Early Decision - Worth It?

[aalu91]

There is a school in my city that I would really like to go to medical school at. Its rankings aren't published on US Rankings but the rankings dont really bother me. Anyway, I am applying this cycle and am really debating whether or mot I should take the risk and apply early decision. Has anyone gone the early decision route and have any experiences to share about it?

The school actually has released its stats for early decision...

They usually get around 3-5 applicants with almost* all getting in. The avg sgpa is around a 3.4 and overall gpa of around a 3.6 with an avg mcat of a 29

I currently have a 3.9+ at my state school and am hoping to get around a 34 on my mcat. The only problem with my application is that my extracurriculars are not great. What do you guys recommend?

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[NickNaylor]

Talk to the school and see if they would be willing to discuss your prospects. There's a not insignificant chance they will.

Sent from my Nexus 7

 

[dsoz]

Without a real MCAT score, you can't discuss anything. I was hoping to get a 36+ because that is what I scored on a Kaplan practice exam one time, and I scored 33+ on most of the AAMC practice exams. Real score of 31. I was happy it was above a 30, but sad that it was less than a 35.

Take the test, then go to the school with your score in your hand and talk to them.

dsoz

 

[aalu91]

Alright thanks for the advice! I am taking the MCAT tomorrow morning so we will so how it goes.

Also, *if i had an mcat and stats way above avg for the school's early decision program, could they basically verbally guarantee me an acceptance after talking with them? Or just say that I have a pretty good chance...

 

[coffeesnob]

Alright thanks for the advice! I am taking the MCAT tomorrow morning so we will so how it goes.

Also, *if i had an mcat and stats way above avg for the school's early decision program, could they basically verbally guarantee me an acceptance after talking with them? Or just say that I have a pretty good chance...

I applied early decision and got in. When I met with the dean of admissions, he told me I would definitely get an interview but couldn't guarantee if I would get accepted. They cannot tell you if you have a guaranteed spot until you go through the interview process. It sounded like the dean of admissions is not on the admission committee. He said the decision is up to the admission comittee, so anything could happen after the interview.

 

[DokterMom]

Sounds like you have reason to believe your stats will be significantly above this school's average. If that is the case, applying early decision may be the best way to get in.

Why? Yield. For med school, everybody applies to safety schools, and if your stats are well above this school's average, they may very reasonably expect that they are your safety school, and that you don't really want to go there at all -- and would turn them down if they offer you a spot. Accordingly, they would be wasting their resources even interviewing you and diminishing their yield statistics and putting some other applicant through wait list purgatory if they accept you.

Applying early decision tells them you are serious about their school, and that this is where you really want to be for whatever reason. That may really mean a lot to them and be a very persuasive factor in their decision process.

Good luck with your MCAT --

 

[aalu91]

Thank you! I hope I do well

Sounds like you have reason to believe your stats will be significantly above this school's average. If that is the case, applying early decision may be the best way to get in.

Why? Yield. For med school, everybody applies to safety schools, and if your stats are well above this school's average, they may very reasonably expect that they are your safety school, and that you don't really want to go there at all -- and would turn them down if they offer you a spot. Accordingly, they would be wasting their resources even interviewing you and diminishing their yield statistics and putting some other applicant through wait list purgatory if they accept you.

Applying early decision tells them you are serious about their school, and that this is where you really want to be for whatever reason. That may really mean a lot to them and be a very persuasive factor in their decision process.

Good luck with your MCAT --

 

[futureczar]

Why are you so committed to this school? If you do well on your MCAT you could be eligible for a wide variety of great schools all around the country. And theres a chance you could get into a school that will be 'better' and cost less than this school. And since you have above average stats chances are you will get into the school regardless. Unless you have a family, or a strong support system, that you are unwilling to move for, I would suggest not applying early decision.

Of course thats just me and I have no idea which school you are talking about. If its a state school with a great in-state cost and a good reason for not wanting to leave the area than it might be worth it. In any case best of luck!

 

[aalu91]

I want to go there because I would love to be close at home when I go to med school and because I have had good experiences with the university.

