7/29/07: Submitted AMCAS
8/4/07: Submitted TMDSAS
8/20/07: AMCAS Verified
8/29/07: TMDSAS Verified
9/6/07: Letters of Recommendation Submitted Through VirtualEvals
11/29/07: I'm in!!!
12/21/07: Instate love!!
4/4/08: Withdrew from GW. While it would be a great school, I'm not so into the traditional curriculum and the price. Plus, Mizzou is too good of a school to pass up for GW. I love Mizzou's small class size, PBL, and Mizzou itself... so I can't go wrong w/ it :) So unless I get off of the Rochester WL (which I'm remaining hopeful that I will!), it's Mizzou for me!
5/22/08: There hasn't been much Rochester movement (supposedly only 5 off the list!), but I emailed the dean some updates and he said he's optimistic about an acceptance possibly in the next couple weeks... is this man leading me on???
5/23/08: OH MY GOSH!!! He wasn't leading me on!!
5/28/08: Received and returned reply to the offer of acceptance at Rochester. Once they confirm they have received it, I'll be withdrawing from Mizzou. Oh yeah, I'm still in shock :)
6/5/08: Withdrew from Mizzou this morning. It's real now... and very strange feeling. Rochester, here I come!
Overall, I'm pretty satisfied with how the cycle turned out. Sure, I was hoping for a better MCAT, but 3 acceptances with a 29 isn't too shabby. And of those 3 acceptances were my #1 and #2 favorite schools from the beginning. I am finally getting the chance to branch out and go somewhere that is not within my current comfort zone, and for that, I am extremely excited (and nervous!). One of the great things about Rochester, though, was that it felt very midwest to me... so maybe it won't be as out of my comfort zone as I think it might be. I will miss Mizzou, Columbia, and Missouri itself, but I'm sure I'll be back to visit :)
8/17/08: I start class tomorrow! We had orientation last week and it was a blast. I'm loving every bit of Rochester so far and my classmates are AMAZING. It is one of the most diverse and accomplished group of people I have ever been a part of. The faculty truly seems to care about us as individuals and about our success. With that, I am marking my profile as complete, but I hope to see some of you on the interview trail during tours!
Interview Experiences:
University of Missouri: Pretty laid back experience. Another interviewee and I had our interviews right when we got there in the morning, but 3 other people had afternoon interviews. Interviewed first w/ a Ph.D. Didn't ask anything difficult, but also didn't seem too into what I was saying. I asked him if it was worth taking a Pharmacology class in undergrad (since that's what his Ph.D. is in) and his response was hilarious to me: 'I wouldn't, Pharm is pretty boring.' Second interview was w/ a surgeon. We talked about football a lot (because of my job), and he was pretty low key. Fired off pretty many questions, but nothing difficult. Asked a lot about my research, though. After the interviews, the 5 interviewees sat w/ the Dean of Student Affairs and she asked us some questions and we got to ask her questions. Then we went on a tour led by 2 students (M1 and M2) and ate lunch w/ them. These were my first interviews and I didn't think I did too bad, but I didn't think I did great either. The school could do a better job selling themselves (especially to people who didn't go to Mizzou for undergrad... I already know I love Mizzou, but how do they?) but IS tuition (while still high) isn't looking too shabby. I understand that public schools don't have to sell themselves as much as private, but it still would make the day a bit better and make people excited about Mizzou. Definitely love the PBL emphasis in conjunction w/ the 10:10 rule (10 hours of lecture to 10 hours of PBL).
