How bad is it to reapply even though you have acceptances?

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Cambrian

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There is an old thread on this issue but it didn't have enough examples. So I am just going to ask the question again to see if anyone has solid examples.

Basically, if you have multiple acceptances (not just one!) and you decide to rescind all of the acceptances to reapply because none of the schools you were accepted to were your first choice. How bad will this be? Will you be black-listed and never be accepted to any school again? How will the schools find out that you have had an acceptance before? I'm not talking about withdrawing acceptances at the last moment (such as after you have matriculated or registered for classes). If you withdraw before the official matriculation, would they never be able to find out?

I'm asking this because I was actually considering doing this a month ago but decided that it was too risky.

Any input is appreciated.
 
Not a good idea,

A doc is a doc, and the only difference is how YOU are as a humanistic individual and what YOU can do for your patients and the world.

Besides, if you are accepted at one school or more, medical schools and AMCAS find out about this, and if you don't make a decision as far as accepting atleast 1 offer, then you can't apply the following year because AMCAS won't let you.

However, you can apply the year after your "year of banishment."
 
BTW, which schools are you accepted to that you don't want to go to? Why did you apply to them if you weren't interested in going there anyway?
 
•••quote:•••Originally posted by lady bug:
•BTW, which schools are you accepted to that you don't want to go to? Why did you apply to them if you weren't interested in going there anyway?•••••I was accepted to MCW, SUNY Syracuse, UCI, and UCSD.

UCSD was my 3rd choice but the rest were backup schools. I applied to them because I thought at the time that I would be happy even at a backup school. But at this point, personal happiness at a school is very important to me. I won't be able to go through medical school being depressed all the time. I was excited about being accepted to UCSD. But at first, the rumor about UCSD frightened me. But after attending the revisit weekend, my views of the school changed. This is what convinced me to not pursue reapplication (in addition to being black-listed from every medical school). I also regret not applying to top schools in the east coast. At the time of applying, I thought I wasn't competitive enough for these east coast schools and believed that I would not get into any Cali schools. But now I realize that I did have a good chance. I wish Doctora Foxy was there to tell me to apply to a wide-range of schools. But I didn't discover SDN until way after I applied.
 
I think it already is too late. Withdrawing after you matriculate is clearly ridiculously too late, but if someone holds multiple acceptances into May and June, and then decides to drop them, I certainly hope they dropped them because they decided NOT to be a medical doctor period.

Doing what the question suggests not only risks the opportunity to get into Med School later, but it also shows where the applicant's real motivations are - and it appears to me that they would be quite selfish.

There is way to much life to be experienced to be so anal as to only become a physician if you can get into Harvard, etc. I doubt those individuals would make good physicians. Would they screen their patients and only accept the good looking, rich, articulate, smart ones?
 
•••quote:•••Originally posted by Epi:
•I think it already is too late. Withdrawing after you matriculate is clearly ridiculously too late, but if someone holds multiple acceptances into May and June, and then decides to drop them, I certainly hope they dropped them because they decided NOT to be a medical doctor period.

Doing what the question suggests not only risks the opportunity to get into Med School later, but it also shows where the applicant's real motivations are - and it appears to me that they would be quite selfish.

There is way to much life to be experienced to be so anal as to only become a physician if you can get into Harvard, etc. I doubt those individuals would make good physicians. Would they screen their patients and only accept the good looking, rich, articulate, smart ones?•••••Your point is well taken. But you cannot possibly make the analogy of patient choosing with this process. They are completely different. How and where I want to spend my 4 years training to become a doctor does not reflect what kind of physician I will become. At the end of the application cycle, all of us are faced with a choice of which school we want to go to. Some people are lucky and have really good choices. My choice was limited, being that UCSD was the only school that I would love to go to.
 
•••quote:•••Originally posted by Epi:
•
it also shows where the applicant's real motivations are - and it appears to me that they would be quite selfish.
•••••everyone has different priorities.

