Early Decision

[vegangirl]

Hello everyone!

I was wondering if I should apply early decision to this one school that I would love to attend. It says on their website that if you have a 3.5 and get all 9s on the MCAT then you can apply early decision so that you are accepted by september. The only drawback is you can only apply to this one school. So I was wondering if I should go for it???? My GPA is currently a 3.75 nonscience, 3.7 science and im taking the mcat this april. Thanks!!!

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[Gleevec]

Originally posted by vegangirl
Hello everyone!

I was wondering if I should apply early decision to this one school that I would love to attend. It says on their website that if you have a 3.5 and get all 9s on the MCAT then you can apply early decision so that you are accepted by september. The only drawback is you can only apply to this one school. So I was wondering if I should go for it???? My GPA is currently a 3.75 nonscience, 3.7 science and im taking the mcat this april. Thanks!!!

Depends on the school. ED is problematic because you are prevented from applying elsewhere until after the decision has been made (in this case, september). I was considering the ED route for my top choice school at one point, but my advisor told me that its better to apply everywhere I wanted to very early in the cycle, because being rejected ED might compromise my application elsewhere. I ended up getting in regular decision a little more than 2 weeks after the ED applicants found out, supposedly.

It also depends on if its your state school and if the school is rolling. If the school is rolling, it might not be that much help. If its nonrolling, it might be quite beneficial to apply ED. Just depends on your status and the school you are referring to.

 

[NC_Powerlifter]

Exactly. Be careful applying ED.

It CAN screw you over.

 

[donnyfire]

I applied ED, and I really couldn't say enough good things about it.

You do have to be careful, though, and determine if it is right for you.
Look at the schools average stats for admission, their type of admission (rolling or not) and other such things.
Compare them with your application package; GPA, MCAT and your extra curricular's. Are you going to be an attractive candidate to this school?

If the school is where you want to be, and you feel that you have a good chance based on these things, then by all means go the ED route.

As far as for me, it was the best thing I could have done. I feel it saved me the stress of multiple applications, time, and money.

I was willing to take the chance, but again, DO be careful in making this decision.

 

[DrJ2B]

Dear Vegangirl!

From experience, I can tell you that applying ED is basically adding to the risk of applying. I applied ED to UPenn which I love so much. I was deferred to regular admission and now I am quite late in the application cycle. I am not sure if I regret it though, because I am going to add much more to my application during the year especially my grades which are much better now. I had a bad semester this past Spring due to surgery and other things which may have been why I was deferred. I think UPenn wants me to show that it was just a bad semester and that I can bounce back. I think applying ED is good if you know exactly where you want to go (go see the school, speak to students, make sure you are 110% sure you want to go there) and you have been in contact with the admissions office for a while. I spoke to Gaye Sheffler, the Director of Admissions and Fin Aid, for at least 5 months or so before I applied ED. I took the risk and now I am applying late which is not totally bad because most of my schools are non-rolling. If you will be applying to mostly rolling schools if you do not get in ED, then it will probably hurt you because you will be rather late in the game. However, you should be slightly ahead of the August MCATers because the school has to tell you by Oct. 1st if you are accepted or not. So you can immediately send out your AMCAS to other schools and start the process. My pre-health advisor advised me not to do it and I guess now I am paying for it. At least I got deferred. Most schools do defer you to regular decision if you did not get in EDP. Then if you continue to show your interest and update your application, you may have a better chance of getting in. That is what I am doing. I really want to go to UPenn so I am showing my continued interest. I sent in a new LOR and will probably send 1 or 2 more, will send in my grades for this semester, and will send in a letter of intent to tell UPenn it is still by far my # choice. In retrospect, I should have just applied regular admission and then sent a letter of intent, but I really felt like it was a good thing for me personally. Sorry for the stream of consciousness. Please PM me if you have any specific questions.



-DrJ2B

 

[Bones2008]

The problem with ED:
How do you know a place is the perfect fit for you if you don't allow yourself to visit/interview at anywhere else?

 

[bella_dottoressa]

I don't think there is any easy answer to the ED question. There are going to be people with really, really positive experiences with it...they knew where they wanted to go, applied ED, and got in and had a hell of a senior year with the comfort of an acceptance so soon. It's like a dream. Then, there are those people that got deferred and what not and were set behind in the cycle. It really is just a gamble. It DOES add to the risk of applying, but you can really win big if it pays out.

I read some place and don't quote me on this, that 2/3 of ED applicants get in. So that seems really positive...however, you have to think that people who apply ED are generally attractive applicants. If you're significantly above the mean numbers at your school of choice and are a bit of a gambler, I would go for it.

And to the question of how do you know if a school is a perfect fit...I think more often than not the allure of one certain school has more to do with the allure of a certain city...perhaps being in the same city as your significant other is important to you (as it most certainly will be to me when I apply) or to family, etc.

 

[vegangirl]

Thanks for all your help!!!! The school I'm thinking of EDing is non rolling admission and is Wayne State (and I"m a michigan resident) I also was wondering if during the time I apply ED I could also apply to osteopathic and/or international schools?????

 

[freesolo]

ya i'd like to know too if you can do EDP with allopathic, and go apply to osteopathic.

 

[donnyfire]

I thought I read at one point that you could only apply to one U. S. medical school, allopathic or osteopathic. I just looked for the info, but right now I can't seem to find it.

 

[freesolo]

where are you looking for it at? Is there a rule book or something

 

[prmd4555]

I think you can really sell yourself short with ED. You can learn a lot about other schools on interviews. Plus, you never know who will accept you. If you are good enough to be accepted ED at one school you are probably a good candidate at a number of better schools. If you apply regular decision but send in your apps early you can get decisions by October 15 which is still very early.

 

[donnyfire]

Originally posted by Abraham
where are you looking for it at? Is there a rule book or something

Yes, the AMCAS spells it out pretty clearly.
I think it was on the AMCAS website, but I can't find it on the ED page now. I'm going to check the MSAR, but I don't have that with me right now.

 

[thackl]

I applied EDP for the school that was the best fit for me and my family. I recieved my spot on Sept 5th which was huge for us (rather than waiting til Feb for TX match). 10/15 would have been fine for Baylor, but I have my reasons for not wanting to live in Houston for the next 4-5yrs.

It worked out for me and I wasn't too worried about applying late if my EDP school turned me down. A 3.5 and 9's is good, but below average and I wouldn't want to apply late with those #'s. My school's EDP requirement was 3.7/30 and my understanding was that those were bare minimums and they would like to see higher for someone taking this risk. Good luck.......