Brief Profile:
M3 update (Fall 2015): Whew, it's been a hell of a ride so far. I'm really happy with my choice of UIC - it's not perfect, but no school is, and it was absolutely the right choice for me. I made it through M1, M2, Step 1 (very happy with my score) and almost half of my rotations. It happens really fast, so be prepared, work hard but ***keep doing the things you like*** and enjoy! It's a ridiculous privilege to be here. Good luck to everyone applying!
In a nutshell, my application was strong on clinical experiences and slightly nontraditional, with a middling MCAT. I came from a social sciences background and took classes (no formal post-bacc program) while working after college. Myers Briggs INFJ.
Thanks to paul411 for the general formatting. His link to how to get the code for the formatting is no longer working, but please feel free to PM me if you'd like me to give you the code to format your MDApps like this (alternatively just pull the source code and adapt it).
Click here to open all sections. Ideally it should also work to click on titles one by one, but this may not be compatible with all browsers (I believe Internet Explorer and Firefox both have some problems there, but should work on Chrome or Safari).
This is for all you guys unhappy with your MCAT score. My practice MCAT scores were much higher, so I was definitely a little disappointed at first with a 31R on the real thing. For the month prior to that, my scores were all 36-38 (between 4-5 practice tests). Moreover, I was consistently getting 12-14 on my PS sections, and that became my worst section on the real test. Despite taking about 12 or so timed practice tests, I ran out of time on the PS section and I think that ended up kind of throwing me off for the rest of the exam. Historically I've been quite a good standardized test taker, so yeah, this was not my best performance.
I seriously considered retaking it. On the one hand, I was confident I could do better, and I knew that if I had my heart set on top schools that realistically I needed to retake it. I did have high hopes for top schools, but also recognized that getting in *somewhere* was more important than getting in to any one school. Also, with my crazy schedule at the time, giving myself enough time to study for the retake would mean testing in September and getting my results in October instead of June. To me, delaying all my applications that much just for a (pretty small, let's be honest) chance at top schools was not the best idea.
I'm not going to give any tips on how to do well on the MCAT since I'm not super proud of my own performance, but take a look at the rest of my application (activities etc) if you'd like to know what the strong points of my application were.
Just a couple tips here - you can strategize a bit with state residency.
1. If you want to stay in a particular state, think ahead and make sure you have residency in the state you want. Get your drivers license, register to vote in that state, etc. Even private schools may give you a second look-over if they know you are more likely than other applicants to actually attend in that state.
2. Some states will give you in-state tuition for grad/professional school if you graduated from a high school there. Look up programs like that in your state to see if you might be eligible for in-state tuition at more schools! This worked for me for Ohio (check out the Forever Buckeye program).
3. I could be wrong on this, but some people seem to finagle getting in-state tuition for where their parents are living/working.
4. It's possible to switch residencies pretty easily in certain cases, like getting married, which can be useful if you want to go somewhere where your spouse/fiancee gets a job.
First, a helpful link: Depakote's PS Tips. After reading and editing dozens of PSes, I have a few tips to add here too.
1. This echoes Depakote a bit, but most importantly, the PS addresses why you want to go to medicine. The #1 problem I see is that people get away from that prompt. Stay focused on your path to medicine via your experiences with the medical field (or research, sciences, etc). Other things (family, hobbies, academics) can make a cameo, but only as it relates to your path to medicine. In the same vein, things that did have a role in motivating you to go into medicine should make an appearance, even if they're in your activities section. In the activities section, address what you did, and in the PS, you can give slightly more personal details, maybe a story, and tell the reader what you learned.
2. The next biggest problem I see is that people use language they're not comfortable with, many times words picked from a thesaurus. PSes do not need to be written in particularly fancy language, and using words you're not comfortable with runs the risk of using them incorrectly, so I'd recommend staying away from the thesaurus to the extent that it's possible.
3. I also agree with Depakote that tons of people end up apologizing for things they do. Instead of apologizing for what you didn't do (e.g. "I worked in a research lab, but most of my work was just simple data-entry"), emphasize what you did do, what you saw and what you learned (e.g. "Through working with the data I saw from our study, I began to see a trend that X" or "Working with research subjects, I found that X" or even "In contributing to this research, I learned that X").
4. I'm not sure I agree that a good PS needs some 'unifying theme' other than what motivates you to go into medicine, but I do think it needs a coherent story. Use transitions, and don't be afraid to reference past paragraphs (e.g. "I found that X skill that I had learned in experience A was useful in experience B when..."). Life isn't necessarily a clean narrative, but for the sake of your PS, write it in a way that is.
