Multiple acceptances? LET GO OF THEM!!!!

[lukeday99]

Hey guys, this is a little something for all of you who are still tightly holding on to your multiple acceptances, making the rest of us who are waitlisted, wait. Please stop. The following is quote from an e-mail I got from the Dean of Admissions at a major US med school:
" Usually, most applicants with multiple acceptances hang on to those acceptances until just before the may 15 date. I never understood the mentality that drives people to hang on like that because all they are doing is making others, who are waiting, wait longer. I try to encourage people who are holding more than two seats to narrow it down to just two medical schools; I do think, however, that some regard acceptances as trophies, try to win a great number of trophies and hold on to them as long as possible. "
So until someone decides to withdraw an acceptance on like May 14th at 11:55 PM, the rest of us are stuck waiting. This is as much the AAMC's fault as anyone, but please, if you know you're not gonna go somewhere, LET GO!!!!!!

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[LP1CW]

I started a thread about this a couple of weeks back. I released the seats i didn't want. I can see holding on to two for financial aid packets, but more than that is questionable.

 

[snuggles]

Why is it so questionable to hold more than 2 seats? Sometimes the decision is just hard to make. I'm sorry to say that I am one of those holding on to more than 2 acceptances. I feel bad, and I have let as many as I can go, but honestly some schools are so similar (reputation, programs etc.) it is just hard to make a decision if there was no one school that you?ve fallen in love with. From all of the threads asking x vs. y vs. z school its evident a lot of people are having this problem.

So, not all of us are doing it just to feel special. Honestly I don?t understand why someone would hold on to schools they know they won?t go to just to feel special but for some of us I think it really will come down to financial aid packages which takes awhile to come out.

It also seems to me that since most schools accept twice as many applicants as spots that they have in their class, that one person giving up an acceptance wouldn?t prompt a school to take someone off the waitlist. I mean they don?t really want or expect everyone who they accept to come or they would be over booked. So even if many people declined early I bet schools wouldn?t start accepting off the waitlist until it seemed as if their class might not be filled i.e. after May 15. Of course I haven?t talked to any deans about this, its just my 2cents.

 

[Sharkfan]

Yeah, I know that most schools accept double the number of seats they will have available to make up for withdrawals.

But waitlists still suck.

 

[Canrenone]

Originally posted by snuggles
Why is it so questionable to hold more than 2 seats? Sometimes the decision is just hard to make. I'm sorry to say that I am one of those holding on to more than 2 acceptances. I feel bad, and I have let as many as I can go, but honestly some schools are so similar (reputation, programs etc.) it is just hard to make a decision if there was no one school that you?ve fallen in love with. From all of the threads asking x vs. y vs. z school its evident a lot of people are having this problem.

So, not all of us are doing it just to feel special. Honestly I don?t understand why someone would hold on to schools they know they won?t go to just to feel special but for some of us I think it really will come down to financial aid packages which takes awhile to come out.

When do most people find out about their financial aid package? When is the earliest when is the latest?

I have two acceptances but hoping to get off the waitlist at another school, but I haven't gotten my financial aid packages from any of them. I am planning on declining one of them soon.

 

[SarahGM]

Threads like this are beginning to really irk me. It's like another poster said, do you really think we're hanging on to multiple acceptances just for the fun and "honor" of it? Please!

Like many others, I am waiting for financial aid packages. Perhaps all of those creating threads like this could direct their anger towards the financial aid offices who are taking what seems like years to provide us with such packages!

Bottom line: the same number of people are going to be admitted to medical school in the long run, whether it's today or May 15. It sucks to be stuck in waitlist hell, but that's no reason to guilt others into withdrawing acceptances that they have earned and will decline *once they hear back about financial aid.*

There, that was my piece.

 

[Eraserhead]

Originally posted by SarahGM
Threads like this are beginning to really irk me. It's like another poster said, do you really think we're hanging on to multiple acceptances just for the fun and "honor" of it? Please!

Like many others, I am waiting for financial aid packages. Perhaps all of those creating threads like this could direct their anger towards the financial aid offices who are taking what seems like years to provide us with such packages!

