Declining an Acceptance

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

revell1108

Full Member
10+ Year Member
Joined
Feb 19, 2013
Messages
22
Reaction score
8
Hey SDN,

As the title implies, I was accepted to a DO school back in November. After completing that interview and touring the campus, I realized that pursuing a DO degree at that school was not what I wanted. There are several reasons for this, which I can expound upon if need be. Anyway, the school gave me until January 15th to submit my deposit to hold my spot. I haven't paid the deposit yet, because I was waiting to hear back from several other DO and MD schools. I received an II from my dream school (MD) and interviewed there last week. I informed my interviewer that I was accepted at another school, but would much rather attend here. He said he would not pass that information on to the committee, because once they hear that an applicant was accepted elsewhere, they essentially say "oh well, he'll be a doctor anyway" and won't pursue me any further. Turns out that I was put on hold at my dream school, but the Assistant Dean of Admissions said many positive things were said about me during the meeting. I don't know how much stock to put in that, though. So the main problem I have is that I don't want to attend the DO school, and I'd love to attend my local school. What I need to know is how will declining the DO acceptance look to my dream school? I don't know which would be viewed more negatively: declining an acceptance, or having an acceptance at another school, which sounds like would put me at a severe disadvantage here.

I have no idea what to do. The deposit is huge, I don't feel any desire to attend the school I've been accepted at, but I don't have any guarantee that I'll get accepted at my local school. How bad would it look to turn down this acceptance??
 
I would try sending Letters of Interest without mentioning your other acceptance. I don't think the MD school would know about the DO acceptance. Just keep pushing...
 
Well first, there's no way that you having an acceptance elsewhere would actually sway anyone's decision. If they love you, they accept you.

Second, you need to ask yourself this: are you willing to reapply over going to this DO school. If you are, then decline. If you're not, don't decline. We can't answer that for you.

Third, you may ask yourself if paying the deposit is worth the extra time to decide.
 
I strongly suggest that you turn down the acceptance, because I'd rather see the seat go to someone who really wants to be a doctor.

MD schools have no idea what the DO schools are doing, acceptance wise. MD <-> MD, different story.

DO schools don't know where you've been accepted to MD schools either.


Hey SDN,

As the title implies, I was accepted to a DO school back in November. After completing that interview and touring the campus, I realized that pursuing a DO degree at that school was not what I wanted. There are several reasons for this, which I can expound upon if need be. Anyway, the school gave me until January 15th to submit my deposit to hold my spot. I haven't paid the deposit yet, because I was waiting to hear back from several other DO and MD schools. I received an II from my dream school (MD) and interviewed there last week. I informed my interviewer that I was accepted at another school, but would much rather attend here. He said he would not pass that information on to the committee, because once they hear that an applicant was accepted elsewhere, they essentially say "oh well, he'll be a doctor anyway" and won't pursue me any further. Turns out that I was put on hold at my dream school, but the Assistant Dean of Admissions said many positive things were said about me during the meeting. I don't know how much stock to put in that, though. So the main problem I have is that I don't want to attend the DO school, and I'd love to attend my local school. What I need to know is how will declining the DO acceptance look to my dream school? I don't know which would be viewed more negatively: declining an acceptance, or having an acceptance at another school, which sounds like would put me at a severe disadvantage here.

I have no idea what to do. The deposit is huge, I don't feel any desire to attend the school I've been accepted at, but I don't have any guarantee that I'll get accepted at my local school. How bad would it look to turn down this acceptance??
 
I don't know, I'm no expert in all of this but I feel like it comes down to how much you really want to be a doctor. Unless that DO school is super malignant and you run the risk of failing out, not matching etc blah blah blah, you're going to be a doctor. Again, I probably sound naive but I would just suck it up, pay the deposit and know that I have a spot for me if it all goes south. Med school isn't forever...so...take it or leave it.
 
