Last choice acceptance

[interviewQ]

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Please pardon the throw away account - I posted in some school specific forums and don't want to offend my future classmates.

I managed to get an acceptance to my last choice this application season and wondered if I could get input from other applicants which were in my situation and how it turned out. I'm not currently planning to rescind my acceptance (though I could; technically I'm next up on the wait list so it likely wouldn't show as a black mark on my future application) despite making enormous improvements to my file this year.

Ultimately, the program that accepted me is a 'good program' (top 40) - but it is located in a very unappealing place, and left me with a poor impression from my interview day - poor enough that had I have known before hand, I would not have chosen to apply. By virtue of being wait listed I did not get an opportunity to go to second look. I am of course thankful for the opportunity to attend, but cannot shake the feeling of disappointment after having interviewed at several other schools that I felt would be a much better fit for me.

Any input would be appreciated - I'm lost in my thoughts and fear the dream I'm finally realizing might not be the one I had hoped for.

Thanks SDNers and to you all

 

[kcin]

Please pardon the throw away account - I posted in some school specific forums and don't want to offend my future classmates.

I managed to get an acceptance to my last choice this application season and wondered if I could get input from other applicants which were in my situation and how it turned out. I'm not currently planning to rescind my acceptance (though I could; technically I'm next up on the wait list so it likely wouldn't show as a black mark on my future application) despite making enormous improvements to my file this year.

Ultimately, the program that accepted me is a 'good program' (top 40) - but it is located in a very unappealing place, and left me with a poor impression from my interview day - poor enough that had I have known before hand, I would not have chosen to apply. By virtue of being wait listed I did not get an opportunity to go to second look. I am of course thankful for the opportunity to attend, but cannot shake the feeling of disappointment after having interviewed at several other schools that I felt would be a much better fit for me.

Any input would be appreciated - I'm lost in my thoughts and fear the dream I'm finally realizing might not be the one I had hoped for.

Thanks SDNers and to you all

You'll only be there for a few years. Do you really want to throw the dice again?

 

[Astarael]

I'm sorry to be blunt, but it would be a terrible idea to rescind an acceptance (or your most-likely-an-acceptance) to try again next year. You mentioned that you got interviews at other schools that you liked more, but weren't accepted. That makes me think that there was something about your personality that didn't gel with the schools you were rejected at. Usually once you get an interview, your application has been deemed 'good enough to go here' and they want to see what you're like as a person. It isn't a bad thing that you didn't get accepted elsewhere, it just means that your personality wasn't what they were looking for. Given this, you can't really bet on any more acceptances next year than you had this year.

This could be completely wrong, of course. The improvements that you made this year could make a huge difference in another application cycle. Without knowing for sure, though, it seems like an unnecessary risk to take.

 

[startswithb]

is Iowa City that bad?

 

[osumc2014]

Question is, do you confidently think that you could get into a different school? Also what happened with the other schools that you prefer?

 

[deleted393595]

Please pardon the throw away account - I posted in some school specific forums and don't want to offend my future classmates.

I managed to get an acceptance to my last choice this application season and wondered if I could get input from other applicants which were in my situation and how it turned out. I'm not currently planning to rescind my acceptance (though I could; technically I'm next up on the wait list so it likely wouldn't show as a black mark on my future application) despite making enormous improvements to my file this year.

Ultimately, the program that accepted me is a 'good program' (top 40) - but it is located in a very unappealing place, and left me with a poor impression from my interview day - poor enough that had I have known before hand, I would not have chosen to apply. By virtue of being wait listed I did not get an opportunity to go to second look. I am of course thankful for the opportunity to attend, but cannot shake the feeling of disappointment after having interviewed at several other schools that I felt would be a much better fit for me.

Any input would be appreciated - I'm lost in my thoughts and fear the dream I'm finally realizing might not be the one I had hoped for.

Thanks SDNers and to you all

Can you go back and take a second look? Most places grow on you after you go there a couple of times.

 

[DarknightX]

Please pardon the throw away account - I posted in some school specific forums and don't want to offend my future classmates.

I managed to get an acceptance to my last choice this application season and wondered if I could get input from other applicants which were in my situation and how it turned out. I'm not currently planning to rescind my acceptance (though I could; technically I'm next up on the wait list so it likely wouldn't show as a black mark on my future application) despite making enormous improvements to my file this year.

