Would I be crazy to

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Dr. Donkey

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give up my (only) acceptance to UVA and re-apply to other schools next year? I went there as an undergrad and would really like to branch out. There are a number of other schools that I would be interested in that I haven't yet applied to. Sorry to the people who don't have an acceptance yet, I'm just curious if this decline my acceptance is absolutely the wrong way to go.

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Dr. Donkey said:
give up my (only) acceptance to UVA and re-apply to other schools next year? I went there as an undergrad and would really like to branch out. There are a number of other schools that I would be interested in that I haven't yet applied to. Sorry to the people who don't have an acceptance yet, I'm just curious if this decline my acceptance is absolutely the wrong way to go.

I wouldn't normally be rude like this, but you did ask.

Yes, you would be absolutely insane.

You'll branch out for residency. Take your acceptance and run with it!!

You might be able to ask a question I always have when this question is asked. Why did you apply to a school, spend all that effort, if you didn't want to go there if accepted? :confused:
 
Long story short: other schools will find out about your past acceptance, and these schools will question your true dedication to medicine, believing that if you really just wanted to be a physician that you would have stuck with your only acceptance during the prior cycle. Have reapplicants with prior acceptances been accepted again by other schools? Probably. Do they shoot themselves in the foot by trying again? Definitely.

I would suggest playing the odds on this one. Branching out or not, you're still an f-ing doctor.
 
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That's not rude. I appreciate your advice. As far as the effort portion, I had expected to get into other programs and this one was more of a backup. You see, I didn't know about SDN when I was choosing schools, so I was not yet enlightened. If I had a better idea of what schools were like the first time around, my amcas list would like significantly different. Also, I didn't realize how important it was for me to "branch out" (bitchy term, I know). I guess it's time to man up though.

MoosePilot said:
I wouldn't normally be rude like this, but you did ask.

Why did you apply to a school, spend all that effort, if you didn't want to go there if accepted? :confused:
 
Okay, this is what I was really after. Looks like reapplying would be a bad decision, but I have to admit, I think the whole dedication to medicine thing is absurd. The fact I want to get on the road to being a doctor in one year versus now has nothing to do with my dedication to medicine. In fact, I could argue that seeking out a school that would allow me to excel in the specialities I want to be in would make me a better doctor who is more dedicated to medicine. It is probably more of an issue of medical schools wanting to keep applicants as tame and obedient as possible. But thanks, point taken. I definitely appreciate the insight.

DoctorFunk said:
Long story short: other schools will find out about your past acceptance, and these schools will question your true dedication to medicine, believing that if you really just wanted to be a physician that you would have stuck with your only acceptance during the prior cycle. Have reapplicants with prior acceptances been accepted again by other schools? Probably. Do they shoot themselves in the foot by trying again? Definitely.

I would suggest playing the odds on this one. Branching out or not, you're still an f-ing doctor.
 
You wouldn't be insane, you'd just be very foolish if you don't have a solid plan. Part of the stigma of reapplying when you have an acceptance is that schools will be wary of accepting you because you've just given them more reason to believe that you may decline their offer of acceptance. So unless you're good enough to get into top schools, mid and lower-tier schools might not even bother with you, leaving you with no schools the next time around. You'll have an additional challenge when reapplying - not only do you have to show that you've got what it takes to succeed in medical school, you also have to show each school that you genuinely want to attend. And you'd better believe that they'd be on the look-out for B.S. reasons.

So I would really, really recommend against declining your acceptance unless you 1) have a really, really good reason that makes it clear that going to school at UVA is just not possible, or 2) you make drastic improvements to your application (eg raise your MCAT by 10 points, join the Peace Corps, etc) with an eye to getting into a top-20.

A better option, if you really, really want to test the waters and spend all that cash, is to try to defer at UVA for a year. You'd have to get permission to apply to other schools during your deferral year too; not all schools give permission, and some schools will revoke your acceptance if you apply elsewhere without permission.
 
Thanks, Kazema, all good points.

I was actually considering the peace corps, but I wouldn't want to retake the MCATs again afterward (they would be expired by that time at most schools). Also, UVA claims to not really give deferrals unless it is for something extraordinary like a Rhodes Scholarship. I think I just need to stop worrying about whether I will be happy at UVA and just make the most of it. It seems like getting into medical school is getting so hard, I should just take my acceptance and run.
 
