Wednesday on our way to youth group Jon got a call from Miami, FL. Not knowing why Miami would be calling him, he sent it to voicemail only to hear the recording later from the man who interviewed him from Ross University back in April (for those following along, Ross is our first choice med school). He said he was calling personally to tell Jon the admissions committee has asked if Jon would retake his MCAT. We were pretty bummed; another school had said the same thing and it was basically a nice way of denying him. But curious what kind timeframe the committee was talking about, I convinced Jon to call him back and I'm so glad I did.
The guy from Ross explained they were in no way denying him; the committee loved his story, he was an exceptional interview, has great clinical experience and good grades, and they thought he would make a good candidate. They just couldn't justify directly admitting him with his MCAT score. So, they gave him a conditional acceptance for the next 6 months on the condition that he receive a higher score on his MCAT retake. Evidently this is a pretty big exception they're making for him, and it sounds like Jon's interviewer is really championing for him.
There are still the US post-bac programs to hear back from, but here's what we're thinking: those programs all promise acceptance to their med schools for the following year if Jon passes the program AND gets a higher score on his MCAT. So if he has to retake his MCAT either way, we'd rather him start med school in January than take a grad program he doesn't really need and start med school 15 months from now.
So here's what that means for us:
~Jon would have to retake his MCAT (the last test of the year is Sept. 11). He already feels that he's done the best he can do on his own and only wants to go through that kind of studying hell again if he's sure he can make it.
SO:
~Jon would start an intensive MCAT test prep course immediately, going to three study courses a week until September
But:
~Jon would have taken a test prep course in the first place, but we couldn't afford it then and we can't afford it now (they're about $1,800-$4,500).
In the meantime:
~We need somewhere to live for the next 6 months. We've been traipsing all around Camas & Washougal the past two days trying to find something. Since Jon graduated in May we don't have financial aid anymore, and most of my piano lessons are ending for the summer,
So that means:
~One or both of us also needs paying work.
Nothing more fragile and crazy than usual, right?
The guy from Ross explained they were in no way denying him; the committee loved his story, he was an exceptional interview, has great clinical experience and good grades, and they thought he would make a good candidate. They just couldn't justify directly admitting him with his MCAT score. So, they gave him a conditional acceptance for the next 6 months on the condition that he receive a higher score on his MCAT retake. Evidently this is a pretty big exception they're making for him, and it sounds like Jon's interviewer is really championing for him.
There are still the US post-bac programs to hear back from, but here's what we're thinking: those programs all promise acceptance to their med schools for the following year if Jon passes the program AND gets a higher score on his MCAT. So if he has to retake his MCAT either way, we'd rather him start med school in January than take a grad program he doesn't really need and start med school 15 months from now.
So here's what that means for us:
~Jon would have to retake his MCAT (the last test of the year is Sept. 11). He already feels that he's done the best he can do on his own and only wants to go through that kind of studying hell again if he's sure he can make it.
SO:
~Jon would start an intensive MCAT test prep course immediately, going to three study courses a week until September
But:
~Jon would have taken a test prep course in the first place, but we couldn't afford it then and we can't afford it now (they're about $1,800-$4,500).
In the meantime:
~We need somewhere to live for the next 6 months. We've been traipsing all around Camas & Washougal the past two days trying to find something. Since Jon graduated in May we don't have financial aid anymore, and most of my piano lessons are ending for the summer,
So that means:
~One or both of us also needs paying work.
Nothing more fragile and crazy than usual, right?
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