Brief Profile:
2014 MCAT, no writing section. Extensive experience with underserved populations. Executive leadership in multiple community service/clinical projects, one year of clinical stroke research in a competitive program. I have a minimal presence on SDN, but I hope this is of some help; please feel free to send a message if you have any questions!
AMCAS Submitted: June 7, 2015 AMCAS Processed: June 22, 2015
Activities 1) Volunteer / Chair / Undergraduate Coordinator, Interdisciplinary Student-Run Clinic – 3 year total commitment, nearly 1000 total hours served. Work hand-in-hand with medical student and public health coordinators, along with faculty advisors. Direct patient and physician interaction. 2) Volunteer / Recruitment Director / Executive Director, Community Health & Outreach Project – 3 year total commitment , over 500 total hours served. Direct patient interaction. 3) Clinical Research Associate, Stroke/Neurology Program – 1 year total commitment, over 300 hours served in the Emergency Room. Direct patient and physician interaction. 4) Research Assistant, Neurology Lab – 1 year total commitment, about 200 hours served. Might go back during my free time this gap year. 5) Intern, Summer Family Medicine Internship – 6 week total commitment, about 240 hours served. Shadowing, health fair planning, and public health research leading to poster presentation. Mentorship by medical students, resident physicians, and attending physicians. Direct patient and physician interaction. 6) Volunteer, Medical Mission in Southeast Asia – 10 days. Shadowing and assistance in health care providence in rural villages. Exposure to global health. Direct patient and health care professional interaction. 7) Volunteer, Food Serving to Homeless – 1 year total commitment, about 200 hours served. 8) Volunteer, Hospital Patient Discharge – 6 month total commitment, about 100 hours served. Patient interaction. 9) Shadowing – around 200 hours, Neurology and Family Medicine, including time in clinical research. Some patient interaction, my FM doc actually lets me interview patients sometimes. 10) General Member, Multi-Cultural Club
Hobbies: Writing/journaling, poetry, discovering and building playlists of underground jazz hip-hop, running & weightlifting.
Research Posters One from facilitated virology research, and one from my family medicine internship. No publications, unfortunately.
Letters of Recommendation Two from upper-division science faculty, one from my student-run clinic's faculty advisor in Public Health, one from an English professor, and one from my TA in an upper-division lab. When asked to choose three, I sent one of my upper-division science letters, my English letter, and my clinic letter.
// Applications //
Application Cycle One: 06/06/2015
Undergraduate college: UC
Undergraduate Area of study: Biological/Life Sciences
Total MCAT SCORE: 520
MCAT Section Scores:
B/B 130,
C/P 129,
CARS 130
Overall GPA: 3.87
Science GPA: 3.83
Summary of Application Experience
Timeline Summary
June: AMCAS submitted. I spent about three months on my personal statement, and am really pleased with the final product!
Early July: I didn't prewrite any of my secondaries, so I'm taking them as they come. It would have been a good idea to, because between my summer internship and my extensive clinic coordinator duties, I think I will be lacking abundant free time :/.
Middle/Late July: I was right; staring at a mountain of secondaries right now. I simply don't have many free hours in a day. Two week rule is going out the window, I'm just going to work through them as quickly but as throughly as I can; I won't turn in a bad application just for the sake of time. I hope to finish everything I've received by the time I go on my medical mission, which is in August.
~8/1/15: So far, one invite to Michigan which I'm extremely excited about!!! Not done with secondaries yet though, unfortunately. I'll try to work on finishing UMASS and the UCs while I'm away; hopefully I'll have internet access abroad.
~8/15/15: Medical mission was amazing; I watched a baby be delivered for the first time! I was able to submit my UC's while I was away, which is good. In the meantime, UCSF came in. I still have a few secondaries to do which will be turned in quite late... Stanford, Harvard, Northwestern, Yale. Probably not good but most of these are reach schools, and I'm hoping they'll understand, considering the high load of activities I've been partaking in this summer. Invites from USC, Ohio State, and Mount Sinai have come in.
8/25/15: UCLA invite today! Really excited, yet the weight of everything is starting to sink in. Next week, I'll be in New York for my first medical school interviews... this is for real! Additional recent invites from Cornell, NYU, and Pitt bring the total to 8. I wasn't expecting to have this many IIs this early, especially considering that I didn't prewrite or rush through my secondaries, and I'm extremely honored. Now it's just a matter of preparing to give every school my best shot!
8/29/15: Hopkins and UChicago. When I was picking schools, I had absolutely no idea how things would go... right now, I'm completely stunned. I'm going to try to make as many of these interviews as possible!
9/4/15: Mount Sinai and Cornell: Two down, many more to go. My first time in New York, and it was amazing! In other news, invite from Penn!
10/1/15: Personal ranking of schools visited thus far: Michigan > Sinai > Cornell > USC, with Michigan a clear favorite. This ranking is just based off of my holistic impression, and I should note that I did enjoy my visit to each school thus far; the gap between Sinai and USC is not big at all.
10/1/15: Had a big 5-school interview trip to Penn, Hopkins, Pritzker, Pittsburgh, and NYU that lasted 10 days. Amazingly, I did not have to pay for a single hotel thanks to med student hosts and my cousin who lives near Baltimore and was able to house to between my Hopkins and Chicago interviews!
Personal rankings thus far: UMichigan, Pritzker > Penn > Mount Sinai > Cornell, Hopkins > NYU, USC > Pittsburgh
10/15/15: First acceptances to University of Michigan and USC :')
11/1/15: Personal rankings thus far (trying to consolidate into tiers as much as possible): UMichigan, UChicago > Penn > Mount Sinai, UCLA > Cornell, Hopkins, NYU, UCSD > Pittsburgh, UCI, USC
12/15/15 Hey everyone! I really apologize for not keeping up with physically updating my profile but I have taken thorough written notes after every interview and will be transcribing them here over the next day or so. Major updates in brief: waitlist at UCSD, acceptances to WashU and Hopkins, followed by an invitation to Harvard!!!
Personal rankings thus far (trying to consolidate into tiers as much as possible): UCSF, UMichigan, UChicago > Penn > Mount Sinai, UCLA, WashU > Cornell, Hopkins, NYU, UCSD > Pittsburgh, UCI, USC
2/1/16 Hi everyone! Big update status-wise today. My interviews are officially done. I had three top post-interview choices: UCSF, UMich, and UChicago. I'm extremely happy and blessed to have been accepted to all three, including with a full-tuition scholarship to Chicago. We'll see where the cards fall with the rest of my decisions and with financial aid, but so far, UCSF and UChicago are looking like the two big contenders.