Bottom line: the same number of people are going to be admitted to medical school in the long run, whether it's today or May 15. It sucks to be stuck in waitlist hell, but that's no reason to guilt others into withdrawing acceptances that they have earned and will decline *once they hear back about financial aid.*

There, that was my piece.

How many schools are actually going to give info before May 15th though?

 

[ZekeMD]

Originally posted by SarahGM
do you really think we're hanging on to multiple acceptances just for the fun and "honor" of it? Please!

Most people who have multiple acceptances do hold on to them for specific reasons, but there are a few people I've come across that are holding onto multiple acceptances (4+) even though they have no intention of attending some of the schools. I think it's those people that this thread is aimed at, not the vast majority of us. Those people are the ones who treat each acceptance as an award of sorts and flaunt them. Personally, I withdrew from most every school once I was accepted to Rochester. I was on the UVa waitlist for awhile but recently withdrew. My point is, the thread should read something like, "If you know which school you're going to attend, please let go of your other acceptances."

 

[personal jesus]

waitlists dont tend to move until may 15th anyway so i dont think that releasing a spot will let anyone off the waitlist faster.

 

[lukeday99]

Ok, if you know where you're going let go of your acceptances.
And will financial aid seriously affect your decision. I'm sorry, but I think you all know where you're going/want to go. Hey, I'm in somewhere too, and intend to decline if I get another spot. But the May 15th thing really is aimed at people holding multiple acceptances who, I'm sorry, often tend to have a rather snooty attitude. One such girl once said to me "Well, it's their fault their not smart enough to get in, I'm holding on as long as I can". Seriously.
Also, I'm getting pissy with all of you because I can. If I could get pissy with everyone from the AAMC to the financial aid offices to the admissions officers to whoever decided that I should take calculus in order to attend med school, I would. But some of you out there KNOW that this applies to you, and you KNOW that you're not going to accept at some of those schools, and moreover, you KNOW that there are people waiting on your spots.

Sorry, I'm sure there's a thread like this every year. But we could help each other out here.

 

[Adapt]

I don't think the May 15 date counts if you're holding DO and MD acceptances. It's a glitch in the system.

 

[LP1CW]

I knew that if I got NYU, I'd jump on it. And I did. So, I released the other schools. It's a great feeling to get the school you want. I was entertaining other schools, but I think most of us know which school we're more inclined to attend. It's not just about teh school, it's the area, where we'll be living. that matters.

Many of you might not even have finanical aid before the 15th, so you'll be making a choice blindly. I also think that many of us have an idea already what the package will look like. It's going to be lots of loans, stafford, and such. Look at the average indebtness of many schools, private ones, and that tells you what to expect.

 

[uclabruin725]

I just wish they moved the deadline up a month or something to April... Why make the deadline to drop multiple acceptances so late in the year when apparently many financial aid offers aren't even given out by then? =\

 

[Eraserhead]

UCI doesn't even have a second look till May 1st.

 

[jlee9531]

Originally posted by personal jesus
waitlists dont tend to move until may 15th anyway so i dont think that releasing a spot will let anyone off the waitlist faster.

even though i have released all but one of my acceptances...

this is for the most part true...its not gonna move until may 15th anyway so it really doesnt matter. its just more efficient for the schools to wait after that date to assess who is in and who isnt and how many they need to take off the waitlist.

 

[Canrenone]

I have to laugh, because if as many people as I think are holding multiple acceptances (like me). The movement after May 15 could be monumental. If the top 20% of applicants are holding at least two acceptances. That means to mean that after May 15th, there could be potentially around 5000 slot movements.
I read a thread last year where one guy went with no acceptances and 7 waitlists at the end of May to accepting Baylor in the month of July after getting in at the previous 6 spots in one month plus.

Let the fun begin.

 

[SarahGM]

Originally posted by ZekeMD
Most people who have multiple acceptances do hold on to them for specific reasons, but there are a few people I've come across that are holding onto multiple acceptances (4+) even though they have no intention of attending some of the schools. I think it's those people that this thread is aimed at, not the vast majority of us. Those people are the ones who treat each acceptance as an award of sorts and flaunt them.

I just have a hard time believing anyone would hold on to acceptances purposelessly at this point, as most schools are sending form after form after form regarding health and immunizations and housing and whatnot... it's aggravating to say the least.

