The medical application process is like dating - from
picking out schools, to filling out the primary & secondary applications,
then interviewing, and finally getting an acceptance. It is like nervously
asking out someone and anxiously waiting for any type of response. This process
is analogous to you researching school and sending out your primary application.
Then there's the whole cat and mouse game of flirty texts and awkward dates.
This is the secondary application... do the schools really want you? Or are
they after the elusive secondary application fee?
Finally... things get serious in your relationship, you're meeting the parents, and you're "dancing around the room when the night ends" (yes I just stole a Taylor Swift quote, don't judge me!). This is like making that trek across the country to the school of your dream and interviewing. The stakes are so high and you are so close to the finishing line that you can see the light at the end of the tunnel. For me the part of the process is the determining step - it is cheesy, but I believe that if you feel it when you visit the school and the city then that school is the school/the one for you.
Admittedly, I am not a logical thinker. I go with my gut feeling and it hasn't led me astray yet ... ok it hasn't led me astray that often. But you cannot force yourself to like someone that deep down you know you don't like - the same goes for medical school, you cannot force yourself to be at a place where you don't get along with the students or enjoy the environment.
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Some pictures during my interview weekend!
For me, going through the interview process I definitely
notice a different vibe at each school that I visited. Granted, I am very bias
as well. I knew for certain that I wanted to be on the East coast after
college, so I definitely kept that in mind when I went on my interviews. The
night before my interview at Hopkins, I went to the student mixer and saw an
environment where I could see myself in. It was just filled with life -
students buzzing around, finishing up their dodgeball intramural games,
studying, and just doing their regular student things. I knew right away that
this is where I could see myself and all the other schools (or boys) kind of
just faded away.
I was definitely intimidated at the prospect of Johns Hopkins being from a
public state school better known for its party scene than academics.
However,
my interview day was so reassuring and my fears completely melted away. Going
home from my interview I couldn't stop talking about how sure I was that this
is where I wanted to be. My friends were very supportive but I know they were
scared I would be crushed if I did not get an acceptance. Thankfully, somehow
things worked out in my favor and I get to be at my dream school next year. All
in all, I hope to one day my feelings are as strong for a boy as it is for my medical
school!
The beautiful Baltimore skyline!
