Accepted but reapplying!!!

[thehopeful]

Hellow fellow SDNers,

So I will be repplying b/c I was accepted to a place I didn't want to go to/wouldn't be happy at.

I know several fellow SDNers have done this, I saw few threads, I was wondering what reasons you guys used.

I need to write on my app. why I declined the spot and could use some help. Give me specific info if you can.

Thank you

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[C.P. Jones]

why apply to a school that you know you wouldn't go to?...and what school wouldn't one go to if accepted?

 

[WinniethePooh]

Hellow fellow SDNers,

So I will be repplying b/c I was accepted to a place I didn't want to go to/wouldn't be happy at.

I know several fellow SDNers have done this, I saw few threads, I was wondering what reasons you guys used.

I need to write on my app. why I declined the spot and could use some help. Give me specific info if you can.

Thank you

I am still floored that you will be declining this acceptance. Why did you apply to it in the first place? And why don't you think you'll be happy there? To me, getting accepted to any med school in the U.S. is truly a privilege and I've counted my blessings many times for my acceptances. At any rate, I'm sure another person will be thrilled to take your place this year.

Be very careful with your reasoning why you did not matriculate this year after getting in--other med schools will be wary with your app and may not take you as a serious applicant.

 

[mdsadler]

I think that after interviewing at a school, visiting the campus and getting more acquainted with the program it would be easy to realize you just didn't like the school. Most people don't really know much about the schools they apply to until after they have already thrown their application at every school possible.

It has been done before with great success. Good luck.

 

[idq1i]

Hellow fellow SDNers,

So I will be repplying b/c I was accepted to a place I didn't want to go to/wouldn't be happy at.

What the hell does that mean? Will "other" places use different medical textbooks? Will they require different rotations?

Good luck in your reapplication. Don't be too surprised if you get rejections from every school

 

[Hook17]

Hellow fellow SDNers,

So I will be repplying b/c I was accepted to a place I didn't want to go to/wouldn't be happy at.

I know several fellow SDNers have done this, I saw few threads, I was wondering what reasons you guys used.

I need to write on my app. why I declined the spot and could use some help. Give me specific info if you can.

Thank you

let's here it. which school was worth throwing an entire year away?

 

[Ambs]

Wow, like the others, I'm still in shock that you're reapplying. Thousands of applicants wish they were in your shoes! I don't know you nor your personal story and reasons, but from the outside, it just looks really shady. Like someone else said, why did you even apply to that school to begin with if you didn't want to go?

What's the school???

After some thought, there is SOME good in this. You're making someone out there getting off the waitlist very happy.

 

[gujuDoc]

Are you the person that got into a DO school but no MD schools??? I remember someone like that on here a few months ago.

Or did you just not get into a MD school that you liked????

I had a friend who reapplied after getting in at an MD school in North Dakota. She really didn't want to go to NDakota, but applied because her father did residency there. But then she did everything in her power to make her app stronger and got in at her top choice here in Fl. as well as one other Fl. school.

 

[gujuDoc]

For those of you interested in thehopeful's story click here:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=202617

Read on...

He was accepted at a DO school but didn't want to go. He was waitlisted at some MD schools but didn't get off the waitlists, so he's reapplying.

 

[idq1i]

For those of you interested in thehopeful's story click here:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=202617

Read on...

He was accepted at a DO school but didn't want to go. He was waitlisted at some MD schools but didn't get off the waitlists, so he's reapplying.

No pity here. The linked post is the epitome of vanity

 

[riceman04]

He could also be lying!

 

[kdwuma]

He could also be lying!

100+ posts and lying....on sdn???.....nahh that will never happen

 

[MadameLULU]

He could also be lying!

Shutup

 

[firebird69guy]

Don't be so harsh on the OP... it's his life and some while people would be happy to get into any medical school, it would be better to go where you want to go and be happy than to feel like you're taking your life in a direction you don't want to go.

 

[Freakingzooming]

I think we're all a little harsh on the guy here. If we had known the school he's been accepted to is a DO school, we wouldn't be jumping down his throat as much as we were just now.

