Again, it's been quite a while. But things are looking up. I left my job at Mr. Greeks because the workload with school was getting to be too much. Not only school, but med school apps/interviews have taken up a lot of my time. I had four interviews in October. The first was at Wayne State.

Being the first interview, Wayne State was more impressive than I thought it would be. It was pretty exciting to see the hospital facilities in downtown Detroit, even though the scenery itself wasn't so great. It seemed like a laid-back school, but that might have been my impression only of the interviewer. I didn't meet any of the administration or faculty. In this respect, the tour was a bit lacking. It's hard to get a feel for the school just by looking at the buildings. Even my interviewer did not teach at the med school. She was very pleasant, though, and made my interview a relaxed experience. It was a lot more like a conversation than an interview. I think it went really well, with her saying at the end "I hope to see you in the Fall." But I ended up being wait-listed. My hope is that they wait-listed me because they didn't think I'd attend WSU even if I got in. The way I see it, the most likely thing that would've kept me from getting in was my GPA, which should have been fine since they gave me an interview knowing what my GPA was. Oh well...the whole process is a little confusing.

Soon after Wayne, I went on an interview at Northwestern. Given the choice, I'd much rather spend four years in a city as nice as Chicago than Detroit. The student I stayed with lived about half a block from the medical school, which was in the heart of downtown, just across from Navy Pier. I went up to his corner apartment and marveled at the enormous buildings rising around me. Later that night, we went up to the roof, and the view was amazing. Sparkling against the sky, buildings surrounded his roof, with the Hancock building and Sears tower in view. In the moment, I thought to myself that no matter how bad the school was, living there couldn't be too shabby. The next morning was the tour and interviews. The interview went alright, but was a little more stressful than WSU's. It was a panel interview, with three doctors interviewing three candidates in the same room. I didn't like it as much because you couldn't have a simple conversation with the interviewers. Instead of a situation in which you are also allowed to interview the school (to some extent) to see how it fits you, this situation was pretty much just us answering questions. And there were some tough ones. I felt as if I were being tested to see how I would react under stress. So although the experience wasn't so bad, I don't have a good idea about how well the interview went. As I know now, after the Wayne State decision, even knowing the interview went well doesn't mean everything. The tour was pretty amazing. We walked back and forth across the bustling Chicago streets to reach a ridiculously nice hospital, newly renovated medical school buildings, and a new women's hospital going up. The facilities and location were definitely a strong point of Northwestern. Then when I got to meet people like the assistant dean of admissions and one of the deans of medical education, I realized that the administration promotes a friendly, non-competitive atmosphere. They made a point of not trying to sell the school to me, but reminding me that I am interviewing them as well. Although I didn't get that feeling from the actual interview, I did get that feeling from the rest of the administration that I met. Everyone was especially nice, and though that might not make a difference once I get to medical school, it does make a difference about what I think of it now.

The University of Pittsburgh was next, that same weekend. I had a nice road trip with my dad, but the downside was I have almost no idea what student living arrangements are like. No worries, as I'll have chances to visit again if I get in. Pittsburgh was also a very friendly school, even more so than Northwestern. They really emphasized the human aspect of medicine, and the atmosphere seemed to fit me well. The administration I met was very friendly, as well as the medical students and interviewer. One aspect of the school that amazed me was the simulation facility. They have high-tech human simulators that look like CPR dolls, but have the ability to closely simulate a ton of situations, for example cardiac arrest. If a doll "died" after going into cardiac arrest, you could reset it and practice again until you get it right. Sounds like valuable practice to me. The city itself was pretty neat because it was like a small downtown area complete with tall apartment buildings, a large medical complex, and a commercial district, but it was set away from the larger downtown Pittsburgh area. It was a medium-sized city within a larger one. I have heard bad things about Pittsburgh, but it didn't seem so bad at all, especially with the bio-technology orientation of the city. It seems like a great area to raise a family, but I doubt that will strongly factor into my decision on where to go. Well. Hoping I have a decision to make. Northwestern and Pittsburgh say they'll get back to me around late November, unless I'm deferred. Or wait-listed. I'm at their mercy.

My last scheduled interview (and fourth one in October) was at the University of Michigan. The interview group was huge. About fifty people were interviewed that day. The administration was nice, but I didn't get the same friendly feel I did from NU or Pitt. My interviews also had a little bit more of a formal tone than my previous one-on-one interviews. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. Luckily, the last interviewer of the day happened to know two of my recommendation letter writers personally. I suppose that's one advantage of applying to school where you already are: connections. The tour was pretty boring, only because I had spent time in most of those areas shown already. Not to take anything away from UM though; the medical center is amazing. Walking away, I had a better feeling from the school than I had in the morning, when they continued to talk about rankings rather than fit. Maybe this was because the students who gave the tour were very nice, or maybe I was just excited once again of the possibilities of going to this particular medical school on this particular day. Anyhow, I should know soon, probably by November 3rd at 5 PM. Unless they wait-list me. Or defer me. ARGH.