•••quote:•••
•There is way to much life to be experienced to be so anal as to only become a physician if you can get into Harvard, etc. I doubt those individuals would make good physicians.•••••you have no idea why a person would or would not be happy at a particular school...it may have nothing to do with the school's ranking.
 
you want to turn down ucsd?? i don't quite understand what rumor you are talking about, but it sounds as though you had a positive experience at the revisit weekend. you should consider yourself lucky to have a choice in med schools. even if you are a stellar candidate, there is no guarantee you will get into any of those top schools on the east coast next year.
 
in a lot of applications (maybe all of them), you have to check whether or not you were accepted to med school in the past. if you do check yes, that would be a HUGE black mark on the application.

if i were an admissions officer, i would ask why this applicant applied to those schools in the 1st place. shows that he/she did not do any research, and has not put the time and effort into truly learning about becoming a doctor. i would suggest going to one of the schools.
 
•••quote:•••Originally posted by Cambrian:
•At the end of the application cycle, all of us are faced with a choice of which school we want to go to. Some people are lucky and have really good choices.•••••...and some have only one choice. Or none! You should really think about how many people would kill right now just to be in ONE of the schools you got into, let alone getting accepted to ALL FOUR. You got into some really good schools. Stop thinking that the experience will be so different at other schools that it would be worth risking never getting in ANYWHERE because of it. Congratulations on your acceptances.
 
All of us are lucky to be applying to med school and if you have one acceptance you are fortunate. Cambrian, you listed 4 schools that have accepted you. One of which people drool over. To imply that you are not blessed lacks perspective.

My reference to Harvard was so I would not have to list each top 10 school. To turn down a top 25 school or whatever San Diego is ranked clearly shows the drive for a top 5 or 10 school.

I was willing to go to Mexico or Israel for med school as many others are. You have to think about how your comments and actions are percieved by your colleagues the rest of your life.
 
•••quote:•••Originally posted by rxfudd:
• •••quote:•••Originally posted by Cambrian:
•At the end of the application cycle, all of us are faced with a choice of which school we want to go to. Some people are lucky and have really good choices.•••••...and some have only one choice. Or none! You should really think about how many people would kill right now just to be in ONE of the schools you got into, let alone getting accepted to ALL FOUR. You got into some really good schools. Stop thinking that the experience will be so different at other schools that it would be worth risking never getting in ANYWHERE because of it. Congratulations on your acceptances.•••••Oh this thread is not about whether or not I will pursue a reapplication but about what would have happened if I did. There is no way I am not going to UCSD. I just want real-life examples of what would have happened if I did decide to withdraw and reapply.
 
Um, you got into four medical schools and still feel disappointed about how your applications fared? What exactly are you expecting? A military escort to your dream school? The red carpet treatment? Some sort of coronation ceremony?
 
examples of what? people who have done this? i doubt there are too many out there. you realize you are probably making people upset who aren't lucky enough to have gotten in, don't you?
 
I actually think this thread is extremely obnoxious and if it is a reflection of the type of dr you will make then I think you were lucky to get in anywhere. It does not matter where you go to school, if you are going to be a passionate, knowledgable doc then you will become one. People from lower or non-ranked school get into amazing residencies and become even more amazing doctors. One of the largest reasons why is because they are not obnoxious, condescending twits who think just because they go to a higher ranked school they are smarter, better and more qualified. Get over yourself! You obviously didn't get into your first and second choices probably for reasons...why do you think schools are now going to roll out the red carpet? Honestly if you are arrogant enough to even think of reapplying I wouldn't want to be your classmate....you have pre-med written all over you!
 
Lola, when I made this post I thought it would help confirm the consequence of reapplying but I did not intend to upset anybody. For that, I apologize.

Trout, about your comment of "obnoxious, condescending twits who think just because they go to a higher ranked school they are smarter, better and more qualified": I never said that getting into a higher ranked school makes me smarter, better or more qualified. This is just a matter of personal happiness. And why are you jumping to the conclusion that I am a condescending twit when clearly you don't even know me? I do not (should I say cannot) go to MCW, SUNY, or UCI because of personal family reasons, which I cannot elaborate. I'm very happy with UCSD but there was hesitation in the beginning because I thought I might run into the super-competitive, cut-throat premeds that you have described.
 
