Getting a deferred acceptance: awesome or not?

[bozz]

Isn't getting a deferred acceptance (getting an acceptance for the cycle after the one you applied for) the best thing that can happen to you in the app. process? (assuming this is a school you really like)

You get to take a year off.. work fulltime to help pay off debt and basically do whatever you want.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[scarletgirl777]

Isn't getting a deferred acceptance (getting an acceptance for the cycle after the one you applied for) the best thing that can happen to you in the app. process? (assuming this is a school you really like)

You get to take a year off.. work fulltime to help pay off debt and basically do whatever you want.

Every year you are taking off is another year when you are not making a doctor's salary, which would be more than what you make in that year off. Years off are great if you want them because of the potential learning experience and the break from schoolwork, but I don't really too much understand the "I'll make money" rationale, unless you spend the time off ibanking or something...

 

[HumidBeing]

Sure it is, if it's what you need. Deferrals aren't passed out like candy, though. There has to be a legitimate reason for delaying school, something like family illness that would impact your performance ability, or some other compelling reason. A deferral isn't likely to be granted just so a person can spend one awesome, laid back year.

 

[xanthomondo]

Every year you are taking off is another year when you are not making a doctor's salary, which would be more than what you make in that year off. Years off are great if you want them because of the potential learning experience and the break from schoolwork, but I don't really too much understand the "I'll make money" rationale, unless you spend the time off ibanking or something...

Well considering that by the time you pay back your loans youre probably going to pay 2-3x what you borrowed, you're not losing that much money if you work and save some cash.

 

[LikeClockWork]

It might be awesome for someone who has something they want to do during that year off, but other people just want to go ahead and start that 7+ year journey into medicine. Sooner you start, the younger you are when you finish, especially if you've already taken some time off before applying.

 

[Bacchus]

In the grand scheme of things one year is not a big deal unless you're a "much older" applicant. If this was offered to me I would take it and make the most of my year, treating myself right before I start the process of medical school and residency.

 

[cpants]

Taking a year or two off is a great thing to do. Ask some attendings, and almost every one will tell you to take a year. This is a golden opportunity to spend time with friends and family, do some traveling, enjoy yourself, and make a little money...in that order. It's a long road, and there is no reason to rush into it. A lost year of doctor's salary is a small price to pay for a year with little responsibility and obligations in your early 20s.

 

[Nikki2002]

if you can't get a regular acceptance then heck yeah!!! awesome

 

[copperfrog09]

You have to get a regular acceptance before you ask for a deferral.

 

[moe_4eva]

Sure it is, if it's what you need. Deferrals aren't passed out like candy, though. There has to be a legitimate reason for delaying school, something like family illness that would impact your performance ability, or some other compelling reason. A deferral isn't likely to be granted just so a person can spend one awesome, laid back year.

Second this. And for the record, the prospect of spending 3 years apart from your SO and being $50k less in debt (since I could pay for her for an additional year and she could pay for me after she graduates) is apparently not a valid reason.

 

[flip26]

Your earnings in a deferral year will raise your EFC higher than it would have been otherwise when it comes to finaid...of course it will also theoretically put more money into your pocket, but med schools will just siphon it out of your pocket...

 

[jelly476]

deferrals are subjective. I am teaching english in Japan right now,a nd i got one from Wayne state so that I could continue teaching and learning Japanese before I came back. However, I sent the exact same letter to Drexel and they didnt give it to me. go figure. but yeah its possible to get them.

 

[Bacchus]

You have to get a regular acceptance before you ask for a deferral.

There have been times where medical schools have given deferrals and incentives to join the next year's class when a deferral wasn't applied for. Its not as common this year, or so the word goes, because schools are being very attentive to the numbers they are admitting.

 

[LovelyMD]

Your earnings in a deferral year will raise your EFC higher than it would have been otherwise when it comes to finaid...of course it will also theoretically put more money into your pocket, but med schools will just siphon it out of your pocket...

I think it really depends on the school. I worked full time in 2007, which meant that my FAFSA EFC was higher than usual. However, most of my schools seemed to use the FAFSA EFC only for the purpose of finding out if I was eligible for subsidized Stafford loan. They used the Need Access form to determine if I was eligible for need-based grants. In the end, the actual amount that my family was expected to contribute was nearly the same as if I had hardly worked at all, simply because many of my schools placed emphasis on my earnings from Summer 2008 and the 2008-09 school year (both of which are $0 for me).

 

[meggielou]

I'm just coming to the end of my deferred year, and it was great. It gave me a chance to make enough money to pay for a few years' rent w/o loans, to do some things that I've always wanted to do but never felt like I had time for (write, read lots of books, model, train for a triathlon, coach field hockey), and gave my brain a chance to rest between undergrad and the med school grind. The deferred acceptance seemed terrible at first, but was definitely the best thing I could have done!

 

[Mobius1985]

Isn't getting a deferred acceptance (getting an acceptance for the cycle after the one you applied for) the best thing that can happen to you in the app. process? (assuming this is a school you really like)

You get to take a year off.. work fulltime to help pay off debt and basically do whatever you want.

One of the schools in my state regularly offers this to qualified individuals they really like, don't want to lose, but don't have room for in the currently-forming class.

Yes, I agree with you. This is a great deal! You have a year off, without the stress of reapplication, or uncertainty about what you will be doing in the future.