Apartment Hunting and Other Exciting Things

Hey fam, lots of exciting stuff has been happening this week!

First things first, APARTMENT HUNTING. I have never rented anything on my own before; I lived in a house for junior and senior year of college, but a friend asked me to live there after the whole leasing thing had been taken care of. Thus, I didn’t have any part of the actual application experience, or finding the house, or anything like that. This time around, this was not the case!

All of that being said, I finally found an apartment I liked, applied, and put down my security deposit! It’s a one-bedroom apartment that’s only a mile down the road from the med school where I’ll be spending lots and lots of time over the next year, so I have the choice to walk or drive very easily! GOOD THINGS!

Second, I have an upcoming interview to be featured on Accepted.com! The folks over there have been extremely patient with me, as it’s taken me entirely too long to get my answers emailed back to them (whoops), but it is coming soon and I’ll keep y’all posted as I get a better idea of when it’ll show up!

Third, I was contacted via this blog by Cameron, of the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance. His beautiful wife, Heather, was diagnosed with mesothelioma 8 years ago and has survived to tell the tale, with the goal of helping others to do so, as well. Their organization has been running a campaign this summer to spread awareness regarding mesothelioma, with the ultimate hope of educating others about this devastating disease and potentially saving lives in the process. Post soon to come!

Finally, I just now found out orientation dates for my Master’s program (a slight bit less organized than all you new med school people’s orientations…guess that comes from having a total class size of 5-10). The whole shindig kicks off on August 11th, and I get my photo ID on the 14th (WOOO), and there will undoubtedly be other more specifically program-focused orientation sessions in between those. The school is an hour and a half from my parents’ house, and my apartment won’t be available until the 15th, so the jury’s still out on where I’m sleeping for all of this. AWESOME.

A (Not-So) Brief Summary of My Grad School Dilemma

Hello, friends, hello! I have been extremely silent the past month, partially because it’s been an exceptionally busy one, but also because I wasn’t quite sure what to say next or how. As the title suggests, I’ve been struggling with myself over where to go to grad school. I didn’t want to write anything else until I’d decided, and it was a very multifaceted decision, so here we are a month later.

A couple of you already know some about the situation, but for the vast majority of you who don’t, I’m about to catch y’all up right quick (in bullet-point format, because I looove bullet points):

• The last time I updated y’all, I had been accepted into the M.S. in Medical Physiology program at Loyola University Chicago. I was thrilled at the news, and I immediately accepted and began making plans to move myself to the Windy City come August. That was probably 2 months ago? I don’t remember exactly. Anyway, Loyola has such a beautiful med school and the program director was so incredibly helpful, not only in terms of grad school, but also in terms of advising me on my medical school application and timeline. To put it briefly, I was sold.
• I submitted my FAFSA and waited to hear back from the school about possible financial aid. About a month ago, my financial aid info came back from Loyola, and the school apparently does not offer any scholarships or assistantships for my specific program, though I could get everything covered by student loans.
• In all, the year in Chicago would cost me about $60,000 in loans. Factor in the loan interest I would need to be paying throughout medical school (actual loan payments can be deferred until after med school graduation, but interest would accrue continuously starting next summer), and that’s another $18,000-ish up front. Not daunting at all, nope, not one bit.
• [REWIND ABOUT 5 MONTHS] Around when I had begun to REALLY suspect (correctly, as it turned out) that I wouldn’t be accepted to med school for Fall 2014, I found a 2-year M.S. in Biomedical Sciences program at East Carolina University, which is (a) in my home state and (b) one of the two medical schools to which I gained an interview this past cycle. So, I took the GRE, whipped out the checkbook once again, and applied. I had completely forgotten about that application by the time graduation and everything else rolled around in May.
• [BACK TO THE PRESENT] Not a day after the financial aid shit hit the fan with Loyola, ECU’S M.S. program director called to tell me that I had been accepted for this fall.
• The very next day, he called me back because he had forgotten to tell me that they wanted to give me a $12,000 assistantship towards my first year (I didn’t ask to be considered for anything like that, so I was more than a little shocked), which would entirely cover tuition and even a good chunk of my estimated living expenses. As it turns out, they offer these assistantships to five applicants per year. FIVE. Including all of the current medical students who choose to pursue this degree during their time there. So there was that.
• The second year is of minimal cost anyway, because it is predominantly spent in a research lab and the tab would be picked up by my future P.I.’s grant money.
• It was a real dilemma I had for myself.
• The dilemma stemmed from these two programs being different in almost every way possible. Loyola’s is one year long, lecture-based, focused exclusively on human physiology in its coursework, and offers an interview to their medical school to any student who maintains a certain GPA. ECU’s is two years, thesis-based, focused on biomedical and clinical research that is supplemented by lectures, and does not offer any such interview incentive. The pricetag difference is comical. Loyola has a more prestigious name, but ECU would allow me to further my interests in research with this time before medical school. Loyola would allow me to get to medical school potentially a year sooner, but not necessarily, depending on the way the application-cycle-cookie crumbled. I just wasn’t sure if Loyola’s pros, as awesome as they are, outweighed its significant cons (the cons being $$$, being farther away from home, and no research opportunities).

