HELP! Just accepted off wait list, need advice!

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mynameisread

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So I was just accepted off of the wait list at EVMS in Norfolk Va. Very pumped! I am also on the wait list at UNC Chapel Hill. I just graduated from undergrad, am a NC resident, and currently work at UNC School of Medicine doing research (got the job at the end of May, good paying, lots of learning). With that said, I need advice on whether or not I should take the acceptance at EVMS and start in August, or wait and take my chances to hope to get into UNC Chapel Hill for August 2015 (and continue to do research there to make some money til summer 2015).

I think my chances will improve since I work at the school of medicine, and I also am continuing to volunteer.

The only thing I am worried about is.... does medical school "prestige" matter when getting matched for residency? I know UNC is ranked #2 for primary care, and EVMS is ranked a lot lower... but what do y'all think? Should I take my chances and reapply, or take the opportunity that I have been given and start school in a month? Thanks!
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Do you want to surely become a doctor, or are you fine going for it and possibly never being able to become a doctor since you're turning down an US MD acceptance? Search around, there was just a long thread about this and how stupid of a decision it is to have stayed on the waitlist if you weren't willing to go to EVMS.
 
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No way. Take the acceptance and run.
Getting accepted this late is a godsend and there's no guarantee you'll get into any school let alone UNC if you reapply.
 
Conventional wisdom is to take the acceptance. The gamble is too big (i.e., because if you hold out for UNC and don't get in, a re-application campaign is more difficult).

On the other hand, I don't understand your post. How could you have been accepted to start at EVMS for August 2014 (i.e., next month) when your wait list position at UNC would be for the entering class of August 2015?
 
Why don't you accept your EVMS offer and also stay on the UNC waitlist. If you have to make the choice between a UNC waitlist and EVMS, I say take the acceptance and run.
 
Sorry should have clarified. Waitlisted for UNC and EVMS for August 2014.. What I am saying is should I take my chances and reapply in hopes to get into UNC for August 2015. I already submitted my primary back on June 3rd.
 
Definitely willing to go to EVMS, thats why I applied. I just didn't know if my chances for UNC next year are better since I am working at their school of medicine full time right now. But yes I obviously want to become a physician ASAP, and going through the application process again would suck. Just wasn't sure if I should take my chances and wait for UNC (better school) or take EVMS now. Obviously y'all think I should take EVMS now, which is what I am going to do most likely, just wondered if anyone has had any other experiences having good success waiting for the next application cycle.
 
mynameisread said:
Sorry should have clarified. Waitlisted for UNC and EVMS for August 2014.. What I am saying is should I take my chances and reapply in hopes to get into UNC for August 2015. I already submitted my primary back on June 3rd.
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Re-applying if you received any acceptances is tantamount to a death sentence. Take the acceptance, be happy that you will become a doctor and don't look back.
 
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Accept it. Come on dude, you got into a good MD School. Go with it 🙂.
Doctor Strange said:
Why are there five threads about this???
Click to expand...

sdn post thread is bugged so people mass click it and produce multiple threads.
 
mynameisread said:
Definitely willing to go to EVMS, thats why I applied. I just didn't know if my chances for UNC next year are better since I am working at their school of medicine full time right now. But yes I obviously want to become a physician ASAP, and going through the application process again would suck. Just wasn't sure if I should take my chances and wait for UNC (better school) or take EVMS now. Obviously y'all think I should take EVMS now, which is what I am going to do most likely, just wondered if anyone has had any other experiences having good success waiting for the next application cycle.
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Your chances aren't even significantly better just researching at a med school. No offense, but if your application wasn't strong enough to earn you any acceptances during the normal cycle, and really only a very late lucky waitlist acceptance, how is a bit of researching going to drastically change that unless you have been published already/or at latest the next couple of months? Your app hasn't changed much unless you previously had 0 research and that was what was holding your application down - which you don't know unless you talked to adcoms and they gave you that feedback from this past cycle. Even if that is the case, it's a stupid huge risk to turn down an acceptance, many of our adcom members have said that doing that is an extreme red flag showing absolutely poor judgement skills.
 
I will give a different perspective, although I still would probably lean towards taking the acceptance...

UNC is a special case because they really like reapplicants if you have significantly changed your application since the first time you applied. Unfortunately, name does matter somewhat (and UNC is a really top notch program that will help you a lot compared to EVMS). HOWEVER, this will only matter slightly and what really matters more is your performance at any school. Unless you are hoping for an extremely competitive field it probably won't matter all that much where you go.

