So I'm a scien--what? Doctor in training??
So on the 16th of June I was blown away by a completely unexpected email from the University of Texas Medical School in Houston saying they had an open spot in the 2011 entering class and it was mine. I could not sleep for days for a number of reasons. These included:
a) Being in shock.
b) Already having bought tickets to Canada and made living/work arrangements to a certain extent
c) Wanting a year off from academia
d) Wanting a year to be able to come home from work and have my own time
e) Wanting to chill with talon_serena
f) WTF I don't even
I'm not complaining about getting into medical school. 3000-4000 apply to a given school, 700-1000 get interviews, and then 200 get in. The odds aren't great, and it's an honor to have made it. I am a little disappointed with the timing. I was sure I wouldn't get in, and had essentially put it out of my mind. I was waitlisted...but I was certain I was far enough down the wait list and the odds were not in my favor. I made plans to move to Canada on August 1st, work a year, then go to graduate school. That has completely changed.
"But why has that changed? I thought you didn't want to be a doctor," you may reply. Good point, you. I pondered medical school vs graduate school for a while, and decided to accept the offer to medical school. I have a number of reasons for doing this.
a) UT Houston is an awesome med school in a great location. I do not know if I will be so lucky as to get into an awesome graduate school.
b) I can do a ton of things with an MD...including teaching and research, which is what I would have wanted to do with a PhD. I still may in fact get a PhD later. Who knows?
c) I feel better having something certain and stable in my lap rather than putting off the inevitable of choosing a career/life direction.
So there you go. I've been running around getting paperwork in order, finding housing in Houston, and all that jazz for the past while. Now, I am going to go make myself a drink.
Oh, but first, I jumped on the tumblrboat, and the first post consists of kitties. Audra, my now full grown shelter kitten that hates it when I study, Marilyn, named after Marilyn Monroe because of the beauty mark on her face, and Joey, the malnourished kitten my little sister found outside of her apartment the night before last being attacked by a dog. Joey was so weak when she brought him over the next morning he wouldn't eat, save from a dropper. Now he's much more energetic and eating kitten chow he's supposed to. I'm sure he'll grow from a homely kitten into a beautiful swan cat.
a) Being in shock.
b) Already having bought tickets to Canada and made living/work arrangements to a certain extent
c) Wanting a year off from academia
d) Wanting a year to be able to come home from work and have my own time
e) Wanting to chill with talon_serena
f) WTF I don't even
I'm not complaining about getting into medical school. 3000-4000 apply to a given school, 700-1000 get interviews, and then 200 get in. The odds aren't great, and it's an honor to have made it. I am a little disappointed with the timing. I was sure I wouldn't get in, and had essentially put it out of my mind. I was waitlisted...but I was certain I was far enough down the wait list and the odds were not in my favor. I made plans to move to Canada on August 1st, work a year, then go to graduate school. That has completely changed.
"But why has that changed? I thought you didn't want to be a doctor," you may reply. Good point, you. I pondered medical school vs graduate school for a while, and decided to accept the offer to medical school. I have a number of reasons for doing this.
a) UT Houston is an awesome med school in a great location. I do not know if I will be so lucky as to get into an awesome graduate school.
b) I can do a ton of things with an MD...including teaching and research, which is what I would have wanted to do with a PhD. I still may in fact get a PhD later. Who knows?
c) I feel better having something certain and stable in my lap rather than putting off the inevitable of choosing a career/life direction.
So there you go. I've been running around getting paperwork in order, finding housing in Houston, and all that jazz for the past while. Now, I am going to go make myself a drink.
Oh, but first, I jumped on the tumblrboat, and the first post consists of kitties. Audra, my now full grown shelter kitten that hates it when I study, Marilyn, named after Marilyn Monroe because of the beauty mark on her face, and Joey, the malnourished kitten my little sister found outside of her apartment the night before last being attacked by a dog. Joey was so weak when she brought him over the next morning he wouldn't eat, save from a dropper. Now he's much more energetic and eating kitten chow he's supposed to. I'm sure he'll grow from a homely kitten into a beautiful swan cat.