Dr. Donkey said:
Okay, this is what I was really after. Looks like reapplying would be a bad decision, but I have to admit, I think the whole dedication to medicine thing is absurd. The fact I want to get on the road to being a doctor in one year versus now has nothing to do with my dedication to medicine. .

Yes, it does. If you didn't want to be 'on the road" this year, then you shouldn't have applied this year. Reapplication with an acceptance in hand says more to the fact that you want to go to XYZ school, than you WANT TO BE A DOCTOR. If schools are looking for the latter (and they are), what do you think will be the result of turning over your acceptance?

Dr. Donkey said:
In fact, I could argue that seeking out a school that would allow me to excel in the specialities I want to be in would make me a better doctor who is more dedicated to medicine.

You seem to be changing your argument... is it "branching out" or is it getting into a "better" school? Hang out in the allo/osteo forum (NOT "pre") a while and you'll see that (with the exception of research) it matters far less where you went to school, than what you DID with it once you were there.

Dr. Donkey said:
It is probably more of an issue of medical schools wanting to keep applicants as tame and obedient as possible.

Or maybe it's an issue of schools wanting people who are there for the right reasons... because the right reasons are STRONG motivators fwhich lead to hard work and subsiquently lead to success.
 
I am interested in research. I would be more strongly motivated at a school with better opportunities. It's difficult to know what schools to apply to until you've been through the cycle, unfortunately. I admire your adeptness with the quotation function.
 
Haha, that is some impressive quoting. I can't figure the darn thing out...
 
Dr. Donkey said:
You see, I didn't know about SDN when I was choosing schools, so I was not yet enlightened.
I don't know of the above is a good thing or not? LOL@enlightenment.

Are you changing your mind based on other people's perception of UVa? What specifically caused this epiphany?

As others have stated...it's a big risk to reapply after you've already been accepted. What schools did you apply to? Where did you interview? Are you waitlisted anywhere?

#1 You make it sound like you have control over this process. Sure you can apply to a wider range of schools, but you aren't guaranteed interviewing at those places. #2 You wouldn't be substantially improving your application. You aren't improving your MCAT score. The Peace Corps is not that big of an application booster. Risk Assessment: Too darn big!

I'd equate it to investing in a single stock (remember Enron) or having unprotected sex.

I've interviewed at a few places. All with their own personalities. And yes...it was nice to see different programs. The travelling was fun. I felt like a jet-setter. BUT you'll soon realize that there's not that big of a difference between programs. Students will confirm that medical school is what you make it.

I'm sure there are research opportunities available @ UVa. You can do summer research out of state. You can do away rotations during your fourth year. Travel during your breaks and holidays if you want to see other places.

Do you wanna be called Dr. Jackass instead?
 
Dr. Donkey said:
give up my (only) acceptance to UVA and re-apply to other schools next year? I went there as an undergrad and would really like to branch out. There are a number of other schools that I would be interested in that I haven't yet applied to. Sorry to the people who don't have an acceptance yet, I'm just curious if this decline my acceptance is absolutely the wrong way to go.

I don't know, I kinda disagree. If you really want to do the Peace Corps because you changed your mind I would go for it. Med school will always be there for you when you get back if you are willing to go to any school that accepts you. And plenty will after doing a peace corps tour. On the other hand if you just don't like the med school I would say suck it up and go. The inside of most libraries and cadaver labs look quite similar and that is where you will be spending the next four years. :)
 
I would not take the chance of turning down an acceptance just to go through this whole process again in the HOPE that another institution will accept you.

That being said, it is possible to spend some of your rotations away at other institutions (audition rotations). That way, for the clinical years, you could "branch out".

Like someone mentioned earlier, textbooks and cadavers look the same no matter where you are. The different experiences, I would imagine, occur on rotations.
 
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Going to all the trouble of applying, interviewing and then turning down the only offer you have is like teaching a pig to sing: you have wasted your time and annoyed the pig. :mad:

:laugh:
 
Yeah, agreed. The only thing I worry about is the advice I keep getting along the lines of "go to a medical school in the area you want to practice medicine" since matching in the area you studied is much easier. Really top tier schools have a tendency to make this regionalization less acute.

bmcgilligan said:
I would not take the chance of turning down an acceptance just to go through this whole process again in the HOPE that another institution will accept you.

