Dukes Anonymous :)

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Burnsie, you have really outdone yourself with that last comment. I don't think a more random comment could ever be made. Good work.

:banana:
 
39 Days!
Nit-picky question for all: I've recieved my fall grades and want to use them as a reason to send an update/ love letter to Duke. I interviewed with Dr. Armstrong, so would it be best to send the letter directly to her? Or should just to the general address? or Mr. Wallace?
Thanks all and good luck with your presentation!
 
haha i just discovered i can check sdn from my pda! l am so bored in clinic... yeah just address your letter to dr. armstrong. thats what l did and l didnt even interview with her.
 
I interviewed there last week and loved it. I also want to send a letter to Dr. Armstrong expressing my interest/intent, but should I send it via email or snail mail? Does anyone know how often the committee meets? Or do they meet all at once at the conclusion of the interview season to make decisions for everyone? I'm just afraid with snail mail, my letter might not get there until after they've made decisions on my batch of interviewees. Thanks!
 
serendipity0112 said:
I interviewed there last week and loved it. I also want to send a letter to Dr. Armstrong expressing my interest/intent, but should I send it via email or snail mail? Does anyone know how often the committee meets? Or do they meet all at once at the conclusion of the interview season to make decisions for everyone? I'm just afraid with snail mail, my letter might not get there until after they've made decisions on my batch of interviewees. Thanks!
Click to expand...

I wonder if I interviewed you... although only a 1 in 15 (5/75) chance. I don't think the adcom has gotten to last week's interviews yet or will within the next 5 days, so snail mail would probably be safe.
 
i guess im a bit ignorant.... but acceptances go out the 28th? is it via phone call, mail, or email?
 
Anotherpremed, based on last year's thread it seems that snail mail acceptances go out in batches starting the first week in March, no phone calls.
 
Some do get phone calls if I remember correctly (a few of my classmates did), but the norm is just receiving the envelope addressed to "The Future Dr. FemalesCANTDriv" --> best day of my life! :banana:
 
FemalesCANTDriv said:
Some do get phone calls if I remember correctly (a few of my classmates did), but the norm is just receiving the envelope addressed to "The Future Dr. FemalesCANTDriv" --> best day of my life! :banana:
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Was it really the BEST day of your life?....
 
diosa428 said:
haha i just discovered i can check sdn from my pda! l am so bored in clinic... yeah just address your letter to dr. armstrong. thats what l did and l didnt even interview with her.
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So what's the verdict...are you a future ophthalmologist?

:banana: FCD :banana:
 
MrBurns10 said:
So what's the verdict...are you a future ophthalmologist?

:banana: FCD :banana:
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I like ophtho a lot, actually, but now I'm having a hard time deciding if I like it more than psych... I may do a psych selective or elective to get an idea of what it's like at a different place/with a different preceptor and see how much I still like it. They're just so different, it's hard to figure out what I really want to do...
 
diosa428 said:
I like ophtho a lot, actually, but now I'm having a hard time deciding if I like it more than psych... I may do a psych selective or elective to get an idea of what it's like at a different place/with a different preceptor and see how much I still like it. They're just so different, it's hard to figure out what I really want to do...
Click to expand...
Yeah, it was easy deciding to become a doctor, but knowing what you want to do for the rest of your life is so much harder. At least you know you like both and, thanks to Duke, have another year before 4th year to figure it all out. Taking a selective/elective is a good idea.
 
MrBurns10 said:
Yeah, it was easy deciding to become a doctor, but knowing what you want to do for the rest of your life is so much harder. At least you know you like both and, thanks to Duke, have another year before 4th year to figure it all out. Taking a selective/elective is a good idea.
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We should put you on the Duke commercial.
 
There's also Med-Peds. I recommend Med-Peds 🙂
 
Bones.

You don't catch RSV or bronchitis when you're fixing bones.
 
I managed to not get sick once on my Peds rotation! I attribute this to hand-washing, a daily glass of orange juice, and also lucky charms.
 
🙁 I got sick twice so far.

I think if you need to get sick once to Pass, I should be getting Honors.
 
i wonder what they do at the meetings because if what people above said is true, it looks like your application is given a value based on everything and your file is represented by a number. top 100 get immediate accepts...if it really is based on such a number system....then i wonder how committee meetings affect that score. conversely, maybe they do make decisions on the interviewee batch from previous weeks and decide whether to admit or waitlist at these meetings.....is it worth sending an LOI if my interview was three months ago?
 