UTMB-Galveston: From the start, I was shocked at how many people were there; 45 as compared to the 5 at Mizzou from the week before. They first had a breakfast for us which is when I first felt like a total outsider... I didn't know what some of the food was so I asked someone and the response was, 'Oh, you must not be from TX!' They had a slideshow about the school they showed us during breakfast and someone spoke to us. Then, half of us went on tours, and half had interviews. I went on the tour first, and my advice that you should definitely take, bring comfy shoes! The campus is huge and the tour lasts over an hour. The student leading the tour was very upbeat and the school was impressive. We then came back to eat lunch and a student panel answered questions. They just kind of set you free to go to find your interviews, so another girl and I took our maps and headed out. My first interview was w/ a Ph.D. who didn't seem too excited w/ me but rather more excited w/ the bike rally that was going on later that day. I think he wrote down my name and where I go to school. I then went to my next interview to find out that she didn't have me on her schedule and was nowhere to be found. So after they made some phone calls another guy (a surgeon) agreed to interview me after knowing nothing about me and only having 20 minutes to spare. But, he was awesome and very conversational. He gave me the most positive feedback that I've ever gotten from an interview. He said he would highly recommend me, but I know to take that w/ a grain of salt since I'm OOS and it's after 10/15. I liked the school a good amount, but even if I had gotten in, I would have taken Mizzou over it.
GWU: It was my first time to DC, which is a pretty awesome place. About 15 of us met in a room in the morning and everyone interviewing was so awesome. Definitely the most diverse group I've been w/, which is typical of GW. The interview coordinator spoke w/ us for awhile and then took us on a tour. All I can say about their facilities is WOW. Everything is brand-spankin' new, histo lab is all done on the computer, the whole top floor of their hospital is for the med school... but I guess it should be like that for what you're spending. After the tour we came back to eat and talked w/ the financial aid woman who basically said yeah, you'll be in a ton of debt, and then the coordinator of student opportunities spoke to us about the Track program at GW, which is like having a minor in med school and is pretty cool. Lots of med students came in and talked to us during lunch which was helpful. My first interview was w/ an M2 and he just asked me about myself (interviews are blind) and let me ask questions. My next interview was w/ a physician and he did not seem to like me one bit. GW is known for non-confrontational interviews but he was the opposite. I left thinking there is no way I will get in here... no idea how I did. Really great school, great city, but wishing it wasn't so expensive. Also wishing that the curriculum wasn't so traditional... I love all of the opportunities at the school, but w/ 9 to 5 days it would be hard to fit it all in.
University of Rochester: In love. Simply amazing. A lot of people don't like the city of Rochester itself, but it felt very comfortable to me. The school was goregous. The day started off in the waiting area of the office where about 12 applicants were sitting. Dean Hansen came to get us and took us up to a room to speak w/ us because apparently 12 was a rather large number as compared to other interview days. I tripped on the way up (didn't fall on my face)... slippery floor! He spoke about the curriculum and why he truly believes it works. He also asked us a bit about ourselves (name, school, major). An admissions secretary then gave us our folders and went over what everything in the folder was. We then went back down to the waiting area of the office... I tripped again in the same exact spot... and actually got some of the applicants to laugh which was great because everyone seemed so tense! My first interview was at 10, so I just stuck around the waiting area and talked w/ other applicants. If you had a later interview, you had the chance to walk around or go sit in on a class. You have to make your way to your interviews by just a map, and the hopsital is a bit confusing, but everyone that saw me offered to help... super nice. My first interview was w/ a family medder and she was awesome. All they know about you is your name, school, 4 ECs you listed and they have read the 2 essays you write. It was very conversational, she just wanted to get to know me. We ended up talking for about an hour. I went back to the waiting area after my interview and at about 12, some M1s came to get us to take us to eat lunch. We ate in that same room we were in in the morning, and yep, you guessed it... trip #3 :). They answered questions during lunch and then took us on a tour. Bring comfy shoes! I was the only one that did and other people wished they had! One of the admissions secretaries takes you on the 2nd half of the tour and she said that the whole tour is 1 mile. After that, my second interview was at 2, and this one was way different than the first. This guy was the big neuro guy, and the interview was only 20 minutes as he had someone after me. It was not difficult, but he was more question after question. His questions stemmed from my answers to the one before it. I thought he didn't like me at all as his only responses were 'uh-huh'. But, by the end, he said that he thought I was a good fit and he really liked me because I 'had a plan'. He said he would definitely recommend me. I got the WL 6 weeks later and I kinda expected it since my interview was somewhat late, but I'm hoping for the best!
