The day I interviewed there were three interviewees. One girl, a friend from undergrad, heard about her acceptance the following Wednesday. (The committee meets every Wednesday morning, and you will get a phone call acceptance.) I heard my acceptance either 2 or 3 weeks later, but now that I think about it, it may have been closer to 3. When they called, they apologized for the "delay", and said that they had trouble getting my report back from one of the interviewers (I have a pretty good idea who
). The third girl I recognized in a post on interviewfeedback.com. We were in contact for awhile, mostly over her long wait. She is an instate applicant, completely qualified (my impression from the say we spent together), and after SIX FREAKIN' WEEKS, she finally got her acceptance call. She was sweating too, because she wanted MSU, but had 7 other acceptances and the time for deposits was coming up soon. So if it takes 6 weeks, that may not be a bad thing.
Why I chose UNECOM over MSUCOM? Have you ever lived in East Lansing? MSU was my undergrad institution, and I spent 4 years there as an undergrad, a year as a TA and a grad, and finally moved to Maine in Dec. of last year. Some people like East Lansing and build their homes there - I hated it. it's a college town, so it's loud. There are quiet places to live, but it's a crapshoot to find one since people move all the time, and you never know who will move in next semester. I never found one. I lived in 4 different dorms, 2 houses, and 3 apartments, all in different locations but still close enough to walk. They were all very loud. Parking is impossible. I paid at least $200 in parking tickets each year, and I didn't drive to class. Sometimes, you can't even get a parking space at your apartment. Everything is on one road: Grand River Ave, which is nearly always under some kind of construction, and usually crowded. The town is overpopulated with police ever since the riots (oh yeah, did I meantion there were riots?) so you get pulled over all the time for stupid ****. I was in a parking lot accident (A guy backed into me, thought he was in drive but was still in reverse), so I had a smashed headlight for two weeks until my appointment with the body shop. I was pulled over for a light being out nearly every day. Every freakin' day! One day, I was pulled over 3 times ON THE WAY TO SCHOOL!! It's a party town, which doesn't necessarily mean that you can't get a good education, but it makes an interesting living environment, to say the least. I've lived E,N,S, and W of campus, and couldn't find anywhere that I felt comfortable living. Lansing is industrial and dirty. There are good things about the city, but you'll have to ask someone else since I'm a little biased
UNECOM: the Atlantic coast. Best fall colors in the country. An outdoorsman's heaven. All the things I love.
As for academics, I can't say that MSU is a bad med school because it isn't. I don't like that the bodies are pre-carved, and I know their faults, especially since I taught anatomy in that very lab.(TA) I also took that dissecting class, and loved it. YOu just learn so much seeing it layer by layer. Then again, with the pre-carved ones you get alot of diferent examples. I liked UNECOM's electives, the family atmosphere, the extreme happiness of the students at their choice of med school,how everything is in one building, the patient contact experience during pre-clinical years, I attended a few classes and was impressed, THE OMM LAB, the activities and clubs, the gym, the emphasis on rural medicine,and the plans for years 3 and 4. Most people will say that this is the school's weak point, and I can see why. The way I see it, you can do one of two things: Stay in Maine, bop around hospitals, and get experience in all kinds of different settings. Choose one of their core sites (of which there aren't many), and stay in one place for the third year. You set up your fourth year. The fourth year sounded pretty flexible. Overall, I felt comfortable at UNE, and was excited about the prospect of attending. My interview went great, and a little over a week later, I called the admissions office and asked if I got in. They actually transferred me to someone who looked and gave me the news over the phone. I've always loved the northeast, and now I live here. I hated East Lansing, and now I'm gone.
Hang in there until about 6 weeks from your interview, since we do have one example from this year of a person with good stats and excellent experience (a paramedic for 4 years) who had to wait that long. Good luck!!
