II: Interview Invitation
9/5 - Vanderbilt - Great school, awesomely supportive social atmosphere, great new anatomy lab
9/15 - Wake - Not at all what I expected. It didn't seem like students were excited to be there or that they even knew their classmates. Seemed very drab to me. Interviewers seemed confused as to why I was there since I have no connection to NC.
9/29 - Wake - Waitlisted. Came as a bit of a shock since I thought interviews went okay and my numbers are significantly above their averages. I guess the non-NC thing hurt me too much? I hope this isn't indicative of what's to come.
10/3 - Baylor - Awesome school. Social atmosphere reminded me a lot of Vanderbilt, which is a good thing! There were a ton of students involved in the interview day, which demonstrates how involved they are in the school and how much they like it. Definitely moved up on my list!
10/15 - Vanderbilt - Accepted. So happy! Vanderbilt was one of my top choices, so this is a HUGE stress reliever!
10/15 - Wake - Withdrew. I would much rather attend Vanderbilt than hold on to the chance of a Wake acceptance.
10/21 - Baylor - Accepted. Wow! I loved this school so much! I feel so lucky to already have two acceptances!
10/30 - UF and USF - Withdrew. Having made it into Baylor, which is not only a great school but also as cheap as my state schools, I don't see any point in spending the time and money interviewing. Let others who want it more take my spot!
11/4 - WashU - Really nice school and I think my interview went really well. The new Learning and Teaching Center is phenomenal. Students seemed happy, a bit nerdy/awkward though. The anatomy lab wasn't great (first one I've been in that's actually smelled really bad), but the rest of the facilities are truly breathtaking.
11/14 - UCF - I found it hard to get excited about this school - despite their amazingly generous $40,000 per year scholarship - mainly because of the lack of students. It's hard to fall in love with a curriculum or an office building. At the same time, this same quality - newness - excites me because of the many possibilities for trail-blazing and tradition-making that it creates. Should I be accepted, I think the second look weekend would be very important in my decision.
11/15 - WashU - Accepted. Yes! This entire process is going way too much in my favor! I feel so lucky to have so many great choices!
11/17 - Stanford - Incredible, but I don't think it's for me. The small class size is great, as is the weather and huge amount of independence the students have. The price tag is pretty steep (85,000+ for a four quarter year) but somehow debt is really low... I didn't like how all the students spent so much time away from each other doing independent projects and I didn't really 'click' with the place. Not a good fit.
12/3 - UCF - Accepted. Wow! Full tuition and a $20,000 a year stipend will be hard to ignore. Apparently there will be a second look, so I'll definitely be attending that. I have high hopes for this school!
1/15 - Stanford - Waitlisted. Sort of expected. Not altogether displeased. Declined position.
2/1 - Harvard - Rejected? Considering that they said back in September (when I was complete) that all invitations for interviews would be sent out by the end of January, I'm taking this as a rejection. Vanderbilt: still not sending anyone to Harvard Med for years now... What's the grudge, Hahvard? (3/20 - It's official)
2/6 - Yale - All the freedom of Stanford, but none of the disjointedness among students. Great class size (100), great curriculum (the infamous Yale System), and cool students. Let's just hope that having a terrible cold didn't leave too negative of an impression on my interviewers... Will hear back on 3/20.
3/19 - Yale - Accepted! Oh jeez. I'm hyperventilating right now...
4/10 - WashU - Scholarship! Full tuition! Is this really happening? I am really looking forward to the second look in two weeks.
4/23 - Vanderbilt and Baylor - Withdrew. Really, really pathetic financial aid awards $50k in loans? Ummmm....no.
4/25 - WashU - Second Look. Normal people. Awesome facilities. Tons of money. Enough said. Attending!