ask to delay commit to enroll

[ahk7]

Hey Everyone,
So I have been accepted to a medical school which has a commit to enroll date of June 7th. I am also on the waitlist for my top choice which has a commit to enroll date of June 8th, so if there is any waitlist movement it will be after June 8th. How common is it to ask the school you have been accepted to maybe push back their commit to enroll date for you? Is it frowned upon? Does it ever work? Tnx in advance for any response.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[KnightDoc]

Hey Everyone,
So I have been accepted to a medical school which has a commit to enroll date of June 7th. I am also on the waitlist for my top choice which has a commit to enroll date of June 8th, so if there is any waitlist movement it will be after June 8th. How common is it to ask the school you have been accepted to maybe push back their commit to enroll date for you? Is it frowned upon? Does it ever work? Tnx in advance for any response.

This comes up every year. It is very hit or miss. You are telling them that they are your second choice (while they have a ton of people on a WL just dying for a call, just like you are at your top choice! ), and you need some more time to see if your first choice comes through. They are looking to lock in a class.

What's their incentive to accommodate you? The opportunity to have the honor to be your backup rather than pulling someone from their WL who will be thrilled to receive the call? I wouldn't have the nerve to do it, since the odds are very high that you are going to end up there anyway, but, as with everything else in this process, YMMV.

 

[vinylradical]

Hey Everyone,
So I have been accepted to a medical school which has a commit to enroll date of June 7th. I am also on the waitlist for my top choice which has a commit to enroll date of June 8th, so if there is any waitlist movement it will be after June 8th. How common is it to ask the school you have been accepted to maybe push back their commit to enroll date for you? Is it frowned upon? Does it ever work? Tnx in advance for any response.

Really just depends on the school, my A just sent out an email pushing back their CTE by 2 weeks for all accepted students to accommodate those still on WLs. I think it's worth asking, just phrase it positively and professionally (e.g. "I'm waitlisted at my top choice" vs "I want to feel confident that I am making this very important and exciting decision with all available facts"). If they respond poorly, that's more a reflection of them than you.

 

[Flareicus]

Hey Everyone,
So I have been accepted to a medical school which has a commit to enroll date of June 7th. I am also on the waitlist for my top choice which has a commit to enroll date of June 8th, so if there is any waitlist movement it will be after June 8th. How common is it to ask the school you have been accepted to maybe push back their commit to enroll date for you? Is it frowned upon? Does it ever work? Tnx in advance for any response.

You can definitely ask, but they have no obligation to accommodate you. In the case where they refuse to do so, you would be stuck committing to them.

 

[KnightDoc]

You can definitely ask, but they have no obligation to accommodate you. In the case where they refuse to do so, you would be stuck committing to them.

And, to the extent it matters, they will know they were not your first choice!

 

[deleted555445]

And, to the extent it matters, they will know they were not your first choice!

If you're already in though that does not matter, and can only help if they decide to offer any kind of money to retain you. My guess is they will say no, though, as they have no incentive to agree to this other than being nice, and that's often not a priority

 

[KnightDoc]

If you're already in though that does not matter, and can only help if they decide to offer any kind of money to retain you. My guess is they will say no, though, as they have no incentive to agree to this other than being nice, and that's often not a priority

It honestly never occurred to me that it was even a possibility that they would offer money to retain someone who was merely asking for an extension in order to be allowed to remain on another WL.

I just think it's a negative vibe when they are seeking to lock in a class with a pre-established deadline, and they have dozens or more on a WL for whom they are the first choice anxiously awaiting a call.

I also can't imagine how an accepted student could be so much better than whoever is at the top of the WL that such a request would do anything but annoy them, but that's just me and I haven't gone through this yet. I'm just saying, as aggressive as I am, that I cannot see myself having the nerve to do this.

 

[deleted555445]

It honestly never occurred to me that it was even a possibility that they would offer money to retain someone who was merely asking for an extension in order to be allowed to remain on another WL.

I just think it's a negative vibe when they are seeking to lock in a class with a pre-established deadline, and they have dozens or more on a WL for whom they are the first choice anxiously awaiting a call.

I also can't imagine how an accepted student could be so much better than whoever is at the top of the WL that such a request would do anything but annoy them, but that's just me and I haven't gone through this yet. I'm just saying, as aggressive as I am, that I cannot see myself having the nerve to do this.

Its a negotation. They want to finalize their class, you have the leverage as you have an acceptance and another WL that you might get off of. I'm of the opinions that pre-meds shouldn't be apologetic about looking out for themselves in a system where they have almost no power.

However, the point is essentially moot since, in order for the leverage to mean anything, you would have to stay on that WL past the CTE, which they have all the power to say no to. Hence my saying that they would almost certainly deny it unless they are looking to build a social media presence as the "student-friendly medical school". Which... who cares? Geisel is going to have a record year of applications probably even after their whole debacle.

 

[KnightDoc]

Its a negotation. They want to finalize their class, you have the leverage as you have an acceptance and another WL that you might get off of. I'm of the opinions that pre-meds shouldn't be apologetic about looking out for themselves in a system where they have almost no power.

However, the point is essentially moot since, in order for the leverage to mean anything, you would have to stay on that WL past the CTE, which they have all the power to say no to. Hence my saying that they would almost certainly deny it unless they are looking to build a social media presence as the "student-friendly medical school". Which... who cares? Geisel is going to have a record year of applications probably even after their whole debacle.

If you say so. I don't see it. What leverage? If they were unethical, they could rescind your A and you'd have nothing except a place on a WL in June.

OTOH, they literally have dozens of well qualified, pre-vetted candidates praying for the opportunity to take your place. So, yeah, they want to finalize their class, but they certainly don't need any specific person who isn't ready willing and able to commit in order to do that, given the intense competition for seats. You're correct about candidates having almost no power. I think you're incorrect in believing that one A and one WL in June changes that fact.

And, for what it's worth, you actually don't need their permission to stay on the WL; you need their willingness to extend the CTE deadline for you. Otherwise, you need the WL's school's permission to stay on the WL, since they can see the CTE while the CTE school cannot see the WL.

You also need the WL school to be willing to poach you from the CTE school once you select CTE. Most schools just won't go there, since doing so would create chaos for them and they really are pretty much indifferent as to just which highly ranked candidate from the WL fills the last few spots in the class.

 

[Detailsmatter]

I dont see much of an issue tbh. no school would rescind an acceptance just for someone asking for a CTE exemption. whether they will allow it is hit or miss but if they accepted you its because they wanted you to join their class. if they say no, so be it and roll with it

 

[gyngyn]

Its a negotation. They want to finalize their class, you have the leverage as you have an acceptance and another WL that you might get off of. I'm of the opinions that pre-meds shouldn't be apologetic about looking out for themselves in a system where they have almost no power.

A WL is not leverage.
A highly desirable candidate with an acceptance and a big recruitment scholarship at a "better" school is potentially leverage.

 

[deleted555445]

A WL is not leverage.
A highly desirable candidate with an acceptance and a big recruitment scholarship at a "better" school is potentially leverage.

Agreed