Accepted.. But should i reapply?

[jwrigh69]

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I was accepted as an OOS student at West Virginia University School of Medicine... i am currently on the alternate list at Wake Forest and was told that i'm in the top 1/3 of the list. I recently received my financial aid award from WVU and my MS1 loans will be approx $62K 😱... if i don't get into wake forest should i reapply? I just don't know if i can justify spending over $250K plus a chunk of interest to attend WVU... thats more than it would cost for me to attend Wake, Emory, etc.. (i live in georgia.) I don't wanna be the jack*** that turns down medical school but i really do not know what to do in this situation. If i wanted to do family medicine or peds it wouldnt be an issue but i hope to be in a position to specialize and get a pretty good residency and i just don't know how available that will be to me with a degree from WVU.

The only reason i am even considering re-applying is because my application was completed so late in the cycle last year. I think that was one of the biggest problems with my app overall. I took my MCAT in august so my primary app was only completed in mid september. Would I benefit greatly from having my primary app and secondaries finished in july this year vs. october like last year? My scores are pretty competitive i graduated with a 3.91 overall gpa and a 33Q on MCAT.

Any opinions whatsoever?

If I reapplied the list would include: Emory, Wake Forest, Vanderbilt, UNC, Univ. Kentucky and some other southeastern schools. I have no issues with having huge student debt.. i just want my education to be worth what i have to pay... its nearly impossible to justify 4 years of out of state tuition at a school where the instate students are paying less than half what I am.. and its not even a top tier school.

All input will be GREATLY appreciated. Thank you so much.

 

[slick27]

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. Take what you got.

 

[MossPoh]

That is pretty expensive, but so is that extra year of your life. I wouldn't go through the process again, but that is because it sucks.

 

[nick_carraway]

What if you don't get in anywhere next year?

And is there a real, substantive reason to believe that won't happen?

If the answer to my first question is "cry my brains out" and the answer to the second is "no," then I would let it be and take your acceptance, kill WVU, match into some crazy awesome residency and drive away laughing in a Porsche.

 

[chiz2kul]

I was accepted as an OOS student at West Virginia University School of Medicine... i am currently on the alternate list at Wake Forest and was told that i'm in the top 1/3 of the list. I recently received my financial aid award from WVU and my MS1 loans will be approx $62K 😱... if i don't get into wake forest should i reapply? I just don't know if i can justify spending over $250K plus a chunk of interest to attend WVU... thats more than it would cost for me to attend Wake, Emory, etc.. (i live in georgia.) I don't wanna be the jack*** that turns down medical school but i really do not know what to do in this situation. If i wanted to do family medicine or peds it wouldnt be an issue but i hope to be in a position to specialize and get a pretty good residency and i just don't know how available that will be to me with a degree from WVU.

The only reason i am even considering re-applying is because my application was completed so late in the cycle last year. I think that was one of the biggest problems with my app overall. I took my MCAT in august so my primary app was only completed in mid september. Would I benefit greatly from having my primary app and secondaries finished in july this year vs. october like last year? My scores are pretty competitive i graduated with a 3.91 overall gpa and a 33Q on MCAT.

Any opinions whatsoever?

If I reapplied the list would include: Emory, Wake Forest, Vanderbilt, UNC, Univ. Kentucky and some other southeastern schools. I have no issues with having huge student debt.. i just want my education to be worth what i have to pay... its nearly impossible to justify 4 years of out of state tuition at a school where the instate students are paying less than half what I am.. and its not even a top tier school.

All input will be GREATLY appreciated. Thank you so much.

Won't you pay as much (or more) at these other schools?

 

[Perrotfish]

The year of income you'll lose will easily cost as much as the tuition you save, even if you do get in the second time around (and there's a good chance you won't reapplicants are generally at a disadvantage compared to first time applicants). Take the acceptance and run.

Also, any US medical school gives an excellent education that is very similar to every other medical school. Med school is very standardized.

 

[Jolie South]

Do not reapply!

 

[nick_carraway]

Do not reapply!

Your signature is sending mixed signals to the poor OP.

 

[phospho]

don't reapply...

 

[airplanes]

without extremely extenuating circumstances...never turn down your one and only acceptance.

