Tulane Secondary Available

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hsvpan said:
Interview there ASAP if you get a chance, they are going to fill their class very early. I interviewed on Tuesday and got accepted Saturday.

Damn, I guess I'm not going to Tulane. :( (Didn't get my secondary in before Katrina, now not knowing whether to send it)

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Flopotomist said:
Kitra - I just wanted to drop a line and say thanks for the info re: the secondary being available (you had the 411 before the tulane.edu website!). Thanks to you, I was able to get my secondary off today. Woo Hoo! Wish me luck!

Oh, and Moose - congrats on the USUHS acceptance! that is AWESOME!!

Thanks, Flopotomist! I think big envelopes rock, too! :D

(although USUHS sends a fairly small one, for the record, only three sheets of paper)
 
MoosePilot said:
I'm no hurricane expert, but I think New Orleans is uniquely vulnerable, since it's right on the coast and below sea level. The levees are the only thing keeping it from being underwater. Houston isn't as vulnerable. Rule out most of the Texas schools?! Texas geography isn't a specialty of mine, but I have been there enough to know that it better be a nasty hurricane to flood Dallas-Ft. Worth (two schools), or Texas Tech in the panhandle (more likely to continuously suffer from drought). Houston is somewhat vulnerable, as recently shown, and San Antonio area floods from time to time, but the medical school is on one of the highest points, if not the highest, in the town. It sits on a hill.

Like I said, it's only my opinion, but I wanted to see what others thought. I think Tulane might be a buyers market this year, but maybe not.

You make some good points Moose (as you usually do), but I think I'm going to send them another secondary. I mean, I already paid the $95, why not see what happens?

I am a little worried about there being another big hurricane there, but you take your risks no matter where you live: Hurricanes in the gulf, earthquakes on the West coast, tornadoes in the middle of the country, blizzards in the North...getting shot in DC. Anyway, it just seems kind of rash to me to rule it out so quickly. I mean, we may not interview until after January anyway, so we might get to see the school first hand, or we could always go back and visit later in the spring. More $$$, but I guess you could think of it as a sort of second look. ;)

Still I can see how with an acceptance in hand you might prefer to live somewhere more stable.
 
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No I would definitely still send in the secondary especially if you're from the south, the office is going quickly through everything. The people there were really amazing. One of my interviewers was the Dean of Admissions and she was one cool lady. They don't ever look at your file, all just asked questions about what you like to do, fun things you have done etc. Really laid back, no pressure at all. The student interview is over and lunch and it counts as much as the other interviews. I asked four different students if they would still go to Tulane if they knew about the hurricane before the decided where to go and they all responded "without a doubt" with impressed me more than anything. Honestly Tulane wasn't in my top 5 but now it is definitely my favorite. If you have any other questions, let me know.
 
hsvpan said:
No I would definitely still send in the secondary especially if you're from the south, the office is going quickly through everything. The people there were really amazing. One of my interviewers was the Dean of Admissions and she was one cool lady. They don't ever look at your file, all just asked questions about what you like to do, fun things you have done etc. Really laid back, no pressure at all. The student interview is over and lunch and it counts as much as the other interviews. I asked four different students if they would still go to Tulane if they knew about the hurricane before the decided where to go and they all responded "without a doubt" with impressed me more than anything. Honestly Tulane wasn't in my top 5 but now it is definitely my favorite. If you have any other questions, let me know.

Thanks for the reply and congrats!!!
 
Definitely! I mean I would have sent them a copy of my secondary the minute I found out they wanted a new one (and a copy of the canceled check :laugh: ), but now that I have an acceptance, I know I don't want to risk going to med school in what I fear will be a chaotic and disorganized environment.
 
I hope that my secondary gets processed and approved for an interview before the class fills up! I mailed it off as soon as my fellow SDNers pointed out that it was available... Thanks SDN!!
 
Where are you going to re-send the secondary to?
 
indo said:
Where are you going to re-send the secondary to?
If you scroll up Kitra posted the link to the new website with the secondary as well as the new address in Gretna.
 
