I need perspective from other pre-meds/meds/phys. Matriculate or Wait?

[Choicobo]

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[JJMrK]

If you've been accepted to a US MD school, absolutely take it and run. There's no guarantee that anything will change next year, and reapplying will make it seem like you're overly focused on prestige. Sorry to say this, but basically if you weren't interested in the school you shouldn't have applied.

 

[Morsetlis]

Every school in the AAMC that uses the AMCAS will be able to see that you rejected an offer.

You will have a lot of explaining to do, even if your EC's are stellar and your stats are average-high.

Do yourself a favor and start medical school already.

 

[Sammich117]

I agree - just start. It would be silly to go through that process again

 

[Kid A]

Yea don't reapply, I mean from a purely financial view you will be losing:

- One more year away from becoming an attending.
- All the money from another year of apps/secondaries/interviews.
- Many med schools are increasing tuition each year so this is a little extra you will have to pay.

Plus prestige is pretty low on the factors of getting into a residency. More schools and slots from MD schools are increasing every year. The competitive residencies will be harder to get into, so yea just take the acceptance wherever it is.

 

[riverjib]

Definitely take it. I'd agree that given what you've told us here, you probably should have gotten into more than one school. But you got into one, and that's all you need!

Honestly, if I was in your position, I'd assume that something was missing from my application, whether it was some red flag from the past or a PS or an LOR that was less than stellar. The only way to find out is to ask, and that doesn't mean you'll improve it in the next cycle. Who knows? Maybe everything was perfect, but there were enough people who had an edge over you in the application or interview process. You could drive yourself insane worrying about the thousands of variables involved.

But you got in somewhere, so what's the point? Be happy about your success, and don't dwell on the fact that other schools didn't accept you. I have great stats and a fantastic argument for why I should be a physician, but I know that in reality, I'll be lucky to get into one school and not have to face re-applying after being rejected all around. I actually put off applying last year because I'm engaged, and my fiance is finishing his degree in May 2011. We decided it made more sense for him to be able to come with me wherever I get in, even if it's far from ideal.

 

[Practitioner]

A bird in your hand is better than two in the bush.

Or whatever the proverb is. Listen to everyone and take it, although your stats seem stellar.

 

[fMRI]

Hi SDNers,

...
I applied to 25 schools, and so far only matriculated to one school, and it looks like it will stay that way. So I wonder if I should withdraw and apply this year. I guess I'm a bit disappointed because I've done so much up to this point, and the one school that I have been matriculated into was very far from my top choices. ...

So I wonder if you were in my situation would you wait for 2010 applications round for another shot at a top school, or matriculate in an average school? (Notice I'm withholding names of the schools on purpose)

Choicobo

*matriculated* means that you *registered* at or *enrolled* in a particular university. If you mean you have *received an offer*, better use *accepted*. You cannot register (=matriculate) at more than one school, but you can receive and hold offers at more than one place (which you don't).

Work on your language skills, otherwise you'll run into serious trouble at med school. If you don't know what a word means, ask or look it up, but don't use it until then. 🙄

Good luck with your decision.

 

[nogolfinsnow]

This issue comes up a lot on SDN, and a constant question people ask is why even bother applying to schools you don't want to go to?? You spent countless hours and thousands of dollars applying this cycle, so were you just throwing $100 at the school you've been accepted at for fun? And how about the stress? Just consider doing this all again and having rejections start to trickle in again, because even the best applicants get some rejections. Applying late probably hurt. How's your PS? I've seen good apps with so-so PSs that kind of leave a bad taste in reviewer's mouths. And if you reapply, what is going to be new on your application? Put yourself in an ADCOM's shoes. You see the application with good stats and ECs, but the person is a re-applicant. You start to wonder what happened last year that kept them from getting in to a school. What's new on the application, other than getting in early, that's different from last year? You can do very well at any school if you're willing to put in the effort. Even from non-"top" schools, many people match into their top choices. I go to a school that many people on here knock but people match into derm, urology, neurosurgery, and many others into their top choices in every field.

So just make sure you completely evaluate all of your options. Every year you put off starting school is 1 fewer years of an attending salary, so by postponing the opportunity cost is likely 6 figures. Good luck.

 

[nogolfinsnow]

Choicobo

*matriculated* means that you *registered* at or *enrolled* in a particular university. If you mean you have *received an offer*, better use *accepted*. You cannot register (=matriculate) at more than one school, but you can receive and hold offers at more than one place (which you don't).

Work on your language skills, otherwise you'll run into serious trouble at med school. If you don't know what a word means, ask or look it up, but don't use it until then. 🙄

Good luck with your decision.

It's mean, but true. If the OP made mistakes like this in the PS they won't be taken seriously.

 

[Catalystik]

More selective schools might hold your earlier MCAT performance against you. Also, you're from California where even your improved MCAT score would be average-ish among the impressive herd.

Were you to reapply, more selective schools would want to see evidence that you're a future leader in medicine. Strong research and pubs might do that, but I don't see a Leadership experience, or Teaching, or nonmedical Community Service (though perhaps you just didn't mention them). Your Artistic Endeavors and Sport would not be enough to overcome those lackings.

