Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Toledo Decision
I just received an acceptance for Toledo. I'm going to hold a spot in the class because I am still really unsure of where I will go. This could be a really tough decision between where I really want to go (Wake at this point) and where is much more affordable (Wright or Toledo).
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Case Western Decision
I've been put on "hold" for Case. It's a version of a wait list. Basically, they aren't ready to accept me yet, but they'll keep reviewing my file throughout the year. They could accept me in two weeks, in 2 months, in 6 months, never...who knows. To be blunt, I don't really care what Case does with my file. The chances of my going there are slim to none even if they accepted me. I've gotten an offer from Wake Forest, which is cheaper and a better program - so at this point, I really don't see any reason why I would go to Case. I'm not saying I'm going to Wake for sure, I'm just saying they are a much better offer than Case.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Wright State Decision
I just got an acceptance letter from Wright State. I'm going to hold a spot in this class as well just to keep my options open still. I don't need to decide where I'm going for sure for quite a while.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Toledo Interview Recap
My interview at Toledo went well. The school is not located in the heart of Toledo, but rather in a nice outer part of the city. The campus itself is pretty with lots of trees. A really cool thing about their campus is that there are tunnels connecting every building, so when Ohio weather is at its finest, you never have to go outside. The buildings themselves look pretty nice from the outside but most of them are quite outdated. Toledo seems to be behind the curve with technology in general.
I checked in around 9:15am along with nine other applicants. At 9:30am, we had a financial aid/admissions presentation. After about two of these, they all sound the same.
At 11:00am I had my first interview. My first faculty interviewer was an ethics professor, so he asked me some pretty challenging questions. Overall, I think my interview went really well. The most challenging question he asked me was probably "at what point should the physician overrule the parent's desires for treatment if the physician doesn't feel the parents are acting in the best interests of a dying child?" The question wasn't asked exactly like that, but it was the basic idea he was getting at. He also asked if the physician should be considered the captain of the ship, so to speak. My response to that question really impressed him - he literally said "That was a really good answer!"
At noon, we had lunch and a tour with three third-year medical students. They were informative and helpful. The tour of the facilities was not especially impressive, as I mentioned earlier. A good example is that the anatomy lab (which consumes hours of time) is in the basement of a building with poor ventilation and only three monitors (some schools have one monitor per station).
At 1:15pm I had my second faculty interviewer. She was extremely nice and this interview went really well. She began the interview by reading to me all of the criteria the admissions committee wanted her to evaluate me on so that I knew what she was looking for. She asked me some challenging questions, but none were exceptionally difficult. The ethical question she asked me was, "If an elderly patient is dying and the family asks you not to tell the patient of their prognosis (probable outcome), do you tell them anyway?" At the end of this interview she said, "I really hope you get in and decide to come here. Keep me posted!"
By 2:00pm I was done and heading home.
Strengths:
Location
Cost
Decent reputation/program
Low cost of living
Nice campus
Weaknesses:
Poor technology
Outdated Buildings
Large class size
I should hear from Toledo in 4-6 weeks. All things considered, I think Wake Forest is still my top choice of the schools I have interviewed at. Case is still last. I'm not really sure what order the remaining three would be in yet.
I checked in around 9:15am along with nine other applicants. At 9:30am, we had a financial aid/admissions presentation. After about two of these, they all sound the same.
At 11:00am I had my first interview. My first faculty interviewer was an ethics professor, so he asked me some pretty challenging questions. Overall, I think my interview went really well. The most challenging question he asked me was probably "at what point should the physician overrule the parent's desires for treatment if the physician doesn't feel the parents are acting in the best interests of a dying child?" The question wasn't asked exactly like that, but it was the basic idea he was getting at. He also asked if the physician should be considered the captain of the ship, so to speak. My response to that question really impressed him - he literally said "That was a really good answer!"
At noon, we had lunch and a tour with three third-year medical students. They were informative and helpful. The tour of the facilities was not especially impressive, as I mentioned earlier. A good example is that the anatomy lab (which consumes hours of time) is in the basement of a building with poor ventilation and only three monitors (some schools have one monitor per station).
At 1:15pm I had my second faculty interviewer. She was extremely nice and this interview went really well. She began the interview by reading to me all of the criteria the admissions committee wanted her to evaluate me on so that I knew what she was looking for. She asked me some challenging questions, but none were exceptionally difficult. The ethical question she asked me was, "If an elderly patient is dying and the family asks you not to tell the patient of their prognosis (probable outcome), do you tell them anyway?" At the end of this interview she said, "I really hope you get in and decide to come here. Keep me posted!"