 

[Eraserhead]

Originally posted by Canrenone
I have to laugh, because if as many people as I think are holding multiple acceptances (like me). The movement after May 15 could be monumental. If the top 20% of applicants are holding at least two acceptances. That means to mean that after May 15th, there could be potentially around 5000 slot movements.
I read a thread last year where one guy went with no acceptances and 7 waitlists at the end of May to accepting Baylor in the month of July after getting in at the previous 6 spots in one month plus.

Let the fun begin.

😀 😀 😀

 

[TheFlash]

Originally posted by Canrenone
I have to laugh, because if as many people as I think are holding multiple acceptances (like me). The movement after May 15 could be monumental. If the top 20% of applicants are holding at least two acceptances. That means to mean that after May 15th, there could be potentially around 5000 slot movements.
I read a thread last year where one guy went with no acceptances and 7 waitlists at the end of May to accepting Baylor in the month of July after getting in at the previous 6 spots in one month plus.

Let the fun begin.

Well, this is feasible, but only to an extent. Schools initially overaccept for this very reason. Most well know that applicants will wait for FA packages before making any real decisions. That said, waitlists do move. I just doubt that 5000 slots will open up.

 

[Newquagmire]

Originally posted by SarahGM
I just have a hard time believing anyone would hold on to acceptances purposelessly at this point

I have a hard time believe somebody would try to pay with a 1 million dollar bill or refuse a C-section at the cost of her child to avoid scarring, but it happens.

 

[KarateGirl]

There should be a limit to the number of acceptances that anyone can hold at one time. I don't think there's any good reason a person would need to keep more than 3.

 

[Eraserhead]

Originally posted by Canrenone
I have to laugh, because if as many people as I think are holding multiple acceptances (like me). The movement after May 15 could be monumental. If the top 20% of applicants are holding at least two acceptances. That means to mean that after May 15th, there could be potentially around 5000 slot movements.
I read a thread last year where one guy went with no acceptances and 7 waitlists at the end of May to accepting Baylor in the month of July after getting in at the previous 6 spots in one month plus.

Let the fun begin.

😀 😀 😀

 

[thewebthsp]

I'm pretty sure it's a good idea to let people decide for themselves how many they want to hold onto prior to May 15th. It is, in my opinion, however _unethical_ to hold a spot if you're definitely not going there for whatever reason.

The "nice" thing to do is to pare down to about 2-3 by mid April, go to second looks, get your finaid package and then decide by Ides of May. But there are some rare circumstances where 2-3 might be too low of a number -- for instance if location is a big issue, or maybe if significant scholarships are offered.

That's why "forcing" people to hold only 2 at a time is probably not a good idea.

I agree that one should keep in mind that someone is potentially going to get in (and may withdraw from the waitlist) by your withdrawing your acceptance. Maybe that will help keep things in perspective.

Last, I'm pretty sure that schools like to pull people off waitlists who have only one school they've committed to attend.

 

[Tone2002]

What is the thing with waiting on financial aid packages? Most schools won't have that information before the 15th, I assume.

 

[Eraserhead]

Originally posted by Tone2002
What is the thing with waiting on financial aid packages? Most schools won't have that information before the 15th, I assume.

Seriously, just drop your Cornell acceptances already. Sheesh.

 

[Canrenone]

Originally posted by Eraserhead
Seriously, just drop your Cornell acceptances already. Sheesh.

Please don't confuse the people. It is their Wake Forest Acceptances that they should immediately drop!!

👍 👍

 

[emily69]

I did my share of "helping out" and dropped off a few of those "After thorough consideration, I regret to inform the Committee on Admissions that I will not be attending your institution this coming fall....yabba yabba..."

I've held on to a couple of acceptances that I particularly liked but I just got rid of one so now I only have 1. Please don't take that last one away!!! 😉

 

[coldchemist]

Originally posted by emily69
Please don't take that last one away!!! 😉

Don't hold out on us. Give it up! 😀

 

[Sharky]

Originally posted by emily69
Please don't take that last one away!!! 😉

Be considerate of others. Give it up and let some other poor soul on the USC waitlist get your spot.😡

 

[Canrenone]

Originally posted by emily69
I did my share of "helping out" and dropped off a few of those "After thorough consideration, I regret to inform the Committee on Admissions that I will not be attending your institution this coming fall....yabba yabba..."

