Accepted but Declining: Good or Bad? Help!

BU Medical Sciences
This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
MediPhil

MediPhil

Full Member
7+ Year Member
Joined
Jul 25, 2014
Messages
41
Reaction score
56
Members don't see this ad.
I was accepted off the waitlist today to UT Houston Medical School. However, I am also accepted at my current university on a full-ride to get a 1-year STEM-specific MBA starting this summer.

Would declining a medical school offer affect my chances of admission in the following cycle? For both academic and personal (relationship) reasons, deferring one year would be immensely helpful. However, UT Houston does not offer that option.

Please help!
 
Go to medical school if you want to be a doctor. You can enroll in a dual MD/MBA via UT-Houston if you want or get it further along your career if you really need it to do what you want to do. Most likely you won't need it and can just learn the skillset later.

Declining an acceptance is very bad. Deferral is an option but in the case of getting an MBA it's probably just better to go straight away.
 
My ultimate goal is to be in medical administration. So, both MD and MBA.

Will declining this offer affect my chances in a future cycle? I am juggling many professional and personal considerations in this matter!
 
are you planning on managing a pharmaceutical while in med school?

You're going into 7 to 10ish years of training. Keep that in perspective. personal problems have a funny way of coming up regardless of your planning or taking time off. And gearing up again for med school seems like a personal brand of hell to me.
 
MediPhil said:
My ultimate goal is to be in medical administration. So, both MD and MBA.

Will declining this offer affect my chances in a future cycle? I am juggling many professional and personal considerations in this matter!
Click to expand...

Do not decline an acceptance. You will regret it. If you want to go down the hospital admin path, it will be there for you and you'll be able to get whichever degree is required. I see more MHAs than MBAs, anyway.

Repeat: DO NOT DECLINE AN ACCEPTANCE.
 
gyngyn said:
Every school that you applied to will want to know what happened in previous cycles.
Imagine our response when you tell us that, though accepted you declined the offer for an MBA!
Click to expand...

Do you think this response to declining an acceptance is unique to medical school admissions? Is it just about the idea that medical school should be your #1 priority, or is there more to it? In your opinion, are there any acceptable reasons for declining an offer of admission and later reapplying? I'm just asking out of curiosity.
 
Old&InTheWay said:
Do you think this response to declining an acceptance is unique to medical school admissions? Is it just about the idea that medical school should be your #1 priority, or is there more to it? In your opinion, are there any acceptable reasons for declining an offer of admission and later reapplying? I'm just asking out of curiosity.
Click to expand...
Other than a catastrophic personal crisis, I can't think of a good reason for declining a medical school acceptance.
 
gyngyn said:
Every school that you applied to will want to know what happened in previous cycles.
Imagine our response when you tell us that, though accepted you declined the offer for an MBA!
Click to expand...

If you decline the MBA now, it won't be hard to explain why should you want into an MBA program later.
That is very much not the case in reverse-- every MD school (and every DO school, for that matter) would wonder why you turned down a medical school acceptance.
 
Medical schools have a very fragile ego, if you even so slightly damage it you will be forever blacklisted. It is the way of system run mostly by people who are too full of themselves
 
MediPhil said:
I was accepted off the waitlist today to UT Houston Medical School. However, I am also accepted at my current university on a full-ride to get a 1-year STEM-specific MBA starting this summer.

Would declining a medical school offer affect my chances of admission in the following cycle? For both academic and personal (relationship) reasons, deferring one year would be immensely helpful. However, UT Houston does not offer that option.

Please help!
Click to expand...
Dude, go to UT-H. You can always do an MBA later on somewhere else, that is if you still want to.
 
sliceofbread136 said:
Medical schools have a very fragile ego, if you even so slightly damage it you will be forever blacklisted. It is the way of system run mostly by people who are too full of themselves
Click to expand...
Much of what we are called upon to assess is judgement and the ability to base decisions on sound priorities.
 
You don't need a MBA to go into med admin. You can do that with only a MD. you would be a fool to turn down the MD acceptance as you will never get another.
 
The perspective you will get from being in the health care environment will help you later when you do your MBA. If you do an MBA now it will all be theory without your frame of reference. Do an MBA when you have ideas for projects and improvements. Since you won't be in medical management for several years why not wait to see what the landscape is after many more years of reform?
 
MediPhil said:
I was accepted off the waitlist today to UT Houston Medical School. However, I am also accepted at my current university on a full-ride to get a 1-year STEM-specific MBA starting this summer.

Would declining a medical school offer affect my chances of admission in the following cycle? For both academic and personal (relationship) reasons, deferring one year would be immensely helpful. However, UT Houston does not offer that option.

Please help!
Click to expand...

