Deferral - any tips?

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Beaner81

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I'm wondering if anyone who has successfully deffered medical school for educational reasons could give me some tips on writing my letter? I can outline how the job benefits me and thus my peers at med school decently well, but do you have thoughts on other things I should include?
Thanks!
 
Beaner81 said:
I'm wondering if anyone who has successfully deffered medical school for educational reasons could give me some tips on writing my letter? I can outline how the job benefits me and thus my peers at med school decently well, but do you have thoughts on other things I should include?
Thanks!

I wouldn't stress about it, I think that at most schools it's just a formality (the first one anyway). Just explain what you'll be doing and be respectful and you'll be fine. Personally I was able to get 3 deferral years to finish a PhD without much trouble.
 
mendel121 said:
I wouldn't stress about it, I think that at most schools it's just a formality (the first one anyway). Just explain what you'll be doing and be respectful and you'll be fine. Personally I was able to get 3 deferral years to finish a PhD without much trouble.

Wow, thanks for the reply. I was under the impression that it's next to impossible to get a deferral granted. This is really encouraging!
 
Is working one more year simply to save some money for med school a good enough reason? Would schools look down upon that? Or does the year off have to be more intellectually meaningful, i.e. research/masters/Ph.D. oriented? I am asking because I called up my school and found out that some people (2 or 3) got their deferral denied for whatever reason.
 
I got a deferral to finish my MS degree in counseling. I stressed how being a counselor would only improve my doctor-patient skills. I also included a letter from my academic advisor confirming that I was in excellent standing in the MS program, etc. etc.

Most schools will easily give you a deferral for academic reasons. Mainly because having MS-Is with graduate degrees gives the school more to brag about :laugh:
 
I got a deferral to do a one year fiction writing program (I have an Oliver Sack's/Michael Crighton complex) my school was extremely supportive and getting the deferral was no problem. i think it depends on the school and what you want to do. A friend of mine got a Fulbright and into harvad, but harvard wouldn't give him the one year deferral, even for that!
 
I had to call my future school and ask them, the Director of Admissions said for those who need the year to finish degrees ( masters- me, phD), its just a formality, two sentences in the letter saying (need time to finsh thesis/dissertation, need deferrence please). Then its done.

However, if NOT for the above matter, then you need to write a good and detailed letter, possibly with references. One friend of mine asked her boss ( principle investigator of some study) to write a letter to the Dean of Admissions explaining that they are at the breakthrough point of their research and yada.yada.yada, it worked. Also, in your letter, talk about how this year of deferrence will make you a better physician.

good luck
 
julie29524 said:
I had to call my future school and ask them, the Director of Admissions said for those who need the year to finish degrees ( masters- me, phD), its just a formality, two sentences in the letter saying (need time to finsh thesis/dissertation, need deferrence please). Then its done.

However, if NOT for the above matter, then you need to write a good and detailed letter, possibly with references. One friend of mine asked her boss ( principle investigator of some study) to write a letter to the Dean of Admissions explaining that they are at the breakthrough point of their research and yada.yada.yada, it worked. Also, in your letter, talk about how this year of deferrence will make you a better physician.

good luck

Great suggestion, I think I'll do that! Thanks.
 
I deferred my admission for financial reasons. I wrote an honest letter explaining my situation. It wasn't a very long letter.
 
i got a 1 year deferral to feck about in japan teaching english. they would have let me defer for another year if I had wanted. best decision I've ever made.

once you're in, you're in.
 
omgwtfbbq? said:
I got a deferral to do a one year fiction writing program (I have an Oliver Sack's/Michael Crighton complex) my school was extremely supportive and getting the deferral was no problem. i think it depends on the school and what you want to do. A friend of mine got a Fulbright and into harvad, but harvard wouldn't give him the one year deferral, even for that!


I've got a VS Ramachandran complex. 🙂 Which fiction writing program did you do?
 
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