Jamorama said:
i wonder what they do at the meetings because if what people above said is true, it looks like your application is given a value based on everything and your file is represented by a number. top 100 get immediate accepts...if it really is based on such a number system....then i wonder how committee meetings affect that score. conversely, maybe they do make decisions on the interviewee batch from previous weeks and decide whether to admit or waitlist at these meetings.....is it worth sending an LOI if my interview was three months ago?
Click to expand...

Ahh what a tangled, crazy mystery it is. I wish I could tell you but I cannot under penalty of death.

General consensus is that LOIs may help move you around on a waitlist. Your LOI would best serve you if you ended up on the waitlist after decisions are announced and you wanted to improve your standing. I don't think LOIs have ever done much to help with making the decision between accept and waitlist and reject. Then again, if it's a nice, appropriate letter, what could it hurt?
 
pagemmapants said:
🙁 I got sick twice so far.

I think if you need to get sick once to Pass, I should be getting Honors.
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No that doesn't make sense. If once is pass, than twice is high pass. Gotta get sick again for honors.
 
Haha you guys are silly. You see eachother in class and then you chat eachother up on SDN. :laugh:

That being said, Duke seems to kick *** and I will be investigating it closely come app time next year.
 
diosa428 said:
No that doesn't make sense. If once is pass, than twice is high pass. Gotta get sick again for honors.
Click to expand...

Hm. Good point. Do you think food poisoning would count? I could leave some yogurt out for a while. . . Or would it have to be some kind of organic child-acquired disease? There's a nice MRSA abscess on the inpatient service somewhere, I'm sure. . .
 
Drogba said:
Haha you guys are silly. You see eachother in class and then you chat eachother up on SDN. :laugh:
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Well, not exactly. FCD and DrD are first years, and I don't associate with first years. Pagemma is on peds, diosa is on surg, and I'm on medicine...you rarely see people in your class that aren't on your rotation unless you live with or hang out with them on a regular basis.

And fine, it's not that I don't associate with first years...it's that FCD and DrD won't associate with me 🙁
 
MrBurns10 said:
And fine, it's not that I don't associate with first years...it's that FCD and DrD won't associate with me 🙁
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Umm, and pagemma and I do?

Also, the first years are crazy psycho. You don't want to associate with them.

And also, they are getting blackberrys instead of palms, which is annoying. I'm going to find one lying around on the wards next year and steal it.
 
Burnsie, I wish I could associate with you. Unfortunately, I keep running into diosa and pagemma (and the chang).
 
diosa428 said:
Umm, and pagemma and I do?

Also, the first years are crazy psycho. You don't want to associate with them.

And also, they are getting blackberrys instead of palms, which is annoying. I'm going to find one lying around on the wards next year and steal it.
Click to expand...
I wasn't implying that you and pagemma do...and that blows about the blackberrys. We tried to get that this year for those who don't know but were REJECTED.

Done with medicine at Duke...bring on the Reg!
 
MrBurns10 said:
I wasn't implying that you and pagemma do...and that blows about the blackberrys. We tried to get that this year for those who don't know but were REJECTED.

Done with medicine at Duke...bring on the Reg!
Click to expand...

The Reg is a sweet gig. I liked doing my sub-I at Duke, but I did 2nd year medicine at the VA and then at DRH. It's crazy how much smoother things run at DRH than at the VA. So much smoother that if you work it right, you can get out of there a *very* decent time each day.
 
nevercold said:
The Reg is a sweet gig. I liked doing my sub-I at Duke, but I did 2nd year medicine at the VA and then at DRH. It's crazy how much smoother things run at DRH than at the VA. So much smoother that if you work it right, you can get out of there a *very* decent time each day.
Click to expand...

I liked the VA for medicine. I got to do tons of stuff - blood draws, ABGs, paracentesis, etc, and I was usually out by like 4 or 5 unless I was on call (earlier if I was post call). But I did my other 4 weeks at Duke, not the Reg, so I can't compare. I did to Psych at the Reg and liked it.
 
diosa428 said:
I liked the VA for medicine. I got to do tons of stuff - blood draws, ABGs, paracentesis, etc, and I was usually out by like 4 or 5 unless I was on call (earlier if I was post call). But I did my other 4 weeks at Duke, not the Reg, so I can't compare. I did to Psych at the Reg and liked it.
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I actually had a very chill service at Duke...the latest I ever got out on non-call days was 530, and I think our service got into the double digits patient-wise once or twice in 4 weeks. Now that I said that, I'm probably going to be stuck on the team at Reg that stays until 10 every night 🙁
 
MrBurns10 said:
I actually had a very chill service at Duke...the latest I ever got out on non-call days was 530, and I think our service got into the double digits patient-wise once or twice in 4 weeks. Now that I said that, I'm probably going to be stuck on the team at Reg that stays until 10 every night 🙁
Click to expand...

