Declining an Interview

[abcehmu]

Does anybody know if there is a proper protocol? E-mail a response to the invite e-mail saying no thank you? Ignore the invite and never schedule?

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[osli]

Not sure what the "protocol" is, but if it were me I'd call the admissions office, explain that I was holding an acceptance at another school that is higher on my preference list, and inform them that I although I would very much like to see their campus and learn more about the school I would not want to waste their time.

I might think of some better wording than "waste their time" though.

 

[QofQuimica]

Just write an email to them. Be polite, and you don't have to give them a reason why. Mine basically said something to this effect:

Dear Dean of Admissions John Doe,

Thank you for inviting me to interview at XYZ Medical School. Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend the interview, and I request that you withdraw my application from further consideration by XYZ Medical School.

Sincerely,
OP

 

[MollyMalone]

I think a simple email is all that's required, e.g.:

Dear X,

Thank you for your consideration of my application to School Y. I have recently received an acceptance from a school that I feel will be a better fit, so please withdraw my application.

Sincerely,

Me.

 

[Flopotomist]

Thanks for the invite
Alas, I won't be coming
Please withdraw my app.

 

[thegenius]

Flopotomist > QofQuimica > TheDarkSide

But they are all good!

 

[CerealBox]

Do you think it is appropriate to email schools we haven't received invites from in the same way?

I haven't written a Haiku in a long time....

 

[thegenius]

Do you think it is appropriate to email schools we haven't received invites from in the same way?

I haven't written a Haiku in a long time....

Yes, even better would be to send them a letter in the mail. But if you know that a school is competent with email then that should be safe.

For instance, if I get into one of my top choices, I'm going to write (or just copy) what Quimica wrote and send off the letter to the 28 other schools that I've applied to. I might email a few of them though.

 

[Stroganoff]

Maybe I'm paranoid, but it seems pretty easy to pretend you're someone else and e-mail the school declining their interview. I bet some people would stoop that low just to increase their chances. How would they know, you ask? Either 1) They know the applicant in person and want to sabotage, 2) They read the applicant's super detailed MDapplicants page, 3) SDN, 4) pure guess.

I'd leave a paper trail and do it via mail.

 

[QofQuimica]

Maybe I'm paranoid, but it seems pretty easy to pretend you're someone else and e-mail the school declining their interview. I bet some people would stoop that low just to increase their chances. How would they know, you ask? Either 1) They know the applicant in person and want to sabotage, 2) They read the applicant's super detailed MDapplicants page, 3) SDN, 4) pure guess.

I'd leave a paper trail and do it via mail.

Even people who know me personally don't know my AMCAS ID or the password to my official AMCAS email account. If I were you, I'd find some new "friends."

Seattle, if the school hasn't invited you to interview but you want to withdraw, you can simply say:

Dear ABC Medical School,

Thank you for considering my application to ABC Medical School. However, at this time I would like to withdraw my application from further consideration.

Sincerely,
SeattlePostBach

 

[anystream]

Even people who know me personally don't know my AMCAS ID or the password to my official AMCAS email account. If I were you, I'd find some new "friends."

Seattle, if the school hasn't invited you to interview but you want to withdraw, you can simply say:

Dear ABC Medical School,

Thank you for considering my application to ABC Medical School. However, at this time I would like to withdraw my application from further consideration.

Sincerely,
SeattlePostBach

at one school I withdrew from, all it took was a phone call and telling them my full name...so I would agree that it seems too easy, in a way.

 

[QofQuimica]

at one school I withdrew from, all it took was a phone call and telling them my full name...so I would agree that it seems too easy, in a way.

Ok, I give on this one. I've never tried to withdraw by phone, and that does seem to be a bit dicey, b/c then there's no written record of it. Email, on the other hand, is not anonymous. The sender *can* be identified by his/her email account and IP address, and the message is stored on who knows how many servers between you and your recipient.

But by some people's logic, you really don't have ANY foolproof method to thwart a determined saboteur's intent to ruin your life. Couldn't I write a letter and forge your signature to it? Or maybe even steal something that you've actually signed and scan or photocopy your signature onto the document? Or just send a type-written letter without a signature? I'm sure I could come up with some other equally nefarious schemes to derail your apps if I kept trying.

 

[anystream]

Ok, I give on this one. I've never tried to withdraw by phone, and that does seem to be a bit dicey, b/c then there's no written record of it. Email, on the other hand, is not anonymous. The sender *can* be identified by his/her email account and IP address, and the message is stored on who knows how many servers between you and your recipient.

But by some people's logic, you really don't have ANY foolproof method to thwart a determined saboteur's intent to ruin your life. Couldn't I write a letter and forge your signature to it? Or maybe even steal something that you've actually signed and scan or photocopy your signature onto the document? Or just send a type-written letter without a signature? I'm sure I could come up with some other equally nefarious schemes to derail your apps if I kept trying.

yea, I wasn't thinking in terms of sabatoging anyone's application, but after withdrawing from certain schools, I have thought to myself..."that was easy...almost TOO easy..."

