MD and MSTP acceptance withdrawal deadlines

[byaaaaaaah23]

Hey guys, I posted this on a different thread but I guess no one has seen it so far:

For those of us holding MD and MD/PhD acceptances, which withdrawal deadline applies? I am assuming that I can only hold one MD/PhD acceptance past April 30, and then still have until May 15 to decide between that and my MD acceptance-- thoughts?

Here is what the AAMC says

"By May 15 of the matriculation year (April 15 for schools whose first day of class is on or before July 30), April 30 for M.D.-Ph.D. programs, each applicant who has received an offer of acceptance from more than one school or program choose the specific school or program at which the applicant prefers to enroll and withdraw his or her application, by written correspondence delivered by regular or electronic methods, from all other schools or programs from which acceptance offers have been received."

It seems to be program-specific in this language, which would make my above statement true, but I want to make sure.

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[Fencer]

If you are holding an acceptance to a program with first day of class prior to July 30 (i.e. April 15 deadline), that program will indicate that you will risk losing your acceptance slot if you have any additional acceptances. Holding multiple acceptances means that you are not committed to that particular school. Please keep in mind that program directors see a multiple acceptances report in AMCAS. Now, the same will be true for the April 30 or May 15 deadlines.

Most likely, if you haven't withdrawn you will be getting a reminder email first. Sometimes program officers take a few days to formally withdraw a student. If you already withdrew, but still appear in the multiple acceptances report forward your withdrawal email to the other school to the school who you truly want to stay.

Your bottom signature implies that you are going MD only, otherwise it would be MD/PhD class of 2020 or 2021.

 

[CrossCurrent]

Hey guys, I posted this on a different thread but I guess no one has seen it so far:

For those of us holding MD and MD/PhD acceptances, which withdrawal deadline applies? I am assuming that I can only hold one MD/PhD acceptance past April 30, and then still have until May 15 to decide between that and my MD acceptance-- thoughts?

This is correct. You can hold one MD/PhD acceptance by April 30th, and have until May 15th to decide MD vs. MD/PhD, with Fencer's comment also being correct.

 

[Sephiroth]

This is correct. You can hold one MD/PhD acceptance by April 30th, and have until May 15th to decide MD vs. MD/PhD, with Fencer's comment also being correct.

Huh? But the two are counter to each other. And Fencer's explanation makes more sense (plus as a program director I think he knows what he's talking about). Think about it - if you are accepted to an MD/PhD program that starts beginning of June, the purpose of the April 15th deadline is to know who's committed with enough time to use the waitlist and have them get ready. If you were accepted to say, Pitt MD/PhD, which starts June 1st, but withdraw in favor of an MD-only program on May 15th, you've made it difficult on the program and the applicants they'd be pulling from the waitlist, and defeated the purpose of that deadline.

 

[CrossCurrent]

I meant that the above is true in general with the exception of programs that start prior to July 30th, which was detailed in Fencer's post

 

[byaaaaaaah23]

If you are holding an acceptance to a program with first day of class prior to July 30 (i.e. April 15 deadline), that program will indicate that you will risk losing your acceptance slot if you have any additional acceptances. Holding multiple acceptances means that you are not committed to that particular school. Please keep in mind that program directors see a multiple acceptances report in AMCAS. Now, the same will be true for the April 30 or May 15 deadlines.

Sorry, I'm still confused about the bolded sentence above-- so can I still hold my MD acceptance until May 15 (its deadline is not April 15)?

 

[Fencer]

yes, but the MD/PhD (or MD) program with deadline of April 15 or 30 will likely rescind your acceptance if you keep holding the MD acceptance (w deadline of May 15) or even if you ask them for more time to make a decision. From the standpoint of the program with an earlier deadline, you are not serious about them.

 

[CrossCurrent]

What if you are waitlisted for MD/PhD at the program where you are holding an MD only acceptance? Do you need to hold the MD spot for that (to be taken off the list after the deadline) or is acceptance off the waitlist a guarantee of MD admissions?

 

[Fencer]

Waitlist or Alternate is different. You can be offered at any point, prior to matriculation, an acceptance from the waitlist or alternate position. If you recevied them after May 15, the program director has to call the program director of the other institution. The problem with these late offers is the timeline to make decisions is often 24-48 hours, rarely more.

These are three relevant traffic rules for Admissions Officers:

6. After May 15 of the matriculation year (April 15 for schools whose first day of class is on or before July 30), April 30 for M.D.-Ph.D. programs, each school or program implement school-specific procedures for accepted applicants who, without adequate explanation, continue to hold one or more places at other schools or programs. These procedures:

a. May require applicants to:

1. Respond to acceptance offers in less than two weeks.
2. Submit a statement of intent, a deposit, or both.​

b. Should recognize the problems of applicants with multiple acceptance offers, applicants who have not yet received an acceptance offer, and applicants who have not yet been informed about financial aid opportunities at schools to which they have been accepted.
c. Should permit accepted applicants to remain on other schools' or programs' waiting lists and to withdraw if they later receive an acceptance offer from a preferred school or program.​

8. After June 1, May 15 for M.D.-Ph.D. programs, any school that plans to make an acceptance offer to an applicant already known to have been accepted by another school or program for that entering class ensure that the other school or program is advised of this offer at the time that the offer is made. This notification should be made immediately by telephone and promptly thereafter by written correspondence delivered by regular or electronic methods. Schools and programs should communicate fully with each other with respect to anticipated late roster changes in order to minimize inter-school miscommunication and misunderstanding, as well as the possibility of unintended vacant positions in a school's first-year entering class.

9. No school make an acceptance offer, either verbal or written, to any individual who has enrolled in, or begun an orientation program immediately prior to enrollment at, a U.S. or Canadian school. Enrollment is defined as being officially matriculated as a member of the school's first-year entering class.