As most of you probably know, Jake is in the process of applying to medical school!! We applied May 16th to DO Schools and have been waiting since then for some news on our application status.Well, last week we received a notice that our application had been verified and was in the process of being sent out to the schools we applied to. You see, you apply to an online application system that reviews your application for errors and then sends them on to the schools of your choice. (This normally takes around 4 weeks.) We applied to around 20 schools and just today starting receiving emails from the schools that have now recieved our application. After they receive our AACOMAS application (the application through the online system), they invite us to 
fill out "supplemental" applications for each individual school. As if we didn't spend enough agonizing time trying to write essays for the online app, now we have to do it again! BUT--we have to have answer different questions with different restrictions for each school, along with filling out the rest of the application AND paying the $50-100 fee that associates each of them. Although its a lot of work, its still SUPER EXCITING and we're so happy to get the process moving!
fill out "supplemental" applications for each individual school. As if we didn't spend enough agonizing time trying to write essays for the online app, now we have to do it again! BUT--we have to have answer different questions with different restrictions for each school, along with filling out the rest of the application AND paying the $50-100 fee that associates each of them. Although its a lot of work, its still SUPER EXCITING and we're so happy to get the process moving!So, because we applied to so many schools, we have the choice to only fill out supplemental applications for certain schools at first, and then apply to other ones if we don't get into our first choice schools. Applying to 20 schools cost us a lot of extra money, but we're really glad we have so many options. Jake and I are trying to come up with a list of our top 5 schools. Here are the top three so far and the reasons behind it:
1-PNWU in Yakima, WA: We are really excited about this school for a lot of reasons, but mostly because its soo close to family. Most of the closest schools are around 13 hours away from either BL or Boise, but Yakima is only 5 HOURS from BOISE!!! That means it would be around 10 to my house, but that still means its closer than all the rest! I can't imagine being 5 hours from Boise during Med school! Thats almost the same distance from Rexburg! It would be soo nice to have family within an afternoon's drive away! That also means we'd have visitors more often! We also like PNWU because it cateers to students from the western states that want to 
serve in the west once they graduate. PNWU is also second to the cheapest DO school with tuition at $30,000/year compared to up to $50,000. Yikes--can you imagine the student dept at the end?? One last reason is because the weather there is similar to that of Boise--and who doesn't love Boise weather?! One disadvatage of this school is that it is very new and doesn't really have a reputation in the medical world. But they do have a lot of western medical practices that want to help with residency placement, so thats good news. But, being new also makes the school a little easier to get into!
serve in the west once they graduate. PNWU is also second to the cheapest DO school with tuition at $30,000/year compared to up to $50,000. Yikes--can you imagine the student dept at the end?? One last reason is because the weather there is similar to that of Boise--and who doesn't love Boise weather?! One disadvatage of this school is that it is very new and doesn't really have a reputation in the medical world. But they do have a lot of western medical practices that want to help with residency placement, so thats good news. But, being new also makes the school a little easier to get into!2-DMU in Des Moines, IA: We love this school for many reasons also! It is 13 hours away 
from my house, so not too close but not too far either. It is probably one of the most competitive DO schools out there with high MCAT/GPA students admitted. All the DO docs Jake has shadowed went there and they all loved it. We've also heard that many lds families attend there and have a fun time together. One of my top reasons for choosing this school is that it has the masters degree that I want to take. I can take classes completely online, but it would be fun to go to a few classes on campus every once and awhile too. We'll see... Iowa also has weather similar to Bear Lake, so thats not too bad either.
from my house, so not too close but not too far either. It is probably one of the most competitive DO schools out there with high MCAT/GPA students admitted. All the DO docs Jake has shadowed went there and they all loved it. We've also heard that many lds families attend there and have a fun time together. One of my top reasons for choosing this school is that it has the masters degree that I want to take. I can take classes completely online, but it would be fun to go to a few classes on campus every once and awhile too. We'll see... Iowa also has weather similar to Bear Lake, so thats not too bad either.3-LECOM in Erie, PA: The best part about LECOM is that its the cheapest DO school there is!
