Choose Your Medical School (CYMS) - MD/PhD version

[Fencer]

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Dear MD/PhD Accepted Applicants,
First of all, Congratulations on your MD/PhD acceptance(s). It is incredible that we have the opportunity to pursue our passion for discovery and investigation, and that relatively speaking, we are well paid, able to be in middle of the top economic decile of society. Our community highly values Integrity and Professionalism. After all, you will become physicians and scientists. People place their health and trust on you. Professionalism has many definitions, here is one. Your courtesy to your peers is one of them. In the context of admissions, it means limiting holding multiple acceptances to no more than 3 or 4 schools. Make a decision. It is easier to make binary decisions. If you need to do a 2nd visit, do that then, or do a Skype interview with potential mentors ahead of 2nd interview. Withdraw as soon as you know that a program is not for you, and when you have a better choice for you - better alignment with your circumstances. Now, to the nitty gritty of CYMS...

• AAMC Traffic Rules - version for Applicants & version for Programs
• AAMC Choose Your Medical School web-tool
  • 02/19 - Portal opens for applicants. If you hold one or more acceptances, you can communicate to programs your best fit offer to you by selecting (NON-BINDING) the program/school that you PLAN TO ENROLL. The system only allows you one single choice, but you can change that at any time. You are also not required to select a school at this time even if you have multiple acceptances. You can continue to hold multiple other acceptances and/or remain on multiple waitlists (and even interview in additional programs). This selection just indicates what would you do if today was the last day of the cycle. If you get additional acceptances, you can change your choice and withdraw. MD/PhD programs are able to the number of accepted applicants selecting their program or OTHER program. Given the small numbers of MD/PhD acceptances, MD/PhD Programs will not be able to see aggregate data of other programs (for MD if >10 of their accepted applicants were accepted to the School across the Street, they will be able to see the # of those accepted applicants). Programs will not be able to see your personal information or where you are accepted. Programs will see data until overnight synch (02/20).
  • 04/15 - Hold 3 or less acceptances. If the system shows more, you will get emails about this. Thus, do this by Thursday 4/11. You can remain on multiple waitlists.
  • 04/30 - Narrow to 1 acceptance and make a selection: PLAN TO ENROLL or COMMIT TO ENROLL. This requires to withdraw from other acceptances. Plan to Enroll is just as described above. You can remain on multiple waitlists, and be accepted elsewhere. Commit to Enroll means that you are doing with your recruitment. As above, if you still show in the system with other acceptances, you can be rescinded. My suggestion is, if you are able, send those emails Thursday or Friday (4/26).
  • Programs will ask you to COMMIT TO ENROLL 21 days prior to MD/PhD orientation. For example, May 13 for June 3.

THIS IS MY INTERPRETATION OF THE RULES, which is why I gave you the links. We are all together in this first cycle of CYMS.... good luck to you'all.

 

[Maebea]

Preach! Thank you for posting this.

 

[TheJooce]

Dear MD/PhD Accepted Applicants,
It is incredible that we have the opportunity to pursue our passion for discovery and investigation, and that relatively speaking, we are well paid, able to be in middle of the top economic decile of society. Our community highly values Integrity and Professionalism. After all, you will become physicians and scientists. People place their health and trust on you. Professionalism has many definitions, here is one. Your courtesy to your peers is one of them. In the context of admissions, it means limiting holding multiple acceptances to no more than 3 or 4 schools. Make a decision.

Thank you for posting this, and contextualizing it as such. It's a great reminder about the bigger picture and why we decided to pursue this career path!

 

[Fencer]

The CYMS web-tool is open... Currently, there is no information about applicant choices (i.e.: Plan to Enroll). In my limited sample of currently accepted applicants and alternates, I see similar rates of other acceptances, with about half of my accepted with 2+ other acceptances, and 1/3 of alternates in the same boat.

As I expected, the aggregate reports are useless... I have aggregate data for Out-of-State, but In-of-State threshold is not met... The problem is the reports were designed for large schools not small programs like MD/PhD programs.

 

[Lucca]

The CYMS web-tool is open... Currently, there is no information about applicant choices (i.e.: Plan to Enroll). In my limited sample of currently accepted applicants and alternates, I see similar rates of other acceptances, with about half of my accepted with 2+ other acceptances, and 1/3 of alternates in the same boat.

As I expected, the aggregate reports are useless... I have aggregate data for Out-of-State, but In-of-State threshold is not met... The problem is the reports were designed for large schools not small programs like MD/PhD programs.

I'm a little confused on what the school can see after I make my choice. After today, I'll currently be holding two acceptances. If I "Plan to Enroll" at School A, my understanding is that School B sees that I have selected "Other". Is that correct? Or do they simply see that among all of their acceptees, X number have selected an "Other" school? Also, what does School A see? Do they see "Lucca has planned to enroll at your school"? or "X number of your acceptees have planned to enroll at your school." My difficulty is that I havent really made a decision between A and B just yet...

 

[Fencer]

I'm a little confused on what the school can see after I make my choice. After today, I'll currently be holding two acceptances. If I "Plan to Enroll" at School A, my understanding is that School B sees that I have selected "Other". Is that correct? Or do they simply see that among all of their acceptees, X number have selected an "Other" school? Also, what does School A see? Do they see "Lucca has planned to enroll at your school"? or "X number of your acceptees have planned to enroll at your school." My difficulty is that I havent really made a decision between A and B just yet...

They will only see the aggregate data that shows how many of their accepted applicants have Plan to enroll to "their" or "other" schools. They will NOT be able to see that @Lucca has planned to enroll to their or other schools until April 30th.