Should I mention Early Acceptance Med. School Spot on AMCAS?

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Should I mention my early acceptance status?

  • Yes!

    Votes: 7 14.9%

  • It's irrelevant either way!

    Votes: 8 17.0%

  • No!

    Votes: 32 68.1%
  • Total voters
    47
K

Kam3725

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As the title suggests, I was admitted into an early acceptance undergraduate/M.D program after high school. I am very fortunate to have been selected into such a prestigious program and I am definitely grateful for the excellent opportunity and major stress-relief it has provided. However, now that I am a junior, I have come to the realization that I would like to attend a different medical school and apply elsewhere. With that being said, should I mention my early acceptance status at my current university on my AMCAS and TMDSAS? Or would that be a potential drawback since it might reflect that I am ungrateful; or that I might potentially decline an offer at another school as well? On the other hand, would it bolster my perceived interest in medicine since I pursued it at a fairly young age? Thanks.
 
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There are no circumstances under which you should mention this. There are several reasons why:

1) Med schools don't like 'poaching' students from other programs. Your situation is somewhat similar to a student trying to move out of a master's or PhD program into medicine-you've already got a spot and you're trying to trade it in.

2) This will make it look like you don't care about the acceptance you have, which will not help you in your applications at other schools.

3) There's no potential benefit to this, because other schools don't care about whether you've been accepted elsewhere. They have their own admissions system in place to review applicants on their own criteria. What another medical school (the one you've been accepted to) thinks about an applicant is irrelevant to them (schools you are applying to).
 
Thanks for the advice guys. Another concern that I had was whether or not other medical schools could somehow have access to the fact that I have an early acceptance spot. If that is somehow possible, then it would probably backfire on me when I submit my applications with no mention of this at all. Maybe I'm just being paranoid at this point...😕
 
If you're a junior at your undergrad, it's unlikely that your med school has already registered you as a student. Therefore, I doubt other medical schools would be able to find out that you're in the BS/MD program unless that title shows up on your official transcript.
 
My friend from HS was accepted into USC 8 year med program but then applied out in his sr. year and is now at Stanford med. He told me he put it down on his app because it was an impressive honor and there's no reason to hide anything in your app (med schools can find out whatever they want about you - be upfront and honest and transparent!).

I would also put it under honors/awards. It IS an honor/award. Not make a big deal about it by giving it it's own section but it DOES show that an adcom thought highly of you to accept you into the program and other adcoms will take that into account when evaluating your application.

I don't think it makes you look ungrateful at all. People change and want different things as time goes on.

Remember - Adcoms are like girls. If one girl finds a guy attractive then her friends do as well. If you put it down then other adcoms will find you to be an attractive applicant.
 
flatearth22 said:
My friend from HS was accepted into USC 8 year med program but then applied out in his sr. year and is now at Stanford med. He told me he put it down on his app because it was an impressive honor and there's no reason to hide anything in your app (med schools can find out whatever they want about you - be upfront and honest and transparent!).

I would also put it under honors/awards. It IS an honor/award. Not make a big deal about it by giving it it's own section but it DOES show that an adcom thought highly of you to accept you into the program and other adcoms will take that into account when evaluating your application.

I don't think it makes you look ungrateful at all. People change and want different things as time goes on.

Remember - Adcoms are like girls. If one girl finds a guy attractive then her friends do as well. If you put it down then other adcoms will find you to be an attractive applicant.
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Can you please stop giving bad advice? Just take a moment and realize you're sending someone down a path of self-destruction.
 
Kam3725 said:
As the title suggests, I was admitted into an early acceptance undergraduate/M.D program after high school. I am very fortunate to have been selected into such a prestigious program and I am definitely grateful for the excellent opportunity and major stress-relief it has provided. However, now that I am a junior, I have come to the realization that I would like to attend a different medical school and apply elsewhere. With that being said, should I mention my early acceptance status at my current university on my AMCAS and TMDSAS? Or would that be a potential drawback since it might reflect that I am ungrateful; or that I might potentially decline an offer at another school as well? On the other hand, would it bolster my perceived interest in medicine since I pursued it at a fairly young age? Thanks.
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I got in some BA/MD programs as well and I emailed the schools and they said there is no need to mention it on your application
 
Kaustikos said:
Can you please stop giving bad advice? Just take a moment and realize you're sending someone down a path of self-destruction.
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Sorry but getting into a BS/MD is an extremely impressive honor and nothing to be ashamed of. It's not like the OP was founder and president of an extremely successful anti-gay group or something.
 