•••quote:•••Originally posted by trout:
•I actually think this thread is extremely obnoxious and if it is a reflection of the type of dr you will make then I think you were lucky to get in anywhere. It does not matter where you go to school, if you are going to be a passionate, knowledgable doc then you will become one. People from lower or non-ranked school get into amazing residencies and become even more amazing doctors. One of the largest reasons why is because they are not obnoxious, condescending twits who think just because they go to a higher ranked school they are smarter, better and more qualified. Get over yourself! You obviously didn't get into your first and second choices probably for reasons...why do you think schools are now going to roll out the red carpet? Honestly if you are arrogant enough to even think of reapplying I wouldn't want to be your classmate....you have pre-med written all over you!•••••WTF?? If she thinks she will be miserable for the next four years of her life if she went to X school, then she shouldn't go to it. I think it would be well worth the year to have peace of mind for the four years. Also, notice she didn't say that she wanted to reapply to get into a better school so that she would have a better residency. She said she wanted to go somewhere that she would be happy. She said there were tons of East Coast schools she wished she had applied to. I think if she would have reapplied, she would have been shot at every school that accepted her, but she would still have been fine and prolly turned out to be a great doctor. Or she could go to UCSD where she could become one of those Jaded doctors who tell people not to go into medicine because it's not worth it.
 
•••quote:•••Originally posted by trout:
•I actually think this thread is extremely obnoxious and if it is a reflection of the type of dr you will make then I think you were lucky to get in anywhere. It does not matter where you go to school, if you are going to be a passionate, knowledgable doc then you will become one. People from lower or non-ranked school get into amazing residencies and become even more amazing doctors. One of the largest reasons why is because they are not obnoxious, condescending twits who think just because they go to a higher ranked school they are smarter, better and more qualified. Get over yourself! You obviously didn't get into your first and second choices probably for reasons...why do you think schools are now going to roll out the red carpet? Honestly if you are arrogant enough to even think of reapplying I wouldn't want to be your classmate....you have pre-med written all over you!•••••Trout, that was harsh. I admit, contemplating a re-application in his case is quite drastic and may appear shallow, but I don't think it deserves such a negative reply. To most people, yes, it does matter what school they attend.
 
For many people on this thread (myself included) their passion in life is to become a doctor. It is what they have dreamed about for many years. It doesn't matter where they go, or even what initals they have behind their name, as long as they are a doctor. For you to imply that your priority lies in "where you will be happy" studying, for the next four years is difficult for us to understand. At least, it is for me. I truly hope being a doctor is really want you want. Is it your passion? Good luck in whatever you decide.
 
I can understand your concerns. It all depends on whether you want to be the big fish in the small pond or the small fish in the big pond. I guess if you prefer the latter, I can understand how UCSD is not for you. It's a hard decision to make, taking one more year, which means wasting one more year of productivity once you become a doctor. What are you going to be doing in the next year to improve your chances, retake the MCAT, etc? I don't get how you didn't apply to any big name schools just for the hell of it.

Actually, I really hope you'd withdraw, because I have a friend who's burning to get off the waitlist at Syracuse. I think his desire to go there is much more intense than your desire not to go there.
 
•••quote:•••Originally posted by brickmanli:
•I can understand your concerns. It all depends on whether you want to be the big fish in the small pond or the small fish in the big pond. I guess if you prefer the latter, I can understand how UCSD is not for you. It's a hard decision to make, taking one more year, which means wasting one more year of productivity once you become a doctor. What are you going to be doing in the next year to improve your chances, retake the MCAT, etc? I don't get how you didn't apply to any big name schools just for the hell of it.

Actually, I really hope you'd withdraw, because I have a friend who's burning to get off the waitlist at Syracuse. I think his desire to go there is much more intense than your desire not to go there.•••••I don't understand why I didn't apply to those schools either. I guess it's because at the time I was applying, my med student friends scared me to death about how competitive it is to get accepted. So I played it safe, failing to realize how my happiness at a particular would be an important part of my education. So, I made the mistake of following their advice. In fact, I made numerous mistakes this application cycle. That is why I felt so much regret up until a month ago, and perhaps a little even now.

