I dont like the school I got into, should I reapply next fall?

[Messerschmitts]

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are you kidding me?

OP, If you do not accept this offer from your own STATE school I will personally hunt you down, staple you to a wall, and repeatedly hurl billiard balls at your head.

There are those of us out here who are desperate to get into ANY med school, let alone their own state school!

TAKE THE ACCEPTANCE AND BE HAPPY!

😡

Preach it, my fellow SLU-accepted brotha!

 

[Depakote]

If you have an acceptance DON'T TURN IT DOWN

Your belief that you can get in somewhere "better" is based on the assumption that your application will only get stronger between now and then. I contend your file will actually be weaker.

1) Its Feburary now, meaning if you start today you have only 5-6 months to make your application stronger. You can do a little volunteering (which really isn't that big of a deal) plus you'll have to find something else to do to answer the all too important "what have you been doing with your time off question.

2a) The fact that you got in this cycle and turned down your only acceptance is going to look HORRIBLE. Schools want to fill their classes--when they accept someone they want there to be a good chance that that person will matriculate. The fact that you choose to wait a year rather than go a school you applied to and were accepted is going to raise serious doubts about whether you will attend their school if accepted.

2b) Its also going to look horrible because it will call into question your motivation to be a physician. You may have good reasons for turning down the school--but those reasons will be put under the microscope by your interviewers.

3) General stigma of being a reapplicant.


I think your chances are worse if you turn this down and try again. A bird in hand is worth two in the bush

I'm just going to quote this man because he makes way too much sense to risk it not being read.

 

[Shredder]

You make it sound as if schools who are not in the "top ten" churn out inefficient doctors who are unable to change medicine in a positive way. It's obvious blindsight, which seems to be the view of the majority of the public. Being a premed, I thought you could see the reality of the situation. It doesn't matter where a student attends, as long as he/she is committed and works hard enough. Sure, some may have to overcome this name game in order to prove themselves, but it is done. Notice how not all MD/PhD's come from one school...nor do competitive specialities only accept from a select number of schools.

I'd be interested in knowing where you applied and if you're going to a top tier school.

i think it boils down to this--1 yr for reapplying vs an indefinite amount of time and effort spent fighting an uphill battle due to the "name game" which no doubt exists. name game doesnt apply only to matching, its a lifelong thing at least to some extent. i agree that commitment and hard work can overcome this and that, but the question is if its worth it. only a fool would (ceteris paribus) willingly take the uphill road in the race of life. depends on life goals and priorities i think

this is under the presumption that reapplication would be successful. velocypedalist makes good points. there are certainly practical concerns at hand and not just ideological ones. dunno, just representing the other side a little as i never like one sided discussions

 

[happydays]

i think it boils down to this--1 yr for reapplying vs an indefinite amount of time and effort spent fighting an uphill battle due to the "name game" which no doubt exists. name game doesnt apply only to matching, its a lifelong thing at least to some extent. i agree that commitment and hard work can overcome this and that, but the question is if its worth it. only a fool would willingly take the uphill road in the race of life. depends on life goals and priorities i think

this is under the presumption that reapplication would be successful. velocypedalist makes good points. there are certainly practical concerns at hand and not just ideological ones. dunno, just representing the other side a little as i never like one sided discussions

So I take it that you will be reapplying if you don't get into a top school?

Please let us know how you'll do.

 

[Shredder]

So I take it that you will be reapplying if you don't get into a top school?

Please let us know how you'll do.

no i have mixed feelings. i dont want the spotlight here. yes ill let anyone know anything they want but when the time is ripe. the point is that there are arguments to be made for both sides. sunday monday happy days

 

[MDMAMA]

If it were the end of April, you could have this angst. However, it is way too early
to think that you may not have another acceptance later in the year. My advice is
send your deposit and be patient. You may be surprised how this ends? If you
choose to reapply, you won't have any assurance of an acceptance.