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flatearth22 said:
Sorry but getting into a BS/MD is an extremely impressive honor and nothing to be ashamed of. It's not like the OP was founder and president of an extremely successful anti-gay group or something.
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Again. No.
 
I would also put it under honors/awards. It IS an honor/award.
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Do professional school adcoms really care what you did as a teenager? Why not add NMF?
 
flatearth22 said:
Sorry but getting into a BS/MD is an extremely impressive honor and nothing to be ashamed of. It's not like the OP was founder and president of an extremely successful anti-gay group or something.
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Why don't you also tell the OP to play Russian Roulette with a loaded gun, too?
 
flatearth22 said:
Remember - Adcoms are like girls. If one girl finds a guy attractive then her friends do as well. If you put it down then other adcoms will find you to be an attractive applicant.
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That explains why people who apply to multiple schools either get interviews and are accepted at all the schools they apply to, or they get rejected everywhere.
 
Myuu said:
No. No, no, no. Also, no.
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This is now tied with NickNaylor's quote from a different thread as "best flatearth bashing post thus far":laugh::laugh:

NickNaylor said:
You give out absolutely awful advice. You make it sound as if the OP is screwed if he doesn't retake the class. Which is ridiculous.
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I don't know if it's a good idea or not, but if you do decide to include it you better convincingly explain why you have the motivation to attend another school. In my opinion, I don't think it's a negative because of the fact that a BS/MD is not a traditional acceptance. If I was an adcom I wouldn't hold it against you for wanting to expand your boundaries post-h.s.
 
Myuu said:
The impression this creates is that you have taken a spot in a competitive program from someone who would have followed it through.
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So nurses should not apply to medical school? There's a severe nursing shortage in this country and the nurses who chose to apply to medical school are not only adding to that shortage but also taking the spot of a potential nurse who could have carried trhroguh? Right?

Weak argument is weak.
 
flatearth22 said:
So nurses should not apply to medical school? There's a severe nursing shortage in this country and the nurses who chose to apply to medical school are not only adding to that shortage but also taking the spot of a potential nurse who could have carried trhroguh? Right?

Weak argument is weak.
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Actually..... it's true. If you apply to medical school as a nurse, that WILL be brought up. Your background as a nurse WILL be taken into consideration.
 
flatearth22 said:
So nurses should not apply to medical school? There's a severe nursing shortage in this country and the nurses who chose to apply to medical school are not only adding to that shortage but also taking the spot of a potential nurse who could have carried trhroguh? Right?

Weak argument is weak.
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Weak intellect is weak.

I'm not saying they've got no shot (that's obviously untrue), but they will have to defend their rationale.
 
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Kaustikos said:
Actually..... it's true. If you apply to medical school as a nurse, that WILL be brought up. Your background as a nurse WILL be taken into consideration.
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And if the nurse gives a reasonable answer (wants to be a bigger part of patient management, wants additional training, wants more intellectual stimulation, etc.) there is nothing wrong with that.

Same reason there is nothing wrong with someone applying out of a BS/MD if they have legitimate reason and using that acceptance as a quality feather in their cap as they do so.
 
flatearth22 said:
And if the nurse gives a reasonable answer (wants to be a bigger part of patient management, wants additional training, wants more intellectual stimulation, etc.) there is nothing wrong with that.

Same reason there is nothing wrong with someone applying out of a BS/MD if they have legitimate reason and using that acceptance as a quality feather in their cap as they do so.
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The only problem with that is that it's not anything like a feather.
 
