Brief Profile:
I\'m originally from Illinois, went to school at SIUC and majored in Philosophy with minors in Chemistry and Psychology.
- Joined Teach for America in 2008 -- Teaching third year during application cycle - 150+ hours shadowing in Primary Care and Emergency Settings, mostly - Habitat for Humanity, Boys & Girls Club, University Women\'s Center, Humane Society volunteer experience - Hurricane Ike relief efforts (lived in Houston during hurricane) - Volunteer medical work in Africa and South America, 1 mo. in each country - Extensive international and domestic backpacking - 1.5 years in neuroscience research lab as undergrad. - Philosophy research in Greece & Turkey - Paid employment at school newspaper, working as editor of website - Residence Hall Advisory Council
My science GPA is probably the weakest spot of my application-- unfortunately I ran out of time on the first section of the MCAT, due to lack of practice from Hurricane Ike killing my power for 3.5 weeks and that led to an imbalanced score, but I\'m hoping the MCAT will help.
My overall take-home experience is that it was ridiculous for me to apply so broadly out-of-state. I had worried that, as a Texas transplant, I might not be treated equally with other residents. This was not true. If I could have seen the future, there\'s absolutely no way I would have wasted so much money and time applying via AMCAS. If you are a competitive Texan, and not good enough to get a full ride from some OOS school, I would probably just apply in-state.
The Texas system is amazing-- not just because it gives in-state applicants preference (90% by law), but because despite Texas\' red state bent, it is almost socialistic with respect to medical school tuition. I am very thankful for this, and intend to practice medicine in an underserved part of Texas, partially because I feel I owe it to the state.
Applied
Drexel University
Applying for combined PhD/MSTP? No
Submitted: 06/16/2010
Secondary Completed: No
Interview Invite: No
Interview Attended: No
Waitlisted: No
Accepted: No
Rejected: No
Summary of Experience:
Did not complete secondary after I began to receive interview invitations.
Summary of Experience:
SIU doesn\'t accept applications to their MD program from out of state applicants (even if you grew up and attended undergrad in-state, and at their school).
Summary of Experience:
Snail mail secondary. Thanks, USPS!
CMS gets a lot of apps because of its reputation as a lower-tier school-- I\'m hoping they don\'t just think I\'m applying because of my low GPA. I\'d love going to school in Chicago.
Rejected late in the game with no communication prior.
Summary of Experience:
Easy secondary. One optional question, even though I encountered problems with the form.
I did not attend this interview after receiving so many in-state interviews. This might sound cocky if you\'re reading this, but remember that I was teaching high school at the time and already was missing a lot of time from the classroom-- which I did not like. Not to mention, blowing tons of money on airfare and hotels.
Summary of Experience:
They don\'t tell you there are character limits on the secondary, which makes it sort of a pain in the butt when you write a full-length response then can\'t put it in.
I did not attend this interview after my UT acceptances-- again, the tuition is simply too high to justify.
Summary of Experience:
Very impressive day-- the campus is absolutely beautiful. Having never been to West Texas, I did not know what to expect and thought it would probably be fairly run down. All the student seem happy, my interviewers were very interesting-- one was hilarious and ridiculously qualified and smart, the other was a very cool guy with a lot of insight into the way the school aligns its curriculum to prep students for Step I.
Curricula-wise, this was one of the most impressive schools I\'ve been to. It\'ll be tough to turn down an offer from them if I get one.
Long School of Medicine - University of Texas Health Sciences Center, San Antonio
Applying for combined PhD/MSTP? No
Submitted: 06/16/2010
Secondary Completed: 07/09/2010
Interview Invite: 08/17/2010
Interview Attended: 09/11/2010
Waitlisted: No
Accepted: No
Rejected: No
Summary of Experience:
Awesome, laid-back culture. SA is a nice city. The tour was impressive-- facilites are not the nicest I\'ve seen, but the student culture is one where I genuinely believe everyone thinks of everyone else as family. The grading system lends itself to a lack of competition, but it seems from match lists and board scores that if you want to excel, you certainly can. The programs focusing on border health, and the multiple campuses around TX were also attractive.
Summary of Experience:
I didn\'t read G-Town\'s application instructions closely enough, and discovered after I submitted that they specify two science LoRs. I e-mailed them to see if they were flexible with this requirement, and they said that they were and would be happy to review my application even though I only have one science LoR. Thanks Georgetown!
The interview went very well. D.C. would be an amazing place to live. If it weren\'t for the price tag, this would probably be my top choice. The pre-interview speech by their director of admissions (I think?) was very powerful, and I recommend that anyone lucky enough to hear it take notes and pay attention. Even if you don\'t matriculate to Georgetown (and she\'ll tell you plenty of reasons why you might not want to), it gives you valuable advice in terms of how you might best shape your decision.
Waitlisted! Most of G-Town\'s interviewees are either waitlisted or rejected. Very few end up outright acceptances-- I guess the idea is to cut the class down to those who really want to attend by asking waitlistees to write an additional essay explaining why they want to be accepted, which I will be happy to do.
Summary of Experience:
The tour is the best one (as is the lunch) that I\'ve had so far. The medical center is awe-inspiring in its scope and the amount of resources at your fingertips. My interviewers were both incredibly friendly-- I ended up talking to both for twice as long as I was supposed to, and the first made a phone call to the second to let him know that I was late because of him. Everyone was very cool and laid-back, even our tour guide who wore scrubs and a surg. cap the entire time.
I ranked UT-H above my matched acceptance and was therefore waitlisted (they say anyone that ranks and doesn\'t get in goes on the list). Two months later, I got an e-mail saying I\'d been accepted. I thought through this for all of about ten seconds before replying and accepting my place in their class.
Summary of Experience:
I love that this school waives the application fee for Teach for America and other volunteer organization members. Go Tulane. :-)
Great interview. Low pressure, love the city. Definitely go a few days early to check out NOLA-- the location is the primary selling point of this school unless you\\\'re hardcore about Tropical Disease Medicine.
Wuzzah wuzzah infinity.
I am withdrawing in favor of UT Houston. If Tulane offered me a scholarship that made tuition equal, I would consider it, but with an uncertain economic future for this country and profession, $300k is simply too much to accept as a debt load.
Summary of Experience:
Very cool interview day. I didn\'t realize TX had mountains, but El Paso (at least what I saw of it) has some pretty views. The curricular structure at this school is the most interesting of any I\'ve seen, and they give out a lot of scholarship money.
Yay! Pre-matched! Boo! No scholarship attached! Yay! First medical school in TX acceptance!
Paul Foster School of Medicine is a really amazing place. I withdrew from the class in favor of Houston because I\'ve lived here for so long and want to remain connected to the social network and community I\'ve built here-- I\'m still not certain that I\'m making the right decision, and anyone that gets admitted here is lucky. We will see what happens.
Summary of Experience:
I don\'t have a D.O. letter-- we\\\\\\\'ll see how this affects my chances here.
The culture at this school seems awesome, and the interviewers were very, very cool. They use a closed-file process, so the interviewers just sort of want to get a feel for you as a person; meaning, they don\'t grill you as an applicant. The assistant director of admissions is also a super cool lady who likes bluegrass. :-)
w00t! Pre-matched but did not rank to match in February. I was not enthralled with the location, and while I appreciate certain aspects of osteopathy, I didn\'t want to spend my clinical years practicing it.
