Summer 2005: Pre-med program in France (Internship at Pasteur Hospital in Nice plus courses in the French health care system and medicine in literature)... AMAZING experience.
5/25 - Transcripts received by AMCAS
7/8 - AMCAS sumbitted
7/20 - AMCAS verified
July-August
* Secondaries: Baylor, UPenn, Yale, WashU, LSU, Tulane, Emory, Wake Forest, Vanderbilt
* Worked as a research assistant at LSU
8/28 - Evacuated for Hurricane Katrina
Fall 2005: Attending LSU as a visiting student
* Finished secondaries: Duke, Stanford
* Attended interviews
9/30 - Vanderbilt interview. Loved the school, amazed by the Children's Hospital. Thought my interview went ok, but in retrospect, it wasn't all that great.
10/17 - Tulane acceptance letter AND WashU interview invitation! I love the mailman!
11/3 - Waitlisted at Vanderbilt. Pretty bummed and now I'm worried about the Baylor interview tomorrow.
11/4 - Baylor interview. My dad and I drove to Houston the morning of the interview, probably not the best idea. Large interview group (~60 students). TMC was very impressive, but somehow I just didn't get that *feeling* about Baylor, maybe because interviews didn't go so well. Got to hang out with the Tulane students and faculty while I was there, which was pretty cool - I miss Tulane like crazy and can't wait to get back to New Orleans.
11/11 - UPenn interview. Totally amazing. Had an extra day, so I hung out with some undergrads and saw the area around campus. Interviews went really well (*fingers crossed*) and met some pretty cool fellow interviewees. I can really see myself going here...
11/17 - WashU interview. This has been my dream school since I was in high school. The med school/hospital complex is very impressive - nice to have everything in the same place. The new Teaching & Learning Center blew me away. Interview went pretty well, students were great. Spent the weekend with friends at WashU undergrad - I love St.Louis, especially around the undergrad campus. Definitely up there with Penn on my wish list.
12/7 - LSU-NO interview. Kind of a relief to just be able to drive 10 minutes instead of hopping on a plane :-) Interview calmed some of my concerns about staying in New Orleans for another 4 years. LSU has the support of the Louisiana public hospital system, so they can send their students all over the state for clinical years, which is a good alternative with Charity down. Committee meeting before Christmas, so should hear back soon.
12/12 - Wake Forest interview. Got to stay with family in Raleigh for the weekend, which was cool. I liked Wake, but found myself comparing everything to the glitz and glamour of WashU's new building. Winston-Salem might be a bit small, but it seems like a nice place to live. Interviews went pretty well - should hear back mid-January.
12/22 - LSU-NO acceptance! Happy Holidays!
1/17 - Wake Forest acceptance! I think I'm pretty sure I want to go out of state, so I'm glad I have the option.
2/8 - Emory interview invitation! Totally unexpected, but I'm psyched!
2/24 - Emory interview. Wow. I had no idea what to expect, and I was completely blown away. I loved what I saw of Atlanta, loved the students, loved the campus, loved it all. When my student host pointed out the CDC next door, I just sat there with my mouth open. My first group interview experience, but I think it went pretty well. I would love to go here next year. Last round of acceptances go out March 14th, so it shouldn't be too long of a wait.
3/3 - Saw an email from UPenn in my inbox and almost had a heart attack. It was just an update saying decisions won't be announced until the week of March 20th :-P It looks like I'll have a pretty good idea of where I'll end up by the end of March... scary to think about.
3/4 - Stanford rejection letter waiting for me when I went home this weekend. Bummed, but didn't really have high hopes to begin with. My mom is afraid I'll die in an earthquake if I move to California, but she faked a pretty good sympathetic look when I told her I rejected from both my CA schools... Haha.
3/13 - EMORY!!!!! OMG! Accepted by email with information about the revisit weekend in April. Official letters were mailed on Monday as well.
3/17 - Received an email from LSU-NO saying I've been awarded an $8000 merit scholarship for the first year! I'm definitely honored, but still pretty sure I'm ready to go out of state at this point. Only a few more days until UPenn decisions... (*fingers crossed*)
3/22 - Tier 1 waitlist at Penn. I know it's not all lost, but I'm not in their 'Top of Tier 1' batch either, so I'm not sure how good my chances are. Thinking about writing a letter, but I'm pretty bummed :(
3/23 - Waitlisted at WashU. Shot down by my two dream schools within 48 hours :( At least this letter seemed more positive than the Penn waitlist message. I've been told that if I really want to go to WashU, writing an LOI will definitely help. I'm hesitating because Emory is a lot closer to where my boyfriend will be next year, and I don't know if what I'd get out of going to WashU will make up for the distance. I'll talk to my parents and do some soul-searching this weekend and see what happens...
4/1 - Rejection letter from Yale finally arrived. Complete since August with no interview, so no surprise. I'm about 98% sure I'll be at Emory next fall. YAY EMORY!
4/15 - Alternate list from Baylor. Just waiting for my financial aid package from Emory before I withdraw from everywhere else.