Lesson Learned

Well, I learned a lesson - always ask questions if you are not completely sure of the answer.

I found out just a few days ago that GWU has an Early Decision Program (EDP) also. I thought I might be too late to apply in this method because it stated that the AMCAS application had to be reviewed and received by Aug 1 and Secondary by Sept 1. However, that was all it said. There was no information about how to designate this. I only had experience with VCOM about how their EDP worked so I assumed it might be similar.

I was afraid not to go ahead and sumbit my application to AMCAS because if I was going to make the deadline - which I still was unsure of - I had to submit ASAP. I called the GWU today to ask how I designate EDP and was told that it is done completely through AMCAS. I looked again on the AMCAS site and saw nothing about designating EDP. So, I called AMCAS and was told that once you submit this cannot be changed. I told them that I saw no where to designate it which is why I went ahead and submitted. I asked how I was supposed to go about doing this and was told that I had to have prior permission from the school and if I had this permission the school would be able to open up a space on my application for me to indicate EDP.

Now, again I was probably not going to make the deadline, so I did not argue - and the rules are pretty strict so I don't think I could have made them change it anyway; however, I just got off the phone with GWU before I called AMCAS and was not told even after asking about it that I needed their permission.

How was I supposed to know about this? It was not indicated on any website, form, etc.

Well, now I am in the process of completing my GWU and VCOM secondary applications and will begin to submit applications to other schools as well - early decision is now out of the question.

I still have to contact DOs to find someone willing to write me a letter of recommendation; however, this is not quite as urgent because I am no longer applying for early decision.

I am about to schedule a trip to Iowa to visit Iowa University in the next few weeks and will have many more secondary applications to fill out. Hopefully, interviews will start popping up as well.

As for my EMT stuff - I had a meeting Monday night at Cary to discuss time commitment if I was voted onto the crew. Then I stayed for the business meeting where they did the voting and was accepted, conditional on becoming certified.
I also received my scores for the certification test and I passed! Which means I am just waiting for them to complete the background check and to receive the certification card in the mail. Then I will start volunteering at Cary!

I also just signed up to take the pharmacy technician certification exam, so I plan on taking that in the next month. I am very excited about all of these opportunities, but I am feeling very overwhelmed right now with everything.

On top of all that, I am getting ready to move to a new apartment which means my room and apartment are a mess and make my productivity decrease greatly.

More Visits bring more Decisions

Over the past week and a half, I have been traveling from Raleigh, NC to Portland, ME and back again. I visited several schools - UNECOM, PCOM, and GWU. We also had the opportunity to visit many old family homes and museums along the way.

My favorite school of these three is most definitely George Washington University right in the heart of Washington, DC. The hospital has been newly built (opened in 2005 - I believe) across the street from its original location. It is the only hospital in the area to be built to Secret Service specifications which means it is where the President and everyone comes for treatment. It also has a great Emergency Medicine program and because it is in the heart of DC, a wonderful opportunity to learn how to deal with different religions and ethnicities and what they think about health care.

The BIGGEST downfall is that the area is extremely expensive for living, and it doesn't get much better as you move further from downtown.

Now, I have to make the decision - and I have to make it fast - whether I am going to submit to Virginia Tech for early decision. I had made this decision and was DEFINITELY going to do this until I visited GW, and now I am torn.

The average MCAT score for GW is higher than the score I have; however, my GPA is slightly higher than their average. Also, they place great emphasis on volunteer clinical time and I don't have a whole lot of that. All I have comes from Honduras, and they might count the time I spent with Dr. Moran this past summer.

However, I did just take my certification exam for my EMT this morning, and I have an interview Monday for a volunteer position at Cary Area EMS. If all goes well, I will be a regular on the schedule within the next two months (my acceptance will be pending the score of this exam - which I am told takes about a month to process).

Then, if I don't just do early decision to VTech then I have to decide what other schools I am going to apply to, because I don't want to take for granted that I might get into either GW or VT. At this point, I am not really interested in any other schools. I will of course apply to the in state schools, but beyond that I don't know.

If I do early decision at VT, I have to find an Osteopathic doctor in the next week and a half or so who is willing to write me a letter of recommendation to medical school even though they will be meeting me for the first time. It is not that I have been putting this part off - I knew that it was necessary. I just have not been able to find anyone in the Raleigh area who has returned my call/request to shadow. I have, however, probably not been as active about this as I should have been, so I definitely suggest that if you want to go to an Osteopathic school, you should start pursuing this very early on in the process. Also, my secondary application is due by August 12 if I decide to do early decision.

There are some DO schools which do not REQUIRE letters from an osteopath; however, even those strongly recommend it. (UNECOM, PCOM - for example)

The downfall of VT is that there is not really an emphasis on emergency medicine at all. However, there is more of an emphasis on overseas and stateside missions of all sorts.

Well, that is about all for now. I have sumbitted my application to AACOMAS for VT, I have completed my application on AAMCAS as well, but will not hit submit until I make the above decisions. And that WILL be soon!!!