It’s 2 days before the start of the new academic year and my official induction into medical school, and it seems that I’ve come down with a bit of a cold. I’ve been coughing and sniffling for past day or so now, and my mucus has apparently turned a lovely color of pale goldenrod. It seems I’ll have to meet my new classmates pumped full of drugs and with tissues at the ready. Well, I certainly hope that my symptoms will get a little better before then… but knowing my luck, I doubt it.

It seems that the UofC wanted to torture us just one last time before actually allowing us to receive our diplomas and be done with the place. Our graduation (or rather, convocation), the 498th convocation at the university, took place this morning in the Harper quadrangle, outside in the pouring rain. They gave us “emergency ponchos” to wear, which bore an uncanny resemblance to those extra large plastic garbage bags you can buy at the grocery store. As one of the student speakers said, “this is how I always imagined my… funeral.” Way to end our college careers in style!

For all the soggy graduation caps, muddy high heels, and wet hair, we did get our diplomas–which I guess is what really matters. Bachelor of Science in Biological Chemistry. It has a nice ring to it doesn’t it? My mother took some pictures, which I’ll post if I ever get my hands on them. Too bad I didn’t manage to smuggle my camera in underneath my gown xD

Edit: Picture posted!

Now that my long, long application cycle is over, I guess I’m somewhat qualified to talk about the process and about my experience going through it.

Even though the AMCAS application didn’t officially open until sometime in May, and couldn’t be submitted until the beginning of June, I started working on it much earlier. My adviser insisted that we submit drafts of our essays at the beginning of April, and I stayed up all night working to make their deadline. Even though I had a great GPA and MCAT score, I felt like my application was weak in terms of extracurricular involvement. I actually wavered quite a bit between applying right away or waiting a year and trying to strengthen my application a bit more in the interim. Somehow, I fell into applying this year and trying my luck.

The process itself was nerve-wracking like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. Initially, I had more success than I ever dreamed of, receiving interviews from the likes of Johns Hopkins, Yale, and Washington University in St. Louis. On October 15, 2008, I got my first acceptance: University of Michigan. I had interviewed at Michigan extremely early, and I knew that they would be sending out acceptances at midnight on October 15th. So I waited by my computer patiently, hoping for an email with good news. Midnight came, and no email. I checked the forums at SDN, and other Michigan applicants were announcing their acceptances. I resigned myself to a rejection or, at best, a place on the waitlist. At 12:40am, an email popped into my inbox. I was in! It was an amazing feeling.

As the weeks went by, I learned that I had been rejected from most of the big name schools that had gotten my hopes up so much when they invited me to interview. Of course, I was grateful for the acceptances I did receive, but the weeks in April and May were hard as the rejection letters piled up. I also discovered that I had been waitlisted at WashU, my top choice.

As May 15th approached, I was having an incredibly hard time making my decision. On the one hand, I had the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Medicine. It was a great school that gave me a lot of scholarship money. The only problem was that, since I attended the UofC for college, I really didn’t want to stick around on the same campus for medical school. Then there was Michigan. I really wanted to go to Michgan, but they gave me almost nothing in the way of financial aid, and I couldn’t justify going there over taking Pritzker’s hefty scholarship money. Also under consideration was the Baylor College of Medicine: an amazing school in a decent location with cheap-ish tuition. I still couldn’t justify spending the extra money. I went, though reluctantly, with Pritzker, but secretly hoped that WashU would come through for me in the end.

On June 1, 2009, WashU did come through for me. I was ecstatic! I had always heard people saying things like: “you’ll end up where you belong” or “things have a funny way of working out in the end” about applying to medical school, but I never really believed it until now. I’m extremely grateful for how my application cycle has turned out, and I couldn’t be happier. So my advice for anyone thinking about medical school: don’t worry too much! Hang in there and don’t lose hope!

If you want a closer look at my application process, check out my MDApplicants.com profile.

The title says it all. I took my last final and turned in my last paper today. Now, as long as I didn’t fail anything, all I have to do is sit and wait for graduation. Wow.

I just got home from class today and found this in my email inbox:

1 June, 2009

Dear Ms. Wu,

I tried to reach you by phone but was unsuccessful. I would be grateful if you would give me a call at (314) 362-6844 or (314) 3623-4493 or send me an E-mail indicating the best time and number for me to call you again.

In any case I would be grateful if you would acknowledge receipt of this E-mail.

With warm personal regards.

Sincerely,

W. Edwin Dodson, MD
Associate Vice Chancellor and Associate Dean for
Admissions and Continuing Medical Education
Professor of Pediatrics and Neurology
Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis
660 South Euclid, Campus Box 8077
St. Louis, MO 63110-1093

I’m trying not to get my hopes up, but… what other reason could he be calling me for?! I must have been accepted! …right? Oh god… it’s going to be so hard to wait until business hours tomorrow so that I can call and actually figure this out. WashU is my first choice for medical school; have they decided to make all my dreams come true?

Update: 6/2/2009, 5:29PM

I’m in!!! With a $20k/yr merit scholarship to boot!! I can’t believe it– it’s so surreal. I never thought I would actually get accepted.