2/2/16 Accepted to UCLA with full-ride David Geffen Medical Scholarship!!! Definitely a game changer!
2/10/16 Received a phone call from Dr. Arias at USC Keck with a full-tuition scholarship offer, yas!
3/9/16 Ivies are in – a rejection from Harvard, waitlist at Cornell, and acceptance to Penn conclude the very long waiting game phase of my application cycle. I have roughly two months to make my decision. Pending any further scholarship offers, it's pretty much down to UCLA, UCSF, UChicago, and UPenn. I will attend second looks for each and choose sometime in late April. I will be making withdrawals from the majority of my other schools soon!
Applied, Rejected
University of California, Davis
Applying for combined PhD/MSTP? No
Submitted: Yes
Secondary Completed: No
Interview Invite: No
Interview Attended: No
Waitlisted: No
Accepted: No
Rejected: 11/07/2015
Summary of Experience:
Still awaiting a secondary invitation from UCD. Late August now, beginning to doubt if it'll come. Considering my receipt of secondaries from all other UC schools and my service-oriented background, I'm still decently hopeful.
Summary of Experience:
SR: 7/2/15 | SS: 7/19/15 – Bassett-track applicant | II: 12/22/15 – Interview for P&S. I really wish this would've come sooner, but I guess that's my punishment for gambling on the Bassett track over the regular program.
| W: 1/6/16 – Alas, I would've loved to come to Columbia, but for one, I've flown twice to NY already and money is pretty short. For two, with Michigan, UCSF and UChicago as my three favorite schools and my acceptances to all of them, there's no need to interview somewhere I'm 98% sure I wouldn't attend. I'm perfectly happy with what I've got!
Summary of Experience:
SR: 7/10/15 | SS: 7/27/15 – "highly recommended" that secondary be turned in within two weeks, but I couldn't make that mark. Meep, don't know how/if that will affect me. | II: 9/6/15 – rare weekend invitation!
| W: 9/28/15 – Alas, too many travel costs right now to justify traveling to a school that is lower on my interest list.
Summary of Experience:
SR: 7/23/15 – added UMASS late to my AMCAS primaries, didn't know about their decision to start accepting OOS students until a few days ago. | SS: 8/4/15 | II: 10/26/15 – Thankful, but looking on my past interviews and current decisions, I know I likely wouldn't come here and will probably withdraw.
Summary of Experience:
SR: 7/22/15 | SS: 8/19/15 – not very optimistic as I know OHSU is particular about Oregon heritage. I'm hoping my experiences in underserved healthcare will allow me to squeeze by. | II: 12/16/15 – Grateful for the offer especially considering the difficulty of getting an interview as an OOS applicant, but I would not choose here over my current acceptances.
Summary of Experience:
SR: 7/13/15 | SS: 8/26/15 – Late in the game. | II: 12/1/15 – Not sure about going to this one. After UChicago, I feel like if I'm gonna go to Illinois, it'll be for Pritzker, or bust.
| W: 12/15/15 – Freeing up a spot for someone else.
Summary of Experience:
SR: 7/13/15 | SS: 8/24/15 | II: 12/11/15 – WHAT WHAT WHAT!!!! SHAKING!
I: 1/2016 – Details to come!
R: 3/2/2016 – not surprised and not disappointed! Even if I had gotten in, if I were to pay to go to a school, 99% it would be for UCSF. Still have to transcribe the interview feedback for the day, sorry for the lag!
Summary of Experience:
SR: 7/1/15 | SS: 7/16/15 | II: 08/17/15 – stoked that I'll be able to bundle Cornell with Mount Sinai! Planning my first real visit to NYC!
| I: 9/15 – Two 30-min interviews, open file, one with the Assistant Dean of Admissions and one with an MS4.
CORNELL. I don't know why, but my interviews were ultimately what made me fall in love with the school – they were incredibly relaxing, even more than Sinai! My MS4 literally finished with telling me "I want you to come here, but you're probably going to Harvard anyways" like, what? Can you send their AdCom a letter please? Hahaha. The interview with the Dean was more amazing, if possible. The whole experience felt more like a couple pleasant conversations designed to make me feel at home rather than actual interviews.
The day started with a brief presentation and Q&A by the Dean of Admissions, followed by lunch with medical students and a tour. The campus of Weill Cornell is absolutely beautiful, and the facilities, from the PBL labs to the clinical simulation center, are impressive.
Student relationships with administration are very strong; there is student representation on every school committee except the Graduation committee, and students have equal votes as faculty. The curriculum is undergoing a thorough renovation; an Area of Concentration will be introduced starting with this year's class. Condensation of the core curriculum into 1.5 years as opposed to two leaves more time for elective clinical rotation.
Housing, although not as nice as Sinai, is still impressive considering the location. Students who elect to stay in Olin Hall have their own dorm-style rooms with shared bathrooms. Like Sinai, there is the big bonding and studying advantage of having your fellow students at your doorstep.
Cornell's biggest advantages were advertised as the strength of its teaching affiliations and its extensive global health program. Partnership with the New York Presbyterian Hospital and The Hospital for Special Surgery, alongside other renowned institutions, allows for access to an abundance of extremely skilled faculty. The isolation of Weill Cornell Medical College from Cornell's main campus allows for focused attention on the medical students themselves. As for global health, Cornell will cover the costs of students' travel to a multitude of foreign countries for the purposes of scholarly activity and/or research.
I loved my time here, and in NY in general. Looking forward to the possibility of coming back for second-look weekend! (i.e. accept me pls)
| W: 2/24/16 – If I'm gonna be on the East Coast next year, it's gonna be for Penn!
| I: 10/2015 – Two 30-min interviews, one with a faculty MD (open file) and one with a student (closed file).
To be honest, by this point in my five-school interview trip, I was thoroughly exhausted. I definitely had to summon strength to get through the day, especially as Pitt wasn't as high on my interest list as the other schools on the trip. That being said, an amazing faculty interview left a superb mark on my entire experience here!