 

[Orthodoc40]

theres a correlation between caliber of school one attends and measure of success attained. ppl argue that those ppl were better qualified to begin with, but the causation could be argued the other way as well--meaning the school in fact made the difference, at least partially. i would be interested to see if students were matched for qualifications and compared on the basis of school attended, what the outcome would be. some docs want to practice medicine, others want to change it. theres a distinction, and higher tier schools are better suited to the latter. i think people proclaim that all schools are equal just like they say all people are equal. a psychological sleight of hand to make everyone feel better, reality be damned. reputations dont arise out of thin air.

Donald, you think too much like a big business man. This is about medical school applications. You're FIRED!

 

[Shredder]

Donald, you think too much like a big business man. This is about medical school applications. You're FIRED!

yeah maybe youre right. but i really want a bloody ivy degree to hang on the wall, bumper sticker, and clothing to sport nonstop. priceless, mastercard like. the flamboyance is just so...Trump!

drat, too late to resign like nixon, so shameful 😳

 

[Law2Doc]

i think it boils down to this--1 yr for reapplying vs an indefinite amount of time and effort spent fighting an uphill battle due to the "name game" which no doubt exists. name game doesnt apply only to matching, its a lifelong thing at least to some extent. i agree that commitment and hard work can overcome this and that, but the question is if its worth it. only a fool would (ceteris paribus) willingly take the uphill road in the race of life. depends on life goals and priorities i think

this is under the presumption that reapplication would be successful. velocypedalist makes good points. there are certainly practical concerns at hand and not just ideological ones. dunno, just representing the other side a little as i never like one sided discussions

I think you are overestimating the OP's chances of getting into a top school as a reapplicant next year, and underestimating a non-top med schooler's chances at top residencies. You either have some effort in 4 years getting into a top residency in 4 years, or you will have to use effort in getting into a top school now (and frankly still quite a bit of effort again in 4 years even from a top school). Coming from OU with good grades, recs, research, and solid board scores makes the effort in 4 years pretty reasonable and manageable. Applying for a top med school next year as a reapplicant with largely the same application as got passed over last year may be an insurmountable hurdle. To use your phrase (against you) only a fool would take this latter uphill road. The smarter route for the OP is to go with the bird in the hand and stay out of the bushes.

 

[pico61]

theres a correlation between caliber of school one attends and measure of success attained. ppl argue that those ppl were better qualified to begin with, but the causation could be argued the other way as well--meaning the school in fact made the difference, at least partially. i would be interested to see if students were matched for qualifications and compared on the basis of school attended, what the outcome would be. some docs want to practice medicine, others want to change it. theres a distinction, and higher tier schools are better suited to the latter. i think people proclaim that all schools are equal just like they say all people are equal. a psychological sleight of hand to make everyone feel better, reality be damned. reputations dont arise out of thin air.

HEre is a real scenario. I worked with two doctors. One went to georgetown med the other went to uic med. They both met at their fellowship program at keck med. The georgetown med doc was recruited to be the chair ( he was young too)of a department at columbia. HE then invited his buddy(uic med doc) to columbia. Now they are both working at columbia. The georgetown doc step down as chair and is now just a professor/clinician who is notoriously well respected throughout the world and world renowned. The UIC med doc is kind of now in charge of the clinic aspect of were both columbia docs practice. Georgetown doc well known probably makes 500,000-700,000 and is a research god. UIC doc makes 1 million plus and talks about going to plays and operas he can barely pronounce, but he is nevertheless a well known top clinician and specialist as well. I mean both of these guys see pt's from some powerful and influential families throughout the world.


Kind of funny huh?

