Accepted, defer, then reapply?

[gummyworms]

Hello,

I wanted to come on here to get some advice. I've done a search of previous topics, but haven't found one which matches my question.

Here is the situation, I applied to a couple of medical schools this year, and got an offer to one, which I accepted since they wanted an answer in 2 weeks and it was early. I didn't get into my top choice schools.

However, I have decided to defer for 2 years to do teach for america. Would it be okay to hold on to my acceptance / deferral and reapply to my dream schools in 2 years? Or will I be blacklisted from schools since I have a deferred acceptance?

I hear of people accepting invitations all the time and dropping them later in the same cycle when they get into a better school. Can this same thing, essentially, be done across cycles?

Thanks for your help!

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[notdeadyet]

I could be totally wrong on this, but I thought the idea of deferring an acceptance is that they hold you a spot in the next class, but you are not able to reapply to other schools. Someone chime in if I'm wrong here.

 

[gummyworms]

Yeah, technically a deferral is exactly that. But does that prevent you from applying elsewhere?

How is holding a spot for you in that next class any different than someone who got in during the app cycle in that next class and drops the spot later?

I would really like to hear what others think about this...

 

[StritchMD2011]

I wouldn't advise this. I'm pretty sure other schools would be able to find out (from AMCAS) that you've applied and been accepted at another school from the previous application cycle. This would, in effect, kill your application, as well as jeopardize your spot at the school you're accepted at.

Dumb move.

 

[njbmd]

Hello,

I wanted to come on here to get some advice. I've done a search of previous topics, but haven't found one which matches my question.

Here is the situation, I applied to a couple of medical schools this year, and got an offer to one, which I accepted since they wanted an answer in 2 weeks and it was early. I didn't get into my top choice schools.

However, I have decided to defer for 2 years to do teach for america. Would it be okay to hold on to my acceptance / deferral and reapply to my dream schools in 2 years? Or will I be blacklisted from schools since I have a deferred acceptance?

I hear of people accepting invitations all the time and dropping them later in the same cycle when they get into a better school. Can this same thing, essentially, be done across cycles?

Thanks for your help!

If you accepted an offer from a medical school and were granted a deferrment, then you must have permission of the school that granted you a deferrment before you can reapply to other medical schools. Check page 106 of the 2007 AMCAS Application Instructions.

If you elect to release your deferrment (usually for one year anyway), you have to indicate on any future applications that you were both a previous applicant and matriculant (deferred matriculant). Deciding that you want to take off for a couple of years when you invested the time and money in application to medical school might take some tall explaining and might not be much of a boost to you as an applicant to any school "dream or otherwise".

As soon as you log into the AMCAS, the only school that will appear for you will be the school that granted you a deferrment. You will be automatically "locked out" of applying to other schools if you use the AMCAS application.

 

[gummyworms]

Thanks for the very thorough response njbmd. I appreciate the page citation!

I want to reapply for a couple reasons. First, I applied on the last deadline of both primary and secondary for all of my schools. Don't ask me why, it was a stupid move. I was lucky to get any interviews.

When I reapply, I feel I would be a much stronger applicant. I am planning to get a lot more clinical exposure, will have 2 years of teach for america under my belt, and hopefully a higher MCAT score.

Basically, from what I gather, since I've been offered an acceptance, I will have to turn it down if I want to reapply (because deferral is binding). When I reapply, schools will see this, and probably not be too happy about it. However, I will be an improved applicant, and maybe they will be okay with me telling them I wanted some real world experience?

Thanks!

 

[notdeadyet]

Basically, from what I gather, since I've been offered an acceptance, I will have to turn it down if I want to reapply (because deferral is binding). When I reapply, schools will see this, and probably not be too happy about it. However, I will be an improved applicant, and maybe they will be okay with me being honest and telling them I wanted some real world experience?

A few things to consider:

1. Medical school is getting harder to get in to each year. Watch the stats rising each cycle. There is a very good chance that medical school will be harder to get in to the next time you apply. There will be the chance you will not get accepted.

2. Maturity is a key characteristic medical schools look for in applicants. Schools may wonder why you applied this year if you did not have any intention of attending medical school. Be careful about saying you wanted "real world experience." This is a good excuse for not applying but not a very good excuse for applying and then turning down an acceptance.

