Decision Time

Well, once again, I have a lot to catch up since my last post.  First of all, I was accepted to the wait list of the 4th school I applied to, Arcadia University.  Their acceptance seemed almost like another way to weed out students.  If I accepted a spot on the wait list, I had to put down a $500 deposit.  If I was then moved off the wait list, I owed them another $500 deposit, for a total of $1000.  If at any time I chose to take myself off the wait list or the acceptance list, I would forfeit any and all of the deposit.  To me, it seemed like the extra deposit money and the wait list was another way to weed out candidates, and see who was really serious.  Another strange thing was there wasn't an interview process for this school either.  Fortunately though, I never had to really make a decision.

Earlier that week, I had sat down with a close friend and advisor and went over the two programs I was trying to decide between: Drexel and Shenandoah. We compared the programs on a number of qualities.  First of all, we looked at how the programs were structured.  The way Drexel is structured is that you learn about one area of the body in its entirety before moving on to the next.  For example, start with the shoulder and you learn the anatomy, kinesiology, injuries, etc... of the shoulder before moving on to another part of the body.  Shenandoah was different.  At Shenandoah they taught anatomy of the body, then kinesiology of the body and so on.   Personally, I learn better in Drexel's learning environment.

The second thing we looked at was the cost.  By doing a rudimentary comparison of the cost over the length of the program, Drexel came out as the cheaper of the two programs.  Now I know that money isn't the biggest thing to worry about, but it does factor in.  Drexel was cheaper because they offered me a Merritt Scholarship.  In order to keep it I have to maintain a B+ average instead of a B average.

Finally, we looked at the faculty that worked at each of the two Universities.  While both programs have good, well educated faculty, the programs just don't compare.  The way we figured, 3 of the 8 Shenandoah faculty held advanced degrees.  However, 9 of the 12 Drexel faculty held advanced degrees.  To me, that pushed them over the top.  Drexel faculty are among the best in their field.  Learning from them is going to be a challenge, but the amount of information they will be able to provide will probably be much higher and much more in depth.  Also, considering both programs are approximately the same size (Drexel ~50, Shenandoah ~40), Drexel has a lower student to faculty ratio.  My own experience tells me this is a good thing for my educational experience.

All in all, I was able to make my decision.  I'll be attending Drexel University in the fall.  I'll be starting late September.  As you can probably guess, my blog will now move to focusing mostly on my experience at Drexel and living in Philadelphia.  Hopefully this information is helpful to anyone reading this.  If anyone would like more information, just comment on any given post and I'll try to provide more information.

G

Another Acceptance

Well, this was a first.  I got accepted to a school yesterday without even interviewing.  I received a letter from Franklin Pierce in New Hampshire saying "Welcome to the Program".  This was my fall back school.  The school I figured I'd get in to even if I was rejected from the rest.  I also applied there because my cousin goes to Law School up there as well.  As nice as it would be to spend time in NH, and with my cousin, I just don't think the school is going to be academically challenging.  I'm sure I'd get a good education, and I'd pass my license exam, I just don't think that I'd get the same type of education I'd get at Drexel or Shenandoah.  I'll keep this one in my back pocket.  However, they want a decision by Feb. 14. I'm assuming they do their admissions the same way Shenandoah does, admit 40 or so, then when one declines, admit another person.

That's all for now.  Still trying to decide between Shenandoah and Drexel.  Hopefully I make a decision soon.

Interview #2 Shenandoah

Well, let's see.  My interview at Shenandoah was completely different than Drexel.  First of all, Shenandoah told me to expect to be there between 4-5 hours.  My interview was at 8 am, which made for a very long day (I had to work 4-midnight at the library, and its a 3 hour car trip home...).  Anyway, there were about 50 people in my interview.  Shenandoah was bringing in 4 groups of interviewees over a 2 day period, which by my calculations means they interviewed approximately 200 people. 

The way Shenandoah accepts students is, they offer acceptance to 40 people, and then have a maybe group, and finally a no group.  The "maybe group" is ranked in the order in which Shenandoah wants to accept them.  We were told this is always changing, as grades come in and they find out more about us.  Once a student receives an acceptance letter, he or she has 30 days to either accept or decline the offer of admission.  If a student decides to decline the invitation, Shenandoah then goes to the next person on their "maybe" list.  This continues until they get 40 people who accept admission.  As I was talking with some of the students, I found out that this can go up until a week before school starts.  This seems crazy to me, but it does make sense in some ways.  The school can control exactly the caliber of student they offer admission to and also make sure they get the number of people they want, no more, no less. 

Ok, now the interview.  This interview was a lot tougher than the Drexel interview.  I was in the group with the first interviewees at 9am.  (Interviews were 25 minutes long with a 5 minute break for the interviewer to make notes) I had one professor and one student in my interview.  They took turns asking (firing) questions.  I could definitely tell that the interviewers were looking for answers at some points.  Some of the questions they asked...

How would you handle a group situation?
What would you do if a person was clearly not doing their share in the group?
How would you handle a patient who is clearly not doing their home exercise program?
What would you do if a patient came to you with a prescription from a doctor for PT, but you believed that the patient may be injured somehow due to treatment?

