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MD Applicants

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  • accidentprone

  • Application cycles: 05/31/2010
  • Demographics: Male, 49, Caucasian
  • Home state: Colorado
  • Last Active: 05/04/2011
  • Brief Profile: I\'m a carpenter, freelance author, master gardener, artist, and father. I picked 3 parts of the country near to family, and then chose to apply to the best school in each of these 3 places. Luckily all 3 places were very solid with happy, interesting, and friendly students. I was also fortunate to bang out all the interviews in one week.

    Initially I only planned to apply to the University of Colorado since the deal I had with my family was that I would attend there if I got accepted and felt that it was a decent school, but people counseled me to apply to more than one place since the admissions process can be unpredictable.
  • // Applications //

    Application Cycle One: 05/31/2010

    • Undergraduate college: Goshen College (you\'ve probably never heard of this small liberal arts school)
    • Total MCAT SCORE: 520
    • MCAT Section Scores: B/B 130, C/P 130, CARS 130  
    • Overall GPA: 4.00
    • Science GPA: 4.00

    Summary of Application Experience

    I felt that each place was a good fit for me: in terms of program strength JHU > UVA > CU but for location CU > UVA >> JHU. Comparing these schools to each other is probably a bit unfair since I liked them all. It\'s a bit like trying to pick a favorite child: they\'re all unique and great. You can\'t tell how a school will feel from the MSAR, and I felt fortunate that all of these 3 picks turned out to be good for me. The only major difference I picked up on was that the two east coast schools were much more formal (in terms of communications) than CU. Personally I\'m an informal person, at home with my hands in the dirt or swinging a hammer and relating to people in a direct and casual way.

    It was a total coincidence that each school had a brand new medical education building and lots of construction or renovation going on in the medical or research facilities. I know it\'s not about the buildings, but it was still nice to see open, airy learning spaces with lots of natural lighting.

    I highly recommend staying with student hosts and attending any optional student functions if the opportunity arises. At Hopkins my host (a 3rd year student) spent a whole afternoon and evening with me touring me around the town and talking about the school. I also attended the greeters meeting there, and that was a good way to interact with other students. At UVA my host (a 2nd year) took me to a picnic that was attended by 20-30 other students and their families, then later gave me a tour of the campus and town. I didn\'t stay with a host at CU because I live in Denver, but the admissions office has offered to put me in touch with some 3rd and 4th year students so I can get their perspective.

    What I\'ve come to realize is that life happens not only at med school, but to a large degree outside the school. I currently live in a quiet, safe neighborhood a short commute from the CUSOM. I\'ve got a vineyard, orchard and backyard play area to relax with my family and friends in. There is a large park 2 blocks away, numerous bike paths pass nearby, and 3 supermarkets (including a rather impressive Whole Foods) are within walking distance. My mother-in-law lives a few blocks away (great for child care), and our family\'s friends (and social support system) are all here in Denver. I could study elsewhere, and I might have chosen to do so when I was single, but now that I have a family and community ties, it makes sense to stay in Denver. I feel pretty lucky to have put down my roots here--the climate, culture, and community are great, oh, and the med school\'s not bad either.

    Application expenses to date:

    MCAT prep and test fee: around $300
    AMCAS: around $225
    Secondaries: $260
    Interview attire: about $400
    Plane tickets, travel, food, etc.: about $400
    Total: roughly $1600
    Getting an acceptance: priceless, well not really, but I\'m pretty darn happy.

    If you\'re applying, good luck!

    Attended Interview, Rejected

    Johns Hopkins University

    Accepted

    University of Virginia
    University of Colorado

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