 

[Daedalus]

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. Take what you got.

this = </thread>

 

[jwrigh69]

LOL... seems a bit one-sided here guys.. 😀 and its not my ONLY acceptance CRB.. just the only one i was really considering.

 

[witness23]

oh good, so when you reapply you wouldn't get considered at not only WVU but another school as well.

 

[funkydrmonkey]

I was accepted as an OOS student at West Virginia University School of Medicine... i am currently on the alternate list at Wake Forest and was told that i'm in the top 1/3 of the list. I recently received my financial aid award from WVU and my MS1 loans will be approx $62K 😱... if i don't get into wake forest should i reapply? I just don't know if i can justify spending over $250K plus a chunk of interest to attend WVU... thats more than it would cost for me to attend Wake, Emory, etc.. (i live in georgia.) I don't wanna be the jack*** that turns down medical school but i really do not know what to do in this situation. If i wanted to do family medicine or peds it wouldnt be an issue but i hope to be in a position to specialize and get a pretty good residency and i just don't know how available that will be to me with a degree from WVU.

The only reason i am even considering re-applying is because my application was completed so late in the cycle last year. I think that was one of the biggest problems with my app overall. I took my MCAT in august so my primary app was only completed in mid september. Would I benefit greatly from having my primary app and secondaries finished in july this year vs. october like last year? My scores are pretty competitive i graduated with a 3.91 overall gpa and a 33Q on MCAT.

Any opinions whatsoever?

If I reapplied the list would include: Emory, Wake Forest, Vanderbilt, UNC, Univ. Kentucky and some other southeastern schools. I have no issues with having huge student debt.. i just want my education to be worth what i have to pay... its nearly impossible to justify 4 years of out of state tuition at a school where the instate students are paying less than half what I am.. and its not even a top tier school.

All input will be GREATLY appreciated. Thank you so much.

Did you get that? No...



What about that? No...



There are thousands of people who would kill to be in your position. Take your acceptance(s) and be glad... go to WVU, and become a doctor. Oh and by the way, your numbers are sub-par for Emory, Vandy, UNC etc...

Oh, and just incase you need some reinforcement.

 

[Handy388]

what are the other acceptances?

 

[witness23]

I'm sorry but you live in Georgia, but you wouldn't apply to the georgia schools but cite cost as a reason for not going?

 

[Siverhideo1985]

Why did you waste time applying to schools you wouldn't really want to attend, even if you got an acceptance? It's not like the cost of attendance is a secret revealed only to those accepted...

 

[Pinkertinkle]

Cant you establish residency and get cheaper tuition after a yaer or smth?

 

[Daedalus]

LOL... seems a bit one-sided here guys..

Well, there's probably a reason for that.... 🙄

 

[jwrigh69]

haha funky.. i do have a sense of humor so i can take the jabs. I was just looking for input guys.. u gave it very quickly for that I am thankful. I've been really excited about WVU since i was accepted.. i just kinda freaked when i got the financial aid package last week. Its really scary. Plus the push of my parents and their confidence that i could get into a better school has a lot to do with it.

One more point, funky, my numbers are by no means as sub-par as you insinuate... which was a little bit of a jerkish kinda thing to do.

Average scores for entering classes of 2008:

Emory: 34Q and 3.69 GPA. Also, 49 georgians accepted. http://www.med.emory.edu/admissions/mdprogramaboutsomdemographics.cfm

Vanderbilt: 34Q and 3.80 GPA. https://medschool.vanderbilt.edu/admissions/average-mcat-and-gpa

UNC: 33 and 3.62 GPA. http://www.med.unc.edu/admit/our-students


So as i said before... my stats are there. Gimme a bit of a break. k? 😕

 

[witness23]

your stats are there I'll give, just be excited for WVU. good sports teams

 

[jwrigh69]

Cant you establish residency and get cheaper tuition after a yaer or smth?

Unfortunately no.. WVU requires that you be a resident of West virginia for one year prior to matriculating. So it will be 4 years of OOS tuition.

Witness, i'm not really sure of what you're saying there... I did apply to georgia schools but only to two. I really wanted to get into Emory but i did not, in fact i didnt even get an interview. My application to emory was completed 3 days before the deadline because of a mixup with my LOR's.. As i said before i have no issues with the amount of money to be paid, my issue is the value of that education, and the publics perception of the degree. I've known a lot of doc's in my life and you better believe people coming in for specialized healthcare do their research.. the first thing people tend to look at are where the physician received M.D and where they completed their residency. You can't tell me that graduating from emory would not put me into a bit of a better situation.

