It has been a crazy week. I was told that I would be informed of the decision of the Admission committee on Friday, October 30th before 2:00 PM. At 2:05 I still didn't have an e-mail, so I called the admissions office. The lady who had the decisions for the EDP applicants was still at lunch, so I was told to check back later, I would know that day. There was a meeting at work at 3:00 and the e-mail had not arrived by then, so I sat through the meeting still not knowing.
At 4:10 or so I was finally let out of the meeting, and checked my e-mail. The decision was there, in the form of a PDF without any indication of the answer before the file was opened. I was able to open the file, read enough to see I was accepted, and then it was out the door to head home.
I of course called my wife and told her the answer, and called and talked to my parents. We all went out to dinner to celebrate. That was the first indication that something was wrong with our son. I fed him while we were waiting to be seated at the restaurant, which usually makes him content and sleepy. One of us had to hold him the entire time we were at dinner, which is very unusual for him. Luckily he went to sleep alright that night.
The next day, Saturday, our son seemed fine, but my wife was gone most of the day at a "mom-to-mom" sale and shopping for the dinner we were having that night with friends. I stayed home, watched our son and cleaned the house. The dinner went fine, and he didn't seem too fussy that night; in fact, he was loving the attention of all my wife's childless friends!
That night was bad. For the first time since he was around 3 months old, he didn't sleep through the night. He woke up crying, and refused to be comforted. The next day was worse, where he would cry for hours only settling down occasionally, to eat and when he was napping. He also developed a mild fever and was congested. All day, he was very fussy and upset. I also could feel I was developing a cold.
To make a long story short, my wife stayed home to watch our son and I ended up calling in sick to work because of my inability to sleep while being unable to breathe. The next day, my wife went to work and I stayed home with the baby since he still seemed sick, but appeared to be getting better. He hadn't had a fever since Sunday, so we sent him to daycare on Wednesday. Wednesday evening he had a fever again, so my wife took him to the doctor this morning and was told he was wheezing and had an ear infection. She just picked up his breathing treatments, steroids and antibiotics.
In other words, a lot has been going on that prevented me from immediately posting my success on here. While all of this was going on I completed the information required for my background check and it came back clean, so I am simply awaiting the official offer letter in the mail so I can send my deposit to the school and reserve my spot. I am very glad that I was accepted this cycle, as I expected to have to apply again next cycle to multiple schools, but thought the chance was worth the cost and effort. The moral here is, just because someone tells you it is a bad idea to, for example, apply to just one school, risk applying multiple cycles, or apply with a lack of clinical experience, only you can decide if the money and effort required is worth the chance that you will be accepted. I took the gamble, and for me, it paid off royally since I will not only be attending my top-choice school, but I will be starting a year earlier than I expected to. Good luck to everyone else applying this cycle, especially my soon-to-be classmates at my medical school!
Showing posts with label Interview. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Interview. Show all posts
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Friday, September 9, 2011
Interview
Yesterday I had my first interview for admission to medical school. Due to the weakness in my application regarding clinical experience (i.e. I have almost none) I applied to a single school this year, which is the closest school to where I live, my first choice school overall and what I believe is the most likely school to accept me. I received an interview so early due to applying through the Early Decision Program.
The program is for applicants who have a certain school as their first choice, and they are relatively confident that they will be admitted there. The program guarantees that a student will receive an answer, yes or no (or waitlist) by October 1st. If accepted, the student must attend the school, but if rejected or waitlisted, the student may apply to other schools, though they will be applying late.
I applied EDP because I did not think I was that likely to get in this year due to my lack of clinical experience. I figured it was worth the time and money to apply to a single school this year, my first choice, on the off chance that I am accepted this year. The fact that I quickly received a secondary and that I received an interview invitation has me questioning whether my application is that strong, or whether they simply treat everyone who meets the minimal EDP criteria like this. The simple fact that only around 1/4 applicants are offered an interview makes me confident that I at least have a shot this year, and if I don't get in this year an excellent chance next cycle. Meanwhile, I am building my clinical experience by volunteering and having shadowed at my son's pediatrician's office, and will add more specialties to shadow if I am not accepted. Since October 1st is a Saturday this year, I will receive an e-mail on Friday, September 30th which will give me my answer.
