Dilemma

[Melissa]

I've spent the last few days worrying about a decision so I thought maybe some of you may have words of wisdom. I have interviewed and been accepted to DMU. While I enjoyed the school and the people, I cannot help but constantly compare it to my first choice school-MSUCOM, which I did not get accepted into. My gut tells me to decline the acceptance and try again next year. However, I also feel that if DMU is my one chance to go to med school I should take it. It is not like I disliked DMU, in fact after the interview I was raving about the school. But there is something which is holding me back and I cannot quite verbalize it. I think I am going to call DMU and tell them honestly that MSU was my first choice and ask them if I reapplied how would that look upon my application after declining once. I only have a few more days to decide so any advise or wonderful words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

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[kidterrific]

Melissa -

I was in the same boat. Seeing as I'm from Detroit, I wanted to be close to the ones I love, and I wanted to go to MSUCOM. Add the fact that it's HALF the tuition, and they got ranked, etc etc etc.

But med school is most certainly med school. Don't think you won't get any less of an education if you go to DMU. If you're worried about MSU being ranked for primary care, you don't really need to worry about that anymore, because they dropped huge in the rankings this year. The MD guys eclipsed them. Now I'm not trying to get all the MSU guys to email me and hate me. Remember: I wanted to go there first, but they didn't take me!!!! So decided that above all, I just wanted to be a great doctor, and I'll get to rotate at the hospitals I want because DMU lets you set it up yourself (makes you, more like it). We all take the same test at the end.

But if you think I'm full of it (and I probably am), then you should just call up DMU and see if you can defer your acceptance for a year. You don't have to supply a reason. Just tell them you would like a year off to asses things in your life, and ask if it's possible. If you want to wait a year, and your chances of getting into MSU are good, then you can just tell DMU to stick it once you get in. Talk to Lorie Culham at MSU to see if you would be wasting your time reapplying - she's honest, nice, and absolutely the best thing to happen to that school. She'll tell you the straight facts on your chances. The rest of the admissions department at MSU sucks major booty (no flame war, please - it's a personal opinion).

But I think you should just go to DMU and enjoy. The heart wants what the heart wants, and you should make the choices that offer the least regret. Let me know what happens.

 

[ana]

Melissa,
Unfortunately, DMU and MSUCOM are both osteoapthic schools, and I think you will hurt yourself by turning down DMU. The deferment idea may work if one of those schools had been allopathic because there is no real communication between ACOMAS and AMCAS.

The osteopathic community is a relatively small one. There are less than 20 schools altogether. Don't you think they talk among themselves? I am not saying they compare lists and talk about each student, but they might if the student stands out for some reason (and I think what you are thinking about doing might just make you stand out).

Anway, I can't tell you not try again -- who knows, it might work. However, you should seek opinion of the Admissions coordinator at MSUCOM as suggested elsewhere in this thread. You should be prepared to provide compelling reasons why you should be allowed to defer to reapply to another school -- vague "gut" type answers will not work for them.

I think outright declining DMU is suicide because they might infer it as a lack of commitment on your part to medicine.

Have you tried appealing the decision of the admissions committee at MSU-COM? This is not unheard of. It is possible they will offer to place you on a wait list or just outright give you an acceptance if you have compelling (again, that darn word...) reasons for being at their school. This is rare, but not unheard of.

My suggestion is that you take DMU. If after 1 year you still feel the need to be in Michigan, you can apply for a transfer.

I am not trying to rain on your parade, but I just would not want you to shoot yourself in foot over this.

 

[swdave]

Melissa,

I also interviewed at both schools. I'm accepted at DMU and told I'll be in the upper third on the waitlist at MSU.

One person that can give you some great insight might be Dr. Teitelbaum. Dr. Teitelbaum's into at DMU He's obviously VERY familiar with MSU and DMU. He seems to be a pretty dynamic individual and will probably be pretty convincing.

It may seem somewhat bold but my guess is speaking with him will be an excellent thing for you. At DMU, the committee doesn't decide admission, they make a recommendation to Dr. Teitelbaum and he decides.

