Today I reflected on our journey to medical school because, believe it or not, a year ago today (September 22, 2017), Blade interviewed at the Mayo Clinic School of Medicine. I remember the excitement in his voice when he video called me to show me the campus. He said he could see us raising our family in Rochester and that the Mayo had become his top choice.
Crazy to think that a year later I’m sitting on a couch in Rochester, Minnesota (a state I never thought I would live in or see) writing this. Everyone’s journey to medical school will be different, but this is the beginning of our journey in medicine.
Quick Timeline of Our Journey to Medical School
Preparing for medical school was not an easy task. It took a lot of time and effort. Between Blade studying for the MCAT, researching what medical schools to apply to, preparing for the application, going to school full-time, and working part-time…we stayed more than busy.
Here is a quick timeline of events when it came to our process of applying to medical school.
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- In May 2017, we applied to 22 schools based off of programs, locations, and a few other categories. The process of primaries and secondaries seem to take forever, as did the wait for interview invites!
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- In August 2017, Blade received interview invites from UC San Diego School of Medicine and then the Mayo Clinic School of Medicine. We were stoked because UCSD was our top choice at the time, but pleasantly surprised by the invite from Mayo.
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- By December 2017, Blade received nine more invitations to interview at the following medical schools:
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- Saint Louis University School of Medicine
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- Washington University School of Medicine
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- University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine
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- Columbia Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons
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- University of Utah School of Medicine
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- Eastern Virginia Medical School
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- University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine
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- University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
- David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
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- By December 2017, Blade received nine more invitations to interview at the following medical schools:
- By end of January 2018, Blade interviewed at UCSD, Mayo, St. Louis, Wash U, Iowa, and Columbia. The schools held the following types of interviews:
- UCSD, multi-mini interview or MMI
- Mayo, two personal interviews with physicians
- St. Louis, one personal interview with a physician
- Wash U, three interviews with two physicians and a 4th year medical student
- Iowa, one personal interview with two physicians in the room, plus one group activity
- Columbia, one personal interview with a physician
- By end of February 2018, we received acceptances to three of the six and were waitlisted at the other three.
San Diego Trip
We were impressed with the program, research opportunities, and financial aid at UCSD. Not to mention the fact that the campus was just a jot up from the beach. UCSD was actually our first choice of medical school for a long time. However, in the end, we didn’t feel like it was the right place for us. It didn’t feel like home and we both agreed that we weren’t sure we could adjust to the lifestyle of living in such a big city. Tons of people, expensive housing, and terrible traffic. If I was to be honest, traffic was actually a big factor for me! Too much anxiety!
The Triple Trip
Blade interviewed next at Mayo Clinic, St. Louis, and Wash U. It took some juggling, but we planned the flights so he could hit all three in a one week mid-September. He also stayed with current medical students and friends in the area to save money.
I was so proud of Blade and all the hard work he had put in to get to this point in his journey to medical school. We had talked for years about applying to and interviewing for med school and now the time was here! I insisted on an obligatory airport picture when I dropped him off at the airport at 4am in his suit.
He started off the triple trip by flying to Minnesota for his interview at the Mayo Clinic. From there, he flew to St. Louis for his interviews at St. Louis and Wash U. We made it a point to talk after each interview about his impressions of the schools and cities since I wasn’t able to experience it myself.
The Mayo Clinic School of Medicine
Blade said Rochester felt like home and he could see us raising our family there. The program gave the students autonomy when it came to their education with what they call selectives, which Blade loved. Everything and everyone at the Mayo seemed family oriented. The class size was small with only 54 students. This was a huge draw because Blade liked the idea of knowing everyone in his class, plus he thrives in smaller teaching environments.
However, a few slots for were reserved for MD/PhD students, making the Mayo Clinic the most competitive school Blade interviewed at, so the chance of getting a spot was slim. The only downside he could see was the freezing cold winters and the distance from family.
Saint Louis University School of Medicine (SLU)
This was a fun school for Blade because he stayed with a friend from undergrad that was attending there. The school was closer to Blade’s hometown and a new hospital was under construction. However, financial aid was lacking and the approach to curriculum didn’t fit his style of learning.
Washington University School of Medicine (Wash U)
Wash U had a competitive program with ample research opportunities. Blade loved the children’s hospital and the pediatric specialties that he would be able to get involved with if he attended there. However, he had a negative experience with one of the interviewers that tainted his wanting to attend there.
Our fun-loving cocker spaniel and I picked Blade up at the airport after not seeing him for an entire week! You could definitely say that Tucker missed him.
The Last Two Interviews
University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. During our Christmas break in Arkansas with family, Blade drove 9 hours to interview at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. Iowa City had a small college-town feeling and the locals loved their sports so Blade felt a little bit more at home. The comradery among the students was refreshing and there was a children’s hospital which would provide additional exposure to pediatric specialties. However, the location was isolated and kind of in the middle of nowhere. But overall, Blade felt like it didn’t quite click for him.
Columbia Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. Two weeks before our little girl was due, Blade interviewed at Columbia. He surprisingly loved it and was quite impressed how personal the interviewer and dean of the medical school were toward him.
Blade expressed that he would rank Columbia as his second favorite school, but he was worried about bringing our family to New York City. We wouldn’t just have to move, but we would have to learn a new way of living. We both grew up in small towns and moving to the Big Apple would have been a major adjustment with learning a new transportation system, living in a tight apartment, and adjusting to a new lifestyle. Oh, and don’t forget to add in a baby and a dog! That kind of change wasn’t quite what our family needed.
Waiting for Acceptances
We anxiously waited to hear from schools about their decisions. Waiting was possibly the worst part of our journey to medical school.
I remember talking on our nightly walks about the various scenarios and possibilities. We continued to do research, and when it came down to it, all the schools and programs were phenomenal. Anyone would be lucky to go to each of these schools and would turn out to be a great physician. All the medical schools had awesome pros and the cons were survivable.
But, we kept coming back to the Mayo Clinic and how it just felt right.
It seemed like a long shot despite having an awesome interview and experience because of the acceptance rate and prestigious level of the other applicants.
We prayed often about it, making it clear that if we could choose our desire was to attend the Mayo Clinic for medical school.
On Valentine’s Day, just a few days after our little girl was born, we received a call from Minnesota. I was in the bedroom when Blade screamed from the living room, “Kristi!! Minnesota is calling!! Minnesota is calling!!” I ran out and told him to answer it. It was a member of the Mayo Clinic’s admissions board calling to extend Blade an acceptance to the Mayo Clinic School of Medicine.
We of course said yes!
To say we were thrilled would be an understatement. We were beyond happy and felt so blessed! To me, the acceptance wasn’t just an answer to prayers. It was evidence that God cares about our personal desires and honors them.
We had previously been accepted in October 2017 to UCSD and St. Louis. In March 2018, we were waitlisted at Columbia, Wash U, and Iowa. But we knew that the Mayo Clinic was where we were going to enroll.
Looking back now, our journey to medical school at the Mayo Clinic has been full of miracles and tender mercies. We suspect many more to follow and thank the Lord every day that we get to call the Mayo and Rochester our home.