I realized that pursuing a DO degree at that school was not what I wanted. ... the school gave me until January 15th to submit my deposit to hold my spot. I haven't paid the deposit yet, because I was waiting to hear back from several other DO and MD schools. ... Turns out that I was put on hold at my dream school, but the Assistant Dean of Admissions said many positive things were said about me during the meeting. I don't know how much stock to put in that, though. So the main problem I have is that I don't want to attend the DO school, and I'd love to attend my local school. What I need to know is how will declining the DO acceptance look to my dream school? ... The deposit is huge, I don't feel any desire to attend the school I've been accepted at, but I don't have any guarantee that I'll get accepted at my local school.
It sounds like you already know the answer. If you honest-to-God cannot see yourself at this DO school and would rather risk reapplying, then decline the acceptance and give the opportunity to someone else. Your declining of the DO school, even if you mention it to your dream school, will likely do nothing for your chances there. I would put very little stock in what the Deans say since they likely say the same thing to almost every applicant (can you imagine them saying, "yea, your interviewers just thought you were a creeper, sorry").
In your situation, I would pay the deposit and continue to hope for an acceptance at your dream school. The deposit may seem steep now, but it'll be the first of many expensive fees that you'll be forced to pay for in the future. Might as well get used to it now. Best of luck with the rest of your cycle.
 
@Goro if he declines the DO acceptance, will he eliminate his chances of getting into any DO if he reapplies? Will DO schools know he got accepted and declined?
 
I think that there's a spot in the AACOMAS app that ask if you've been accepted elsewhere, but am not certain. DO applicants, what say you?

OP would definitely destroy chances to get into the school s/he turned down, at the minimum.


@Goro if he declines the DO acceptance, will he eliminate his chances of getting into any DO if he reapplies? Will DO schools know he got accepted and declined?
 
If you really didn't like the DO school that accepted you and think you cannot succeed there, then turn it down. For the purposes of making the 'deposit or not' decision, assume that you have 0% chance at your dream MD school, because in all likelihood, that's probably about the size of it. Being that one special snowflake that makes it off the 300-person waiting list is a very, very small chance. Think of it this way:
  • Best Outcome - Acceptance to dream MD, no $$$ deposit paid at DO --- very small chance of happening
  • 2nd Best Outcome - Pay your deposit and go to DO school -- 100% chance that you can make this one happen
  • 3rd Best Outcome -- Decline the DO and get another DO or MD acceptance next year - Let's call this a decent chance since AMCAS won't know about your declining the DO acceptance and you've got another 6 months to buff your application. But you waste a year (or more) of your life and forfeit a year's physician salary.
  • Worst Outcome - Decline the DO and no not get an acceptance next year. There's a pretty good chance of this happening also. Remember that 65% of the people who apply don't get in anywhere.
Seems like 'second best' is a pretty clear best choice.
 
Mods, please sticky!!


If you really didn't like the DO school that accepted you and think you cannot succeed there, then turn it down. For the purposes of making the 'deposit or not' decision, assume that you have 0% chance at your dream MD school, because in all likelihood, that's probably about the size of it. Being that one special snowflake that makes it off the 300-person waiting list is a very, very small chance. Think of it this way:
  • Best Outcome - Acceptance to dream MD, no $$$ deposit paid at DO --- very small chance of happening
  • 2nd Best Outcome - Pay your deposit and go to DO school -- 100% chance that you can make this one happen
  • 3rd Best Outcome -- Decline the DO and get another DO or MD acceptance next year - Let's call this a decent chance since AMCAS won't know about your declining the DO acceptance and you've got another 6 months to buff your application. But you waste a year (or more) of your life and forfeit a year's physician salary.
  • Worst Outcome - Decline the DO and no not get an acceptance next year. There's a pretty good chance of this happening also. Remember that 65% of the people who apply don't get in anywhere.
Seems like 'second best' is a pretty clear best choice.
 
Pay the deposit, go if you don't get into your dream school. Best case- You lose $1500, go to dream school. Worst case- You don't lose $1500, and go to DO school. Either path, you become a doctor. I feel like you are justifying your desire NOT to go to a DO school due to the unexpected "dream" interview. With 29+27 MCATs, your chances are still iffy, be realistic and take any acceptance you get if you want to be a doctor.
 
