-- 6/15 -- Took the MCAT. Could see getting anywhere between a 9-13 on any of the sections. So that's somewhere between a 27 and a 39. Helpful.
-- 7/8 -- Submitted AMCAS with Tufts and UT. Applying to both regardless of MCAT.
-- 7/18 -- Holy crap! Apparently me knows Englesh good. 11/15/12/R. Wish the PS had been a little higher. Oh well.. clearly not retaking it. And now I adjust my 'apply to' schools accordingly..
-- 7/19 -- In addition to Tufts and UT, adding Baylor, Columbia, Cornell, Einstein, Georgetown, Harvard, NYU, Penn, Stanford, Vanderbilt, UC San Diego, and U of Washington
-- 7/20 -- Got the Columbia secondary. That was fast. AMCAS isn't even processed yet.
-- 8/7 -- AMCAS is finished. Also added Jefferson, Temple, and Hopkins. Secondaries are really coming in now -- Harvard, Cornell, Temple, Penn, Tufts, Baylor. Harvard & Penn are done -- love the ones with no essays. I'm not getting one from UT, though. I'm no longer from Tennessee, apparently, and arguing using 'facts' is getting me nowhere. Oh well.
-- 8/30 -- Got the secondary/interview invite from Vandy! Scheduling the interview for right after Thanksgiving since I'll be down there at my sister's anyway. Nice. Most other secondaries are done, although I'm lagging behind on a few.
-- 9/17 -- Invite from Tufts
-- 9/27 -- Invite from Penn.. due to scheduling issues, this will actually be my first interview. Which... is not ideal, because I have no idea how these things will go, and well, it's Penn. But hopefully it'll work out.
-- 10/4 -- Finally submitted the last secondary (Hopkins). Took me a while to get myself to sit down and do the essays. Hoping that doesn't kill my app. I'm not doing Georgetown -- I don't have 5000 characters worth of 'Why I want to go to Georgetown' in me.. I really don't.
-- 10/12 -- Penn interview! Went really well, I think. I'll find out in... 6 months?? Are you kidding me? It's definitely at the top of my list, so that won't be nerve-wracking at all. LOVED the school.
-- 10/29 -- Invites from NYU & Einstein. After a month of silence, two within minutes of each other.
-- 11/1 -- Tufts interview. Liked the school a lot more than I thought I would (this seems to be a trend in my life). A little concerned about the cost, and I'd like to get out of Boston, but no complaints about the program itself. Sounds like it's really growing & improving, too. And the interviews themselves went about as well as they could go.
-- 11/9 -- Got a (generic form) letter from WashU, and that was enough to convince me to add them. I am easily coerced into giving up money. Which is perhaps why I ended up at a college PT Barnum donated to. Submitted the app today.. very late, I know, but maybe that won't hurt me too much. No new essays, at least.
-- 11/13 -- NYU interview. Seems like a good school that I would have really liked 7 years ago, but after owning a house, I can't see moving back into a dorm. And I'm not living in Brooklyn. The interview was ok, but not as easy as my first two.
-- 11/13 -- Driving back from NY, I checked my email on my phone. Got one from UCSD with a subject including the word interview. I got very excited. Only when I got home did I read it to find out I've been placed 'on hold'. Doh. I don't think that's a good thing...
-- 11/26 -- Vanderbilt interview. Loved the school, and very close to family/home. Had a great interviewer, too. Keeping my fingers crossed on this one.
-- 12/3 -- Invite from Temple. I seem to be getting these things on the first Monday of every month. Anyone else?
-- 12/4 -- First acceptance -- got the call from Tufts today!! So I'm going to be a doctor. Yay!
-- 12/5 -- Invite from Columbia. Came in a small envelope (mailed on Monday, oddly enough). I was pretty sure it was a rejection. Might want to revise that system -- wonder if anyone has thrown one away without opening it?
-- 12/7 -- Einstein interview. Liked it much better than NYU, but damn are there lots of pictures of Einstein at that place.