V5RED said:
Anyone who tells you yes is probably being facetious.
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No, you're actually wrong! Look what we have BELOW! :laugh:


flatearth22 said:
Same reason there is nothing wrong with someone applying out of a BS/MD if they have legitimate reason and using that acceptance as a quality feather in their cap as they do so.
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There is nothing "wrong" about applying out of the program. There is, however, a SEVERE drawback to mentioning it in your apps. It's not an honor...it's more of a deterrent.
 
flatearth22 said:
Sorry but getting into a BS/MD is an extremely impressive honor and nothing to be ashamed of. It's not like the OP was founder and president of an extremely successful anti-gay group or something.
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You are an idiot. You really need to stop replying to threads and pretending like you know anything.
 
NickNaylor said:
You are an idiot. You really need to stop replying to threads and pretending like you know anything.
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No, no, flatearth is playing a useful role here.

If the OP takes his advice over the advice from the other posters in this thread, it will be readily apparent to adcoms that he lacks any semblance of common sense.
 
flatearth22 said:
Hey, hey. No personal attacks good sir.
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Stop giving bad advice, seriously. We have 99% of people in this thread saying it's bad idea and you're the one saying it's good. You really think you're right?
 
Whatyousay said:
No, no, flatearth is playing a useful role here.

If the OP takes his advice over the advice from the other posters in this thread, it will be readily apparent to adcoms that he lacks any semblance of common sense.
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flatearth22 said:
Hey, hey. No personal attacks good sir.
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Its not really a personal attack. Myuu and NIckNaylor have considerable more experience than you.
 
Kaustikos said:
Stop giving bad advice, seriously. We have 99% of people in this thread saying it's bad idea and you're the one saying it's good. You really think you're right?
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Well, obviously he's an adcom. Or he's interviewed students. Or, maybe, he's been through a successful app cycle. Ooooor, he's been interviewed himself a couple of times. Or, he's applied to med school. Or, maybe he's just thought about it.

Listen. It's only useful to have an opinion when it's an informed one.
 
Kaustikos said:
Stop giving bad advice, seriously. We have 99% of people in this thread saying it's bad idea and you're the one saying it's good. You really think you're right?
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None of us are adcoms. But at least I have one example of where someone did this and it worked. Do you have an example of where someone did this and it didn't work? All is is hypothetical psychoanalysis of what adcoms MIGHT think. 👎
 
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flatearth22 said:
None of us are adcoms. But at least I have one example of where someone did this and it worked. Do you have an example of where someone did this and it didn't work? All is is hypothetical psychoanalysis of what adcoms MIGHT think. 👎
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Perhaps not. But, I bet you can't guess which one of us regularly interviews applicants.🙂
 
flatearth22 said:
None of us are adcoms. But at least I have one example of where someone did this and it worked. Do you have an example of where someone did this and it didn't work? All is is hypothetical psychoanalysis of what adcoms MIGHT think. 👎
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Sample Size of one is very statistically significant.
 
0kazak1 said:
Its not really a personal attack. Myuu and NIckNaylor have considerable more experience than you.
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Calling someone an idiot isn't a personal attack?

It's ok to attack the person's argument or viewpoint. I think Nick realizes his mistake...he probably made that post in haste.
 
flatearth22 said:
None of us are adcoms. But at least I have one example of where someone did this and it worked. Do you have an example of where someone did this and it didn't work? All is is hypothetical psychoanalysis of what adcoms MIGHT think. 👎
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🙄 Right. We'll use the "I heard that my uncle's girlfriends cats friends owner's brother's dad's niece did that and DIDN'T get in any school and was rejected from her BS/MD program!"

Here, flatearth22, read up. It might make our discussions better.
 
Myuu said:
Well, obviously he's an adcom. Or he's interviewed students. Or, maybe, he's been through a successful app cycle. Ooooor, he's been interviewed himself a couple of times. Or, he's applied to med school. Or, maybe he's just thought about it.

Listen. It's only useful to have an opinion when it's an informed one.
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:laugh: Touche! I'll just stick to essays. :meanie:
 
Myuu said:
Perhaps not. But, I bet you can't guess which one of us regularly interviews applicants.🙂
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Oh Snap!

flatearth22 said:
Calling someone an idiot isn't a personal attack?

