So today I got an interview at the University of Rochester, and it appears that I'll be going in late January. Since my interview at New York Med isn't until March, it looks like Rochester will be my first. I'm excited, and kinda freaked out at the same time. Rochester is a pretty good school (#30 in research, #17 in primary care), and unlike New York Med, was not one of my "back-up" schools. And suddenly January seems very very close........
But the fact that both of my actual interviews are in New York is a little disturbing. That means that so far my chances of going to New York are decent. I've never even been to New York, except for flying through JFK once. So it's definitely scary to think of moving that far away from home, and especially to a place with...um...... less than ideal weather.
Oh yeah, I also got put on hold for an interview at Virgina Commonwealth (what's with all these holds???). And UC Irvine rejected me pre-secondary over three weeks ago, and didn't even bother to let me know. What jerks!
So let's see, to date I have had three pre-secondary rejections, one post-secondary rejection, three withdrawals on my part, three holds for interviews, and two actual interviews. It's definitely getting interesting......but every day keeps getting more and more tense for me. After work I do this little ritual where I come home, check my e-mail, and then go check the mailbox. It's actually really sad :)
Well I wanted to tell you the story about my Johns Hopkins secondary, so here it is:
Against my better judgement, I decided to turn in the secondary (basically an eighty dollar donation). A little voice in my head was telling me that I would be kicking myself in the ass for the rest of my life if I didn't do it. They have an online secondary, but for reasons unbeknownst to me, you also have to print out a PDF copy and mail it. However, I decided to do this on the day it was due, or actually the day it had to be postmarked by. So I worked on it all day, at least during my breaks and my lunch, and when I got home, until I had it ready to go twenty minutes before the post office was going to close. I frantically put it in an envelope, rushed out the door, and made it to the post office just in time. So there I was, patting myself on the back for a job well done, when I got home and saw the payment voucher lying on the floor (basically a slip of paper to prove I had paid the online fee) that was supposed to be in that envelope. At first, I thought it would be fine to mail it the next day, being that it was only the payment voucher, but eventually I decided that they were more than likely to be total jerks about it. So at approximately nine'o'clock that night, my friend and I went on an adventure to the main post office down in the Rosecrans area. To my utter relief, we found that they will postmark things until 11 at night. So, yeah, that's something I never want to go through again. There are several lessons to be learned from this incident:
1) APPLY EARLY
2) Do not try to do anything on the day of the deadline, because everything
can and will go wrong
and......
3) If you do decide to be that stupid (like me), the address is 2535 Midway
Drive. Let me know if you need help with directions.
Brrrrrrrr..........It's cold in New York
Good News!
Well, I just wanted to make a quick note: Wednesday I got put on hold for an interview at UCSF, and Thursday I got an interview at New York Med. Thank goodness for that!
So I'll give you all the details next week, and I have a great story about my Johns Hopkins secondary to tell you. I know you're all studying for finals, but stop by if you need a break, something to laugh at, or if your brain is just liquidating itself out your ears.
Happy Finals! (and good luck studying)
Ladies and Gentlemen....We have a rejection
So yeah, I got my first post-secondary rejection the other day. You can tell what it is before you even open the envelope, so no surprises there. It was from Eastern Virginia, which appropriately enough, was the first secondary I did way back in September. I'm not heartbroken though......like I really wanted to go to Virginia anyways. Oh well. I'm just afraid that it's the first of many more to come. It's hard not to freak out at this point, especially because acceptances have already been going out (to the people who didn't procrastinate). I've already pulled out my MCAT books, and as soon as I put in my last few secondaries I'm going to start studying again, just in case. I guess I've realized that it's a very real possibility that I may not get in this time around. I've done a lot of things right, but I've also done a lot of things wrong lately. I mean really, one of the most common pieces of advice I've heard is APPLY EARLY. And despite my best intentions, I find myself writing essays frantically the night before a deadline. Of course, these mad dashes to the deadline are mostly for the schools I really don't want to go to anyways.