 

[CerealBox]

But by some people's logic, you really don't have ANY foolproof method to thwart a determined saboteur's intent to ruin your life. Couldn't I write a letter and forge your signature to it? Or maybe even steal something that you've actually signed and scan or photocopy your signature onto the document? Or just send a type-written letter without a signature? I'm sure I could come up with some other equally nefarious schemes to derail your apps if I kept trying.

 

[Flopotomist]

Man, you people are paranoid.. I mean, the only person I have sent withdrawal e-mails for was QofQuim... Can't go competing with all those fun avatars.

 

[QofQuimica]

Man, you people are paranoid.. I mean, the only person I have sent withdrawal e-mails for was QofQuim... Can't go competing with all those fun avatars.

Heh heh, no one's figured this one out yet.

 

[Flopotomist]

Heh heh, no one's figured this one out yet.

Tell us the answer!

 

[kirexhana]

don't these letters/emails all sound awfully like rejection letters? I say take a rejection letter you have and just reword it.

Dear Medical School,

I have carefully considered your invitation for an interview. However I am sorry that I will not need a place in the first year class beginning August 2006.

I realize that the applicant pool at XX SOM must be very high, making it necesary for me to relinquish my invitation to someone who is on hold for an interview. Please do no construe my dicision to mean that you are not qualified to be an institution of medical eduation. Indeed, I already have an acceptance from many qualified schools which is more that I can accommodate.

I appreciate your interest in me and wish you success in getting other good applicants to fill your class.

Sincerely,

Joe Schmoe


God I wish I could send this to some schools before they send it to me...

 

[crazy_cavalier]

Ignore the invite and never schedule?

*Absolutely do not do that*

You MUST notify the school. Simply write a polite letter or email saying that you are, regretfully, unable to make it to an interview. This is the professional thing to do. Ignoring them altogether only wastes valuable time for the adcom, and in a worse scenario, it prevents another qualified applicant from having an interview at the school.

 

[QofQuimica]

don't these letters/emails all sound awfully like rejection letters? I say take a rejection letter you have and just reword it.

Dear Medical School,

I have carefully considered your invitation for an interview. However I am sorry that I will not need a place in the first year class beginning August 2006.

I realize that the applicant pool at XX SOM must be very high, making it necesary for me to relinquish my invitation to someone who is on hold for an interview. Please do no construe my dicision to mean that you are not qualified to be an institution of medical eduation. Indeed, I already have an acceptance from many qualified schools which is more that I can accommodate.

I appreciate your interest in me and wish you success in getting other good applicants to fill your class.

Sincerely,

Joe Schmoe


God I wish I could send this to some schools before they send it to me...

That's actually quite good. It sounds like a real rejection letter.

 

[deuist]

Dear Admissions Committee,

After a thorough consideration of your university, I have decided not to attend your institute. With over 120 medical schools, the competition was fierce this year. In the end, I had to select the school that would most closely match my goals for residency. This letter is not meant to say that you can't turn out great physicians. It's just to say that I got accepted to a higher ranked school.

Good luck in your admissions process. I'm sure that with your stats, you'll find someone willing to go there.

Sincerely,
Deuist
Director of my life

 

[Risa]

Dear Medical School,

I have carefully considered your invitation for an interview. However I am sorry that I will not need a place in the first year class beginning August 2006.

I realize that the applicant pool at XX SOM must be very high, making it necesary for me to relinquish my invitation to someone who is on hold for an interview. Please do no construe my dicision to mean that you are not qualified to be an institution of medical eduation. Indeed, I already have an acceptance from many qualified schools which is more that I can accommodate.

I appreciate your interest in me and wish you success in getting other good applicants to fill your class.

Sincerely,

Joe Schmoe

LOL nice!

 

[45408]

God I wish I could send this to some schools before they send it to me...

if it gets late in the season, and you're pretty sure that their class is full, you should totally do that.

 

[letmein!please?]

I've decided to send withdrawl notes in the mail to any school that rejects me as soon as I get the letter. This way I get the last word, and they will never know If i sent it before I heard from them....muahahaha

 

[Messerschmitts]

Dear Admissions Committee,

After a thorough consideration of your university, I have decided not to attend your institute. With over 120 medical schools, the competition was fierce this year. In the end, I had to select the school that would most closely match my goals for residency. This letter is not meant to say that you can't turn out great physicians. It's just to say that I got accepted to a higher ranked school.

Good luck in your admissions process. I'm sure that with your stats, you'll find someone willing to go there.

Sincerely,
Deuist
Director of my life

HA HA HA HA This is the most brilliant thing ever! Why didn't I write it this way when I declined my AMC interview? I LOVED the "with over 120 medical schools, the competition was fierce this year". Absolutely diabolical.

Well, what I wrote to AMC was:

Dear Albany Medical College Admissions,

I am very honoured to have been invited to interview at your school. However, I regret to inform you that your school has been removed from my further consideration for matriculation. This year I have been invited to a large number of interviews (unlike last year, when your institution and many others rejected me without interview), and have been accepted to another institution of my choice.

Thus, please offer my interview spot to another qualified applicant. I appreciate the interest that your institution has expressed in me, and wish you luck in recruiting and retaining an excellent incoming class. I forward to meeting and working with your alumni in the medical field in the future.

Sincerely,

 

[ola]

Great posts!!!