As for me, I'm not sure what I'll do yet. I'm going to be patient and see what happens over the next month for me.

I do give a special consideration to a program that believes in me. I applied to UNMC this year and would turn them down if they suddenly offered me a spot since I feel a little slighted by them. They told me they were not convinced of my sincere motivation for medicine!!!! This pedagogical view kind of bothered me.

Good luck! The whole process if pretty rough but I admit I'm glad to know that no matter what, I'm starting med school this August!!!!

Dave

 

[kidterrific]

Those guys offer some great advice. I have to agree FULLY with SWDAVE because I, too, am very loyal to anyone who believes in me.

 

[muonwhiz]

Have you ever heard of the old saying: "A bird in the hand is woth two in the bush." Take heed, and go to the school that accepts you. There is no telling what may happen next year, and you are giving up a whole year in which you could be going for your dreams. I agree that Dr. Teitlebaum appears to be very dynamic, and since you are already accepted there he would probably be willing to talk to you. I also enjoyed the interview and school there, but the Dean decided that I should only be on the wait list. SWDave, is AZCOM your first choice?

 

[acaban]

Hi Melissa, I would think that since you already have a seat at DMU, you would accept it and start there in the fall. During your first year you would apply for a transfer to MSU. Waiting a year would be a waist of time, while you could be taking classes at DMU. Then you could transfer into 2nd year at MSU. I agree with some posters that you would be falling yourself short, by not attending DMU this fall. Good Luck to you on your decision.

 

[ryanpj]

Melissa, heed the advice of others on this board. I was waitlisted at Indiana Univ. and Univ. of Illinois and then brought into the acceptance pool later on after I had already paid my deposit at the choice of UHS, Kirksville, LECOM, or DMU. So I chose DMU. I was offended by being waitlisted by the 2 allopathic schools and for other reasons I said to hell with them. But no matter what I knew that I could not do anything other than go to medical school. I did not want to wait around another year in case IU or UI did not accept me and do nothing but be someones gimp in the hosp. YOu deserve to be with people who have the same desires and passions as you. The comrodity that you build with your classmates by being beat up and down, and bitching about things, and working of some steam, and going out is priceless. Take the plunge and quench our thirst for what you desire to do not where you desire to do it at. Feel free to mail me and quiz me because I am done studying for my pharm test on FRiday.

 

[B_ADAMS]

If you turn down your acceptance, to be frank, your screwed.

Look at the schools point of view, you turn down their acceptance one year then reapply the next. These people are not stupid, they will know you had something else in the works that fell through.

I'm sure they will feel as if you were to good to go their school (ie they were a second choice) and there are many applicants who would love to go to DMU.

Now, the deferment idea may not be a bad idea if no one at DMU finds out about the future app to MSU.

Good luck in your decision, but if it were me, I'd take the acceptance and try to transfer in your second year.

Don't waste a year on a gut feeling that may not go through. Take the sure thing.

By the way, I did not apply to either school, this is just my point of view in general.

 

[Melissa]

I've been studying for finals so I have not been able to check this post but I wanted to thank everyone so much for replying. I think that the more I have thought about it I realized that perhaps this gut feeling is not my immense desire to go to MSUCOM but instead I am feeling like I am just not ready to go to med school next year. This late in the year I never suspected that I would get in. I already have a job and an apartment for next year. This is my 5th year of college and to honest I greatly need a break. I have been doing horrible in my classes this semester due to lack of motivation and to be honest I am sick of school. When I asked about deferrment during the orientation of the interview, DMU said that they only do it for emergency reasons. I know some may think that if I were more motivated or passionate about about medicine I would take my acceptance but I feel right now I know that I would do aweful. I am in great need of a break. Also, finacial things have come up in my family and I feel compelled to help out and work. And while the thought of going through the entire application again sounds aweful, I feel that is I what I need to do for myself - for my sanity. I still have appointments with people at MSUCOM to talk with about this and as soon as my finals are done I'll be calling DMU. But thank you all so much for your words, you have really made me rethink a lot of things.