5. I would avoid letting on that your parents/family members pressured you to go into medicine. Your PS is about why YOU want to go into medicine, not why other people want you to go into medicine.
6. Don't say anything negative. Instead of saying anything is bad, talk about what you want and what your experience was. If what you want doesn't correlate to the experience you had, that's understandable, but if you just put down whatever it was, it's you that ends up looking bad/closed-minded/naive/what have you.
I believe my activities section was a strength of my application. I had very good clinical activities in particular, and activities that I stuck to for a good long time.
It is worth noting that I interpreted 'most meaningful' activities to be the most meaningful in terms of my path to medicine, and as such, the three experiences I listed as Clinical were my three marked 'most meaningful.' I know other successful applicants who did not interpret this like I did.
Clinical: - Hospice internship - full time for a summer; visiting people in their homes and in nursing homes, sometimes accompanying nurses/physicians/chaplains/social workers for their visits as well.
- ER Scribing - full time for ~1.5 years; see patients alongside physician and manage the patient charts. I stopped at one point to give myself extra time for classes/applications, and then later in the application cycle I scribed for another ~6 months in a different hospital.
- Health Leads - 6 hrs/week for an academic year; social-work-esque volunteering with patients in an inner-city primary care clinic, connecting them to resources like food, employment, housing etc.
- During the application season:Volunteering at a Free Clinic - began volunteering as a Spanish interpreter in a free clinic in September of the application cycle, and later also began doing Triage volunteering, including taking vital signs, recording chief complaint, etc. This is something I updated schools with over the course of the cycle.
Research: - Work as a Research Assistant/Recruiter in a lab - part-time during academic year, full time during summers for ~2 years; run subjects through studies, take physiological measurements on subjects, recruit and screen subjects for inclusion to the studies, enter and check data, etc
- Social Sciences research for BA Honors Thesis, with research grant awarded - 1 term of research while studying abroad
Leadership: - Managerial role as ER Scribe - full time for 7 months; managed a team of 18, resolving conflict, liaising between physicians and scribe company, training new scribes, keeping all scribes up to date on new practices, etc
- Various leadership roles in dormitories and in extra-curricular groups, including an elected position on the board of the housing cooperative where I lived
My LORs came from: 1. Bio lab professor at undergraduate institution 2. Physics professor at post-bacc institution 3. BA Honors Thesis Advisor at undergraduate institution 4. Program Manager from Health Leads 5. ED Medical Director where I did my Scribing 6. Volunteer Coordinator from my hospice internship
I also had a Committee Letter from my undergrad institution. We were required to get 2 LORs from science professors (1 and 2), 1 from a non-science professor (3), and 1 from an extracurricular (4). Alumni were expected to submit a LOR relating to what they had been doing since graduation (5) and then there was an option extra one who could be from anything (6).
I think my LORs were strong. I can at least definitely vouch for two of them, because two of my writers sent me a copy of what they had written :P. Another writer asked me what I wanted her to include on the letter.
Don't stress about not knowing your science profs that well. I don't think anybody knows them that well.
Creating a good school list will save you lots of time and money. Overall, I'd encourage you to come up with some reason why the school is a good fit for you before you apply there. Not only will this help you come up with a good list of schools for you, but it will also help you with your "why X school?" essays when secondaries roll around. Here are some factors I used when I was making my list:
Location
Even if location is as important to you as it was to me at the beginning of this cycle, I'd recommend applying broadly. I almost only applied to the schools in the Chicagoland area, but I'm glad that I applied elsewhere even though I will end up staying in Chicago for school. It really gave me a better idea of what's out there in terms of options and gave me more options to play with when it came to choosing a school, allowing me to really decide what my priorities were for a school.
That said, I have seen people apply to only the one location where they want to stay and get in. More power to them, but I'd be nervous about it backfiring, to say the least.
It's smart to apply where your stats match those of the matriculants to the school, but I'd say feel free to apply to a few reaches too, especially if you have other connections/reasons to go there/strengths in your application that give you a better shot there. At the same time, if it's a significant reach and you have no real reason to go there other than the fact that it's a good school, you can probably knock it off the list - I should've done this with Wash U. With their emphasis on stats, it was just not realistic for me. Finally, I'd also caution against viewing any school as a safety - safeties in the medical school application process are a myth.