Don't worry about the Syracuse thing. I have withdrew to all of the schools I have listed except UCSD in March. I do wish your friend the best of luck at getting off Syracuse waitlist.
 
cambrian, i wish you the best of luck. I think you should reapply if you didn't explore the possibility of a big name school accepting or rejecting you. Don't worry about the people here busting your balls, striving for excellence should not be discouraged. This applies to everything, relationships, jobs, etc. In fact, I think quite a few people have the exact thoughts as you, but are too afraid to cause a ruckus, or miraculously got pulled off the waitlist at their first choice schools (like me, who was actually contemplating taking one more year off because I'd hate to go to my state school). If you're really not going to be happy, then I don't think you will do that well over there. So either get yourself psyched for that school during the summer, or try to go somewhere you will be happy.

Not to be rude, but do you define happiness by the prestige of the school? If so, you need to seriously reevaluate your priorities. What if you go to HMS and find yourself extremely miserable? Wouldn't that be a ball-buster?
 
Just a question: You say you would go to UCSD for "family reasons" but you also say you wish you could've applied to "more schools on the east coast" yet you turned down SUNY. So which is it? Do you have family in both areas?
 
hey cambrian,

i am sorry that others have been so critical. i also feel bad that you have found yourself in such a paradox. i genuinely hope that your riff and desire to contemplate applying again can be overcome, or solved, med school will be hard enough without a "what-if" scenario.

as far as real examples go, i suggest that you go over to medicalgold.com and ask gower. considering that he is a medical school adviser, it is very likely that he will be able to give you a much more objective point of view than most of us, and probably even some real examples.

best of luck and congratulations on your multiple acceptances.
 
Cambrian, my recommendation: definitely withdraw and do not go anywhere but your top choice...otherwise your predisposition will lead you to become bitter all through med school, and you'll graduate as a typical dingus doc who does more harm than good. face it, you're just too good for a backup school :wink:
 
my pre-med lady person answered this question before, cause a kid was applying to a fellowship (fulbright) and also med school.

real life example that you wanted:

he got into a decent school, but also got the fulbright (and a boatload of other awards) that didn't get factored into his application for that cycle. he turned them down, did the fulbright applied again, and was shafted hardcore (he applied to only schools he was rejected the first time that he really wanted to goto), and barely got into a some school that people don't always speak highly off (still a medschool). people at the top schools sighted that specifically as a reason. so its probably not a great move, amcas tells all. good luck though hope you enjoy ucsd i just visited and the surfboards in the student lounge and 3 min walk to the beach sold me (they also teach medicine well there apparently). they are ubilding new fascilities and the locale, la jolla is awesome (though its yuppy central, but hey). enjoy.
-jot
 
FYI....med schools DO (REPEAT **DO**) talk to each other. If you turn down those other perfectly good schools, there IS a good chance that your top choice school will find out and you'd have a hard time getting in next year. Trust me, you don't get browny points for saying "but I choose you over all others" in this scenario! Personally, if I was on an ADCOM, I would consider it pompous, arrogant and just plain foolish to turn down a sure thing at other good schools (we're not talking "overseas" here!) just for a second chance at #1. Besides, if you like the school so much...go to med-school where ever you get in, and then do your RESIDENCY at that school!

Just remember, there's no gaurantee you'll get into your #1 school next year either....
 
•••quote:•••Originally posted by Cobragirl:
•FYI....med schools DO (REPEAT **DO**) talk to each other. If you turn down those other perfectly good schools, there IS a good chance that your top choice school will find out and you'd have a hard time getting in next year. Trust me, you don't get browny points for saying "but I choose you over all others" in this scenario! Personally, if I was on an ADCOM, I would consider it pompous, arrogant and just plain foolish to turn down a sure thing at other good schools (we're not talking "overseas" here!) just for a second chance at #1. Besides, if you like the school so much...go to med-school where ever you get in, and then do your RESIDENCY at that school!

Just remember, there's no gaurantee you'll get into your #1 school next year either....•••••Where do you get your information? What is the difference between declining an acceptance to go to another school and decling an acceptance to go to another school next year?
 
Generally not a good idea, you may have to answer the question about why you took a year off. Do you really want to answer that?
 