It's ok to attack the person's argument or viewpoint. I think Nick realizes his mistake...he probably made that post in haste.
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Well, if someone is blatantly going against two people who have more experience with the process, that is being ignorant which is a part of idiocy.
 
I'm reverting to a clean-cut "NO" for the same reason that you don't highlight other awards received during your h.s. era....they aren't relevant! What have you done lately? What have you done to demonstrate your commitment to medicine during your undergrad?
 
flatearth22 said:
Calling someone an idiot isn't a personal attack?

It's ok to attack the person's argument or viewpoint. I think Nick realizes his mistake...he probably made that post in haste.
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When you give out absolutely stupid advice that people trust because you give it out with an air of authority, no, I don't feel bad.
 
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Don't be greedy. Trying to strong arm adcoms isn't going to work. Be nice, humble, and you will go far.

DEFINITELY DO NOT MENTION THE EARLY ASSURANCE TO ANYONE ELSE! But, if I were you, I would take the early assurance. Most people cannot get admission to a school the regular way. And you have an in.... TAKE IT AND RUN WITH IT.

It's like a thread I read awhile ago, about someone saying they got into XYZ no name school, but wanted to wait a year and reapply to get into AAA prestigious school. Personally, these people are diluted and shouldn't be given the honor of pursuing a medical education. Anatomy is anatomy everywhere. You're not going to learn extra body systems at AAA prestigious school. 😀
 
I'm in a similar situation with my school. The last thing our advisor told us before summer break is that if we apply out, we lose the guaranteed spot (as I think we should) and that if we want to try to put it down as an accomplishment/leverage, good ****ing luck because at best other med schools won't care, and at worst they'll seriously question the decision to defer an acceptance.

So no, don't mention it unless explicitly asked during interviews
 
CodeBlu and WebMD both bring up good points. Rather than arguing about whether or not you should put this on your application, we should be arguing about whether or not you should even be applying. You already have a spot being held for you, applying out just means you have a chance at failing (at a pretty significant expense to you). You should just stick with your acceptance.
 
You guys have brought up excellent points. Before you guys get the impression that I'm an inconsiderate/pretentious douchebag (and some of you may still hold on to that opinion), I figured I might as well bring up my rationale for applying elsewhere. I really do value the spot that I was given but I have a variety of reasons for deciding to go elsewhere.

1) Family [Post-Katrina, many of my family and friends have moved to TX and it's been a second home for me, I guess you could say]
2) Change of curriculum at the med. school where I have an early spot. I know this might be an unwarranted fear, but I really don't want to be a guinea pig for the transition to a new curriculum [block->system based]. I know our other state school recently changed their curriculum a few years back and their STEP 1 scores plummeted, on average.
3) The thought of spending another 4 years at where I'm currently at is horrific for me. Ideally, going to a med. school is about finding the best fit. I feel that other med. schools may provide an environment that I find more suitable and I'd like to be somewhere where I'm happy considering I'll be spending the next 4 years of my life there.

Unlike the program that a previous poster mentioned, I will not lose my spot for applying elsewhere so it provides a safety net in case I don't get accepted elsewhere. Sure I might lose some money, but I just want to explore all of my options while I can.
 
Myuu said:
The impression this creates is that you have taken a spot in a competitive program from someone who would have followed it through.
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I literally want to kill these people. They have potentially destroyed another person's future.
 
pfaction said:
I literally want to kill these people. They have potentially destroyed another person's future.
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And potentially opened the door for another person's future?

It's not like the school isn't going to fill that spot that the BS/MD applicant left behind. In fact you could say it's a good thing because a BS/MD spot is going to an applicant who applied the traditional way which, some would say, makes for a more mature and well-informed med student.
 
For those of you who feel that I'm taking a spot from a deserving applicant, just take a second to consider what exactly my decision to apply elsewhere is doing as the previous poster pointed out.

Here are the two possible scenarios:

1) If I apply elsewhere and don't get accepted, then I'm in the same boat I was already in. Those who are displeased or "want to kill people like me" can have the personal satisfaction that I've wasted nearly $500 and there has been no net change in available med. school spots.

