Since the last time I posted, I've been doing a lot of thinking. When I first applied to UMHS back in early March I had requested a January start date, which is the start date I was accepted into two weeks ago. My reasoning for doing this was initially purely based on giving myself time. It took everything I had to decide UMHS was where I wanted to go and to think that I could potentially start as early as May, just two short months after applying was quite scary. In my mind, January was a nice balance between giving myself lots of time to mentally prepare as well as not being too far away. For those of you who don't know much about the process, UMHS has three start dates throughout the year. Early January, May, and September. What I've gathered is that the September class is the most popular. Downside to this? Slightly bigger class sizes. Aside from that, no matter where you start you have the same experience. Everything happens in the same timeframe with reference to your start date. When I first applied to UMHS, I was informed that if I was ready and did everything as quick as I could, I could potentially start in the May class. Like I said before, this never really crossed my mind as a possibility. It was way to soon to start. So Instead I took my time with the application process and did everything at an easy pace. When it came time to submit, I was torn between starting in September and January. I decided that having more time would be better and decided January would be the date. Once I got the acceptance, things started to get a little more real for me. I became much more excited and eager to start, which made me reassess my decision to wait until January. The more I talked to students from UMHS the more I was told that starting sooner was better. Jump into it before you loose momentum. I was accepted June 1st which meant that even if I decided to go in September, I would still have a solid three months to prepare. So I started to weigh the pros and cons. From a pro / con perspective, on paper at least, waiting until January was the clear choice. I had places I wanted to go, events I wanted to attend, even a vacation with the family in October. Waiting until January would mean I would still be able to do all those things. On the flip side, it means I would be spending more money which is not a smart move when paying for med school is in my near future. Also, starting in January would mean smaller class sizes. What I did realize however is that depending on you stream through med school, you might not be following the class that you started with. I was accepted in the MED program which means I'm doing one extra course per semester then the EBS group (I will explain a little more in detail about the different streams in another post soon). So as time goes on, I start to attend classes with the EBS group from the semester before me. At least this is my understanding. So at the end of the day, it really doesn't matter which intake you join. It is most important to pick a date that works for you and that gives you enough time to prepare yourself. In the end, I decided to change my start date to September. Even though my pro/con list was more in favour of waiting until January, my gut told me I would be most happy with September. I will forever have "things" I could be doing. If I was to wait until January in order to accomplish all these "things", I could almost guarantee that I would have even more I wanted to do a few months later. At one point you just have to make the move. There will always be reasons to wait, but you can't let those hold you back. Also, if I waited to start in January, when September rolled around I would be killing my self that I could have already been starting. The next few months leading up to Christmas would be filled with anticipation and regret. Thinking that I could be making a trip home at Christmas and already be done 1/4 of my time on the island was too hard to give up...
So aside from choosing my start date, I also graduated from University this week! I officially closed that chapter of my life. A 5 year chapter that was instrumental in getting me where I am right now. Some of the best times of my life occurred over the last few years and Im looking forwards to making some new ones in times to come. Graduating has really made it sink in just how close my next step is and reminds me just how fast time will go by.
So now that I have a start date and have graduated, things start to happen really fast! I have to secure my finances, find a house and roommate, get all my Visa documents in order, make sure everything I need to have done before I leave is in fact done. The list is quite large and most things on that list are time sensitive. So staying organized and getting everything finished on time is important. While it is a lot of work, it is also a lot of fun. There are huge unknowns ahead of me and now that I have a date to leave I can't wait to get started! I will keep you posted with how things are going!
Cheers,
Mike
So aside from choosing my start date, I also graduated from University this week! I officially closed that chapter of my life. A 5 year chapter that was instrumental in getting me where I am right now. Some of the best times of my life occurred over the last few years and Im looking forwards to making some new ones in times to come. Graduating has really made it sink in just how close my next step is and reminds me just how fast time will go by.
So now that I have a start date and have graduated, things start to happen really fast! I have to secure my finances, find a house and roommate, get all my Visa documents in order, make sure everything I need to have done before I leave is in fact done. The list is quite large and most things on that list are time sensitive. So staying organized and getting everything finished on time is important. While it is a lot of work, it is also a lot of fun. There are huge unknowns ahead of me and now that I have a date to leave I can't wait to get started! I will keep you posted with how things are going!
Cheers,
Mike