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.