How does the acceptance rate with med schools work?

[patrick1674]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Ok guys I'm a freshman in college and was thinking about the acceptance rate in med schools.
Take any med school in general, if they have 100 seats how many people with they give acceptances to???

I'm just thinking about how some colleges had like 4,000 seats for a freshman class and accepted like 50% of all its applicants.

Stuff like that...

 

[bigbad]

I'd also like to know this. What if they undershoot or overshoot the estimated number of people who actually attend? Does this ever happen?

 

[dingyibvs]

I'd also like to know this. What if they undershoot or overshoot the estimated number of people who actually attend? Does this ever happen?

Usually not. Some schools overaccept, some schools don't. All schools are different. Some schools, for 100 seats they'd accept maybe 150, some others may have to accept 300. For the schools that don't overaccept, they'll accept up to the quota, say 100, then for everyone who withdraws, they accept one off the hold list or waitlist. For schools that do overaccept, they'll start taking people off the waitlist only when enough people withdraw that they go under the quota.

 

[DO3]

I'd also like to know this. What if they undershoot or overshoot the estimated number of people who actually attend? Does this ever happen?

They will have a rolling idea as to how many people will attend due to the fact that accepted students have 30 days to pay a deposit after acceptance. They will offer acceptances until the class is filled. In addition to offering acceptances, they offer alternate or wait list status. Once the class is filled, the waitlist then comes into play. If someone decides not to attend after paying their deposit, someone is pulled off the waitlist to fill their seat. Students are also pulled off the waitlist if a lot of accepted students decline their acceptance. This ensures that they will not overshoot or undershoot their enrollment. There are stories of people getting pulled off the waitlist less than a week before a class starts due to someone who decided late not to show. It's not really that hard to fill the exact number of seats that you want.

 

[fahimaz7]

190 spots and they accept 240-270 to fill our class.

We have over 3,000 apply, 500 are interviewed.

 

[slowbutsteady]

Sometimes they do overshoot a bit and end up with a slightly bigger class than they wanted.

and hence zero waitlist movement.

 

[mmmcdowe]

Other than a handful of schools (Harvard being the most extreme with like a 65% yield), most schools have a yield of below 50%. Thus, most schools tend to accept somewhere between 2-4 times the number of seats they have available for matriculation, due to a lot of withdrawals. The US News and World report has the exact info on each schools. I have a book they published a few years ago that, while a tad out of date, is still pretty accurate. I don't know if it is still being sold, but it's called the US News and World Report Guide to Medical Schools (its a book not the graduate school magazine).

 

[b-real]

Other than a handful of schools (Harvard being the most extreme with like a 65% retention rate), most schools have a retention rate of below 50%. Thus, most schools tend to accept somewhere between 2-4 times the number of seats they have available for matriculation, due to a lot of withdrawals. The US News and World report has the exact info on each schools. I have a book they published a few years ago that, while a tad out of date, is still pretty accurate. I don't know if it is still being sold, but it's called the US News and World Report Guide to Medical Schools (its a book not the graduate school magazine).

I think you mean "yield" rather than "retention rate," which is what percent of the class moves on to the next year.

 

[Law2Doc]

Ok guys I'm a freshman in college and was thinking about the acceptance rate in med schools.
Take any med school in general, if they have 100 seats how many people with they give acceptances to???

I'm just thinking about how some colleges had like 4,000 seats for a freshman class and accepted like 50% of all its applicants.

Stuff like that...

Agree with most of the posts above. Med schools can have as many as 10,000 applications. They interview a set number of the more qualified applicants, and from the interview group, tend to accept 2-3 times the class size, with some reference to historic yield results. They put another couple hundred people onto a waitlist, in case their yield isn't as good as they'd hoped. It has happened that too many people opt to attend. That's a real mess because many places don't have extra room in the lecture hall, and so you sometimes see tables and folding chairs brought out to handle the overflow, or maybe have the lecture piped into another classroom by video. So places tend to err toward a bigger waitlist if they fear this issue.

 

[mmmcdowe]

I think you mean "yield" rather than "retention rate," which is what percent of the class moves on to the next year.