Thanks! I knew I was missing something
 
here's my situation - so, i sent in my secondary and application fee in august and tulane had cashed my app fee check. my graduate school letter should have arrived at tulane maybe two or three days before the hurricane hit. so, i never received any word that my application was complete. what do you guys think i should do? i'm wondering if i'm complete or if that even matters anymore. i'm not really sure if need to be going about anything, resending the letter, etc. i feel badly about contacting admissions because they have enough to worry about. any suggestions? thanks. :thumbup:
 
medstylee said:
here's my situation - so, i sent in my secondary and application fee in august and tulane had cashed my app fee check. my graduate school letter should have arrived at tulane maybe two or three days before the hurricane hit. so, i never received any word that my application was complete. what do you guys think i should do? i'm wondering if i'm complete or if that even matters anymore. i'm not really sure if need to be going about anything, resending the letter, etc. i feel badly about contacting admissions because they have enough to worry about. any suggestions? thanks. :thumbup:

call them, they know everyone is pretty confused about everything. It might take several attempts to get through, but the admissions lady is very nice and helpful.
 
I was wondering if any of you know if we are supposed to send our letters of recommendation to the Gretna address or just hold off. I didn't see anything referring to letters of recommendation on the website.
 
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i was waitlisted last year at Tulane. from New Orleans originally, absolutely love the school and was really waiting till the very end to hear from them. things have a funny way of working out, i guess.
i just got an email last week from dr. beckman and i have been accepted for next year. i am absolutely relieved to have this huge burden off my shoulders, and now i'm withdrawing from every school i applied to except 2. i had the worst experience ever with applications and the whole process last year, and to have it be done is a great feeling that i'm sure all of ya'll will get soon. i think TU is a great school and NO is my home, so i have a vested interest in seeing it rebuilt stronger and better. and i encourage all of ya'll to apply and see what happens. each day more progress is made, and TU is an international school that will get a lot of help from it's alums across the country and the world. good luck.
 
Again to everyone out there interested - do not give up if you are interested. You now have two identical opinions from people who met students and admissions staff (such as Dr. Beckman) and you can see that they are extremely nice people and it is a great opportunity. What better than to help in the rebuilding process of a fantastic city with great and unique culture while surrounded by warm, caring knowledgable faculty members and friendly, team player-type students? Some place to get a medical education! Check my above post - look at that link - fill out that secondary and send it off!
 
So, I have a question to people like me who weren't able to get the secondary out to Tulane before Katrina. Did you send your secondary and LORs out to that Gretna address, or are you waiting for some further statement from the school? I'm wondering whether to send mine. Have anyone who sent it to the Gretna address heard anything back, like an interview invitation, or just an acknowledgement of receipt?
 
...or have the directions on their website changed again? i think last time i read it, yesterday, it said that if you already sent your secondary, to resend your secondary and a copy of your cancelled check. but now it says not to send anything.
 
ugh. why do they say everyone that sent it in after 8/15 needs to resend it in. wasn't the hurricane 8/30th or something. i sent mine in 8/25 but never got my certified mail receipt. i also sent them a money order which i dont think can be cancelled, or is at least a real pain in the ass to get cancelled. are you all "reapplying"?
-mota
 
i'm gonna resubmit tomorrow. so no LORs right?
-mota
 
Kitra101 said:
Again to everyone out there interested - do not give up if you are interested. You now have two identical opinions from people who met students and admissions staff (such as Dr. Beckman) and you can see that they are extremely nice people and it is a great opportunity. What better than to help in the rebuilding process of a fantastic city with great and unique culture while surrounded by warm, caring knowledgable faculty members and friendly, team player-type students? Some place to get a medical education! Check my above post - look at that link - fill out that secondary and send it off!

Kitra or somebody who knows, can you please please give us the supposedly new link with the secondary and the address to which we send it? I am a little flustered right now because I don't see anything new on the website that includes the secondary and the address.... I called the lady at Tulane, and I can tell she was overwhelmed. I didn't get any questions answered, and I am left more confused and flustered, so please please someone please help me find the secondary and address. I would really want this special opportunity to interview at Tulane. :)
 
BlinkyCat said:
Kitra or somebody who knows, can you please please give us the supposedly new link with the secondary and the address to which we send it? I am a little flustered right now because I don't see anything new on the website that includes the secondary and the address.... I called the lady at Tulane, and I can tell she was overwhelmed. I didn't get any questions answered, and I am left more confused and flustered, so please please someone please help me find the secondary and address. I would really want this special opportunity to interview at Tulane. :)
scroll up and you will find the link that Kitra put up. Good luck!
 