Ultimately, the program that accepted me is a 'good program' (top 40) - but it is located in a very unappealing place, and left me with a poor impression from my interview day - poor enough that had I have known before hand, I would not have chosen to apply. By virtue of being wait listed I did not get an opportunity to go to second look. I am of course thankful for the opportunity to attend, but cannot shake the feeling of disappointment after having interviewed at several other schools that I felt would be a much better fit for me.

Any input would be appreciated - I'm lost in my thoughts and fear the dream I'm finally realizing might not be the one I had hoped for.

Thanks SDNers and to you all

If you got into your last choice, and you applied broadly, you need to be realistic about yourself as an applicant. You're saying you got in off the wait list, and you haven't gotten in anywhere else, so you are damn lucky.
Sorry bro, but in this case, beggers can't be choosers.

I know you say you've improved your application dramatically, but unless you've had a major publication, or you bumped your MCAT score by 5 points, it probably isn't going to make a major difference. f you rescind, then you're going to be a re-applicant who already had an acceptence, which you will have to explain on applications and on interviews.

Despite what people here would have you believe, it really doesn't matter where you go to medical school. Nobody ever cares where you went to medical school, it's where you go for residency that will really define your medical career.

Medical school is so standardized that you're going to learn the same stuff regardless of where you go, and most schools do a crappy job of teaching it so it's mostly selft study anyway (odds are Dr. Goljan will be one of your best teachers). Being in area that you don't like, being away from family and friends is hard, but it's not like you're going to have time to enjoy much of that stuff anyway. The thing that really makes a difference is your classmates...those are the people that you're going to be around constantly for the first 2 years. Those are the people you will study with, suffer with, and celebrate with. Unfortunately, there's no way to know who they are going in, and it really varies from year to year, at least at my school (The class of 2012 at my school are a bunch of d-bags and nerds, while the class of 2013 are party animals). When you get to third year, it doesn't matter where you are because you'll never see the sun anyway. Fourth year is a joke after you've applied for residency...you can do a bunch of away rotations and go whereever you want.

Honestly, be happy you have an acceptence and kick butt in medical school so you can end up where you want for residency, because that's what really matters.

 

[HAV000]

Question is, do you confidently think that you could get into a different school? Also what happened with the other schools that you prefer?

Yea I think it'd be important to know more of the context and how the scenarios could play out in the next few months. If you feel that strongly that you don't want to go to that school, even choosing no medical school in the worst case scenario until you reapply, at least you know you gave it a lot of thought

 

[interviewQ]

If you got into your last choice, and you applied broadly, you need to be realistic about yourself as an applicant. You're saying you got in off the wait list, and you haven't gotten in anywhere else, so you are damn lucky.
Sorry bro, but in this case, beggers can't be choosers.

I know you say you've improved your application dramatically, but unless you've had a major publication, or you bumped your MCAT score by 5 points, it probably isn't going to make a major difference. f you rescind, then you're going to be a re-applicant who already had an acceptence, which you will have to explain on applications and on interviews.

Allow me to expand on both of these points -

I cant honestly say I applied broadly - I only applied to a few top 40 programs, and my current predicament is likely a result of that choice. I didn't know about SDN during my application season and had underestimated the difficulty of this process, but there is little I can do about that now. I did manage to get multiple interviews and remain on 5 wait lists at this time - though I don't have any awareness of my position on those lists, so for the time being I am treating them as rejections.

On my current application I had good numbers and clinical experience with absolutely zero research experience and applied in September; on the new application I would be prepared to apply on June first and now have a year of full time research experience with publications.

My concern has to do with more than simply the location - the program itself didn't leave much of an impression on me. I am not planning to rescind the offer - I'm just curious to hear from students who went to their last choice and what their experiences were one way or another - if they ended up disappointed as they had feared of if they were pleasantly surprised.

Thank you everyone for your contributions 🙂

 

[lpmarcus010]

I know people that turned down acceptances before, and have spent the last three years trying to get accepted ANYWHERE again. I have no clue how this happened to them, but a lot of this is luck, so cash your chips in now while you are still up. Don't pass on the opportunity. ANY US med school = WINNING!!!

 

[LizzyM]

Can you honestly say, "I'd rather never be a physician at all than to spend 4 years in that place." There is no assurance that you will get offers the second time around. Some adcoms will be harder on you given that you have already been around the block once (if there wasn't something wrong with him, he'd have gotten in last year). If you'd rather do something else with your life than spend 2011-2015 in Whatevertown then withdraw your application. If not, pack your bags and try to act like you are happy to be there.