 

[Siverhideo1985]

So, basically, you feel like you are too good for the school that accepted you, that seems

a little bit of a jerkish kinda thing to

think.

Gimme a bit of a break. k?

NEVER!

Come on dude...you must have some common sense here...you come off as the prototypical d-bag (excuse the language) premed...did you expect any love with the question you posted?

"I got accepted but I think I can do better"

 

[Perrotfish]

the first thing people tend to look at are where the physician received M.D and where they completed their residency. You can't tell me that graduating from emory would not put me into a bit of a better situation

I can. People only care about name recognition for last degree you get. In medicine that means either your residency or, if you subspecialize, your fellowship. And since residency admission shows a very poor correlation with the name recognition of your MD school, and a very strong correlation with things like board scores, research, and 'audition' rotations, odds are where you go to medical school is not going to impact your future all that much.

Eventually your medical school will, like your college, your high school, your middle school, and your elementary school be just another one of those places you went before starting residency.

Unless you never get to do a residency, because you gave up your acceptance and never get another one.

 

[nick_carraway]

Unfortunately no.. WVU requires that you be a resident of West virginia for one year prior to matriculating. So it will be 4 years of OOS tuition.

Witness, i'm not really sure of what you're saying there... I did apply to georgia schools but only to two. I really wanted to get into Emory but i did not, in fact i didnt even get an interview. My application to emory was completed 3 days before the deadline because of a mixup with my LOR's.. As i said before i have no issues with the amount of money to be paid, my issue is the value of that education, and the publics perception of the degree. I've known a lot of doc's in my life and you better believe people coming in for specialized healthcare do their research.. the first thing people tend to look at are where the physician received M.D and where they completed their residency. You can't tell me that graduating from emory would not put me into a bit of a better situation.

You have to get into Emory, though.

Just go there for residency by kissing/kicking butt if you're so concerned with prestige.

I'm not understanding the part where all you lose is money through reapplying. You can potentially be rejected from every school.

 

[jwrigh69]

So, basically, you feel like you are too good for the school that accepted you, that seems think.



NEVER!

Come on dude...you must have some common sense here...you come off as the prototypical d-bag (excuse the language) premed...did you expect any love with the question you posted?

"I got accepted but I think I can do better"

Never did i say i was too good for anything.. its amazing how such a simple question can lead to responses like yours. I stated my situation and asked for some genuine input.. if i wanted to be completely bashed i would have gone somewhere else bc thats not the point of this board. My question generally boils down to the chances of being accepted at emory by applying literally one day into the cycle versus three days before it ends and its that simple. I'm not gunna get into some kind of internet argument with you because I AM better than that. I didnt post the question looking for "any love".. i posted it because most people on this board, yourself not included, typically give pretty good advice. Best of luck to you in the future.. you should probably try to tone down the assumptions or work on your awesome ability to judge people. hah.

 

[funkydrmonkey]

haha funky.. i do have a sense of humor so i can take the jabs. I was just looking for input guys.. u gave it very quickly for that I am thankful. I've been really excited about WVU since i was accepted.. i just kinda freaked when i got the financial aid package last week. Its really scary. Plus the push of my parents and their confidence that i could get into a better school has a lot to do with it.

One more point, funky, my numbers are by no means as sub-par as you insinuate... which was a little bit of a jerkish kinda thing to do.

Average scores for entering classes of 2008:

Emory: 34Q and 3.69 GPA. Also, 49 georgians accepted. http://www.med.emory.edu/admissions/mdprogramaboutsomdemographics.cfm

Vanderbilt: 34Q and 3.80 GPA. https://medschool.vanderbilt.edu/admissions/average-mcat-and-gpa

UNC: 33 and 3.62 GPA. http://www.med.unc.edu/admit/our-students


So as i said before... my stats are there. Gimme a bit of a break. k? 😕

But you have to remember that those are AVERAGES.... generally they take people with lower scores etc if they have amazing ECs, life story, non-trad experiences etc... I am not trying to be a jerk, I just want to tell you the fact. UNC barely looks at OOSers who do not have strong ties to North Carolina. Vanderbilt interviews ~1000 people for ~100 spots, Emory is well...random... I am not saying you will not get in, all I was implying was that you should not believe that you would get in just because of numbers...med school admissions does not work that way... a guy on SDN got into Harvard with my exact same stats down to verbal score... did I get in...nope...

