In Limbo

No, I am not in the Inception "limbo" (although I still don't think I fully understand the movie), but I am still deciding between schools. But to procrastinate for a moment (because that's what I'll probably be doing in medical school, too), I've been thoroughly entertained by the social media in the last few weeks. (I will save all the Linsanity and all the ways I can use the word Lin in various words, most of which wont make sense, in another post)

With all of these "stuff ______ says," I decided to search for "stuff medical students say" I couldn't help but think this would be me in a few years: Sh*t med students say . I could totally see myself saying "I think I have [enter disease here]!" or "Would you like a bite of my atherosclerosis burger?" I have a feeling that at every second look, each school might have their own version of Stuff PittMed/CaseMed students say. It also makes me think of stuff my friends and I say...and I can't help but laugh. I guess I say "dang, dude" a lot to have someone notice it and place bets on an over-under. "Now that's some [enter long enunciated swear word here]!"

Now that interviews are (almost) done, I can't wait for the second look/revisit weekends. Instead of trying to impress schools, schools are recruiting you to come to their school. They plan an entire weekend for events, opportunities to meet staff, classmates, and current students. Best of all, (some) schools fly you out,  pay for lodging and wine & dine you...this is a girl's dream! And if I remember correctly, I thought that Pittsburgh and Case had the best meals/food out of all the interviews I went on. All that aside, this is the time for me to seriously consider which school to attend. How do I see myself at Pittsburgh/Cleveland? Where would I live? Would I have to live with roommates? Will I resort to my old ways of eating cereal for dinner (in my defense, Special K with Red Berries, Honey Nut Cheerios, Honey Bunches of Oats and Raisin Bran Crunch is DELICIOUS!) Is there a Costco out there? Aside from studying, what else will I be doing in this city? What about opportunities for a computer science engineer?

I know this post is relatively short, but there's not much to tell until my upcoming revisit weekend at the MSTP program in Pittsburgh March 1-4. I think the city is beautiful and promising. Unfortunately, Wiz Khalifa, I do not know "what it is" but I am excited to find out!

D(ecision)-Day

Not to be confused with the invasion of Normandy in World War II, D-Day in medical school admissions terms is the last day for people to hold multiple acceptances. On this day, those with multiple acceptances must choose the one school they wish to attend, and must therefore give up their acceptance spots at other schools. May 15th is the medical school admissions D-Day, and on this day, a very large number of spots open up at medical schools across the country and these schools can now offer spots to wait-listed applicants. (It is courteous, but not obligatory, that once an applicant knows he/she would not go to a school they have been accepted to, to withdraw from there immediately to spare other applicants the torture of waiting.) However, if a school starts really early (i.e. Case Western which starts July 11th), they can choose to tell applicants that D-Day be moved up to May 1st. MD/PhD schools where applicants are obligated to attend a summer rotation starting June 1st (i.e. University of Pittsburgh/Carnegie Mellon) are allotted an April 15th D-Day. Thus, I must decide whether or not to attend Pittsburgh by April 15th.

Grateful that my top medical school choices think that I would be a great doctor, I have had the past two months to decide between the two schools. Unfortunately, I am nowhere closer to making a decision than I was two months ago. Not that I haven't been thinking about it, but without knowing my financial aid situation at Case Western, I find it hard to decide between the two schools. And unfortunately for me, Case Western's financial aid packets arrive around mid-April, and their second look weekend is April 20-21.

When I think about which school I would want to attend, I feel like I would have so much FUN/learn a lot at Case Western. When I think if UPitt, I think I might be slightly more stressed. I can't emphasize enough how great the learning environment is at Case. Case is known for its PBL (problem-based learning) and small-group learning activities, and a lot of medical schools are joining towards this trend and emphasize a Case-like learning environment. Especially since medicine is a transdisciplinary area, where doctors must work with social services, nurses, administration, pharmacists, physical therapists, etc., a communicative education at Case would really be beneficial to a doctors practicing today and in the future. I really do think that I learn well in groups and think it's beneficial getting different perspectives on how to solve a problem, while inputting my own ideas, and studying on my own time to prepare for PBLs. I feel like Case is the model PBL and honestly think that they do it right, since other schools I have interviewed at say their PBL is Case-like. Well, if I wanted a Case-like education, I might as well go to Case for it, right?

However, FINANCIALLY, Case Western is expensive, especially compared to the education I would be receiving at UPitt. I guess that is the price I pay for wanting to go to a private university. A full-tuition scholarship with a monthly stipend is also very hard to turn down. To say that money should not be a factor in deciding between medical schools seems just wrong to me, especially since subsidized student loans are no longer available come June 2012. Furthermore, the average student debt at Case is over $150,000, and this will most likely increase in the next few years. Location-wise, I think Cleveland and Pittsburgh are comparable: very affordable (relative to living in La Jolla), cold/snowy winters (at least when I come back to California and it's raining in NorCal, I will be the Robin Scherbatsky of my group and call it "beach weather"), great restaurants, and horrible sports teams. I think Pittsburgh would slightly win out location-wise because of the many opportunities in Computer Science/Engineering with Carnegie Mellon right there and the ample possibilities for someone with a computer science/engineering background.

With all of these upcoming deadlines, second looks, and school starting as early as June, it's starting to sink in and get real. It's exciting to travel to a new place and get out of my comfort zone and experience a new part of the country, especially as one who has lived in California for the past 20 years of my life. It's scary too, but I know that I will not be the only Californian at either UPitt or Case, so at least I won't have to go through it by myself.