#dreamshades

[shadingadream]

Transitions

Dear tumfams,

Last month was some torrid mix of exhausting, exciting, and terrifying as I struggled to decide on a school. It came all the way down to the May 2nd wire, and I emerged with... the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine as the destination for my medical education!

There were so many factors I had to contemplate when weighing my choices, with finances, curricular opportunities, institutional culture, administrative support, and proximity to family and family-friends being chief among them. Chicago presented so much in the realm of each of these things to be absolutely ecstatic about – and therefore required the least amount of sacrifices to the things and people I care the most about. And the culture... let’s just cornily say that, in many ways, Pritzker is me, and I am Pritzker :) Waking up on that Monday morning, looking at the prospect of an unbelievable trifecta of a world-class education, life in an amazingly vibrant and beautiful city, and minimal debt pressure, it just made sense to go.

Leaving California after 22 years is undoubtedly a little scary, but I’m blessed to have so much support and wonderous opportunity to look forward to. And of course, I will keep you all dutifully updated along the way (yay official medblr!) It seems that many medical student blogs favor anonymity to some various degrees, but I’ve decided I’ve just been around here far too long as a personal blog to really make any serious changes the manners in which I post – it would be a discredit to the many of you who have been with me on this journey for a lengthy time. So, while I may (later) decide to obscure where I actually go to school, you can expect to continue to see the usual mix of personal commentary, creatively spilled ink, photos of my life (and maybe occasionally of my mug), sweet jazz-hop uploads, and of course, a healthy stream of medical-related narratives. 

TLDR: Thank you all so much for your support. I’m going to Chicago. Life on this blog will continue much as it has for the last six years; stay tuned, if it pleases you. Cheers <3    

[floralb0t-fr]

I think i would like to write out the story of the first time Dreameater visited CLL. i hope to gene at least him and blaze soon so that they can get this subspecies up and running, but i want their story to be up first. So if anybody would be interested in the story of a bunch of dream hopping noctures, trying to protect dragons from the shade infecting their nightmares, please let me know and i'll give u a ping when it starts.

[shadingadream]

AMCAS 15-16 Application Summary

Dear tumfams,

It’s extremely difficult to believe that I started writing my personal statement in January of last year – 14 months ago! Time feels to have accelerated increasingly rapidly since then through UCLA graduation, primaries, secondaries, interviews, and finally a massive waiting game... which is now officially over, as yesterday I received my final admissions decision! The following is a complete, concise breakdown of the results of my medical school application cycle as I believe I promised a while ago.

Application Withdrawn, Pre-Secondary: Georgetown UCLA-Charles Drew University Yale University Application Rejected, Pre-Secondary: UC Davis Application Withdrawn, Post-Secondary: University of Connecticut

Application Rejected, Post-Secondary: Stanford University In total I submitted 23 secondaries, and received 21 interview invitations. Looking back, this is the portion of my cycle where I believe the countless hours spent meticulously crafting my personal statement and each of the dozens of secondary responses really paid off! Of these interviews, I withdrew from 6. Invited to Interview, Application Withdrawn: Case Western Reserve University Columbia University Northwestern University Ohio State University Oregon Health and Science University University of Massachusetts Of the 15 schools whose interviews I ultimately attended, the final admissions decisions are as follows: Rejected, Post-Interview: Harvard University Waitlisted: Cornell University Icahn at Mount Sinai UC San Diego University of Pittsburgh Accepted: Johns Hopkins University New York University UC Irvine UCLA (w/$$) UCSF University of Chicago (w/$$) University of Michigan (w/$) University of Pennsylvania (w/$) University of Southern California (w/$) Washington University in St. Louis Things went so much better than I ever could have imagined, and I am truly blessed and grateful for the opportunities given to me by the admissions committees of these institutions. So far I've narrowed my choice down to UCLA, UCSF, UChicago, and Penn. The biggest factors weighing in my mind are, of course, cost of attendance (UCSF is least likely to provide substantial financial support, UCLA has provided full financial support, Penn is TBA), along with the strength of curriculum (I really favor the 1.5 year pre-clinical that is part of UCSF and Penn's program), strength of community within the program (in terms of both class cameraderie and civic engagement – UCSF and UChicago are strongest here, followed by Penn and then UCLA), and finally strength of residency placement (all are good but Penn and UCSF are remarkable). A lot of weight leans towards UCSF except for money, which is why I find myself in somewhat of a dilemna – a good one to have, but one that's going to take time to resolve nonetheless. Revisits are next month and I'll be attending for each of the four, and will make my decision after! I'll let you know as my reasoning continues to evolve. Thank you all for your support, especially those of you who've hung with me for a while! Truly, I do appreciate it ♥ I'll have interview tips to dish out too!

