Early Decision Program?

[Mr. Furious]

Hi, I was wondering about Early Decision Programs. Do those have a tendency to actually work out, or would they just waste your time? I know that Yale has an EDP but I guess it isn't that much of an advantage or else everyone would just apply to one school...

Mr.

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[Doctora Foxy]

i heard you have to have excellent stats and a good interview...see my thread (acc/int/rej)...the second poster (docbob?) got in EDP. PM him for more info

 

[DocBob2B]

Mr. F,

I did the early Decision thing and it worked out for me. It really depends on your situation and you have to be 100% sure where you want to go. As a "non-traditional" med schooler to be and having a family and the responsibilities that go along with that, I needed to know sooner rather than later where I was going. So I did my homework, researched the schools and then decided to apply Early Decision to USF, since I met the requirements. The obvious downside is if you DON'T get accepted you need to do a lot of scrambling to apply to other schools because you are pushing the envelope on application deadlines. You can't apply anywhere else until you are released from the ED commitment, which could be as late as October 1.

 

[Mr. Furious]

Bob, thanks for the input. I hate to sound repetitive since this question hits acceptees quite often, but "what were your stats"?

I'm a non-trad too and will do anything and everything to be accepted at Hopkins. Should that fail, I will go elsewhere, but I am more than willing to take a chance on their EDP. When the time comes, of course.

Gabriel Higgs a.k.a Mr. Furious

 

[lamyers1]

Allow myself to invite myself in to this conversation, but I am EDP. I am just like DocBob, as in non trad with kids. So, I chose EDP and it worked great for me. Course, I applied to a small Southern school, not Yale. Many schools boast a nearly 100% rate of acceptance for their EDP'ers and others are the opposite, so find out for where you want to go. I had a 3.96/29R and a lot of ECs.

 

[choker]

i have posted my experience applying EDP to cornell this year. do a search if you want details.

summary: was "guaranteed in" (according to a conversation between their admissions head and my dean). interviewed on sept. 12 in nyc. totally bombed the interview (both interviewers were on call in hospital for past 20 hours and were tired, one was head of admissions who started conversation by telling me he just found out his friend had died in WTC). deferred to regular applicant pool on 9-30. scrambled like hell and applied to many other schools. this year got super lucky with amcas being late_ my apps were late, but not too late when compared to the rest. but i was still very screwed in terms of schools accepting paper apps. while i have since gotten interview invites at some big name schools (harvard, stanford, etc.), i have gotten NO interviews and even preinterview rejections from the schools that wanted paper apps and were starting early (GW, einstein, etc.).

long story short: NEVER EVER EVER apply EDP. it's not worth the risk. they always say that it's HARDER to get in early (they use higher standards) and if you dont get in, you're REALLY REALLY REALLY screwed. as someone who did it and failed miserably, i beg you not to make the same mistake i did. apply late. besides, when you visit other schools, you get a better impression of what you're looking for in a medical school.

 

[choker]

besides, hopkins is rolling and if you apply early enough, they start accepting in mid october.

 

[oldman]

i agree about the risks of applying EDP. There is no guarantee and if you have the opportunity to apply to multiple schools go for it. If you have a family and are unable to uproot yourself, then of course you'll have to go for the EDP.