The following factors might not sway you strongly enough to apply or not apply to a certain school, but can be useful to think about, if only to get an idea of where you want to go:
Curriculum - Does the school emphasize PBL/small group learning? Will there be giant curriculum changes next year? Is it a normal-abnormal or systems-based curriculum? Schedule - Do they have only morning classes? Is class attendance mandatory? Do they have note-taking programs? What about video-recorded lectures? Grading and Evaluation - Does the school do Pass/Fail grading? How often are tests/quizzes given? What style are the tests/quizzes given in? Are they computer-based like the USMLE Step 1? Prestige - Decide how much this matters to you - don't apply to a school you wouldn't go to, and if you only apply to top-tier schools, be prepared for your chances to be lower for admission anywhere. Price - Self-explanatory.
Applying to medical school is expensive, definitely. I was surprised to see that my total number was actually smaller than most of the numbers I've seen floating around, especially for including MCAT costs. Here's my cost breakdown and tips on keeping costs down.
MCAT: $35 per AAMC practice test, plus prep books and $235 for test registration --> ~$700 Primaries: $160 for the first school, $34 for each after that, 17 total for me. --> $738 Secondaries: Ranging from $25 (thanks, Cincinnati) to $130 (no thanks Gtown), with an average of ~$84. --> $1335 Interviews: Estimated costs, including suit, travel, accommodations, etc. --> ~$705 Total: $3478
MCAT Costs
As for prep, I decided not to take a course in order to save me both time and money. That said, I don't think I ended up devoting the time to MCAT studying that I probably should have. Still, from what I've heard, the MCAT courses are not worth their weight in dollar bills, but certainly there are differing opinions there. Books are certainly cheaper, but these too can add up if you buy a bunch of them. And of course, the $235 for registration is unavoidable, at least the first time you take the test, but that cost gets pricey real quick if you end up taking the test more than once, which I considered doing. Of course, if you can, try to prepare yourself as well as you can and only take it once, but if you really think you can significantly improve your score, I do think retaking it can be worth the extra $235/prep money.
Primary Application Costs
Apply broadly, but don't apply anywhere you wouldn't *realistically* go if it were the only place you were accepted to.
Secondary Application costs
Weigh your options. Some schools that have astronomical amounts of applications to sift through (GTown, GWU, RFU, looking at you) and astronomical secondary fees to boot ($130, $125 and $105 respectively). At the schools that have these crazy fees, think carefully about how much you want to *actually attend school* there and how clear your reasons are for wanting to go there. Do you have family ties? Did you go there for undergrad? Is there something else pulling you to that school that you could easily make clear to them? Weigh your interest (not just your numbers) against your chances before shelling out for the application.
Interview Costs
I was ok with splurging on the suit (~$340) in order to put my best foot forward, but I don't think you really need to spend that much. As for costs for travel and accommodations: my relatively low cost here was because a) I drove to all my interviews, no matter the distance, and b) everywhere I interviewed I knew someone and crashed on their couch (staying with a current student works too). I know this doesn't quite work out for everyone, but I'd try for it if you can - it saved me hundreds, if not thousands of dollars.
Other options that I did not use but think could potentially be useful: Couchsurfing and AirBnB. That's if you're ok with the awkward factor and know how to use these sites safely. For airfare, I've found this website to be even more helpful than more popular airfare sites. It'll find you the cheapest fare, often cheaper than Kayak, but the downside is you have to go to Kayak or another site to actually buy the tickets. If that's too much work, Kayak works pretty well too.
// Applications //
Application Cycle One: 06/04/2012
Undergraduate college: Top 5
Undergraduate Area of study: Psychology/Social Sciences
Institution: Took most of my pre-med classes at a state school after graduation. Not a formal post-bacc program.
Area of Study: Premedical Studies
Total MCAT SCORE: 511
MCAT Section Scores:
B/B 127,
C/P 126,
CARS 130
Overall GPA: 3.82
Science GPA: 3.86
Summary of Application Experience
Note: I put the timeline of my application in for each school; click on it to see.
Best of luck, everyone applying! Feel free to PM me on SDN if you have questions about my application cycle or tips for yours, especially if you have a similar application. I hope this has been helpful!
I submitted my primary application late on June 5th, the first day AMCAS accepted apps, and was verified 6/19. Started getting secondaries on 6/29 and made every effort to return them within 2 weeks of getting them. My Committee Letter Packet hadn't gone out until 8/8 though, so for most schools I had my secondary in significantly before I was marked complete. I sent my primary to a few more schools in early September, and had my last secondaries in by mid-Sept.