If you are really dedicated to trying to go to UNC, I would suggest making an appointment to discuss why you didn't get in and how you can improve your application. If you do what they suggest you have a very high chance of getting in. In order to change your app, though, you will probably have to take another year off, in my opinion. You will have to rewrite your entire PS and essays, and so on.

So I would say if you are considering something very competitive (which it sounds like you aren't so much) you might want to consider reapplying to UNC. If not, I'd probably just accept and start now.
 
lmn said:
Your chances aren't even significantly better just researching at a med school. No offense, but if your application wasn't strong enough to earn you any acceptances during the normal cycle, and really only a very late lucky waitlist acceptance, how is a bit of researching going to drastically change that unless you have been published already/or at latest the next couple of months? Your app hasn't changed much unless you previously had 0 research and that was what was holding your application down - which you don't know unless you talked to adcoms and they gave you that feedback from this past cycle. Even if that is the case, it's a stupid huge risk to turn down an acceptance, many of our adcom members have said that doing that is an extreme red flag showing absolutely poor judgement skills.
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Listen to this guy, he's right on all accounts. Normally, I'd side with an OP dep on the context, but ultimately this dude has it down about OP's situation. Don't defer them, just take what you got.
 
To echo what others have said, don't turn down the acceptance. A family friend's son applied to med school a few years ago and got acceptances to what his mom considered to be "average" schools. She told him to reapply and turn down the acceptances he had to get into a better med school (absolutely crazy to me. I can't believe he even listened to his mom about this). The next year, he didn't get in anywhere because it became apparent that he had turned down the chance to attend a medical school the year before.
 
Well can you maybe send an update to UNC and tell them you would gladly matriculate there if taken off the wait-list? If they give a lukewarm response, then accept EVMS!

But absolutely do not reapply after getting an acceptance.
 
Working at a medical school is not going to improve your chances... Take the acceptance. Why would you put yourself through another application cycle? That sounds painful.
 
Very ungrateful. I can almost guarantee that you won't get in next year. Withdrawing your application will be a huge mistake
 
Idk, UNC would seem much better. I heard of someone from my school being in a similar situation and they waited and strengthened their application and got into a way better school the next year. Tough decision.
 
If you turn down an acceptance, no more MD for you.
 
This is a really great example of someone trying to overreach.

You have one acceptance out of all the places that you applied to. You're barely going to have started your year of research when you start your application for 2015, so your application is essentially going to be unchanged. Schools will see that you didn't take an acceptance. They're not really going to be all that interested in you now either.

I know what's going through your head, but this is not the time to be cocky.
 
If you turn down this acceptance, your chances of UNC accepting you next year are zero. Let me repeat: turning down this acceptance will make UNC significantly less interested in you next year.

Take the acceptance.
 
Take the acceptance and run like usain bolt away from UNC. I had a similar experience. I applied to an early acceptance program to an MD school during fall of junior year. I was initially going to use it as a back up just in case mcat studying didn't go well, and it was probably the smartest decision I could have ever made. I may have gotten into other schools, but just seeing the amount of stress that my friends have taking the mcat and applying, you couldn't pay me to give away my acceptance. It is a blessing that shouldn't be passed up. You're going to be a doctor! Thats all that matters #gohardorgohome.
 
Do I have to reach across the electrons and smack you upside the head?

GO TO EVMS!

Give up an acceptance for a pipe dream is a sure way never to become a doctor. This would be a display of such incredible foolishness that no Adcom would take a chance on you in the future.

This is another illustration that one should never apply to a med school if one is unwilling to go there if accepted.

And just because you'll get the MD degree doesn't mean you're going to waltz into a Peds Onc residency.

mynameisread said:
So I was just accepted off of the wait list at EVMS in Norfolk Va. Very pumped! I am also on the wait list at UNC Chapel Hill. I just graduated from undergrad, am a NC resident, and currently work at UNC School of Medicine doing research (got the job at the end of May, good paying, lots of learning). With that said, I need advice on whether or not I should take the acceptance at EVMS and start in August, or wait and take my chances to hope to get into UNC Chapel Hill for August 2015 (and continue to do research there to make some money til summer 2015).

I think my chances will improve since I work at the school of medicine, and I also am continuing to volunteer.

The only thing I am worried about is.... does medical school "prestige" matter when getting matched for residency? I know UNC is ranked #2 for primary care, and EVMS is ranked a lot lower... but what do y'all think? Should I take my chances and reapply, or take the opportunity that I have been given and start school in a month? Thanks!
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