TrustYourGut

I would be as forthcoming as possible and communicate with the programs who do send you invitations. I think any program worth your time can and should be accommodating to medical considerations that are obviously necessary. Personally, I would be as flexible as possible and leave the accommodations up to them (say you're willing to Skype, take an alternate date, etc, whatever is the most convenient for THEM). Some programs might prefer one over the other, but I would think that if they say a Skype interview is acceptable to them, I don't think it will seriously affect your chances. In the meantime while you're waiting for invitations and preparing for your procedure, you might (this is what I would do, anyway) designate a person you trust (spouse, close friend, parent, etc) to check your email and maybe voicemail once a day while your in surgery and shortly after to check for invitations. Perhaps even work something out so they can respond on your behalf and explain the situation to the admissions committee. If it were me, this would give me peace of mind that interview invitations weren't just sitting around unanswered and it would also help me to focus on my recovery rather than stressing about interviews.

Phone calls are a good thing, but I definitely wouldn't say it's a guaranteed admission. In my opinion, anything you can do to make yourself stand out and be memorable will help you in the long run. I have sent follow up emails to several program administrators etc along the lines of "Hi, my name is blah blah, thank you for taking the time to talk to me, I have just submitted my application to your program which is one of my top choices, and I look forward to hearing from you soon" something short and sweet like that. I don't know that it made any difference one way or the other, but I've received interview offers from each of those schools I sent an email to. Hope that helps, good luck!

As someone who has lived in Tucson my entire life (and attended the U of A for undergrad), these claims do have some merit. The weather is beautiful for half of the year, and hostile for the other half. Get used to hearing about how "it's a dry heat" as that's how everyone here justifies it; doesn't make it anymore tolerable. In the summer it's common to have lows in the 90s or even 100s, and during the monsoon season (about 6 weeks or so during the summer) we DO have substantial humidity. We do have culture and diversity, just have to look for it. Most parts of Tucson tend to naturally segregate themselves, so you really have to explore the city to find diversity. The public transportation here is a JOKE. Agree with this comment 100%. Overall, Tucson is a blue city in a red state. Even as a blue city, most of the blue is located in close proximity to the U of A, and the city tends to get gradually redder and redder the further out you get. The traffic and infrastructure here are ridiculously bad. It takes about an hour to drive from one end of town to the other. There are two major freeways that go through the city, but they aren't the most useful or accessible for all destinations. Critters do happen. I live pretty far on the outskirts of the city, and we do have our fair share of scorpions, spiders (including tarantulas), and snakes. But we also have really cool wildlife like coyotes, javelinas, and bobcats. If you have a newer house or even if you just maintain a regular cleaning routine, you probably won't see many critters in or near your house. Hope that helps! If you have any specific questions about the city or the university, feel free to ask me!