The day started at 8:30am with a very short meet-and-greet with the Associate Dean of Admissions, who spent a little bit of time talking about what we could expect from the day. Right after that came the tour which is long; almost two hours long! Expectedly, it is quite thorough; we spent time going through lecture halls, small group classrooms, Pitt’s clinical simulation facility (WISER center), the hospital, and took quite a bit of time walking around campus and Pittsburgh’s streets as well. Pittsburgh very much encapsulates the "big-small city" feel. Pitt runs pretty much the entire health care system in Pittsburgh, so there are a lot of clinical resources accessible to its medical students.
You’ll definitely see a lot on the tour, but I couldn’t help but begin to zone out towards the end haha. Right after, there was a presentation on curriculum and student life given given by admissions staff; much of time was used for Q&A with the interviewees. Pitt’s curriculum consists of 1.5 year systems-based pre-clinical, which leaves two empty blocks for electives during core-rotation year and ample elective blocks (7!) during fourth year. Lunch with medical students occurs right after. The curriculum, for a big research-oriented school, is very holistic and patient-focused, which I admired. There is ample time over pre-clinical dedicated to doctoring soft skills as well as ethics, population health, and behavioral medicine. Of course, research is incorporated as well – Pitt emphasizes instruction on evidence-based medicine during first year, which I found really unique. A mandatory scholarly project begins halfway through second year and is expected to last all the way until graduation.
After the presentation we had lunch with a few medical students in the same conference room. The medical student I was sitting next to was very open about discussing the criteria by which interviewees were evaluated during their interview; I found it very interesting, though it definitely could have been nerve-wracking as well if Pitt happened to be be one of my top choice schools.
Interviews occur right after lunch, starting with student interviews, which are held in small group and other empty rooms around the med school building; your student will pick you up from the admissions office and lead you. The student interview is very chill! Your faculty interview may be near the admissions office, or you may have to walk to another building. I LOVED my faculty interview – my doc went to my undergrad institution and even did some of the same extracurriculars I did. Needless to say, I think we clicked pretty well!
After interviews is a 30-min small group session with all the interviewees which is basically is an ethics-based PBL discussion with a faculty member. Really chill, you don’t have to speak at all if you don’t want to (though I suppose you should say something). I liked it as I think it serves as a personification of Pitt’s emphasis on patient-centered skills within their curriculum, and it was a unique experience! Financial aid is discussed briefly after, followed by a closing debrief session given by the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs and Diversity. All in all, I realized that Pitt didn’t exactly fit my mold, but it was a fine day! Decisions become available January 29th online, but I’m not gonna stress about this one.
| WL: 1/28/16 – Via portal. No worries about this one!
Summary of Experience:
SR: 7/6/15 | SS: 7/27/15 | II: 08/14/15 – First NYC invite!
| I: 9/15 – Two 30-min interviews, open file, one faculty MD and one MS4. Interviews were extremely relaxed; both mainly talked to me about my experiences that I had documented on my AMCAS primary.
The day started with a very intimate conversation – there were less than 10 interviewees on my day – given to us by the Dean of Medical Education. Far from the standard curriculum conversation, the dean spent a lot of time discussing social justice issues in medicine, White Coats for Black Lives, etc. His words painted an even more refreshing perspective on the community-based school that I found very impressive. Between its various community service programs and unique medical humanities courses, Sinai offers ample resources to train holistically-minded physicians – exactly my kind of institution.
"The students here are happy." I heard this about a dozen times throughout the entire day, no exaggeration, and I really believe it. Despite an upcoming block exam, the MS2s that hosted me in their apartment were throughly chill and laid back. Class camaraderie as a whole appeared quite strong. Administration was described as being extremely approachable and willing to listen to student opinion on a variety of issues, medical, education, and social. Block exams are online! and can be taken at any time and any place within a multi-day window.
Housing at Sinai is THOROUGHLY impressive. The majority of students MS1-4 live in a single large apartment building called Aron Hall. Apartments usually house 4 students; each has their own bedroom and all share a kitchen. Students praised having their classmates at their doorsteps; the close proximity gives offers opportunities for bonding and group studying that wouldn't be found in more drawn-out housing plans. And did I mention that Sinai and Aron Hall are literally across the street from Central Park? For $600/month total, you have your own bedroom in Manhattan, right next to one of NYC's greatest treasures – ridiculously great deal.
Opportunities for research and patient engagement are ample here. Think of Sinai as a hospital system that decided to cut to the chase and open its own medical school; there are no undergrads or other grad programs aside from MD/PhD and a handful of MS offerings. This means that there is absolutely no competition for attention, and medical students have unparalleled access to faculty for research and preceptorship in virtually every field. The match list was impressive – 18 students from the last class went into anesthesiology alone!
An admissions director told us that the first wave of decisions would not be released until late November/early December at the earliest. Overall, fantastic school and I am ecstatic to have had the opportunity to visit!
| WL: 12/21/15 – Via email. Ahh, this one stings just a tad, but Sinai was my very first interview, and it definitely didn't go as well as it could have in comparison to all the others I've had since. Plus, the limited financial aid may very well have prohibited me from attending anyways.
As with most MMIs, the UCSD interview day is quite short. The day began at 8:00am with a short Q&A with the Associate Dean of Admissions. Before the interview day, the Admissions office sent an email with the MMI instructions and a 30-min YouTube video “orientation†which basically serves as the presentation of the school. Covered in the presentation are UCSD’s curriculum (two year pre-clinical with class usually for four hours every morning), its extensive student-run free clinic, its academic communities (similar to mentorship societies at other schools), and some details on housing and financial aid. 90% of students receive some financial aid and there are extensive campus options for housing. The free clinic was especially impressive to me; highly touted, there are four different sites for the clinic, and over 90% of students participate! The Q&A session served to answer any questions the interviewees might have had after watching the video beforehand.
After the Q&A, we were escorted to the Professional Development Center, UCSD’s clinical skills training facility, for the MMI. UCSD had a big interview day – with over 30 interviewees, including PRIME applicants, there were two time slots for MMIs, and there were also two simultaneous MMI circuits during each slot depending on which program you were interviewing for (I was a regular M.D. program applicant). I was in the first slot at 10:15am and felt I did as well as I could have on just about all the stations. It is not uncommon to finish a station before the 8 minute time limit.
After the MMI, the interviewees in my section had about an hour and a half to burn. We spent this time walking around the medical and undergraduate campus. It was a sunny day, and UCSD is beautiful! At 12:00pm, we met up with the other interviewees from the second MMI rotation for lunch with medical students – overall, the students seemed exceptionally relaxed and happy to be at UCSD, which I took as a good sign. After lunch, we went on a brief tour of the medical campus, including the classrooms and lecture halls, anatomy lab, and the academic society communal areas.
