Deferring from Pittsburgh... lose chance at scholarship

[noodley]

After much thought, I've decided to defer medical school for a year, although I haven't decided which medical school yet. Pittsburgh is one of my top choices, and their deadline for requesting deferral is April 12. However, I have applied for a merit scholarship there, and their decision about the recipients will be announced at some undisclosed date (quite likely after April 12).

I called their office today to ask if deferring would affect my chance at the scholarship. I was surprised to find that YES! they actually take you out of the running completely.

So basically, I have to decide between deferring and a chance at the scholarship, by April 12. I don't have to decide about Pittsburgh until May 15. Does this seem strange to anyone? Is anyone else planning to defer from Pittsburgh or another school? I guess I did not realize the "consequences" of deferring and am afraid that there are more I don't know about. I haven't actually sent any letters requesting deferral, but it has taken so much to finally make the decision... I really don't want to go through re-evaluating again. What would you do?

Thanks for reading!

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[uptoolate]

It doesn't seem that strange because I know Hopkins has a scholarship for students cross-training in Public Health that is rescinded should the winner defer. Tough decision though.

Since a number of people have already been awarded the scholarship, they probably have a ranked list drawn up already. Maybe you could ask them what your chances are regarding the scholarship?

 

[PookieGirl]

Word from Dean Curtiss is that the scholarships were already given out and if deferred by someone, they are not given to anyone else.

 

[CalGoldenBear]

Word from Dean Curtiss is that the scholarships were already given out and if deferred by someone, they are not given to anyone else.

does that mean if someone declines the scholarship to go to another school, no one else gets the scholarship?

 

[noodley]

Word from Dean Curtiss is that the scholarships were already given out and if deferred by someone, they are not given to anyone else.

PookieGirl, how did you hear from Dean Curtiss? And yeah, what exactly do you mean by "deferred by someone"?

Thanks!

 

[noodley]

It doesn't seem that strange because I know Hopkins has a scholarship for students cross-training in Public Health that is rescinded should the winner defer. Tough decision though.

Since a number of people have already been awarded the scholarship, they probably have a ranked list drawn up already. Maybe you could ask them what your chances are regarding the scholarship?

Thanks, uptoolate. I had not realized people already got them... I found the post from 2 weeks ago. So I guess that makes my decision easier. Is there a general feeling that med schools don't want you to defer? I don't know if I should have mentioned at my Stanford interview that I'm thinking about deferring... ahh, too late now.

 

[PookieGirl]

PookieGirl, how did you hear from Dean Curtiss? And yeah, what exactly do you mean by "deferred by someone"?

Thanks!

My boyfriend applied. When he read those other posts here, he called Dean Curtiss.

 

[lorelei]

Thanks, uptoolate. I had not realized people already got them... I found the post from 2 weeks ago. So I guess that makes my decision easier. Is there a general feeling that med schools don't want you to defer? I don't know if I should have mentioned at my Stanford interview that I'm thinking about deferring... ahh, too late now.

I talked to the dean at Wash U about this. (I had applied for a merit scholarship, was considering deferring, and wanted to know how that would be affected.)

There, your scholarship is not affected at all by a deferral - if you defer, any scholarship you've gotten waits for you.

He said their general feeling is that they grant deferral requests, because if someone is doing it to do something awesome (cure AIDS in Africa or whatever) that's obviously great, and if they're doing it because they're not quite sure about medicine, it's better for them to take a year and either get sure or decide to skip it, than to come to med school and wash out.

However, he did say that if I were so lucky as to get a scholarship interview, I shouldn't mention deferring then, because despite their policy of granting deferrals, someone on the committee might think differently, so it could hurt my chances. So he said I should wait until a decision on the scholarship had been reached. That made sense to me - I definitely never mentioned it in any interviews.

He also had a lot to say about deferring for financial reasons (basically: don't; you'll almost certainly make more money post-MD than now, so it's not rational). (I don't know why you're considering deferral, just thought I'd throw that in there.)

I do have the impression that Wash U is more deferral-friendly than a lot of schools, but that's how they do things, FWIW.

 

[uptoolate]

Sort of on a different subject- I am thinking about deferring for financial reasons. My husband works in non-profit (read: not rolling in dough) and we really rely on my income, even though its not much, for anything beyond mortgage and utilities. I'm a student, but a really well-paid student. I'm thinking of taking a year off to work and load up on all the things we won't be able to have in the time I'm in med school and residency. A new car-or at least one where all the doors open and close as they should, a couch, kill off some of my loans, maybe pre-pay my daughter's tuition fora year or two. I have a Ph.D, so I could make some decent money before I go into pauper's hibernation. Is that crazy? I think its probably a little different than what is usually referred to when incoming students are warned off of deferral,no? I'm so nervous about the financial implications of being unemployed and gaining more debt that I'm grinding my teeth to little stubs at night.

 

[noodley]

Sort of on a different subject- I am thinking about deferring for financial reasons. My husband works in non-profit (read: not rolling in dough) and we really rely on my income, even though its not much, for anything beyond mortgage and utilities. I'm a student, but a really well-paid student. I'm thinking of taking a year off to work and load up on all the things we won't be able to have in the time I'm in med school and residency. A new car-or at least one where all the doors open and close as they should, a couch, kill off some of my loans, maybe pre-pay my daughter's tuition fora year or two. I have a Ph.D, so I could make some decent money before I go into pauper's hibernation. Is that crazy? I think its probably a little different than what is usually referred to when incoming students are warned off of deferral,no? I'm so nervous about the financial implications of being unemployed and gaining more debt that I'm grinding my teeth to little stubs at night.

Wow, that is a LOT to think about. Have you tried calculating it all out? Like how much interest you would accrue over the years of training vs. the difference between what you'd make now and what'd you'd make as an MD? That might make it seem less scary, because my guess is that you'll be able repay your loans (with which you could use to pay for the car, etc.) in a reasonable amount of time and it's better to just go for it now.

My reasons for deferring are not financial, but I do feel uncomfortable about not having any income during med school. At least now I work part-time and have enough to pay for food, etc... and having a family to support probably only amplifies that feeling.

Also, have you gotten any financial aid packages? If you have a dependent, it seems like you'd be more likely to get grants. Oh, speaking of which... what happens with financial aid when you defer?

Anyway, I don't think you could go wrong either way... it's been a comforting thought through this time of decision-making. Best of luck!

Also, I'll be at Pitt's revisit weekend and might meet some of you soon.