I think the confusion that is arising is from the fact that there are currently 2 Tulane SOM websites. The original Tulane server was temporarily downed by Katrina and so they used the Baylor website. However, when the Tulane Server (original site) when back up, in the admissions section the following information was placed at the top and dated:

NOTICE TO APPLICANTS
(10/16/05)

Tulane University School of Medicine will now start accepting applications again for entering class 2006. Anyone that has applied after August 15, 2005, please resubmit your Secondary application, a copy of your AMCAS application, and a fee of $95.00. Before submitting your $95.00 fee, check your bank statement to see if your check has cleared the bank, if so please send a copy of your cancelled check.

The faculty members of Tulane Medical School are conducting classes at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX. Applicants are now being interviewed at Baylor and the first letters of Acceptance will be mailed October 15, 2005. All applications and correspondence should be mailed to our temporary address,
Tulane University School of Medicine, P.O. Box 1790, Gretna, LA 70054.

This website is on the actual Tulane Server (www.som.tulane.edu)
The actual link is this: http://www.som.tulane.edu/departments/admissions/index.htm

The other Baylor/Tulane Server is: http://www.som.tulane.bcm.edu (Notice the BCM for Baylor College of Medicine)

The admission information in website is older than that on the other website. That said, look into it if you are interested and call to find out what they would prefer you to do. Good luck!
 
am i the only one having trouble getting through to tulane admissions using teh number provided on the website? it keeps saying it's only open between the hours of 8-4 or something, which is the time frame in which i am calling. could someone please post the correct number if you've been successful in contacting them?

thanks!
 
do we need to send LORS? anybody??
-mota
 
DaMota said:
do we need to send LORS? anybody??
-mota
My understanding from the original website (see Kitra's link) is that we do, so I did. Sending them can't do any harm, but not sending them might - so I'd send them.... to Gretna.
 
Flopotomist said:
My understanding from the original website (see Kitra's link) is that we do, so I did. Sending them can't do any harm, but not sending them might - so I'd send them.... to Gretna.

word. thanks.
-mota
 
Triggity02 said:
i was waitlisted last year at Tulane. from New Orleans originally, absolutely love the school and was really waiting till the very end to hear from them. things have a funny way of working out, i guess.
i just got an email last week from dr. beckman and i have been accepted for next year. i am absolutely relieved to have this huge burden off my shoulders, and now i'm withdrawing from every school i applied to except 2. i had the worst experience ever with applications and the whole process last year, and to have it be done is a great feeling that i'm sure all of ya'll will get soon. i think TU is a great school and NO is my home, so i have a vested interest in seeing it rebuilt stronger and better. and i encourage all of ya'll to apply and see what happens. each day more progress is made, and TU is an international school that will get a lot of help from it's alums across the country and the world. good luck.


Do you know if people interviewed and waitlisted last year have to interview again?
 
indo said:
Do you know if people interviewed and waitlisted last year have to interview again?

ya probably.
-mota
 
indo,

i was waitlisted last year till the end. just got into TU this past week. i resubmitted stuff to them only after they started class on Aug4th and i wasn't in it. i didn't have to interview again. it's all based on some raw score number that a panel of 5+ people who look at your application grade you with. above a number, you don't have to interview again. if you were waitlisted last year, i highly doubt you'll be put through a yearlong wait. you'll hear something soon. good luck!
 
Triggity02 said:
indo,

i was waitlisted last year till the end. just got into TU this past week. i resubmitted stuff to them only after they started class on Aug4th and i wasn't in it. i didn't have to interview again. it's all based on some raw score number that a panel of 5+ people who look at your application grade you with. above a number, you don't have to interview again. if you were waitlisted last year, i highly doubt you'll be put through a yearlong wait. you'll hear something soon. good luck!

hey triggity, congrats on getting in!

did they by chance tell you what your number was, what the cut off number was, or any indication of how close you were?

does this mean that people who were waitlisted the year before are given first priority, and thus take up seats that otherwise could have been open to a brand new applicant pool?

thanks
 
Triggity02 said:
indo,

i was waitlisted last year till the end. just got into TU this past week. i resubmitted stuff to them only after they started class on Aug4th and i wasn't in it. i didn't have to interview again. it's all based on some raw score number that a panel of 5+ people who look at your application grade you with. above a number, you don't have to interview again. if you were waitlisted last year, i highly doubt you'll be put through a yearlong wait. you'll hear something soon. good luck!