 

[Astarael]

...remain on 5 wait lists at this time - though I don't have any awareness of my position on those lists, so for the time being I am treating them as rejections.

This is a faulty assumption. Maybe if you were on one waitlist, you could say that your chances of acceptance are low. With five though the chances are pretty good that you'll get accepted off of at least one.

My concern has to do with more than simply the location - the program itself didn't leave much of an impression on me.

It sucks that you have to make decisions on such a small amount of information. Spending a day at a school is all you really get to decide whether that school would be good for you. That being said, there is no way you can really know what a school is like by spending a single day there. You could end up loving it, or you could end up hating it, but first impressions are just that-impressions. Nothing more.

Bolded sections are my comments.

 

[Mornhavon]

.

 

[osumc2014]

So let me get this straight, you are not accepted anywhere yet?

 

[Handinhand]

I'd like to know which school is so terrible that you'd throw away (possibly) the last 3-4 years of hard work you've put in to roll the dice next year. Just think, it's next year around this time and you're accepted nowhere. How's that going to feel?

 

[rafflecopter]

I was accepted to one of my last choices. And I'm going to go, because last choice still = doctor. 4 years of "discomfort" in a place that isn't ideal is a small price to pay in my opinion. Kick butt in medical school so you have your pick of the litter of residencies, get out of that place you don't like, and never look back. Oh, and by the way, the thought of applying again makes me want to puke so choosing that option willingly seems pretty idiotic.

 

[scarshapedstar]

Either go or let me assume your identity. There are tens of thousands of people who would give up at least the tip of their pinky to be in your situation.

Also, how do you know that you are next up on the wait list...?

 

[alwaysaangel]

That is medicine. There will be multiple times in your career you will likely have to live somewhere that isn't your first choice. Your experience is going to be what you make of it - so just suck it up and go.

When you apply for residency you are likely to run into the same issue. Difference is you will be 'matched' there and once its done you won't have a choice. Same thing if you decide to do fellowship. If you decide to work in academics you also may end up in a less-than-ideal location.

Thats life, and its not exclusive to medicine, people go where the jobs are. Find things you like about the school/location and try to be positive.

 

[cowme]

That is medicine. There will be multiple times in your career you will likely have to live somewhere that isn't your first choice. Your experience is going to be what you make of it - so just suck it up and go.

When you apply for residency you are likely to run into the same issue. Difference is you will be 'matched' there and once its done you won't have a choice. Same thing if you decide to do fellowship. If you decide to work in academics you also may end up in a less-than-ideal location.

Thats life, and its not exclusive to medicine, people go where the jobs are. Find things you like about the school/location and try to be positive.

👍

This sounds identical to the match process many of us just went through this year in the residency match. Many students who don't match at their top 5 choices are crushed, being "stuck" with training in a place they weren't too crazy about. But at the end of the day, all that matters is matching vs not matching, just like all that really matters in your situation is going to ANY med school vs not going at all. I think tempered expectations is an important life lesson that most medical students never get because of previous success. But at the end of the day, most people don't always get their dream college, dream med school, dream residency, and dream job. Such is life...

It is a bummer that you didn't land one of the spots you truly coveted, but there are far worse consolation prizes than going to a top 40 med school. Maybe it wasn't your ideal location, but any med school has enough students to give you a good enough social scene. I will also assume the university you are going to has plenty of people of the same age in other grad schools.

Also, you are placing far too much emphasis on interview days. Every school has the same mix of people, maybe you just got stuck with a group you didn't mesh with when you were out there, since...you know, you can't meet all 400-600 students there in one day.

Congratulations on your acceptance, and good luck in medical school!

 

[Sammich117]

So let me get this straight, you are not accepted anywhere yet?

This was my thought too.

 

[AceXIII]

OP, check your inbox!

 

[interviewQ]

So let me get this straight, you are not accepted anywhere yet?

Yes, that's correct. I'm currently number one on a waitlist and thought it would be simpler to assume, for the point of this discussion, of that waitlist as an acceptance.
By addressing this issue now I leave open the option of withdrawing without having to rescind an acceptance - not that I intend to follow that course of action.