The last event on schedule was a brief wrap up with an admissions faculty member. We were told to expect decisions in about two weeks – quick turn around! I’m not obsessing about attending here, but the day was a pleasure and I definitely admit San Diego would be an awesome place to spend the next four years! We’ll see what the cards hold.
| WL: 11/4/15 – Via email. Didn't make the cut, but that's okay. Will likely withdraw soon.
Summary of Experience:
SR: 7/2/15 | SS: 7/16/15 – wasn't verified compete until mid-August. | II: 9/17/15 – yay!
| I: 10/15 – Two faculty interviews: one 40-min open-file interview, and one 25-min closed-file interview.
WashU is one of the very rare schools that offer free, personal housing to regular M.D. program applicants. After weeks of sleeping on medical students’ couches and air mattresses, I was grateful to snag a room in Olin Hall, which connects directly to WashU’s main medical school building. Landing in the Midwest for the 2nd time, I was pleased to discover that not only does St. Louis’ MetroLink Red Line connect directly to Lambert Airport, but it has a station stop at Central West End, literally about a 3 minute walk away from Olin Hall and the WUSM! For future interviewees, don’t bother taking a taxi if you can help it; the public transit system does you a big favor here.
WashU also hosts pizza dinners in Olin the night before each interview. I attended and was glad to see that quite a few medical students were in attendance. A highlight mentioned multiple times was that WashU SOM really, really supports its students. Lowlight was that St. Louis isn’t exactly the most exciting city to spend four years in, but regardless, the students seemed pretty happy to be there. Also mentioned was the transition from P/F first year to H/HP/P/F second year; like Penn, the students did not seem to mind too much, and repeatedly stated that 1) the environment was still extremely collaborative as there is no curve on how grades are assigned and 2) pre-clinical grades take up a minuscule portion (about one sentence) of the Dean’s Letter for residency applications.
The next day started with an optional breakfast in Olin at 8:00am, and I was delighted to see fresh sausages and juice among other goodies. Going quite beyond the normal muffin and yogurt offered at most schools, it was quite delicious. Check-in was at 8:30, followed by a brief orientation of the day. My biggest takeaway from the orientation presentation was WUSM’s steady commitment to the St. Louis community, one that is, in my opinion, especially notable for a prestigious private medical school. As an example, WUSM’s first-year orientation week focuses entirely on public health, community medicine, and engagement with the St. Louis area through community service and work with neighboring non-profits. There are also a number of student-run community programs, including a free clinic. As I’ve said before, community ties mean a lot to me, and WUSM impresses in this regard.
After orientation, we split into a couple small groups for our student-led tour. The WUSM campus is beautiful and is in extremely close proximity to Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s Hospitals, WUSM’s major teaching hospitals. We spent some time walking through the Children’s Hospital, and I was wowed by the combination of vibrance and beauty that dominated the building. There is a lot of development, renovation and construction currently going on the medical campus, aiming at expanding the Children’s Hospital and adding new areas for OBGYN services, among other things. Looks like there are good things in store for the future at WashU!
After the tour, I had by open-file interview, which was a pleasure, followed by lunch at noon with a few students. If breakfast was any indication, WUSM lunch was definitely the best I’ve had on the entire trail. Tender beef, chicken parmesan and asparagus, among other delicious entrees, with an abundance of cookies and brownies… pretty awesome, I must say!!!
My closed-file interview was after lunch, was significantly shorter than my open-file one, and was still a pleasure. At about 2:30, we met in an upstairs conference room for a financial aid presentation. We were told that WUSM will give exactly 23 full-ride merit scholarships to the incoming M.D. class. 4 of those are reserved solely for women, and the other 19 are up for grabs by anyone. Their average debt is comparatively very low, at about $80,000.
I did like the WUSM interview day quite a lot; I’m not sure how thrilled I’d be to live in St. Louis for 4+ years, but at least I’d likely be happy with the school itself. We ended our day with a brief wrap-up with Dean Ratts, who brought us freshly baked cookies and sent us off. We were not given any precise date on when we would here back, just that it would be before April. Looks like it could be a long wait!
| A: 11/20/15 – Call from one of the Deans I interviewed with, really happy!!!
Summary of Experience:
SR: 7/2/15 | SS: 7/20/15 – Michigan's website is amazing. I love their program and I regret not sending this in sooner. | II: 7/28/15 – first interview invite!!! Really surprised at how fast it came and extremely excited for UMich!!!
| I: 9/15 – Two interviews, open file, one faculty MD and one MS2, plus a six-station MMI, 6 minutes per station.
I cannot describe how much I loved this school, its admissions faculty, the community of Ann Arbor, and this trip overall. Make sure your outfit is sharp because Michigan dresses to impress!
Arriving by bus, I could not believe how beautiful the city of Ann Arbor is – apparently I arrived on an unusually sunny and gorgeous day. The night before the interview, a dinner at Pizza House was hosted by Michigan medical students. The food was great, as was the company. The medical students were thoroughly engaging, and I had a great time with my hosts, who, unnecessarily and out of their own time, accompanied me to the event. Later that night, we were given a tour of the city of Ann Arbor.
The amount of care put into giving the interviewees an outstanding experience only continued to amaze me on interview day. The day started with a speech from Dr. Gay, Assistant Dean of Admissions, and my, what a speech it was. "If you’re only interested in learning what you need to know to pass the next test, then I’m sorry to say that I made a mistake in inviting you here today.†He made it clear that he knows that we know that Michigan is an exceptional school, but it is that way because of the very exceptional people who are chosen to work and study there. He stressed their desire for diligent, competent, and community-minded physicians who will strive to improve the provision in this country and in the world. Every word only made me want to attend the school even more.
His welcome was followed by a curriculum discussion given to us by the Director of Admissions, Ms. Teener. Next year, Michigan will be introducing a completely revamped curriculum designed to provide students with serious clinical experience starting early in the second year.
After the discussion, we were split into two groups: one which would have their MMI before their traditional interviews, and the other vice versa. I was in the first group. The MMI had three role-play stations, one ethical discussion with a faculty member, and two teamwork-based stations; that's all I'll share about it. I had a pleasant experience with my traditional interviews.