 

[velo]

HEre is a real scenario. I worked with two doctors. One went to georgetown med the other went to uic med. They both met at their fellowship program at keck med. The georgetown med doc was recruited to be the chair ( he was young too)of a department at columbia. HE then invited his buddy(uic med doc) to columbia. Now they are both working at columbia. The georgetown doc step down as chair and is now just a professor/clinician who is notoriously well respected throughout the world and world renowned. The UIC med doc is kind of now in charge of the clinic aspect of were both columbia docs practice. Georgetown doc well known probably makes 500,000-700,000 and is a research god. UIC doc makes 1 million plus and talks about going to plays and operas he can barely pronounce, but he is nevertheless a well known top clinician and specialist as well. I mean both of these guys see pt's from some powerful and influential families throughout the world.


Kind of funny huh?

I don't understand, aren't georgetown and uic pretty comparable? Especially now, didn't GT go bankrupt or something?

 

[Law2Doc]

HEre is a real scenario. I worked with two doctors. One went to georgetown med the other went to uic med. They both met at their fellowship program at keck med. The georgetown med doc was recruited to be the chair ( he was young too)of a department at columbia. HE then invited his buddy(uic med doc) to columbia. Now they are both working at columbia. The georgetown doc step down as chair and is now just a professor/clinician who is notoriously well respected throughout the world and world renowned. The UIC med doc is kind of now in charge of the clinic aspect of were both columbia docs practice. Georgetown doc well known probably makes 500,000-700,000 and is a research god. UIC doc makes 1 million plus and talks about going to plays and operas he can barely pronounce, but he is nevertheless a well known top clinician and specialist as well. I mean both of these guys see pt's from some powerful and influential families throughout the world.

Kind of funny huh?

Well, that supports the statement often said in medicine that you are only as good as the LAST PLACE YOU HAVE BEEN. meaning that med schools won't matter once you hit the next stage -- they are now columbia dept docs. Just as the OP once he hits residency won't be an OU doc once he hits residency (unless he stays on). And just as a premed's undergrad, GPA, MCATs no longer counts once he hits med school. As for the salaries - their experience would be tough to duplicate in the current world (they got when the getting was good).

 

[Shredder]

law2doc and pico, fair enough but pico yours is selection bias. the road is just easier with strong credentials, thus the fool line. thats why i clarified it with my ceteris paribus. obviously in the real world its not ceteris paribus, and thats why the decision making process involves weighing the costs and benefits. in this case, reapply vs no reapply. law2doc i agree that if reapplication looks grim it may not be a good route. but also there are other goals besides solely getting a good match. the top schools, at least the way i see it, are not only in that line of business. it takes more than a good match list to bring fame and fortunes to good institutions.

and law2doc youre pretty much right that youre as good as the last place youve been, but it makes it easier to go to good places before that. my point is that easier is better than harder. thus the fool depiction.

 

[pico61]

Well, that supports the statement often said in medicine that you are only as good as the LAST PLACE YOU HAVE BEEN. meaning that med schools won't matter once you hit the next stage -- they are now columbia dept docs. Just as the OP once he hits residency won't be an OU doc once he hits residency (unless he stays on). And just as a premed's undergrad, GPA, MCATs no longer counts once he hits med school. As for the salaries - their experience would be tough to duplicate in the current world (they got when the getting was good).

That is so true.

 

[velo]

law2doc and pico, fair enough but pico yours is selection bias. the road is just easier with strong credentials, thus the fool line. thats why i clarified it with my ceteris paribus. obviously in the real world its not ceteris paribus, and thats why the decision making process involves weighing the costs and benefits. in this case, reapply vs no reapply. law2doc i agree that if reapplication looks grim it may not be a good route. but also there are other goals besides solely getting a good match. the top schools, at least the way i see it, are not only in that line of business. it takes more than a good match list to bring fame and fortunes to good institutions.

You're focusing way too much on the difference between a top-tier and a mid-tier school on not nearly enough on the difference between a mid-tier school and no school at all.

If he turns this down and reapplies he is in no way assured of getting in somewhere else on round 2.