I would seriously evaluate your application and also look into why you even need to explain why you didn't enter the DO medical school. I thought the AMCAS and AACOMAS applications are two different systems. Call and ask AMCAS if you need to still report you didn't attend the DO school. You might even not need to and this whole thread is moot.

But if you need to, I would seriously contemplate just going to the DO school- there is a stigma out there but it's only exists with close minded and more conservative/traditional MDs out there. The few and little dinosaurs still left over. A lot of medicine is changing and a DO is not at all less of a degree than a MD. In some ways, if you want to practice primary practice, it could make you a stronger physician.

 

[daysleeprx]

I think we're all a little harsh on the guy here. If we had known the school he's been accepted to is a DO school, we wouldn't be jumping down his throat as much as we were just now.

I would seriously evaluate your application and also look into why you even need to explain why you didn't enter the DO medical school. I thought the AMCAS and AACOMAS applications are two different systems. Call and ask AMCAS if you need to still report you didn't attend the DO school. You might even not need to and this whole thread is moot.

But if you need to, I would seriously contemplate just going to the DO school- there is a stigma out there but it's only exists with close minded and more conservative/traditional MDs out there. The few and little dinosaurs still left over. A lot of medicine is changing and a DO is not at all less of a degree than a MD. In some ways, if you want to practice primary practice, it could make you a stronger physician.

He's from Texas. We don't use AMCAS, we have our own system.

 

[thehopeful]

I'm not lying.

i was accepted to DO school with 3.6/30, so that's why. i mean my grades are good enough to get into allo. i've talked to few docs and they said to reapply.
i'm not interested at this point in primary care.
I have to explain on the texas app. , but not on AMCAS (that's good).

So please let me know what reasons you used, if they came up in interview or something.

 

[The JockDoc]

I can relate. I've interviewed at a school and completely lost all interest in attending it, even though I thought I would fit in well beforehand. I had an insulting interview, the school didn't have the strengths I was looking for, and the city was not one I wanted to live in for many reasons. I cannot imagine having a good educational experience at that school.

I ended up being waitlisted, and I don't think I'll get in anyways because I haven't communicated any wish to attend. But if I am admitted, I'll turn it down. I'd rather take a year off, strengthen my application and reapply than go to a place I would be unhappy with for certain.

 

[thehopeful]

I can relate. I've interviewed at a school and completely lost all interest in attending it, even though I thought I would fit in well beforehand. I had an insulting interview, the school didn't have the strengths I was looking for, and the city was not one I wanted to live in for many reasons. I cannot imagine having a good educational experience at that school.

I ended up being waitlisted, and I don't think I'll get in anyways because I haven't communicated any wish to attend. But if I am admitted, I'll turn it down. I'd rather take a year off, strengthen my application and reapply than go to a place I would be unhappy with for certain.

if it's a MD school, i would suck it up for 4 yrs (work hard and hope to get into a good residency), but with DO that's for life, and i don't see myself sucking it for that long.

and i talk to few DO residents on SDN, and so i think i should reapply.

anywho, please give me some good reason. I have some but need more.

 

[Kazema]

But if I am admitted, I'll turn it down. I'd rather take a year off, strengthen my application and reapply than go to a place I would be unhappy with for certain.

In that case, call the school and withdraw from the waitlist. I think it's better to avoid getting admitted to the school if you're going to turn it down; it'll save you the need to explain later.

 

[SpiritiualDuck]

Hey, it's not my life. If you interviewed at a school and don't like it, well you don't know anything about the school still. I'd argue, I didn't learn about my school until a couple of months into it. It takes time.

One tour and an interview doesn't not qualify any of us to be informed. As a current medical student, I'm still learning about what I like and don't like.

If you're accepted at an MD program then go. I would have attended any medical school over not attending a school. If you think you know the program, you don't. You can't.

 

[Learfan]

Hellow fellow SDNers,

So I will be repplying b/c I was accepted to a place I didn't want to go to/wouldn't be happy at.

I know several fellow SDNers have done this, I saw few threads, I was wondering what reasons you guys used.