Last edited:
If you don't want to attend the DO school, you shouldn't have applied there. You need to be willing to accept every possibility in this process.
 
If you knew after the interview why didn't you withdraw before you were accepted. Anyway withdraw now and hope for the best. That's really all you can do since you seem to really not want to go where you have been accepted.
 
Just pay the deposit for the DO school and keep it as a safety. If you get into your dream school, thats great, and the loss of your deposit wont be too much of a loss.
 
First off, schools don't communicate to each other who accepted who, etc. If they know you were accepted somewhere else, it's because you told them.

Why not just pay the deposit and hold your spot as a plan B? Then you can safely wait for your Plan A to follow/fall through and can either withdraw or continue your acceptance to the DO school. Depends on if you hate the school enough to lose another year not practicing.

Also, what is it that you don't like about the DO school? Pretty much no matter where you go you're gonna get rekt in the butt the first 2 years, so unless you are going for a certain geographic location that helps you relax more, school 1 is going to be the same as school 2 at the end of the day (as in you will take the Step 1 and you are gonna have dedicated time to study on your own for it). Sure, some schools are known to have higher class attendance and stuff but most kids probably just study off recorded lectures and notes anyway.

Only other reason I can think of is that the DO school might have really bad rotation sites as in none of them have good residencies for your projected specialty.
Not sure what it is you hate about a school that makes you think of losing another year to try for a different school.
 
If that 27 someone mentioned is your real MCAT score then your decision is simply, "how bad do I want to be a doctor?" Because if you turn down the DO acceptance you are barring yourself from ever using DO as a back up because they will not look at you next cycle if you have to reapply. That is quite the roll of the dice. The way I see it you can be a DO and a doctor or roll the dice that you get off of the hold at you dream school and risk not being one. Because that 27 won't get you much MD love if you have to reapply.
 
People with a 27 MCAT do not have the privilege to be choosy. Pay the deposit and go to school, suck up the pride lost that you won't be an MD. You'll grow to like the DO school as long as you keep an open mind. You're borderline unqualified to become a physician in the US, I don't understand the attitude here.
 
A bird in the hand is worth... wait... why are you holding a bird in your hand you doofus!
 
I think that there's a spot in the AACOMAS app that ask if you've been accepted elsewhere, but am not certain. DO applicants, what say you?

OP would definitely destroy chances to get into the school s/he turned down, at the minimum.
I applied do and md and I understand how the op feels. I like everything (except the cost!) about the do school I was accepted to, but I still wonder if I was right to apply to both on my first try. I'm mostly happy with my decision, but looking at schools that I submitted primaries to, I could easily be in op's position.

I think op should start by considering why he applied to the school he was accepted at. Did the interview change your perception? Did you learn something else between submitting the primary and now or did you just change your mind?

I think if you mostly have the same information about this school that you did when applying you should attend in the fall. You and all accepted applicants have a different emotional stake in this than we did when we applied. No doubt that this changes how we see our options now. But I think you should trust your rational when applying to this school if you haven't learned something that you don't like.

The secondary consideration is how you're improving your application for md schools, specifically the one you interviewed at. Can you give them a reason to change their minds? Is this strong enough to sacrifice a ticket to being a doctor? I believe, but don't recall exactly, that you would have to disclose previous do acceptances to aacomas (someone pls refute if I'm wrong). In that case, you should be very confident that you can get into some md school next round before declining the acceptance.

Finally, if you are okay with attending the do school and aren't going to have a gamechanging addition to your app, I think you should pay the absurd ~$1k deposit. If you end up accepted at the md school, great. You're out 1k but that's not a big enough deal to influence your decision.

E: Misread op. No interview at state school means you really shouldn't expect anything out of it this year or in the future unless you have a big update. Take the do acceptance imo
 
Last edited:
People with a 27 MCAT do not have the privilege to be choosy. Pay the deposit and go to school, suck up the pride lost that you won't be an MD. You'll grow to like the DO school as long as you keep an open mind. You're borderline unqualified to become a physician in the US, I don't understand the attitude here.


