Falling in love

Do I fall in love too easily? Today’s visit at Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine felt like love. It felt like they loved me and, frankly, I can reciprocate. The day was sunny and bright and beautiful, and the weather was pretty good, too!

So what’s the love about? TCOM is an innovator. It was one of the first schools to develop a systems-based, integrated curriculum. It has a sim lab that served as the model for Mayo and the anatomy lab was set up by a former surgeon general (C. Everett Koop, I believe—my personal favorite SG.) There are computers at each tank and a mobile camera for all to observe particularly interesting finds on the large-screen monitors throughout the room. Students have 24-hour access to both labs.

 

The classrooms are massive. Not my favorite, but expected for such a large school with 240 students per class. There are screens in the classroom and each student has a personal mike for asking (or answering) questions. The OMM lab has five cameras on the demo table and plenty of monitors throughout.

How do they make the large classes feel not so overwhelming? Students are divided into four “colleges”—think Hogwarts School of Medicine. Each college provides students with a support network for studying and socializing. The students are further divided (not sure if this is a cross colleges or not) into work groups of 6-7 people. These are the same folks you will be doing group assignments with throughout your first two years.

 
Whatever their recipe for success is, it seems to be working. The school has one of the highest COMLEX pass rates and 90% of their students sit for USMLE Step 1 (and have a pass rate on par with any other med school in the nation).

I know that at some point in time, I would like to be involved in academic medicine. TCOM is a place where I truly would feel comfortable. It is collegial and inviting. One of my interviewers was a “second-career” DO. He was soft-spoken and very encouraging. The interview ended with him saying, “We need to find your husband a job here.”

 

My second interview was even more calming than my first. We sat down and he let me know that he read my file thoroughly. He liked what he read, and told me so. We talked a little about the journey of life. I felt like I was speaking to a kindred spirit.

And that is the greatest love. Finding kindred spirits in life is so rejuvenating. I know that TCOM would be full of them. No, not 240, but enough. Maybe I have settled into a place in my life where connecting with such spirits is easy. Maybe I’ve become better able at trusting my intuition and feeling things out. I like what I felt today. It felt like home. A strange, unfamiliar, comfortable home.

Premed Application Valentine Saga

Remember a time when you had a crush on a guy, and he didn't even give you the time of day? Maybe it was middle school or high school. I've kind of got that thing going on now. Kinda.

You see, my state school is one of those guys who thinks he's All That. God's gift to med students, if you will. Here's how our conversation has played out so far.

Me: Hey, you're kind of cute. Here's my number (application).

State School: Yeah. I know. You're not so bad yourself. (Read: fill out the secondary.)

Me: So you wanna go on a date (interview) or something?

State School: Sure. Why don't you come to my place. We can double. (He's keeping his options open.) How about lunch?

State School: By the way, don't call me. I'll call you. Maybe.

Time passes. A semester ends. Grades are posted.

Me: So, hey, what's up? I'm, you know, still here. And I haven't heard from you. And thought maybe you lost my number. Maybe you wanna go out again? (In other words, I sent an update with a list of courses I completed and my grades--4.0, of course.)

State School: Cool. ("Thank you for your update. It was added to your file.")

Me: Cool. (As in, "Where do you get off wait-listing 95% of the people you interview! Really?")

State School: <Silence>

Meanwhile, I decided to date another school. This one was out of state. Maybe he wasn't quite as cute as my state school, but he certainly wasn't as stuck up. Now I'm in some sort of New Order-esque "Bizarre Love Triangle."

Other School: Hey, Vieve, wanna go out?

Me: Whatever. I don't have anything else to do.

Other School:  Hey, Vieve, I'm really into you.

Me: Whatever.

Other School: I got you a present ("We are pleased to offer you a scholarship...")

Me: Wow. This is kinda serious.

State School: <Silence>

Other School: Wanna move in?

Here I am, crushing on this school that's student-body president while this down-to-earth, sweet-as-pie other school is looking at me with puppy dog eyes. Of course, giving in to his puppy dog eyes means that I'll be selling my house, packing up my family, and moving a thousand miles away. I find myself feeling a little resentful towards my state school. It's like he's just leading me on and toying with my heart by not giving me a "thank you for your application, but..." letter. Why? Why do you have to play hard to get? If  you are this hard to get a second date with, I'm wondering if you are really even my type. Really, what's a girl to do?

MCAT (take 2) Scores Released!

Verbal Reasoning went down by one point to 11--big whoop, still sizzlin'.

