Intent vs Desperation?

[OrdinaryDO]

I have a tendency to over analyze a situation, but I find this one to be particularly hard to grasp.
How do you balance out a situation in which you are interviewing or writing a secondary to your #1 prospected school and you want to let them know that they are in fact your number one school, but doing so in a fashion that doesn't scream "I'm desperate."?

Said differently, I have @Goro mention that sometimes ADCOMs will accept a competitive applicatant earlier because "they could get picked up easily by another school." What if you express a major interest in a particular school? Wouldn't it be easy for them to say "I think we are safe with this one sticking around, we can put him on the waitlist for now and see what happens."? It makes sense to me that even if you are competitive and if they know they are your #1 choice, then they would be less urgent in sending an acceptance to you for the reason as stated above (they know you will come if they want you there.).

I hope this makes sense; if not, then let me know so I can explain further.

My question, though, would it be smart to let the ADCOMs know that you are very interested in their school and they are possibly your top choice! Thank you in advancr!

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[becomingdoctor]

Everyone tells school that this school is my #1 choice until he or she got accepted. No one tells admission 'you are my backup '. Lol. It's like marriage.

 

[OrdinaryDO]

Everyone tells school that this school is my #1 choice until he or she got accepted. No one tells admission 'you are my backup '. Lol. It's like marriage.

You make a very good point, but dangit is there a way to make us benefit from how we answer a question such as this? Like, a way to not come off as overly ambitious, but still eager?!! haha. Meh, maybe I am over thinking the whole thing.

 

[Lawgiver]

U just posted the answer seeking you were

 

[OrdinaryDO]

Everyone tells school that this school is my #1 choice until he or she got accepted. No one tells admission 'you are my backup '. Lol. It's like marriage.

I just saw the marriage pun. I was half asleep earlier...that is too dang funny, lol.

 

[235009]

Med schools (at least US MD ones) are very conscientious of their yield which is the number of acceptances they send that result in a matriculation so if you express a genuine interest that you'll matriculate if accepted and you're a qualified candidate then it's in everyone's best interest to lock that in early

DO schools on the other hand have this policy of non-refundable deposits of an amount at the discretion of the school. The way I see it the incentive in that case would always be to accept applicants as early as possible and pocket the non-refundable deposit if they decide to matriculate elsewhere. They have nothing to lose. So if you express interest in the school and you're qualified and they like you I don't see a scenario in which they don't accept you immediately.

On top of that all schools want students who want to be there... whether it's because they like the school, their support system is nearby, they need to be in the town for family reasons....whatever. So it's never a bad thing to express your interest.

 

[OrdinaryDO]

Nice, thank you for the replies!

 

[Goro]

This.

Everyone tells school that this school is my #1 choice until he or she got accepted. No one tells admission 'you are my backup '. Lol. It's like marriage.

 

[oOKawaiiOo]

Everyone tells school that this school is my #1 choice until he or she got accepted. No one tells admission 'you are my backup '. Lol. It's like marriage.

*At the interview*
Me: This is my #1 school.
Interviewer: Really? How many schools did you apply to?
Me: *My reaction*

 

[OrdinaryDO]

*At the interview*
Me: This is my #1 school.
Interviewer: Really? How many schools did you apply to?
Me: *My reaction*
View attachment 195173

You deserve an award for this one.

 

[Stagg737]

I'll also add that if a school is really your #1 you'll probably be pretty enthusiastic and able to give several good reasons and discuss at length why it's your number one. Beyond just the typical "I love your curriculum/this one aspect that's on the front page of your website is so great!" response. Some people will just be great BSers, but for some (maybe a lot?) of applicants it's not too difficult to tell if they're being genuine or just full of crap.

 

[mikepremed1987]

I have a number #1 school for a few good reasons. My wife attends, I have lived in the area all my life and have a good support system. Not to mention kids are comfortably in the local schools. I am definitely going to tell them in the interview these exact reasons why I would choose their school over any others. If you go in and just say, "I love this school and have always wanted to live here" that is a much weaker argument.