Yes, I meant retention rate in terms of retaining the students that they accept.

 

[JJMrK]

Most schools I've interviewed at have stated that they accept about 2x as many people as they have room for. It's going to vary slightly from school to school, but they have a pretty good idea about how many people will actually accept their offer based on data from previous cycles.

They will have a rolling idea as to how many people will attend due to the fact that accepted students have 30 days to pay a deposit after acceptance. They will offer acceptances until the class is filled. In addition to offering acceptances, they offer alternate or wait list status. Once the class is filled, the waitlist then comes into play. If someone decides not to attend after paying their deposit, someone is pulled off the waitlist to fill their seat. Students are also pulled off the waitlist if a lot of accepted students decline their acceptance. This ensures that they will not overshoot or undershoot their enrollment. There are stories of people getting pulled off the waitlist less than a week before a class starts due to someone who decided late not to show. It's not really that hard to fill the exact number of seats that you want.

Many schools do not require any deposit, only a written response. The schools realize that most people will respond to the acceptance with a "Yes, I'm coming," only to change their answer on May 15th.

 

[b-real]

Yes, I meant retention rate in terms of retaining the students that they accept.

So we can just make up definitions now? Gotcha 🙄

 

[mmmcdowe]

So we can just make up definitions now? Gotcha 🙄

Seriously?

 

[randombetch]

Yes, I meant retention rate in terms of retaining the students that they accept.

Seriously?

Retention rate, when talking about a college or university, refers to the % of students it retains after the first year. B-real was right - you mean to say yield rate.

 

[slowbutsteady]

It must be very embarrassing to be so certain when you are so wrong.

Retention rate and yield are two different things, and b-real correctly defined them.

mmmcdouche is incorrect, but also annoying.

 

[mmmcdowe]

I am quite aware that yield is the preferred term and that retention rate is used to discuss losses of students over time, this is not about me trying to argue that retention rate is the better term. I accepted that when I was corrected and simply explained what I had meant by saying retention rate, hence the yes before my explanation. My later comment was simply asking why we need to make this about personally insulting.

I'm sorry if I have offended anyone, and honestly I'd rather not get into a war about something as silly as this.

 

[meanderthal]

190 spots and they accept 240-270 to fill our class.

We have over 3,000 apply, 500 are interviewed.

What school is this?

 

[mmmcdowe]

What school is this?

I believe it is a mostly in state school. They often have pretty high yields because of a number of IS factors.

 

[fahimaz7]

what school is this?

mcg

 

[csmittyB]

It has happened that too many people opt to attend. That's a real mess because many places don't have extra room in the lecture hall, and so you sometimes see tables and folding chairs brought out to handle the overflow, or maybe have the lecture piped into another classroom by video. So places tend to err toward a bigger waitlist if they fear this issue.

I was told a school offered no first year tuition to students willing to defer until the following year when too many people opted to attend. I think thats a pretty good deal.

 

[MossPoh]

I was told a school offered no first year tuition to students willing to defer until the following year when too many people opted to attend. I think thats a pretty good deal.

Nova did that for the year I was accepted there. In the end, it isn't THAT great of a deal considering you are delayed a year from finishing. Even if you made 50k during that year and got the 33k of tuition waived, you still would be in the red when all is said and done. Of course, that is without interest factored in, so the 6.5%+ would change things up but I still rather not delay things an extra year.

 

[csmittyB]

Nova did that for the year I was accepted there. In the end, it isn't THAT great of a deal considering you are delayed a year from finishing. Even if you made 50k during that year and got the 33k of tuition waived, you still would be in the red when all is said and done. Of course, that is without interest factored in, so the 6.5%+ would change things up but I still rather not delay things an extra year.

Very true. But for someone starting med school right out of college (22 or 23 y/o), that loss of one year of earning potential isn't that significant. If I were that age, I would seriously consider it. One year less tuition, a year off to recharge, a year to make some money. Plus, you may be able to take a chunk out of any undergrad loans. However, I graduated in 2006 and I wouldn't take that deal b/c I have already lost several years of earning potential and I'm chomping at the bit to start med school. There are so many factors to make a free year of tuition for deferment a good or bad deal.