I was recently accepted to Boston's MAMS program, but I am still waiting responses from other SMPs. Can I pay the $250 deposit to hold my seat, but withdraw my acceptance later if I get accepted somewhere else that I'd prefer to go to? BU gave me 2 weeks to accept/decline...
Paying Deposits to hold seat at SMPs
- Thread starter p0kegeek
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Yes you could withdraw your seat if you decide to attend a different school, however you may not get the $250 back.
I was in the same situation as you. I was only accepted to Tufts SMP so far, but the deposit was $500. I chose to give up my seat as that was not my top choice, and even if I don't get in anywhere else, I would not attend. But if you will attend boston MAMS if you do not get in anywhere else, then I will say definitely leave down the deposit, as you could withdraw later on if you decide to go somewhere else!
All the SMPs give 2weeks sadly. Yes you can cough up the dough and hold multiple spots if you like. Deposit reserves the seat, it's not a binding contract for payment or attendance.
Why wouldn't you go to Tufts? Why'd you apply in the first place? What's your top choice? That's actually somewhere I am considering because they give committee letters, and I don't have one... I've heard that not having a committee letter is a big red-flag to adcoms. My undergrad school only gives them to current undergrads, and I'm an alum.
After careful research, I realized that an SMP will not benefit me at all. My GPA is already high enough, my main weakness being my MCAT score. I decided that I would whether spend money on a prep course whether than 50k on an SMP program. I decided to apply in the first place due to an advice from an attending, but I realize that our situations are different. I don't know why a lack of a committee letter would a big red-flag to adcoms... Where did you hear that from?
I've read it in med-school application books and seen it on here. IDK if its true. A lot of schools explicitly say that they strongly prefer/require you to have a committee letter. If you don't have one, you have to explain why in secondaries.
I definitely need an SMP... 3.15 sGPA, 3.39 cGPA, 29 MCAT. Maybe retaking MCAT because i screwed up on PS... (guessed on 15 and left one blank... yeah). I know that I can easily get a 31-33 if I don't guess on any or leave any blank... just need to get timing down. I was rushing through guessing the last minute of PS and went to the review page, time ran out, and I saw that one was blank, couldn't do anything about it...
I definitely need an SMP... 3.15 sGPA, 3.39 cGPA, 29 MCAT. Maybe retaking MCAT because i screwed up on PS... (guessed on 15 and left one blank... yeah). I know that I can easily get a 31-33 if I don't guess on any or leave any blank... just need to get timing down. I was rushing through guessing the last minute of PS and went to the review page, time ran out, and I saw that one was blank, couldn't do anything about it...
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"My undergraduate university doesn't offer committee letters" is a perfectly reasonable explanation.
Maybe you can ask your school to write you a committee letter? It feels really unfair that they would provide it after you graduate. They should treat alumni's well if they want donation later on! Anyways,
Good luck to the both of us!
They do provide committee letters though... just not to alumni. I could have gotten one as an undergrad, but I didn't... I found out about the whole committee letter thing late and honestly, I felt my individual LORs would say a lot more about me than a stranger who I speak to once. And based on my numbers, I don't think it would be very strong either, since committee letters generally rank you against other pre-meds at your school.
Maybe you can ask your school to write you a committee letter? It feels really unfair that they would provide it after you graduate. They should treat alumni's well if they want donation later on! Anyways,
Good luck to the both of us!
I asked and they ONLY provide letters to current students. I think my school is all about milking whatever $ they can out of you as a student and then booting you out of the door once you graduate and stop paying your tuition. The pre-med adviser even said my school's med school offers secondaries to applicants who are under-qualified just so they can get their secondary fees. (corruption, corruption...)
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RE: a committee letter - i didnt have one and got multiple acceptances at med school
I think they are very over rated IMO and one should never pick a program based on it
I think they are very over rated IMO and one should never pick a program based on it
