Can I apply to other medical schools after deferring my admission to one for a year?

[kellbell1995]

As of now, I only have one acceptance to medical school... we'll call it School X. I really don't want to attend School X, so I'm hoping that a waitlist moves in my favor. I would rather take a gap year and reapply than attend School X this fall. Provided that I'm able to defer my admission for a year, would I be able to apply to other schools this upcoming cycle?

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[NeurologyHopeful2018]

Is it a MD school? If yes - you need to attend - as all MD schools are really the same. You get out what you put in.

 

[Lnsean]

If they find out, I think you're fked. Just hope they don't.

I don't know why people try to have their cake and eat it too. IF you don't want to attend school X, then don't apply to school X. Pretty simple.

 

[Lnsean]

Is it a MD school? If yes - you need to attend - as all MD schools are really the same. You get out what you put in.

Nah, it's gotta be a DO school. Applying for another MD, you have to disclose that you've been accepted to another MD school on AMCAS.

 

[Med Ed]

As of now, I only have one acceptance to medical school... we'll call it School X. I really don't want to attend School X, so I'm hoping that a waitlist moves in my favor. I would rather take a gap year and reapply than attend School X this fall. Provided that I'm able to defer my admission for a year, would I be able to apply to other schools this upcoming cycle?

No, the deferral would be granted on the condition that you do not apply to other schools in the interval. I am not certain, but I believe AMCAS would flag you if you tried, which would bring all sorts of pain down upon you.

Suck it up an attend School X. Odds are that you will come to see it as a good thing.

 

[libertyyne]

probably shouldnt have applied to, interviewed and not withdraw before acceptance to School X if you did not want to go to school X .


If it is MD all other MD schools will know of the previous cycle and acceptance.

If it is DO it will change the equation .

 

[theKingLT]

I am no expert on admissions rules, but I have heard the term blacklisted thrown around multiple times on this site. I have a feeling if you lied about a deferral reason and then they found out you were deferring so that you can apply to other schools, the metaphorical "blacklist" is where you would end up. Even if you were to go the proper route of declining your current acceptance and reapplying, you would still need to be able to explain to schools in the coming cycle why you decided to turn down your one acceptance. It just really doesn't show a lot of foresight nor dedication to medicine.

Is it a MD school? If yes - you need to attend - as all MD schools are really the same. You get out what you put in.

Definitely agree with this. If it is a matter of "I preferred school Y" then you should really forget School Y, attend School X and make it a great experience. If you are positive you will not be happy at School X (ie. suddenly realized you can't spend four years in an urban environment), then you're best bet is to decline your acceptance and reapply. Keep in mind, if your app hasn't improved much in the past year you will likely not get any better results and you will now have the added task of convincing schools you are in fact still interested in medicine, there was just something specifically wrong with School X that didn't work for you.

 

[stickgirl390]

Why do people who want to be doctors keep turning down the opportunity to be a doctor? Is it just me or is this theme common in threads this cycle?

 

[el_duderino]

Why do people who want to be doctors keep turning down the opportunity to be a doctor? Is it just me or is this theme common in threads this cycle?

It's human nature to think you can "do better" than what you have.

"Well if I got this, maybe if I try a little harder I can get something better..."

 

[theKingLT]

It's human nature to think you can "do better" than what you have.

"Well if I got this, maybe if I try a little harder I can get something better..."

TBH applying to med schools is kind of like going to a fancy car show. You do your research on each one and then set your hopes on your favorite ferrari just to find out all you can get is a Lotus. They're both awesome cars and in the long term they will both get you from point A to point B without anyone doubting you have way too much money, but it's still easy to get caught up in not having that dream car that seemed like the perfect match. The emotion is understandable but logic should supersede in this scenario

 

[Batracho]

My question is, and I am not trying to be harsh here: why did you apply to school X?
If you absolutely don't wanna go there, you should not have applied.

 

[kellbell1995]

It is an MD school, but I have my reasons for it not being a good fit for me. So my best bet would be to withdraw and reapply?