 

[RxnMan]

You're focusing way too much on the difference between a top-tier and a mid-tier school on not nearly enough on the difference between a mid-tier school and no school at all.

If he turns this down and reapplies he is in no way assured of getting in somewhere else on round 2.

AMEN I say AMEN, brother!

 

[IAMS]

No one says you have to decide today. For sure, make up your mind based on what you think will be best for YOU.

I too interviewed at OU and decided it wasn't that thrilling. It would be a fine place to get an education, but this is your future, you want to go where you feel you'll grow and have the best opportunities. If it were me in your shoes, I'd look into OU more, maybe go to a 2nd look weekend (if they have one), because I'd want to make darn sure that if it was my only acceptance, I was turning it down for the right reasons. You may end up deciding there are people there who you click with, or your gut feeling might be right. But make sure YOU make the right decision, and not just go because a bunch of people here would if they were in your shoes.

 

[yellowpersuazio]

i think it boils down to this--1 yr for reapplying vs an indefinite amount of time and effort spent fighting an uphill battle due to the "name game" which no doubt exists. name game doesnt apply only to matching, its a lifelong thing at least to some extent. i agree that commitment and hard work can overcome this and that, but the question is if its worth it. only a fool would (ceteris paribus) willingly take the uphill road in the race of life. depends on life goals and priorities i think

this is under the presumption that reapplication would be successful. velocypedalist makes good points. there are certainly practical concerns at hand and not just ideological ones. dunno, just representing the other side a little as i never like one sided discussions

As someone already mentioned, applying again with an acceptance from the previous year gives you an extreme disadvantage. Especially for some reason such as "I just didn't like the atmosphere/environment" or "the name isn't big enough for me." And do you really think it matters what kind of diploma you put on your wall? That's ludicrious. If you haven't, I would suggest you volunteer in hospitals and doctors' offices to see how many times their patients ask "Before I let you treat me, can I ask where you went to medical school?" It doesn't matter where you got your degree, but how you treat your patients. They could care less. The only ones who do care are those who only think of the name...and maybe their parents. Going to another medical school that is not "top tier" is not an uphill battle by any means. If you look at competitive residency schools, you will see that it is not an inbred mixture of residents from top tier schools.

 

[Snowboarder]

Just because I don't think this question has been answered yet (but maybe I missed it) . . .

No. You can not defer an acceptance from one school and reapply to others in the next cycle. To defer you must accept, and once you have mailed in that deposit for your seat to seal your acceptancel, other medical schools have access to this information and will no longer consider you.

Interesting idea though. It would put a whole new spin on the med school admissions game if that were allowed.

 

[Orthodoc40]

and here's the other thing: How many people can say that they knew what 4 years at their undergraduate school was going to be like from that one brief visit they had way back during that application process? You really can't get a complete sense of what it will be like.

 

[sen]

If you have an acceptance DON'T TURN IT DOWN

1) Its Feburary now, meaning if you start today you have only 5-6 months to make your application stronger. You can do a little volunteering (which really isn't that big of a deal) plus you'll have to find something else to do to answer the all too important "what have you been doing with your time off question.

3) General stigma of being a reapplicant.


I think your chances are worse if you turn this down and try again. A bird in hand is worth two in the bush

Like many others who have already posted, I agree with Velocypedalist's comments, (and I would say to go ahead and matriculate at OU). On the other hand, I can also sympathize with hating a place where you are so much that you feel like the only way you'll be happy is to get out. I will further elaborate on two of Velocypedalist's comments to add some things the OP should consider:


#3: Do not forget that the general stigma of being a reapplicant applies to "top" schools as well. I took a year off before med school, and at several of my interviews at the most highly-ranked schools I applied to (such as Baylor), my interviewers directly asked if I had applied the year before.


