Early Decision Pride!

[ballerstatus666]

who here is applying ED? A weighty risk, but it'll so be worth it

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[flip26]

Why are you doing it?

This not a "system gaming" option like early acceptance in college. ED in med school, if you don't get in, puts you WAY behind the 8 ball, making you effectively too late to apply anywhere else...

The pool of people doing ED for med school is really small because it is not a good general purpose strategy.

 

[ballerstatus666]

Why are you doing it?

This not a "system gaming" option like early acceptance in college. ED in med school, if you don't get in, puts you WAY behind the 8 ball, making you effectively too late to apply anywhere else...

The pool of people doing ED for med school is really small because it is not a good general purpose strategy.

im not really sure why you think it puts me behind the ball. the school I am applying to will release my app as soon as possible (to apply to other schools) if they feel that I am not admissions-worthy. Therefore, lets say, even if a month from now (Aug 22), I get rejected, I will still be ahead of kids waiting to be verified by AMCAS (atleast those who submitted their applications >7/1, since the wait is around 5-6 weeks).

 

[ChubbyChaser]

Ok, youve posted on both UNC and ECU threads...how are you applying EDP? and interested in both schools?

 

[MILK07]

I'm applying ED to MUSC. They let you know by October 1st at the latest whether or not you got in. The Director of Admissions told me that about 80 people apply ED. Their cutoff for interviews is a 3.2 and a 25. They interview about 60 people and accept 30-40 of those. At some schools it is not a big disadvantage. I know at a few schools only a handful of people are accepted ED, but not at MUSC. Hopefully it will work out for me!

 

[flip26]

im not really sure why you think it puts me behind the ball. the school I am applying to will release my app as soon as possible (to apply to other schools) if they feel that I am not admissions-worthy. Therefore, lets say, even if a month from now (Aug 22), I get rejected, I will still be ahead of kids waiting to be verified by AMCAS (atleast those who submitted their applications >7/1, since the wait is around 5-6 weeks).

Because otherwise you could apply to 20+ schools, secondaries included, RIGHT NOW.

It puts YOU behind the 8 ball, regardless when other poor slobs get their apps done.

And you may not hear the decision from the ED school that early - some people do not find out until around October 1, and you are in total app limbo until they release you (or accept you)...do you really want to be racing through a bunch of secondaries in late September and October? While you are scrambling to get dwindling invitation invites, there will be people around you with multiple acceptances in hand in mid October...how is that going to feel to you?

You still did not answer the question of "why?" Is it because you think you have found a secret way to game the system? Or is there really just one med school in the country that you would be willing to attend, for whatever reasons (spouse locally employed, etc)?

Also - have you been in close contact with the admissions office of the ED school, establishing your bonafides, getting a "thumbs up" from them on your ED plan?

 

[ballerstatus666]

Because otherwise you could apply to 20+ schools, secondaries included, RIGHT NOW.

It puts YOU behind the 8 ball, regardless when other poor slobs get their apps done.

And you may not hear the decision from the ED school that early - some people do not find out until around October 1, and you are in total app limbo until they release you (or accept you)...do you really want to be racing through a bunch of secondaries in late September and October? While you are scrambling to get dwindling invitation invites, there will be people around you with multiple acceptances in hand in mid October...how is that going to feel to you?

You still did not answer the question of "why?" Is it because you think you have found a secret way to game the system? Or is there really just one med school in the country that you would be willing to attend, for whatever reasons (spouse locally employed, etc)?

Also - have you been in close contact with the admissions office of the ED school, establishing your bonafides, getting a "thumbs up" from them on your ED plan?

lol relax. i am not gaming the system. i could apply to 20 schools and waste money, or I could apply to 1 and express my greatest interest. Unlike most kids on this board, I don't mind having to take a year off between undergrad/med school, so its a risk that is incredibly well calculated and could prove to be very beneficial. If I dont get in, I probably will not even apply to more than 1-2 more schools, because getting in isnt a priority right now, enjoying the process is. If i don't get in, then I'll spend the lag year working, travelling, and neurotically applying at the same time next year.

 

[hopefuldoc87]

i'm confused as to why people do ED in the first place. I mean assuming you get all your stuff in early, and you are a very competitive applicant (which most ED applicants are in the first place), you should get interviews in september anyways if you applied regularly, and should know whether or not you got in at least by november. so is all the "application limbo" you place yourself in by applying early really worth a month or two of knowing youre in??

 

[hopefuldoc87]

lol relax. i am not gaming the system. i could apply to 20 schools and waste money, or I could apply to 1 and express my greatest interest. Unlike most kids on this board, I don't mind having to take a year off between undergrad/med school, so its a risk that is incredibly well calculated and could prove to be very beneficial. If I dont get in, I probably will not even apply to more than 1-2 more schools, because getting in isnt a priority right now, enjoying the process is. If i don't get in, then I'll spend the lag year working, travelling, and neurotically applying at the same time next year.

i wish you the best of luck this cycle, but if worse comes to worse, and you don't get in, you'll be wasting that money anyways, just a year later.

 

[HumidBeing]

One thing about MUSC is that they are a state school which is very focused on serving in-state residents. If you are a resident of the state, they will give you a good idea of whether or not it's worth it to apply EDP there. They take quite a few well qualified candidates from those that apply that way. If you are not a resident, you need to have extremely strong ties to the state in order to make it in, EDP or regular admissions. If you are sure they are your #1 choice, it's a worthwhile gamble. There are other state schools across the country that work the EDP option very much the same way.

 

[UVAbme2009]

EDP = extremely early letter of intent while writing it in handcuffs

No advantage.

 

[Bradstein]

What's up with all the EDP hate? Good luck to you guys doing it, I hope you make it. If not, I hope you have an awesome glide year and learn a lot.

 

[chitownGpremed]

how does a early decision work exactly? what are the pros and cons?

 

[MILK07]

how does a early decision work exactly? what are the pros and cons?

It varies school by school. Some schools accept only a couple EDers each year, while some schools accept a large number. In general:

Pros:
-Lets the school know they are your top choice
-You find out by October 1st at the latest and if you are not admitted, you can then release your application to other schools
-If you aren't admitted during ED, you are still eligible to be considered during regular admissions
-In general, a definite date for a decision, instead of months in limbo
-Can save money by only having to apply to one school

Cons:
-If you aren't accepted, other schools will not receive your info until October, which is "late" by most standards
-Can be really, really competitive at some schools
-Usually only for in-state residents at state schools, not sure about private schools

I'm sure there are more, feel free to add on or disagree!