But whether I get in or not this year, it's not the end of the world. I have friends who despair every day that their "whole life will be over" if they don't get into med school right away, but I like to think that I'm a little wiser than that. I'm already 24, a couple years older than most of you will be when you graduate, so whats one more year? As long as I still want to be a doctor, and I stay committed to it, it will happen. Plus I just got a really sweet job that I would have no problem staying at for another year. I'm the new "inventory coordinator" at the Orthopaedic Surgery Center of La Jolla, but so far I feel more like a float tech. I do a little bit of everything, from receiving and stocking supplies, helping out in pre-op and the PACU, to helping with room turnover and depleting patient charts after surgeries. Best of all, I get to wear scrubs and bask in the presence of some of the most celebrated orthopaedic surgeons and anesthesiologists in San Diego. Today, I was able to watch Dr. Pedowitz (I believe he did Inside the Doctor's Lounge several weeks ago) do a shoulder arthroscopy and it was very very cool. Plus, the money's good and its full time/full benefits with lots of little perks. Despite the fact that I have to start at six in the morning, I'm thoroughly enjoying it so far.
So you see, my life will certainly not be over if I don't get into med school this year, and neither will yours. There are always options, and that's really the only healthy outlook you can take.
EMT....to be or not to be?
Alright, we finally heard from UCSD. I'm on hold for an interview, which is neither bad nor good, but I'll take it. Realistically speaking, I think that it means I'm not one of their top choice candidates, but I'll probably get interviewed somewhere down the line. It is far from the worst case scenario. Statistics are a scary thing if you stop and think about it. First of all, only 40% of the 5000+ applicants receive a secondary. Then, only 25% of those receiving secondaries are eventually interviewed. I'm a little rusty at math, but I believe thats a one in ten chance of getting an interview at UCSD. Furthermore, about half of those interviewed are eventually offered an acceptance, and that gives us a five percent acceptance rate. So for me......I'm still wading around in that 40% somewhere, hoping and praying! And for those of you struggling in similar or worse (please don't take that the wrong way) situations, I feel for you. It all really sucks, doesn't it?
Anyways, I'm glad that several people have brought up the topic of becoming an EMT. You wouldn't believe how many e-mails I get from individuals on the subject! Apparently, it's a hot topic right now. So listen up, cause I don't want to answer anymore e-mails (no I'm just kidding, I don't mind). So the best place in San Diego County to receive EMT training is Miramar College, which offers the semester long class twice a year that I know of. It requires eight classroom hours a week, plus eight hours ambulance experience and eight hours E.R. experience total. At the end, you must pass a final written test plus a practical skills examination. I'll tell you right now, the class is not for wussies especially if you are taking UCSD classes concurrently. Unless you are superhuman like me ( I did it while taking twenty-one units at UCSD along with all the other crap I did), it will probably be pretty painful. By the way, I'm kidding about the superhuman thing (kinda).
However, here is the good news. I absolutley loved the course. It was so fascinating and intellectually stimulating, and in my opinion, gave pre-meds like us a great, practical foundation for beginning a course of study in medicine. It covered basic anatomy and systems, common diseases and injuries, and appropriate treatment for those injuries in the field. There is a difference between the theory and the practice of medicine. More simply, you can understand diabetes or COPD on a molecular level, but can you recognize the signs and symptoms and know exactly what to do if you encounter diabetic ketoacidosis in the field? While I was taking the course, volunteering in the E.R. was suddenly raised to a whole new level. I actually understood what they were talking about, and that made the experience all the more meaningful to me. I was suddenly that much more connected to my co-workers and patients. So seriously, I think it was the best course I ever took, and I learned ten times as much practical knowledge as I ever have in a lecture hall at UCSD.
Yet here is some bad news. If you actually want to work as an EMT, that can be tough around here. Sure you can get a job on some BLS rig, and drive around all day taking grandmas and grandpas back to the nursing home (no offense to grandma and grandpa). But if you're like me, and you want the action (i.e. sucking chest wounds, subdural hematomas, abdominal aortic aneurysms) then its not gonna happen, not as a job anyways. Most EMTs who work hard enough to eventually get on ALS rigs are doing so because they want to become paramedics and firefighters. So I'm talking career stuff here. However, there are EMT positions in emergency rooms (E.R. techs), and although its very competitive, it is possible. Bottom line: The class comes highly recommended by me, whether it's for personal or professional reasons. I chose not to pursue a job as an EMT, and most of the time I don't regret that.
Oh here's something funny: when I went to South Africa to volunteer, I was one of the only pre-meds in my group. Most were 1st and 2nd year med students. Yet when we actually got into the clinic or ambulance, I put them all to shame. From just the practical skills I had gained during the EMT course, I made them all feel like idiots and I found myself teaching them rather than the other way. How cool is that?