#1 Velocypedalist is also correct that your application may be weaker if you wait. So if you are even considering not going this year, you better find something worthwile to do now for next year before the opportunities are already gone. Here is my advice:

Apply right now (get the applications done in February) for research technician positions at your dream med school (or at least a med school where you would be happy to attend and you think you have a decent shot at getting in). Then pick up and move there and work for TWO YEARS. Most academic centers in America will want research techs who stay for two years, and your lor from the PI will have much more validity if you've been there for a while. The research can be clinically based, it can be bench, etc., but having a letter from a researcher at that med school and experience living there will give you a foot in the door if you do well. Two years will also give you time to significantly increase your clinical experiences (which I think may in fact be a factor in your outcomes). You might even think about enrolling in a post-bac program, from which you could get some extra letters of rec, and some programs even allow you to use that school's pre-med advisors for committee letters etc. Then, in the summer of 2007, apply to a much larger number of schools (at least 20) and spend a heck of a lot of time on making those applictions good.

Best of luck in your decision.

 

[UNC-or-BUST]

SHUT UP
dam.... dude go to whatever school you get into, if you have chioces hell yeah, if not shut up and go. What F***ing medical school did Dr. Debakey go to???
(Dr. Micheal DeBakey is the godfather of docs, the first to connect cancer and smoking, invented the vascular grafts on his wife's sewing machine, start NIH, and pubmed)
Hey dumba$$ it is not the medical school it is the student, grow some balls and kiss OU's butt

 

[Law2Doc]

Apply right now (get the applications done in February) for research technician positions at your dream med school

Just bear in mind that your "dream school" might be less receptive to reapplicants than some. Certainly some of the most competitive schools will tell you that reapplicant applications get different scrutiny "separate pile" treatment. So if your dream school is, say, Harvard, you may want to see if they take many reapplicants before you select them as your research locale. Also bear in mind that you are making the massive assumption that this kind of EC is what your app lacked in the first place. If you were rejected for something like an inability to interview, then this won't really help much.

 

[Depakote]

Say you go Job hunting.

You get a job March 1.

An absolutely amazing, dynomite job.

One that will turn the favor of all adcoms.

What are the odds that you'll have made such an impression on somebody there that you'll get a Letter of recommendation in time to complete your secondary in July.

You want time to make a good impression. You need to make an impact. Your first months of training, fumbling around blindly making the big rookie mistakes... not so good for that.

It's too late to make a huge change for next year. Stick with what you've got.

 

[masterMood]

If you reapply next year, tell them you had explosive diarrhea --- works every time. They won't ask.

 

[masterMood]

oh yeah, what if this guy wants to go into some top residency i.e. dermatology/rads/optho/cardio/thoracic surgery/etc. I've seen match lists for many state schools and typically out of a class of say like 100 or 200 or 250 only 1 or 2 people get into these programs. Now what is the probability that youwill be that 1 person? Not that great. I mean you can say, yeah, you can become what you want like everyone else but there's so many factors that you can't control and that's why I think going to a top tier med. school makes things so much easier (if only for the name)

 

[Ashanti Rock]

Just because I don't think this question has been answered yet (but maybe I missed it) . . .

No. You can not defer an acceptance from one school and reapply to others in the next cycle. To defer you must accept, and once you have mailed in that deposit for your seat to seal your acceptancel, other medical schools have access to this information and will no longer consider you.

Interesting idea though. It would put a whole new spin on the med school admissions game if that were allowed.

Actually there are some schools that will let you do this, I know that Iowa is one and I'm almost positive that there are others. You mucst still have a very good reason and I don't know exactly how the process works.

 

[Orthodoc40]

oh yeah, what if this guy wants to go into some top residency i.e. dermatology/rads/optho/cardio/thoracic surgery/etc. I've seen match lists for many state schools and typically out of a class of say like 100 or 200 or 250 only 1 or 2 people get into these programs. Now what is the probability that youwill be that 1 person? Not that great. I mean you can say, yeah, you can become what you want like everyone else but there's so many factors that you can't control and that's why I think going to a top tier med. school makes things so much easier (if only for the name)

The OP isn't going to get ANY residency if for some reason the OP takes the risk, and it backfires.