 

[jwrigh69]

Thats something that i COMPLETELY understand.. but on the flipside you have to admit that by your own logic they must accept a number of applicants with both GPA's and MCAT's considerably lower than mine. Im just assessing the entire situation and looking at all my options.. The main reason for my recent freakout was that tuition was a NONCONCERN for me until about a week ago when i decided to not do the Navy HPSP where all of my tuition would have been paid for.. so this whole worry about how to pay for it all is a new thing to me. I'm holding my breath for scholarships tho.

 

[Siverhideo1985]

Take what you got.

I wouldn't go through the process again

Take the acceptance and run.

Do not reapply!

don't reapply...

never turn down your one and only acceptance.

oh good, so when you reapply you wouldn't get considered at not only WVU but another school as well.

Did you get that? No...

just be excited for WVU

I think you got all the advice you needed. Relax a little (!!) and enjoy your acceptance.

 

[funkydrmonkey]

Thats something that i COMPLETELY understand.. but on the flipside you have to admit that by your own logic they must accept a number of applicants with both GPA's and MCAT's considerably lower than mine. Im just assessing the entire situation and looking at all my options.. The main reason for my recent freakout was that tuition was a NONCONCERN for me until about a week ago when i decided to not do the Navy HPSP where all of my tuition would have been paid for.. so this whole worry about how to pay for it all is a new thing to me. I'm holding my breath for scholarships tho.

You are right which is why I mentioned

generally they take people with lower scores etc if they have amazing ECs, life story, non-trad experiences etc

If you have those, then by all means reapply. Generally SDN is a horrible place if you have questions about whether one should reapply, because many people have been through the process more than once, and they would kill for that spot at medical school. Yes it is expensive, but med school is an investment. I understand that you are freaked out about the expenses, but it will get paid off somehow... just imagine the people with the 60K tuition per year... they still make it out alive. Yes, you might not be able to get your porsche as quickly, but it is better than reapplying and schools finding out that you have been accepted and you did not attend. Plus, the candidates accepted one cycle, maybe the candidates rejected the next cycle, since it is such a random process, so there is no guarantee that you will be accepted again.

 

[cpants]

You applied late in the cycle. That was a mistake. Let's not compound it with another huge one. You got accepted. You achieved your goal. Be happy. Your chances at gaining an acceptance at a cheaper school next year are nowhere near a sure thing. In fact, it's probably unlikely. In contrast, your chances at becoming a doctor at WVU are pretty near a sure thing, and your residency options will only be limited by the amount of effort you put into your schoolwork.

 

[funkydrmonkey]

Good luck future soon to be Mountaineer, and I am gonna sleep...

 

[jwrigh69]

You are right which is why I mentioned

If you have those, then by all means reapply. Generally SDN is a horrible place if you have questions about whether one should reapply, because many people have been through the process more than once, and they would kill for that spot at medical school. Yes it is expensive, but med school is an investment. I understand that you are freaked out about the expenses, but it will get paid off somehow... just imagine the people with the 60K tuition per year... they still make it out alive. Yes, you might not be able to get your porsche as quickly, but it is better than reapplying and schools finding out that you have been accepted and you did not attend. Plus, the candidates accepted one cycle, maybe the candidates rejected the next cycle, since it is such a random process, so there is no guarantee that you will be accepted again.

See.. thats the meaningful advice i was looking for. Wasnt that easy!? I knew it was in there 😀

I will more than likely end up going.. it just makes me extremely nervous when that money could easily cover the costs of attending a top tier institution. (Given that i could ever get in.) Ya know?

 

[JJMrK]

Did you get that? No...



What about that? No...



There are thousands of people who would kill to be in your position. Take your acceptance(s) and be glad... go to WVU, and become a doctor. Oh and by the way, your numbers are sub-par for Emory, Vandy, UNC etc...

Oh, and just incase you need some reinforcement.