SO, after a good assortment of prayer, long talks with family and close friends, and lots of thought, I chose ECU! As such, I’m not reapplying to medical school quite yet. Now seems like a good time to throw out another huge thanks to Z and doctororbust, both of whom are wonderful people and generously edited the personal statement that is no longer being used for this application cycle. Your feedback was immensely helpful and I owe each of y’all a beer! 🙂

But in all seriousness, having been to visit a couple of times since reaching this decision, I’ve realized more and more how fantastic of a fit this program is going to be for me.

OH ALMOST FORGOT: my MD/PhD lab mentor from undergrad defended his thesis about a week after I was accepted to ECU. As I watched him elegantly and succinctly condense all 4 years of his work, including the 18 months’ worth of my contributions, into a one-hour presentation, I realized I truly wasn’t ready to be done with research. That was rather conveniently timed in this whole thing as well.

So, there you have it! Now that I’ve gotten all that off my chest, I feel much better and able to blog regularly again. I hope y’all have been having fantastic summers! Good luck to everyone starting a new school year of any variety next month!

Thanks for 1,000 Views!!!

It happened today, y’all. My blog hit 1,000 views across 38 different countries, and that blows my mind a little. When I started this blog, I did it mostly out of a desire to journal without having to keep track of anything on actual paper; I had no idea so many people would read it, and it’s crazy! I’ve met so many awesome people on here, and even though I may never meet most of you in real life, it’s amazing how much I’ve learned from you all and felt able to share some of my biggest challenges and struggles. Opening up is not something I do the most easily, and the supportive medfam environment on here has just been unbelievable.

I can’t wait to keep blogging and learn even more from you wonderful pre-meds, med students, and residents! Cheers to all of y’all!

Doodle of the Day

In an effort to draw more in my free time this summer (citing Summer 2014 Bucket List delineated in one of my previous posts), I’ve decided that I’m going to post on here every time I do manage to draw something I deem acceptable. This is partially to share what I create with other people, since sharing such things isn’t something I’m typically very good at, and partially for accountability purposes. Plus, drawing’s just fun. 🙂 The top of the wine glass is a little wonky, but given that this is my first time drawing one, it still turned out better than I initially expected!

Happy Tuesday, y’all!

 

 

Hope Y’all Don’t Mind if I Word-Vomit for a Minute

HI FRIENDS. I guess the last time I updated you on my life was about a week after I graduated college…which is slightly sad, considering it’s now been a month. I guess life’s been keeping me pretty busy! I have been keeping up with all of the blogs I follow though, and it’s been so fun to read about your lives thus far this summer. 😀

I guess the big one is that AMCAS 2015 opened for submission two weeks ago tomorrow, and I’m getting reaaaaallly close to submitting mine! My application is finalized and ready to go except for the personal statement, which I’m editing and editing and editing some more. And here’s where I put my shout-out of HUGE THANKS to fellow bloggers @5yearjourneyZ and @doctorORbust for offering their critiques and suggestions!!! Y’all are the best and have given me lots to consider in making it the best statement it can be 🙂

I’ve been on the fence about how many medical schools to apply to. The national average per applicant is 14ish, which seems like a rather high (and super pricey) amount, but makes more sense when you consider the sheer competitiveness of the entire process. I applied to 16 last year, and didn’t exactly win any of those bets, so I’m not too keen on picking and paying for that many again. However, I also don’t want to under-apply and run the risk of finding myself in the same boat next May simply because I was too cheap during the primary app. Advice welcome here, per the usual.