Physical Sciences went up by one point to 8--that's good enough for me.

Biological Science--bam!--jumped up FOUR points to an 11.

Sweet, sweet, sweet satisfaction. 26o to 30p.

Mini-Me

Mini-Me is 17 and a senior in high school. Needless to say, she resembles her mother. Though she is convinced that I have no idea what she is going through, I'd say that we are both in the same boat. Or at least, we rented our canoes from the same place.

Mini is feeling a bit overwhelmed at the prospect of applying to college. It doesn't help that I keep telling her she needs to get her applications in right away. How nice it must be to decide if you want to apply to three places or stretch yourself and apply to five! (Jealously point #1.) So far, I think she has decided to exclude schools that have an essay section on their applications. (Jealousy point #2.)

She took her first ACT exam this spring. With a score of 29, Mini believed that she could have done better if she had actually gone through the prep book I bought her. Frankly, I think a 29 is a great score, but I'm always delighted to hear my kids say they want to best themselves. So, Mini registered to take the ACT a week after I was scheduled to retake the MCAT.

M's scores arrived at our house yesterday, two weeks earlier than expected. She opened the envelope with a big smile on her face, but it quickly faded. She scored a 30 on the second go-round. "That's awesome!" I said. She just glared at me.

The day of her retake, Mini came home happy. "I know that I did so much better," she told her dad and me. "I finished all of the questions, not leaving a single one blank this time. I think I'm going to get a 33." She's a smart girl, and math is her forte, but her dad and I were quick to remind her that scoring in the 94th percentile (jealousy point #3) didn't give her much room for growth. Her score of 29 meant that she'd definitely get scholarships at the state schools (JP #4). That said, her optimism was inspiring. I had taken my test a week earlier and loved the idea of having my score increase by 4 points. I, too, felt like I had done so much better on the second test.

Mothering has got to be the best way to find yourself face-to-face with your own issues. On one hand, I'm reassuring my daughter, trying to get her to be OK with her score and see it as a victory. On the other hand, my fear of not doing better on the MCAT suddenly jumped out of the closet. Really, truly, honestly, I thought I was fine with it. I thought I was in a comfortable, wait-and-see sort of place. Mini's disappointment has given me a new dread for Tuesday.

Watching my future insanity play out...

Holy smack! How many schools does a person need to apply to?

A friend is applying this cycle. She's a late applicant. (No, I didn't say "old" applicant.) She took her MCAT in September and just got her personal statement finished last month. Just yesterday she confessed that she was thinking of sending applications off to "a couple more schools--just to be safe." Oh, I forgot to mention that she has already sent her application to 22 schools. Twenty-two schools! As an "older" applicant (mid-twenties) her rationale is that she must do everything she can to secure her spot this year, as time is money.

With the wisdom that comes with age, I kindly suggested that she might say to herself,  "I've done my research and I know that these five schools are well-within my grasp," take a couple of deep breaths, and just chill. Her response was, "Yeah, but I think that there are a couple more schools that I could have applied to that don't have their deadline until next week." I just smile. "If it makes you sleep better, then do it."

Is that what I have to look forward to? Second-guessing, trying to maximize every possible chance I've got to get in? Hmm. Probably. I'm taking steps to avoid finding myself in that same up-against-the-wall scenario my friend is in.

Here's my game plan:

First (and kind of duh), I'm applying early. I've got my personal statement in the works and I'm scheduled to take the MCAT in April. That leaves me with May to enter transcript data, shepherd my letters of recommendations in, and fill in all those time-consuming, irritating parts of the AMCAS application.

Second, I'm including a few DO schools in my application. It seems like some individuals view DO programs as an after-thought. ("Oh, no, I didn't get in to the MD programs I thought I was a shoo-in for...quick, scramble, hit up the DO schools before their deadlines.") DO program usually have later deadlines than MD programs. I really believe that the fresher the reviewer's eyes are when he or she looks over my application, the better odds I have.

Finally, I'm prepping myself for the inevitable. I know that next fall will take me to the brink of insanity as I wait to hear back from the schools I pick. Knowing what's on the horizon, I'm working on a coping strategy that includes staying away from Student Doctor Network next fall (I love the site, but I know when I'm in the midst of my craziness I don't need to be seeking advice from other crazies), training for a few races (at least one half-marathon and maybe an early-spring marathon), and getting a message before each interview.

So stick around and see what happens Fall 2012. Hopefully I won't be telling myself that two dozen applications really isn't that many.