I need to write on my app. why I declined the spot and could use some help. Give me specific info if you can.

Thank you

This is one of those moments when I loathe to see someone snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. You have an acceptance to a school of medicine in one of the finest places in the world. You will have access to loans that will allow you to study full time while living a frugal but reasonably comfortable existance. Even if there is a mild disadvantage to being a DO vs an MD it is not worth throwing away an acceptance and jepardizing your entire future. The entire admissions process has a lot of random elements in it. Without meaning any disrespect to the OP, your stats are not so impressive that they will guarantee another review upon reapplication. I can tell you that the med schools were seeing a general increase in the quality of applicants in the last cycle. I have seen people with 3.6/34 stats turned down without being placed on the wait list. As a reapplicant you will be placed at a disadvantage. Do not throw this success away. So you were not thrilled with the med school. Everyone will be spending the first two years buried in books. The environment where you will spend 60+ hours per week studying matters very little.

I am speaking as someone who will be going to a school that was not my first or second choice. I am somewhat disapointed in the choice that was offered to me but I have accepted and will attend. The first few years of a medical education are quite similar no matter what institution you attend since people all have to take the same exams for licensing. You will have additional opportunities for choice in the selection of specialty and residency. Residency training is where you really learn your craft. The first few years of med school are for building a foundation. Do not let your opportunity slip away.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[thehopeful]

As a reapplicant you will be placed at a disadvantage.

May I ask you why I would be at a disadvantage.

 

[Kazema]

May I ask you why I would be at a disadvantage.

You may not be at a disadvantage just by being a reapplicant per se, but you will need to show an improvement over the last time you've applied.

In other words, you need to give adcoms a reason to admit you when they did not the last time around. I'd recommend worrying less about how you'll explain turning down your school and more about what you will do from now on to improve your chances at getting into a school you do want to attend.

Otherwise, a year from now you'll be posting here asking for application advice again.

 

[ocean11]

Hey thehopefuly,

You're got a point... for reasoning you can say that if you ever want to practice abroard (say Canada) or several European countries, a DO degree might NOT be recognized and you will NOT be able to practice (especially if you want to do something other than primary care).

You can also say that you want to specialize in say.... neurosurgery or plastic surgery... and that you have more opportunities getting an MD degree.

 

[Learfan]

May I ask you why I would be at a disadvantage.

You will be placed at a disadvantage due to your own decision. You applied, were accepted and turned the acceptance down. There are a variety of questions on the applications that seek to provide adcoms with a detailed understanding of your application status. If you were accepted and failed to attend without a verifiable family emergency or other good reason, then the adcom staff will feel that you rejected them. Remember, you are the seller and the adcoms are the buyers and it is a buyers market considering the nature of med school admissions with about three applicants for each seat. If you turn down an acceptance, your motivation to enter the profession will be called into question even if that does not seem reasonable to you. In addition, it will be incumbent upon you to show improvement to gain consideration after turning down an acceptance. What do you intend to do to add to the strength of your application?

 

[NontradICUdoc]

Here is my advice. Withdraw your acceptance and tell them the truth. That you visited the school and you did not feel as if it was the right place for you.

but be forewarned, since your rejected a DO school and want to reapply to MD schools, do not reapply to any DO schools. They will see what you did and know that you are using them as safeties and will reject right out.

There is nothing wrong with the truth.

 

[_ian]

I think everyone is being unneccesarily harsh. I would never go to a school I didn't feel comfortable at, even if I had no other acceptances. Simple as that.

Schools may look great on paper, but if you get a bad feeling from the interview, there's no reason to put yourself through years of misery.

It'll be harder for the OP to justify his reapplication, but "I only got into one school and it didn't turn out to be nearly as good as I thought it would be," is perfectly valid explanation in my eyes. Hardly greedy.

You will have to improve your application, however.

 

[criminallyinane]

I think that after interviewing at a school, visiting the campus and getting more acquainted with the program it would be easy to realize you just didn't like the school. Most people don't really know much about the schools they apply to until after they have already thrown their application at every school possible.

But if you don't like a place, you should withdraw after the interview, not when its your only acceptance.