 

[el_duderino]

It is an MD school, but I have my reasons for it not being a good fit for me. So my best bet would be to withdraw and reapply?

That would be a spectacularly poor decision. Schools will know next cycle that you were previously accepted to an MD school and pulled out. You would need to explain why. If it's a really good reason to wait a year (like you had a major accident, your spouse died, you got pregnant, etc), then your accepted school should give you a deferrment. "I just didn't want to go to that school I applied to and interviewed at" is not a good reason.

Chances are that no one will look at your application long enough to see your reason anyway.

This is your shot. Take it or go home.

 

[frosted2]

Send your acceptance my way. I'd be happy to take it.

You are in a position that some will never have the chance to be in... and you are throwing it away.

 

[kellbell1995]

TBH applying to med schools is kind of like going to a fancy car show. You do your research on each one and then set your hopes on your favorite ferrari just to find out all you can get is a Lotus. They're both awesome cars and in the long term they will both get you from point A to point B without anyone doubting you have way too much money, but it's still easy to get caught up in not having that dream car that seemed like the perfect match. The emotion is understandable but logic should supersede in this scenario

Except this school is a used Ford Pinto

 

[el_duderino]

Except this school is a used Ford Pinto

No USMD schools are "a used Ford Pinto." None. You're comparing a Ferrari to a Lotus when looking at the top-ranked and low-ranked USMD schools. Every USMD school puts people into top-tier residencies and hospitals.

You don't know what you're talking about. You are holding an acceptance to a USMD school. If you throw that away, there is effectively zero chance you will get another, let alone to a "better" institution.

 

[el_duderino]

Looking at your post history, you're hoping to get into Harvard, Cornell, or UCLA as your upgrade.

Pardon me while I die laughing.

I can promise you with 100% surety that if you turn down a USMD acceptance, you will never, ever, ever get into a top tier school like Harvard or Cornell. Zero percent chance.

If you're enough of a rock star to think you belong at HMS, you will excel at any USMD school and get the residency you want. Look at match lists. Drexel put people into derm at Mt Sinai, IR at Yale, ortho at Washington, ENT at Yale, and thoracic at Stanford. Rosalind Franklin: IR at Rochester, neurosurg at Brigham & Women's, ortho at Johns Hopkins, plastics at Rochester. East Virginia: derm at Maryland, ortho at Cleveland Clinic, plastics at Georgetown, ENT at Rochester.

Take your shot. This is your chance.

 

[Lucca]

It’s normal to get cold feet when a big change is coming, but you would be insane to turn down an MD acceptance to spin the wheel of admissions another time. As others have said, it’s most likely not even possible to do so while deferring.

 

[getdown]

Except this school is a used Ford Pinto

Just tell us the name of the school. If it is a ****ty place we'll know. If it's like Ponce, we may even sympathize. Personally, I think you should probably decline and try again next year. At least there's a bigger chance you won't get accepted so as to spare everyone in the medical field the future pleasure of having to work with someone who thinks so highly of themselves.

 

[libertyyne]

Except this school is a used Ford Pinto

Have you considered that you might be a used ford pinto of an applicant?

 

[Kr#36]

It is an MD school, but I have my reasons for it not being a good fit for me. So my best bet would be to withdraw and reapply?

NOOOO. Your best bet would be to attend or choose a new career. Seriously.

 

[theKingLT]

No USMD schools are "a used Ford Pinto." None. You're comparing a Ferrari to a Lotus when looking at the top-ranked and low-ranked USMD schools. Every USMD school puts people into top-tier residencies and hospitals.

You don't know what you're talking about. You are holding an acceptance to a USMD school. If you throw that away, there is effectively zero chance you will get another, let alone to a "better" institution.

This cannot be emphasized enough! OP, it seems as if you've lost sight of the big picture. Even if you're goal is to be the best doctor to have ever graced this planet, any U.S. MD school can get you there. The school's reputation does not define you're future as a physician, what you choose to put into your education does. If you are still considering declining your acceptance I strongly recommend you to tell us the school, the exact reason for not liking it, and the schools you hope for instead. Maybe then some sense can be had, because we are all struggling to come up with hypothetical scenarios where declining sounds like a good idea.