Michigan's facilities are gorgeous. They have a brand-new medical library, opened this year, which quickly became a hub for medical student interaction and group study between classes. On that note, the camaraderie in the class is incredibly strong. You could feel, throughout the entire day, how much everyone had each other's backs. The medical students continued to give a great welcome during the lunch and following "untour." Michigan's tour is special in that they take time to actually teach you, hands-on, something clinically relevant. In my group's case, we took a trip to the casting unit of the UM hospital and learned, from an orthopedic physician, how to apply, form, and remove an arm cast; he demonstrated, then we all took turns in pairs making casts on each other!
I ended a day with a meet-and-greet with one of the minority student groups, and again, I was blown away by how tight-knit the students at Michigan are. The community is there, and it is so strong. I knew, once the day ended, that I would definitely be happy at Michigan for multiple meaningful reasons. Decisions on October 15, and I'm praying for an acceptance!
| A: 10/15/15 – Via email. BLEEDING HAPPINESS RIGHT NOW.
Summary of Experience:
SR: 7/2/15 | SS: 7/20/15 | II: 9/3/2015 – BEast Coast October trip is in the works!!!
| I: 10/15 – Two 30-min interviews, open file, one faculty member (PhD in my case) and one student.
Let's get this out first: Penn's Jordan Medical Education Center (JMEC) is brand new, having just opened with the new school year, and SEXY. Beautiful offices, teaching rooms and student spaces, and the building is surrounded by gorgeous open patios and vast windowed corridors that give amazing views of the surrounding Penn medical campus and downtown Philly itself. The medical school is built into the Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine and is next to one of the main research facilities; the philosophy behind this decision was to place Penn's medical students in extremely close proximity to world-class research and medical facilities, with the thought that education, patient care, and research should go hand-and-hand. Let it be understood: JMEC alone makes Penn worth paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to attend – that being said, I'll get into what else makes this medical school so great.
The day started with an introduction to Perelman given to us by the Director of Admissions. She told us to relax, that we were already the "cat's meow" and would get into a good school, and emphasized that the day was much more meant for the applicants to figure out if Perelman would be a good choice rather than to impress the admissions committee. She spent some time discussing the curriculum and Penn's focus on teamwork-based learning. It was made clear that Perelman has maintained a 1.5 year pre-clinical curriculum for over a decade, whereas many other medical schools have only very recently decided to make that switch. Penn values the development of holistically skilled and broad minded physicians; their "One University" concept allows medical students to take classes at other campuses free of charge, and they have quite a vast array of dual degree programs to offer. Furthermore, their global health initiative is one of the most established in the country, and particularly from my faculty interview, I learned that they are continually pushing student and faculty involvement in overseas medicine. And... Penn has not one or two student-run/involved free clinics, but eight!!!
After the presentation, we were treated to a structured ultrasound workshop held just for us, and were allowed to sit in on a MS2 renal lecture. As I have already mentioned, Penn's facilities are amazing and the medical campus is both beautiful and modern. After seeing the curriculum in action, we were given some time to tour the building on our own, then were treated to lunch with some of the medical students.
Penn students are exceptionally social and party HARD – my type of peeps. They hosted a "pre-interview happy hour" the night before, the only medical school I know of so far do such a thing, where a few students took us out to town to grab some beers and converse about Penn and student life. They checked our IDs at the door, so if you're not 21, you might be out of luck on this opportunity. My student hosts spent a great deal of time talking in detail about how trashed the MS1 class has gotten over the last two months. If you consider yourself a work-hard-play-hard person, you'll probably like it here.
My interviews were completely pleasant; in particular, I feel like I was able to learn a lot about my student interviewer's perspective on Penn. I left JMEC feeling quite in awe about Perelman as a whole. The medical school isn't just a fancy dressing; the people who work and study within it are extremely special as well. Acceptances announced in March. I would put Penn up with Michigan; please accept me!
| A: 3/8/2016 – YES. CRI. This is the only school that could pull me to the East Coast next year. I'll share my thoughts after revisit!
Summary of Experience:
SR: 7/2/15 | SS: 7/24/15 | II: 8/27/2015 – yes! extremely excited for Pritzker!!!
| I: 10/2015 – Three 30-min interviews, open file, one with clinical faculty, one with administrative faculty, and one with a student (MS4).
PRITZKER. You along with UMich have thoroughly managed to capture my heart.
The day started at 8:00am with a welcome breakfast hosted by the Multicultural Affairs office. Student representatives from LMSA and SNMA were there and spent some time answering questions and talking a little about Pritzker’s community initiatives. Next up was an overview of the school’s mission and curriculum given by Dr. Keme Carter, Assistant Dean for Admissions. Within these first couple of hours, one facet about Pritzker was made abundantly clear: much similar to USC, the school cares deeply for the underserved, and it is requisite that it’s students do as well. Keep that in mind as you consider your application for admission here! There are several underserved-based programs maintained by both the school and the UChicago Medical Center itself, such as the Urban Health Initiative and a special Community Health Scholarship track that serves as a primary-care based focus for interested students. There are 5 thriving student-run clinics to participate in. The commitment by not only Pritzker, but UChicago’s entire health system to Chicago’s needy populations impressed me deeply and is a big reason why the school ranks high on my personal preference list. Curriculum is 2+2, systems-based pre-clinical. Similar to Pitt, Pritzker touts the close proximity of the surrounding schools at the University of Chicago. If you wish to take an elective at another school, it will be paid for!
There are three interviews here, and they are split between the hours of 10am-12pm and 2pm-4pm. I had two in the morning block and one in the afternoon block. Most of them are in the admissions office but there is a chance that you will have to walk to another building. In your off time, there is a nice large communal area in the admissions office where you can sit and chat with fellow applicants, complete with a chocolate/candy bowl! The interviews are pretty relaxed, just the standard getting-to-know-you. Between the interview blocks are lunch and the student-led tour. Lunch featured authentic Chicago deep-dish pizza, with plenty to go around! Students will be there to casually chat with you.
The tour is long and thorough – it’s scheduled for 1 hour mine actually lasted almost one and a half because none of the interviewees in my group had their next interview until 2:30pm. UChicago’s campus is gorgeous, almost Hogwarts-like! It’s easy enough to mingle within the undergraduate side of campus if you want; since our tour was longer we spent quite a bit of time outside of the medical school building. The medical center at UChicago is beautiful as well. During this part of the tour, our medical student pointed out something quite impressive: the white coats of Pritzker students are full-length as opposed to the shorter-length coats at the vast majority of other schools. This is a tradition held out of “respect for the role that Prtizker students play on the medical team at UChicago.†Awesome, right!?