Oh, good! I heard a rumor that matched what you've just written. Last year they allegedly purged half of the people from the waitlist but I remained on the waitlist. That should be a good sign. I wonder what the interview score cutoff was.
 
yeah, i also was waiting till the very very end to hear about the waitlist. no one withdrew in the last few months of the process, so that waitlist just did not move. i was bummed for a couple weeks, but it definitely was for the best though, in light of the storm who's name we must not speak.
i had talked to Susana Vargas in the office about the process when i called the office in Houston sometime in september. she was the one who basically told me that my interviews scores were high, and as such, i wouldn't have to interview again. i asked her if i should send updates, maybe another letter or something to accompany my applicatin (which i submitted immediately after i didn't get in on Aug4), and she told me essentially, not to worry. i took that as great news, but then again, this whole process sucks, so i take nothign for granted and i am an extreme pessimist until i get the bird in hand.
a friend who's a 3rd year at tulane had been waitlisted, and then accepted a year later during her process. she said that when she went for her "interview" the 2nd time around, she was told immediately that she was accepted and then she just chatted with the deans. she was also from NOLA, so she didnt' have to pay the expense of travelling, so i think they will handle it differently for those who don't live down there.
anyways, i hope this helps. really, to use the Ghostbusters analogy, Mrs. Vargas seems to be the gatekeeper and you are the Keymaster. she's swamped sometimes, but if you can connect with her, she is a great source of info, and much can be learned.
 
thanks! good to know. now, if only i can be granted an interview...
 
my bad. i was just speculating. good luck.

btw, does anybody else get the impression that tulane is just handing out interviews and acceptances like saltines? i'm not trying to downplay anybodys acceptances. an acceptance is an acceptance and you must be bloody thrilled. but tulane just seems to have this desperation, to be expected considering they were out of the admissions game for 2 months. i echoed this desperation by overnighting my application.
-mota
 
DaMota said:
my bad. i was just speculating. good luck.

btw, does anybody else get the impression that tulane is just handing out interviews and acceptances like saltines? i'm not trying to downplay anybodys acceptances. an acceptance is an acceptance and you must be bloody thrilled. but tulane just seems to have this desperation, to be expected considering they were out of the admissions game for 2 months. i echoed this desperation by overnighting my application.
-mota
I wish I had overnighted mine. At the rate these acceptances are going out, I am concerned that if I am fortunate enough to get an interview, it will just be for a waitlist slot.
 
i overnighted my secondary, check, and amcas as well so they should have had it by this morning.
i don't know if it does much good though, because i know my premed committee will not be spending the 20 bucks to overnight the packet again, it's probably going to take a few days at least for the admissions office to get them.

unless they will look at the file before they get the letters(they were willing to invite ppl just based on the amcas primary right?) i guess we'll just have to wait and see.
 
Hey,

I'm actually a PhD candidate in the Micro Dept of Tulane Med School. I went back about 10 days ago to check on my house, meet with my insurance adjuster and see if I couldn't get into my office to get my research papers/files.

Tulane Med School, the school that is was planning on moving to buildings over by the Superdome and on the other side of Charity...sort of an opportunity to update and expand etc. I don't know where that stands...but the admissions office WAS on the first floor of the med school. They completely renovated that part of the building and had just finished a new front lobby.

So, all the secondaries they had already received...probably more than half...were probably destroyed and may have been part of the cleared debris filling the dumpsters outside our building when I went to check it out and chat with the Tulane police.

My department is scheduled to re-open on some level..probably just start the clean-up...November 1st. The med students are supposedly coming back for January. They're taking classes in Texas right now.

I'm sure we'll be up and running by next year.

Just in case you were interested.

I think this will be a unique time to be in New Orleans...and I'm totally excited to move back in a week.

Good Luck@!