Wow. Just wow. This comment is a true gem. As a previous "27 MCAT-er" I really hope the borderline unqualified sentiment was a joke and not SDN neuroticism. I can understand the not being choosey part but the unqualified part is totally unfounded and outright untrue. (unless you did some digging in OP's posts and found other evidence of unqualifiedness I am not aware of) I won't even begin to refute that comment as it cannot be taken seriously.

To the OP:

Pay the deposit of the D.O. If you care about being a doctor at the end of the day. Financially $1500 or $1,000 bucks is a good bit of change to any of us now, but in the broad scheme of it is a small price to pay to have a 100% chance at become a doctor. The opportunity cost of another year of your life and earning potential is so incredibly bigger than the deposit in the broad scheme that your future 50 year-old self would be smacking you upside the head for even thinking of not paying the deposit.
 
Last edited:
This is a "no-brainer".

Pay the deposit and wait for other offers to come through. Unless you are going to a God-awful school, I can't imagine how the DO philosophy would be detrimental to your career.
 
People with a 27 MCAT do not have the privilege to be choosy. ... You're borderline unqualified to become a physician in the US, I don't understand the attitude here.
I absolutely think OP should be realistic about their chances and appreciate the acceptance that they have but this is beyond excessive.
Agreed. A 27 MCAT can be better, but it's not that bad to warrant an attack like that. Many students within that MCAT range do get acceptances from typically lower/mid-tier MD schools.

At the end of the day though, MCAT is a (rather poor) indicator of success as a physician. Many of my friends/classmates with lower MCAT/board scores are equally, if not more, competent and qualified to serve patients than me (based on experiences working with them on the wards, etc.). There's certainly more to being a competent doctor than good test-taking ability.
 
AAMCAS has a limit on school deposits? I need to look into that...
Well, I've never heard of a 1k deposit for an md school whereas it's pretty standard for do. I think amcas limits it but I could be wrong. Either way, 1k-1.5 , is bs. It isn't enough to impact a reasonable admissions decision but happens to be a big pain in the ass
 
Well, I've never heard of a 1k deposit for an md school whereas it's pretty standard for do. I think amcas limits it but I could be wrong. Either way, 1k-1.5 , is just absurd. It isn't enough to impact a reasonable admissions decision but happens to be a big pain in the ass

I haven't had a 1k deposit from any of my DO acceptances but I certainly do think you're right for suggesting a cap.
 
Agreed. A 27 MCAT can be better, but it's not that bad to warrant an attack like that. Many students within that MCAT range do get acceptances from typically lower/mid-tier MD schools.

At the end of the day though, MCAT is a (rather poor) indicator of success as a physician. Many of my friends/classmates with lower MCAT/board scores are equally, if not more, competent and qualified to serve patients than me (based on experiences working with them on the wards, etc.). There's certainly more to being a competent doctor than good test-taking ability.
Of course there's more important things than the MCAT in deciding physician success. Note I did not say OP can not become a competent physician. I am saying that with a 27 MCAT, he is borderline unqualified to get into an MD or DO program based on just numbers, which are hugely important. (Maybe an exaggeration for DO but definitely true for MD.) His experience this cycle is evidence of such. I am not debating the merits of using the MCAT as an important marker for admissions; I am simply stating what is. With a 27 MCAT, OP should not attempt to reapply in either MD or DO and expect a better outcome. I do not see how telling someone the real story about their competitiveness constitutes an attack. It should be a favor to OP.
 
I haven't had a 1k deposit from any of my DO acceptances but I certainly do think you're right for suggesting a cap.
I just looked up my source for that again.
This was accurate in my n=1 experience http://www.aacom.org/docs/default-source/cib/cib_web_full-publication.pdf?sfvrsn=6 ctrl+f (Amount of deposit to hold place in class: ) and it looks like 1k is fairly standard, with higher deposits being more common than lower ones. Burrell in New Mexico goes up to $3000!
 
