I do not mean to sound rude, but I feel that it will inevitably come across that way. My apologies ahead of time.
I do not think that you are really listening to spicedmanna's advice here; looking at the trees you can see and not the entire forest, kind of thing. You mention that you will not receive this information until September, but what is stopping you from contacting the necessary people at the school yourself? In my opinion, you are being rather cavalier with this entire situation and are not really taking this advice seriously.
Do you think TCOM will trip out? I stated why I decided not to go in my app. Basically I said that I wanted to stay closer to home, pay in-state tuition prices, and go to school in the state I will likely eventually practice in. Are those bad reasons? I think it shows them that another school accepted me and I still decided to apply again. It shows resolve to attend and comittment, in my opinion.
Let us start here. The problem is not that you declined an acceptance (although that might raise some flags with these schools), but that you are holding an acceptance from the prior year just in case these schools do not accept you. If you do not get accepted to TCOM or any other MD programs this year, would you defer your ATSU-SOMA acceptance another year for another shot? I am not saying that your reasons are good or bad because they're your own, but what I am saying is that usually a deferment of education is based upon a need to postpone your academic career and not simply you wanting another shot.
Is it against SOMA's policy? If so, I wasn't aware of that. In fact I don't even have a policy yet, she says the deferral paperwork won't even get to me until September.
Again, I reiterate your need to contact them directly, and as soon as you have the chance to do so. Policy is policy, and whether you've read over it or not, you are being held to the standards that all other people who have or ever will defer their eduation at ATSU-SOMA have been or will be held to (pending some change in policy, of course). Simply feigning ignorance will not get you very far with an Admissions Committee, especially based upon the number of applicants they receive year in and year out, something you address in your next paragraph...
In all honesty, I don't think they care. I'm paying 2k for the chance. Its a deposit if I go there, but if I don't that's free money to them (since they'll have no problem filling the spot with a good candidate)...
You've hit my point exactly: they will have no problem dropping you and forgetting about you should you breach their deferment policy. On top of that, you will be blacklisted from ever applying there again.
I think what everyone who is reading this is feeling is that you are being rather blasé about this entire situation: if I'm wrong, then so be it. I would personally feel terrible if you were to ruin your chances at your potential future career by not making absolutely sure of everything. You have chosen medicine to be your career and have already begun the arduous task of starting that journey. If this is something you truly care about, much like the hundreds of people that lurk the SDN boards and other boards on an hourly basis, I would think you would make sure that what you are doing is not a violation of the terms of your deferment.
Ignorance is never an option in making a decision, it a poor attempt at an excuse.
Good luck with your applications.