Another very special aspect about Pritzker is it’s relatively quite small medical school class dubbed the “Pritzker 88.†A small class undoubtedly allows for more personal attention to each student and more opportunities available for research, etc. The small class size also allows for very generous financial aid offers!
The day ended at about 4:30 with a small debrief by Dr. Carter. My biggest regret from this whole experience is not having more time to spend in the city of Chicago or in the Hyde Park area. From what I saw, Hyde Park definitely has character, and over 90% of Pritzker 1st-year students live there, along with over half of faculty, making a close and special community! My notification date will be December 21st; hoping for an acceptance as I loved this school!
| A: 12/18/15 – ACCEPTED VIA PHONE CALL W/ FULL-TUITION SCHOLARSHIP OFFER. I cannot believe life, I've been smiling stupidly for hours. Pritzker, thank you so much!!!!!!!!
Summary of Experience:
SR: 7/6/15 | SS: 7/30/15 | II: 8/6/15 – first CA invite. Really surprised at how fast this came in considering I took 3 weeks on the secondary. Pressure for this one is real!
| I: 9/15 – Two 30-min interviews, closed file, one faculty MD and one MS2.
Keck, being on the eastern side of LA, is separated from USC's main campus. You can choose from either a 8AM or 9AM start time; I was the latter. Our day started with a wonderful meeting with Dr. Arias, the Dean of Admissions and a sweet yet no-nonsense lady. We had a group discussion about the goal of USC's medical system (serving the poor of Los Angeles, specifically) and about what she looks for when deciding who to invite to Keck. To the common question of "Why Keck?" she even gave us, straight out, what she thought was the only good answer – because of the patient population. Yes, if you have thorough experience and passion for the underserved, you will find yourself at home here. Dr. Arias stated that she desires physicians with integrity, compassion, and the ability to work in a team, among other qualities. She said she's the only one who reads the applications and secondaries pre-interview, so your interviewers will know nothing about you! After the meeting, we had a brief tour led by two MS2s, followed by afternoon interviews.
Clinical opportunities are abound at Keck. Serving a diverse community in need means that patients are more willing to receive attention from medical students, and thus students get opportunities that they likely wouldn't have at university systems in more well-to-do areas – such as UCLA's Reagan, Dr. Arias suggested in a thinly veiled comparison between Keck and "that hospital where famous people are likely to go when they're sick."
The curriculum is systems-based, so you will be learning anatomy, physio and patho all together. Faculty was said by our medical student guides to be exceptionally accessible. There are two cumulative exams per year, which sounds stressful, but the students professed that the style pays off when it comes to studying for Step 1!
I really enjoyed my student interview. A little less sure on my faculty interview; while I overall feel okay about it, I was grilled extensively on Obamacare for the first – we had at least a 10-min conversation on the topic. We talked about the advantages and disadvantages of different reimbursement systems e.g. fee-for-service or outcome-based, and his questions became so detailed I began to realize the limits of my knowledge and started to doubt my answers. However, I don't think he expected me to know everything, and actually took a few minutes to explain some of the more intricate details of the ACA's effect on patient care based on his own experiences as an emergency physician. Overall, even if I feel like I could have done a little better, the interview definitely prepped me for future questions on the topic!
Decision will likely arrive October 15th. Being a very community based school, Keck definitely struck me as a place where I'd likely be happy. Looking forward to hearing back!
| A: 10/15/15 – Via email. Thank you Trojans for showing this one love!
Summary of Experience:
SR: 7/6/15 | SS: 7/30/15 | II: 8/27/15 – "what. really. what. what." –me for about 20 minutes after seeing the email.
| I: 10/15: Two interviews, open file, one 40-45 min with faculty and one 20-25 min with a student.
Day began at 11AM (thankful) with a presentation on financial aid followed by a brief talk by the Director of Admissions, lunch with medical students and faculty (off-record, so no need to impress) followed by a guided tour and then interviews. No fluff in my description because there is little fluff in the interview experience; this is Hopkins, it is taken that you have done your research and and understand why it is an impressive institution, and thus very little time is spent on trying to impress or coddle the applicants. The curriculum and extra-curricular opportunities are given only very brief time for explicit explanation. If you want details, you'll have to talk to the students during lunch, or refer back to the website. I highly recommend you attend the Greeters session the night before/after your interview if you can, the extra time with students is especially helpful when trying to get a feel for the school.
The students here are remarkably amazing. Hopkins picks their classes well. If I would come here, it would probably be because of the prospect of spending four years surrounded by supremely talented, yet well-grounded, future peers. Faculty is, of course, exceptional as well, and the opportunities for mentoring in shadowing and research are overflowing. I expected my interview with one of the Assistant Deans to be a tough trial; it ended up being one of the greatest conversations I have ever had. If you can even call if a conversation, because I probably did about 15% of the talking while the Dean spent 85% of our time talking about his personal experiences at Hopkins, praising my extracurricular experiences and my "good psychology" (based on his reading of my written app), and saying that the future of this world lies in diversity and mixed race individuals. He showed me how he can read my lead 1 EKG (yes, part of my interview involved him demonstrating the use of a cutting edge clinical tool!) using an iPhone app and a special phone case. Then he spent some time convincing me why I should, if accepted, come to their school. Really? Really. Compared to this, the student interview was only pretty good!
I will be frank in saying that I came into this interview simply being happy to be there, and having no expectations or even really a strong desire to be accepted. Post interview, this feeling was largely unchanged; though I would, especially after the great experience of the faculty interview, definitely be thrilled to hold an acceptance, my disappointment at a rejection will be at a minimum.
Why? Because I came into this interview feeling that Hopkins would probably not be the greatest fit for me, and I left my interview with some of this feeling remaining. First, only a minute fraction of Hopkins' students go into primary care; they are very, very big on specialization. That being said, they are adding a primary care track starting with this year's entering class, so it was comforting to know that Hopkins both is aware of this issue and has introduced a concerted effort at remedying it. Second, I heard, from students' own mouths, misgivings about the relationship between Hopkins Medicine and the largely under-served Baltimore community. Students themselves apparently have a great connection to the community, but there remains a history of distrust between Baltimore's citizens and Hopkins physicians; Hopkins also maintains no (zero) student-run free clinics. For someone who has had passionate experiences with the underserved, I feel confident in saying that Hopkins has a ways to go in this area. On the other hand, through its Genes to Society curriculum, Hopkins does seem to place due emphasis on training holistically skilled and culturally and socially competent physicians, and in terms of clinical skills training and research opportunities, it is a supreme institution. And again, the students who go here are simply phenomenal.