Why did you apply to medical school this cycle if you were planning on doing your MBA first? There are so many pre-meds that would do anything to be in your spot. DO NOT decline unless you are willing to take the chance of never going to med school.
 
GatorsKW14 said:
Why did you apply to medical school this cycle if you were planning on doing your MBA first? There are so many pre-meds that would do anything to be in your spot. DO NOT decline unless you are willing to take the chance of never going to med school.
Click to expand...

OP might have applied to the MBA in case they didn't get in this cycle.
 
Old&InTheWay said:
OP might have applied to the MBA in case they didn't get in this cycle.
Click to expand...
That's reasonable. Actually doing the MBA, though accepted to medical school: not reasonable.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
sliceofbread136 said:
Medical schools have a very fragile ego, if you even so slightly damage it you will be forever blacklisted. It is the way of system run mostly by people who are too full of themselves
Click to expand...

What an immense lack of perspective. If you jump through hoops for four years in order to win the ticket onto a train that won't stop for the rest of your life and then decide 'nah I don't actually want to hop on this train, I would rather do this other thing first' then you don't actually know what you want and that is a big part of being a mature adult.
 
raiderette said:
The perspective you will get from being in the health care environment will help you later when you do your MBA. If you do an MBA now it will all be theory without your frame of reference. Do an MBA when you have ideas for projects and improvements. Since you won't be in medical management for several years why not wait to see what the landscape is after many more years of reform?
Click to expand...

Well said -- And a valuable addition to the other (correct) advice that turning down your med acceptance would be permanent.
 
Kiss your medical career goodbye if you prefer that MBA over the MD.


MediPhil said:
I was accepted off the waitlist today to UT Houston Medical School. However, I am also accepted at my current university on a full-ride to get a 1-year STEM-specific MBA starting this summer.

Would declining a medical school offer affect my chances of admission in the following cycle? For both academic and personal (relationship) reasons, deferring one year would be immensely helpful. However, UT Houston does not offer that option.
Click to expand...


You wish. What we want are students who actually want to be doctors.

Medical schools have a very fragile ego, if you even so slightly damage it you will be forever blacklisted. It is the way of system run mostly by people who are too full of themselves
 
Goro said:
Kiss your medical career goodbye if you prefer that MBA over the MD.

You wish. What we want are students who actually want to be doctors.

Medical schools have a very fragile ego, if you even so slightly damage it you will be forever blacklisted. It is the way of system run mostly by people who are too full of themselves
Click to expand...

I am not saying this applies to the OP's particular situation, but I can imagine someone who really does want to be a doctor, but where something in their life develops after they applied that would make it advantageous to delay it by a year. I've heard you say that getting into medical school is a marathon and not a race. The same metaphor could be applied to one's career as well, no?

At this point, I don't have any skin in the game in regards to how med school admissions function, but I have trouble seeing things in such absolutes and I think it would be unfortunate for medicine to miss out on good future doctors because of dogmatic admissions principles. Then again, perhaps experience has demonstrated good reason for such principles.
 
Old&InTheWay said:
I am not saying this applies to the OP's particular situation, but I can imagine someone who really does want to be a doctor, but where something in their life develops after they applied that would make it advantageous to delay it by a year. I've heard you say that getting into medical school is a marathon and not a race. The same metaphor could be applied to one's career as well, no?

At this point, I don't have any skin in the game in regards to how med school admissions function, but I have trouble seeing things in such absolutes and I think it would be unfortunate for medicine to miss out on good future doctors because of dogmatic admissions principles. Then again, perhaps experience has demonstrated good reason for such principles.
Click to expand...

For better or worse, med schools are in a position to be picky here. There are hundreds of other applicants who all have the potential to be great future doctors and would gladly take OPs spot. The schools aren't missing out, but OP might. And, by the way, nobody has acknowledged that OP came off the waitlist. If UT-Houston's waitlist is OP's one chance at medical school this cycle, it'd be delusional to think their chances would be better as a re-applicant who declined an admission. A STEM MBA won't be that much of an application boost.
 
Declining a medical school acceptance being a big red flag is definitely a thing. I didn't know about it, but it's there. Look it up. There are lots of threads where adcoms say it's definitely an issue.

Reasonably speaking, motivation to attend medical school is the most important factor in the application process. Medical schools, however, rarely have any objective evidence to call your motivation into question so the factor rarely comes into play. The PS, secondaries, and interviews are all subjectively judged. However, if you decline your acceptance(s), it will show up on your record as objective evidence (your AAMC application will indicate you declined an acceptance) calling into question your motivation.

While you haven't committed a crime by any means, it's analogous IN THE SENSE that it will be a significant question/red flag on your record and you will have to provide a very solid explanation to counter that. Also, like a crime, you'll find people who got in regardless...but that doesn't mean you should take that risk.