You might call some of the schools that rejected you, make an appointment to speak to a dean by phone, and try to get more input about what you could do to improve. I don't think you should reapply, but the answers you get might make you more content with the offer you did receive.

 

[thesauce]

Take it and *matriculate*! Unless it's a family/S.O. issue, I don't think it's worth taking an extra year of your life pushing your luck to get a better deal.

 

[thesauce]

This issue comes up a lot on SDN, and a constant question people ask is why even bother applying to schools you don't want to go to?? You spent countless hours and thousands of dollars applying this cycle, so were you just throwing $100 at the school you've been accepted at for fun? And how about the stress? Just consider doing this all again and having rejections start to trickle in again, because even the best applicants get some rejections. Applying late probably hurt. How's your PS? I've seen good apps with so-so PSs that kind of leave a bad taste in reviewer's mouths. And if you reapply, what is going to be new on your application? Put yourself in an ADCOM's shoes. You see the application with good stats and ECs, but the person is a re-applicant. You start to wonder what happened last year that kept them from getting in to a school. What's new on the application, other than getting in early, that's different from last year? You can do very well at any school if you're willing to put in the effort. Even from non-"top" schools, many people match into their top choices. I go to a school that many people on here knock but people match into derm, urology, neurosurgery, and many others into their top choices in every field.

So just make sure you completely evaluate all of your options. Every year you put off starting school is 1 fewer years of an attending salary, so by postponing the opportunity cost is likely 6 figures. Good luck.

For the sake of the premeds on here: this doesn't mean they matched at their favorite of all the programs out there. It means it was the top of their list of programs that gave them an interview.

 

[Choicobo]

Sorry for the error, it is to be accepted not matriculate. I do agree my writing skills are lacking, but it was more reason I got everyone to read my PS. 😀

These comments have been immensely helpful. I take it few people see waiting as an option in their own pre-medical endeavors?

 

[URHere]

I think it would be a mistake for you to decline your acceptance and apply again with the next cycle. If your application was truly as stellar as you seem to believe, you would have likely garnered more interviews and acceptances, even after submitting your secondaries in October and November (which is far from the point of "late secondary suicide").

If there was in fact something wrong with your application, and you decide to decline this offer you will only raise more eyebrows and make the review process more difficult for yourself next year. You could very well end up empty-handed and waste several more years of your life just struggling for one acceptance.

Why would you do that to yourself?

 

[Velocity]

Take it and *matriculate*! Unless it's a family/S.O. issue, I don't think it's worth taking an extra year of your life pushing your luck to get a better deal.

I agree with this point. If you have a girlfriend/fiancee/wife and you'd be moving away from her then it may be worthwhile to try again. After all, one of the only things less certain than getting into medical school is finding that special someone.

What makes this school "far from your top choices"? If you really think you'd be miserable and might suffer a breakdown or fail out because of that misery, that's something to consider.

Otherwise, take it and run with it. No matter where you end up you'll be very busy. There are zero guarantees with medical schools - your stats are quite good, but as you've discovered in this application cycle it doesn't guarantee an in anywhere. I don't know why you weren't accepted at more places, but I'd be thankful to have that one and go there. Deferring for a year will just take time, and there's no guarantee that you'd get into more places during the next cycle. (There isn't even a guarantee that you'd make it into anywhere during the next cycle.)

Congratulations on your acceptance! Try to make the most of it 🙂

 

[Daedra22]

Keep in mind that even if it isn't your first choice, you can still make the best of it. Most places and schools have their charm... it might not be obvious at first, but if you go into it with an open mind and some determination, it can be much better than you expected. This I say with firsthand experience... as part of a military family, I ended up attending a college in Tennessee. Thought it would be awful, and I was not interested in the school. Turned out to be the best institution I had ever attended. Take it as you will >.>

 

[SouthernSurgeon]

Sorry for the error, it is to be accepted not matriculate. I do agree my writing skills are lacking, but it was more reason I got everyone to read my PS. 😀

These comments have been immensely helpful. I take it few people see waiting as an option in their own pre-medical endeavors?

If you decide to reapply, every program that looks at your application will ask several questions. Here are the two most pertinent:

1) Why did this person turn down a seat last year?

2) What did this person do to improve their application since last year (i.e. since the last time we rejected them, what have they done to make us reconsider?)?

Your application will need to strongly answer both of those. If you don't (a) have a good explanation for turning down a seat (and "prestige seeking" is not a good explanation), and (b) have a significantly stronger application, you will be in worse shape this time next year.

 

[TheFamilyDoc]

Choicobo

*matriculated* means that you *registered* at or *enrolled* in a particular university. If you mean you have *received an offer*, better use *accepted*. You cannot register (=matriculate) at more than one school, but you can receive and hold offers at more than one place (which you don't).

Work on your language skills, otherwise you'll run into serious trouble at med school. If you don't know what a word means, ask or look it up, but don't use it until then. 🙄

Good luck with your decision.

Yeah I kept wondering why the op used "matriculate".

But to the OP, remember this proverb:

It only takes one acceptance to reach your goal.