I've held on to a couple of acceptances that I particularly liked but I just got rid of one so now I only have 1. Please don't take that last one away!!! 😉

Give that last one up, you acceptance keeper you.

 

[JohnHolmes]

Originally posted by lukeday99
Hey guys, this is a little something for all of you who are still tightly holding on to your multiple acceptances, making the rest of us who are waitlisted, wait. Please stop. The following is quote from an e-mail I got from the Dean of Admissions at a major US med school:
" Usually, most applicants with multiple acceptances hang on to those acceptances until just before the may 15 date. I never understood the mentality that drives people to hang on like that because all they are doing is making others, who are waiting, wait longer. I try to encourage people who are holding more than two seats to narrow it down to just two medical schools; I do think, however, that some regard acceptances as trophies, try to win a great number of trophies and hold on to them as long as possible. "
So until someone decides to withdraw an acceptance on like May 14th at 11:55 PM, the rest of us are stuck waiting. This is as much the AAMC's fault as anyone, but please, if you know you're not gonna go somewhere, LET GO!!!!!!

The reality of it is that waitlists will not move period until after May 15. So I don't really know what this has to do with it. I don't think students holding on to multiple acceptances do it like "trophies" but are seriously considering many schools. The revisit weekends are an important part of the process. I understand your frustration, but at the same time, understand the IMPORTANT processes that many many students are going through determining where they will start the rest of their lives. Have patience, waitlists will move.

CCW

 

[TheRussian]

Though I agree that no movement from the waitlist will occur before may 15. Letting go of your acceptances early can make a difference. Though a lot of schools have finished reviewing the applicant pool, many are still interviewing and meeting weekly to make decisions on the remaining applicants. Letting go of an acceptance you don't want will open up a spot and this may lead to a person that would have been waitlisted otherwise to be accepted right of the bat and reduce his/her stress level knowing they got accepted. Granted that this individual was going to get in anyways, but I think we would all admit that it would be nicer to find out sooner rather than later.

 

[cmudan]

Dear accepted student;

Unfortunately you must drop your MSU-CHM acceptance now in order to open a spot for cmudan.

Thank you,

Admission Office

 

[hakksar]

Why does everyone believe that there will be "No" movement on waitlists before May 15. Most schools that I know of accept exactly as many students as they need to fill the class and put a lot of people on waitlists to make up for whoever drops to go to another school (this is how CU works). When schools say they accept twice as many students as needed to fill the class they usually mean that when the class is finalized in the fall they had to offer that many spots (which would include all the people accepted off the waitlist). Therefore, anytime one person drops an acceptance a spot immediately opens up and if the school is efficient the person on top of the waitlist will get an acceptance. The system is pretty logical. The fact that people hold on to multiple acceptances just hurts whoever is on the top of the waitlist because that person could have a better idea of where they are going sooner.

As for those who are waiting for financial aid make sure you call the school and find out if your award letter will be available before the May 15 deadline. I emailed CU (just because I was curious) and they said I will receive my award letter in LATE May. Waiting for an award letter in this case would be fruitless. I have seen other threads where schools send out Financial Aid packages in June.

 

[avicoo]

An adcom told me this week that the top 10% of applicants are currently holding 90% of the medical school positions. While I find this number a little hard to swallow, if it is even close to the truth well that definitely says something about whether people are holding onto a large number of acceptances or not.

 

[JohnHolmes]

Originally posted by avicoo
An adcom told me this week that the top 10% of applicants are currently holding 90% of the medical school positions. While I find this number a little hard to swallow, if it is even close to the truth well that definitely says something about whether people are holding onto a large number of acceptances or not.

IE 3,400 people are holding 28,000 acceptances. Holy ****!



I am assuming the average school accepts double its class size. I think this is a fair estimate, considering there are 16,500 seats available in med schools.

This number is an obvious exaggeration.

CCW

 

[PMED99]

I think it is important that people who have two or three acceptances realize that it is perfectly acceptable to have these and hold out for loans/aid to come back or to look into the towns/location anything that may be of concern.

But, this is my second year applying. Last year I remember many people in my class who had 5 or more acceptances and they just didnt feel it necessary to notify these schools that they would drop. The main issue being the "backup" schools that people would get into in addition to their top school. Instead of dropping them they just treat it as if it will go away.