That being said, it is possible to spend some of your rotations away at other institutions (audition rotations). That way, for the clinical years, you could "branch out".

Like someone mentioned earlier, textbooks and cadavers look the same no matter where you are. The different experiences, I would imagine, occur on rotations.
 
Dr. Donkey said:
Thanks, Kazema, all good points.

I was actually considering the peace corps, but I wouldn't want to retake the MCATs again afterward (they would be expired by that time at most schools). Also, UVA claims to not really give deferrals unless it is for something extraordinary like a Rhodes Scholarship. I think I just need to stop worrying about whether I will be happy at UVA and just make the most of it. It seems like getting into medical school is getting so hard, I should just take my acceptance and run.

The Peace Corps is a good thing and all, but I would have to recommend taking the acceptance to medical school and becoming a doctor.

In terms of "branching out", you'll be spending your first two years at the school. Third year will be pretty busy so I don't really think it will matter where you're at. Then during fourth year, you can do away rotations anywhere which many people do either for their speciality or their personal choice. And then residency rolls around, and you can basically choose where you want to go.

And if you really feel the need to go to the Peace Corps, I'm willing to bet you'd be more valuable as an MD to the organization then as a volunteer. I don't mean to demean what others have done but being an MD gives you a valuable set of skills for a service such as the Peace Corps.

And in terms of research, most schools in general do have research opportunities for the students who want it. Even if they don't have extensive projects, there is the NIH during the summer which any medical student could do.

You already know that the medical school process is pretty crazy, why take the risk when you really don't have to?
 
Funnily enough my real name is Jackass, Sphincter B. Jackass (the B. stand for Boy). How did you know? Yeah, as far as the risk goes, it is very risky, but I am confident that I can get into other schools. I think there are one or two areas of my application that have hurt me (my MCAT is good enough that I wouldn't retake it). Maybe I should talk to some of the schools that didn't interview me and ask what the deal is. That way I would know if they had a major problem with me or if I just came off a little skewed in my applications.

2tall said:
Do you wanna be called Dr. Jackass instead?
 
True true. I'm getting a lot of good advice, and I appreciate it. I definitely need to reevaluate my thinking, but now I'm leaning to running with my acceptance like I stole something. Especially since I've been bored as hell this year not being in school (desk job).

Vomitonme said:
The Peace Corps is a good thing and all, but I would have to recommend taking the acceptance to medical school and becoming a doctor.

In terms of "branching out", you'll be spending your first two years at the school. Third year will be pretty busy so I don't really think it will matter where you're at. Then during fourth year, you can do away rotations anywhere which many people do either for their speciality or their personal choice. And then residency rolls around, and you can basically choose where you want to go.

And if you really feel the need to go to the Peace Corps, I'm willing to bet you'd be more valuable as an MD to the organization then as a volunteer. I don't mean to demean what others have done but being an MD gives you a valuable set of skills for a service such as the Peace Corps.

And in terms of research, most schools in general do have research opportunities for the students who want it. Even if they don't have extensive projects, there is the NIH during the summer which any medical student could do.

You already know that the medical school process is pretty crazy, why take the risk when you really don't have to?
 
DoctorFunk said:
Long story short: other schools will find out about your past acceptance, and these schools will question your true dedication to medicine, believing that if you really just wanted to be a physician that you would have stuck with your only acceptance during the prior cycle. Have reapplicants with prior acceptances been accepted again by other schools? Probably. Do they shoot themselves in the foot by trying again? Definitely.

I would suggest playing the odds on this one. Branching out or not, you're still an f-ing doctor.

How do other schools find out about your past acceptances? How do you know they do?
 
The JockDoc said:
How do other schools find out about your past acceptances? How do you know they do?

I believe that most schools ask questions like this on their secondaries.
 
DoctorFunk said:
I believe that most schools ask questions like this on their secondaries.

I haven't seen a question like this yet. I know that you will be asked if you had matriculated, but not if you were accepted in the past.
 
The JockDoc said:
I haven't seen a question like this yet. I know that you will be asked if you had matriculated, but not if you were accepted in the past.
JD...that sounds like research project. Hop to it!
 
