An impromptu study in contrasts.

So, remember when I said it was all quiet on the western front? Yeah, not anymore.

Hold from SUNY Upstate. Not surprised, but still disappointed.

On the other hand? That student we're hosting? Let me just list a few of the interviews he has already been to:

Vanderbilt
UVA
Yale
Chicago (Pritzer)
Georgetown

Where he is going in the next few days?
Mayo (tomorrow)
NYU (just invited)
UF
FSU

So, he was just invited to NYU, just as I was finding out that I am on hold for SUNY Upstate. And there is your study in contrasts.

Life is good.

All quiet on the...western front.

That title did not work out as well as I thought it would. I'm not applying to any western schools, nor have I ever lived in the west.

Anyway, thank you for comments! I've gotten a few inbox messages on SDN, and, obviously, two comments on here, and it's definitely encouraging to hear from you guys.

To Andy:

Thank you for the very valuable reminder that I am doing far better this year than I ever did last year! When you're down, it's good to get some positive perspective. I really do appreciate your encouragement!

To nrnaik
No worries, the season is still very early, and an interview this early at rolling admissions schools is nothing to sneeze at. I feel confident for your chances this year. Granted, I don't really know your stats, but an interview is worlds better than no interview at all :-). I'm living with my significant other, and we are hosting a student who is interviewing at his school. This kid has gotten a ton of interviews, including Vanderbilt and UVA, so I definitely understand about your roommate. You know, I'm confident that once through they wade through the sea of identical high mcat, high gpa people, they'll get to us :-). I'm hoping for more interviews late in the season, you should too!

Anyway, as the title says, all has been quiet. I haven't heard anymore bad news, unless my parents are hiding rejections from me (like they did last year...unwarranted, but I understand the thought behind it), which has to be kind of good... right?

Here's to something in the next few days!

Getting nervous....

On hold at Drexel.

These past few weeks have been discouraging. It's hard to remain positive when you're naturally pessimistic and prone to extreme realism. I wonder what it would be like to own a pair of rose colored glasses.

Further, I just found out that AECOM silently rejects. As I've been complete since mid-July, I think I've been rejected.

Applying early was supposed to help, but apparently it only helps people like me so much.

Feeling like a failure.

1-2 Hit Combo. Round 1: KO'd

Rejected from Georgetown. Can you tell it's been a great two days?

I'm going to sit in my room and whimper now.

Here's the score:

Completed Secondary:
Howard
Drexel
Tufts
NYMC
University of Rochester
SUNY Buffalo
SUNY Downstate
SUNY Upstate
Robert Wood Johnson (NJMDS)
New Jersey (NJMDS)
Jefferson
FSU
Temple University
Albert Einstein
Albany
Miami
UF
University of Maryland

Secondary Submitted, Not Complete:
Penn State

Rejected:
Boston University
EVMS
WVU
Georgetown University
VCU

Interview:
George Washington

I predict I'm out of the running in Maryland and Tufts soon. Also the SUNYs, Albert Einstein, and Rochester.

Damn. What a day. I worked really hard on that essay too.

This looks awfully familiar.

Rejected from VCU.... this does not bode well for the coming application season....

Update

~EDIT~
So, I believe I am complete at Miami (their strange status page doesn't say pending, it says received and confirmed...but I'll e-mail them at the end of this week just to make sure). Also, I am complete at Albany.