In the realm of non-AMCAS related life happenings, my best friend’s wedding was two weeks ago, and it was a beautiful, beautiful day all around! She and her new husband are perfect for each other, and sharing in their day with the other bridesmaids and groomsmen was an immense privilege. And, I fit into my bridesmaid’s dress! SUCCESS!

Still looking for a summer bartending job, partially to keep myself busy and partially in the hopes of having a bit of money saved up for school in the fall. I’ve got two interviews this week (!!!) so I’m trying to mentally prepare myself for those. FINGERS CROSSED that someone thinks I’m hirable despite no previous work experience in that position! Updates will come your way if anything happens with that!

I’ve gotten in a couple weekend trips to see the boyfriend (henceforth, for everyone’s benefit, let’s just call him M), which have been much needed and so much fun. He’s interning at an environmental conservancy on an island off of coastal North Carolina, and he only gets one day off per week (STUPID RULE), so the times we can spend together are somewhat limited. This wouldn’t be too bad, except that I will be moving to Chicago as of late August, and the “limited” time we get now is probably going to seem like a luxury by then. Not exactly looking forward to a long-distance relationship, but if there’s anything I’ve learned from the rather non-extensive dating experience I do have, it’s that communication is key. Especially when distance is a factor. I’m trying not to worry or dwell on that too much, but if any of y’all with more experience in this arena have wisdom or advice to impart, your thoughts are more than welcome.

I think that’s about it on the word-vomit for today. BIG THINGS before I sign off:

(1) To everyone studying for the MCAT right now: KEEP YOUR FOCUS AND KEEP STUDYING! You’re fabulous, dedicated, awesome people for taking on such a challenge for yourselves, and you will be great on test day! Remember why you’re putting yourself through this hell, and keep your head up!

(2) To everyone on here preparing to matriculate into med school in the fall: I am so beyond excited for all of you, so I can’t even imagine how exciting it is to be one of you! Just a heads up right now, a part of me will shamelessly be living vicariously through you for the next year, and I can’t wait to read about all of your journeys as medical students! Congrats again!!!

(3) To everyone in my boat who’s applying for med school this cycle: WE’VE GOT THIS!

“She Lived to Love”

The challenge my mother laid down: “Fight breast cancer for every woman who comes after you, who will suffer as you suffered. God willing, no woman will feel as though she has to face this disease alone.”

About a week ago, there was an article posted on “The MMQB with Peter King” (an NFL blog) written by a football player for the Carolina Panthers. This player, DeAngelo Williams, wrote about his mother’s experience living with breast cancer, which was passed down genetically via a mutated BRCA1 gene from his grandfather to his mother and all four of his aunts. After ten years battling the disease, she passed away late last month.

I’m not normally one to cry in response to reading or watching things on the internet, but this one hit me. Probably because my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer this past January (thankfully not BRCA-linked or estrogen receptive. Both really good things for her prognosis) and has been healing from her own double mastectomy the past few months. She is in remission now, so hopefully that’s the last we see of her cancer. I guess this story hit me so hard because it’s a reminder: a reminder of just how blessed my mother is to have caught her cancer early, and a reminder of the rampant havoc this disease can wreak on a body.

My mom’s case was particularly fortunate. She went for her routine annual mammogram, and the radiologist thought she saw a minor irregularity, a small cluster of calcification from dead cells, that was probably nothing to worry about. She chose to get a breast MRI, just to be on the safe side, and the image lit up like a Christmas tree, cancer cells swirling in constellation-like patterns throughout the tissue. Her diagnosis was ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), which makes up about 25% of all breast cancer diagnoses. It had not yet formed a tumor, so it was not picked up on the mammogram nearly to the extent that it was present in her body. It was highly aggressive and fast-growing, and if she had not found it so early on in its development, she would almost certainly be looking at a different prognosis now.

I wish DeAngelo Williams’ mother, and anyone else’s mother who has been diagnosed with breast cancer, could have had the same outcome that mine was blessed to have. Y’all, if you have a mom, tell her to go get a mammogram!