 

[cowme]

Yes, that's correct. I'm currently number one on a waitlist and thought it would be simpler to assume, for the point of this discussion, of that waitlist as an acceptance.
By addressing this issue now I leave open the option of withdrawing without having to rescind an acceptance - not that I intend to follow that course of action.

So you are disappointed about a school that hasn't even accepted you yet? Wow....this has to be a first

 

[Perrotfish]

To be honest I don't think you're going to get much of a response, if only because most of us didn't have a 'last' choice. We had a first choice, and a second, and maybe a few more mentally ranked choices, and then there were 20 or so schools that we put on the list because they seemed like they might be in range for us. So right now, for example I am at a school that was unranked on my mental list, meaning it was somewhere between my 5th and 25th choice. That's not the same as a last choice, I think.

Anyway, if you're wondering what its like to end up somewhere you didn't ever expect to be, I think it worked out really well for me. A city that I didn't expect to like ended up having a lot of charm. If you don't get in off another waitlist I hope you have a similar experience.

 

[scarshapedstar]

Now I'm curious, are there schools that will notify you of your position in the waitlist?

 

[dbeast]

To be honest I don't think you're going to get much of a response, if only because most of us didn't have a 'last' choice. We had a first choice, and a second, and maybe a few more mentally ranked choices, and then there were 20 or so schools that we put on the list because they seemed like they might be in range for us. So right now, for example I am at a school that was unranked on my mental list, meaning it was somewhere between my 5th and 25th choice. That's not the same as a last choice, I think.

Anyway, if you're wondering what its like to end up somewhere you didn't ever expect to be, I think it worked out really well for me. A city that I didn't expect to like ended up having a lot of charm. If you don't get in off another waitlist I hope you have a similar experience.

👍

I didn't even start mentally ranking schools unless I went to an interview there. That way, you'll always end up at one of your top choices!

 

[motomed]

you'll be fine. find a place that you're comfortable living, even if it means a little bit of a commute every day. if your ranking has to do with the city/area the school is in, I promise you there's a suburb or something reasonably close that will be a better fit for you. none of your classmates may live there, but who cares.

if your feelings about the school have more to do with the structure or makeup of the school itself, take confidence in knowing that you probably didn't get a representative feel for the place on the interview day. if people seemed uptight or boring, well that's probably the type of people that do the tours there. assuming the class size isn't unusually small, there will be a handful of like minded people in your class and you'll find them sooner rather than later. every school is teaching the same stuff, one might have just sold their curriculum to you better than the next. no matter where you go you'll work hard, there is no magic formula.

bottom line is these are the types of things you worry about if and only if you have multiple acceptances. the sooner you get over the feelings of disappointment and start convincing yourself that this is going to be a good thing, the better off you'll be. attitude has a whole lot to do with experience. if you expect it to suck, I promise you it will, so get over that.

 

[interviewQ]

Everyone - thanks for your responses. I'm happy to have some of your personal experiences to go by and look forward to attending with a positive outlook.

To those that find this thread in the future via a search and find themselves in a similar situation, you might be interested to read some of the responses on a crosspost in the allopathic forums as well.

Everyone, and may we all get into our top choice!

 

[Ursa]

Withdraw and let somebody who wants it have your spot. That's the ethical thing to do. 🙄

 

[MonsterHospital]

While I'm not attending my last choice school, I wasn't that thrilled to attend the school I am now at, but for different reasons: I liked the location and hospital affiliation, but I thought it would be a poor fit for my goals and learning style. Do I regret coming here though? Obviously not. You have to count your blessings in this process, that you got in anywhere at all and will be given a chance to follow your dream -- even if it is in a less-than-ideal environment. I got interviewed at my first choice school, then waitlisted, then rejected, and of course that sucked for me. But I am where I am now...no sense worrying about it.

The best thing you can do now is accept that you will be going there and adjust your expectations. As long as you know what you're going into, you won't be too disappointed if you do ultimately realize your school was a poor fit for you. You need to make the best of the situation and make it work for you, because you can't turn down this offer and expect to be accepted somewhere else next year-- the schools will think you're not committed to this field for turning down a past acceptance.

I hope this school turns out to be a better fit for you in the end than you thought. Just know that you're not alone and that you will probably find people at your school in your same position. Whether you do or not, no sense in complaining or thinking about it as it will only bring you down. Best of luck to you.

 

[URHere]

About 3 years ago, I was in a similar situation.

