And Our Choice Is...

After many agonizing hours, days and weeks, we've finally decided on a medical school for Brent to attend. Brent has chosen to join the LMU-DCOM Class of 2013!

This decision was far harder than either of us anticipated. While we were optimistic, I don't think we thought he would be accepted to all four schools where he interviewed. Additionally I didn't expect him to like all the schools so much. We went back and forth and really struggled to make a decision stick.

During all of this we talked with students and their spouses at a few of the schools. As we got to know them and what their experiences were at each of the schools, it became even harder to decide. I could picture myself at each of the schools enjoying the location, the women I had come to know and Brent's experience as a student.

Before we sent off the deposit, the world was full of options and opportunities at each of the schools. One of the hardest parts of making the final decision was giving up opportunities we could have had at the schools we won't be attending. I hope to still remain in contact with the women I have met and to continue to bond over our shared experiences!

To illustrate how difficult this decision was, I'll explain Brent's attempt to compare the schools. He created a chart with a column for each school. Then in rows he listed all the things that were important to him and to me, e.g., classrooms, anatomy lab, library, parks, technology, etc. He had quite a list (16 in all). Then he ranked each school on a scale of 1-5, 5 indicating the school met/exceeded his expectations. After he went through each school, they were within a point of each other! Then he reevaluated and made the numbers more extreme. Then they were tied! So we crossed some off the list that we decided may not be crucial. The numbers were spread a little more, but still only 7 points between the high and the low. I looked at Brent and said, "No wonder we are having such a difficult time!" In the end we chose LMU-DCOM because it was the high number each time in categories both for Brent and for me.

I'm so excited to move to Tennessee and become familiar with another part of the country. I visited Kentucky a while back and fell in love with the greeness and the rolling hills. From what I've seen of the area in Tennessee where we'll live, it's more of the same! This choice was a labor of love and from it we've developed a real love for LMU-DCOM and the surrounding area.

Tennessee, here we come! (in about 7 months!)