and well also that Detroit's reputation for safety isn't very good). Otherwise, I'm very pleased with how this cycle panned out. God is truly the one to thank...so THANK YOU LORD!!!!!!!
04/16: Thanks to all those who congratulated me. I'm so grateful I got in somewhere. I just want anyone and everyone reading this to know that although I applied 3 times in Ontario, twice in the States and all over Canada, and even went to University of Sydney, Australia this February for medicine (ya! I was in med school there for like 2 weeks before I heard of Wayne's acceptance and decided to come back), it can be done and will all be worth it at the end. I repeat, it CAN be done. As you can see, my MCAT is far from stellar and I have average ECs but I still did it. I only wrote the MCAT once. MY GPA was already high so I didn't need to work on that. I did, however, get more clinical exposure by job shadowing a family physician and by working with oncology patients one-on-one. I also re-wrote my personal statement and made sure everyone I knew, from English professors to current med students to my parents, read it and more importantly critique it. I believe that was the real real real problem in my previous applications: a poor PS + minimal clinical exposure. I did make sure all my LORs were positive and strong this time round by asking the writers directly, 'Are you willing to strongly support me in this endeavour?' If I sensed any hesitation, I did not use them as my references. The best advice I can give anyone is to stop thinking that there is a set formula one needs to follow to get into med school and to accept that there is an element of luck in each step of this process. I kept telling everyone that I will improve upon my application and I can't always be unlucky....thus I will get in eventually. I'm glad I was right.
05/07: UBC will be responding soon. I'll be gone next week to serve Aboriginal children in a very remote area up North (so remote that there is no cell/net access)...and I don't know if I can actually live without checking my email on the day of the 15th. I hope that upon my return, however, I receive some awesome news!
05/19: Accepted at UBC! I'm amazed that I will be attending one of the top 3 medical programs in the country. GOD IS GOOD. That's all I have to say.
06/03: Finally withdrew from Wayne. Was hard to see this one go. They were my first acceptance and accepted me 3 weeks after interview. They believed in me from the start and I thank them for that.
Code:
In: Received Secondary
Out: Submitted Secondary
Com: Complete file
H: Pre-Interview Hold
H-SP: Put in smaller 'potential' interview pool
Inv: Invite to interview
Int.d: Interview date
R: Rejected
A: Accepted...!
