A Tale of Two Cities

Brian's update on Medical School Applications:

This story begins back in the middle of July (July 21, to be exact) when, to my wonderful surprise, I received an invitation to visit the University of Rochester (in New York). Upon reading the e-mail, I put my little chick embryos on hold (they know they're already low enough in the pecking order) and immediately started looking over the interview dates so I could make travel arrangements. The university requested that I know in advance if I needed to leave early from my interview because of travel arrangements. So, like a good little medical school applicant, I looked for flights first BEFORE signing up for an interview time (can anyone else already see where this mistake is going?). After spending nearly an HOUR consulting cheap flight gurus such as Expedia and Travelocity, I finally found the ideal flight that wouldn't cause Natalie and I to sell off the car that isn't ours and our violins. I checked on the university's website and saw my interview date was available. I then called Natalie and made sure everything would be alright if I bought those tickets. When I went back to sign up for that date, it was gone! All my stellar sleuthing for the best ticket price became useless. It was a sad day in America, but fortunately I learned my lesson (no, not the one about never asking your wife for permission to buy stuff...). In order to prevent getting screwed over twice in a row, I signed up for an interview date FIRST and then just e-mailed the university later, informing them that I would indeed have to leave early in order to travel back home (leaving the Finger Lakes area and eventually ending up in the Salt Lake valley... does that sound familiar?). Anyway, despite the little drama that occured, I was very excited to get invited for an interview (and so early!) and am preparing to fly out 8/23 for my interview 8/24.

Exactly a week later (at about the same time of day), however, our tale took a turn for the worst. I checked my e-mail in my lab and noticed an e-mail from the Mayo Medical school. I naively thought to myself, "Yay, another interview!" However, the words of the subject "Not selected" soon reverberated down my Cranial Nerve II (i.e. optic nerve, for those of you who don't habla physiology) and I eventually pieced together that I had been rejected. Ironically, the Mayo school is in Rochester, Minnesota, giving this tale of two cities its exceptionally exciting and propelling plot: on July 21 I was invited for an interview by a school in Rochester, NY, while exactly a week later I was rejected by a school in Rochester, MN, making it "the best of times" and "the worst of times"....

However, the tale gets better when two other cities come into the picture. While they are not connected by a common name, they both share a common feature: having a university that wants to interview me! In the beginning of August I received an invitation to interview at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN. I don't know how I would feel about going to a private instituation named after someone often associated with greed (quite the opposite from Brigham Young University) and whose name sometimes reminds me of that of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named (Harry Potter's sworn enemy...). It's a nice school and medical center, however, so maybe I could warm up to it. : ) Then this past week I was invited to interview at The Ohio State University (can't forget the "The"!). I even got a personal phone call from the dean of admissions. My interview at Vanderbilt is 9/15, and I am hoping to be able to set up an interview in Columbus, OH on 9/16. I am excited to visit both of those schools!

Thus ends the first act of A Tale of Two Cities: A Modern Legend. Will our hero (aka me) be able to shrug off the evil blow delt by Rochester, MN? Will it end up being better he got gypt out of his first interview date? Will he end up at one of these four universities? Stay tuned to find out! : )