first day of class

Howdy ho neighborinos!
I had my first day of classes today. I only had anat&physio but already I can tell that my University of Illinois education will pay off in these classes. After class, a few of us ate at this delightful little Thai restaurant called Summer and then took the el up to evanston for some bubble tea. We took a stroll to the beach and particularly enjoyed spitballing tapioca bubbles at ducks for them to eat. Then we came back to campus, studied a little bit on the rooftop terrace of an apartment building that a few of our program members live in and then I left to work out and then head home to a nice, home-cooked Korean meal. All in all it was a great day, especially thanks to the great weather. Tomorrow I will have my cell bio, genetics and medical ethics class. Then we're going to the beach! To study, of course.

By the way, it's been interesting living out of my car since I'm a commuter student. It's like I have to stop by my "apartment" and get stuff but I'm really just getting things out of my trunk. Oh well, it'll be sufficient for 9 months of my life until this program is over.

exciting news!

hello everyone!
I found out last week that I received a half tuition scholarship for Loyola! Yay for being less in debt!! I've also signed up for the graduate school orientation which will be followed by a dinner cruise on Lake Michigan! It's pretty cheap- $25 for a buffet dinner and two drink tickets. I've bought all my books (saved $150 by shopping on amazon!) and I'm moving back to Glenview in TWO DAYS! That's nuts. Anyhow, that's my exciting news!

closer to grad school!

How's it going, bloggerinos?
In the past few weeks, I've taken out loans, submitted final transcripts, turned in immunization forms, and registered for orientation AND the post orientation cruise :) . I can't believe I'm going to be starting grad school in about a month. I'm really excited but the closer the first day of class looms, the more nervous I get about my future grades since I need to kick butt in order to make it worthwhile for getting into med school. yikes. 3 more weeks in chambana and then back up to glenview. whoo hoo!

end of CNA class

Hola!
As you can tell by my lack of entries between this one and the last, nothing much has been going on. Today was my last in-class day of CNA class. We still have two more clinical days, Monday and Tuesday, and then we meet one more time next Wednesday to do paperwork. My clinicals at Country Health Nursing Home in Gifford, IL has turned out pretty good. Despite the so-called drama my classmates report, I've been dealing with the attitude-y CNAs just fine. No matter what healthcare field you go into, you're going to get some flack from the person you are learning from.

In other news, I sent in my final transcript to Loyola today. I still need to mail my immunization records- the ones that have been sitting on my desk waiting to be sent since the end of May. Oops.

I need to quell my shopaholism. It's leading down a slippery slope. Exhibit A: I went shopping on Sunday and bought a dress, a pair of shorts, and a pair of shoes. On Monday, I bought another dress and a pair of shorts. On Tuesday, my guilt got the best of me and I returned the second dress I bought (although, funny enough, I MADE money on my return...) I miss the days when i went to the mall with my mommy and she splurged on my clothes...

CNA class

Yesterday was my first day of the certified nurse assistant training class. It was interesting to see the spectrum of people there. There were a smattering of high schoolers, a few in their 30's, a handful around my age, and one woman who was over 60- not to mention, only one male student. My section is in Rantoul, which might account for the differences in age since the rest of the classes are at Parkland and they probably have more people in their 20's. Anyway, it's interesting so far. Yesterday, we checked off two of our 21 skills that we have to get tested on to pass the class- hand washing and putting on and taking off a mask, gown and gloves for an isolation room patient. The hand washing was obviously easy but the second task was more difficult, not for the physical tast but we have "beginning" and "finishing" tasks for each major task and we have to tell the instructor what those are: washing hands, knocking, introduction of self, making sure you have the right person, setting up equipment, asking visitors to leave, explaining the procedure, adjusting the patient back to a comfortable position, making sure their water and call button are within reach, adjusting the bed, checking for general safety (making sure the bed brake is on), inviting the visitors back in. phew, that's a long list. I'm sure by task 21 it'll just roll off my tongue but i struggled to remember a few of them. Not to mention when i was trying to take off my gown, the waist tie got knotted pretty bad and the instructor had to help me. But she said normally they don't untie them but they rip them off instead. Since we're reusing the gowns for the class, we had to be nice to them so I didn't get docked points for that. We'll see how the rest of these classes go- I'm off to my second day!