Do you want him to go there so that when you reapply to UCLA, he won't be competing against you?






sort of jk

 

[MmeLaDoctoresse]

To the OP, I sympathize with you. I have competitive stats and applied really late too-a few days before the deadline at a couple of schools,ended up on 6 waitlists and got lucky getting off 2 of those. The thing is applying late DOES matter ALOT. With your stats, you have every reason to believe you would have had better choices had you applied early. It is just taboo to say you want to reapply to get into a "better" school. I would suggest you get some reliable info either from a premed counselor or someone who has an "in" on med school admissions about how exactly a reapplicant with previous accepts is viewed by adcoms (with regard in your case to concerns about finances at the accepted school). I think some of the claims of accepted reapps automatically getting the boot are exaggerated here. I'm sure there are also people out there with acceptances that plan to reapply because those schools that accepted them did not ultimately feel like a good fit after interview day/ second look. It may be an MD in the end wherever you go, but its also 4 years of your life.

Figure out whether getting into a school that is a better fit next year is worth what you may risk (ask someone reliable) by reapplying. And if you do reapply, stay away from schools you would not attend for 4 yrs worth of loans.

 

[Handy388]

See.. thats the meaningful advice i was looking for. Wasnt that easy!? I knew it was in there 😀

I will more than likely end up going.. it just makes me extremely nervous when that money could easily cover the costs of attending a top tier institution. (Given that i could ever get in.) Ya know?

do it! if you got the balls, do it! drop all your acceptances and reapply.

oh yeah, just say the last school wasn't a good fit when someone interview you again, but make sure to tell them that they are good fit even though you dumped the last school.

Remember, the best pwnage you can get toward a med school isn't an interview offer, isn't an acceptance letter, it's the refund check after you dumped its ass. Do it if you are ballsy as you insinuated in your post.

 

[pietachok]

1) You are far overestimating the impact of your school on the outcome of your education. US medical programs are so standardized that YOU are by far the greatest factor in whether or not you get a good residency. Be a good student, get good LORs, and do well on your boards...you can do this whatever school you are at...and then there is no question in my mind that you will be able to pursue whatever field you want.

2) You seem to be undervaluing the residency placements of WVU, have you looked at the match:
www.hsc.wvu.edu/som/students/aboutSom/campusSchoolInfo/statistics/matchResults/matchresults2009.asp

There are some good matches in a variety of fields. You clearly can get a good residency-->specialty from this school. If I were really worried about the "reputation" I'd look to the matches outside of the region as some indicator--they're getting matches into UCSD in anesthesiology (among others in CA, NY, PA, MA). 👍

In short: You have nothing to worry about going to WVU. You have something to worry about if you reapply...not getting in.

 

[amph119]

Just throwing this out there, I personally know three people who decided that they "weren't ready for medical school" after having been accepted, reapplied the next year and got into "more prestigious" schools, whatever that means. All three of them. Several people in my lab know of a few, too. Though I agree that reapplying is a silly and foolish move to make if you already have an acceptance in your pocket, there is no WAY it is as much of a sin as SDN makes it out to be. No way. It ain't a coincidence if someone gets into multiple schools in one year.

That being said, eh the application process sucks and yeah, you never know what might happen, so take the WVU and run.

 

[HurricaneKatt]

Don't reapply. Just take it! There is no guarantee that you will be accepted again. Most people would KILL to be accepted on their first try!

 

[MossPoh]

I think there is an issue if you are impacted by your parents and what they believe. What do they know about "better" medical schools? My dad is a doctor and the only thing he knew was what the schools were like in the 60s. He had no idea how the process worked now. I guess he was also aware that nobody really CARES what med school you went to in private practice.

I'm going to a school now where we have a couple of people that were accepted to very nice places. They chose not to go because their goals were as attainable here and 19k a year is a lot better than 30+.

 

[Destro96]

There are thousands of people who would kill to be in your position. Take your acceptance(s) and be glad... go to WVU, and become a doctor. Oh and by the way, your numbers are sub-par for Emory, Vandy, UNC etc...

As the OP has pointed out, this is not remotely correct. He is competitive pretty much anywhere with regard to numbers.

Still, losing a year of your life (and a year of a salary as a physician) to play musical chairs is suicide.

Don't do it.

 

[SouthernSurgeon]

One thing that has yet to be addressed: you have not shown us any compelling evidence that you will do better in the application process next year.