 

[masterMood]

couldn't the op get acceptance to his state school, defer one year and still apply without everyone knowing?

 

[Law2Doc]

couldn't the op get acceptance to his state school, defer one year and still apply without everyone knowing?

No - the same AMCAS mechanism that lets schools know where else you are accepted after a certain date would let schools know you had an acceptance in a prior year. The info is out there in the computer.

As for your highly competitive specialty issue, the bottom line is that an amazing board score and good clinical recs and impressive research pubs are going to make far far more difference in getting that choice residency than the name of the school. Will the name of the school help some? Sure. Will it help a lot? No. The determinative factor will be things you (the OP) need to accomplish. Match lists that show folks from top ten schools matching more competitively are really reflective on the students. Someone who busted his a$$ to get into Harvard probably will continue busting it during med school to get the prize residency. So you see a disproportionate percentage of folks from top places matching well. That reflects well on the school in the residency directors' eyes, and perhaps is a chicken and egg thing. Thus the name helps a bit. But not enough to carry the day. But someone who goes to a state school and really picks up the pace and nails the boards could certainly get there too. In fact, if you count the number of people in competitive residencies, while there will be a disproportionate percentage from "top" med schools, the MAJORITY will likely not be from them.

 

[riceman04]

I love Shredder - there are very few people like him. Classic.

Well, you can make the arguments above, but you thoughts are in the minority (just like the unitary executive theory that Alito and about 20 other judges ascribe to).

Not all schools are equal - but I think they are more equal than most people might think. If you inversed the acceptances of the best schools with the worst schools, meaning that all Harvard students went to the worst allopathic school, JHU students went to the second worst allopathic school, etc., I would bet that Harvard would produce (on average) mediocre physicians, and the worst allopathic school would produce (on average) the top physicians of their class.

Why do you kiss his a$$ all the time...you are always saying, "oh Shredder...oh shredder...nobody else is like you shredder...I will bend over anytime for you Shredder"

 

[masterMood]

connections? ha ha.

 

[thegenius]

Why do you kiss his a$$ all the time...you are always saying, "oh Shredder...oh shredder...nobody else is like you shredder...I will bend over anytime for you Shredder"

Jeez you are weird.

How about...

I hate riceman04. His posts are worthless.

🙂

 

[don juan]

Here is my situation: I applied to 9 total schools this fall. I heard back from four for interviews (UVA, UT-Southwestern, NYU and the University of Oklahoma). I was accepted at OU, waitlisted at UVA and haven’t heard anything from the other two – which I assume means waitlist/rejection.

I believe the main hole in my app is the lack of volunteer and hospital experience. My ECs read: Zoology Teaching Assistant, lots of research, student government coordinator, and limited volunteering at a hospital (about 60 total hours).

I really did not like my experience at OU. I am positive it is an excellent school – just not somewhere I can see myself enjoying the next four years. I am considering turning down OU and trying to beef up my application for next fall (i.e. volunteering a lot, picking up another major and minor, and continuing with the things I am doing currently).

Does anyone have any advice for me? Will turning down the chance to be a doctor at my state school hurt me if I reapply next year? Is it possible to defer enrollment at OU for a year and then reapply next year in the hopes that I can go to a dream school of mine? In the end, am I justified in believing that my lack of volunteering and hospital experience is a huge hole in my app? Please feel free to check out my mdapplicants profile and give me your assessment:

MDApplicants.com

Thanks.

I say you take the year off man...open up a spot at OU for someone who has some sense

 

[thegenius]

Why do you kiss his a$$ all the time...you are always saying, "oh Shredder...oh shredder...nobody else is like you shredder...I will bend over anytime for you Shredder"

I want to reply, but I don't even know what to say to you. This is ridiculous, you must have some insecurity issues.