3. You have to do what you think is best. Accepting an offer from a med school you don't want to attend isn't a good idea, but attending a med school you absolutely do not want to go to is a worse one. If you know that you'd be miserable there, don't go and roll the dice.

But you will be rolling the dice. Make sure the gamble is worth it to you. Best of luck whatever you decide.

 

[RyanBruin05]

Hey gummyworm...

I have some similar experience with this... let me share with you...

I applied last cycle after taking the August MCAT. My primary application was complete late in the cycle, because they were waiting on my score. I did very well on the MCAT and I was one of the top students in my class at UCLA. I was naive to think that med schools would be racing to interview me.

I completed secondaries at most schools just under the deadlines. I got 3 interviews... University of Kansas, Wash U in St. Louis, and University of Indiana.

I was accepted to KU and waitlisted at Wash U.

I chose not to go to KU because I felt strongly after the interview that the school and the city were NOT a fit. Plus, the school already had below average board scores and my incoming class would be the guinea pigs for a massive curriculum overhaul. This happened to me in high school, and I hated all the constant tweaking of the new program, so I really didn't want to go through this with medical school.

Plus, I'd gotten involved in an internship with an HIV/AIDS service organization doing clinical trials of new meds, which I felt was important personally and helping me define my career goals in medicine.

Therefore, I chose not to go and I reapplied this cycle.

This time, I got AMCAS in on the first day. I wrote a more passionate, less chronological, personal statement. I added my internship to my work/activities list. I updated my letters of recommendation, and got one from the medical director of my internship. I completed all secondaries very early.

This time around, I had MUCH better success getting interviews (including another interview at Wash U in St. Louis).

My decision not to attend medical school at KU only came up once, at my Wash U interview. I was GRILLED for not going. My interviewer reiterated what others in this thread have said... there are such limited slots in US medical schools and it's getting more and more competitive each year to get in, so I was foolish not to take ANY slot that I was given. I spent my entire interview justifying my decision, and this time I wasn't even waitlisted... they rejected me.

I was sweating bullets, thinking that I'd ruined my chances and that my gamble hadn't paid off. As all my friends started getting acceptance letters, I wondered if I'd let my only chances of going to medical school slip through my fingers. I started looking at taking the GRE and applying to MPH programs, which would be my very distant second choice for careers.

Luckily, I got accepted to UCLA several weeks back with a David Geffen scholarship. Now, I look back and I believe that my gamble was worth it, because something deep down inside told me that KU wasn't where I was meant to be. When I met with first years at KU, I just didn't see myself fitting in, and for personal reasons, I felt that living in Kansas City would be a miserable experience. (And before anyone asks... I applied there because my dad did his residency there and he insisted I apply... I never actually thought that it would be my only option...)

If you feel strongly about not going to med school this year, I would say follow your instinct only if you think you would be a stronger applicant by applying earlier next year. Be ready to justify your decision in interviews. Don't be surprised if interviewers are skeptical of your decision.

My experience tells me that you'll DEFINITELY be more stressed than your peers who are applying with you, because you'll always have the nagging thought that you made the wrong decision. But, if you can handle that stress, then I hope it works out as well for you as it did for me. I wouldn't have done it any other way.

Best wishes... you can PM me if you have any questions...

Ryan

 

[cubbbie]

Um, you do know that KU is one of the few schools that allows you to reapply freely while deferred, right? You could have saved yourself a lot of sweat by holding onto the acceptance until you had another. A good friend of mine did just that--the moment he had a more desirable acceptance he simply withdrew from KU, no questions asked. As he did not decline an acceptance (and did not have to check the "previously matriculated" question on AMCAS), the issue never even came up during his interviews.

KU and Iowa are the only two schools I know of that allow you to exercise this option with so much freedom.

Case also allows you to reapply while deferred.

 

[gummyworms]

Very thoughtful response Ryan. Your reasoning is similar to mine. It's certainly a gamble...but I think I will take it. Thanks

 

[crazy_cavalier]

Yeah I can just imagine the OP's explanation when asked about this in the future...

"So, you decided to defer and then decline your seat at School X?"
-- "Yes, I wanted to take time off for TFA"
"So... why not simply defer and not decline the seat?"
-- "Because I wanted to do the TFA and then reapply so I could get into a better med school."
"Oh, I see. So you are more interested in going to a top school than going into medicine. Interesting."

