I was fortunate enough to be accepted off the waitlist to another MD program and will not be attending CNU (California Northstate University College of Medicine). Until now, I was planning to attend CNU for the reasons I'll list below in the hopes that it may be of use to other students in similar situations in the future. This is not meant to be an endorsement of CNU - my decision to attend rather than reapply was made in the context of my personal situation, and I may very well have made a different decision if I had been in a different situation.
Huge thank you to
@Goro @gyngyn and others who took the time to provide me with very valuable insights when I was in the process of making this decision (although I would suspect they may not agree with some of what I've said here)
1) in Feb/Mar 2024, the LCME decided to extend CNU's provisional accreditation (and probation) by one year instead of withdrawing accreditation. from what I gleaned from the LCME accreditation flowchart, that was actually a breach of protocol and the 'normal' course of action would have been to withdraw accreditation entirely if they were not willing to give full accreditation (because it had been 5 years since CNU got provisional accreditation). according to the dean of CNUCOM, the LCME made this decision because CNU has made significant progress towards meeting the LCME's standards in the past 2 years and is on track to be fully accredited next year if the progress is sustained. i do not want to speculate about whether this claim is credible or not
2) to clear any confusion, CNU students would NOT be shuffled to other programs in the event that CNU loses accreditation - they would finish their education at CNU. the LCME told me directly that the CNU class of 2028 would be considered graduates of an accredited institution and be fully eligible for USLME, state boards, residency apps, etc. EVEN IF the school was to lose accreditation next year. again, i do not want to speculate, but this may still potentially still directly or indirectly harm ones' chances to match, especially in a more competitive specialty. however, i did still find this to be reassuring.
3) it is within the LCME's power to tell a school they cannot recruit new students and need to focus resources on current students. the LCME told me directly that CNU will be able to recruit new students in the coming cycle. this is pure speculation, but I would hope they would not allow them to recruit new students if they thought it was probable that they would shut down the school next year.
4) the current CNU students i've spoken to (anonymously on SDN and through their virtual visit) all seemed happy with their decision to attend CNU and the education they're receiving
5) CNU has consistently had reasonably strong match results despite being on probation
6) I would not be fully financing my med education through the private student loans they offer. I definitely recommend looking into disadvantages of private students loans and applying for loans through the CNU affiliated lenders ASAP after being accepted to see what your terms are. anecdotally, the interest rates can be higher than federal student loans, even >10% in some cases, and most people I spoke to were unable to get approved without a cosigner
In regards to the question of whether schools will be notified that an applicant had been accepted in a previous cycle, I asked the AAMC directly and they said the following:
"Please be aware that the other schools you have applied to through AMCAS will not be informed about which schools have offered you an acceptance. However, if you have previously been accepted into a program and decide to submit a new application to the same program, you will be considered a reapplicant."
I do not see anywhere on the primary AMCAS application where it asks if you have been accepted to a program in a previous cycle (although it does ask about enrollment/matriculation). However, I have absolutely no insight into the inner workings of the AMCAS application service and these things are subject to change so I highly recommend doing your own research before making any decisions.
While I'm unsure how often I'll be on SDN moving forward, please feel free to message me privately or post in here about anything I've discussed above. I do hope CNU receives full accreditation next year for the sake of the wonderful CNU students I spoke to on this platform.