[shadingadream]

I have until May 2nd to decide what I want, which is good, because I have no idea what I want. Do I want to pay “to be happiest” in SF? But how much is that happiness worth in dollars plus interest. 40K? 60? 80? Or do I want to stay for free school? But the fact I’m 22 and personal growth, youth and adventure. But debt. Ivy League? But cold and lonely. But also gorgeous and prestigious school. But maybe also debt.

[shadingadream]

MS0 Life

finish Wheel of Time

save $$$ for Nihon, Vegas, Valentine’s, potential extra revisit weekends, 7 years, and a TBD summer trip (visit Cin/Kayds??)

go through anime list and study Nihongo

gym 4-5 times a week until I get back to my prime

new shoes

do at least one spoken piece at the Word sometime before June

resume shadowing at Harbor

increase culinary skills

continue writing more

continue sleeping more

[shadingadream]

hello from 2016.

Last year was a gale moving with the explosive force of four years’ hard perspiration behind it. PCH Exec. MCP Logistics Chair > Ops Coord. First committee retreat in Mobile history. UCLA grad. B.S. MIMG, Magna Cum Laude. Vegas x 4. SUHF. PCH medical mission. AMCAS. Personal statement. Med school secondaries and more secondaries. 23 complete applications filed. 21 interview invitations. 14 attended, 6 declined. 14 cities visited from East to West. 7 acceptances, 2 waitlists. 1 full-tuition scholarship. 

Self discovered. Friendships forged and strengthened. Balance achieved. 

2015. A career performance, a championship season, you could say. For the first time ever, my year, through and through. 

2016 won’t be better; it couldn’t possibly be. But within it I will lay the foundations that will support another beautiful year sometime in the future. This is my resolution. To move forward with gaze high. To continue investing in myself and those I love. To tighten my grasp on the edges of my destiny and pull myself upon it. To further the formation of who I am to be – a curator of cures. A shader of dreams.

[shadingadream]

thank you! and a thought

Oh, my. I did not expect that post to receive the attention it did, much less to see my face on Cranquis’ blog. Thank you all so much for the support and hello to new followers! This blog isn’t much in terms of quantity, but it is littered with landmarks of my life’s formative experiences, and thus is quite close to my heart. I am grateful to have you join me on my journey towards becoming a healer and advocate for those deeply in need!

I will continue to share updates and reflections on my application cycle as it comes to a close. If you have questions concerning your undergraduate medical aspirations, I’m more than happy to share my thoughts with you! 

On that topic, I happened to be browsing a certain, uh, pre-medical forum yesterday when I came across a post that could be succinctly summarized as follows: 

I shared condolences with a friend who was rejected from [insert Top 5 USNWR med school] with a 4.0 GPA and a 100th percentile MCAT score. I was shocked; I thought it doesn't matter if you don’t have extracurricular activities because they’re just extra!”

An outstanding brain alone does not make a good doctor. Medical school admissions committees use your MCAT score and GPA solely to assess your capability to handle the rigors of a medical school curriculum – no more, no less. I’ve heard and seen this more times than I can count, either from the websites of the schools themselves or directly from admissions officers on my interview days. Your extracurriculars, on the other hand, are what you will likely draw much of your personal statement from. They will comprise 90% of what you will write about in your secondary applications and are the majority of what you will talk about during your interviews. EC’s are what make applicants unique (and therefore medical school classes diverse) and are a major part of what admissions committees use to gauge both your motivations for medicine and the soft skills you possess that will make you an outstanding physician. Please don’t make the major mistake of neglecting them! Harness your passions! Find non-academic pursuits and invest and excel in them; they will pay major dividends later on. My GPA and MCAT were not near that astronomically high but I prided myself in my EC’s, and I was so fortunate to hear yesterday that I was accepted to that very school. 

Thank you all again!

[shadingadream]

Congratulations!!!

Thank you!