First decisions in December. Again, no massive hopes, and things to weigh, but we'll see!
| A: 12/8/15 – Via portal. Accepted to Hopkins!? Whaatttttt. I'll definitely consider it, but as I said before, I just don't think the culture suits me... but I am so honored to have been accepted nonetheless. Thank you JHUSOM!!!
Summary of Experience:
SR: 7/7/15 | SS: 8/3/15 | II: 8/19/15 – Won't be able to bundle this with the other two NYC schools, so it looks like I'll be making another trip back in October. 3/4 NYC schools so far which is amazing!
| I: 10/2015 – MMI, seven stations, six minutes each.
NYU’s interview day was quite short so this summary will be brief.
After Mount Sinai and Cornell, I was thrilled to have the chance to be back in New York! NYU, in comparison to Cornell and Mount Sinai, is located within Manhattan itself, so there’s an even greater abundance of vibrant activity 24/7.
Check-in started at 10:30am. At 11:00am, we were ushered into a conference room where we were given an hour-long presentation on NYU by Assistant Dean McGrath. Featured was NYU's relatively new "Curriculum for the 21st Century." It comprises 1.5 years of pre-clinical which is systems-based and also includes a good deal of focus on doctoring skills. Step 1 is taken after core clerkships; the rest of third year post-Step is free for electives and selectives. NYU also offers a diverse range of dual-degree programs (MPH [w/4 yr accelerated option], MBA, MPA, MA Bioethics, and MS Clinical Investigation). Mention was made of NYU's rapid rise in the the USNWR rankings which administration seems to be quite excited about (the dean told us she was "required to tell us this"). As far as clinical training goes, emphasis was placed on the patient base served by NYU's hospitals, most notably the Bellevue Hospital. NYU recently acquired the Lutheran center, and an anecdote was given about NYU's Dean Grossman purchasing a ferry line so that students and faculty would be able to travel from the main medical campus over to Lutheran, which is down the river. "When he wants something to happen, it happens," Dean McGrath said. She also mentioned a push being made for NYU to eventually become a tuition-free school in the future, but if and when that will actually happen is not yet known; it's something for future applicants to keep an eye on though.
After the presentation was lunch with a few medical students, then after that was the MMI/tour. Applicants are put into two groups, one of which will have the MMI first while the other goes on the tour, and vice versa. I was in the first group and felt fine about the MMI besides one station that featured a completely emotionless interviewer – not sure how I did on that one!
The tour featured Bellevue, Vilcek Residence Hall, and NYU's Sim Center for clinical simulation, which is regarded as being one of the finest in the nation. Bellevue was vibrant, beautiful and historical all at once, which was pretty awesome. As far as Vilcek goes, I would rank it above Cornell's dorms but beneath Mount Sinai. My host's "apartment" there had two bedrooms, one bathroom and a very small conjoining living room/kitchen area – not completely shabby but definitely not as nice as Sinai's.
The day ended when we returned from the tour at around 3:15pm. Overall, I enjoyed my time here, but I didn't get the feels I did at Mount Sinai. No exact word on when we'd hear our decisions.
| A: 1/27/16 – Via email. Yay! Admittedly not as high on my radar as UCSF/UChicago/UMich, but still honored and thankful nonetheless.
Summary of Experience:
SR: 7/14/15 – first UC-screened secondary and it's from my alma mater and top choice. Whew! | SS: 8/7/15 | II: 8/25/15 – FASTER THAN I THOUGHT. I don't feel ready for this yet... so excited yet nervous at the same time! At least I will have 3-4 interviews under my belt by the time this comes. Don't know exactly when it will be yet, they only request preferences of which weekdays you're free.
| I: 10/2015 – MMI with an additional 20-min traditional interview with a admissions committee member (faculty or student).
Due to a brief interview day, the fact that UCLA is transitioning to a new medical school campus, and honestly a lack in information given during the interview day, this summary will be quite short.
There are two sessions to choose from – morning and afternoon. I scheduled for the afternoon, and our day started at 7:45am. Pretty early, but at least it was a beautiful day in Westwood! We were given a brief orientation, and were then immediately whiskered away by bus to a building deeper in Westwood, used by DGSOM for clinical skills training, for the MMI. The MMI itself was fine, although there was one station that I found thoroughly confusing. The 20 minute faculty/student interview occurred right after the final MMI station; I had a student, and for the most part, it was generally relaxed, although he was pretty stoic and explicitly told me I had 30 seconds to answer his final question – not sure if he was trying to apply a little stress, or if he was simply trying to adhere to a strict 20-min time limit.
Immediately after the interview session, we had a round-table debrief with Dr. Theodore Hall, the Associate Dean of Admissions. He asked us what we thought about the station prompts, and I was relieved to hear that the majority of my fellow interviewees were just as confused about the same station as I was. Dr. Hall assured us to not worry about it, insinuated (amusingly) that the station’s difficulty was most likely the faculty interviewer’s fault and that he would have a talk with him, which put us all at ease! He went on to talk a little bit more about the admissions process. The very first acceptances will not be handed out until about January 15th, and then only to a very select few. Most acceptances will be handed out between February and March. 20% of the class will receive the full-ride (tuition + stipend) David Geffen Scholarships, while a few others will receive full-tuition Leaders of Tomorrow Scholarships. Dr. Hall explained that the number of Leaders of Tomorrow Scholarships given depends completely on donations received; last year there were only two given, and the year before that, over 10.
After our meeting with Dr. Hall, we were driven back to the medical campus, where we met with current medical students for our “tour.†I say this because the big future excitement concerning DGSOM is it’s move to the brand new Geffen Hall, currently under construction and scheduled for completion in time for matriculation. While this is exciting, because the current facilities will be almost completely obsolete by next year, our tour didn’t really include much. We began by visiting a small-group classroom, where the students talked about UCLA’s curriculum. PBL is done about twice a week, and the big plus is that there is a good deal of unscheduled time, as opposed to other schools where you might expect to be in class from 8am through the afternoon. We also took a really quick jaunt through Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, where we rode the elevator to the top floor and took in a beautiful view of West LA!