My advice is that if you plan to spend a large part of your life practicing medicine, take the MD acceptance NOW, worry about the MBA later. You can always do an MBA within medical school, or within residency.
 
Last edited:
UT Houston my dream school right there and it makes my entire body my soul cringe when I read posts like this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
MediPhil said:
My ultimate goal is to be in medical administration. So, both MD and MBA.

Will declining this offer affect my chances in a future cycle? I am juggling many professional and personal considerations in this matter!
Click to expand...

You don't need a MD to be a medical administrator as in running a hospital, insurance company or health care network. Do the MBA , live long and prosper. If you aren't excited about the prospect of starting med school rather than starting the MBA, maybe your heart is telling you the direction your feet should take.

Yes, it could make getting an offer of admission to med school difficult or nearly impossible in the future although I do think that a career changer situation 5-10 years down the road could be possible, but really, if you succeed as an administrator would you really want to stop out for 7 years to be trained in provision of clinical services only to go back to administration?
 
Edit, OP I didn't see you wanted to be mainly a hospital administrator.

This might be a controversial opinion so feel free to call it out. Also, my intent is not to be condescending because you're clearly intelligent to have gotten into a medical school so I'm sure you're more than capable to understand your decisions. However, being nearly complete with my first year of medical school, I have no idea why anyone who doesn't picture themselves in clinical practice (managing patients directly) for a large chunk of their lives would get an MD/DO (with one exception being MSTP or funded MD/PhD). You pretty much absorb yourself in the field of medical science and clinical protocols for 4 years of school. This leaves very little time for developing the skills you probably need for an career in administration. Why don't you just get a masters in medical science/MPH alongside your MBA if you really want to learn medical science? When I was in undergrad, there were masters students taking some pretty in depth physiology courses while also learning about epidemiology/business/etc.

On top of that, the cost of a medical education is overwhelming. Medical school is not like law school where you can simply get a law degree and have a vast variety of career opportunities administrator/attorney/politician/school principal to school principal that you're now more qualified for than others because you've spent years studying law. Medical school intensively trains you to be a physician and only that and it's simply too much time, effort, and money to consider unless you plan to be seeing patients.

Now if you're considering becoming a physician scientist, that's a different story because you're clearly still practicing and are getting $ for medical school.


Edit: also, just to clarify, I'm not saying that you shouldn't pursue a MBA with your MD degree and then aim for a career in hospital administration. I do see the practicality in doing both. I'm just saying that you shouldn't pursue an MD degree if you don't plan on spending a significant amount of time seeing patients.
 
Last edited:
Backtothebasics8 said:
Edit, OP I didn't see you wanted to be mainly a hospital administrator.

This might be a controversial opinion so feel free to call it out. Also, my intent is not to be condescending because you're clearly intelligent to have gotten into a medical school so I'm sure you're more than capable to understand your decisions. However, being nearly complete with my first year of medical school, I have no idea why anyone who doesn't picture themselves in clinical practice (managing patients directly) for a large chunk of their lives would get an MD/DO (with one exception being MSTP or funded MD/PhD). You pretty much absorb yourself in the field of medical science and clinical protocols for 4 years of school. This leaves very little time for developing the skills you probably need for an career in administration. Why don't you just get a masters in medical science/MPH alongside your MBA if you really want to learn medical science? When I was in undergrad, there were masters students taking some pretty in depth physiology courses while also learning about epidemiology/business/etc.

On top of that, the cost of a medical education is overwhelming. Medical school is not like law school where you can simply get a law degree and have a vast variety of career opportunities administrator/attorney/politician/school principal to school principal that you're now more qualified for than others because you've spent years studying law. Medical school intensively trains you to be a physician and only that and it's simply too much time, effort, and money to consider unless you plan to be seeing patients.

Now if you're considering becoming a physician scientist, that's a different story because you're clearly still practicing and are getting $ for medical school.


Edit: also, just to clarify, I'm not saying that you shouldn't pursue a MBA with your MD degree and then aim for a career in hospital administration. I do see the practicality in doing both. I'm just saying that you shouldn't pursue an MD degree if you don't plan on spending a significant amount of time seeing patients.
Click to expand...

Concerning the debt it'll noy bd too bad for OP assuming he's a Texas resident
 
Good point. Didn't consider that I guess 🙂
Time and effort are still factors though.
 
Do NOT turn down an acceptance!

Are you sure you really want to be a doctor? When most people get into medical school off the waitlist, it is a no-brainer! But since you're considering getting an MBA first, it makes me think medical school isn't your priority because there really is no good reason to turn down an acceptance.

