2016 Nontrad Applicants' Progress Thread

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I'm considering applying ED to a school next cycle, but I am like terrified that I won't get in, will get boned by the delay, and have to wait another year 🙁
 
tetley said:
I'm considering applying ED to a school next cycle, but I am like terrified that I won't get in, will get boned by the delay, and have to wait another year 🙁
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So don't apply ED unless you are confident it is the only school you would attend. There are not really any other benefits (IMO).
 
I feel like a high school girl with my acceptances, playing coy. "Well JOEY said he would take me to prom in a HOT AIR BALLOON so idk if I could..."

^^was obviously never invited to prom.
 
B-wildered said:
Withdrawing my first acceptance from Netter. It feels weird........... like I am smeagol, and don't want give up on them ...."my preciousssssssss"""""
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I'm just about there myself. I was waiting for financial aid info, but the wife basically wouldn't go there without a full ride so I might have to send an email soon...
 
VegasPreMed said:
I'm just about there myself. I was waiting for financial aid info, but the wife basically wouldn't go there without a full ride so I might have to send an email soon...
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Well, for me at least, I got accepted in more established programs. And I may want to get into a competitive field. Although, Netter was one the schools that I liked the most, if not the most as far facilities -vibe. The whole school was brand f....... New and in a beautiful area .
 
B-wildered said:
Well, for me at least, I got accepted in more established programs. And I may want to get into a competitive field. Although, Netter was one the schools that I liked the most, if not the most as far facilities -vibe. The whole school was brand f....... New and in a beautiful area .
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Very true. Everything looked great and the professors were so enthusiastic! I have a very slight "back of my head" disappointment that I won't be attending there. Best of luck narrowing down the rest of the programs.
 
idontknowwhatnametopick said:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...ram-from-a-non-top-25-medical-school.1073026/
Since everybody is making tough school choices I thought I'd post this. @piii posted it in another thread and it seems to contradict everything I've seen in pre-allo.
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I saw it also. I know that the conventional wisdom on SDN is to always take the cheapest option and to not look at match lists, but I feel like that advice applies mainly to people who are not interested in the academic/research side of things. Or am I wrong? I have the following options:
  • very cheap state school, new, not much research activity, 1 or 2 matches a year to big-name residencies
  • relatively affordable private school that matches well, but mainly to places on the east coast
  • expensive private school that I felt the best fit at, matches well but almost entirely to residencies in CA
My goal is half clinical / half research at an academic hospital. My husband and I love California, despite the crazy high cost of living. I know that I could potentially get into anywhere I want from any school, but why make things harder than they need to be? One way or the other the tuition debt will be paid off eventually, and I wasn't doing this for the money anyway.

At least, this is all the stuff I tell myself when I am feeling rational. I feel like I have made my decision to head to CA. Then, a few hours later, I start having heart palpitations about the amount of debt I am about to incur and I start thinking of the cheaper options again. This has been my daily struggle for the last month, and I am so looking forward to the end of April deadline that will force my hand. I'm also hoping that my husband will get a lucky break and find a suitable job in one of the cities, because that would also make the decision simple.
 
Methinks it might be time for @pageantry to start that 'halp how do i choose school' thread... 😉

Unless we want to leave it in this thread. Don't know how the democracy leans on that.
 
Thanks for posting that link, @idontknowwhatnametopick... more obsessing to do...
A question I have is how important a Top 25 residency is for getting into a competitive fellowship like GI or cards? Because I have an interest in GI that I don't like to talk about because it makes me feel dirty.

@gyrfalcon , I feel you. I thought I had it sorted, but then I got new info, and now I'm completely back at square one. And I have no idea what will happen once the rest of my financial aid comes in.

@Eccesignum, I think we should have a separate thread, only because then maybe more senior non-trad people would feel like they could check it out and give us some perspective. You want to start this one? I feel like yours could take until April 30th to write. Maybe I'll start it.
 
@pageantry - i actually know two carib grads that went to an okay/good med residency and are now doing Cards and GI in Manhattan. So I think it is all the person.
 
pageantry said:
Thanks for posting that link, @idontknowwhatnametopick... more obsessing to do...
A question I have is how important a Top 25 residency is for getting into a competitive fellowship like GI or cards? Because I have an interest in GI that I don't like to talk about because it makes me feel dirty.

@gyrfalcon , I feel you. I thought I had it sorted, but then I got new info, and now I'm completely back at square one. And I have no idea what will happen once the rest of my financial aid comes in.

@Eccesignum, I think we should have a separate thread, only because then maybe more senior non-trad people would feel like they could check it out and give us some perspective. You want to start this one? I feel like yours could take until April 30th to write. Maybe I'll start it.
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I'm still twiddling my thumbs waiting for two pivotal FA decisions, so I'm not quite ready to fan out my biznazz yet. If we haven't started one up by the time I get my hand together to play I'll start it, but yeah it could be into April for me.
 
I'm starting to feel like I've committed some sort of faux pas by posting my choices... 😕
 
gyrfalcon said:
I'm starting to feel like I've committed some sort of faux pas by posting my choices... 😕
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Oh heck no. We'd just talked multiple times about possibly starting a 'Help with school choice' thread before. Not because it's obnoxious here, just to give a more centralized place for people to post their choosing woes and get advice.
 
gyrfalcon said:
I'm starting to feel like I've committed some sort of faux pas by posting my choices... 😕
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Crap, def not intentional on my part.