 

[dilated]

So you see a disproportionate percentage of folks from top places matching well. That reflects well on the school in the residency directors' eyes, and perhaps is a chicken and egg thing. Thus the name helps a bit. But not enough to carry the day.

I don't think it's the name that carries the day, I think it's when the #1 or #2 guy in the field you want to match in calls the PD for you and says "This guy is good" instead of having a letter from Dr. Random. That's the advantage of going to a top school, not the fact that the name sounds good.

 

[riceman04]

I want to reply, but I don't even know what to say to you. This is ridiculous, you must have some insecurity issues.

Well, I am just making an observation.

I must have hit a nerve!

 

[tulane06]

I will go along with the consensus - go to OU and stop b*tching.

 

[riceman04]

I will go along with the consensus - go to OU and stop b*tching.

So where did you attend school while the campus was being cleaned up and prepared for the next term?

Is it really Tulane College (and not university)?

 

[riceman04]

I want to reply, but I don't even know what to say to you. This is ridiculous, you must have some insecurity issues.

😴 😴 😴 😴

 

[tulane06]

So where did you attend school while the campus was being cleaned up and prepared for the next term?

Is it really Tulane College (and not university)?

I was at RPI during the fall term. It was a good school, but the atmosphere didn't go along too well with my personality. I'm still grateful that they took me in though.

Tulane College is a subdivision of the university (arts and sciences)

 

[riceman04]

I was at RPI during the fall term. It was a good school, but the atmosphere didn't go along too well with my personality. I'm still grateful that they took me in though.

Tulane College is a subdivision of the university (arts and sciences)

Oh ok! So now that you have settled on Tulane for med school are you constantly thinking about the next hurricane season.

I have already decided my list of schools the app process next yr. I did not include tulane on it for other reasons, but now I know I would not want to be in a city that has a high risk of getting hit by hurricanes every year.

I am still working it out in my head...we will see if I, for some reason, end up applying.

 

[RRGirl]

Here is my situation: I applied to 9 total schools this fall. I heard back from four for interviews (UVA, UT-Southwestern, NYU and the University of Oklahoma). I was accepted at OU, waitlisted at UVA and haven’t heard anything from the other two – which I assume means waitlist/rejection.

I believe the main hole in my app is the lack of volunteer and hospital experience. My ECs read: Zoology Teaching Assistant, lots of research, student government coordinator, and limited volunteering at a hospital (about 60 total hours).

I really did not like my experience at OU. I am positive it is an excellent school – just not somewhere I can see myself enjoying the next four years. I am considering turning down OU and trying to beef up my application for next fall (i.e. volunteering a lot, picking up another major and minor, and continuing with the things I am doing currently).

Does anyone have any advice for me? Will turning down the chance to be a doctor at my state school hurt me if I reapply next year? Is it possible to defer enrollment at OU for a year and then reapply next year in the hopes that I can go to a dream school of mine? In the end, am I justified in believing that my lack of volunteering and hospital experience is a huge hole in my app? Please feel free to check out my mdapplicants profile and give me your assessment:

MDApplicants.com

Thanks.

Congrats on your acceptance. You are lucky to get into the best school for you (just think about it - no need to move to another state, cheap tuition). If you like taking chances go and buy lottery ticket. Take the OU offer, dude. In the end you will be MD. Besides there is always a chance that you will match for JH or Harvard residency so you still will be able to tell your golf buddies that you went to Ivy school.....

