Being Accepted Off the Waitlist A Week Before Class Starts!?

[moops]

So- I've heard of this happening... have you guys? Is it common? I woudl assume that people choose something else at that time because of jitters or something or second thoughts?

Anyways, I'm waitlisted a number of places.. intstead of leasing an apartment at the school i've taken acceptance to, i'm thinking about just staying in a hotel for a few weeks until i'm pretty sure i won't get accepted and then finding an apartment..

good idea?

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[UCSBMed1]

Well once you matriculate (i.e attend classes, register for classes/pay fees, attend orientation, etc) you can't be accepted to other schools, its illegal.

Good luck with the waitlists! I'm on a couple myself.

 

[SolidGold]

I've heard of people getting off waitlists the day before orientation. It happened at 2 of the schools I've interviewed at, where they got the late notice for last years entering class. They must have been the happiest people at orientation.

 

[exmike]

a guy i knew had already moved in to a new apt and paid the deposit for albert einstein but got into pitt literally days before, so he just bailed!

 

[moops]

Originally posted by exmike
a guy i knew had already moved in to a new apt and paid the deposit for albert einstein but got into pitt literally days before, so he just bailed!

but he took a fall in his deposit and most places you have to lease for the year, so can't you get into trouble for that?

seems easier getting a hotel? any info?

 

[moops]

Originally posted by UCSBPre-Med1
Well once you matriculate (i.e attend classes, register for classes/pay fees, attend orientation, etc) you can't be accepted to other schools, its illegal.

Good luck with the waitlists! I'm on a couple myself.

illegal? are you sure about that?

anyone else know about this? if you get off the waitlist of one school but have begun classes at another, are you forbidden to switch schools?! sounds crazy

 

[waterbug]

One of my friends applied last year. He hadn't been accepted anywhere in July so he started to make plans for the coming year - he got a job, apartment, etc. Then in mid-August, at about 10pm on the Saturday night of the week that orientation started he got a call from the Dean saying that he had now been accepted to NJMS. I think the Dean said that he was currently on vacation but always loves to call every person who gets accepted.

Needless to say, we were all very happy for him!!!! And he's having a great time.

I don't know how common this is, but, yes, it does happen!

 

[moops]

anybody have anything to say about the hotel thing? i mean, it's just about as expensive as an apartment, so why not just delay it for a bit?

and also, is it REALLLY illegal to accept another place once you have started!?

 

[Yogi Bear]

at creighton interview, the dean mentioned how one girl was pulled off the waitlist a week before orientation. thinking that she had no chance, she had committed to a lab job. when he called, he asked her if she wanted to go. feeling guilty, she declined and her lab co-workers said she was crazy. when she called back, he said he coulldn't take her. man, that's crappy.

at pitt, one of students mentioned how one of their classmates ditched pitt for ucla the first or second day of orientation.

 

[UCSBMed1]

Originally posted by moops
illegal? are you sure about that?

anyone else know about this? if you get off the waitlist of one school but have begun classes at another, are you forbidden to switch schools?! sounds crazy

Well, when I got my UCSF alternate letter, they said that after May 15, *all* schools must notify the applicants' accepted schools that they intend to offer him/her a spot in their class. So, it is possible to get into another school days before it starts.

*But,* once you matriculate at a school, another school CANNOT accept you. Its against AAMC rules.

The admissions office coordinator at UC Davis (Terri Hall) told some people that a guy was not offered a spot in their class one year because he had already matriculated at a school on the East Coast. He was a Cali resident, and got into one of his home schools, but couldn't go!

 

[guitarguy]

The AAMC does have a list of "Recommendations Concerning Medical School Acceptance Procedures for First-Year Entering Students" at the AMCAS website. One of their policies states:

"After an applicant has enrolled in a U.S. school of medicine or begun a brief orientation program contiguous to enrollment, no further acceptances should be offered to that individual. Once enrolled in a school, students have an obligation to withdraw their applications promptly from all other schools. Enrollment is defined as being officially registered as a member of the first-year entering class at a school."

 

[DrMom]

A classmate of mine got accepted a few days before orientation. Poor guy had to wait a few weeks for an apartment to open up. He paid $$ to live in a hotel in the meantime, but he was one happy MS1!

 

[Brewster]

I know someone who was accepted two days before orientation. This person had already started a job, was subletting for the summer, but had an apartment lined up. My friend had to quit the job, find a subletter to take over the apartment that was lined up, move, and start med school.