I feel you because I have three schools that, in different ways from yours, offer... really different life-outcomes, in my mind. None of them bad! But all very different:

  • UC Davis: Solid California school, lot of lower-tier matches but nice warm weather. Close to family (who are giving me a ton of unattractive guilt about how I should move back to California before they DIE), good research. I got into the rural program which sends me STRAIGHT back to my home county, which is cool, but... well, in the long haul, I'd certainly like to move back home, but it feels a little boring just yet. Expenshiv.
  • Einstein: Bronx, awesome school (in my mind). Half an hour from my apartment. Lots of cool opportunities, great connections, awesome research. They match where they wanna match. I cried tears of joy when I was accepted here. Gotta have a roommate tho. Don't get to have a backyard for another four years. Might end up living a high pressure NYC life for the rest of my life--although that's still pretty fun. But REALLY expenshiv.
  • OUWB: School I really liked when I visited, have made themselves super cheap for me! Mostly match well, (I think), offers a lot in the way of lifestyle, given how cheap everything is in Michigan. I could clean up a lot of debt and still live well. My little heart objects, "But I still want to fall in love with someone someday! But I don't want to fall in love in MICHIGAN and get STUCKKK here!" And my wee brain says, "Prestige actually does help open a lot of doors, dude." And my gut says, "But really you want to do global medicine and study ayurvedic analogues and maybe you should not count on having much in the way of retirement savings if you try to do that from a more expensive school?
My hippie friend here in Michigan says, "EGO or HEART?" She says God told her to say that to me. I'm like, THAT IS A VERY LIMITED PERSPECTIVE ON THE SITUATION.

But I do find myself continually trying to reduce the question down to a series of tiny facts like: Location Vs. Reputation Vs. Money, as if then by understanding my deepest values (CLEARLY I am not so CRASS as to value MONEY--am I?), the answer would be obvious. But those reductions really don't say all of it. It's not easy. It's just not easy.

So, there's my faux pas. My faux pas snuggles yours.
 
Last set of quarter grades that will be completed in time and go on my next round of apps posted today/midnight;
Gunner moment for the day - got the 4th highest score in a class of 64 for my 450/550 level biochem, and got an A- , 3.7 in a curved class (I had a 89% and the class average was a 61%). He must not give out 4.0's :wtf:😡
Managed to scrape out a 4.0 in advanced cell bio, and a 3.6 in ecology, which I'm pretty excited about. 2.8 average curing at UW is a bitttttttch
 
mavric1298 said:
Last set of quarter grades that will be completed in time and go on my next round of apps posted today/midnight;
Gunner moment for the day - got the 4th highest score in a class of 64 for my 450/550 level biochem, and got an A- , 3.7 in a curved class (I had a 89% and the class average was a 61%). He must not give out 4.0's :wtf:😡
Managed to scrape out a 4.0 in advanced cell bio, and a 3.6 in ecology, which I'm pretty excited about. 2.8 average curing at UW is a bitttttttch
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Do Microbiology!! Our grading system is the best. Top 5% students get raised to 100%, and everybody else's grades get raised accordingly.
Plus Micro classes are so much fun. Bugs for the win!!!
 
mavric1298 said:
Funny you should say that, next quarter I'm taking Microm445 (medical virology) and pretty damn excited about it!
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I'm not a huge virus fan but it was a pretty good class 🙂
If you haven't bought the textbook yet, don't buy it. Mine is still brand new. All you need to do is memorize all of the stuff on the PowerPoint and you'll be golden.
 
pageantry said:
snuggles
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Snugseal

images
 
Sorry gonna double post here:

This might only apply to my situation, but I figured I'd let everyone know anyway. If any of you non-trads are married and attending a school in a state where your spouse is from, definitely ask the Registrar about re-classifying as an in-state resident. I just found out that I will more than likely get IS tuition at a public OOS school because my wife grew up in that state and her family still lives there.

Again, might be a long shot that anyone else is in a similar situation. But it's always worth asking the school if you think it might apply for you!
 
Okazaki Frag Grenade said:
Sorry gonna double post here:

This might only apply to my situation, but I figured I'd let everyone know anyway. If any of you non-trads are married and attending a school in a state where your spouse is from, definitely ask the Registrar about re-classifying as an in-state resident. I just found out that I will more than likely get IS tuition at a public OOS school because my wife grew up in that state and her family still lives there.

Again, might be a long shot that anyone else is in a similar situation. But it's always worth asking the school if you think it might apply for you!
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Great tip! I hope it helps someone.
 
gyrfalcon said:
What?! Where? Congratulations!!!
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Austin!! I had unfollowed the thread because the odds were not in my favor at all since it's a tiny class and I'm OOS.
CRAZY

Also, THANKS to all of you who convinced me to actually attend that interview!! It was my last and I almost didn't go because I was burnt out by then. If it weren't for fellow non-trads I wouldn't have gone.
For future readers... Go to your interviews...
 
idontknowwhatnametopick said:
Austin!! I had unfollowed the thread because the odds were not in my favor at all since it's a tiny class and I'm OOS. CRAZY
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Ahhh FANTASTIC. Dell seemed like such a fun opportunity when I was there. I'm so happy that you got the spot! Knock their socks off with your nontrad powwa! :highfive:
 
idontknowwhatnametopick said:
Austin!! I had unfollowed the thread because the odds were not in my favor at all since it's a tiny class and I'm OOS.
CRAZY

Also, THANKS to all of you who convinced me to actually attend that interview!! It was my last and I almost didn't go because I was burnt out by then. If it weren't for fellow non-trads I wouldn't have gone.
For future readers... Go to your interviews...
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I can't be happy for you since that means you aren't coming to Boston. But fine... Congrats!
 
mavric1298 said:
so is the 2017 non-trad applicant progress thread started yet or what
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We usually start the official one in May or June. By then last year cycle is mostly done, and our non-trad applicants for the new cycle are grouping together.
There is one that I saw, but it's been around for a few months. I don't think it's the official one, though.

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