Application Cycle One: 2006

• Undergraduate college: MIT
• Undergraduate Area of study: Engineering/Technology

• Institution: Harvard Ext School
• Area of Study: Premedical Studies
• Degree Obtained: none

• Total MCAT SCORE: 514
• MCAT Section Scores: B/B 130, C/P 127, CARS 129   Detailed Breakdown
• Overall GPA: 3.30
• Science GPA: 3.81

Summary of Application Experience

6/16/06: AMCAS submitted, 'ready for review'
6/20/06: MCATs out, still finalizing list of schools.
6/27/06: AMCAS verified. They took back 0.01 from my GPA.
6/29/06: Added all my schools. Applying to 30. Going on vacation for a week before I can see any of the secondaries.
7/12/06: Secondaries are piling up. Haven't submitted any of the ones with essays yet. Sigh.
10/3/06: Still have 8 secondaries waiting. 22 went out. Got first rejection yesterday (Mayo) and first interview invite today (UCSF).
11/10/06: First interview at UCSF went well, I think. I was very impressed. Received invites at Duke and Jefferson this week, at Duke before I sent my LORs. Interesting.
11/13/06: Had interview at SUNY Upstate today and got rejection from U Chicago.
11/30/06: It's been a quiet couple weeks. I started checking in with schools I hadn't heard from today. When I called Buffalo they informed me I was granted an interview, but just hadn't been informed yet.
12/7/06: I'm going to med school!
1/4/07: After a quiet spell, today was a day for the midwest, with interviews from UMN and Northwestern.
1/7/07: Finally a NYC school! Psyched about Cornell!
1/15/07: Nearly five months later (and after calling to check on my app last week and being told 'it doesn't look good, hon'), I get an interview at Michigan. From their admissions tracker, it appears that it is one of the last 15 interviews to be offered. Hey, I'll take it.
2/21/07: Done with my last interview! And now the waiting begins, er, I guess I'll go with 'continues'...
4/3/07: Well the votes are in and it's time to assess the options. As of right now, it's BU, but I really need to hope for some need-based finaid from them if it's going to happen. Applying to scholarships all around and hanging on to see what happens. Would love to get off a WL, in the following order: UCSF, Yale, Rochester, Cornell, Michigan, Northwestern. NW might be a toss-up with BU. Will withdraw from GW.
5/14/07: It's BU. Dropped my check off today and withdrew from all other schools. Though the pricetag is huge, I decided that I really don't want to go to a school with a strong regional slant (like my public acceptances). Plus the clinical experience at BMC should be awesome. We'll see if any of the waitlists pan out yet.
5/25/07: Got off the Rochester waitlist today! Very excited!
6/8/07: Well, I changed my mind. Chicago, here I come. Go wildcats!
6/18/07: Today I got the news I've been waiting for all year long.
I got in to UCSF, my #1 choice, and will be attending! Will withdraw from Northwestern and the UMich, Cornell, and Yale waitlists once everything is all set.
7/27/07: Well, I'm all done and I thought I'd reflect a little bit for anyone who actually reads this. Once I was set on where I was going, I was finally able to relax. I haven't been this relaxed since maybe the senior year of high school. Just remember that you too will have this fabulous period before you plunge into what I hear is the non-relaxing study of medicine. Anyway, what I learned:
1) Apply to your dream schools. You never know what's going to happen.
2) Be diligent about following up with your applications, but try not to to think about it all the time. Don't become consumed with checking status pages, internet forums, etc.
3) Even your very best friends, who are really good people, do not want to hear about your application process for 7 months straight even though it's all you can think about (see 1).
4) If you are waitlisted, be proactive! Call every 2 or 3 weeks to check in and tell them you love them. Or that you're dying a painful death because every single one of the 500 people who work in your building has asked you where you're going to med school.
5) Remember that the application cycle has to end at some point, and it will definitely be over by, say, mid-September.
6) And, finally, as a very wise fortune cookie once informed me, 'It could be worse, you could be on fire.' Good luck!

The cost tally is not updated because it got depressing. There was a lot more in the travel category. But, you know, there wasn't anything else I wanted to spend those 6Gs on.
MCATs: 210
AMCAS: 1060
2ndaries: 2345
Letters: 145
Travel: 760
Total: 4520