-s
 
In terms of a saltine cracker thing - I will say this - of the people who report acceptances - how many were waitlisted last year and made that final cut of the waitlist before sitting the whole summer? The answer is that many of these people, including myself, were waitlisted. In addition to that, it may sound that you are hearing of some quick acceptances, but considering that they did not do EDP as most schools do, that may make you think that all the spots will be gone. My in state school, for example, accepts 70-80 EDP each year for a class of 180. An additional 7 out of staters may be offered an acceptance. That said, it leaves near 110-100 slots. Do the math and think about what this means. Damota, I wish you luck and hope you are handed a "saltine cracker," but remember that in this case, the normal situation is near 6600 applicants for 155 spots. My in state school comes nowhere near that. Even if applications were down 50% this year, that is still near 3300 applicants for 155 spots. Again, do the math...best of luck!
 
DaMota said:
my bad. i was just speculating. good luck.

btw, does anybody else get the impression that tulane is just handing out interviews and acceptances like saltines? i'm not trying to downplay anybodys acceptances. an acceptance is an acceptance and you must be bloody thrilled. but tulane just seems to have this desperation, to be expected considering they were out of the admissions game for 2 months. i echoed this desperation by overnighting my application.
-mota

did you overnight your LORs too? i just resent them regularly.
 
Joonie said:
did you overnight your LORs too? i just resent them regularly.

i sent them regularly. since they didn't ask for them on the website, i thought this might make them have to review my app twice. once when they get the app stuff and again when they got the letters. mind games? two can play at this.
-mota
 
how would you overnight your LORs anyway? doesn't your premed committee have to do that? i don't think they would spend the extra money or effort, even if i requested it. it cost me over 20 bucks to overnight the secondary etc.
 
bubbleyum said:
how would you overnight your LORs anyway? doesn't your premed committee have to do that? i don't think they would spend the extra money or effort, even if i requested it. it cost me over 20 bucks to overnight the secondary etc.

berkeley's LOR service gives you the option of overnighting it. its like 25 bucks.
-mota
 
Here's the latest -

Tulane

Guidelines Related to Admissions Procedures

The Office of Admissions of the Tulane University School of Medicine is currently operating from Baylor College of Medicine, in Houston, TX.

Unfortunately, as a result of the damage caused by hurricane Katrina to our campus in New Orleans, our operations are very limited. Be assured that we are continuously working towards resuming our regular operations in the New Orleans campus as soon as we possibly can. This web site will be updated constantly as the status of things change, so please make sure to check it often.

In the meantime, here are updated (10/21/05) guidelines to give our applicants an idea of how we are handling our admissions procedure:

For applicants who had received an invitation to interview at Tulane School of Medicine prior to Katrina: we are currently rescheduling these appointments for interviews to be conducted at Baylor College of Medicine. Also for Baylor/Tulane combined applicants who are scheduled to interview for Baylor College of Medicine, we are scheduling interviews on the Saturday following their interview at Baylor. Please call Susanna Vargas at 713-798-4835 to arrange a scheduling.

If you have not received an invitation to interview at Tulane School of Medicine, but had completed your application, please wait until you are contacted by our office. We are working towards being able to get access to our data system soon, so that we can pick up where you left off in our review procedure. In the event that our data system is not available soon, we will post new information on the web site providing other options.

Tulane University School of Medicine will now start accepting applications again for entering class 2006. Anyone that has applied after August 15, 2005, please resubmit your Secondary Application (which is now back on-line), a copy of your AMCAS application, and a fee of $95.00. Before submitting your $95.00 fee, check your bank statement to see if your check has cleared the bank, if so please send a copy of your cancelled check.

The faculty members of Tulane Medical School are conducting classes at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX. Applicants are now being interviewed at Baylor and the first letters of Acceptance will be mailed October 15, 2005. All applications and correspondence should be mailed ONLY to our temporary address, Tulane University School of Medicine, P.O. Box 1790, Gretna, LA 70054.

Again, please continue to check the web site information for updated details.

Barbara Beckman, Ph.D.,


Assistant Dean for Admissions
 
Okay, the above doesn't say anything about LORs, so I called poor Susanna and talked to her.

LORs need to be sent if they weren't before.

If you sent in your stuff before the Hurricane, then see if your check was cashed. If it was, then it seems like it should be good to go. If not, resend everything.