I think the OP is being foolish, but it's not my place to say what you do with your life.

As to saying that it has been done with great success in the past, yes, it has, but in special situations, not just, "I don't wanna go to my school."

 

[Fusion]

and i talk to few DO residents on SDN, and so i think i should reapply.

What exactly do you mean by this? Are the DO residents actually encouraging you to drop your osteopathic school acceptance and reapply to MD schools?

 

[Tigger27]

My 2 cents:
Whether you go to the DO school or reapply is the question... but I would recommend eliminating the option of the caribbean school (mentioned in another post of yours). I think that the stigma against caribbean schools and the education they provide is much stronger than that againt DOs - and for some good reasons, from what I've heard. Outside the US, they do not have the stringent regulations they have in the US that oversee med schools, so the education varies widely from school to school. You may have some difficulties transferring back into the states. On the other hand, any stigma againt DOs is old-fashioned and based on no more than MD snobbery...in the long run it should not be a big deal.

But that being said, if you still would really prefer to wait and reapply vs going to DO school, I agree w/ the poster who recommended the combo of the truth plus only reapplying to DO schools.

Good luck

 

[criminallyinane]

I think everyone is being unneccesarily harsh. I would never go to a school I didn't feel comfortable at, even if I had no other acceptances. Simple as that.

Schools may look great on paper, but if you get a bad feeling from the interview, there's no reason to put yourself through years of misery.

I understand it is hard to commit to four years in an unfamiliar or "uncomfortable" place, but the goal here is to become a physician, not to have a really cushy or easy four years. You'll be uncomfortable during medical school at times anyway. You'll miss your friends and family but will hopefully make new friends. You'll have a lot of work. No medical school is going to be perfect and comfortable, but there IS a reason to put yourself through years of misery: to become a doc. And anyway, you're only miserable if you let yourself be. I have a feeling that if 50 years ago we asked kids going to medical school whether they woulkd turn down going to medical school because they were uncomfortable, they would laugh at us.

"It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great."

 

[rugirlie]

I understand it is hard to commit to four years in an unfamiliar or "uncomfortable" place, but the goal here is to become a physician, not to have a really cushy or easy four years. You'll be uncomfortable during medical school at times anyway. You'll miss your friends and family but will hopefully make new friends. You'll have a lot of work. No medical school is going to be perfect and comfortable, but there IS a reason to put yourself through years of misery: to become a doc. And anyway, you're only miserable if you let yourself be. I have a feeling that if 50 years ago we asked kids going to medical school whether they woulkd turn down going to medical school because they were uncomfortable, they would laugh at us.

"It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great."

That is just plain crap... I sympathize with the OP cuz at one point I thought I was only getting into one school and I was consdiering reapplying because I knew I would be miserable there... and this was an MD school, not a DO... anyhow, whenever people are deciding between multiple acceptances, the best advice people give them is go where you're gonna be happy... yes, med school is hard, but that does NOT mean you have to be unhappy too. You do the best where you're most happy and if the OP knows this will make him/her miserable, then I completely support his/her decision to reapply... yes, it might be harder to get in the second time around, but I absolutely believe you should not go somewhere that you'll hate... it could be more detrimental to you career than attempting to reapply.

 

[pyra]

I think you should reapply, you have similar stats to me (my GPA was lower though). I applied this year and got into 2 US, MD schools (7 interviews, 5 other waitlists) If this was an MD school you were thinking of rejecting, I think it would be different. I think you should use the time off to work in research or get clinical experience.

 

[criminallyinane]

That is just plain crap...

That's a nice way of staritng your post.

I sympathize with the OP cuz at one point I thought I was only getting into one school and I was consdiering reapplying because I knew I would be miserable there... and this was an MD school, not a DO...

I think if you hated the program you should've withdrawn before you were in a "this is my only acceptance" situation.

anyhow, whenever people are deciding between multiple acceptances, the best advice people give them is go where you're gonna be happy...