Loyola MAMS class of 2010

I've made my final decision and have withdrawn from all the other programs! I'm registered for my four classes at Loyola: advanced cell biology, advanced genetics, anatomy and physiology I, and medical ethics. I'll be living at home and making the 30 minute commute to the lakeshore campus. I've contacted the music director and joined the choir email list :). I am SO ready to get my studyin' on and I'm pumped that I'll finally be able to take ONLY the classes that are related to the field of study of my choice- no more stupid gen eds or MATH classes! I just had my stats final yesterday and it felt good to be done with math FOREVER!

I'm also excited for the nurse assistant certification program that will be starting on June 1st. It'll be good to have something like that under my belt for times when I'll be looking for some work on the side. If nothing else, I can use that certification for working in my year off between the masters and (hopefully) med school. We are rolling, people! Full speed ahead!

2 acceptances in one day?!?!

After getting my acceptance to Drexel this morning, I found an acceptance from Loyola's masters program waiting for me in my inbox when i got back from class. This is my top choice so tomorrow, I will call Drexel and decline the offer for acceptance and call Georgetown and take myself off of the hold list. I won't withdraw from RFU until all my paperwork is in for Loyola, just to be safe. I was really hoping that I would know my final plans for next year before going away kmass so that I have something concrete to say so this is perfect timing. This also means I can start apartment hunting and I've already emailed a few places to request more information. Oh, if anyone is looking to get rid of some old furniture, let me know- I'll gladly take it off your hands. If anyone wants more information about the program I will be enrolled in, here's the link. Thanks for all the prayers so far and please keep praying for me as I face this challenging program head on!

Drexel masters program

I just got an email this morning for an acceptance to the Drexel IMS (masters) program! Yes, it is all very exciting but the deposit to hold a seat is $500!!! that's nuts! Now, would I rather go to Drexel in Philadelphia (which is a better program) over Rosalind Franklin which is in IL? Something to ponder, that's for sure. I have until 5/29 to make this decision...

I forgot to mention that Drexel is only a certification program, not a masters program. However, you take 6 medical school classes that are simulcast to the health sciences campus as opposed to 4 medical science classes you take at RFU. Oy.

NYMC rejection

My dad just called me to tell me that NYMC sent their rejection letter for me to my house instead of my apartment. whoo hoo. he started describing the content of the letter, sounding all hopeful and I stopped him and explained to him that all the rejection letters sound like that. Drexel is the only one left and it doesn't look good. Oh well, at least I have somewhere to go. I kind of wish I would hear back from the rest of the schools already so I can start looking for places to live and finalizing my plans.

FAFSA

Happy Easter! He is risen! He is risen indeed!

I just submitted my FAFSA for RFU. I figure if I get into more programs, I can make corrections and add more schools but now I will at least be getting processed to receive financial aid for the one school I've been accepted to so far. Hopefully, I'll be hearing from Drexel's SMP (and med school, for that matter) soon. I've decided that my top SMP choice is Loyola based on distance from home and reputaion of the program so please pray for me that I'll get accepted to their MAMS (master of arts in medical science) program!

Saw it comin.

Jefferson is out of the running. On a happier note, Easter Vigil mass starts in 18 hours.

An Acceptance? What??

Good news! I got accepted into the Rosalind Franklin University Biomedical Sciences Masters Program! I have something to do next year! woot! It isn't my first choice of masters programs (in fact, it's my last choice out of the four) but it's definitely something and I'm glad I'm not going to be just bumming around somewhere (although that somewhere would have been in Peoria, close to Phil). Hopefully I'll hear more good news soon, maybe from Loyola or Drexel's masters programs (since I'm already on hold at Georgetown). Thank you for your support and prayers so far- keep up the great work :)

rejections galore.

Got a lovely email from Northwestern this morning:

Dear Rena Jeeyoon Park :

Your application to Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine has been carefully considered by our Committee on Admissions. The Committee has completed its evaluation and is sorry to advise you that we are unable to offer you an interview for the class entering in the fall of 2009.