It is around $27,000 a year. This school also admits a lot of BYU-I students, so thats always helpful. I hear that it gets really snowy there though because its right next to Lake Erie--I'm not soo fond of that, but used to it none the less. This school also gives Jake the chance of being admitted to a 3-year program verses the normal 4-year, but its really competitive to get into, so we can't count on that. Its also around 30 hours from my house, so thats not too attractive, although Jake thinks it would be great for me to get away for awhile. Awhile, yes, but 4 years +, no way! :) Of course, I will go happily to whatever school we get into, but it would fun have a choice, right?
It is around $27,000 a year. This school also admits a lot of BYU-I students, so thats always helpful. I hear that it gets really snowy there though because its right next to Lake Erie--I'm not soo fond of that, but used to it none the less. This school also gives Jake the chance of being admitted to a 3-year program verses the normal 4-year, but its really competitive to get into, so we can't count on that. Its also around 30 hours from my house, so thats not too attractive, although Jake thinks it would be great for me to get away for awhile. Awhile, yes, but 4 years +, no way! :) Of course, I will go happily to whatever school we get into, but it would fun have a choice, right?Jake is scheduled to take the MCAT July 2nd in Pocatello! He has been studying really hard and doing well on his practice tests, so we're excited to see the test results. (along with REALLY NERVOUS!!) We will get the results back from that test within 30 days or so, and then they will be sent out to our schools. While we are waiting for that we will be filling out these applications and submitting Jake's letters of recommendation to our schools. Once the MCAT scores are submitted, the schools will look over our completed materials, and if they're interested in Jake, we'll get invited for interviews!!
The interviews are the most exciting part of this application for me and I just can't wait to get 
started! (That is, if we get some! :) I just know that Jake will do SOO WELL! He is such a likeable guy that really knows what he wants. He's an excellent communicator and has great qualifications. I am a firm believer that if Jake can only get an interview, the rest is in the bag! I have so much confidence and am so excited to see him do well! I am hoping to accompany Jake to each of the interviews he gets at our top 3 schools. Because I will be living in whatever town we get accepted to for around 4 years, I want to know what the area is like, the ward, the housing, the school, etc... so I can make an educated decision if we have to make choices between schools. (Hopefully we can afford this after all the money spent elsewhere!!)
started! (That is, if we get some! :) I just know that Jake will do SOO WELL! He is such a likeable guy that really knows what he wants. He's an excellent communicator and has great qualifications. I am a firm believer that if Jake can only get an interview, the rest is in the bag! I have so much confidence and am so excited to see him do well! I am hoping to accompany Jake to each of the interviews he gets at our top 3 schools. Because I will be living in whatever town we get accepted to for around 4 years, I want to know what the area is like, the ward, the housing, the school, etc... so I can make an educated decision if we have to make choices between schools. (Hopefully we can afford this after all the money spent elsewhere!!) So, thats the status on our application. I will be sure to keep everyone updated, but for all you friends on Facebook, you'll probably see more information on my status updates whenever anything exciting happens! Thanks for reading and I hope you are all doing well! :) I'll update you all on the pregnancy next week!
5 comments:
YAY! A post and update! You're so right--Jake will do awesome in his interviews. That's so awesome he's going to med school, tell him good luck for me! I'll be thinking of you two! :)
Wow! That has taken me back down memory lane. It is such a grueling process, but so worth it when you have a letter of acceptance in your hands. I hope everything works out for you, but it really isn't that bad being so far away from home. I was really nervous about moving so far away, but found out there's such a great support group from the church. You learn to really rely on each other as a couple as well. Good luck.
Exciting!!! You guys will be great where ever you go!
Laura that's so exciting! We're sad you guys are going to be leaving... but i guess we will be gone too so it doesn't matter! what about schools in Louisiana?? ha! that would be fun though! Leaving Rexburg just seems like a dream right now, doesn't it?? anyway, my number is 208-206-7780 if you were wanting to call me. Daniel's is 208-390-0243. Good luck with everything!!!
Hi there. We are LDS and live in Mesa AZ and are interviewing at several of these schools as well. Have you heard anything back sence your interviews. We are much later in the interview cycle. Do you know any LDS students at PNWU?
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