Auf Wiedersehen

My year at NYMC is over, so I don't have any more to add to this bliggity blog. If you know anyone interested in NYMC or their Accelerated Master's Program feel free to link 'em here.

I'll check comments once in a while, but if you have any questions I can be reached at runamok86 at yahoo dot com. My student doctor network name is runamok.

For all mah pre-meds in the house, never despair! There are a million ways to fulfill your dreams, be it going overseas, going DO, taking an extra year to buff up, or even becoming a PA. If you truly want it, there's a way for you to become a doctor.

Much love, and good luck!

The Breakdown

Of the original 20 people in the program:
1 person was accepted off of a waitlist for August 2008
3 withdrew applications to NYMC after being accepted by other schools for August 2009
1 didn't apply anywhere this year
1 was rejected by NYMC without being invited to interview and is reapplying this summer
14 interviewed at NYMC
8 were accepted within a few weeks
6 were initially waitlisted
1 at least has been accepted off of the waitlist
3 people on the waitlist haven't been accepted anywhere yet

So 20% of the class (4 people) applied but weren't successful this year. Compared to other SMPs, an 80% success rate in getting people into med schools in one year is good.

Here's hoping that AMP c/o 2010 does even better!

Graduate'd!

NYMC's first Accelerated Master's Program is done! I'm writing this from my parents' house where I'm spending the summer.

It's actually been done for a while. Our third neuro midterm was 6/12 and our final (another mini-board) was 6/19. I didn't perform all that well but I wound up getting a B. I don't know if this is true for everyone or just AMP students, but NYMC seems very hesitant to give people anything less than a B, even if your number grade doesn't seem to warrant it. The downside is that people with hugely varying scores (73-85, in biochem's case) end up with the same grade.

Immediately after our neuro final our program directors took all of us out to lunch at a teppanyaki restaurant. It wasn't a formal end-of-year event but it was fun, and we all got to say our goodbyes. Dr. Lerea kept talking about the bonds we'd formed, and how we'd always be able to count on these relationships in the future. What a guy.


Moving out was a nightmare, but only because I was disorganized about it. The superintendent was really chill. I wasn't fined or anything, despite leaving several sticky hooks up on my bedroom's walls.
And the cheapest storage units near Westchester? Why they're at Nanuet's Extra Space Storage. Look 'em up.

My only responsibility this summer is to get ready for med school! I was actually accepted to Stony Brook back in May, so I'll be making the move to Long Island this August. Drs. Lerea and Levine continue to be really supportive, and have repeatedly wished me all the best :)

The only black mark on this summer is my thesis. NYMC requires AMP students to write a BIG literature review on a topic of our choosing in order to get our degree. I don't really have to do it since Stony Brook doesn't care if I get my degree or not, but it would be lame not to finish it up after all of this time and money spent.

This week:

In "Medical Terms That Look Like You Banged Your Forehead On Your Keyboard":

Ventroamygdalofugal pathway.

The forest for the trees

Our second neuro midterm was yesterday. It was pretty much a massacre.

Our program ends a month from today. A bunch of AMP people hung out last night and everyone is emotionally run-down. We found out that NYMC has been accepting people who interviewed after AMP students did, so it appears NYMC is waiting until the very end to let us know if we're getting in or not.

I understand that they don't want us to lose motivation, but we have, like, lives and stuff. Waiting until mid-June makes it really difficult for us to make plans about where to live this summer, reapplying, whether we should get jobs, etc. If they're going to accept us, then the program's a success and who cares what grades I get in neuro. And if we're going to be rejected, I wish they would tell us early on so those who have to reapply can hit the ground running.

I feel like it's in NYMC's best interest for us to be happy and content and tell everyone how great the AMP is, and instead they have a class full of resentful pre-meds.

On a lighter note, my mother sent this for my birthday:
A classmate has suggested we take it around Valhalla and practice escaping from things.

Master's Thesis

We're spending all of our time studying our tails off for neuro. I don't know anyone who has made much progress with their thesis.

NYMC interview

I had my interview on Monday with the largest group of interviewees I've ever seen-over 20. It's so late that I'd assumed they were only interviewing AMP students. But no, the last day of interviews for MD applicants wasn't until today.

It all went pretty smoothly-there was just one 30-40 minute interview. It was closed-file so my interviewee didn't know anything about me when we sat down.

Here are the interview questions I remember:

What makes you want to be a doctor?
Why do you want to go to NYMC?
Why did you pick your college? Mine had the sweetest juggling club.

Why did you pick Biochemistry as your major? I was trying to impress a guy. It didn't work, but it wound up being a pretty tight major.

What was your favorite elective course in undergrad? Language Abilities in Animals, because its abbreviation was LAbiA.

What would you like me to tell the admissions committee?


It was all very pleasant. My roommate's interviewer asked her to basically recite her AMCAS, so I was happy that mine was more of a conversation.

What was NOT pleasant was being told it will be at least four weeks before we hear back from the admissions committee. That means that the people reapplying next year will start filling out their next AMCAS before finding out about NYMC.
Annoying.