 

[Schubie]

That happened to my dad when he applied in 1975. He got accepted two or three days before class started, and my mom and him quickly packed up their stuff from Seattle and got over to Chicago just in time for the first day of class (They didn't really have orientation back then, so they just started on the first day). He got lucky because University housing had a huge room available for him at the last minute, and they were able to get an enormous place at very little cost or hassle.

 

[AznTrojan]

i wouldn't say it's common.. but hey.. i hit the jackpot a week before class started.. and now i can't believe i'm a little over a month away from taking step 1..

 

[VienneseWaltz]

If you have to break a lease, a few things can happen. As someone mentioned, you can sublet and avoid losing money, but this is a hassle to deal with your first year in med school. Some people luck up and their landlords just let them out of their contract. I would imagine in a special case like getting into your favorite medical school, a lot of landlords would be nice, at least the non-corporate ones. Failing those two options, your lease agreement stipulates what happens if you break the lease early--usually losing the security deposit, which typically is one month's rent. In the grand scheme of what it costs to go to medical school, it's not a big deal.

You're not supposed to ditch a med school once you've started orientation b/c that medical school then can't fill the spot in its class, as it can't admit someone after classes have started.

 

[jwalst55]

Id consider the hotel thing. I'm going to stay at my parents house and then just move somewhere without a place to stay. Maybe stay in a hotel for a few days when I fist get there.....It could be a rough first week.

 

[VienneseWaltz]

The only problem I see with the hotel idea is that apartment-hunting/moving is the last thing you want to worry about the first few weeks of medical school. If you commit to an apartment, you MIGHT lose a little money and have a big mess when school starts if you get off the WL at the last minute, which is rare anyway. If you do the hotel thing, you will lose a little money and DEFINITELY have a big mess when school starts, whether you move at the last minute or stick with your current school.

 

[JlazyMD]

VienneseWaltz is right- the chances of getting off a waitlist in the final week are so slim that at that point you should go ahead and get an apartment. If you get super lucky and do get in to your preferred school in the final days, you can break the lease, though you will likely lose a months rent or so to do it. But staying in a hotel sounds silly to me. Not what you need for your first week of school.

 

[erininseattle]

The dean of admissions at the place I was waitlisted (but got in yesterday!!) told me that they were not allowed to admit a student from the waitlist that had matriculated (started orientation/classes) at another school. You can call AMCAS if you want confirmation, they would probably know.

 

[dagny79]

what if they had matriculated to DO but got off MD waitlist? is it still illegal according to AMCAS rules?

 

[paramed2premed]

Originally posted by dagny79
what if they had matriculated to DO but got off MD waitlist? is it still illegal according to AMCAS rules?

First off, let's stop saying illegal; it's not like the AMCAS-police are going to kick in your front door!

The AMCAS/AACOMAS thing sounds like a big loophole, as there does not seem to be any apparent formal communication between the two organizations. I suppose AMCAS doesn't care if you matriculated at cosmetology school either, as long as it ain't a U.S. MD program.

 

[Nefertari]

God, that is the ultimate stress! It's hard enough finding apts ahead of time--having to move in 1 week, shop, unpack, start classes . . . Hopefully, if this happens, you'll be so thrilled and pumped w/ so much adrenaline that you'll be able to run around like a crazy chicken and take care of everything last minute.

As far as whether it's "legal" once orientation starts, I don't know. But there have been a few stories of people who've been accepted the first day of orientation (i.e. a UCLA student from the 2002 cycle). Maybe certain schools are more lenient @ this policy.

 

[SnoopDoc]

Originally posted by dagny79
what if they had matriculated to DO but got off MD waitlist? is it still illegal according to AMCAS rules?

I dont know about most schools, but wayne state, for example, said that matriculating in either a DO or MD program would get you kicked off the waitlist.

 

[SolidGold]

Originally posted by dagny79
what if they had matriculated to DO but got off MD waitlist? is it still illegal according to AMCAS rules?

Nope, I know of people who were accepted at Nova Southeastern (DO) and were in the middle of orietation and were accepted to the University of Miami. They jumped ship and went to Miami without any problems.

 

[Explosivo]

You probably need to check with the schools you are waitlisted at but I know many have specific policies on accepting students that have been accepted to other schools. At UofC for example, they will not offer an acceptance off of the wait-list to an applicant if the applicant is within 2 weeks of orientation at another school.