The interview itself was a lot less stressful than I thought it would be. I arrived at the admissions office early and was told I would be interviewing with one of the school's academic advisers. At the scheduled time of the interview, I was brought back to his office and he went over my application with me. He did not ask any of the traditional questions, such as "Why do you want to be a doctor?" "Why this school?" or "What are your strengths and weaknesses?" Instead, he asked for elaboration on certain points of my application, such as my current job, my family's occupations, etc. He spent more time talking with me about the school than asking me questions. The interview was very laid-back.
Some interviewers ask very challenging ethical questions, then argue with the applicant or tell them they are wrong. This may tell the interviewer a little about how the applicant handles stress and conflict, but probably does little to reveal how the person reacts in day-to-day dealings with others. Other interviews are very formal even though they are not intentionally confrontational, asking many of the standard questions in addition to some more esoteric questions ("What kind of cookie would you be?" Really?). Anyway, to anyone who is interviewing or will be in the future, the best thing you can do is be ready for the standard questions, know your application forward and backward so you know what the interviewer is talking about if they reference some obscure comment you made somewhere, and relax because being tense and uptight will not make you look like a strong candidate in the interview.
The program is for applicants who have a certain school as their first choice, and they are relatively confident that they will be admitted there. The program guarantees that a student will receive an answer, yes or no (or waitlist) by October 1st. If accepted, the student must attend the school, but if rejected or waitlisted, the student may apply to other schools, though they will be applying late.
I applied EDP because I did not think I was that likely to get in this year due to my lack of clinical experience. I figured it was worth the time and money to apply to a single school this year, my first choice, on the off chance that I am accepted this year. The fact that I quickly received a secondary and that I received an interview invitation has me questioning whether my application is that strong, or whether they simply treat everyone who meets the minimal EDP criteria like this. The simple fact that only around 1/4 applicants are offered an interview makes me confident that I at least have a shot this year, and if I don't get in this year an excellent chance next cycle. Meanwhile, I am building my clinical experience by volunteering and having shadowed at my son's pediatrician's office, and will add more specialties to shadow if I am not accepted. Since October 1st is a Saturday this year, I will receive an e-mail on Friday, September 30th which will give me my answer.
The interview itself was a lot less stressful than I thought it would be. I arrived at the admissions office early and was told I would be interviewing with one of the school's academic advisers. At the scheduled time of the interview, I was brought back to his office and he went over my application with me. He did not ask any of the traditional questions, such as "Why do you want to be a doctor?" "Why this school?" or "What are your strengths and weaknesses?" Instead, he asked for elaboration on certain points of my application, such as my current job, my family's occupations, etc. He spent more time talking with me about the school than asking me questions. The interview was very laid-back.
Some interviewers ask very challenging ethical questions, then argue with the applicant or tell them they are wrong. This may tell the interviewer a little about how the applicant handles stress and conflict, but probably does little to reveal how the person reacts in day-to-day dealings with others. Other interviews are very formal even though they are not intentionally confrontational, asking many of the standard questions in addition to some more esoteric questions ("What kind of cookie would you be?" Really?). Anyway, to anyone who is interviewing or will be in the future, the best thing you can do is be ready for the standard questions, know your application forward and backward so you know what the interviewer is talking about if they reference some obscure comment you made somewhere, and relax because being tense and uptight will not make you look like a strong candidate in the interview.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Interview Invite
I received my invitation to interview at the single school I applied to. I just bought a suit yesterday for this very purpose, so I am glad the money was not wasted. Now I need to review as many potential interview questions as I can find so I don't sound like a blathering idiot in two and a half weeks.
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