By 2:00pm I was done and heading home.
Strengths:
Location
Cost
Decent reputation/program
Low cost of living
Nice campus
Weaknesses:
Poor technology
Outdated Buildings
Large class size
I should hear from Toledo in 4-6 weeks. All things considered, I think Wake Forest is still my top choice of the schools I have interviewed at. Case is still last. I'm not really sure what order the remaining three would be in yet.
Wake Forest Decision!
I received an acceptance letter from Wake Forest today! I'm really excited about it because at this point, Wake Forest is my top choice of the schools I have already visited. I have to let them know in writing that I accept their offer and place a deposit to hold my spot in the class (which is refundable if I decide to not go there - which makes me wonder why there is any point). I am allowed to accept positions at multiple schools until May 15.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
NEOUCOM Interview Invite
I just scheduled an interview with NEOUCOM for November 26. It will be the day just before Thanksgiving, but I did that intentionally. NEOUCOM is much closer to home than it is to school and I knew I'd be home for Thanksgiving break. My interview day will start at 10:45 and will last about four hours.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
OSU Interview Reschedule
I was able to get my OSU interview rescheduled for 11/5, which is two months earlier than they told me it would be. That should significantly help my chances of admission.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Case Western Interview Recap
Case Western went pretty well. My interviews went well, but I don't like the school itself. The traffic on the drive in was only the beginning of the things I didn't like about Case. I needed to be in Cleveland by 8am, so to give time for traffic I had to leave my house by 6am. Getting up at 4:30am was not a good start to my day!
I checked in to the admissions office around 8:00am. There were refreshments out to keep us occupied while we waited for the other applicants. This interview group was the largest I had been a part of, with fifteen applicants. Around 8:30, we had a welcome/introduction session with the director of admissions.
At Case, all applicants had an interview with a faculty member and one with a student. All student interviews took place in the afternoon. Some faculty interviews were in the morning and some were in the afternoon. From 9:00-11:15am was an interview block. Applicants had interviews with different faculty members at different times, but not everyone even had an interview during this block. My faculty interview was from 10:00-10:45am. He spent more time talking about himself and the school then he spent asking me questions. I think he only asked me three or four questions. None of the questions were difficult. I didn't like the interview block format because everyone had down time with nothing to do. I sat for an hour without much to do. Some of the applicants had nothing to do for this entire time. We could go sit in on a class if we wanted, but by the time I would have found the classroom, I would not have had time to make it back to be ready for my interview.
At 11:15am, we met the dean of admissions. She was really friendly and wanted to know who we were, where we were from, and something interesting about each of us. I don't think most (if any) of the other applicants noticed, but while we were talking to her, the director of admissions was in the background taking notes. I'm guessing he was taking notes on our communication skills in a group or something. It's key at any interview day to act as though everyone is interviewing you - even when it isn't a structured interview time. I've heard of schools even getting input from their secretaries on the applicants.
Around 11:30am we had a financial aid presentation. This was about the same as every other presentation I've heard. Case does have a decent number of merit-based scholarships, but even with their scholarships (if I got any), the price may end up higher than state schools (Case is private - which means no in-state advantage).
At noon we had lunch with the director of admissions. While we ate he went over the curriculum in much more detail. Case has a unique curriculum, and it's really strange. Very little time is spent in lecture halls (6-10 hours a week). The larger part of your "class time" is in small learning groups. Each group is mentored by a faculty member, but you are essentially on your own. The groups are given cases to review and research. Much of the work at Case is done independently or in these small groups. Case thinks this new approach is revolutionary. I think it's ridiculous to be paying so much in tuition to be taught by your peers who are as clueless as you are. Case also uses a Pass/Fail system rather than a grading system. I think that a lack of grades encourages students to skate by doing the minimum work - there is no reason to strive for excellence.
After lunch we had a student-led tour. The hospitals were impressive. We didn't see much of the hospitals, but there are four extremely well-ranked hospitals in Cleveland. Not only are there an unusual number of quality hospitals, but Case is the only medical school in the area - so their students have wide access to the faculty and clinicians in the hospitals. The campus itself is definitely a city campus. There is not much green space, but the buildings are pretty. However, if you venture even a block or two in the wrong direction, you can be in a somewhat dangerous part of the city.
From 1:30pm-2pm, we had a student Q&A session. Two second-year medical students were available to answer any questions we had. As I talk with more and more students at various medical schools, I have found it interesting that students always seem happy with the school they have chosen.
