Do schools know if you declined a medical school acceptance from last cycle?

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noideawhattodo77

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I was wondering if schools care if you decline an acceptance? I got into a california northstate university.

I've heard that it can be a huge red flag, as i've emailed and talked to various admission/program directors, and from the replies I got, it's apparently a VERY negative thing if you decline and reapply... I just really want to stay home. Does amcas know if you accepted and declined.
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bananafish94 said:
The bottom line is yes, and if you decline a medical school acceptances it is very, very bad for your chances in the future.
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So do schools automatically see you've been accepted on the new app if I reapply? And even if the school is unranked and shady??

OchemOficionado said:
Why did you apply and interview there though? Especially if you know you don't want to matriculate there.
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I know I guess I'm an idiot.
 
fluffysquirrel said:
Why did you apply to/interview at a shady unranked school that you didn't want to go to?
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idk. Your reply reminded me of one of the emails I got.

I'm just wondering if schools do in fact see that I declined it, even with a new amcas.
 
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The only time I have ever supported non-matriculation to a US MD school is this case. You could reasonably say that you never expected that a school whose students were otherwise eligible for federal loans and payback mechanisms would deny their students that opportunity. You could assert that you didn't realize that the LCME would permit such behavior in a US MD school.
 
Hmm... I wonder if adcoms would be more forgiving of you dropping this acceptance. It doesn't seem to have such a good reputation as a school from what I've seen on SDN at least. maybe @gyngyn could help?
 
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gyngyn said:
The only time I have ever supported non-matriculation is this case. You could reasonably say that you never expected that a school whose students were otherwise eligible for federal loans and payback mechanisms would deny their students that opportunity.
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Yes that's what I thought you would say. But do you know why the school is doing that?
 
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gyngyn said:
The only time I have ever supported non-matriculation is this case. You could reasonably say that you never expected that a school whose students were otherwise eligible for federal loans and payback mechanisms would deny their students that opportunity.
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Yeah but I emailed many schools and they were forwars and basically said they view it negatively. Even with that school. Cuz in the end, I applied to it. Do schools really do see the declined acceptance on amcas?
 
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noideawhattodo77 said:
Yeah but I emailed many schools and they were pretty blunt and basically said they view it negatively. Even with that school. Cuz in the end, I applied to it. Do schools really do see the declined acceptance on amcas?
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Did you speak to the Admissions Dean?
Were you explicit in identifying how you were misled?
 
mariposas905 said:
Yes that's what I thought you would say. But do you know why CA Northstate is doing that?
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Why would a school would deny their own students the most basic tools to pay for their education?
 
gyngyn said:
The only time I have ever supported non-matriculation to a US MD school is this case. You could reasonably say that you never expected that a school whose students were otherwise eligible for federal loans and payback mechanisms would deny their students that opportunity. You could assert that you didn't realize that the LCME would permit such behavior in a US MD school.
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As usual, the wise gyngyn is spot on.
 
gyngyn said:
Why would a school would deny their own students the most basic tools to pay for their education?
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Yes, I'm wondering why they are doing that. I guess because they just want more money? But then, I'm confused how they got accredited in the first place if all they cared about was profit instead of the students 😕
 
noideawhattodo77 said:
In one case, yes. And it was a prestigious one too. Apparently it's my fault for applying blindly and not researching beforehand.
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There is plenty of blame to be shared. I'm sure that this is one instance in which you may be forgiven at many schools, though.
 
gyngyn said:
There is plenty of blame to be shared. I'm sure that this is one instance in which you may be forgiven at many schools, though.
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Do med school know you've decline the acceptance even on a new amcas app? And what school? Please answer.

I still think it's a ginormous risk here. The school I badly wanted to attend gave me that blunt response so I'm really leaning towards attending tbh.
 
noideawhattodo77 said:
Do med school know you've decline the acceptance even on a new amcas app? And what school? Please answer.

I still think it's a ginormous risk here. The school I badly wanted to attend gave me that blunt response so I'm really leaning towards attending tbh.
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We will know of your previous acceptance if we check the National Clearinghouse.
It is my opinion that most CA schools have such a low opinion of this school's behavior that you would not be harmed in a re-application.
I only know of of Program Director opinions in the rest of the country, not Admissions Deans..
If there is no other school you could reasonably be accepted to, then attending this school is your only other option. I'm sorry.
 
gyngyn said:
We will know of your previous acceptance if we check the National Clearinghouse.
It is my opinion that most CA schools have such a low opinion of this school's behavior that you would not be harmed in a re-application.
I only know of of Program Director opinions in the rest of the country, not Admissions Deans..
If there is no other school you could reasonably be accepted to, then attending this school is your only other option. I'm sorry.
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When do schools usually check the "National Clearinghouse" for an app, before or after reading an application?

Thanks for the feedback so far 🙂
 
noideawhattodo77 said:
When do schools usually check the "National Clearinghouse" for an app, before or after reading an application?

Thanks for the feedback so far 🙂
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Most of us (in CA) will be using the same software next year. Depending on the school it may be after the secondary is sent.
 
whathappened1 said:
yes they may be experts on sdn, but like I said OP said they talked DIRECTLY to an adcom about this and emailed schools. You can interpret that whatever way you want.... and in the end it's up to OP. I guess this serves as a reminder to ppl to not blindly apply to schools.
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Applicants should never put all their eggs in one basket (i.e. act based solely on the advice of their #1 choice). A few schools say it would not be looked at favorably. As pointed out here, some adcoms say that it is understandable.