I had pretty much the same experience at Duke, but our list was generally pretty long. The thing is, once you get out of class, there's rarely anything for you to do if your notes are already written. You could sit around and wait for lab results to come back, but it's not like you're going to do anything about it even if they do come back - the intern is going to put in the orders. So I don't really see how you could end up stuck there unless you were on call.
 
Is it worth it for me to send a letter to Duke saying that I kept up my grades during my last semester and graduated with a 4.0? I don't want to sound like a tool. Also, does Duke tell you about financial aid, scholarships, etc. when you're accepted, or after?
 
beepbloop said:
Is it worth it for me to send a letter to Duke saying that I kept up my grades during my last semester and graduated with a 4.0? I don't want to sound like a tool. Also, does Duke tell you about financial aid, scholarships, etc. when you're accepted, or after?
Click to expand...

Great forum name. It is very enjoyable to say (full with intonation and robotic arm movements). But you asked a question...

If you had less than a 4.0 on your application, then that is find to send those grades on through. If you had a 4.0, then saying "Hey, still have a 4.0" won't matter. Duke gives financial aid/scholarship information out after sending acceptances so that you'd have that information before that date in May when you have to only keep one.

Just clicked your little profile thing and saw the 4.0. Yeah, telling them you got a 4.0 won't change anything. Are you genuinely interested in coming to Duke?
 
Thanks for the complement on my name, sounds much cooler when you use a robot voice, eh?
Yeah, I'm definitely interested in Duke for a variety of reasons, including the plethora of research opportunities, awesome clinical experiences, and locations. Not to mention the curriculum. Oooh, that curriculum 🙂. I will admit, however, that financial aid will play a big part in my decision. I know Duke has merit scholarships, I just don't know if I fit the bill, so to speak. Thanks for the quick reply to my post.
 
beepbloop said:
I will admit, however, that financial aid will play a big part in my decision. I know Duke has merit scholarships, I just don't know if I fit the bill, so to speak. Thanks for the quick reply to my post.
Click to expand...

They also give financial aid by calculating your need (incorporates your parents' finances) and giving you like 55-60% of that. One year when my parents made about $90k combined that equated to about $25k. Puts a dent in the $60k for the total package. Also keep in mind if you do the clinical research training program as a 3rd year or get a howard hughes, those are $24k packages that are cut out of your loans, not your financial aid package.
 
First day of the last block of basic sciences!!! Doing basic sciences in two years = fail.
 
34:luck:

Anyone going to the big game tomorrow?!
 
MrBurns10 said:
My boyfriend is 😡. A Duke fan in the Dean Dome? Hopefully he makes it out alive.

congrats for surviving PE week, FCD and DrD! That week was so boring.
Click to expand...

Not compared to the first week of B&D...

:banana:
 
Just got into the MSTP (they roll, md-only doesn't.) Looking forward to meeting you all at revisit 🙂 and GOOD LUCK!
 
meowkat444 said:
Just got into the MSTP (they roll, md-only doesn't.) Looking forward to meeting you all at revisit 🙂 and GOOD LUCK!
Click to expand...

Congratulations!! All the MD/PhDs I know here at Duke, especially the ones in my class, are really great people and fun to hang out with. I hope Duke feels like the right fit to you and if not, I'm sure you'll be a very positive part of whichever school you choose. One thing I've noticed about MD/PhDs here that are coming back to finish their clinical stuff now is that they all seem really well adjusted and have really figured out what sort of balance they want in life (if they didn't already know it, which I think a lot of them do by the time they start on the PhD part).
 
WOW!!! Congrats on the acceptance! The MD/PhDs in the first year class are also really amazing people and all of the ones I know from other classes are phenomenal as well. I also think Nancy Andrews is going to be overseeing a lot of yalls program so that is gonna be uber baller for yall. Anyhoo, hope you find Duke a sweet place to be come second look.

:banana:
 
If i started my curriculum in duke (USA), then halfway through, can i transfer back to my home country (duke @ GMS) to complete my studies??
 
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