2) If I apply elsewhere and do get accepted, then I can assure you my university's med. school will fill that spot with another qualified applicant. If I receive a secondary acceptance, then obviously I would forfeit my current spot. Net change in med. school spots= -1 (The spot that I took if I got accepted elsewhere) + 1 (My current BS/MD spot that another applicant will receive)=0. In fact, it gives traditional applicants a shot for an acceptance spot once reserved for strictly BS/MD. At the same time, it would mean that a "greedy" individual like myself actually worked hard and strived for a med. school spot in the same fashion as any other applicant.

However, the argument could be presented that I'm being dishonest by not mentioning this on my applications. For that, I do apologize and have no justification other than my own personal desire to simply go elsewhere.
 
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Kam3725 said:
For those of you who feel that I'm taking a spot from a deserving applicant, just take a second to consider what exactly my decision to apply elsewhere is doing as the previous poster pointed out.

Here are the two possible scenarios:

1) If I apply elsewhere and don't get accepted, then I'm in the same boat I was already in. Those who are displeased or "want to kill people like me" can have the personal satisfaction that I've wasted nearly $500 and there has been no net change in available med. school spots.

2) If I apply elsewhere and do get accepted, then I can assure you my university's med. school will fill that spot with another qualified applicant. If I receive a secondary acceptance, then obviously I would forfeit my current spot. Net change in med. school spots= -1 (The spot that I took if I got accepted elsewhere) + 1 (My current BS/MD spot that another applicant will receive)=0. In fact, it gives traditional applicants a shot for an acceptance spot once reserved for strictly BS/MD. At the same time, it would mean that a "greedy" individual like myself actually worked hard and strived for a med. school spot in the same fashion as any other applicant.
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I wouldn't worry about that poster. He/she was probably not good enough to get into a BS/MD and envies your position of even having the option of applying out while still having something to fall back on.

Back to the original topic - it's really your call. From reading here I see the pros and cons of both sides. Talk to your premed adviser and see what he/she says about the situation. It certainly won't make or break your app IMO especially if you have a lot of other cool awards and activities. I think the main reason for putting it down is that it shows interest and commitment to the medical field from a young age and it is a prestigious honor. But I see that some adcoms might be rubbed the wrong way about it. But would they seriously dismiss your application because of it?

Get all the information you can and then do what you think will best help you achieve your med school goals. Good luck 👍
 
Kam3725 said:
For those of you who feel that I'm taking a spot from a deserving applicant, just take a second to consider what exactly my decision to apply elsewhere is doing as the previous poster pointed out.

Here are the two possible scenarios:

1) If I apply elsewhere and don't get accepted, then I'm in the same boat I was already in. Those who are displeased or "want to kill people like me" can have the personal satisfaction that I've wasted nearly $500 and there has been no net change in available med. school spots.

2) If I apply elsewhere and do get accepted, then I can assure you my university's med. school will fill that spot with another qualified applicant. If I receive a secondary acceptance, then obviously I would forfeit my current spot. Net change in med. school spots= -1 (The spot that I took if I got accepted elsewhere) + 1 (My current BS/MD spot that another applicant will receive)=0. In fact, it gives traditional applicants a shot for an acceptance spot once reserved for strictly BS/MD. At the same time, it would mean that a "greedy" individual like myself actually worked hard and strived for a med. school spot in the same fashion as any other applicant.
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I generally think dropping a BS/MD program is a bad idea because the spot is usually lost upon applying and it turns into a big, unnecessary gamble. In your case, you have nothing major to lose from it, and you actually have reasons besides the usual "this school isn't good enough for me" line of thinking.

Good luck with your coming application, and you probably shouldn't mention the BS/MD acceptance. It's not going to help you, and it could hurt you. The fact that flatearth's buddy still got accepted doesn't mean that listing the award helped him. It doesn't support his poor argument at all, it just means his friend was a strong applicant.
 
I would read the fine print of your BS/MD program acceptance very carefully. In most of these programs, if you apply to other schools through AMCAS you automatically forfeit your spot with the BS/MD program.
 
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