On that note, I will bid you good night :)
Newsflash: I am not a patient person
Well, we have no word from UCSD yet. But I am probably jumping the gun, cause its only been four weeks since I turned in my secondary. Hmmmmm. I'm just being extremely impatient (which is not a great characteristic to have during this process, let me tell you). Actually, I'm being a lot more impatient with UCSD because I realized recently that it's really the only school I want to go to. Certainly, it was a shock to me to realize that because only six or so months ago I swore up and down that you couldn't pay me a million dollars to go there. So why the sudden change of heart?
Heart is actually the key word there. My heart is at UCSD. Growing up, I never had a real great family situation, I didn't go to high school for more than a year, and I pursued.....ummmm....the wrong kind of people to be friends with. So I'd have to say that UCSD was my first real home, community, and family. To me, it's the most amazing environment I've ever been in. Some of you would laugh at me for saying that (I hear people whining and bitching all the time because they didn't get into Berkely or UCLA), but really, take a look around and understand how priveleged we all have been to receive our educations right where we are. I know, cause I've been places you wouldn't want to go to in your worst nightmares. Anyways, I guess what I'm trying to say is that home is where the heart is, and for me thats UCSD all the way.
I had someone tell me that taking the MCAT at SDSU is not necessarily a bad experience for everyone. Duh. I know that, I was just exagerating for the sake of exagerating. But perhaps for me, considering my apparent emotional connection to our school, the lack thereof may have had something to do with it. Who knows? But at this point, it definitely doen't matter.
So anyways, I'm going to run away from you now and go to bed, because I actually have a pretty important interview at Pfizer tomorrow. Wish me luck!
They're doing it just to spite me, I know it
I'm sitting here, night after night, going back and forth between secondaries and job applications (yes, I have no job anymore, my position was cut due to lack of grant funding). It just occured to me that the two have quite a bit in common. Very very frustrating things in common!
So for those of you that don't know, your primary AMCAS application contains just about everything there is to know about you: all of your experiences, all of your classes, all of your grades etc. Why then, do half the secondary applications I fill out ask me to provide the same information again, over and over and over? For example, list your five most recent leadership experiences, list your five most recent work experiences, list your five most recent medically related experiences, have you taken a year each of biology, physics, o-chem, g-chem, and english? HELLO DUMMIES, ITS RIGHT THERE ON MY PRIMARY THAT YOU'VE HAD ALREADY FOR THREE MONTHS!
Sorry, I had to vent. Really though, why ask me to repeat information that they already have sitting right in front of them? In my opinion, it's just to be mean, just plain mean. They want me to get tired, frustrated, pissed off, and ultimately, to give up. To spare them the piece of paper, ink, and the stamp it takes to reject me six months from now. It really is a lot like these job applications I've been doing lately. They ask you to upload your resume, which would obviously contain your employment history, but then on the next page they ask you to start listing your employment history manually. You know how it is, with all the annoying little boxes to fill out. Ahhhhhh! Why do they do this? And for every application, as with secondaries, you do it over, and over, and over again.
Well guys and girls, I'm frustrated, but they haven't got the best of me yet. I refuse to give up until every last little box on every application has been filled out. I guess that's what seperates the people who eventually succeed and the people who don't. Stick with it, don't give up, and keep your eyes on that tiny little speck of light known as the end of the tunnel............
Secondaries: Trick or Treat?
Earlier this week I had food poisoning, and then I topped that off with a nice lovely flu. So its been quite a ride: I've been sleeping 16 hours a day and when I'm not sleeping I'm wandering around in a dazed stupor looking for my chicken noodle soup. Very exciting. Needless to say I haven't gotten any secondaries done.
Sometimes I stop and wonder why I am putting myself through this hell. Don't you? If I ruled the world, everytime someone said "I want to dedicate my life to the service of others", the whole world would stop in its tracks and throw a party. Unfortunately, I don't rule the world and we are left to jump through hoop after hoop, essay after essay. Truthfully, I think becoming a doctor is a decreasingly lucrative choice of profession. Today there are more risks, obstacles, and sacrifices to be made than there ever were before. For me, if there were any other way out I'd take it! But alas, I know that there is no other profession on this earth that would complete me the way medicine does. Awww......that sounds sappy doesn't it? But it's true.