You can't just say "oh I had a late application" and assume that next year all these other schools will fall in love with you. They didn't accept you this year; odds are they won't accept you next year either.

Especially given that you will be a reapplicant, and these schools all explicitly state that they expect a reapplicant to have shown substantial improvement/progress in order to have their application seriously considered again.

What have you done to make yourself a stronger candidate? You need to have a good answer to that question before even considering dropping your acceptance.

 

[neurolddoc]

I can. People only care about name recognition for last degree you get. In medicine that means either your residency or, if you subspecialize, your fellowship. And since residency admission shows a very poor correlation with the name recognition of your MD school, and a very strong correlation with things like board scores, research, and 'audition' rotations, odds are where you go to medical school is not going to impact your future all that much.

Eventually your medical school will, like your college, your high school, your middle school, and your elementary school be just another one of those places you went before starting residency.

Unless you never get to do a residency, because you gave up your acceptance and never get another one.

Going to WVU didn't seem to be an impediment for this guy.
http://www.med.yale.edu/intmed/faculty/cantley.html

 

[Premed Worrier]

My only question is why did you apply to WVU if you weren't willing to attend?

 

[riceman04]

Never did i say i was too good for anything.. its amazing how such a simple question can lead to responses like yours. I stated my situation and asked for some genuine input.. if i wanted to be completely bashed i would have gone somewhere else bc thats not the point of this board. My question generally boils down to the chances of being accepted at emory by applying literally one day into the cycle versus three days before it ends and its that simple. I'm not gunna get into some kind of internet argument with you because I AM better than that. I didnt post the question looking for "any love".. i posted it because most people on this board, yourself not included, typically give pretty good advice. Best of luck to you in the future.. you should probably try to tone down the assumptions or work on your awesome ability to judge people. hah.

It is quite possible applying earlier will make a difference; however, keep in mind these schools to which you apply this second time around will wonder why you applied to medical school and decided not to matriculate. You can suggest cost is the issue as much as you would like, but didn't you understand that when you applied to WVU. Furthermore, you are operating under the assumption that, solely based on #'s you have a great chance at being accepted to one of those schools you listed (Emory, Vandy, UNC) in this next cycle.

In my honest opinion I think you are using $$$ as a scapegoat to hide your true feelings about why you want to reapply. But, to each his own!

You just should not have applied to WVU if you did not want to attend that school. And if you reapply your decision will likely be a detriment to your new application, especially since you do NOT have any extenuating circumstances that would help explain your decision.

Regardless, best of luck to you!

 

[jmillski]

could you defer your acceptance for a year and establish residency within that year?

 

[jtimmer1]

Just go to WV, I don't understand why you would apply there if you wouldn't go. I have also heard that it will blemish your future applications if you turned down an acceptance and applied again.

 

[iheartsnow]

Just go to WV, I don't understand why you would apply there if you wouldn't go.

I don't think this is necessarily fair. Sure, you can do your research on a school, and they may look great on their website or you may hear good things from current students. But you're not going to know how you feel about a school until you visit, which usually isn't until you interview. I know I definitely had an interview at a school that I ended up really really not liking. Fortunately, I am not attending there, but I can understand the OP's reasoning here. And if the school is really expensive, then you have to wrap your head around shelling out $250k for a place you don't even like.

 

[LovelyBRass]

Establish residency

 

[jwrigh69]

once again thanks so much for all the input guys..

two reoccurring questions seem to be:

Why would i apply to WVU if i wouldnt go there?
and
Why am i JUST now using money as a "scapegoat" ?

The answer to both of those questions is extremely simple... as i mentioned before money was of no concern to me and was by no means going to be the deciding factor for the school i would attend. I was accepted into the navy health professions scholarship program with full paid tuition, monthly stipend, etc.. so tuition/COA was NOT an issue when i applied or when i accepted the slots at the schools i have now because i had planned on joining the navy for almost 2 years. A few weeks ago i was fortunate enough to find some information out from friends who have participated in the HPSP program and just had graduated from med school.. it was a MAJOR turnoff and i decided not to do it.. so within the last week i've gone from a 2 year plan of having ZERO debt coming out of school to having over $300K no matter where i go. I cant comprehend why thats so hard for some of you to understand..