Back in Chicago

So after my first venture to Chicago in January, I'm back, this time quite a bit less stressed than before, for good reason. I've been accepted to Rush Medical College as well as Temple School of Medicine, and have the opportunity to make a choice as to which school I will go to in the fall. Most schools offer a "Second Look Day" where they wine and dine those who've gotten in, and sometimes those also on the waitlist.

I'm looking over the schedule for today and it looks packed with talks from people all the way at the 'top' to those who were in our shoes only a year ago. I've been fortunate enough to be staying at a medical student's apartment, an M2 (for non-medical speakers, that's a second year medical student) and because he has 6 finals he needs to study for, along with the first step of the USMLE (United States Medical Licencing Examination) he basically gave me the keys to his apartment so I could do whatever I wanted before today.

I'll admit, that's a pretty big deal, giving his only set of keys to me, trusting that

A: I won't lose them
B: I am a good guest who won't mess up his clean apartment
C: I won't get such severe hunger pangs that I raid his fridge
D: I won't set fire to said apartment
E: I won't invite like 20 people over and party all night
F: [Insert anything that I could do to mess things up]

So needless to say, I think that speaks for the type of student that comes to this school.

On the plus side, now that it is almost May, and NOT JANUARY, it isn't like 20 degrees below zero. On top of that, on this trip I have some time to hang out with friends in Chicago and not feel like every minute of my trip is managed time.

In the cards for this weekend:

Today: Rush Second Look Day
Tonight: Going out on the town
Tomorrow: Exploring Chicago (downtown)
Tomorrow night: Repeat plans for tonight.

Sunday, I'll be taking off early in the morning and heading back to DC. Updates to come later, now that its almost 9:30am, its time to get my butt over to registration!

It makes me think...

Last night our community did something that we do every week. We have a "spirituality night," where we talk about anything from Islam to passages from the Bible to where we see ourselves being challenged. Last night we reflected on a number of things happening in our lives.

I think most 'outsiders' to JVC, Jesuits, or spirituality would scoff at the idea that we spend a night a week talking about spirituality. I mean, what does God really have to do with life, if you don't recognize the concept. To me, while I'm not a firm believer in anything at this point, these nights, especially the one last night, add a great deal to my life.

Last night, I was able to enjoy the company of my house, as we talked about our struggles, our joys, our desires, and just be real with each other. When others spoke of difficulties they were having, I echoed those feelings. We reinforced each other as well; when someone spoke of how they were just plain scared of what would come next year, another was quick to point out that person's strengths and to just say that things will, despite how they seem now, work out.

I realized that this year is quickly going by, and that before I can blink, I'll be sitting in a classroom once again. In a foreign city, in uncharted territory.

However, I have also realized that the friendships that I've formed this year through nights like this will continue to exist for the rest of my life.

School is pricey...

Recently, I've been trying to figure out the rest of my life. Wait... that's a lie. I've always been trying to figure out my life. What I have been doing recently is looking at the incredible cost of attending medical school these days.

I came up with a budget, which makes me think: "Hoolllllyyyy &*#@*#(@, I'm going to be in debt the rest of my life."

Here's what it looks like:

Estimated Cost of Attendance for 2009-2010 (Including tuition, room and board, books, transportation, insurance...)

Loyola Chicago $60,734
Temple                                             $67,278
Rush                                $62,472
NYMC                                    $65,312


Multiply these numbers by 4..... and you get a range from $242,936 to $269,112.

Talk about a mortgage on my brain!

With that kind of money you can.....

Buy a house, buy a really nice car, put someone through state college many times over, live comfortably for quite some time (I know, I'm being really scientific here... but cut me some slack, the point I want to get across is that this is a lot of money we're talking about)

The question of paying for school has been nagging at me for a while, and I have a few options:

Scholarships including...

Health Care Service Provider's Scholarship through the US Army (which would pay for all of my medical school costs and provide me with a living stipend. In return for that residency would be done at a VA or other army affiliated hospital (tend to be more competitive for specialties than civilian residencies). The payback terms seem to be a bit complicated, my understanding is that it is a year for year payback program so for each year of medical school, I serve a year active duty. That service would begin after I have finished my residency. I'm still a bit unclear on how it works so I'll have to ask someone.

Other scholarships: Through various organizations, write an essay and provide letters of rec for each, only would cover a fraction of med school cost.

Loans: Pay em back once I'm making the dough.


Its a tough call, I'm going to need some more time in weighing out the pros and cons, trying to determine which path would probably make me happier. Who knows!?

Its the most wonderful time of the year...

....with the cherrys a-blossoming, the sun a-shining, there lots of good cheer......

So its been a while, yet again, since I've posted an update on all the goings on in my life. Well, not to disappoint, much has happened.

I'll give a few brief high-lights

This week, at work, a man at the front desk pulled a knife. We had to move to a lock-down status as police responded. The back story with this is that the man had been banned from the clinic and all SOME programs for allegedly breaking a window the week prior. When the front desk informed the man that he needed to leave, he became irate, and pulled the knife. It was pretty obvious that this guy was dirranged, he didn't seem like he intended on going after someone, he just pulled the knife so people would take him seriously. When I was listening in to him, he was pretty nonsensical. I'm just glad that nothing eventful (other than that the guy drew a knife) happened.

Last weekend I played in an indoor soccer tournament in New York City, in one of the most interesting tournaments I've been in yet. Each game was 12 minutes long. Count it, 12 minutes. 12 minutes of the fastest soccer you've ever seen. Subs were run every 3 minutes. That's right, you play 3 minutes then the entire side subs out, with fresh legs coming in. However, the freshness of the legs got progressively worse the more games we played. In all, we played 6 games over the course of the day, and came in 5th place out of about 20 teams, so not so bad! While in NYC I also got the chance to just blow some cash on doing something that's been on my 'bucket list' for a while. Going to the top of the Empire State Building. Makes you wonder if the people who invented the idea of a 'bucket list' aren't in on some big capitalist conspiracy. Seriously, it costs $20 MINIMUM to go to the 86th floor of the empire state building. I think it probably costs an additional $10 to go to the observation deck that's a few floors higher.... whhhhat a rip! But despite the cost, I thought it was pretty worth it. Pictures to follow!

In other news, most of the family is coming into town for the weekend, I have two soccer games lined up, and oh my gosh, I'm supposed to run 10 miles in a week for the annual Cherry Blossom 10 mile race! I'll admit, between having my wisdom teeth pulled out, semi-injuring my knee, and being a general lazy person.... I haven't gotten around to doing a whole lot of training. I'm pretty sure I'll at least be able to finish the race, in what kind of time...who knows.

Well, I'm off to bed for now, hopefully more updates coming soon!

.......its the most wonderful time... of the year!