Just tell us the name of the school. If it is a ****ty place we'll know. If it's like Ponce, we may even sympathize. Personally, I think you should probably decline and try again next year. At least there's a bigger chance you won't get accepted so as to spare everyone in the medical field the future pleasure of having to work with someone who thinks so highly of themselves.

Brutal

 

[kellbell1995]

My reasons for not liking it are it’s not entirely P/F for the preclinical years, which med students at the other schools I interviewed at told me was a necessity. It has limited research opportunities. The patient population isn’t diverse. It’s in a very boring place that I don’t want to waste my youth in. And I don’t want to be at a disadvantage for residency because prestige plays a factor. I wish it didn’t, but I’ve been told by many that where you go for medical school determines where you’ll go for residency.

 

[el_duderino]

It’s in a very boring place that I don’t want to waste my youth in.

You absolutely should turn down your acceptance. I truly think that is the best thing for you.

 

[MonkeyArrow]

My reasons for not liking it are it’s not entirely P/F for the preclinical years, which med students at the other schools I interviewed at told me was a necessity. It has limited research opportunities. The patient population isn’t diverse. It’s in a very boring place that I don’t want to waste my youth in. And I don’t want to be at a disadvantage for residency because prestige plays a factor. I wish it didn’t, but I’ve been told by many that where you go for medical school determines where you’ll go for residency.

If you couldn't get in somewhere better this cycle, what makes you think you can get in somewhere better WITH the added baggage of turning down a USMD acceptance?

 

[Isoval]

My reasons for not liking it are it’s not entirely P/F for the preclinical years, which med students at the other schools I interviewed at told me was a necessity. It has limited research opportunities. The patient population isn’t diverse. It’s in a very boring place that I don’t want to waste my youth in. And I don’t want to be at a disadvantage for residency because prestige plays a factor. I wish it didn’t, but I’ve been told by many that where you go for medical school determines where you’ll go for residency.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

My reasons for not liking it are it’s not entirely P/F for the preclinical years, which med students at the other schools I interviewed at told me was a necessity. It has limited research opportunities. The patient population isn’t diverse. It’s in a very boring place that I don’t want to waste my youth in. And I don’t want to be at a disadvantage for residency because prestige plays a factor. I wish it didn’t, but I’ve been told by many that where you go for medical school determines where you’ll go for residency.

You'll be in med school for four years. That is not "wasting your youth." Unless you're trying to get into a top residency or any decent residency in a hyper competitive specialty, any US MD school (except maybe CNU, but who knows) will get you where you want to go. And you can match into competitive specialties from any school. Would going to HMS give you a better chance? Probably, yes. But if you were competitive for HMS, your only acceptance wouldn't be the "Ford Pinto" of med schools (not really a thing, except, again, CNU).

Also, boring people are bored. If you can't find anything to do, you're a boring person.

 

[RockMcat520]

usually when you sign a deferment agreement, it would state that you are not allowed to apply to any other MD schools in the upcoming cycle. I am not sure if the AAMC would flag you and prevent you from applying.

 

[Med Ed]

My reasons for not liking it are it’s not entirely P/F for the preclinical years, which med students at the other schools I interviewed at told me was a necessity. It has limited research opportunities. The patient population isn’t diverse. It’s in a very boring place that I don’t want to waste my youth in. And I don’t want to be at a disadvantage for residency because prestige plays a factor. I wish it didn’t, but I’ve been told by many that where you go for medical school determines where you’ll go for residency.

Then roll the dice again and report back next year.

 

[Lannister]

Except this school is a used Ford Pinto

With that attitude, I doubt your peers at the "Ford Pinto" school would even want you as a classmate. So you should turn down the acceptance, for their sake.