-- 12/13 -- Temple interview. This one... did not go well. I was exhausted and couldn't put sentences together. I was also less than enthusiastic about the school going in, which I think might have showed a little, although I did end up liking it more than I was expecting.
-- 1/5 -- Vanderbilt waitlist. Frick. From what I've heard, theirs doesn't move much either. Double frick.
-- 1/7 -- Invite from WashU. Helps easy the Vandy pain a little.
-- 1/8 -- Columbia interview. Talked about ancient Greek Philosophy and rugby with Dean Frantz. So I guess that's a.. good.. interview? I dunno -- felt like I was in a movie about a boys boarding school in the 20s. But easily my top NY school so far.
-- 1/9 -- Biochem final. Oh, right.. I'm taking a class this semester.
-- 1/10 -- LA vacation!! Nice to go somewhere just for fun for a change :) And also to go for a week, and not just a day.
-- 1/17 -- Temple waitlist. Can't say I'm surprised. Their waitlist letter is bizarrely positive though - 'Congratulations on your placement on the continuing candidates list'. Umm.. thanks?
-- 1/28 -- WashU interview. They seem to do a lot more for their interviewees than other schools have, which is nice. I could actually see myself living in St. Louis.. seems like some sort of Memphis/Philly hybrid almost.
-- 1/29 -- Invite from Baylor. Excited about this one, especially since I had just about given up on them. Complete in August and I got a spot on their last interview day.
-- 1/30 -- Umm.. why is flying to Houston so ridiculously expensive?? Thanks for the miles Dad :)
-- 2/2 -- Stanford rejection. It was a long shot, I guess, seeing how I have no research experience. Oh well. Enjoy my $80.
-- 2/3 -- 18-1. Not a good weekend.
-- 2/4 -- Invite from Hopkins!! Not so down about Stanford anymore. Had to reschedule to avoid a conflict with Baylor. Seems like arbitrarily giving you a date is now winning out over the earlier schedule-your-own system.
-- 2/22 -- Baylor interview. Wow, everything IS bigger in Texas. That med center is ginormous. And there were 60+ people at my interview day (vs. an average of 15-20 everywhere else). First time I stayed with a student host, too. Loved the school, loved the pricetag. Had a very good first interview, but the second was a little shaky -- he seemed very aggressive in his question-asking. Hope I handled it well enough.
-- 2/29 -- Hopkins interview. I think this went well. The school was amazing. Very impressed with the students I met, too -- very normal, and seemingly very happy. And very helpful, especially when I a) forgot the shirt for my suit and b) had my flight back cancelled and needed a place to stay for an extra night. Having to choose between Penn & Hopkins would be extraordinarily difficult. It's also an extraordinarily unlikely situation, but I can hope, right?
-- 3/3 -- After a weekend full of waiting, it's NYC D-Day. No email from NYU in the morning is not a good sign. And... either Columbia stuck my acceptance package in front of the 'Honey I Shrunk the Kids' machine (wow.. that'll show my age), or that's a waitlist. It's a nice waitlist letter at least. I'm 'very highly ranked'. Does everybody get that one? (Update: They do. Damn.) Sent in the 'keep me on the list' card with a 'yes' right away.
-- 3/6 -- NYU waitlist becomes official. Debating what to do with the reply. Unlikely I'd end up there, but I would pick NY over Boston (unless we're talking baseball.. or football.. damn Superbowl). Hmm...
-- 3/7 -- UCSD rejection. Figured as much, what with the 'on hold' for 4 months. Sigh.. looks like Houston might be my only hope for warm weather.
-- 3/10 -- Cornell rejection. Was still holding out a little hope, because I heard somewhere they were still interviewing, but had pretty much assumed by this point. A little surprised I didn't even get an interview, but I guess that's just how it goes.
-- 3/14 -- WashU waitlist email. Because really what I need now is more waiting. ARGH! I now have more waitlists than anything else. Awesome.