That's if you have the luxury to choose. Of course you'd go where you'll be happiest. But give me a break, we have no idea whether our chosen schools are really going to make us happy. One interview and tour is supposed to tell us that for sure? Chances are you can make yourself happy anywhere unless you're a miserable person, so why would you turn down a chance to go to a school because you're scared of being miserable?

yes, med school is hard, but that does NOT mean you have to be unhappy too. You do the best where you're most happy and if the OP knows this will make him/her miserable, then I completely support his/her decision to reapply...

It is a decision to be miserable. There will be low times in medical school for ANYONE. Going in with the attitude that you are going to make the most of it is what one needs to do.

yes, it might be harder to get in the second time around, but I absolutely believe you should not go somewhere that you'll hate... it could be more detrimental to you career than attempting to reapply.

Yeah, right. THIS is total crap. It screams to me that our generation is so spoiled that we can't look at the opportunity to go to ANY medical school as an incredible privilege and stop whining about the number of students to a ****ing cadaver and how "my tour guide made a funny face at me, I won't fit in with the students there! WAHHHH!"

You have NO idea what med school is going to be like before it starts. So be thankful you got in anywhere AND GO. Otherwise, you're making a mistake that could cost you a career.

 

[_ian]

I understand it is hard to commit to four years in an unfamiliar or "uncomfortable" place, but the goal here is to become a physician, not to have a really cushy or easy four years. You'll be uncomfortable during medical school at times anyway. You'll miss your friends and family but will hopefully make new friends. You'll have a lot of work. No medical school is going to be perfect and comfortable, but there IS a reason to put yourself through years of misery: to become a doc. And anyway, you're only miserable if you let yourself be. I have a feeling that if 50 years ago we asked kids going to medical school whether they woulkd turn down going to medical school because they were uncomfortable, they would laugh at us.

"It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great."

First: I have a social life, will have a social life throughout my undergrad years, and will continue to have a social life throughout my graduate years. I do not intend to drop that for just any medical school on the map.

Second: The quality and attitude of the professors is a big draw, and I'm not willing to go to po-dunk medical school with professors who only wish they could be important enough for a more prestigious place.

If my only acceptance is a top-tier MD program in a boring area, then I won't hesitate to look beyond that and go there; but he has an acceptance for a DO program at a school he doesn't want to go to when he'd rather do MD.

Anyway, I'm young enough that I have plenty of time gain the credentials to allow me to be picky. I won't be happy with "any medical school," so I'm not going to let myself be trapped.

[edit: I do agree that if you hate the interview, you should bow out before you get the acceptance.]

 

[Avalanche21]

This is one of those moments when I loathe to see someone snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. You have an acceptance to a school of medicine in one of the finest places in the world. You will have access to loans that will allow you to study full time while living a frugal but reasonably comfortable existance. Even if there is a mild disadvantage to being a DO vs an MD it is not worth throwing away an acceptance and jepardizing your entire future. The entire admissions process has a lot of random elements in it. Without meaning any disrespect to the OP, your stats are not so impressive that they will guarantee another review upon reapplication. I can tell you that the med schools were seeing a general increase in the quality of applicants in the last cycle. I have seen people with 3.6/34 stats turned down without being placed on the wait list. As a reapplicant you will be placed at a disadvantage. Do not throw this success away. So you were not thrilled with the med school. Everyone will be spending the first two years buried in books. The environment where you will spend 60+ hours per week studying matters very little.

I am speaking as someone who will be going to a school that was not my first or second choice. I am somewhat disapointed in the choice that was offered to me but I have accepted and will attend. The first few years of a medical education are quite similar no matter what institution you attend since people all have to take the same exams for licensing. You will have additional opportunities for choice in the selection of specialty and residency. Residency training is where you really learn your craft. The first few years of med school are for building a foundation. Do not let your opportunity slip away.

Good luck with your decision.

I'm confused. The OP applied to DO schools. If the OP applies to MD schools next year (first year applicant for MD schools), then why will he have to explain to adcoms? I thought you only have to report to schools to which you have previously applied.

 

[drguy22]

you're making a mistake that could cost you a career.

i have to agree on this one...med school has no guarantees...the process is so random....it would be very foolish not to go to the only med school you were accepted to....