 

[700825]

As someone with good numbers who had a pretty unlucky cycle (committee letter delays made my application very late, papers supposed to publish during the fall are just now getting accepted, and won a major award I was not at all expecting recently all making vastly more competitive now then I was during the cycle) and will similarly be going to a low tier ranked and graded school, I understand your frustration. However, I would encourage you to do the following things:

1) Look at the match list for your school: A good number of students (~40% or so) at the school I will likely be attending went into competitive specialties or matched at competitive locations. Obviously prestige does help, but it was nice for me to see concrete evidence that you can be successful from any US MD school.

2) Talk to current students. From my experiences they painted a much better picture of their school than my pessimistic mind was painting.

 

[WingedOx]

My reasons for not liking it are it’s not entirely P/F for the preclinical years, which med students at the other schools I interviewed at told me was a necessity. It has limited research opportunities. The patient population isn’t diverse. It’s in a very boring place that I don’t want to waste my youth in. And I don’t want to be at a disadvantage for residency because prestige plays a factor. I wish it didn’t, but I’ve been told by many that where you go for medical school determines where you’ll go for residency.

I mean, if you want honest advice, just name the school. Plenty of us know these places well and can give you legit perspective.

You'll be ~26 when you finish assuming you're a trad applicant. C'mon now... But based on your posts in this thread I'd worry more about your need to grow up than your concern for wasting your youth.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

I mean, if you want honest advice, just name the school. Plenty of us know these places well and can give you legit perspective.

You'll be ~26 when you finish assuming you're a trad applicant. C'mon now... But based on your posts in this thread I'd worry more about your need to grow up than your concern for wasting your youth.

What’s with the owl?

 

[Goro]

It is an MD school, but I have my reasons for it not being a good fit for me. So my best bet would be to withdraw and reapply?

Yes, because it's obvious you don't want to be a doctor.

 

[WingedOx]

What’s with the owl?

I liked the pic and the owl's annoyed expression so I stole it from someone on facebook. We've had a bunch of owls here in Chicago all winter. There's a female snowy hanging out in my neighborhood at the moment. I think this male was taken up by Loyola's campus on the north side (so go Ramblers! hence the location).

 

[curbsideconsult]

This thread is so frustrating and yet I continue to come back to read it because I think, somehow, OP will change his/her mind. Even if s/he doesn't, hopefully the words of wisdom generously poured out so far will help some other dolt in the future from making the same mistake. Seriously, seriously, seriously, why oh why do pre-meds insist on applying to places they don't want to go??? Let's take OP's #23 post piece by piece, shall we?:

My reasons for not liking it are it’s not entirely P/F for the preclinical years

Couldn't you have found this out beforehand? Like, oh, I don't know, through SDN? The google. Even if you didn't, you could have immediately withdrawn your application after interview day if this was when you found that out.

It has limited research opportunities

Again, the google?

The patient population isn’t diverse. It’s in a very boring place that I don’t want to waste my youth in.

The google maps? SDN? This is not 1987. There are very, very, very easy ways of finding this information out before getting an acceptance made you change your mind.

And I don’t want to be at a disadvantage for residency because prestige plays a factor.

Plenty of students from "non" prestigious schools make it into competitive, "prestigious" residencies. At any rate, if you're concerned about a school not being P/F, why do you think you'll be competitive for residencies when the time comes???

Based on your previous posts, the school you're talking about is likely one of these: UMiami, Cornell, Baylor, or UCLA. Are you still holding out hope for Harvard? (Wow, sounds like a Lifetime movie).

but I’ve been told by many that where you go for medical school determines where you’ll go for residency.

Who? Because if you peruse the gadrillions of posts on SDN, you'll find more people who say that isn't the case than those who do say it's the case.


Please someone out there tell me I'm wrong about any of this. I'll be happy to shut my trap and leave this alone.

 

[theKingLT]

Based on your previous posts, the school you're talking about is likely one of these: UMiami, Cornell, Baylor, or UCLA. Are you still holding out hope for Harvard? (Wow, sounds like a Lifetime movie).