This is not the time for "rah rah" Pollyanna attitudes. the comment above wasn't an attack, just a statement of truth. A 27 is circling the drain for MD schools. Look through MSAR and it's below the 10th %ile for the vast majority of schools. The exceptions are the HBCs, and some state schools, like LSU.

Wow. Just wow. This comment is a true gem. As a previous "27 MCAT-er" I really hope the borderline unqualified sentiment was a joke and not SDN neuroticism. I can understand the not being choosey part but the unqualified part is totally unfounded and outright untrue. (unless you did some digging in OP's posts and found other evidence of unqualifiedness I am not aware of) I won't even begin to refute that comment as it cannot be taken seriously.

T



This whole discussion has nothing to do with being a doctor. it has to do with getting into medical school. With literally 10's othousands of apps each year (my school will probably go over 7000), it's a seller's market and people and most med schools can afford to ignore applicants with a 27. For DO schools, it's a fine score. MD? No.

Agreed. A 27 MCAT can be better, but it's not that bad to warrant an attack like that. Many students within that MCAT range do get acceptances from typically lower/mid-tier MD schools.

At the end of the day though, MCAT is a (rather poor) indicator of success as a physician. Many of my friends/classmates with lower MCAT/board scores are equally, if not more, competent and qualified to serve patients than me (based on experiences working with them on the wards, etc.). There's certainly more to being a competent doctor than good test-taking ability.
 
This whole discussion has nothing to do with being a doctor. it has to do with getting into medical school. With literally 10's thousands of apps each year (my school will probably go over 7000), it's a seller's market and people and most med schools can afford to ignore applicants with a 27. For DO schools, it's a fine score. MD? No.
Of course there's more important things than the MCAT in deciding physician success. Note I did not say OP can not become a competent physician. I am saying that with a 27 MCAT, he is borderline unqualified to get into an MD or DO program based on just numbers, which are hugely important. (Maybe an exaggeration for DO but definitely true for MD.) His experience this cycle is evidence of such. I am not debating the merits of using the MCAT as an important marker for admissions; I am simply stating what is. With a 27 MCAT, OP should not attempt to reapply in either MD or DO and expect a better outcome. I do not see how telling someone the real story about their competitiveness constitutes an attack. It should be a favor to OP.
I think everyone who's responded thus far agrees on what the OP should do with regards to the deposit and how realistic he/she should be with their prospects. i.e. not chancing reapplying, and instead paying the deposit while hoping to get into their 'dream MD school' this cycle.

I agree that this discussion is about getting into med school. However, my specific qualm is that when someone says a person is "borderline unqualified to become a physician in the US", that for me speaks towards competency, which is an overarching qualification of being a MD or DO physician, considering that the OP already has gotten into a med school (pending a paid deposit). And when a statement like that is paired with a "MCAT of 27" comment being the only supporting evidence, it doesn't take much to link them together.

What avgn initially said is quite different than the follow-up clarification saying that the OP is "borderline unqualified to get into a MD program". This latter comment may be true for the OP, but what was initially said goes beyond that. At best, the initial comment was a misunderstanding / poor choice of words, at worst, it was an attack whether or not it was intended to be.

Based on the clarification though, it seems that this was just a misunderstanding, and we're in agreement with pretty much everything. JMT
 
@Goro and @gyngyn, since you are both already on this thread, I wanted to ask you a question pertaining to the original post. OP mentioned that telling his interviewer he had an acceptance had an influence in how he got waitlisted. Is there any validity to this? Do Adcoms have preference for people with no acceptances (or potentially multiple acceptances) or is this usually a non-existent factor? Any thoughts or useful information on the topic would be greatly appreciated.

With the revelation that OP has an MCAT score of 27 this no longer seems odd. If OP's stats were above average for the school and he told the interviewer that he would've likely gotten an acceptance. But when you're not a hot commodity you really shouldn't be making statements like that.

As a general rule you should omit any mention of DO schools at MD interviews if your interviewer asks where you've applied/interviewed/been accepted. Same goes for those who feel the need to volunteer that information.
 
I strongly suggest that you turn down the acceptance, because I'd rather see the seat go to someone who really wants to be a doctor.