Also as gyngyn mentioned, it's ridiculous to think that any US MD would make it so inherently difficult for its students to pay for their education. It's a crazy notion that no student should really even have to consider. Granted, I don't know what came up during interviews/financial aid presentations, but OP should have done some research on this new school since there was a real chance he could have been accepted post-interview.

If OP reapplies, OP should cast a very large net and give 200% to his application/secondaries. OP should also realistically consider how much his app improved. A fair number of adcoms will likely fall on either side.

If I were OP, I would reapply extremely broadly to both MD and DO programs. Please correct me if I am wrong, but if a DO secondary asks "Have you ever been accepted to a DO program," OP would answer "no."
 
Thanks for the replies everyone. I guess I'll mention that the schools I mostly talked to were UC's and top 10s. I received pretty blunt responses from most of them about it not being a positive thing (to reapply). I'll think about it more, but am leaning towards attending. Thanks again!
 
whathappened1 said:
yes they may be experts on sdn, but like I said OP said they talked DIRECTLY to an adcom about this and emailed schools. You can interpret that whatever way you want.... and in the end it's up to OP. I guess this serves as a reminder to ppl to not blindly apply to schools.
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Actually this is a good point, not to take away from the knowledge of Gyngyn or Goro but it doesn't really matter how much of an expert the adcoms on SDN are (keep in mind an n=2) when OP directly spoke to the people from the schools they are interested in applying who will be looking at his app, and these individuals in real life said it would not be positive, no matter the reason. OP's only hope is to apply very broadly and hope that in that, some school considers his reason for not accepting valid like The adcoms here on SDN
 
noideawhattodo77 said:
So do schools automatically see you've been accepted on the new app if I reapply? And even if the school is unranked and shady??


I know I guess I'm an idiot.
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But, why did you bother to apply to a school that you knew was "unranked and shady"? And if you didn't know about its quality at the time, then why didn't you do research on that school? I'm seeing all kinds of red flags. What you want to do when you apply to medical school is pick a set of schools that you'd be happy attending (each and every one of them). If any of the schools on your list are places where you don't want to go, then don't bother applying. If you do, then the one that you hate may be the one school that accepts you, and you'll be miserable because of it. It's just not a smart move.
 
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noideawhattodo77 said:
In one case, yes. And it was a prestigious one too. Apparently it's my fault for applying blindly and not researching beforehand.
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Yes. Absolutely spot on. You didn't do your research, and that unfortunately shows carelessness on your part. I hope you can get in somewhere this time, but make sure you think before you do anything.
 
unicornshadow888 said:
Yes. Absolutely spot on. You didn't do your research, and that unfortunately shows carelessness on your part. I hope you can get in somewhere this time, but make sure you think before you do anything.
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I think you're being a little hard on OP. If I apply to a LCME accredited institution, I assume certain standards. This school falls far below this standard. Not to mention I don't know what kind of neurotic applicant looks up financial aid info of each school s/he applies to. Plenty of "unranked," accredited schools will provide you a fine education. The school's website is really unsuspecting, and certainly doesn't reflect its infamy on SDN.
 
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Shirafune said:
I think you're being a little hard on OP. If I apply to an accredited institution, I assume certain standards. [The school] falls far below this standard. Not to mention I don't know what kind of neurotic applicant looks up financial aid info of each school s/he applies to. Plenty of "unranked," accredited schools will provide you a fine education. [The school's] website is really unsuspecting, and certainly doesn't reflect its infamy on SDN.
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I was just being realistic (and I tend to not sugarcoat things). And I agree with everyone else's advice to apply VERY broadly to MD and DO programs.
 
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unicornshadow888 said:
I was just being realistic (and I tend to not sugarcoat things). And I agree with everyone else's advice to apply VERY broadly to MD and DO programs. Also, I thought this school already had a fairly infamous reputation here on SDN? I could be wrong, though.
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I mean this school's website is pretty normal compared to its cruddy reputation on SDN, so for everybody that doesn't use SDN, it can be an easy trap to fall into.
 
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[EDIT]: as courtesy to the OP, please delete the name of the school from your posts (even in the quoted statements). Thanks!
 
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I'm confused as to why you're asking Top 10's their opinion on reapplying after being accepted at said "shady and unranked institition"? Forget about the top 20, even top 30, that's not your target anymore, probably never was. Your target is mid to low tier MD, even DO, depending on your application. If you don't want to royally screw yourself, then don't attend, reapply. Good luck.
 
noideawhattodo77 said:
Thanks for the replies everyone. I guess I'll mention that the schools I mostly talked to were UC's and top 10s. I received pretty blunt responses from most of them about it not being a positive thing (to reapply). I'll think about it more, but am leaning towards attending. Thanks again!
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Anyone answering the phone would tell you that turning down an acceptance is not advisable.
In any other case I would tell you the same thing!
 
What school are we talking about here? For future applicants to avoid lol
 
lolpremed22 said:
What school are we talking about here? For future applicants to avoid lol
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I think OP wants to avoid use of the name. There are many other threads which mention it directly, but if this is all that a user sees they will be able to find it by careful reading and googling some of the characteristics mentioned.
 
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