I'm very curious if it is actually one of these four schools because they are all A.) great schools, each with awesome and unique opportunities, and B.)located in cities with very diverse patient populations and that I would hardly consider a "waste of youth"

 

[kellbell1995]

I also didn’t enjoy my interview. My interviewer kept awkwardly bringing up my MCAT score and GPA. At one point he even said that he hoped I would choose the school. It made me very uncomfortable. It’s hard for me to want to go to a school that sees me as a way to bring up their stats and nothing more.

 

[kellbell1995]

I'm very curious if it is actually one of these four schools because they are all A.) great schools, each with awesome and unique opportunities, and B.)located in cities with very diverse patient populations and that I would hardly consider a "waste of youth"

It’s not.

 

[boogiecousins94]

I also didn’t enjoy my interview. My interviewer kept awkwardly bringing up my MCAT score and GPA. At one point he even said that he hoped I would choose the school. It made me very uncomfortable. It’s hard for me to want to go to a school that sees me as a way to bring up their stats and nothing more.

Why didn't you withdraw your application a few days after you interviewed then? Literally if you did that you couldnt have been accepted, then you're poor choice to decline an acceptance wouldn't of even mattered so it's actually your fault for "waiting to get in" if you didn't like it after the interview

 

[wanderingorion]

Have you considered that you might be a used ford pinto of an applicant?

 

[theKingLT]

I also didn’t enjoy my interview. My interviewer kept awkwardly bringing up my MCAT score and GPA. At one point he even said that he hoped I would choose the school. It made me very uncomfortable. It’s hard for me to want to go to a school that sees me as a way to bring up their stats and nothing more.

Okay, so let's ignore for a second past mistakes and that rejecting your only offer is a detriment to your re-application. It sounds like you have competitive stats and will not just be retaking the mcat or taking post bacc classes like many re-applicants. So what will make your application stronger this year so that you will have significantly improved chances of getting acceptances?

 

[siliso]

Nope. Make your choice.

 

[MarineMDHopeful]

In for the laughs.

 

[WingedOx]

It’s not.

Jesus, just name the school. It's not like the school is going to be able to identify you (or care) based on your 13 SDN posts.

 

[curbsideconsult]

Jesus, just name the school. It's not like the school is going to be able to identify you (or care) based on your 13 SDN posts.

Can you just imagine how OP will be in class? Better yet, on rotations??? Now THAT would be a show worth seeing.

 

[Isoval]

Can you just imagine how OP will be in class? Better yet, on rotations??? Now THAT would be a show worth seeing.

SELLING ADVANCE TICKETS, ONLY ONE LIKE!

This will be a show you’ll never regret: a medical student telling his peers he’s better than them and the ensuing chaos, a medical student telling his patients they’re low quality cases, SEE IT ALL RIGHT HERE, FOLKS!

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

It is an MD school, but I have my reasons for it not being a good fit for me. So my best bet would be to withdraw and reapply?

I mean, yeah sure if you don’t want to be a doctor and only want to be “the doctor that graduated from X” then withdraw and reapply.

My reasons for not liking it are it’s not entirely P/F for the preclinical years, which med students at the other schools I interviewed at told me was a necessity. It has limited research opportunities. The patient population isn’t diverse. It’s in a very boring place that I don’t want to waste my youth in. And I don’t want to be at a disadvantage for residency because prestige plays a factor. I wish it didn’t, but I’ve been told by many that where you go for medical school determines where you’ll go for residency.

I think you should give up the seat, someone with your attitude deserves the repercussions of turning down a USMD acceptance.

 

[DocAdams]

If I were you, I'd jump in through the window, throw some Zeppelin in the 8 track, and fire that mean ol' Pinto up. Might not be comfortable, but it'll get ya where you need to go.

 

[LoveBeingHuman:)]

OP sometimes you just need to adjust to a place before you fall in love with it. When my family moved from Houston to Omaha, I was really upset because there is so much to do in Houston and I thought Omaha was a boring, hillbilly place. But it turns out that it's a lovely city and I was very happy during my time there.