Warning: I am annotating this process mostly from memory, which in my case is somewhat shoddy.
6/10/07 Submitted AMCAS. Very pleased with my list of schools. I would be happy to attend any school on my list. There are, of course, some favorites, but when making my list I decided that I was only going to apply to schools I could see myself happy at.
~Verified soon after: Lesson is that if you get the primary in early and send your transcripts in advance you can be verified very swiftly.
6/20-8/30 I received secondaries from every school I applied to. I consider this a very positive start. I've completed all but a few which I will hold on to and fill out on a need to basis.
Secondary tidbits: Another positive outcome for applying early is that secondaries come at a pace. I would receive a few in a given week, none the next, then 2 in a single day, and so on. I simply did the secondaries as they came (prioritizing as need be when an important one would come) and I never felt too rushed or overwhelmed. Friends who applied later seemed crushed under a pile of secondaries immediately and were in a bit of panic mode. If in the future anyone has any specific questions on secondaries, feel free to ask.
9/7/07 First interview at Baylor-great school, friendly students, incredible facilities
9/16/07 Interviews set Michigan, UPenn, Yale, Cornell, Columbia, UCSF, and Hopkins. I am incredibly excited to visit these schools!!!
10/11/07 Fresh off a week doing the east coast swing of schools. UPenn and Cornell were fabulous! Columbia was awesome as well, but maybe a bit intimidating (read: students are very busy). I don?t think I fit in with the ?Yale system? and that?s all I will say about that. Michigan was also a couple weeks ago. It was fantastic, but I knew this going in as I have been around UM in the past.
10/15/07 GO BLUE!!! First acceptance at midnight from Michigan. It?s very surreal. All of the work and hours of worrying are resolved in a short email and corny video acceptance. I am so excited! I am going to be a doctor!!!
10/22-10/23 Interviews at the JMP and the regular medical school at UCSF. I really enjoyed both and I love the bay area. UCSF is probably my top choice right now. The JMP is a very ambitious program; the complete independence makes me uneasy at times. I will have to think about it. I just hope I can get in.
10/25 I love the interviews, but I am starting to tire. Work has been suffering since I am hardly ever in the lab. Only two more interviews scheduled right now at Hopkins and the HST program at Harvard.
10/29 JHU interview: Amazing hospital, but not sure school/area are good fit for me. Interviews were also somewhat strange, maybe I?ll elaborate in the future. I think this place would stress me out.
12/10-12/11 Harvard NP and HST interviews. First time in Boston: unique city. The hospital system blew me away. MGH, BI, Brigham, you?ve got to be kidding me! Interview day itself way to lackidasical and very little student contact. Was warned before hand that they don?t put too much time into interiewees. One of my interviews for NP went over 2 hours and was the most enjoyable/open interview I?ve had. HMS is certainly near the top of my list, but would want to do second look to make sure people are actually happy hear. This is all assuming I actually get an offer, which is a quite big assumption.
12/17 Colorado interview: very impressive new campus. Really surprised at the how great the facilities are. Students also seemed really happy. Location not ideal and not hot on honors in first 2 years, but overall a great school that will keep getting better (especially when the hospitals are completely up and running).
PS-Views of mountains and downtown Denver from the anatomy labs were awe inspiring.
Christmas Dilemmas: JHU flat rejected me. While I probably wouldn?t have ended up going hear, it still stings for people to meet you and decide your aren?t that great. The other bad news is I didn?t get in with the initial batch of UCSF acceptances. Don?t know what this means, will wait it out.
1/7 Duke interview: very impressive campus and the program/curriculum are truly unique. Taking all of the pre-clinical in first year and in the clinics by second year is a little intimidating, but it does give ample opportunity for research, which I am interested in. Durham itself is not my dream location, but the weather seems nice and there are places to go.
2/13 Stanford interview: I love Palo Alto! The weather is ideal for me and there seems to be a great variety of life. Plus SF is only 30 min. by car. The school itself is beautiful and I like the research focus. Both interviewers were great people. Could definitely see myself here. Fingers Crossed
February updates: Got the acceptance call from Baylor! Had practically given up thinking about them. Good news is always welcome, and this is an amazing place. On another note, got a curious letter from UCSF. They told me they still think I am great, but they want to wait to make a decision until April. While I?m not thrilled, this is certainly not a no. I will keep waiting them out and may eventually send a Letter of Intent-they are still my top choice.
March:
Columbia acceptance: could see myself here
Duke acceptance: Accelerated curriculum could pull me in
Cornell waitlist: goes to show that good interviews don't always equate to acceptance
Yale Rejection: Eh, didn't see this working out
Harvard Acceptance: So thrilled!!! So much work over 5-6 years! Going to be hard to pull me from HMS
Baylor Scholarship offer: things are getting complicated, will wait everything out
