Canceling an interview on short notice

[Nessy]

I am very happy to have received an acceptance to one of my top schools at the end of this past week.
I have an interview next week at a school that is very nice, but not on the top of my list and is far from where I want to be geographically.
I am going to call this school early next week and cancel, but I'm feeling a little paranoid, like I might suffer some repercussions.
This might seem kind of silly, but there is no AMCAS rule that says that a candidate can't withdraw from an interview on short notice, right?
I really would not choose this school and right now I could save a lot of $ by not going. Of course I realize that once I withdraw, there is no going back, but that's ok, because I'm happy with the acceptance I have.

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[CougarMD]

I look at it this way: You are saving everyone time and money if you cancel. You are either giving someone else the chance to interview, or letting a very busy doctor/researcher/student go back to their business instead of taking time out to interview someone who KNOWS they do not want to go to that school.

Canceling is a good thing! It is ok Congratulations on your acceptance!!

 

[Ursa]

This might seem kind of silly...

You're right, this is silly. Did you give this any thought before posting? Doesn't sound like it. If you did, maybe you just wanted to announce that you were accepted...? If so, congratulations!

 

[gettheleadout]

Lol Cougar's right and Ursa's messing with you. Cancel it, stay home, and enjoy your acceptance

 

[Nessy]

You're right, this is silly. Did you give this any thought before posting? Doesn't sound like it. If you did, maybe you just wanted to announce that you were accepted...? If so, congratulations!

It's actually not so silly. The University of Michigan adcom folks recently tweeted about someone who canceled only 12 hours before an interview and they were pretty outraged about it because they couldn't fill the spot and had already made arrangement for that individual.
I'm a polite sort of individual, and it just sort of seems impolite to cancel on short notice especially after viewing Michigan's response.

I have better things to do than to try to come up with ways to tell complete strangers that I have an acceptance. But thanks for the congrats anyway.

Thanks Cougar for your input. I'm sure people cancel on short notice all the time and I will do so, but I doubt the school will have time to get someone else in for my spot, but at least I won't be wasting everyone's time, including my own.

 

[Ursa]

It's actually not so silly. The University of Michigan adcom folks recently tweeted about someone who canceled only 12 hours before an interview and they were pretty outraged about it because they couldn't fill the spot and had already made arrangement for that individual.
I'm a polite sort of individual, and it just sort of seems impolite to cancel on short notice especially after viewing Michigan's response.

I have better things to do than to try to come up with ways to tell complete strangers that I have an acceptance. But thanks for the congrats anyway.

Thanks Cougar for your input. I'm sure people cancel on short notice all the time and I will do so, but I doubt the school will have time to get someone else in for my spot, but at least I won't be wasting everyone's time, including my own.

Welp, I wasn't dogging you, I'm just saying that there's no way in heck that canceling on one school could affect your acceptance to another (since you mentioned repercussions). It's nice of you to be polite, but the timing of everything is out of your control. I think the school will understand!

 

[Evergrey]

I think the etiquette is to give the school enough notice so they can give that interview spot to someone else! But ultimately, if you're not interested in the school, then going would be a waste of both your and their time and money.

 

[ronaldo23]

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[ronaldo23]

I think the etiquette is to give the school enough notice so they can give that interview spot to someone else! But ultimately, if you're not interested in the school, then going would be a waste of both your and their time and money.

True, but medical schools should understand that a student has no control over when a school accepts you. If you get into your top choice 6 hours or even 5 minutes before your interview at another school, you might as well cancel so that one more person can interview at the school (which might not necessarily be that day, but cancelling will mean one more eventual slot).

Sure, it's an inconvenience for the school, but as an applicant, we can't control when we hear back from med schools. I don't think it comes down to a matter of good versus bad etiquette, because I doubt too many people callously cancel interviews at the last minute, unless they just received an acceptance at a more desirable school.

 

[LizzyM]

People cancel on short notice. It happens. If you wouldn't take an offer from that school, there is no point in wasting your time and money to interview there. Schools can get pissy about it but would they rather interview someone and have the person contact them the next day and say, "I withdraw my application." I don't think so. Get on the phone first thing Monday morning and pull out.

 

[Nessy]

People cancel on short notice. It happens. If you wouldn't take an offer from that school, there is no point in wasting your time and money to interview there. Schools can get pissy about it but would they rather interview someone and have the person contact them the next day and say, "I withdraw my application." I don't think so. Get on the phone first thing Monday morning and pull out.

Thank you LizzyM, I was hoping you would chime in And thanks for input from others as well.
Today I withdrew from this med. school and I feel that I can sleep well knowing that I have declared this, not wasted everyone's time and hopefully opened a place up for another student.

 

[omgyou8myrice]

It's actually not so silly. The University of Michigan adcom folks recently tweeted about someone who canceled only 12 hours before an interview and they were pretty outraged about it because they couldn't fill the spot and had already made arrangement for that individual.
I'm a polite sort of individual, and it just sort of seems impolite to cancel on short notice especially after viewing Michigan's response.

I have better things to do than to try to come up with ways to tell complete strangers that I have an acceptance. But thanks for the congrats anyway.

Thanks Cougar for your input. I'm sure people cancel on short notice all the time and I will do so, but I doubt the school will have time to get someone else in for my spot, but at least I won't be wasting everyone's time, including my own.

12 hours is a far cry from "next week". I would be aggravated as well if someone canceled hours before an appointment. A week out is another story. Like everyone else said, you'd only be wasting their time, which sounds more impolite than just calling ahead and explaining the situation.

 

[rHinO1]

Most schools don't show half the courtesy that you are considering. I got accepted to a school that I knew was a great fit for me, and I immediately canceled the rest of my interviews, including one that was scheduled 2 days later. Why should I waste my money and everyones time to go somewhere I wouldn't attend? This process is expensive and time consuming enough.

 

[wanderer]

Some cancellation notices that I've seen are 3 days and 8 days. Most schools however don't give any specific time to cancel. Either way it's better to cancel on short notice than to waste everyone's time.

 

[LizzyM]

There is certainly a difference between cancelling and withdrawing your application and cancelling with a request to reschedule.

Certainly, there are instances where applicants have to cancel on short notice with the hope of rescheduling such as a serious injury, illness or hospitalization of yourself or a spouse or offspring, severe weather that snarls air travel or makes it unsafe to drive, the funeral of a member of your immediate family.

In most cases, if you want to cancel and reschedule, you should ask at least a week in advance, or have a very good reason for asking to reschedule with less advanced notice.