MD schools have no idea what the DO schools are doing, acceptance wise. MD <-> MD, different story.

DO schools don't know where you've been accepted to MD schools either.

@Goro To that point, what is the communication MD <-> MD re: a candidates acceptances? I wasn't aware there was any information sharing, if this has been extensively discussed elsewhere, sorry.
 
@Goro and @gyngyn, since you are both already on this thread, I wanted to ask you a question pertaining to the original post. OP mentioned that telling his interviewer he had an acceptance had an influence in how he got waitlisted. Is there any validity to this? Do Adcoms have preference for people with no acceptances (or potentially multiple acceptances) or is this usually a non-existent factor? Any thoughts or useful information on the topic would be greatly appreciated.
In my opinion, it is intrusive and irrelevant for an interviewer to ask about specific interviews or acceptances.
We will find out any relevant information in February anyway.
Nor is there any benefit to an applicant in disclosing their outcomes spontaneously. At best it is gratuitous, at worst, it comes off as bragging.
How such acceptances are viewed will vary by examiner. Experienced examiners will not be impressed or put off by acceptances (or lack thereof).
If you do this long enough you will see awful applicants accepted to very fine schools.
 
What the wise gyngyn said.

Every now and then we'll get an interviewee who throw out that they've been accepted elsewhere, and the attitude they project is not one of bragging, but more like "what can you do for me?"

While that might work fine in the business world, for us it is distasteful. Candidates like these usually get rejected or low waitlisted.


In my opinion, it is intrusive and irrelevant for an interviewer to ask about specific interviews or acceptances.
We will find out any relevant information in February anyway.
Nor is there any benefit to an applicant in disclosing their outcomes spontaneously. At best it is gratuitous, at worst, it comes off as bragging.
How such acceptances are viewed will vary by examiner. Experienced examiners will not be impressed or put off by acceptances (or lack thereof).
If you do this long enough you will see awful applicants accepted to very fine schools.
 
People with a 27 MCAT do not have the privilege to be choosy. Pay the deposit and go to school, suck up the pride lost that you won't be an MD. You'll grow to like the DO school as long as you keep an open mind. You're borderline unqualified to become a physician in the US, I don't understand the attitude here.

Solid post here. I was initially about to suggest OP to turn down the DO acceptance for many reasons. But a 27, which is 3-4 points below the median for MD matriculants? Come on, thats going too far and really not worth it. Simply take the acceptance and move on.
 
If you don't want to attend the DO school, you shouldn't have applied there. You need to be willing to accept every possibility in this process.

This isn't actually good advice in my opinion. I definitely interviewed at one school that I had researched a bit and thought I would like, then absolutely despised it when I checked it out at my interview.
 
This isn't actually good advice in my opinion. I definitely interviewed at one school that I had researched a bit and thought I would like, then absolutely despised it when I checked it out at my interview.

Withdraw your application post II immediately then. It's not like they accept you on the spot while your at the interview.
 
Withdraw your application post II immediately then. It's not like they accept you on the spot while your at the interview.

I do agree with this. You should either do that or, personally, I just flat out told them during the interview that I had seen enough and was not interested and would go ahead and leave so as to not waste anymore of anybody's time.
 
I have to surmise that if you don't get any love this cycle, it's because the Admissions dean called all others to tell them about you.



I do agree with this. You should either do that or, personally, I just flat out told them during the interview that I had seen enough and was not interested and would go ahead and leave so as to not waste anymore of anybody's time.
 
I do agree with this. You should either do that or, personally, I just flat out told them during the interview that I had seen enough and was not interested and would go ahead and leave so as to not waste anymore of anybody's time.

WOW! How bad was this place?
 
This isn't actually good advice in my opinion. I definitely interviewed at one school that I had researched a bit and thought I would like, then absolutely despised it when I checked it out at my interview.

Depends on OP's reasoning behind applying DO and not liking the school. OP was really vague and to me it sounded like a veiled expression of OP just wanting to go MD instead of DO and not expecting this scenario... which brings up the question of why the app was even sent in the first place.
 
Top