If it is truly your dream to become a doctor, I can't see a good reason why you wouldn't just go now. You seem to think your reasons are good enough to pass on this MD acceptance, but a medical school admissions board may not agree. You mentioned the STEM MBA and your personal relationship are the reasons you want to decline this acceptance. You can always get an MBA after an MD (and someone even mentioned UT Houston offers a dual-degree program). You may also want to decide if this relationship is more important to you than ever becoming a doctor.

You might have been lucky to even get in off the waitlist, and this will only decrease your chances of getting an acceptance next cycle. Some schools might blacklist you and not even grant you an interview after seeing that you turned down an acceptance (especially UT Houston).
 
ridethecliche said:
Yay, op vanished after first day of thread and people are still posting!
Click to expand...

Sorry!

I'm sure the decision has already been made, but I just really hope OP didn't turn down the acceptance. It is such a bad idea!

I'm posting here for future applicants. If you're reading this post - please don't turn down an acceptance if it is your dream to be a doctor! You've worked too hard for that!
 
Right, no man, no job, no second chance at a dream school comes close to being worth the risk. Make the necessary sacrifices and become a doctor.
 
Wait can't you ask for a deferred year at your medical school and obtain the MBA???? I mean you definitely have something to be concerned about but hands-down pursue the MD degree because there are SOOOO many avenues that will pay for your MBA.
 
Petrichor1 said:
Wait can't you ask for a deferred year at your medical school and obtain the MBA???? I mean you definitely have something to be concerned about but hands-down pursue the MD degree because there are SOOOO many avenues that will pay for your MBA.
Click to expand...

UT Houston doesn't offer deferrals. However, they do offer a joint MD/MBA dual-degree program with the University of Houston. That's why I encouraged OP to take the acceptance.

The two listed reasons for declining the offer were: 1) MBA and 2) relationship.

Reason 1 is covered by the fact that school offers a joint MD/MBA dual-degree program. That part is easy. Reason 2 is harder to address because I don't like to speculate on people's personal lives too much.

However, I will say to any future applicants reading this, if it is your dream to be a physician, you should take the acceptance if you receive one and never look back! You've worked too hard to get that golden ticket! You should be with a partner who is supportive and understanding of the fact that you want to be a doctor! You can make it work!!!
 
if you want to be a doctor, well go to medical school

If you want to go into business, go for the mba program.

It all depends on where your priorities are. You can't eat your cake and have it too though.
 
Update to Thread:

I interviewed at five Texas MD programs this cycle and only one interviewer out of 12 was concerned that I previously declined an offer. I certainly did not get an interview invitation from UT Houston, which is totally understandable. But I pre-matched at two schools this cycle thus far.

I made a strong argument for my choice to decline and the one concerned interviewer became convinced. SDN appears to hold a much stronger opinion than admissions committees, overall. Perhaps declining an offer creates a sense of uniqueness and value that other students don't possess. Choosing to decline an MD offer to first an MBA for the sake of medicine plucked at the heartstrings of interviewers. And it was the case for me, as well. Medicine could use an overhaul. As an MBA entering medical school, I can appreciate factors of the system, as a whole, that I might miss out on by delaying my MBA.

There are additional factors in the process that clarified the rectitude of my decision. I am now able to apply and consider new and exciting medical schools that fit my personal mission, I am now engaged to my girlfriend and am a co-owner of a start-up medical innovation company geared toward the intellectual property rights of medical inventions. This will make for a unique, exciting and personally tailored lifetime.
 
Congrats Op. While things worked out for you, it needs to be stressed that this case is not typical. Multiple Adcom members on this site have reiterated that turning down an acceptance looks very bad.

Pre-meds considering declining an acceptance should realize that @MediPhil 's outcome is an outlier. Do not assume that the same is likely for you!
 
MediPhil said:
My ultimate goal is to be in medical administration. So, both MD and MBA.

Will declining this offer affect my chances in a future cycle? I am juggling many professional and personal considerations in this matter!
Click to expand...

Declining the MD offer will make it significantly tougher to get an MD offer again. You can always get the MBA after medical school, and it is possible to be an administrator without an MBA (granted it is tougher).

Edit: Just saw it ended up working out for you, but no one should take that as a norm. It would have been much less risky to pursue the MD first (or apply to MD-MBA programs in the first place)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

C17H21NO4
Resigning from clinical job, good or bad idea?
Replies
3
Views
891
Goro
Goro
M
  • Locked
How bad is reapplying after being accepted?
Replies
33
Views
5K
chilly_md
chilly_md
C
Question about “Other Impactful Experiences”: explaining bad, but not horrible semester.
Replies
11
Views
1K
Mr.Smile12
Mr.Smile12
The_Happy_Moose
Accepted off waitlist but forced to Commit to Enroll earlier than expected
Replies
2
Views
1K
wysdoc
wysdoc
B
Apply with Bad MCAT Score or Wait until 7/29?
Replies
1
Views
576
Goro
Goro
Top