Two pieces of mail today...one from school #1 stating "You've been admitted to the Graduate School," and a "Thank you for your deposit there's more stuff on the way" from the Philly school. The Philly school cashed my deposit pretty quickly. School #1 should have gotten my letter by now.

I'm warming up little by little to the prospect of living in Philly. I'm also reading anything I can find about the school, and still finding only positive things. :)

I spent a phenomenal weekend at the Cape. But being there made me question why I'm gonna commit to living in the city for two years! Oh boy oh boy oh boy.

I got a letter last week clarifying that if I should choose to attend said Philly school, there is a week of orientation before classes start. So it looks like I'll be moving at the end of May.

and the winner is....

...the school in Philly!



Those are pictures I took at the Museum of Art when I visited. It is at the top of the steps that Rocky ran up. :) I think it's an appropriate metaphor for the battle it takes to get into PA school. But maybe I should hold my breath and say that AFTER I finish school.

It came down to two things. First off, the education at this school is phenomenal. All the students love the program, and I've done a lot of reading on SDN (studentdoctornetwork) where they all love the school as well. Secondly, as much as I would love to get away from everyone and everything, I need the peace of mind of being closer to home in the event that something happens to any of my family members. It's horrible to think about the amount of debt I am going to end up in, but I can really see myself working in a rural area, and getting loan repayment that way. I figure that by the age of 30 I'll be debt free and making $75,000 a year, so that's not a bad predicament to be in. Besides, where else in life do you make a $120,000 investment that ends up being worth $2 million by the time you're done?

Goodness, that is quite a statement. Say that aloud. "When I'm 30..."

Oh, and the school also participates in the Medical School Basketball League in Philly. Enough said. :)!

The toughest part I think will be getting adjusted to being in the city. I would have much rather lived in the location of the other school because I truly appreciate fresh air and open spaces. As soon as I stepped into Philly I could already tell the difference in the air quality. I think it will be a good experience though, and challenging. Thankfully the school is pretty concerned about keeping students safe (although the school is in a good area to begin with), so that is comforting. I'm also very lucky in that I have a potential living situation already set up that eases any concerns of having to find a roommate and a good place to live.

Yeah. Living in the city is what I am probably the most concerned about.

Actually my acceptance is conditional on me passing the math class I am taking (which shouldn't be a problem, ha). I also figure I'll have more than enough time to go over basic anatomy before classes start. The biggest piece of advice that everyone gives is to enjoy non-school life as much as possible before school starts, because once it does you're sucked into the black hole of academia. However, gross anatomy is also the hardest (and first) class you take, so if you are going to study, get familiar with that. Thankfully I have the Netter's Anatomy Flashcards, and all my texts from undergrad. Origins, insertions, actions, and innervations...it is a great thing I learned all this once so it's not going to be so bad by the time school starts.

This weekend I'm heading to the Cape for some quiet time, and I am planning on detailing all my goals for the time between now and school starting. I want to make sure that I am entering the program with good habits all around--studying, exercise, and devotional. Quite honestly I'm not "in shape" in all those areas right now, and I want to make sure I can hit the ground running.





I'm already having doubts about my choice.

But I think that is to be expected?

Background Check

Rest assured, I'm not a criminal. I passed the background check that school #1 required me to get :)

Excogitation

No conclusions as of yet in terms of school choice. I really think I'm going to take the week to hash things over, talk with friends and family and people at the hospital, and really weigh the pros and cons. The boys are great, they say "Why don't you just go to the school that will let you live with us while you are in school?" Haha. All day I was very excited about Philly, and at one point I said to myself "Well, could the fact that you haven't thought about the other school all day be a sign that you're supposed to go to Philly?" But then I was writing an email to one of my old professors (who I love and respect dearly), and I started thinking about the first school again. Sometimes I think that I want to go to the place that will challenge me the most, and from the surface, that would be the first school since I'd be so far away from home and doing some intense rural med in the forgotten parts of the state. On the other hand, I feel as if I am more of a Southern person than a Philly person, since I grew up in the sticks and am not a city girl...so wouldn't that mean going to Philly would be more challenging?

I don't want to overanalyze, and despite the difficulty of the decision, I'm not feeling overwhelmed at all. I know I'll make a much better decision by remaining calm and reflective as opposed to getting myself worked up over everything.

DUN DUN DUN

YAY!

About an hour ago the 8 year old I live with got home from school and the first thing he did was run down stairs and say "Beth, did you apply to Oklahoma yet?" (Meaning did you get accepted to Philly yet, he gets confused with all the terms...the boys knew that I would be getting my decision letter today.) I say to him "I don't know, has the mail come in yet? Let's go check." We walk upstairs and his mom says "Hey Beth, you have lots of mail today!" The boys take my stack and find a letter from the Philly school and say "OPEN IT OPEN IT OPEN IT!"

Right away I saw how thick the letter was so I knew what was inside, but I let the 8 y/o open and read it out loud. After reading through all the fancy vocab for saying "You're in" he goes "Wait, does that mean you applied? YAY!" The boys had the biggest grins and were so happy.

Not only that, I also got a birthday present from a friend today that was a paperweight that has the Jeremiah 29:11 verse on it. How crazy awesome (crawesome?) is that...I mean earlier today I was thinking about what a big decision I might have if I got accepted to both schools, and then that comes in the mail.

AND not only that the birthday present from my sister came in the mail as well, and it is Switchfoot's "The Beautiful Letdown" which is one of my top 5 favorite albums of all time. I actually owned it when it first came out, but I gave it to a friend who was going through a rough patch in her life. Now I have it again and it's a perfect background soundtrack for me in terms of inspiring deep thinking.