 

[NehsNairb]

to the OP: i understand your desire to go to a top school, alot of us do. you have regrets about parts of your application but don't try to make up for them by reapplying. instead just bust your ass in med school and get into a kickass residency

on a slightly harsher note, you got in where you deserved so stop whining. rarely do people get shafted by the application process(an exception would be Messerschmitts, who got assraped for sure). some people get lucky and are accepted into top schools with so-so credentials. i mean a 3.9, 34, solid ECs is fairly average compared to the other applicants of the schools you applied to. my premed advisor tells all applicants if you are applying to only top tier schools and your state schools, you'll end up screwing yourself. the logic being top tier schools don't think you're worthy and states schools will think you're too qualified to want to matriculate at their school. that is exactly what you did and miraculously you didn't get entirely screwed because the OU accepted you.

so basically, stop trying to fix mistakes you might have made in the past because honestly you probably didn't. instead, look ahead and worry about doing well in med school. also, you still might get lucky with the other schools you applied to.

 

[yellowpersuazio]

oh yeah, what if this guy wants to go into some top residency i.e. dermatology/rads/optho/cardio/thoracic surgery/etc. I've seen match lists for many state schools and typically out of a class of say like 100 or 200 or 250 only 1 or 2 people get into these programs. Now what is the probability that youwill be that 1 person? Not that great. I mean you can say, yeah, you can become what you want like everyone else but there's so many factors that you can't control and that's why I think going to a top tier med. school makes things so much easier (if only for the name)

To put it into context, you would have to know how many people actually applied to those competitive specialties compared to how many were accepted. It's not like the whole graduating class goes for competitive residencies, and so you can't correlate the fact that some schools only have one person going into ortho/rad/surgery with the assumption that its unsuccessful at producing good candidates. Interestingly enough, there are people interested in other residencies other than these. If you were to actually look at match lists, you will see that these "top schools" produce students going into family practice, internal medicine, peds, etc. just as much as any other school.

 

[Messerschmitts]

on a slightly harsher note, you got in where you deserved so stop whining. rarely do people get shafted by the application process(an exception would be Messerschmitts, who got assraped for sure). some people get lucky and are accepted into top schools with so-so credentials.

Ha ha, thanks for the shout-out dude. My a$$ is still a little sore, but healing nicely this year. I just hope we all knocked some sense into the OP. Honestly I don't see what's so bad about OU. Btw, OP's stats are identical to mine (3.9/34), just as yet another sign of warning to her.

There seem to be two different arguments going on in this thread right now.
1.) Is is better to go to a more prestigious school in terms of getting residencies, ect? The answer is obviously yes. Maybe it's not the deciding factor, but it does help a little.

HOWEVER, the question the OP asked is
2.) Should I give up my current acceptance so that I can try to get into a better school next cycle? The answer is obviously no, NOT because a prestigious school isn't better, but because more likely than not, OP will be going NOWHERE if he/she chooses to reapply. The choice isn't OU vs. better school, it's OU vs. Nursing School. It's possible that the OP will succeed, but the odds are decidedly not in his/her favour.

 

[Gut Shot]

What F***ing medical school did Dr. Debakey go to???

Tulane.

Class of 1932.

 

[drchekhov]

You may still hear from UTSouthwestern now that the match for TX residents is over. Good luck.

OP, while this is certainly true, do remember that Texas schools are mandated to fill 90% of their incoming class with residents. Thus, you'll be fighting for one of twenty-two OOS spots. BUT, if they interviewed you, they did like you enough. I suggest calling UTSW Monday to see how the OOS waitlist works. The in-state one is ranked; if the OOS corresponds and you're high on it, hope need not be lost.

 

[Gut Shot]

Well, that supports the statement often said in medicine that you are only as good as the LAST PLACE YOU HAVE BEEN.

That's so true. I went to a med school that's about as middle-of-the-pack as you can get, and now I'm a resident at one of the institutions that told Shredder to go screw. Granted, I'm not in a highly competitive field, but it still feels kinda good.

OP: No matter how you slice it, the chance that you might get into a "better" school is not worth a year of your life. If you waste time reapplying you will be kicking your own ass when you someday look back and realize what a fool you've been.

 

[drmota]

Tulane.

Class of 1932.

got that right. he once said "I owe all of my accomplishments to Tulane". that's a lie. but still.
-mota