bewildered and in need of advice!

[tarhealer2010]

Sorry to those who might have seen my post about this several times now in other threads.. but I realized I might have better luck getting a response if I start my own thread about it.

So I need some advice:

I was accepted into GW's med school and was waitlisted at Brody(an in-state school) as well as EVMS. I would really really love to be able to go to Brody. I know they have a somewhat higher acceptance rate of re-applicants than other med schools and so I'm thinking of denying my acceptance offer to George Washington and just reapplying to med schools again this summer/fall.
I'm angry at myself because I was late in turning in my secondary to Brody this past fall due to getting bogged down with a research project and other unforseeable circumstances, so I'm wondering if maybe I would have gotten in had I not ended up interviewing so late in the spring when they had already made most of their offers. As of right now, they've offered 113 acceptances for about 78 spots so I doubt I'm getting in off the waitlist at this point, but I'm still hoping.
I've tried to talk to a lot of people about this, and I've had some people say that well if you want to be a doctor and you're given an opportunity to go to medical school, no matter what.. you take it! And I do DEFINITELY want to be a doctor, its just that my family and I have had a very difficult financial situation and I'm very disinclined to take on the over $300,000 in loans it would take to attend GW. Plus the more I look into Brody's program, the more I want to be a part of it..

I know that GW is an awesome school but I don't want to end up having to be a brain surgeon just to be able to pay back all of my loans in a reasonable fashion..

So what should I do?! 🙁

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[MiniMoo]

What if you reapply (spending a lot of time & additional $$$), but then don't get into Brody?

Looking at the MSAR, the tuition for GW (assuming it's still in the ~46k range) is pretty typical for an OOS school. Although the amount may look overwhelming to you at this point, realize that thousands of individuals graduate with the same amount of debt and find a way to pay it off. You will too.

Take the acceptance. There is no guarantee you will get another one if you reapply. Whereas the acceptance you have NOW is a sure thing.

 

[aidama]

No matter what school you go to, you'll be in debt for a long time.

Take the acceptance.

 

[tremulousNeedle]

It's like football, never decline or accept a penalty that takes points off the board.

Denying an acceptance in hopes of getting into a school where you were previously unsuccessful is probably not a good idea. You know that your application was late, but you do not know for sure if that was the deciding factor.

Like another responder said, there is no guarantee that you will get another acceptance if you decline this one.

 

[melissaliss]

GWU is a great school, and it may seem daunting to you to be in so much debt when you're done. But honestly, you're going to be in substantial debt regardless, and as long as you manage your money well, you'll be fine. If you turn down that acceptance and you don't get in next year, you may end up regretting that decision for the rest of your life. Take the acceptance and see where life takes you. It's only natural to be afraid of the financial aspects of medical school debt, but just like so many other medical school graduates, you will be fine in the end.

 

[aphios5]

GWU is a great school, and it may seem daunting to you to be in so much debt when you're done. But honestly, you're going to be in substantial debt regardless, and as long as you manage your money well, you'll be fine. If you turn down that acceptance and you don't get in next year, you may end up regretting that decision for the rest of your life. Take the acceptance and see where life takes you. It's only natural to be afraid of the financial aspects of medical school debt, but just like so many other medical school graduates, you will be fine in the end.

....well said, take the acceptance and know that an investment in yourself, however steep, is the best investment you can make...a bird in the hand beats...well you know the rest.🙂

 

[gman33]

I'm not sure of the numbers at each school, but remember that you will also be pushing back your future physician salary another year by delaying acceptance.

I would never advise anyone to turn down an acceptance to try again another year unless there are family issues that preclude them from going to a particular school.

 

[tremulousNeedle]

I'm not sure of the numbers at each school, but remember that you will also be pushing back your future physician salary another year by delaying acceptance.

I would never advise anyone to turn down an acceptance to try again another year unless there are family issues that preclude them from going to a particular school.

An excellent point that slipped my mind. Depending on your market and specialty, this could be anywhere from $150K to $1 million+.

 

[Coal]

Do you know GW's deferral policy?

If they let you defer, you could apply this cycle to only Brody and whichever other schools you would absolutely attend over GW, and then if you don't get into any of them you can be psyched that you didn't lose your spot at GW in the process.

 

[tarhealer2010]

thanks for the advice everyone

as far as the deferral process goes.. I have been talking with someone from admissions about it but she won't really tell me anything unless i commit to actually applying for a deferral - which I'm still not decided on. The other thing about that is the fact that I don't want to snub GW in any way if I were to defer there but then end up going somewhere else. Is deferring another way of promising that you will go there, just a year later?

 

[MiniMoo]

thanks for the advice everyone

as far as the deferral process goes.. I have been talking with someone from admissions about it but she won't really tell me anything unless i commit to actually applying for a deferral - which I'm still not decided on. The other thing about that is the fact that I don't want to snub GW in any way if I were to defer there but then end up going somewhere else. Is deferring another way of promising that you will go there, just a year later?

Taking a deferred acceptance means that you will attend the school, but are taking an extra year off prior to matriculating. Deferrals are typically granted so that individuals can have extra time to do research, pursue unique work or volunteer opportunities, etc. Pretty sure GW will not accept "so I can reapply to medical school" as a legit reason to grant that deferral. Also pretty certain they will have a policy in place stating that those who are deferring may not reapply to medical schools during the deferral year.

 

[anna01106]

as much as you want to attend a different medical school, keep in mind the difficulty of getting admitted to even one school, and how medical school admission is getting more competitive each year. unless you could significantly improve your application to guarantee an admission to brody, i would take the GW acceptance and make the best of it. as everyone else has already said, medical school is expensive no matter where you go

 

[Warped Apostle]

Be cautious with GWs deferral policies. I just was granted a deferral and had to sign a paper stating that I would not apply to any other school during my time off.

 

[Forven]

do you really want to dump sweat blood and tears into another cycle? take the acceptance, and take a money management course online.

 

[melissaliss]

do you really want to dump sweat blood and tears into another cycle? take the acceptance, and take a money management course online.

👍 If this were Facebook, I would have clicked the "like" button on this one. But instead, I'll put the thumbs up. You should carefully consider your real motivation behind not wanting to take the acceptance to George Washington ... could it simply be some apprehension behind starting medical school and having to move away from home? That would be completely understandable, but I would imagine that you've wanted to be a doctor for a very long time, and it seems foolish and regrettable to make such a decision for these reasons.

 

[cabinbuilder]

Put aside your self doubt and fear of debt. Most folks would kill to have a medical school acceptance and here you are doubting wether to take it over want of a different school? Most students do not have a choice as to where they go - you suck it up and you move. Remember that all of us have debt out of medical school - its the way it is. Plus, you will most likely have to move again for residency - its the same type of application process.

Me: I moved 5000 miles from my home to go to med school then another 2000 from med school to residency then another 2000 for my first job out. I'll throw in that I have 2 kids and a husband who moved too. My loan debt is $200,000 and I have no problem with my FP salary making the payments.

Be Nike - Just DO It.