 

[rugirlie]

That's a nice way of staritng your post.



I think if you hated the program you should've withdrawn before you were in a "this is my only acceptance" situation.



That's if you have the luxury to choose. Of course you'd go where you'll be happiest. But give me a break, we have no idea whether our chosen schools are really going to make us happy. One interview and tour is supposed to tell us that for sure? Chances are you can make yourself happy anywhere unless you're a miserable person, so why would you turn down a chance to go to a school because you're scared of being miserable?



It is a decision to be miserable. There will be low times in medical school for ANYONE. Going in with the attitude that you are going to make the most of it is what one needs to do.



Yeah, right. THIS is total crap. It screams to me that our generation is so spoiled that we can't look at the opportunity to go to ANY medical school as an incredible privilege and stop whining about the number of students to a ****ing cadaver and how "my tour guide made a funny face at me, I won't fit in with the students there! WAHHHH!"

You have NO idea what med school is going to be like before it starts. So be thankful you got in anywhere AND GO. Otherwise, you're making a mistake that could cost you a career.

Wow, can you say deconstructionist? First of all, its not that simplistic- people aren't bitching about about how many kids to a cadaver as far as not liking a school... I'm talking about curriculum being completely wrong for my learning style and possibly causing me to do really bad in med school... i'm talking about an environment where everyone is competitive as **** and trying to beat each other out instead of being supportive and helpful... people can have valid reasons for declining an acceptance... if life was about jsut taking what you could get, then why even bother becoming a doc? You're gonna perpetuate this attitude throughout your carreer... well i don't really wanna do fam medicine but ya know, since its what i can get, i'll just shut up and not whine cuz at least then i'm still a doctor... i really wanna have my own practice, but thats too hard so i'll just settle for working in other peoples' practice, etc. There is a pgy1 surgical resident on sdn who hated her program so she actually reapplied and is now doing her first year surgical OVER in a program she likes!!!! Now that is dedication and someone who goes for what she wants in life... she is gonna be the successful one, not all you people who go on about taking what you can get and not being "spoiled..." If anything, people who reapply are a lot less spoiled than people who just accept whatever because they have to work a lot harder to get to the same palce.... Rant over

 

[daysleeprx]

I'm not lying.

i was accepted to DO school with 3.6/30, so that's why. i mean my grades are good enough to get into allo. i've talked to few docs and they said to reapply.
i'm not interested at this point in primary care.
I have to explain on the texas app. , but not on AMCAS (that's good).

So please let me know what reasons you used, if they came up in interview or something.

Newsflash: Numbers aren't everything!

 

[fotolilith]

anywho, please give me some good reason. I have some but need more.

The answers you are seeking are not going to come from other people.

You can get advice up the wazoo, from people with agendas both for and against the go DO/ don't go DO & explain your reasons issue. However, if you just regurgitate those answers in your personal statement, then I can see the real problem that the MD adcoms had with your application.

 

[Kazema]

The answers you are seeking are not going to come from other people.

You can get advice up the wazoo, from people with agendas both for and against the go DO/ don't go DO & explain your reasons issue. However, if you just regurgitate those answers in your personal statement, then I can see the real problem that the MD adcoms had with your application.

He's been asking for months for "good" reasons for turning down his school. I doubt that's what he's really after - I think he just wants reassurance that what he's doing won't keep him from ever getting into an MD program.

So I say again - stop worrying about explaining why you've turned down the DO school. Just tell the truth. "Good" reasons that aren't true are just going to get you into trouble. Worry more about what you're going to do from NOW ON in order to get into a school you are willing to attend.