After buying my interview suit in the summer and then being complete for over a month before getting any IIs, I have to say I was a little nervous I'd never have a use for my suit. If you get to feeling that way, I'd highly recommend making every effort to stay off of SDN. It'll likely only serve to make you more nervous, and you probably don't need that. Everyone's timeline is different, and just to illustrate that, I'm putting my chronology of interview invites below also showing that a super early interview is not essential for acceptance. Remember that I was complete at all of these schools on the exact same day in early August (with the exception of GW). Just because they invite people who were complete after you were does not necessarily mean you were passed up!
One more note on the dreaded "hold" category. It can pan out, but probably only if you update them with your activities (yes, you still have to be doing stuff even though you're applying) and your continued interest in the school. I know continuing to update schools is tiring, but many schools like to hear if you're really interested.
------------------------------------ Interview Invites: 9/14: Case Western (waitlisted) 9/19: Cincinnati (accepted) 9/20: Rosalind Franklin (waitlisted-->accepted) 10/12: Oakland (withdrew pre-interview) 10/18: George Washington (waitlisted) 11/12: Saint Louis U (accepted) 11/27: U Of Illinois (accepted) 11/30: UChicago (waitlisted) -------------------------------------
As for prep, the #1 thing I'd recommend is to practice with an actual person. You can get an idea of what questions you might be asked through SDN Interview Feedback and rehearse answers to common questions, but still, saying them to a real person (even if it's your mom or best friend) is better practice.
Girls, if you're buying a skirt suit, sit down in it at the store when you try it on. You don't want to find out that it rides up uncomfortably when you're at an interview (I found this at a practice interview, thankfully in time to exchange the skirt!). Finally, know what you put where in your application. This is especially important if your interview is quasi-open file - you don't want to sit there and wonder if they knew about that particular activity, or if that was in a different part of your application that they didn't see.
During interviews, at least for me, the key to doing well in interviews is to remain calm. That can be easier said than done - I had the first real panic attack of my life the night before my first interview, and nearly had another smack dab in the middle of my second - but just learning how to get my heart to slow down a bit is helpful. For me, I find that holding my breath for a bit and then letting it out really slowly is helpful. The other trick, I think, is to genuinely like your interviewer (perhaps also easier said than done sometimes :P). Not only will that make you more comfortable, but it will probably rub off on them and they'll find themselves liking you too. Sounds corny, I know, but it can work I think.
Brace yourself - decisions will come, even though sometimes they take their sweet time. I'm so thankful that this cycle has been successful for me - that first acceptance was infinitely relieving and made subsequent interviews (everything after October 24) much less stressful.
Waitlists are rough. A couple tips, though: for one, SDN school-specific threads can be helpful in determining if the school is one of those who waitlists pretty much everyone. The school's email/status/whatever might also say something like "lots of people in this category ultimately get accepted." If it does and you really want to go there, *update them* and tell them how much you like them. And hey, some schools end up accepting lots, even before May 15 - I got accepted to RFU in February after being alternate-listed in November!
As for me, I've finally decided where I'll be attending - UIC :D. I'm still technically holding onto one waitlist (at Pritzker), but ultimately I think I've found the best possible program for me as someone interested in inner-city primary care. Here were the most important factors in my decision:
1. Location (not only for me, but also for my SO who will be moving with me) 2. Cost 3. Curriculum/Grading
With Cinci and UIC in my hands, RFU and SLU were too expensive, without offering significant advantages in the other categories. Cinci would be slightly cheaper than UIC for me (in-state tuition for both), but the difference was small enough that being around my friends and family in Chicago, not to mention not having to significantly relocate both myself and my SO, far outweighed what will end up being a COA difference of maybe 15K total.
Applied, Withdrew
Michigan State University
Applying for combined PhD/MSTP? No
Submitted: 06/18/2012
Secondary Completed: No
Interview Invite: No
Interview Attended: No
Waitlisted: No
Accepted: No
Rejected: No
Summary of Experience:
Didn't complete secondary partly due to stated 2 week deadline that I couldn't make at the time (was prioritizing other secondaries, school, work, etc...). 12/10 got an email saying now they're withdrawing my app because I didn't pay the secondary fee. Guess that was a pretty soft two week deadline... :P
Summary of Experience:
Just checked my status and it says "file closed." I mean, I already knew it was a rejection since their last interview day was 2/15, but there's their official notice, I guess. Ah well.