In typical interview fashion, I was allowed to ask questions at the end.  This is always my weakness, because I'm more apt to ask questions during the actual interview, than to save all my questions for the end. 

After the interview was over, we were led back to the room with the rest of the interviewees.  It really felt like a holding pen for livestock.  The tension in the room was palpable, but I was relieved to be done with my actual interview.  During the waiting time, we were given a tour of the facility by students, and had a time to ask questions to both current students and prospective students.  I really had a good time during this because there was no more pressure on me, and I could ask whatever I wanted.  However, I was always aware that the interview could actually still be going on.  There could have been someone planted in the room just to look and see what we were up to, and how we were handling ourselves in a big group of people.  I was pretty excited when it was all over.  If they had offered me a spot right then, I probably would have taken it. 

Now, I have to take sometime to think about this decision, and weigh my options.  I'm not sure exactly how I'm going to do it, but I'll be updating this blog as I move forward in my process...

Acceptance # 2

I got into Shenandoah today!!!  I received the email while I was at work this afternoon.  In the next few days, I should be getting an acceptance letter in the mail.  According to Shenandoah, I have to respond and either accept or decline their offer.  So, In the next few weeks, I'll be posting how I'm actually going to make this decision.  Pros and cons of each school, comparisons of the programs... etc.

There was a small part of me that was hoping that I wouldn't get accepted to Shenandoah.  It would have made the decision a lot easier.  But, in reality, the more I think about it, I am glad that I have to make this decision.  It will allow me to really search through the schools and find which one is going to fit me the best.

I know I said I was going to start comparing the interviews at Drexel and Shenandoah today, but I've been at work for 10 hours so far, and I still have an hour and a half left.  We had a party and I came in early.  On the bright side, I got to make a Mayan Temple today for a display.  Haha... It took me about 6 hours to complete, using old card catalog cards. I got a little lazy at the end with the steps, but it still looks pretty sweet Haha. ... well that's all for tonight.  I'll write more tomorrow hopefully.

New Year... New Drive...

Alright, well I've been extremely lazy when it comes to writing in this blog.  Once again, I plan on updating this more often.  So, since I last wrote, a lot has happened!  Overall, I've applied to four schools, Drexel, Shenandoah, Arcadia, and Franklin Pierce. I have heard back from and had interviews at two (Drexel and Shenandoah). 

Good news! I got in to Drexel!!  I'm supposed to hear back from Shenandoah in the next couple of days.  I plan on writing again tomorrow and going over the two interviews I had and what it was like.  Both interviews were exhausting, but in different ways. I'm sure I'll get a great education, regardless of where I go, but both schools seem to offer completely different things.  But I want to hold off until tomorrow. 

An update on Climb Up So Kids Can Grow Up... I'm not going to be doing it this year.  There was no way I could come up with the money.  I am however looking forward to doing this someday when I do have the money and a chance to make a difference!

Until tomorrow (hopefully)...

Skip around (Visited a school)

Well, I know at the end of my last post I said I'd start to write about my decision process, and what I've gone through to get here, but that's going to change.  This is fresh in my head, and I don't want to forget about it.  Yesterday, while driving home from Roanoke, I visited Shenandoah University. 

I was fairly nervous before the meeting.  It was the first time I had stepped onto a campus as a prospective DPT student.  I had been exchanging emails with one of the faculty members, and I figured it would be worth my time to stop in for a visit.

First of all, the location.  It was not a metropolis in any sense of the word.  Winchester is about an hour and a half west of Washington D.C., in northern Virginia.  There was a walking mall, with numerous outdoor cafe's and shops.  The neighborhoods seemed cozy.  There was an interesting mix of people around.  There were some odd middle aged men who were people watching on the stoop of a vacant shop, as well as young parents and elderly people walking the streets.  The faculty members I talked to said that Winchester was one of the safest places for a family (but then again people who are trying to sell something will paint it with rose colored glasses).

One thing I really liked about the location/program, was that people were active.  Multiple faculty members commented on how a lot of the people in the program would go on hiking/camping trips.  Also, some of the faculty members will join the activities, like softball or basketball.  That seems great.  I know that if this is going to be as hard as I think it is, I"m going to need to blow off some energy somehow, and what better way than a pickup basketball game with people in the program. 

Now for the actual program.  The program is structured around your cohort.  The cohort is together the entire time.  Class size is about 40.  One negative thing I ran into was it seemed like a small space.  There is one classroom for the first years, and then the second and third years share another classroom.  They weren't huge, but I guess everyone must be comfortable in the rooms together.  However, I'm not sure spending all day in one of those classes would be the greatest (and by one day I mean 8ish-5ish).  But from what I've gathered, its normal to be in class all day long. 

I'm not really sure what else to say about the program.  I think it helped me to get a better idea of what it is going to be like as a DPT student, but being my first visit, I have nothing to compare it to yet.  Hopefully as time goes on, I'll have more comparisons, and be able to get a better feel for where I fit in and where I don't.

Next time, I'll hopefully write some about my beginning struggles, and the other challenges I've faced so far. 

G