Any way around this?

Gosh that's a tricky situation.

In my opinion, LOI's aren't technically binding. You just end up looking like a schmuck if you don't follow through on your intentions.

But you sound like you want to go on this interview. I think you should go to Case's interview, get the acceptance from them, then decide what to do next.

Gluck!

 

"If the applicant is subsequently accepted by another school that he or she prefers, the applicant is obligated to notify the College of Medicine Admissions Office immediately with a written letter of intent to withdraw acceptance."

I'd say go on the interview. You have nothing to lose. Best wishes

Angel

 

Hairy situation you're in. I don't see anything wrong with going to a Case interview. However, if you go back on your Jefferson acceptance, you may risk the reputation of all subsequent applicants from your school.

Do what feels right

 

First of all, congrats on getting into Jeff. It's a great school in a fantastic city.

I have to say that LOI is a pretty big deal for many schools. However, what you could do is to go ahead with the interview at Case, and see what happens. Worst case scenario ethically (i.e. best case scenario for an applicant, really) you'll get into Case and could go ahead with the FinAid to see the packages. At the end of the process, if the difference was not that big, do not risk your reputation and stick to Jeff. However if the Case package was just outrageously (and I mean OUTRAGEOUSLY) better, then decide whether you'd like living in Cleveland and Case with that package for 4 years (and pretty much forget about EVER landing a residency position at Jeff) OR stay at Jeff and work it in Philly. Either case, be completely honest about this, and if asked by either school tell them the whole situation. They'll definitely understand your situation.

Only one last thing, don't lie or deny things. Schools talk to each other when they believe an applicant is playing them and that's when things get hairy.

Good luck w/ everything...

 

That statement was clearly referring to a letter you write them AFTER they have already accepted you. If you tell a school before they accept you that you will go there if they do take you, and that you'll withdraw from other schools, then you'd better do it. Otherwise you're breaking your word. Will the other school find out? Will you lose both acceptances? Probably not, but it would be well deserved if it did happen.

Did you say that you would withdraw from other schools in your letter to Jeff? What exactly did you tell them?

 

Well, how much is your word worth to you? My word is all I have. But that's just me. The worst thing is you lose your integrity if you go somewhere else. On the other hand, if you don't plan on going to Jefferson for a residency they'll never care. It's your call.

 

I'm not trying to be mean, but I am going to be honest, and that may involve saying things you don't want to hear.

OK. If you'd stopped there, I would say that at this point you could do whatever you want.

Here is the problem. You told Jeff that if they accepted you, you would matriculate there. Not that you'd strongly consider it, or that you'd hold onto their offer until something better came along, but that you would go, period. With that, you closed off your other options.

Well, I would not have written a letter committing to a school unless I were prepared to follow through with it. I understand that you want to have flexibility, compare aid packages, etc., but so do most people. By telling Jefferson in advance of their decision that you would go there no matter what, you were essentially trading away that flexibility in order to make yourself a more attractive candidate.

I really think you are ethically bound to uphold your agreement with Jefferson, which means that you can't go anywhere else. Therefore going to other interviews is pointless.

However, this would not apply if Jefferson released you from that agreement. Why don't you call them up and explain your situation, and ask if they want to hold you to it? They can't retract your acceptance just for asking a question. Maybe they'd say it's fine for you to consider other offers. If they said "no, you better not do that," at least you'd know in advance how they felt.

 

Tristy, I would hold off on calling. I agree that, as you worded your letter so strongly, you are as of now committed to jefferson. I would wait, see the financial aid, then call and say that financial aid considerations are compelling you to reconsider... then see what they can do.

No need to seem wishy-washy before you even know whether you've gotten into case or not. If and when it becomes an issue, you'll be armed with actual numbers and an offer to back up your point. I would think that schools are sympathetic to financial concerns, and less so to "i changed my mind". Who knows, if it's really a drastic difference, Jefferson may even be able to counter-offer.

However, I would only do this -- at all -- if you fall in love with case AND if the money is QUITE substantial.... you did make an early commitment.

 

and through all of this, what do we forget? we forget about poor little tommy jefferson. the lil' guy said he'd let you in his club after you said you would go if he said ok...and now you're considering leaving his club...i hope you're happy!

j/k: i agree w/ deadoralive though

 

yeah... nobody loves lil ol' tommy...


anyway,

is it ok to send a 'loi' saying that 'right now school Z is my top choice... and this timely acceptance has allowed me to withdraw from some other schools saving $ and time' ... even if you are still waiting to hear back from other schools?

...

 

I feel you on the money situation, but you should've never written that LOI to Jefferson if financial aid was going to dictate where you choose to matriculate.

Bottom line and probably not what you want to hear, I'd stick with my word.

 

Go to the interview. Getting an interview and acceptance are two different things also. If you have an acceptance then think about this possibility and what to do.

 

Hey Tristy! Wow you've got some major schoolage! Congrats on the Jefferson acceptance!!

So letters aside.... are you going on the Case interview? Enquiring minds want to know!

 

Just my 0.02...

You can definitely go to the interview, and see if you REALLY like the school and if the financial situation is REALLY FAR BETTER (like if they give you a full ride or something like that...)

I understand that writing a LOIntent felt right when you wrote it, but if I were you, I would probably still go to Jeff just because I said I WILL. I would try very hard to keep my promises because that is all I have. I want to be responsible for my decisions...so, if I were you, I would still go to Jeff.

But, hey..it is your life and it is your decision. Who am I to tell you what to do, right?

 

Hi Tristy,

Reneging on your LOI to Jefferson is probably going to have absolutely NO effect on your residency options there in the future as those are two completely separate processes (someone mentioned this, just wanted to clear that up a little). As for affecting your acceptance somewhere else, I really doubt that it will matter at all. I don't know how much an LOI plays into a decision (only the adcom really knows that). I know that schools (and especially Jefferson in particular) are very interested in taking applicants who really want to be there, so it may play into the decision. However, schools also know that things like this happen--that some applicants say anything (regardless of the circumstances, this is basically what you did) to get in, so I suspect that they also take these things with a grain of salt. There is no proof that you would not have been accepted if you'd just stuck with "I really loved the school" and not made the promise.

The problem with going back on your word is that it makes all future LOIs by everyone else less effective. I guess maybe I would say that you should learn from this and NOT repeat it when you apply for residency where it can really mess a program's rank list up. THOSE people will be remembered (all of our PDs have stories about them) and that really can affect your future. Like many posters on here, I personally would not go back on my word, but I think that the general theme is that most of us wouldn't have written the letter in the first place. This is a very personal decision and will probably have more impact on your personal integrity than on what ultimately happens with your acceptance(s).

 

I'd cancel Case. You told Jefferson that you would go if you got accepted, and part of the reason they accepted you may have very well been your strong letter of intent. If you go somewhere else, Jefferson may tell Case that you are a liar and you may end up nowhere; I have heard of this worst case scenario happening to people. Although letters of intent may not legally be binding, the word of a future physician is certainly important. I agree with the previous poster in saying that a person is only as good as his word.

 

i think you should cancel the Case interview and go to Jefferson. Every time an applicant doesn't make good on their LOI, it devalues the letter so that the next time Jefferson gets one from an applicant, they'll be less inclined to trust it. It sucks that it might end up costing you money in the long run, but in hindsight if you were that worried about costs, you probalby should have sent a letter of interest instead of intent.