After the tour, we had lunch with the afternoon session (before their MMI) and a faculty member who talked a little about UCLA’s affiliate hospitals and it’s free clinics. After that, we were done! That’s it, if I had more to tell you, I would; my biggest gripe about the entire day is that we didn’t get an info folder/binder to take home with us :/ seriously, UCLA was the only interview I’ve had where we didn’t take away any extra written information about the school. It doesn’t help that the website is pretty lackluster as well… come on, Geffen! Anyways, excited to hear back sometime in the early new year!
| A: 2/2/2016 – Via email (not by letter mail as has apparently been tradition) w/ full-ride David Geffen Medical Scholarship! Email came in about two hours ago and I'm still pretty speechless. I am so very grateful to have been given this opportunity, especially considering my lack of research publications or any such sort of really high-profile achievements. Although I was less impressed post-interview with Geffen compared to other schools, I will definitely consider coming to UCLA extremely thoroughly along with my other options!!!
Summary of Experience:
SR: 8/7/15 – finally! Was getting worried. | SS: 8/24/15 | II: 10/15 – ALL SMILES. Best news ever right before I leave for a lengthy trip to the East Coast.
| I: 11/5/15 – Two 30-min-to-1-hour interviews, closed file, one faculty member and one student.
Ahhhh. UCSF. As far as dream schools go, this would be the one for me. I was a terrible mix of thrilled and nervous the entire drive up to the Bay. Crossing the Bay Bridge, the feels began to hit – I would love to spend the next few years of my life here.
My medical student host’s house was about a 15 minute walk from UCSF’s Parnassus Campus, and waking up early in the morning on interview day, I realized that one random aspect of my interview trail has been completely consistent, regardless of location: my incredible luck in scoring great weather. SF beamed “good morning†on the walk to campus, and I took everything in. Beautiful city, beautiful people. On that note, when I had asked my host about rent payment, he simply said with a coy smile, “It’s a lot,†and wouldn’t elaborate any further -.- But you get what you pay for, right?
Orientation started at 8:00am with a light breakfast. Out of an interview group of about 10-12, there were definitely a majority of California interviewees. We were soon visited by Dr. Wofsy, Associate Dean for Admissions, who had some pearls for us regarding the admissions process at UCSF. The committee doesn’t focus narrow-sightedly on any one area of excellence, he told us. “We take some students who will become leaders in research, some who will become leaders in public policy…†etc. As someone who was always intimidated by UCSF’s formidable reputation as a research powerhouse, this statement really put me at ease. He assured us that getting an interview is by far the hardest achievement of the UCSF application process, and as far as the interviews themselves are weighed, “Your interviewers will write up a one-page summary of their time with you and impression of you, and these are treated essentially as first-impression letters of recommendation from people who did not know you beforehand, and are weighed along with the other recommendations you have already sent us.†Regarding acceptances: “Out of the interviewed applicants, we will accept roughly 1/3, waitlist 1/3, and reject 1/3. The members of the voting committee are therefore told that, by the end of the process, they are to have to divided their votes evenly between the three categories.†Very transparent, and was great to finally hear some philosophy on what goes on behind closed doors.
UCSF will be transitioning to a new 1.5 preclinical yr / 2.5 clinical yr curriculum called Bridges, starting with the incoming Class of 2020. With it’s increased focus on holistic training in population health, social barriers, and healthcare delivery improvement, among many other important yet oft-overlooked principals, Bridges definitely seems to be an exciting move forward for medical education and I would love to partake, as it appears to focus more on the aspects of healthcare that I really care about!
After our orientation and introductory meeting, we were paired with medical students, and accompanied them to their small group sessions. On my day, the topic of discussion was EKG, and I was welcomed by the preceptor as one of their own – literally. This unbelievably cheery man came over and spontaenously gave me (a male) a hug, some chocolate, and told me not to worry about the interviews to come. And when it was time for me to leave, he gave me another hug along with well wishes! Later on, I was told that this particular preceptor is much-loved by the students; there couldn’t have been a more wonderful introduction to UCSF faculty.
After the small-group session, we had lunch, followed by the tour. Some of the Parnassus campus is very sleek, while some parts are notable aged. However, a lot of the campus is undergoing renovation, and over at the Mission Bay campus, a new hospital system was just opened, so things are definitely progressing. My favorite part of the tour was the anatomy lab, which is on an upper-level as opposed to the basement, and thus presented a gorgeous view of SF.
After the tour, I had my two interviews. My student interview was a pleasure, yet I will note that it did last almost exactly an hour, and I did answer questions for that entire duration (though my student definitely kept it conversational) so prepare to possibly speak at great length about yourself. My faculty interview was just about 30-min long, and was also quite relaxed, though I will say my interviewer had a couple questions that had me on my toes! Expect to travel for your faculty interview; if you’re lucky, it will be at Parnassus, but you may also interview at Mt. Zion (which I did), Mission Bay, or SF General Hospital. UCSF has its own shuttle system busing between the locations, and admissions staff will let you know exactly where you need to be and when to make your interviews on time, so no worries! You are free to leave after your second interview.
Before my interview day here, I wondered about UCSF’s reputation as a research powerhouse, and as someone primarily interested in focusing on becoming a holistically-trained provider capable of excellent patient care, I questioned if I would really fit in here. I was so glad to find out that there are so many more dimensions to this school. Patient care, specifically underserved care, IS a huge focus here. There are abundant student-run free clinics, including a Filipino-run clinic which I’d totally be all about if I attended. The new Bridges curriculum, as I said, emphasizes factors in healthcare that I find extremely important. What really amazes me about UCSF is its balance of and excellent reputation in research and clinical care with an unwaveringly strong commitment and relationship with the SF community, especially its underserved populations. I’m really convinced that the tie between SF and its surrounding populations is genuine, and I can’t say that for every school I’ve visited so far.
Dean Wofsy said that we could expect our decisions either in December or January. I would love to come here. It really means something when the biggest complaint you hear about a school from its students is that its white coats are unadorned. That’s UCSF. Pure, down-to-earth, and simply excellent. Please accept me!!!
| A: 12/21/15 – Via email. SO BLESSED & HAPPY. My three top choices post-interview – UMich, UChicago, and UCSF – are now acceptances, and I am so grateful to have the choice between them!!!