Right now they're interviewing people who had complete applications before and who had already been reviewed. They are now starting to review applications for those whose hadn't yet been looked at.

That's all! The only other thing she said is that it's confusing because the people who are posting the info aren't necessarily the same as those that are in the application process - I'm sure they'll get it worked out soon.
 
anybody who sent anything after the 10/16 notice went up hear anything (i.e. complete notification) ?
-mota
 
here it is:

https://som.tulane.bcm.edu/content.cfm?menu_id=119

Important Message from Dean Ian Taylor
The following message directed to our students went out to the Executive Faculty on Friday, October 21. In case your Chair did not pass it on I am forwarding a copy to the entire faculty:

"Our Medical School building will not reopen in time for our educational programs to return to New Orleans in January 2006. It is the most damaged of our buildings due largely to the effects of the flood on the generators and electrical circuits. Some of our researchers will be able to return, as the JBJ building was the least damaged. Although much progress has been made at TUHC, our hospital will not reopen until February at the earliest. Unfortunately, we still do not know the status of Medical Center of Louisiana at New Orleans or the New Orleans VAMC. Therefore neither our educational facilities nor our clinical facilities will allow us to ensure a quality educational experience in New Orleans by January. As such I feel there is no other choice but to extend our stay here until the end of the academic year. We all realize that this will be disappointing news for some of you. However, as the patient population returns to New Orleans we will be able to make available more clinical rotations for students in New Orleans and Louisiana. Also, Dr. Amedee will continue his current plans for the transition of our residents, which is less dependent upon a functional medical school building.

It will probably not help to tell you we are all in the same boat. As you know the uptown campus was not impacted to anywhere near the degree we were, and the undergraduate programs will be able to return in January. My wife and son will return to New Orleans in January so my son can finish his senior year at Loyola. This means other faculty and I will be living apart from their families for the second half of the academic year. However, I believe that remaining in Houston, with the outstanding facilities and resources available at Baylor and the other Alliance institutions will assure that you receive the very best of educations during these difficult times."

These are clearly trying times for us all. However, the VA VISIN director assured me that the VA is committed to rebuilding in New Orleans. In addition it is my hope and expectation that FEMA will help rebuild MCLNO. Amazing progress has been made remediating TUHC and the HSC buildings. While we will all have to manage this difficult interim phase, it is my expectation that New Orleans will be rebuilt to be an even greater city than it was pre-Katrina. Your Chairs are involved in regular weekly teleconferences to discuss the reestablishment of the clinical and research missions in New Orleans. Also we have reestablished the monthly Executive Committee meetings by teleconference. It is important that the chairs form a conduit for information to their faculty and keep you updated on the outcomes of the regular teleconferences and the progress of the remediation of the buildings. Please ensure that your Chair has your contact information so we can keep the lines of communication open. There are many new research opportunities that will arise out of this situation we find ourselves in and I encourage you all to think about taking advantage of these opportunities. It is my hope and expectation that we will work with our sister school, LSU, to strengthen each of our institutions and to work together towards a new and even better New Orleans.

Ian L. Taylor, M.D., Ph.D.


Associate Senior Vice President for the Health Sciences
Dean, School of Medicine
 
:luck: Hi,
I want to put my two cents in:

Last year I applied to Tulane, was interviewed, waitlisted, and rejected in May. This year I applied early decision and was supposed to have an interview on Sept. 19th. I rescheduled this for October 14th.
At the interview, Dr. Beckman remembered me and said, "Oh, you weren't supposed to have to interview again." I took this as a good sign. My interview was on a Friday, and I got the acceptance letter on Monday!
So, I guess it may be true that people who were almost accepted last year did not have to interview again. But, I'm glad I did. I talked with Dr. Beckman last year and she said my application was great; the only problem was that my interviews didn't go well (I didn't talk enough.) So, I feel like I got to prove myself, because I know the interviews went really well.
Anyway, for those of you who will interview soon, here's some advice: you have to be able to talk about yourself and your interests freely without specific questioning. In the interview, it just seems like they want to see if they like you. You don't have to prove you're a genius or anything like that. Also, I think they are looking for people with connections to New Orleans.

good luck everyone!
You can do it, even if it takes a couple of tries!
 
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