Summary of Experience:
Knew they were done interviewing, so I was just waiting for the rejection, but it's still a little bit of a bummer because I really would've liked to have a chance here.
Timeline: 8/23: 'under review', 10/30: 'file has been reviewed..." hold status.
Summary of Experience:
One thing SDN is good for: showing you you're not alone in rejection. I got my rejection email as part of a huge wave of rejections. I'm not surprised by this, but a little bummed as this was one of my top choices. For reference, my status was 'file complete and under review' as of 8/29.
Summary of Experience:
I might've chosen MCW over my current acceptances (Cincinnati, Urbana campus of UIC) if I got an outright acceptance, but at this point they're only interviewing for the waitlist and even if I did get an interview, I wouldn't fight to get off the waitlist here.
Summary of Experience:
6/14/13: Received an email from Pritzker offering me a place on their waitlist - I accepted the position, though definitely didn't expect an acceptance to come of it.
4/11/13: Got my 'continued' letter. Pretty bummed, since this was my first choice from the beginning of the cycle, but can't say I'm surprised.
Interview Summary: Pritzker's interview day blew me away. The admissions office seems like they are not only among the friendliest, but also the most organized and the most generous. I have to say that the students here, too, were just so down to earth and awesome, and the group of interviewees was my favorite of really any group I've been with so far. I came out of my interviews feeling really great about how they went. My stats are on the low side for Pritzker, but they talk a lot about "the Pritzker fit" at interview day and I felt like the fit was perfect, so I'm hoping that'll shine through. Seriously, the interview confirmed all of my best impressions of the school. Unfortunately, they only accept ~25-30% of interviewees, which is going to keep me holding my breath until I hear back. Hoping for some excellent news...
Timeline: 8/15 on hold for later review; sent a couple updates over the next few months
Summary of Experience:
5/15/13: Withdrew. I loved Case, but being in Chicago is a higher priority for me.
3/29/13: Got the official alternate list email.
11/1/2012: Put on 'post-interview hold'. Pretty bummed. I loved this school.
Interview Summary: Ohmygosh their curriculum. I loves it. My students hosts had already sold me on it before I even went into the interview day, but I'm even more sold afterward. Even first years get tons of clinical experiences, and they have a lot of self-directed, case-based learning, which is so awesome. Plus, they pull it off in a really laid-back way, so that you can learn in the way that's best for you. My faculty interview, I think, went pretty well, and I really liked my interviewer (I guess those two things go together pretty commonly). The student interview was a little odd, if anything more formal/less conversational than my faculty interview, which took me aback a bit but I think I pulled it off okay by the end. I have to say that there seemed to be more 'oh, well I've been to THREE interviews so far!' in this group of interviewees than in my first interview, but that doesn't reflect on the school. Seriously, incredible school, incredible students and faculty, and an incredible education. I would be honored to be able to come to school here.
Summary of Experience:
5/8/13: Withdrew from the waitlist.
3/15/13: Got an email with a form to fill out if I wanted to stay on the waitlist. Filled it out, reaffirming my interest in the school.
1/10/13: Alternate-listed. I really got good vibes from this school, so it's really a bummer to receive a prompt waitlist decision (~5 weeks when they told me it would be 8-10 weeks). Still, they say they do end up taking a fair amount of people who get waitlisted, so I think I might still have a chance here if I continue to show interest.
Interview Summary: I got a really good impression of this school. The interview itself was fully closed, one with a student and another with a faculty member. One thing that stuck out to me about the school is that their facilities are really beautiful. The group I interviewed with, too, was very friendly and I felt like the students were really laid back and personable. In terms of curriculum, the school has pretty much all if the learning resources and programs I'm looking for, though it does have a pretty packed lecture schedule (though lecture attendance isn't mandatory, so you get to decide how to learn the material). The city is beautiful and Foggy Bottom seems like a nice neighborhood. The only drawback is the cost, and it does seem to be significant between tuition and living costs (never realized how cheaply I live, I guess). Still, despite the cost, I would have loved to be a student here.
Summary of Experience:
4/6: Withdrew. Ultimately I can only choose one school, and I just see that it will not be this one - it is the most expensive school on my list and one I wasn't that excited about.
Accepted in February from the 'alternate list'. Apparently they also had a 'waitlist' that I was never put on, but a lot of people also moved from the waitlist to the alternate list and were ultimately accepted, so they seem functionally pretty similar.