From 2:00-4:00pm was another interview block. Some applicants had both their faculty and their student interview during this time. Since I had my faculty interview in the morning, I only had my student interview in the afternoon. She didn't ask me any questions that were out of the ordinary. My interview was at 2:45pm, so I again had some time with nothing to do. When my interview was done at 3:15, I was free to go and was heading back to school.
Strengths:
Phenomenal hospitals
Good reputation for research
Low cost of living
Close to home
Weaknesses:
Cost
Arrogance
Curriculum
Pass/Fail System
Located in Cleveland (unsafe, run down, etc)
Required research
Case is probably at the bottom of my list at this point. The tuition is high and I don't like much about their school. I should hear from them in about four weeks.
I checked in to the admissions office around 8:00am. There were refreshments out to keep us occupied while we waited for the other applicants. This interview group was the largest I had been a part of, with fifteen applicants. Around 8:30, we had a welcome/introduction session with the director of admissions.
At Case, all applicants had an interview with a faculty member and one with a student. All student interviews took place in the afternoon. Some faculty interviews were in the morning and some were in the afternoon. From 9:00-11:15am was an interview block. Applicants had interviews with different faculty members at different times, but not everyone even had an interview during this block. My faculty interview was from 10:00-10:45am. He spent more time talking about himself and the school then he spent asking me questions. I think he only asked me three or four questions. None of the questions were difficult. I didn't like the interview block format because everyone had down time with nothing to do. I sat for an hour without much to do. Some of the applicants had nothing to do for this entire time. We could go sit in on a class if we wanted, but by the time I would have found the classroom, I would not have had time to make it back to be ready for my interview.
At 11:15am, we met the dean of admissions. She was really friendly and wanted to know who we were, where we were from, and something interesting about each of us. I don't think most (if any) of the other applicants noticed, but while we were talking to her, the director of admissions was in the background taking notes. I'm guessing he was taking notes on our communication skills in a group or something. It's key at any interview day to act as though everyone is interviewing you - even when it isn't a structured interview time. I've heard of schools even getting input from their secretaries on the applicants.
Around 11:30am we had a financial aid presentation. This was about the same as every other presentation I've heard. Case does have a decent number of merit-based scholarships, but even with their scholarships (if I got any), the price may end up higher than state schools (Case is private - which means no in-state advantage).
At noon we had lunch with the director of admissions. While we ate he went over the curriculum in much more detail. Case has a unique curriculum, and it's really strange. Very little time is spent in lecture halls (6-10 hours a week). The larger part of your "class time" is in small learning groups. Each group is mentored by a faculty member, but you are essentially on your own. The groups are given cases to review and research. Much of the work at Case is done independently or in these small groups. Case thinks this new approach is revolutionary. I think it's ridiculous to be paying so much in tuition to be taught by your peers who are as clueless as you are. Case also uses a Pass/Fail system rather than a grading system. I think that a lack of grades encourages students to skate by doing the minimum work - there is no reason to strive for excellence.
After lunch we had a student-led tour. The hospitals were impressive. We didn't see much of the hospitals, but there are four extremely well-ranked hospitals in Cleveland. Not only are there an unusual number of quality hospitals, but Case is the only medical school in the area - so their students have wide access to the faculty and clinicians in the hospitals. The campus itself is definitely a city campus. There is not much green space, but the buildings are pretty. However, if you venture even a block or two in the wrong direction, you can be in a somewhat dangerous part of the city.
From 1:30pm-2pm, we had a student Q&A session. Two second-year medical students were available to answer any questions we had. As I talk with more and more students at various medical schools, I have found it interesting that students always seem happy with the school they have chosen.
From 2:00-4:00pm was another interview block. Some applicants had both their faculty and their student interview during this time. Since I had my faculty interview in the morning, I only had my student interview in the afternoon. She didn't ask me any questions that were out of the ordinary. My interview was at 2:45pm, so I again had some time with nothing to do. When my interview was done at 3:15, I was free to go and was heading back to school.
Strengths:
Phenomenal hospitals
Good reputation for research
Low cost of living
Close to home
Weaknesses:
Cost
Arrogance
Curriculum
Pass/Fail System
Located in Cleveland (unsafe, run down, etc)
Required research
Case is probably at the bottom of my list at this point. The tuition is high and I don't like much about their school. I should hear from them in about four weeks.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Ohio State Interview Invite
Ohio State invited me to interview today. Rather than asking me to schedule an interview, they assign an interview day. My day, as of now, is January 7. I'm hoping to be able to move that earlier since the earlier I can interview the better my chances at acceptance are. OSU's interview day will be from about 9:45am until around 4:00pm.
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