 

[RokChalkJayhawk]

Hey gummyworm...

I felt that living in Kansas City would be a miserable experience.

Ryan

Kansas City isn't the nicest place, but there are nice parts. Having grown up in Southern California and the Kansas City area I have to say that with the exception of the beaches, I prefer Kansas City. Are you not from the midwest?

 

[RyanBruin05]

Um, you do know that KU is one of the few schools that allows you to reapply freely while deferred, right? You could have saved yourself a lot of sweat by holding onto the acceptance until you had another. A good friend of mine did just that--the moment he had a more desirable acceptance he simply withdrew from KU, no questions asked. As he did not decline an acceptance (and did not have to check the "previously matriculated" question on AMCAS), the issue never even came up during his interviews.

KU and Iowa are the only two schools I know of that allow you to exercise this option with so much freedom.

Hmmm... I didn't know that. I actually THOUGHT that I'd looked into that and it wasn't an option????

Thanks for pointing it out...

 

[RyanBruin05]

Kansas City isn't the nicest place, but there are nice parts. Having grown up in Southern California and the Kansas City area I have to say that with the exception of the beaches, I prefer Kansas City. Are you not from the midwest?

I was born in Des Moines, Iowa... my parents divorced when I was young, and my dad has always hovered around the midwest... Iowa, Ohio, and Kansas...

I spent many, many summers with him in Kansas City... he went back to med school when I was in elementary school, so by the time I was in middle school/high school, he was a plastic surgery resident at KU.

It was actually while volunteering in the burn unit at KUMC that I first realized I wanted to be a physician. After 3 summers of assisting nurses with dressing changes and burn wound care, I knew that I wanted to be a physician.

I grew up in Fort Worth, Texas after my parents divorced. I ended up in LA, and I got my BS at UCLA.

I know my personality and temperament. I am an urban guy. Kansas City is a nice place. It was fun when I was a kid. It would be a great place to raise a family. But, I have certain lifestyle concerns that wouldn't be satisfied in the conservative midwest.

I'm actually in Des Moines, Iowa now... at my dad's bedside... he had a massive heart attack and we're wrestling with the decision to take him off the ventilator. Even now, I realize how lucky I am to live in a place like LA, which I think really matches my personality/lifestyle... It's very clear to me that I don't fit in with the midwestern personality.

Ultimately, I think that's why we go on interviews... not only to prove to the school that we're a good candidate, but also to determine if the school is a fit. In this case, I know I'll be much happier at UCLA than I ever would have been at KU.

Ryan

 

[NonTradMed]

How is holding a spot for you in that next class any different than someone who got in during the app cycle in that next class and drops the spot later?

I would really like to hear what others think about this...

Everyone is giving good advice. Just wanted to add my two cents at this post. People who get in and then drop the spot later can do so because medical schools can fill that spot up. As long as the process is within the cycle, schools know that you can drop out anytime between now and May 15th. So they have a waitlist for just such an occasion.

If you defer, they are reserving that spot for you, without a replacement. Hence, you are, in essence, taking a spot from someone and then throwing it away. Now, I'm not sure if schools will actually not replace you with someone else, but the logic is that they will expect X number of spots reserved b/c they accepted your deferral.

 

[RokChalkJayhawk]

I know my personality and temperament. I am an urban guy. Kansas City is a nice place. It was fun when I was a kid. It would be a great place to raise a family. But, I have certain lifestyle concerns that wouldn't be satisfied in the conservative midwest.

I'm actually in Des Moines, Iowa now... at my dad's bedside... he had a massive heart attack and we're wrestling with the decision to take him off the ventilator. Even now, I realize how lucky I am to live in a place like LA, which I think really matches my personality/lifestyle... It's very clear to me that I don't fit in with the midwestern personality.

Ultimately, I think that's why we go on interviews... not only to prove to the school that we're a good candidate, but also to determine if the school is a fit. In this case, I know I'll be much happier at UCLA than I ever would have been at KU.

Ryan

Kind of a stereotype that the whole Midwest is conservative, but I'll put up with it. Southern California is one of the more conservative places in the country. LA may be slightly "liberal," but not the area that you will be in.

And if anything--you can live in Lawrence! One of the "bluest" areas in the whole country.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence%2C_Kansas#Politics_and_culture

Sorry about your Dad by the way.