 

[criminallyinane]

Wow, can you say deconstructionist? First of all, its not that simplistic- people aren't bitching about about how many kids to a cadaver as far as not liking a school... I'm talking about curriculum being completely wrong for my learning style and possibly causing me to do really bad in med school... i'm talking about an environment where everyone is competitive as **** and trying to beat each other out instead of being supportive and helpful... people can have valid reasons for declining an acceptance... if life was about jsut taking what you could get, then why even bother becoming a doc? You're gonna perpetuate this attitude throughout your carreer... well i don't really wanna do fam medicine but ya know, since its what i can get, i'll just shut up and not whine cuz at least then i'm still a doctor... i really wanna have my own practice, but thats too hard so i'll just settle for working in other peoples' practice, etc. There is a pgy1 surgical resident on sdn who hated her program so she actually reapplied and is now doing her first year surgical OVER in a program she likes!!!! Now that is dedication and someone who goes for what she wants in life... she is gonna be the successful one, not all you people who go on about taking what you can get and not being "spoiled..." If anything, people who reapply are a lot less spoiled than people who just accept whatever because they have to work a lot harder to get to the same palce.... Rant over

You are obviously passionate (and angry) about this, so I'll just say this. Nobody is advocating taking the minimum you can get in life. But the choice between taking NOTHING (which is a real possibility since DO schools likely won't take him this year and there's no guarantee MD schools will change their minds...) and taking a spot you might not be thrilled about should be a no-brainer. You take the spot you have and MAKE THE BEST OF IT. I doubt everyone in any class ANYWHERE is competitive as ****. You can find a group of people to be with who are chill. Anyway, whatever, you are obviously going to disagree with whatever I say on this issue, so I'll give up on arguing with you

 

[evade]

He's been asking for months for "good" reasons for turning down his school. I doubt that's what he's really after - I think he just wants reassurance that what he's doing won't keep him from ever getting into an MD program.

So I say again - stop worrying about explaining why you've turned down the DO school. Just tell the truth. "Good" reasons that aren't true are just going to get you into trouble. Worry more about what you're going to do from NOW ON in order to get into a school you are willing to attend.

I must say, this is precisely what I have been thinking. I would not dream of giving the OP any reassurance, because there is none to give. Med school admissions have a whole lot of randomness to them. I got outright rejected without an interview from some schools that my stats "should" have gotten me into, and I interviewed at some that I thought were surely a touch above my caliber.

You give good advice, Kazema. Worry not about what you've done. Worry about what you're going to do.

 

[LVDoc]

You got rejected the first time around.

What makes you think you're going to get in now?

Did your application change significantly?

 

[discover]

I had a friend in a similiar situation, He turned down an acceptance from TCOM to reapply, he felt he was at a disadvantage because he said its hard to explain why you gave up a seat at medical school. I believe that no matter what story you come up with ad-coms will assume you are heavily concerned about prestige and some may question your desire to become a physician.

I wish you luck, YOur stats are ok but if you were an adcom who would you take, someone who has already turned down a seat or someone who hasnt. Remember one factor to admisions is your desire to become a physician (not DO or MD). Perhaps many adcom who are physicians will think your understanding of medicine in terms of DO vs MD is imature plus your giving up one year of income for something that may or maynot happen....BTW my friend ended up attending TCOM 3years after his first acceptance and he is from what I hear extremely happy.

 

[Code Brown]

Why don't you call up (or meet with) the adcom at an MD school that you won't be applying to and see what they think of the idea? Get some feedback on what a good and valid reason for declining a spot may be.

If you're not happy with the DO school, and you still have a good shot of getting into an MD school, go for it, you don't want to live the next 60-70 years wondering what if.

As for what to say to the DO school so as not to burn bridges with any DO or MD schools in the future, let them know that you are not ready for the commitment of 4 years + residency at this point in your life. You would like to take a year off for traveling, perhaps do some volunteering, or some other valid reason. It's perfectly fine to not be ready for medical school yet. DO schools won't hold it against you if you are ready for the tremendous commitment required. Just make sure you don't apply to any DO schools for a couple of years (to add credibility to your original reason for not going) if you still want to keep them in the back pocket in case you don't get into an MD school this next year. Declining a spot at a medical school is not something that an individual takes lightly and adcoms will understand to an extent.

It's your life, do what's right for you. Good luck!

 

[TheMightyAngus]

You got rejected the first time around.

What makes you think you're going to get in now?

Did your application change significantly?

If you are going to rehash your same application, most likely you're gonna get the same results.