Sincerely,

Warren H. Wallace, MD

Associate Dean for Admissions

3 more med schools, 4 grad schools left. I just called Loyola and they pretty much told me over the phone that I was rejected. He said they've withheld from offering me an interview this year and I'll be receiving a letter in 2 weeks or so. lovely.

Bah! I called UIC and they pretty much told me the same thing that loyola told me. I'm sad :(

AND I just got an email back from Rush and they said they're done interviewing and I'll get my letter in the mail soon.

pray for me...

Georgetown- hold

I got an email from Georgetown's SMP saying that they're putting me on the "hold" list. They go on to talk about how a lot of people get accepted off of the hold list but they end by asking me to send them any updated mcat scores or spring semester grades. hm. hopefully all four SMPs won't fall through....

good news and bad news

Good news- Drexel's SMP called me for a phone interview on Thursday. That was quite exciting and unexpected. I was just hanging out at the Newman Cafe when they called so I went into the private dining room where I had a 20 minute phone interview. I suppose the interview says that they've gotten my files and I'm going to be reviewed by their committee soon.

Bad news- Wright State University rejected me on Wednesday. That's the school that my job shadow doctor went to and I was hoping that having a recommendation letter from her would pull some weight but apparently it didn't. Oh well. Who wants to be in Dayton, OH anyway???

SMP apps almost complete!

Three out of the four SMPs that I applied to (Rosalind Franklin, Georgetown, Loyola) are at complete status. Drexel has yet to contact me about whether or not they got my application but hopefully they will soon. Please keep praying for me and for the 9 med schools I am waiting to hear from!

***make that 8 schools- just got my rejection letter from Chicago College of Medicine/Midwestern University***

Letters gone missing?!?!

Both med school and the SMPs require recommendation letters to be sent as part of your application. At U of I, we use a program called LEO that stores your letters and sends them to the schools you designate on the LEO website. I figured, "hey, I did this once for med school so it'll be easy for the SMP" and I sent the letters even before I submitted the application. Loyola's SMP emails me today and says that they don't have my letters yet. I check the LEO website and the UPS tracking website which both say they were received on 3/2/09. Hmmm...So I called Loyola and had them search high and low for them and they couldn't find it. I ended up spending $18 on next day shipping to re-send them my letters. I bet you anything they will find my letters tomorrow- that's how these things go, I suppose.

another rejection

Just thought I'd update you all- I got another rejection from George Washington University. I think I'm only going to be upset if i get rejected from u of i. Nine more to go!

med school application status

Hi everybody! I decided that I was going to ditch my old blog (xanga) and start this one and record the ups and downs of the journey on my way to becoming a doctor. Here's what's been going on: I applied to 18 medical schools- 17 allopathic medicine, 1 osteopathic medicine (look them up on wikipedia) and I have yet to be invited for an interview from any of them! I applied to Virginia Commonwealth University, Creighton University, Medical College of Wisconsin, St. Louis University, New Jersey Medical School, Albany Medical College, University of Chicago, Rosalind Franklin University, University of Illinois, Loyola University, Northwestern University, Rush University, Chicago College of Medicine, Wright State University, Drexel University, Jefferson Medical College, George Washington University, and New York Medical College. I've been rejected by the first 8 of that list and the rest of them are more or less in the order of my preference.

Most medical schools interview through the end of April and usually they give you at least two weeks notice before an interview so come the end of March, I'm going to be pretty panicky. However, I have several back up plans lined up. I recently applied to four special masters programs. These are one year masters programs that are especially designed for students who want to go to medical school but have slightly sub-par GPAs (that's me). I've applied to SMPs at Georgetown, Loyola, Drexel and Rosalind Franklin. If I get into one of those, I will apply again to medical school to start Fall of 2011. If I don't get into any medical schools OR SMPs, I plan on getting my nurse assistant certification and working for a year and then applying again. What's really frustrating about all of this is that the rest of my life (aka getting married) can't move forward until this part of my life gets figured out. Ironically, my blog is titled one step at a time because as much as I want to plan out every little detail of my life right now, I need to just take a deep breath and take things one step at a time. That doesn't mean I won't be prepared but I definitely need to stop freaking out at the prospect of not knowing what my plans for the next five years are yet. Anyway, I'll post on this blog if anything new or exciting happens.