ISU

I got back just a few hours from my first "interview" experience at Idaho State. Instead of doing formal interviews at ISU they just have applicants come to a reception and learn more about the program and meet all of the faculty and admissions committee. It was so much fun! I was so nervous last night before I went to bed, but it was so relaxed and comfortable. I met some really cool people and the faculty all seemed very nice and open to students. A lot of the people I talked to have interviews at the same places I do, some I'm excited to get to see them again in a few weeks. It will be nice to see a few friendly faces when I get to the more formal, slightly more scary interviews.

The program seems really awesome. There is so much clinical experience as they have you in their in-house clinic several days a week right from the beginning. The class size is smaller than some of the other schools I applied to, so that makes it intriguing too. When I first got there and was putting on my name tag, one of the professors/admissions committee members saw my name and told me he remembered my file and was impressed by it! :D I saw this as a really really good sign! This gave me just a little bit of confidence in my application status. Who knows what will happen; I just hope to be accepted to at least one school this cycle. Going to the reception and learning more about the program made it so much more real and made me that much more excited to get started!

Really the only downside I saw to the school is that it was pretty old. Being a state-funded school, I'm sure they have smaller funds than other universities. The building the physical therapy school is in is a renovated dorm, so the rooms are relatively small, which is probably one explanation for the small class size. When we went on our campus tour I noticed that the gym kind of smelled like the Old Gym at CVMS and the student union and library were just like the Getchell and Jot Travis. I think I've gotten spoiled in the last couple years by the Joe and the Knowledge Center.

Pocatello is a pretty cute little town. It really reminded me of the Carson Valley, all nestled into the mountains. I was nervous driving in because all the land in Southern Idaho is so flat. There were just miles and miles of flat farming land with the only mountains visible in the distance. I assume they were potato farms, as I could smell that fresh dirt smell of potatoes on the drive in. I was relieved when we arrived in Pocatello and saw the mountains. I think I could only live somewhere flat if there was an ocean involved.

At the receptions there were significantly more guys than girls, which I found surprising. I always heard that there were higher ratios of women to men at physical therapy schools, but not at ISU. The vast majority of the people there were LDS, which I found surprising until Morgan reminded me that both BYU and BYU Idaho were in close proximity. Everyone was so nice and shared at least one similar interest, so I found it easy to talk to people. I just wonder if all those Mormons would still like me once they heard my dirty mouth. ;)

Although the drive was long, I really had a good time and was glad I went. Eight hours actually didn't really feel like eight hours either direction. Eight hours always feels like eight hours when driving to somewhere like Vegas, but maybe it didn't feel that bad since just a week ago I was in the car for thirteen hours! I'm really glad that Morgan was able to come with me. I'm so lucky to have so many people who support me! This trip made me so excited and so ready to face the next few months!