Accepted, but should I apply again?

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What would you do?

  • Enroll fall 2016

  • Reapply for fall 2017


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I am sorry about your woes OP, since it is a very difficult situation to be in. Try to contact the school you're waitlisted in to present your story and hope for the best. But the matter of choosing between family and med school is a personal decision. Luckily it's early May now so here's hoping that good news comes soon so that this painful dilemma can be averted.

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I think this is ultimately the choice you're making. Sadly, if being with your loved ones now is more important to you than being a physician (possibly being a physician at all, let alone this year), that may actually be the choice you're making. This decision is really more about your priorities than anything else, and that's truly what life is about: Figuring out what matters to you. There are other careers out there where you could find tremendous fulfillment, but you only have one family. If being a physician is truly important to you, though, keep in mind that this is likely to be your one big shot and you may have trouble getting schools to take a look at you ever again.

Yes, I think this is what this thread has collectively decided. I guess I was optimistic I wouldn't have to choose one over the other, but this is one of the many realities in medicine
 
I am sorry about your woes OP, since it is a very difficult situation to be in. Try to contact the school you're waitlisted in to present your story and hope for the best. But the matter of choosing between family and med school is a personal decision. Luckily it's early May now so here's hoping that good news comes soon so that this painful dilemma can be averted.

Yes, still hoping for the best, but a difficult decision to make.
 
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The UW is a very fickle place. Go with your accepted school. I wouldn't count on getting into the UW next year or WSU either. Unless you want to go to PNWCOM if all else fails.
 
OP: Don't assume that just because you were waitlisted last year, you will be interviewed by them, let alone accepted, next year. Unless you do something significant to improve your application, I think it's more likely that you will be rejected by this school next year without an interview.
 
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No school will accept a candidate that declined a previous acceptance. It just isn't going to happen. If you decline, be ready for a future of not being an MD.
 
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OP, I know that having a family member with a serious illness can be very frightening. Have you talked with your family about your dilemma??

I had a parent diagnosed with a very serious health condition when I was away at college. When I was picking med schools, and then residencies, we had lots of frank discussions about the pros and cons of the places I was deciding between. Each of the next steps took me farther from home, but they were happy for me.

This parent had a health scare when I was an MS3 and then died when I was a PGY3. It was tough, as it would have been wherever I was. (Incidentally, I know now that had I been in residency closer to home, it would have been a lot tougher on me and my coresidents to miss the amount of time I did and I likely would have been pressured to go back to work sooner.)

If you come to the decision that being close to family is more important than having an MD (or being a physician at all), that is a perfectly fine choice to make. Plenty of people make that choice every cycle. You just need to go into it with your eyes open.
 
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just wanted to put in my 2cents. Like someone mentioned above, you can do rotations near your home in your 4th year. Also, I've heard of people transferring out of the school after the first year due to family reasons similar to yours. I'm not a medical student yet (hopefully soon), so I don't know how often that happens. I've heard someone transfer out before their 2nd year and also before the 3rd year (clinical year). I'm sure its not easy but it can be done. That makes 2 possible chances that you can be home within 4 years. And if situation at home is going south, I'm sure you can talk to your school and work something out where you can push back a semester or 2 and return after.

Other than that, medical school have vacation. you can be home for the holidays. you can be home for some summers, if not all. you can plan your schedule out where you can go home once a month for a few days. Yes financially it will be hard. Yes you might work hard to fit all your study in. BUT facing all that struggle is better than facing the possibility of not being a physician (that's if you really want to be one). I'm not sure about this, but medical schools like to see people knowing how to adapt and being able to work around conflict. If you reject the acceptance this year, it clearly shows that you don't have the ability to adapt. I understand is hard to be away from a sick family member, but there are ways to make it not as hard. You just need more planning than others.

Quite frankly, if I was in your position and I got accepted in a fully US accredited medical school in the Sahara desert. I would swim and crawl to the white coat ceremony if I have to.
 
If you have a connection at the school you are waitlisted at (a business card for someone you met during the interview), I would try contacting them. That probably has the highest chance of getting a reply.
 
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its great being near family but in this day and age it is so easy to keep in close touch from far away! Go to med school in the SE, buy your dad an ipad and facetime him every day. go home at xmas, spring break and summer after M1, try to do some visiting clerkships on west coast....Do NOT pass this opportunity up!
 
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