Cambrian,
Congratulations on your acceptances. I can't imagine being in your position. I was fortunate to get in to my 1st choice school. This past week we finished finals for my M1 year so I have spent some time reflecting on my experiences. Med school is hard enough by its own virtue, you don't also need the extra burden of being miserable at your school. Make certain you choose to go to a school you would enjoy and be happy at. If you don't think you would benefit the most from gaining an education at any of the schools you have applied to, wait it out and reapply. But, you will have a huge black mark on your app. when you do. This mark may be big enough to keep you out of the school you decide as your 1st choice.

The adcom will only guess as to your reasons and most likely their assumptions will not be in your favor.
 
•••quote:•••Originally posted by spam:
•What a pointless thread...•••••what a pointless post
what a pointless reply to a post
what a pointless..
oh, never mind
 
Each school contacts AMCAS with the information on who they admit and then they contact them again when we withdraw or matriculate. There is much more communication between the schools and AMCAS than you think.

After the May 15th deadline, the schools can see if their acceptees are holding at other schools, etc. AMCAS knows how many schools you are accepted at and where you withdraw, etc.
 
trout wasn't too harsh. someone else put it best, if you would never consider going to these schools, even if they're not your first choice, you shouldn't have applied to them in the first place...taking away spots from others who'd love to go there...I'm not a premed, but I think its just plain foolish what you're considering. 🙄
 
The difference between declining one school for another versus decliing a school to apply the following year is this:

Adcoms will assume that your priority is not to become a physician, but to go to school XX. The viewpoint of the adcom is that if you truly want to become a physician, you will go to any school that is willing to let you in...if other schools are not "good enough" for you, adcoms think you are looking more for prestige and glory rather than for service and 'helping people'. (I have heard this from adcom members). Therefore, turning down an acceptance is viewed VERY negatively. If you want another year of to pursue other interests, it's better to defer your acceptance than give up your spot and reapply thru AMCAS.
 
if you're considering reapplying because you think you can do better, bad idea.
if you're considering reapplying because you don't think you'd be happy at any of the schools you've been accepted to, i think it should be considered as a legitimate option. as for people asking why you applied there in the first place, ignore it. you can do all the research you want, but until you actually go there, you won't know how you really feel about the school. case in point: i applied to NUMS and was really high on them (they were #2 behind my state school). after i interviewed there, i knew i would never go there b/c i just wouldn't be happy. that doesn't mean that it isn't a great school or that many people wouldn't like it, but i just wasn't comfortable there and didn't think it was a place that i could best reach my potential.
if you reapply b/c you have doubts about your happiness, include it in your application. i don't think adcoms expect people to sacrifice their happiness/peace of mind in order to become a doctor. that said, you realize that you're taking a chance and you have to be ready to accept the consequences. it's a decision that i wrestled with myself and i completely understand your predicament. best of luck in whichever road you choose.
 
Cambrian,

Look..this is all your own business and you can do whatever you want.

I mean, but is it really worth to you to sit out another application year just to try and get into your top choice, which still wouldn't be a gaurantee??

I mean, if you have an acceptance, AMCAS will ban you from applying the next year if you don't accept an offer. And then, what if you don't get in the year after? then what?

Man, this is a bad move. Just suck it up, and go to one of the schools. Actually, sorry. For me, it would be a bad move, and way too risky. I can understand if you got into a DO school and no MD, or a rural MD program and no MD (since, your heart would only be in a total MD and not the others), but this is a big risk here.

Don't worry about a lot of these posts making you out to be arrogant or whatever, just make an intelligent decision here. Waiting 2 years is a long time, including AMCAS's waiting time for banning you. I mean...that's the difference in residency time of a family physician and some surgery positions.

When you're at that level, doing rotations, I highly doubt it would matter. AND UCSD IS A KILLER SCHOOL. FOR GOD'S SAKE IF YOU'RE HAPPY WITH IT, GO WITH IT. YOU'VE BEEN BLESSED!!
 
Maybe it's a "generational" thing, but I find the whole argument of "I don't want to be unhappy for 4 years" laughable and self-serving. The whole point of medical school is to learn, study and become the best physician you can be. Aren't you just happy in the knowledge that you are becoming a doctor?? Four years of your life is NOTHING! As another writer asked, do you want to be a DOCTOR, or do you want prestige, a title...etc? I know of so many physicians that are unhappy in their choice of careers. The prestige just doesn't cut it when your beeper goes off twenty times a night.
 
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