I applied to nine schools and, by early May, I was holding one acceptance at my ninth-choice school (I won't call it a last choice because I liked it enough to apply there in the first place), and I was sitting on 4 other waitlists.

At first, I was kind ambivalent about the whole thing. I certainly wasn't excited. However, I took a few trips back to visit the campus, talk to research faculty, and apartment hunt, and I started to warm up to the school by the end of it. I think that when most people are lukewarm about a school, it is because they have trouble picturing what their lives will be like there. If you can go back and get a feel for the opportunities that are available to you, you may even find yourself excited about the thought of matriculating.

My other advice is this: don't get too far ahead of yourself. After I went crazy about making myself love my ninth-choice school, both my first and second choice schools pulled me off of their waitlists. In the end, it was just a bunch of wasted worry.

 

[Tapepsi]

Just think about the many applicants every year who are devastated when they realize they haven't gotten in anywhere and how the majority of them would be very upset to read your post. Be thankful for what you've been given. I would have taken one of my options (that had a HORRIBLE location) in a heartbeat if I had no other acceptances.

To say that you've gotten into a US medical school, and a top 40 school at that, is a major accomplishment and you should be grateful and proud that you achieved this.

 

[BaronVonZ]

...Be thankful for what you've been given....

I never did understand the whole thankful thing... If the op got the acceptance he probably did the work to earn it, who does he need to thank for it?

OP: I understand where you're coming from but don't forget to look at med school in perspective: it's only four years. I got waitlist decisions this year in inverse order of how much I liked each school (ouch), but in the end I know I'll get in somewhere. No point being mopey... And anyway, it's not over till it's over. Good luck!

 

[Tapepsi]

I never did understand the whole thankful thing... If the op got the acceptance he probably did the work to earn it, who does he need to thank for it?

OP: I understand where you're coming from but don't forget to look at med school in perspective: it's only four years. I got waitlist decisions this year in inverse order of how much I liked each school (ouch), but in the end I know I'll get in somewhere. No point being mopey... And anyway, it's not over till it's over. Good luck!

Well think about all of the people who put just as much work into it as the OP and still didn't get in. By thankful I mean appreciative of what you've been given. There are some people who have the attitude "Well I worked my butt of so this was expected" and don't take the time to realize that the results don't always meet the expectations for everyone.

But anyway I agree with you. It's only 4 years for a life long career. 👍

 

[Slowpoke]

Just curious, but do you feel the reasons why you don't "like" the school to be superficial or sound?

 

[osumc2014]

Go wherever you get in, only be picky if you have more than 1 choice...pretty simple concept

 

[cowme]

Well think about all of the people who put just as much work into it as the OP and still didn't get in. By thankful I mean appreciative of what you've been given. There are some people who have the attitude "Well I worked my butt of so this was expected" and don't take the time to realize that the results don't always meet the expectations for everyone.

But anyway I agree with you. It's only 4 years for a life long career. 👍

Expecting that the world owes you something is a sense of entitlement. No school owes you anything because you worked hard in college. Every school sees hundreds of applicants with CVs that they like; if they think a kid comes off as entitled or cocky at an interview, you can bet the school will drop that kid to the waitlist immediately, while the kid with worse grades but more charming personality will get right in...

It's an important life lesson to understand that you will always have peers who work harder, and are more intelligent than you. It's the ones with the sense of entitlement that usually seem most shocked by this reality.

 

[Tapepsi]

Expecting that the world owes you something is a sense of entitlement. No school owes you anything because you worked hard in college. Every school sees hundreds of applicants with CVs that they like; if they think a kid comes off as entitled or cocky at an interview, you can bet the school will drop that kid to the waitlist immediately, while the kid with worse grades but more charming personality will get right in...

It's an important life lesson to understand that you will always have peers who work harder, and are more intelligent than you. It's the ones with the sense of entitlement that usually seem most shocked by this reality.

I absolutely agree with you. Couldn't have said it better myself. 👍

 

[IanDesmond]

Dude,

I applied twice, two years apart. First time, withdrew because I was only on waitlist for 'bottom choice' schools. Did a few years research, now got into top choice school. A few years can be huge difference if your app just lacks one thing.

For what it's worth.

 

[scarshapedstar]

I applied twice, two years apart. First time, withdrew because I was only on waitlist for 'bottom choice' schools

You cancelled your application just so that the wrong people wouldn't offer you a spot?