Submitted to AMCAS/AACOMAS July 2008, verified end of July
Took MCAT 9/13/08 - scores came out Oct 14th to AMCAS; released Oct 27th to AACOMAS
September 2008 - I took my MCAT (first time). I was distracted by other life issues at the time, and made an incredible mistake by not doing any practice exams. I just reviewed some notes and sat for the test without any preparation. I definitely regret it now, as I could have done MUCH better if I had actually prepared for it.
November 2008 - Interviewed at University of Arizona Phoenix and Tucson campuses. Absolutely loved both campuses. I would do anything to get into the UofA. Phoenix was preferred due to location, but the I like that the Tucson med school is in one building, as Phoenix is more fragmented. I know my stats are quite low (for med school), but my ECs, LORs, and interviews were excellent. I can only dream about getting accepted here, and hope to get accepted somehow, even if it is off the wait list. The admissions office told me that they look at the \'whole person\' not just stats, so I can only keep my fingers crossed for a chance to get in. At the end of November I sent the UofA a Letter of Intent, committing to matriculate at the school if accepted, as I am dead set on attending here if possible. HOPE...
December 2008 - Interviewed at St. George\'s University. The school is in Grenada (Caribbean), but the interview was in the U.S. This is the only foreign school I applied to. I think I\'d prefer going to a D.O. school, but if I have to go international, I think SGU would be the best choice.
January 2009 - I interviewed at Midwestern University/AZCOM. The facilities and location seemed nice. I was also impressed that research opportunities were available to students, and that faculty were hired based on their ability to teach. I am concerned about clinical rotations, as one of the assistant deans told us that we aren\'t likely to get our first nor second choices in terms of where we want to rotate and just have to take what they give us. The reason this is a concern for me is due to a lack of teaching hospitals available.
January 2009 - My ATSU-SOMA interview in Mesa also went fairly well. I was highly impressed by the school\'s innovative curriculum. This school would be great for someone interested in primary care. The staff was wonderful, and I enjoyed the OMM presentation. My main concern about the school, however, is that it seems students have to do a lot of self-study for board exams. There are also not many full time faculty, so that might be an issue if students need assistance. Also, since SOMA\'s first entering class are only 2nd years, there are no board scores available yet. So while the school has a LOT of potential, I am still concerned about the risks.
February 2009 - I just found out that I have been accepted to ATSU-SOMA! This is my first acceptance, and I can\'t say enough how excited and relieved I am. I was really stressed about having to reapply to med school next year if I didn\'t get in anywhere this year... and getting my first acceptance is an incredible load off my shoulders. Thank you SOMA for believing in me.
February 2009 - I got accepted to AZCOM! I am definitely excited about this one. It\'s right in my hometown, so I\'d get to be close to family and friends, which is great for support. I paid my matriculation and housing deposits. Most likely I will be matriculating here, unless University of Arizona comes through for me.
February 2009 - After getting accepted to AZCOM, I declined my DMU and Nova interviews. This was difficult, as both of them are great schools. Both programs seem amazing, and having to let the schools know I was declining my interviews was painful. However, it\'s probably best that I live close to home, as family support means a lot to me.
February 2009 - I declined my ATSU-SOMA acceptance. This was pretty tough, as the admissions office had been so wonderful to me this cycle, and I am grateful to them for their support and belief in me. However, I think AZCOM is a better fit for my goals.
March 2009 - Found out I was waitlisted (in the upper 70s) at the University of Arizona - Tucson campus, and rejected at the Phoenix campus. This school was originally my top choice, but oh well. It\'s nice to finally have some closure. I am happy about that. Looks like AZCOM it is.
March 2009 - I found out I was accepted to St. George\'s University. The idea of having an \'MD\' degree and living on a tropical island are definitely tempting. However, I am not sure that being a foreign graduate is worth it, especially as it is getting harder for IMGs to match US residencies. It seems like AZCOM is still a better choice.
April 2009 - Declined acceptance offer to St. George\'s University.
May 2009 - Starting to get some rejection letters from the DO schools that never contacted me, like CCOM, PCOM-GA etc. My stats were just fine for those schools, and I consider myself a well-rounded applicant, so I wonder why they didn\'t give me a chance to interview. Oh well, the truth is that I would have still gone to AZCOM over those schools. I understand also that the admissions offices get flooded with applications, so they must get overwhelmed with deciding who to interview. I am merely curious as to whether they consciously rejected my application or if they never got around to looking at it - and just send me a rejection once they already had their class full. The reason I am wondering this is because I called a few of the DO schools back in March who I hadn\'t heard from to find out my status, and was told by the admissions office that my file was still not yet reviewed even though it was complete back in November. So I am just wondering if I got rejected by default of the class being full. Also, I didn\'t get any rejection letters from any of the DO schools earlier in the season, thus this supports my hypothesis of some schools never having looked at my file until the very end of the season. Thus the \'rejection by default\'. I don\'t mean to sound arrogant at all... this is just what I assume, since my GPA was better by AACOMAS calculation and my application was otherwise solid. Oh well. I am lucky that my in-state DO school accepted me so I can live near family.
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August 2010 - I am just starting my 2nd year at AZCOM and am very happy here. Sure, there are a few things about the school that bug me on occasion, but for the most part, my school is a really good fit for me. When I was going through the application process, I didn\'t initially know all that much about DO schools, and thus applied to far too many MD schools. At this point in time, I no longer have qualms about the DO degree and my family also fully supports my decision to be here. They are very proud of all that I\'ve accomplished. Medical school is HARD! I never could have imagined studying this much, but I love it, and am very happy with the path I\'m on. :-) Good luck to those applying... I truly hope you get accepted to medical school if you truly have the passion and desire to be a compassionate and dedicated physician someday.
