After you get accepted... Then what????

[Amy B]

Ok, after one school accepts you, they give you 2 weeks to accept or decline their offer. Now what? What if you haven't interviewed at your other choices? Can you accept their offer and still interview elsewhere.

Do you have to attend a school if you told them you will. How long can you hold a spot at one school as you wait for your other schools to offer you a spot?

Once you definitely know you will be going to a certain school, do you ever again have to contact AMCAS about anything?

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[mdhopeful]

Hi Amy Beth. Well, I hope I get at least one acceptance. From what I understand, after you are accepted, you must send in a deposit to save your place at the school. If you go there, then the deposit goes against your tuition, if you go somewhere else you don't get your money back. Technically you can hold as many acceptances as you want, but on May 15th you can only hold one. However, if you get an acceptance after that date from a waiting list or something then you can always go to the school of your choice. Technically you could choose to go to another school as soon as they accept you, but if you get a late waiting list acceptance, you might have already paid tuition at the other school, so it might be too late. Standard applicant etiquette is that if you get an acceptance, then you should withdraw your application at schools that are lower on your list in fairness to other applicants. Thank God that once schools get our verified applications, we don't have to deal with AMCAS anymore.

 

[Amy B]

Thanks for the info. I figure I will focus on the end goal right now rather than the fact that AMCAS still hasn't processed me after 11 weeks. Here's hoping we all have the problem of multiple acceptances!!!!!!!!

 

[DesperatelySeekingMD]

Amy Beth, I like your attitude!

 

[Cobragirl]

FYI...most "state" schools do NOT require any sort of deposit to hold your seat! You just send in a "formal" acceptance (a typed letter saying you'll attend) and you're done til classes start. If you subsequently get another, more desirable acceptance, you just accept there as well, and then send a letter to the first school releasing your spot (and people on the waitlist will GREATLY appreciate it if you do this quickly!)

You can hold as many acceptances as you want but it's usually better to release the schools that you really have little interest in, so that other people can get their chance. Although any acceptance is great, people generally hate getting an acceptance 2 days before classes start because someone was "holding" a seat they didn't want!

 

[Jamier2]

Thanks for clearing that up for me as well, Cobragirl. I was sort of confused about the two week limit on accepting a spot.

 

[BlackPuma]

well people lets worry first about getting ONE acceptance, and then decide...

 

[lilycat]

Just to reiterate what's been said, and add a few things...

When you get an acceptance, you usually send back a formal letter to the school either accepting or declining. As Cobragirl mentioned, many state schools do not ask for a deposit. Of the schools that do ask for a deposit, many of them will give you until the spring to send it in (ie, you have until May 15th to send in your deposit).

As other posters mentioned, you can hold as many acceptances as you want up until the spring. However, keep in mind that all the schools you are accepted at and have interviewed at will receive status reports from AMCAS, and will be aware of where you are holding acceptances, and how many. Then, in the spring, AMCAS has a strongly suggested "deadline" (in the past it's been May 15th), by which students should really only be holding one acceptance. Of course, some students will still be holding on to 2 or 3 because of financial aid offers, but at this point, schools can start sending somewhat serious letters advising you to choose quickly or risk losing your spots.

Finally, if you are getting in off of the waitlist, keep in mind that schools are no longer "required" to give you at least 2 weeks to decide. Some may only give you a week or even just 2 days. So if you do find yourself in a waitlist position, be prepared to decide quickly, and possibly without all of the financial aid considerations available.