The full article can be found here: http://mmqb.si.com/2014/05/29/nfl-carolina-panthers-deangelo-williams-sandra-kay-hill-breast-cancer-awareness/

Week One as a Post-Grad

I graduated last Sunday. Week One of my “post-grad” (that is an odd term to use. It makes me feel like I need to have transformed into a functional and responsible adult by now) life is now under my belt, and has consisted of the following:

• I’ve spent time outside almost everyday (equipped with my trusty sunscreen bottle, obviously). My skin is starting to show signs that there might actually be melanin somewhere deep down in there, which is promising, given its current translucent glow.
• In a desire to read more, I rummaged around in old piles of books and came across The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. A philosophy-heavy 700-pager is probably not the easiest way to re-introduce myself to reading for pleasure, but I tend to live my life by the “Go Big or Go Home” method. So, here we are. I’m 50 pages in. Pray for me.
• I’m halfway through a two-week bartending school course. If you like to drink margaritas or LITs or any sort of martini ever created, I’m your girl. Currently working on convincing managers that a 22-year-old without previous work experience in a bar and with a penchant for pretending she’s a chemist while mixing drinks is a worthy hire. Help.
• Looking at apartments in Chicago??? At least, doing the best that I can via the interwebs. This point brings me to an important question for all of you grad and/or med students who are going before me: should I look for a roommate or go for something like a studio apartment? 1-bedroom places are far too expensive, so those are out. Studios are pretty cool, given that (a) the absence of a bedroom wall takes about $300/month off of the price and (b) that I really don’t care if my living room and my bedroom are in the same space. Doing the math on what I’ve found around Loyola, the price of sharing a 2-bedroom is within $100/month of the price of having a studio to myself. So there’s that. Opinions welcome.
• Hanging out with my dog. He’s 25 pounds and white and fluffy and one of my absolute favorite parts about being back in my parents’ house. He only likes cuddling on his own terms, and he loves to put his gross, slimy toys on my feet and wonder why I push them away. It’s true love.
• Starting to put together a personal statement for med school. I have a general idea what kind of underlying structure I want to give it and where I want it to go, but it is faaaar from polished at this point. This will be a continuous work in progress for the near future.
• Working out religiously because my best friend’s wedding is two weeks from today and my maid of honor dress is…um…quite fitted. And I bought it in October. I’ve partaken in one or two stress-driven beers since October. I’m not saying I expect an “I lost a million pounds!” transformation by the end of the month, but 5ish pounds off in a few weeks would be ideal, given the dress situation. Many thanks to my fellow blogger, Z, for her post-MCAT workout regimen here. 🙂

Game Changers

LIFE UPDATE: remember how I talked about applying to master’s programs for next year? And how I was planning for reapplication to med school for the entering class of 2016? This post has to do with both of those things.

PART A: MASTER’S STUFF.

So, having applied to about five or so programs within the past couple of weeks (I procrastinated a bit on the applications…whoops), I didn’t expect to hear anything for a while yet, most likely due to the fact that it takes FOREVER to hear anything about anything during the med school application process. However, I got a phone call last week from the program director at Loyola University Chicago for their M.S. program in Medical Physiology (!!!). He said he just wanted to ask a few questions about my application, but it turned into a half hour of unsolicited (and extremely appreciated) advice on medical school and reapplication and things I should do to improve. It was awesome, and so I was feeling pretty good about that program. Lo and behold, I checked my email yesterday and there was an acceptance letter just sitting there for me! I MIGHT HAVE A PLAN FOR NEXT YEAR AFTER ALL! And it might involve moving halfway across the country to Chicago!

Probably what I looked like when I hung up from the phone call with Mr. Program Director

(Super awesome things about this program: (a) It’s about 25-30 students per class, so the tiny size will mean I’ll get to know my instructors super well. (b) It’s only 10 months long, so I’d finish in late May of next year and have a full master’s degree. (c) It’s taught by professors at their med school, and it covers much of the same curriculum, meaning it’ll make my life as an eventual MS1 infinitely more manageable. (d) The best part, though, is that all students who choose to apply to med school and maintain a 3.5 GPA in the program automatically receive an interview to Loyola’s med school…) At this point, I’m about 90% sure I’ll go here. There’s one more school that’s sliiiightly closer to home that I’d like to hear from first, though this was my first choice.

PART B: MED SCHOOL STUFF.

Mr. Program Director also provided me with a highly convincing argument for how I’d be wasting my time and not helping myself by waiting an additional year to reapply…sooo having given it a week of considerable thought and prayer, I’ve decided that I’m actually applying to med school for 2015 instead! Life’s been slightly hectic since that decision, what with kicking the AMCAS application back into gear, especially because AMCAS is open for submission in 2 weeks and 1 day, and I hadn’t remotely considered reapplying so soon. The good thing, though, is that I’m so much more at ease this time; I know all of the ins and outs of the process, and I’ve already taken my MCAT, and my GPA is markedly higher than the one I reported in the previous cycle (though still not incredible, thus enrollment in a master’s program), and I’m definitely submitting it FAR earlier than I did last year. I have strong recommenders, and I’ve already got a working draft of my personal statement based on the master’s program application essays. Prayers for not losing my sanity over PS editing are welcomed and appreciated.