Such a great day overall!

I just checked the PA forum and found out that the Philly school has mailed decisions to those that interviewed the first week...but when I ran to the mailbox to check, I had nothing. Drats. I suppose I will have to wait until Monday.

Pros and Cons

I went to the Cape this weekend, and amidst crabbing with pieces of mussels and dune grass, and fun flea market shopping contests, I was able to get some good reflective time on the beach and make a list weighing the pros and cons of each school. It's a doozy of a decision I tell you. This is what I have so far:

SCHOOL #1
+far from home, I'll be able to experience a new part of the country
+cheaper (anywhere from $5000-17000 depending on financial aid)
+offers several overseas rotations
+starts in January
+safer area
+good technology
+certificate in geriatrics
+prepare for rural work
+pays housing in outer parts of state
+state school, potentially more needbased aid
+more of a challenge, I would grow more
+fresh air/easy access to the country
+attached to medical school

-low PANCE pass rate (board certification)
-have to stay w/in the state for nine months of clinical training
-might be limiting myself to just rural med
-no campus, just a building
-located in suburbia (which I'm not a fan of)
-no trees on campus
-drunk undergrads
-potentially taking a seat from somebody who really really really really wants to be working in that state

SCHOOL #2
+in Philly
+good access to hospitals and culture, see more variations in illness
+close to home if anything happens
+good PANCE scores
+pretty campus
+trees on campus
+radiology course
+lots of student extracurriculars
+pays housing outside of Philly on clinicals
+everyone I've ever met who knows of the program loves it
+rotations established everywhere in the country
+only a graduate school
+starts in June, more time to work and save $
+community service orientated
+attached to medical school
+small campus

-city living
-city air
-crime
-competition for patients since saturation of health students
-more expensive

I don't want to get too far ahead of myself though. I haven't even been accepted to school #2 yet, so this potentially could be a very easy decision. I should be hearing back in less than two weeks!

We're driving out of New York right now, and I witnessed the tail end of a drug store robbery.

Actually I'm not sure that is what happened but that's what I'm going to pretend happened ;) There was obviously a fight of some kind right outside a drug store, and lots of police were around.

Only in New York do you see signs at intersections saying "Don't Honk!" and signs on cars saying "Because you parked here during street cleaning, the city can't be clean because of you."

A guy just gave us the finger as we drove by.

On our way in we drove through parts of the Bronx and Harlem, and I had the thought "Do I really want to live in a city?"

Oh look, there is central park!

We just drove by "Obama's Fried Chicken."

New York City is very New York City (now that is a profound statement!) Everything is gray and dirty, and there are signs and billboards everywhere...just as I would imagine NYC to be.

Going back to Philly, to Philly

So here is the short version of my trip (or at least I'll try to make it that way). I got to Philly around 2 pm, and was dropped outside of 30th Street Station, where at that point I was like "What am I going to do for two hours (since I wasn't able to check in until 4), and how am I going to get around? (I love adventures! :) I walked in the general vicinity to where I thought the Philadelphia Art Museum was, managed to find it after only 15 minutes, and hung out with Rocky and the statues for a little bit. I did do the run up the stairs thing as best as I could, considering I was carrying my laptop bag and duffle bag (and I was by myself which was kinda dorky haha). I walked out behind the Museum where I saw the water works, then walked back to 30th St Station. I had figured out earlier what bus line I should take to the hotel/school, but had forgotten to check the schedule. Luckily I found the bus stop and only had to wait 5 minutes before the bus came along.

I checked into the hotel, ran next door to Target since I had forgotten a belt, and then proceeded to half-study for an hour before I got too tired and went to bed. This was at like 8:30. My computer woke me back up at 3 while it was updating itself (despite the fact I had it in sleep mode!), and I didn't fall back asleep until 4ish, after I had blasted the AC in hopes of freezing myself back to sleep (it worked).

I woke up the next morning intending to do some last minute fact checking just to get my head into intellectual mode, but the hotel wireless decided not to work. Just great. Thankfully my sister was home and could check my email to read the message that told me exactly where I was supposed to be and when. (THANK YOU!!)

Walked to the school, got there 20 minutes early (but wasn't the earliest), and waited for the other interviewees to show up. There were 5 of us (as opposed to the 30+ in the last interview). We went upstairs to get breakfast and then they took us on a tour. The school is very, very nice. Everything is brand new and top notch in terms of technology. The campus is small which I loved (undergrad friends, think of the three dorms on the hill and that's the size), there are lots of trees (something that's actually important to me!); and everyone was SUPER DUPER friendly and nice. Students kept on dropping down and saying hi to us, not to worry, etc. There are also a lot of activities for students outside of class. They have the PA Olympics with other PA programs in the city, are heavily involved in community service, and actually have club sports that participate in the Medical School league in the city! The school is on the outermost part of Philly. You don't actually feel like you are in the city, although it's definitely a suburban area.

The interview went well. No surprises whatsoever, and it was pretty short. Again only like 10 minutes. I stumbled a little bit though out of nervousness but overall I think I connected well and showed that I was well informed.

I got out a lot earlier than expected, so I ran back to the hotel, grabbed my stuff, and got on the first bus back into the city. I managed to get on an earlier bus than planned, which is great, I might actually get home by 9:30 instead of midnight!

It's almost 3:45. I've been up since 3 am and I can't go back to sleep (I feel asleep at 8:30 though so if I never get back to sleep it's not that big of a deal). I just cranked up the AC hoping it would freeze me back into sleep.

Also I am in a "Crowne Plaza Sleep Advantage Room" and the bed is so freaking comfortable. MMMMM