UF is still having trouble with my damn peer letter. I don't know if anybody else is experiencing this, but I've had like 2 people give me their PERSONAL e-mail addresses to have my peer letter person send this damn thing to, and they haven't received them either. Is my peer letter writer screwing me over? What's going on here? I want this application to be complete like a month ago. Damn.

~~~~~~~
Ok, so it's been pretty quiet out here. I'm complete everywhere except for my Florida schools, I believe.

So, I finished UF around July 20th, (a week after I received the application), but my peer letter writer sent their letter last week. Unfortunately, I received an e-mail recently telling me that I was still incomplete, and it turns out that they have not received his letter, so he's sending it again. Should I call now? I'm pretty anxious to have this application completed.

I finished Miami last night, so I'll e-mail next week to check my status.

And, finally, after reading a consensus, I've decided not to apply to USF. 1. I'm not actually interested in their program, and if I were to get in anywhere up north, it would be one of the first places I would withdraw from. 2. For reapplicants, there are about 80 essays to finish. 3. I hear they are very unlikely to give you an interview unless you have at least a 30 on the MCAT.

However, I did finish Howard and Drexel, and am complete at both schools. Woohoo! Although, stupidly, I did forget to upload a picture for Drexel's, so that was 3 days later before I realized it. Which is a shame, because I finished everything else the day I received it. (Easy secondary).

Anyone else loving those Howard e-mails? I love that the lady doesn't take herself too seriously. It makes a stressful situation a lot lighter on the shoulders.

Anyway, that's all for now...I think I'm complete everywhere except for Miami and UF.

So final tally:

Completed Secondary:
Howard
Drexel
Tufts
NYMC
University of Rochester
SUNY Buffalo
SUNY Downstate
SUNY Upstate
Robert Wood Johnson (NJMDS)
New Jersey (NJMDS)
Jefferson
FSU
Temple University
Albert Einstein
Albany
Miami

Secondary Submitted, Not Complete:
Penn State
UF

Pre-interview Hold:
VCU ("sub-committee" message.... uh oh.)

Rejected:
Boston University
EVMS
WVU

Interview:
George Washington

So, 19 more schools to hear from (...that's less than I thought I had applied to..maybe I should apply to more? Yikes. If so, any other schools I should consider?)

That's all! Hopefully I'll hear something from the other schools soon....

Thinking is a very dangerous pasttime.

...I feel like there are too many t's in my past-time...Pastime? Pas-ti-me...can't be right.

Anyway, I spend most of my time sitting here feeling optimistic. I'm moving out of my home soon, and living in a different city for a while. Should be a good getaway. Until then, however, I'm here watching my old anthology shows and playing minesweeper. It keeps me from thinking.

Last year, I remember being so optimistic. Turning in my applications late, thinking foolishly that I still had a chance. I remember having only 5 definite rejections and thinking to myself: well no worries, there's a bunch left to hear from! I was so proud of myself with each secondary I turned in. My parents don't know much about the process and thought that getting a secondary was a feat in itself. I didn't have the heart to tell them it meant nothing for most schools.

With every rejection letter that came I became more panicked, more disheartened. It began to dawn on me: wow, I'm really not getting in this year. I fought constantly with my significant other who had no clue how to comfort me, because they had no idea how I felt. By the spring semester I was devastated, still waiting on some schools that never deemed me worthy candidate to even send a rejection letter to. My dad was optimistic that by March I would have an interview. March came and went, and he realized where I stood. Probably one of the most depressing times of my life.

After a while, I learned helplessness, and just sat there, letting a tide of rejection roll over me. How do you tell your family members that you didn't get in? All of them had been keeping tabs of my progress, hoping to hear good news. At my graduation dinner, they had all learned not to ask. They accepted the pretty transparent lie that I had "withdrew" my application earlier on.

I live in a small town , and word gets around. Word I'm desperately trying to prevent. Believe me, schadenfreude exists.

Anyway, I'm sitting here again, feeling vaguely optimistic, even though I should know better. I sit here and think "well interview season has barely started, I still have time to get a few more." Foolish. Then I remember: this is exactly how I felt last year. I hope we don't get the same results.

Sorry for the depressing-...ness? I figure until I get an update, I made this blog to talk about my feelings. That sounds so stupid. I instantly regret typing it. Anyway, I remain hopefully optimistic regardless of my experience. The more I hear about other people in my situation the better I feel, especially when they start getting interviews! If anyone reads this, hopefully I'll see you around the med school interview circuit :-)