Interview Summary: I enjoyed interviewing here, but I wasn't on my best interview game and that might affect my reactions. I think my interviews actually went pretty well, but I was exhausted (this was the last in a string of several interviews) and distracted (knowing that another school might be making a decision on my application today). Anyway, the first thing I noticed was that the admissions people here were just absolutely the best. They really were very warm and welcoming. As for the school, the most salient point for me was that it is not physically attached to a hospital. On the one hand, this is actually good - it means that they have made a ton of hospital affiliations all over the Chicagoland area, which is great for students to explore. On the other hand, it doesn't have the trappings of a medical institution, I think that not being connected to a hospital might make it more difficult for them to offer much clinical integration into the curriculum for the first two years. I think there are opportunities - they might just be more difficult to find. Note: a current RFUMS student contacted me and confirmed this to be a correct impression, but also mentioned (and this is completely valid) that early clinical exposure is nore really the most important thing about medical schools.
4/5/13: Second Look Event attended. I thought their presentations were generally very well done. I also got to explore the city a bit more than I had before, and could definitely see myself living in the city. Somehow, though, I ended up with an image of the school that was less positive than I had started out with. My overall impression is that the school is not quite as engaged in the urban community as some of the other schools are that I'm looking at, and the diversity of the school was kind of lacking. As someone who came from a similarly white/suburban bubble and was able to get myself out of that for college, going back to that mindset is not what I want to do. That said, I'm sure there are opportunities to get out into the community - they might just not be what the school emphasizes about itself.
10/24/12: ACCEPTED! Feeling so on top of the world right now.
Interview Summary: I was really happy with several things about this interview. Since they're known for it, I'll start with the MMI. For the most part I think it went well, and the interviewers were all nice and supportive (none of them really played devil's advocate too aggressively). The scenarios weren't really that bad, and though some of them were tough to really pick a 'right' answer, it made it clearer that they care more about your reasoning than your answer. The other big positive about the day was that Dean Manuel was super up-front and straightforward about everything that happens in the process, which I really appreciated. Finally, I really like their integrated curriculum and especially their primary care 'clerkship' in the first two years, especially as I'm potentially looking to go into primary care. Their slightly older hospital is a bit of a mishmash with the newer medical school, but I do think they have a lot of nice facilities and that it would be a great medical education. I'd be happy to end up here and am hoping to hear good news back soon!
Interview Summary: Oddly enough, I did not think this interview went all that well until the tail end. My interviewer seemed very unimpressed pretty much the entire time, and then told me at the end that she thought I'd be a great fit. This was a pretty short interview day, and especially light on the presentations (which was ok in my book). I really like their new curriculum, though I have my reservations just about the fact that it'll be new and there will likely be kinks to work out. The students and the school in general gave off a really nice relaxed vibe, which is awesome. It seems like it could be a good fit, and it's a good location for my SO.
Summary of Experience:
4/26/13: YAY, got accepted to the UMed program! So excited - this makes UIC a clear choice for me. Planning to matriculate here!
4/19/13: Second Look/UMed interview attended. I have to say, I was impressed! They introduced plans for renovations that I think will be great, and I liked the people and the opportunities available. If I am accepted to UMed, UIC may very well be in the cards... hoping to hear good news soon!
4/3/13: Interview invite for the UMed program! So, so psyched.
1/8/13:Assigned to the UPR track. Honestly, this is a pretty big bummer. I requested the Chicago track and sent my site assignment card in before others did who got the Chicago track, so it's really kind of frustrating for me since it's a huge deal to me to stay in Chicago. I plan on petitioning to switch (and have good reasons to do so), but a UPR site assignment makes the school fall several slots down the list.
12/24/12: Received acceptance packet! YESSS! (this happened after my status changed to "final decision has been made" with an "Additional Correspondence" box on 12/20).
Interview Summary: UIC, already one of my top choices, definitely showed itself to be someplace I'd like to attend. The students seem pretty cool and laid back, the curriculum is in a good place and getting better, the outside opportunities are impressive, the range of hospital affiliations is incredible - everything was great in that regard. I did, however, have a pretty stressful interview here that made me nervous that I might have messed up my chances. If you'll be interviewing here, keep in mind that a stress interview does not necessarily mean you'll be getting bad news later on!
Pre-Interview Timeline: 8/22: 'application in process', 11/6: 'application is in process', 11/9: 'applicant in process', 11/27: II
