Summary of Experience:
I actually really liked Sinai! Of all the schools with which my post-bac program had linkage relationships, I came the closest to applying to Sinai. I think they're very non-trad friendly and in a great location. But in the general application year, they were unresponsive to my in-the-area emails when I was interviewing in NYC, and when I hadn't heard from them by mid-November, I decided I was done with interviewing and withdrew.
Summary of Experience:
I applied without knowing much about Irvine. I ended up withdrawing after my Mayo acceptance (which I was very excited to receive) because I couldn't picture attending UC Irvine over Mayo.
Summary of Experience:
Had very bad interview experiences here. (One interviewer feigned falling sleep as I described my research.) I knew it wasn't the right school for me after the interview day, and I withdrew as soon as I had an acceptance elsewhere.
Summary of Experience:
Johns Hopkins' campus and hospitals are beautiful and impressive. On my interview day, though, I was left with the impression that it was not a very friendly place. I know you're being judged at any med school interview - but at Hopkins I felt it acutely the whole day long. My student interview went terribly, which may have contributed to my being waitlisted. I withdrew immediately because I am not playing the long game and didn't feel it was a good match.
Summary of Experience:
Pritzker has done everything right. It has been the most welcoming of schools, and if I were running a medical school admissions department, I would run it just like this. I think anyone would be lucky to join one of their cohorts of 88!
Summary of Experience:
Our nation's oldest medical school and one of its finest. I thought that Penn had the best interview day in terms of being the most informative. I left with a great sense of what Penn was like (smart, innovative, team-based, flexible) - and I loved it. Penn is near my family, which would be a great support system for during school, and it was one of my top choices going into this cycle.
Withdrawing from Penn was one of the hardest choices I ever have had to make. I couldn't talk my husband into more time in PA. I'll definitely be missing my family.
Summary of Experience:
UCSF. Fabulous school in the beautiful and oh-so-expensive city that my husband loves. This one pulls the heartstrings to be sure. In many ways, when I went back to do my pre-med coursework, it was with the hope of coming to study medicine here. But it wasn't a good financial option. If I hadn't had such substantially better offers elsewhere... then I would have been here.
Summary of Experience:
Very impressed with Vanderbilt. The way they carefully designed their new curriculum was incredibly thoughtful and smart. Nashville seems like an exciting place to live for four years.
Summary of Experience:
UC Davis always felt like a school where I'd be genuinely happy (and judging by the current students, that seems true). I really appreciated their extremely quick turn-around on an admissions decision and the thoughtfulness of the personalized revisit. Withdrew after UCLA acceptance.
Summary of Experience:
There's so much that I really like about Harvard (that hardly makes me unique). The students are laid-back – or at least make an effort to appear so. Yet there’s still that Harvard undercurrent of “everyone here is amazing and has to put in effort to stay amazing and not fall behind in amazingness.”
Withdrew, largely due to financial considerations.
Summary of Experience:
WashU's persistent outreach worked to get me to apply. It was great how quickly the whole secondary to interview process went with this school. The campus was beautiful, and I have no doubt that the medical center is fantastic. The students seemed young to me (I kept thinking of them as "kids" in my head); perhaps the fact that many of them live in the dorm added to this. I went on this interview trip on my own, but ultimately I don't think my husband or I ever really got into the idea of living in Missouri. So it was largely a geographical decision for us. Withdrew.
Summary of Experience:
I applied mostly based on location (can't be the only one to do that). Bellevue does seem like a fantastic place to train, and that's clearly the school's main selling point. Withdrew because NYU wasn't financially a good option (expensive tuition + really high cost of living).
Summary of Experience:
Duke feels like a powerfully energized place where exciting things are happening. I applied for their Primary Care Leadership Track and think it's a great opportunity for a very tailored educational experience. Duke is the only school whose interview day made me cry - in a good way. RW goes deep when he speaks to the students and reminded me that it's not the application cycle that matters; it's being there for patients when they need you most.
Withdrew, largely due to financial considerations.
Summary of Experience:
This was a dream school going into this application year. Mayo was the most professional school I visited, where the students really felt like colleagues who were part of the medical teams - and I would love that. I think it would be a wonderful atmosphere in which to train. Ultimately, this came down to geography: the town of Rochester is just so small. My husband couldn't see living there. It was with a good bit of regret that I withdrew!
Summary of Experience:
Last interview invite that I received (I was beginning to lose hope), but Geffen just runs at a different (slower) pace than other schools. I love the block-scheduling, the reasonable classroom time and the guaranteed married student housing. I get the sense I could manage a great work-life balance here. UCLA makes sense for someone who ultimately wants to practice in California. There were many reasons to pick UCLA.... and so I did! This is the school that I'll be attending.