-- 3/22 -- Harvard rejection. Letter finally came in the mail -- just a formality at this point anyway. Much more concerned with hearing from Penn, Baylor, & possibly Einstein (? where have they gone..) next week. Also, Jefferson: WTF?? Hellooo...?
-- 3/27 -- Penn Acceptance!!!! Still shaking a little -- 99.999% going here (unless Hopkins wants to give me a free ride or something). Time to start withdrawing from all those waitlists.
-- 3/27 -- Now that this has finally started to sink in, my brain is able to process the next steps (important: do NOT click the 'Withdraw' link on Penn's site). Withdrawing from NYU, Columbia, and Temple waitlists. Staying on WashU and Vandy for now, and still interested to see what Hopkins and Baylor have to say. Einstein has been MIA so I don't feel the need to call them yet. For personal reasons, I have to keep the Tufts acceptance, at least for now.
-- 3/31 -- Letter from Einstein. Seems like a waitlist, although they don't specifically say so. My application has been 'very favorably reviewed', but they 'would like some guidance regarding your level of interest in attending Einstein should a place become available... We realize that by now, you may have received an acceptance to your first choice school... If, however, Einstein remains your _top_ choice school, please let us know in writing...' It is not (although I did like it), so I will be withdrawing. Also: still no word from Jefferson.
-- 4/18 -- No word from Baylor or Hopkins, so it doesn't look like I'll have any tough decisions coming up. Kind of a relief. Withdrawing from Columbia (for real this time), Einstein (off what apparently was the 'high priority waitlist'), and Tufts (sadly -- Go 'Bos!) today. Penn Preview next weekend!!
-- 4/18 -- Got the Baylor waitlist email, and the Hopkins waitlist letter in the mail when I got home. So that part of the process is over & done with. Still on four waitlists (those two, Vanderbilt, and WashU), but it's going to be Penn regardless. Also: still no word from Jefferson.
-- 4/28 -- Penn preview was amazing (but exhausting)! I'd have a tough time turning it down now even if Hopkins did give me a full ride (...off the waitlist... without qualifying for need-based aid.. hah). I finally mailed my Tufts withdrawal today -- I was really putting it off. Wrote Dean Neumeyer a pretty nice letter, and I'm still a little sad to be leaving Tufts behind, but it's for the best. But for anyone reading this in the distant future (assuming the entire east coast isn't under miles of water due to melting ice caps or whatnot): Tufts is awesome and getting even better -- you should go there! Also: still no word from Jefferson.
-- 5/15 -- Email from WashU asking if I want to stay on the waitlist. Another place where it would be nice to get in, but I'm not going to go there over Penn, so I withdrew (did the same with Hopkins last week). I'm sure Baylor and Vandy will come asking soon enough as well, but I'm not going to be proactive about withdrawing just yet. Although I might once I actually sign a lease in Philly. Then it'll just be Penn, unless of course I get an interview at Jefferson -- still no word from them.
-- 6/20 -- Letter from Vanderbilt. Lots of qualified applicants, not enough room for everyone, blah-blah-blah you're off the waitlist. Oh well.
-- 7/31 -- Letter from Baylor. Lots of qualified applicants, not enough room for everyone, blah-blah-blah you're off the waitlist. Forwarded to my new apartment in Philly. Ha. Debating walking over to Jefferson to see where my $85 rejection letter from them is.
-- 3/05/2009 -- Procrastinating from studying for Brain & Behavior (Mod 2 at Penn). Having now been a part of the other side of the interview process, I have no idea how these people do it. Be patient -- you're all more than qualified and you'd all do great here. Seriously. Some of you will come here, some of you will go somewhere else. You'll all love it, and you'll all be doctors. Try not to stress about it too much (Yes, I know right now that seems completely unreasonable. Just trust me. And something about sunscreen...). Also: still no word from Jefferson. Seriously.
We help students become doctors. TM