Alright, let's deal with another hypothetical aspect of this question then.

We all know that AMCAS has a centralized database that monitors which schools each applicant applies to and their fate (accepted, rejected, waitlisted) at each of these schools. This is the source that each school uses to figure out if people holding acceptances at their school post-May 15th are also listed as holding spots elsewhere. As of this moment, I think it is safe to assume that the OP is holding a spot at the school at which they were accepted.

I find it hard to believe that this information would not follow the OP into the next application season. It would be foolish for schools not to check those that they interview (if not using this information for primary or secondary screening) for previous application cycles. I would also be surprised if they did not have some curiosity as to what kept the OP from matriculating to school a year prior.

Now I am aware that there are plenty of success stories in years past of people reapplying and being accepted at different schools, but I think in this particular case it is a bad idea for two reasons. First, these other cases were mostly special circumstances. Dying family members, spouse career opportunities, and the such are viewed as legitimate excuses for turning down an acceptance. I find it hard to believe that the lack of foresight to investigate the research opportunities at a school (especially your own undergraduate institution) would be viewed as such an overriding circumstance. If anything, it would just paint a picture of a sloppy applicant.

Second, if the OP is a state resident of the school at which he already was accepted, and if there are not a great deal of schools in the state, he is seriously cutting his chances down of acceptance.

No matter how you paint the picture I think it is clear that in this seemingly random process putting yourself back on the market is a huge gamble. The great boost of confidence you are no doubt experiencing following your acceptance may make you feel invincible at this point, but given a second opportunity the fates may not be so kind. What then?
 
DoctorFunk said:
Alright, let's deal with another hypothetical aspect of this question then.

We all know that AMCAS has a centralized database that monitors which schools each applicant applies to and their fate (accepted, rejected, waitlisted) at each of these schools. This is the source that each school uses to figure out if people holding acceptances at their school post-May 15th are also listed as holding spots elsewhere. As of this moment, I think it is safe to assume that the OP is holding a spot at the school at which they were accepted.

I find it hard to believe that this information would not follow the OP into the next application season. It would be foolish for schools not to check those that they interview (if not using this information for primary or secondary screening) for previous application cycles. I would also be surprised if they did not have some curiosity as to what kept the OP from matriculating to school a year prior.

Now I am aware that there are plenty of success stories in years past of people reapplying and being accepted at different schools, but I think in this particular case it is a bad idea for two reasons. First, these other cases were mostly special circumstances. Dying family members, spouse career opportunities, and the such are viewed as legitimate excuses for turning down an acceptance. I find it hard to believe that the lack of foresight to investigate the research opportunities at a school (especially your own undergraduate institution) would be viewed as such an overriding circumstance. If anything, it would just paint a picture of a sloppy applicant.

Second, if the OP is a state resident of the school at which he already was accepted, and if there are not a great deal of schools in the state, he is seriously cutting his chances down of acceptance.

No matter how you paint the picture I think it is clear that in this seemingly random process putting yourself back on the market is a huge gamble. The great boost of confidence you are no doubt experiencing following your acceptance may make you feel invincible at this point, but given a second opportunity the fates may not be so kind. What then?

If the op reapplies next year, it is unlikely that any other school besides that which he was accepted in this year would know. I don't think anyone here is certain about the issue of other schools keeping records of acceptances. But considering that people are able to defer and reapply to get into other schools, I think that there is an extremely low chance that this information is kept for each applicant. I just wanted to point out that med schools aren't going to know for certain that you have been accepted.

However, I agree with your advice that unless there is a good reason, this guy/gal should take the admit.
 
matriculate: To admit or be admitted into a group, especially a college or university.

matriculation: admission to a group (especially a college or university)


AMCAS asks about previous matriculation and says...Your matriculation status may not be dependent upon registration, enrollment, or the initiation/completion of Coursework. Check with the medical school if you have any question regarding your matriculation status.

Have you ever matriculated at or attended?...yada yada yada.

Concerning data collection...We also circulate the names of applicants accepted to each school to every other school after all deadlines have passed but before classes have begun. We do that upon authorization by each school, in order to facilitate an orderly process for schools to resolve cases of applicants with multiple acceptances.
 
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