There’s a lot of information to keep track of when you apply to a medical school, deadlines, pre-requisite classes, GPA and MCAT cutoffs, admission statistics, school costs, and so on. Multiply that by however many schools to which you’re planning to apply and it’s a recipe for disaster {mix up your deadlines, fail to send the right number of letters of recommendation, or any number of other mistakes could seal your application doom}. That’s why I put together this chart for Adam:

Right now we’re just focusing on five schools {but we may add more next month}. Here are some detailed peeks: First and foremost are the application deadlines for each school {I used my Cricut and vinyl to make school logo stickers and the medical stickers – if I’m going to have this poster in my family room I might as well make it look as pretty as possible, right?}. And each deadline section has a box that can be checked off once applications are completely submitted. Next are the average MCAT scores and GPAs of students who matriculate. Next to those stats are blank spaces for Adam to fill in his own stats for comparison {he was very happy to fill in his excellent MCAT scores, we’re still waiting for his transcripts and GPA to be evaluated}. And then there’s a checklist of classes he has to take before being admitted {well, for the University of Calgary it’s more a guideline}. He still has a few classes to take but none of the schools mind if he’s still taking them during the time period in which he’s applying {applications take nearly a year}.

Then there’s the application fees *cringe* and how they can be paid. Are you seeing those numbers? $155, $75, $150,  etc. and that doesn’t include the cost of transcripts from his prior education, nor the cost of travel to any interviews to which he may be invited. Ugh. It is friggin’ expensive to become a doctor,  and let’s not forget tuition. Eegads! Speaking of tuition there’s a row to track which schools will cost what, as well as a checklist for reference letters and the info on when interview invites are given and when interviews are held.

There is information on whether or not a school has on campus housing for families {most do}, what it costs, and how it compares to the cost of off-campus housing. Then there’s the almighty notification dates, as in “the-day-we-will-be-anxiously-awaiting-and-dreading-and-trying-not-to-go-crazy-waiting-for-because-it’s-the-day-that-determines-our-future-for-the-next-three-to-four-years-or-the-day-we-cry-ourselves-to-sleep-because-we-need-to-start-all-over-again-with-this-whole-stressful-application-process” but I’m just calling it “Doomsday” for short.

Finally there’s a place for Adam to make lists of pros and cons for the various schools in case he has the luxury of picking from multiple offers. For example, University of Calgary is a three year program {versus four years} and that really appeals to Adam.

Anyway, that’s the special chart I made. You could easily make a spreadsheet instead but we wanted something large and in a highly visible place. Also, I wanted an excuse to play with my vinyl cutter. :)