So, in summary: as of this week, I’m going to grad school, and I’m applying to med school again. GET AT ME, AMCAS.

Science Joke Saturday – “Statistics”

Aaaaaand…Now What?

As of this afternoon, my last paper has been submitted and my last exam has been taken. I am done with college, and the only thing left for me to do before I pack my things and leave this campus for the foreseeable future is to graduate next weekend!

…what’s coming after that, though? NO IDEA. It appears I’ve been so consumed with planning out what my life will hold come this fall that I kind of forgot to consider what my summer will hold. I don’t have classes to prepare for (yet…grad school may change that if I’m accepted), I don’t have to study for the MCAT, I’m not filling out AMCAS this round, and I don’t have any summer assignments. The idea of so much free time without obligations is almost horrifying, as we pre-meds often forget what “free time” even means.

Ergo, in an effort to keep myself occupied, here is my attempt to create a Summer 2014 Bucket List of sorts. Feel free to comment below and help me add things if you have an idea or two!

• READ FOR PLEASURE: I haven’t read a book for pleasure in far, far, FAR too long. And there are so many that I want to read! I already own and plan to read The Emperor of All Maladies, which is a history of cancer, and Buzz: The Science and Lore of Alcohol and Caffeine, because it combines two things I love (science and the casual enjoyment of alcoholic and/or coffee beverages). Further suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
• TAKE A BEACH TRIP: my parents’ house, which is where I’ll be living for the summer, is about three hours from the NC coast, making for an entirely doable daytrip. And, seeing as there is probably close to zero melanin production going on in my skin, I figure some sunshine and Vitamin D (accompanied by a terrifyingly high SPF number because #safetyfirst) would be good for me. Also, my boyfriend has a summer internship at one of those beaches, so visiting him would be another excellent excuse to go.
• GET IN BETTER PHYSICAL SHAPE: while I’m not terribly out of shape, the whole metabolism-that’s-slower-than-a-turtle thing that I’ve got going on makes keeping in shape somewhat difficult. Plus, it was so easy during college to put off a trip to the gym because “I just really need to finish this assignment. I promise I’ll go tomorrow.” And it was a BALD-FACED LIE, every time. As such, I pledge to take better advantage of my freedom and find a time to work out every day.
• GO TO BARTENDING SCHOOL: it’s like $500 for one week of 9am-5pm instruction. Bartenders can make hundreds back in tips over the span of one weekend, so the entire thing would easily pay for itself. And then I can be hired as a bartender and cross that accomplishment off of my lifetime bucket list, because (1) I’ve always thought it’d be a fun job to try, and (2) let’s be real: once I do get into med school, will there ever be time again to dedicate to a job with hours like that? (answer: DOUBTFUL)
• BE BETTER ABOUT GETTING UP IN THE MORNING: this one is a big, big, big one for me, as I’m the worst about being productive with mornings. For example, I slept till 12:30pm today for no reason at all besides wanting to. I hate mornings, but I love the feeling of getting so much accomplished so early in the day whenever I do manage to get myself up and going earlier in the morning. I think I’d have so much extra time to do all of the things I want to do this summer (and in the future) if I got into the habit of waking up earlier.
• CATCH UP WITH OLD FRIENDS: this one will be super important, since as graduating seniors, most of them are leaving the area for their jobs after this summer. Even though their apartments in various awesome cities would be an excellent excuse for a cheap vacation over the next few years, it’d be really lovely to see them as much as possible before it actually has to be a vacation.
• DRAW MORE: in high school, I took visual art as a filler elective and accidentally discovered through it that I could draw. I’m not half bad, if I can brag on myself a little bit here. I love it because it affords you the opportunity to create any scene you would like, whether or not there is any rhyme or reason to it. Salvador Dali may or may not be my muse (weird weird weeeird dude, but incredible Surrealist art).

That’s all I can think of at the moment, but more summer goals and activities are sure to follow. Happy May to everyone, and happy AMCAS Fill-Out Month for those applying to med school for 2015!