Help with MSTP acceptance process

[khan]

Can some body help me with how the MSTP acceptance works? UCSF and Harvard does not send out acceptance untill late April. Other schools have send acceptance and are asking for reply in 2 to 4 weeks. I would like to wait for the outcome of these other schools. Please point me to the process of acceptance. Is it the same as MD?

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[Neuronix]

It's like this. AMCAS sets certain guidelines for medical schools as to how they should run their admissions procedures. Med Schools are expected to abide by them, but AMCAS is not going to take action against medical schools (especially good ones) since schools could just as easily pull out of AMCAS and get all their applicants without them.

The AMCAS guidelines say that you have until May 15th to narrow down all of your acceptances to one. Schools that are requesting an earlier response may have a good reason to be doing what they are doing, and they may not. UChicago starts kind of early for example, so they have a legit reason to ask for a decision by April (and yet they interview really late... grr...). In the long run, MSTPs are throwing around alot of money (most of which their own), and so some tell you to give them an early decision.

So, if you are waiting to hear from certain schools like UCSF/Harvard/Penn/Other Late Schools, feel free to tell the program you are waiting for them. They should be alright with that. If they are not, I don't think you should feel comfortable going there, but you would have to evaluate the situation then. Unfortunately, they are holding all the marbles, but it is still common courtesy to let you take your time if you have a good reason.

 

[whodenie]

I am not 100% sure on the exact details but the director of one the programs that I interviewed with told me that saying, ?yes? to a program really only means maybe until after May 15th. I would call that admissions dept. at the school that would be your top choice where you have been accepted and see what the exact details are on holding a seat. My understanding is that you can hold a seat until May with out being totally committed. But I would not hold seats at schools I know I will not be attending.

 

[Neuronix]

whodenie some schools actually ask you to commit by a certain date. This is April 15th for CWRU and UChicago, and sooner for certain other schools.

 

[whodenie]

I am aware that some schools request that you make a decision. In fact, I suspect that the majority of MSTPs do because of the difficulty in filling small classes from a small applicant pool. The earliest I believe that this occurs is April 15th and by then all schools should have there first round of acceptances made.

However, I do not believe that this decision is fully binding untill May and rather only a convince to the school. Below are some of the guidelines for acceptance procedures. I think that most school adhere to these. But again some schools may not accept these but?

The full page:


For the information of prospective medical students and their advisors, the recommended procedures for offering acceptance to medical school and for student responses to those offers are as follows:

4. Only after May 15 are schools free to apply appropriate rules for dealing with accepted applicants who, without adequate explanation, hold one or more places in other schools. These rules should recognize the problems of the applicant who has multiple offers and also of those applicants who have not yet been accepted. Only schools whose first official day of classes begins prior to August 1 may start to request decisions from accepted applicants prior to May 15 but not earlier than April 15. This rule applies to all accepted applicants for the entering medical school class, including those individuals entering M.D./Ph.D. programs and individuals to whom merit scholarships or other special scholarships have been awarded.

5. By May 15 of the year of matriculation, an applicant who has received offers of admission from more than one school should choose the one school that he or she prefers and withdraw from all other schools to which he or she has been accepted.

6. *Prior to May 15 of the year of matriculation, an applicant should be given at least two weeks to reply to an offer of admission. After May 15, schools may require applicants to respond to acceptance offers in less than two weeks. An applicant may be required to file a statement of intent, a deposit, or both. The statement of intent should provide freedom to withdraw if the applicant is later accepted by a school that he or she prefers. Under no circumstances should an applicant be asked to withdraw from waiting lists as a condition of accepting a place.

7. *It is recommended that the acceptance deposit not exceed $100 and be refundable until May 15. After that date, a school may retain the deposit as a late withdrawal fee. If the applicant matriculates at the school, the school is encouraged to credit the deposit toward tuition.

 

[Neuronix]

That's cool and all, but I have heard from adcoms that certain schools will ask you to make a definite decision in 2 - 4 weeks. I don't know what these schools are, but UMich and UPenn both warned me specifically (since they make decisions pretty late) about programs that do this and if it happens you just have to tell them to back off. With UMich they want you to call them if this happens and you still haven't heard and UMich will discuss your status with you.

In any case, the AMCAS deadlines are still recommended guidelines. Thanks for the research though. What you are saying is totally correct and is certainly the way it should be.

kahn could you clear up what school is asking for a decision in 2 - 4 weeks? Perhaps the school is only asking you to send back a form to accept the spot, but are still giving you until May 15 to give a definite answer.

 

[CaNEM]

Neuronix, you are right. Whodenie, this is where you are making your mistake:

AMCAS has a clause which states that although the normal deadline is May 15, schools which start class BEFORE August 1 can request binding decisions one month early - by April 15. Because of this, MSTPs which require summer rotations - hence, which have a curicullum that starts before August 1 - can request a final and binding decision my April 15. One example is Cornell/Rock/SKI.

What exactly does "binding" mean? Technically you are bound to attend the school you pick on May 15 (or April 15) unless you get off a waitlist AFTER you make the decision. Now, if you change your mind on May 22, and school B will still allow you to join its program, is school A going to sue you for breaking your agreement? Of course not, it's just a matter of ethics.

 

[whodenie]

I believe that we are actually all in basic agreement and have become crossed is the details. I will attempt to lay out the basic points as they relate to the original question. If these premises are not held in consensus or are false those who face this problem (many on this forum I suspect) will benefit from any corrections or additions.

1) You may take a seat at program ?A? and change your mind as a result of a new acceptance to program ?B? you may change to program ?B? without loss of your deposit until May 15th or April 15th depending on when program ?A? begins. (ethics aside for the moment)

2) After the deadline (April or May) if you are moved from a wait list to acceptance by program ?C? you may decide to attend program ?C? but potentially forfeit your deposit at another program where you had taken a seat.

3) Requests for earlier decisions, than list above (April or May), are made by schools to expedite their enrollment and provide opportunity to other applicants earlier in the process.

I hope that this clears that water a bit. I know that I was unclear about some points.