The complicated web of factors that brought me to medicine is just that: complicated as hell. Being a doctor is the last thing I ever thought I would be. However, the right combination of an interest in science, exposure as a volunteer, and the community of medicine itself, led me to become pre-med at the beginning of my junior year. To simplify the story, let me tell you that I was a psychology major, and on my way to becoming a clinical psychologist when suddenly it wasn't enough. I became fascinated with the use of psychotropic medications to treat mental disorders, and immediately wanted to become a psychiatrist. (Admit it, you're way cooler if you can write prescriptions).
Anyways, the initial desire to become a psychiatrist led to exposure to many different fields of medicine and to may different kinds of people within the medicinal community. To be frank, I fell in love with all of it. Something clicked inside me and I was alive in a way I had never been before. Is this sounding familiar yet? I hope so, because a true love and passion for medicine is the only justifiable excuse for getting into it.
Now, back to secondaries. I know you all want to know my stats, so here goes: I have a 3.82 science GPA and a 3.85 overall. And I got a..........drumroll please........ big fat 27 on my MCAT.
All I can say about that is DONT TAKE THE MCAT AT SDSU UNLESS YOU GO THERE.
The very first practice test I ever took I got a 26, and by the end of my prep class I was scoring between 33 and 35 on my diagnostics. So what happened? Maybe I was having a bad day, but truthfully I believe that it happened because I went outside of my comfort zone to SDSU. I had never been there before in my life, while I had spent a good twelve hours of my day, every day for the last three years, at UCSD. Just a theory. I'm not a bad test taker either, so I know it wasn't that. Next question: Why didn't I decide to retake it in August? Well, after thinking long and hard about it I decided that I am comfortable with myself as an applicant regardless. An MCAT score doesn't define me or anybody else as a person. Besides, I think that five years worth of grades like mine show a lot more stability and predictive reliability than a score from one freakin test.
So far, I have not regretted my decision. Out of thirty-three schools that I applied to, I was only rejected pre-secondary by two. Whats more, I received a secondary from the oh so prestigious UCSF, when they had rejected a good friend of mine who had scored a 33 on her MCAT. The lesson of the day then, is never try to second guess admissions committees. What on earth could possibly make some random school like Wake Forest reject me right off the bat when UCSF deemed me worthy? You just never know, so don't waste your time trying to figure out whats wrong with you. They're all looking for certain things, and definitely different things, that make people a great fit (or not) with their school. So in other words: Don't take it personally.
Well kids, thats all for now. I hope to be up and running again by next week, churning out those secondaries ( I HATE ESSAYS!!!). Oh, and cross your fingers for me that I get invitied to interview at UCSD next week. I should be finding out any day now...........
It starts.......
My first piece of advice?
Never put too much faith in your master plan, cause something can and always will go wrong.
When I decided to become pre-med during my junior year of college, I planned to the last detail how everything would play out. When I decide to do something, I do it all the way, 100%. No half assed anything for me I always said. So I did my research, A LOT of research. What exactly did I need to do to get myself into medical school? I learned about all the important components of a successful med school application: grades, MCAT, research, medical experience, leadership, recommendations, and on and on and on...........
So I made up a plan that would allow me to leave no ground uncovered, no tree unturned, and that is exactly what I have been doing these last three years. You might even say I overdid it. In fact, you could definitely say that. So why am I sitting here in October with no interviews yet?
Truthfully, it's not because I'm not a competitive applicant. I am, for the most part. Its because I've been sitting here all summer, burned out and tired, and I have at last deviated from the master plan. My primary was supposed to be in in June. Well, it went in at the end of July.
Secondaries? Oh, in my plan it was supposed to be a 24 to 48 hour turnaround time. Try two weeks to two months. Ouch!
I was just plain tired. I worked so hard at my master plan, to make everything "perfect and complete", that somewhere along the way I forgot what I was fighting for. I forgot about my dreams and passions because I was so wrapped up in the silly little game we call being pre-med at UCSD. So now I've had the summer to think about it, and I'm starting to get back where I should be, and back on track. But I wish I hadn't let go in the first place.
Anyways, I'll be running this blog at least through next year, so I hope y'all come on down and give it a read every now and then. I welcome any comments and questions, cause after all, I'm the HMP3 GURU!!!!!!!