Anyway, I am under the impression that if you go the early decision route, you will not get the scholarships that you might have received if you went the traditional route, so I will probably just apply normally. Thanks for all your input

Why are you so committed to this school? If you do well on your MCAT you could be eligible for a wide variety of great schools all around the country. And theres a chance you could get into a school that will be 'better' and cost less than this school. And since you have above average stats chances are you will get into the school regardless. Unless you have a family, or a strong support system, that you are unwilling to move for, I would suggest not applying early decision.

Of course thats just me and I have no idea which school you are talking about. If its a state school with a great in-state cost and a good reason for not wanting to leave the area than it might be worth it. In any case best of luck!

 

[jemstone]

Just something to consider...not really advice. At the beginning of this application cycle I was absolutely certain that I wanted to go to my state school for similar reasons as you...close to home, great cost. But as I went to interviews and saw other schools I discovered that I absolutely loved the curriculum and the programs that other schools had to offer and I ended up choosing a school that I actually added late to my AMCAS because I didn't think I would like it. I never would have known if I had remained set on my state school. Just a thought. Best of luck to you!!

 

[cs24]

Sounds like you have reason to believe your stats will be significantly above this school's average. If that is the case, applying early decision may be the best way to get in.

Why? Yield. For med school, everybody applies to safety schools, and if your stats are well above this school's average, they may very reasonably expect that they are your safety school, and that you don't really want to go there at all -- and would turn them down if they offer you a spot. Accordingly, they would be wasting their resources even interviewing you and diminishing their yield statistics and putting some other applicant through wait list purgatory if they accept you.

Applying early decision tells them you are serious about their school, and that this is where you really want to be for whatever reason. That may really mean a lot to them and be a very persuasive factor in their decision process.

Good luck with your MCAT --

I applied early decision and didn't get in, at a school with averages well below my stats, so I at least for me this didn't have a large positive effect on my application. If you REALLY love that school and are a great applicant with metrics well above average, decent experiences (not the 10,000,000 hour excessive SDN crap but a few quality clinical and other volunteer experiences that you can talk about) and no significant (or minor in my case) blemishes on you app then I would say go for it. Definitely meet with the Dean of Admissions though, as he can give you specific advice based on your exact situation (my meeting was basically a run me through your application session), just tell them you are thinking of applying EDP and they should help you out.

That said, I applied EDP because I wanted to go to a state school and my SO attended the institution. Once I was forced to apply out, I was surprised at how much I was impressed by the other schools I went to. That, combined with the "inside info" I get from my girlfriend about the EDP school have convinced me that the new school I will be attending will be a better fit for me than the first one I applied to, so there is definitely merit in keeping you options open.

 

[Mt Kilimanjaro]

I applied early decision and didn't get in, at a school with averages well below my stats, so I at least for me this didn't have a large positive effect on my application. If you REALLY love that school and are a great applicant with metrics well above average, decent experiences (not the 10,000,000 hour excessive SDN crap but a few quality clinical and other volunteer experiences that you can talk about) and no significant (or minor in my case) blemishes on you app then I would say go for it. Definitely meet with the Dean of Admissions though, as he can give you specific advice based on your exact situation (my meeting was basically a run me through your application session), just tell them you are thinking of applying EDP and they should help you out.

That said, I applied EDP because I wanted to go to a state school and my SO attended the institution. Once I was forced to apply out, I was surprised at how much I was impressed by the other schools I went to. That, combined with the "inside info" I get from my girlfriend about the EDP school have convinced me that the new school I will be attending will be a better fit for me than the first one I applied to, so there is definitely merit in keeping you options open.

Did you not get in to the school at all? My understanding is that if you don't get in edp, you get rolled in to the regular pool and usually get in later, assuming youre competitive. But I have no experience.

 

[cs24]

Did you not get in to the school at all? My understanding is that if you don't get in edp, you get rolled in to the regular pool and usually get in later, assuming youre competitive. But I have no experience.

I am still waitlisted/deferred....6+ months later. But yes you do get rolled into the regular pool and hopefully accepted eventually. However you can't apply anywhere else until said school chooses to waitlist or reject you (which they had to do by Oct 1st, at least for last year).