At the same time, whatever. Are you supposed to decline an acceptance offer in the most selective professional school application process and delay your career because it inconveniences an employer?
If they are sponsoring your visa, I’d be a bit more careful. Read the contract if they offered you one
i believe it wont cost them money since I'm getting an OPT extension and not a typical visa sponsorship
I'd be surprised if there's a contract, they're quite rare nowadays as most employment is at-will
yep it pretty clearly states that it is at-will; they can fire me with or without reason and I can quit with or without reason---it would just be nicer for them if I committed for a year
Then do what you gotta do and do it on as nice of terms as possible. If it's a small company it'll sting for them but if it's a large firm then they'll get over it super quickly
In that case, them sponsoring the visa for you isn't huge at all. It's costing them nothing, and it's either allowing you to stay in the country and work, OR, you don't need it because you will be going to school! 🙂
Good points. One of the adcoms here mentioned geographic location being a WL->A decision factor so I wonder if super late cycle (i.e., July) offers are only made to US citizens nearby the school in question (i.e., essential guarantees for filling seats).
This is super helpful. Is there something similar for DO schools?
Just a heads up that some of this data is outdated (e.g., VCU's waitlist data is wildly inaccurate)
I should have clarified this in my comment but the data is for the 2018-2019 cycle.
No idea how long that paperwork takes. However, I believe most people applying as internationals are already physically in the US w/ a valid student visa. There is a often a requirement you need a 4 year bachelor's from a US institution so I believe most are already here and it's a matter of transferring your I-20 from your undergrad institution to the med school---I don't believe that takes too long but again I'm not sure
Yeah a lot of it is outdated. There is an updated MSAR for WL procedures here (https://aamc-orange.global.ssl.fast...7-ed932595e045/msar_waitlist_procedures_1.pdf), but it’s super variable in terms of what the schools chose to update.
Even with that being said, the numbers seem far lower than what they should be. From peeking around at different school-specific threads, I’m seeing much more waitlist movement last cycle than what is listed on the updated MSAR. Is this only listing those that accepted the offers off the WL?
This is why I mentioned the data is either outdated, inaccurate, or both. I'm not sure what data is reported to AAMC for MSAR but in some cases, the MSAR WL data is inaccurate.
That is what I’m tempted to do, but I was told (by current students) to not pry too much on their process because it could come off poorly. I still have the urge to though. I’m mostly disappointed because I thought, with the publication of new MSAR data about WLs, I would have more information to supplement my confirmation bias and feel better about my chances of moving off the WL 🥲
Echoing, benzodiazepinacolada I wouldn't look too much into these stats. They should give you a rough image of how the waitlist looks like but not a very accurate one. I also wouldn't call schools to check since it might come off in the wrong way.
When does your original OPT expire? And when does your employer need an answer from you? Would it be possible to get ready all the paperwork and wait until the last few days/weeks possible to officially file it? (Worse case scenario your extension application will still be pending, but you will get an automatic 180-day extension as log as you file the paperwork on time) Does your employer know you are waiting to possibly get off the waitlist?
In that case, you totally have to do what you need to do. No need to feel bad or apologize.
Never! At best, assuming they are accurate, they can only be used as a guide. Like snowflakes, each cycle is unique. Numbers will vary with the applicant pool. No individual school sample size is large enough to have a reasonable degree of confidence that numbers will be constant from year to year. They never are, at any school. Think of it like this -- if WL movement at a school goes from 20 one year to 40 the next, that's a 100% increase, but it's only 20 people, across hundreds of interviewees.
If a school over-enrolls, you can bet they won't do it twice.
I would email and ask specific schools! I did so and one school I am waitlisted at is receptive to additional letters of recommendation and my letter writer was able to email it directly to the admissions office.
Absolutely not, but, given how crazy difficult it is to get an A anywhere, why give up the shot without seeing what happens? The schools to which you applied this cycle will know you are a reapplicant. The other schools will know nothing, and you will be a first time applicant to them who never turned down an offer of admission anywhere.
Absolutely not meaning the schools wouldn’t see it?
Just to be clear, I am not at all complaining about going to DO school, I am incredibly grateful for the opportunities they have given me. Just interested in why I have much more appeal to DO programs than MD programs given that my GPA and MCAT meet acceptance thresholds for MD Schools
Correct. There is nothing to see. You interviewed and didn't receive an A. It's not something they will see or ask about. TBH, though, I'd deal with the one-time housing inconvenience to avoid having to put myself through another cycle, so don't make any rash decisions you might later regret.
Thank you so much! I wanted to make sure that was the case before I started the discussion with my family and girlfriend.
For sure that’s a very legit question. Frankly it’s just so competitive and so hard. It’s hard for all of us even to comprehend it
We've been doing a lot of speculation on this-- I'd love to hear from some of our adcoms about their experience/approach to waitlisting this cycle (assuming that information can be shared).
Take a read through last years thread... lots of people with a ton of WL too. It happens every year! It’s so hard to get into Med school
What school? And what data is suggesting that there is no movement at that school?
The school has a priority WL which gets some movement but not the regular WL, and I am in the regular one. I went through previous SDN threads for the school.
Being so close and getting a sniff of the success from the WL makes motivating yourself to study for that test (I’m tired of saying the name) the last thing in the world that I would want to do.
big fax
Consider applying DO. Ive worked with both MD’s and DO’s, and I have noticed about 0 clinical difference in primary care and emergency settings. Obviously if you want to practice in a competitive specialty like neurosurg, ophthalmol, derm, MD would be the right path. But otherwise, you should at least give it thought. Every DO school i interviewed at gave me a definitive decision in 2-4 weeks after my interview. I feel that the MD cycle is unnecessarily grueling and treacherous because they want to make it this way. It certainly doesnt have to be this way. Making students wait for nearly a year to find out the future of their career? Gimme a break lol. Also taking this opportunity to vent 🙂