I encourage people to hold on to acceptances if you want more time to decide, but also keep those of us in mind who may have no idea what they should be planning for the next year.

Thanks

 

[JohnHolmes]

Originally posted by PMED99
I think it is important that people who have two or three acceptances realize that it is perfectly acceptable to have these and hold out for loans/aid to come back or to look into the towns/location anything that may be of concern.

But, this is my second year applying. Last year I remember many people in my class who had 5 or more acceptances and they just didnt feel it necessary to notify these schools that they would drop. The main issue being the "backup" schools that people would get into in addition to their top school. Instead of dropping them they just treat it as if it will go away.

I encourage people to hold on to acceptances if you want more time to decide, but also keep those of us in mind who may have no idea what they should be planning for the next year.

Thanks

I totally agree.

CCW

 

[avicoo]

Originally posted by Cooper_Wriston
IE 3,400 people are holding 28,000 acceptances. Holy ****!



I am assuming the average school accepts double its class size. I think this is a fair estimate, considering there are 16,500 seats available in med schools.

This number is an obvious exaggeration.

CCW

I don't think you should assume that the average school accepts double its class size because a lot of them don't.

But still as I had already indicated I find these percentages hard to believe, but I am unsure why he would say/think this if there wasn't some grain of truth to it???

 

[Canrenone]

An adcom told me this week that the top 10% of applicants are currently holding 90% of the medical school positions. While I find this number a little hard to swallow, if it is even close to the truth well that definitely says something about whether people are holding onto a large number of acceptances or not.


Do the math, it actually makes sense.

10% of the applicants is 10% of 35000= 3500

90% of the positions is 90% of 16000= 14400

so 14400 divided by 3500= 4.11 acceptances per applicant. I think that number is very plausible. I agree with the adcom. The top ten percent of the applicants have between 4 and 5 acceptances.

 

[JohnHolmes]

Originally posted by Canrenone
An adcom told me this week that the top 10% of applicants are currently holding 90% of the medical school positions. While I find this number a little hard to swallow, if it is even close to the truth well that definitely says something about whether people are holding onto a large number of acceptances or not.


Do the math, it actually makes sense.

10% of the applicants is 10% of 35000= 3500

90% of the positions is 90% of 16000= 14400

so 14400 divided by 3500= 4.11 acceptances per applicant. I think that number is very plausible. I agree with the adcom. The top ten percent of the applicants have between 4 and 5 acceptances.

This is funny math.

I agree your analysis makes more sense, but even the TOP schools accept double the number, by the end. Some, more. I am assuming NYMC and other schools must accept more than this ... I mean, seriously.

There must be more than 16500 acceptances, given out initially, I think the number is more like 30,000+. So if your math is true, then the top 10% applicants, actually hold about 40% of the accpetances handed out. This is more realistic.

If 10% of the applicants, hold 90% of the spots as per your math, then the lower 90% of the applicants hopld 30,000 - 14,400 = 15,600 about 95% of the spots.

So overall, the top 10% plus the rest (90%) = 100% of the applicants hold 14,400 + 15,600 = 90% + 95% = 185% of the spots.

See, the math is fuzzy. I get your point, but I think you have to have a bizarre interpretation of what represents 90% of the spots (14,400) to arrive at that number. Obviously, more than 16,500 acceptances are given out so, this figure (90% of the spots) makes little sense.

CCW

 

[hakksar]

As I pointed out before a lot of schools only accept a number that will fill there class at one time. In the end (after all the waitlisters have been accepted), they offered twice the number as places in the class. Right now many have offered only the number that will fill the class since few have dropped yet (this is to avoid problems like Columbia had a few years ago when they had to beg people to take deferrals because less dropped than usual). It makes more sense to only have enough to fill the class at one time.

 

[coachB]

hakksar

my understanding is that you are incorrect. i know that is how colorado works but i don't think that is common. most schools will accept many more applicants than they have spots for and still go to the waitlist after all is said and done.

 

[avicoo]

Originally posted by Cooper_Wriston
This is funny math.

I agree your analysis makes more sense, but even the TOP schools accept double the number, by the end.

CCW

I think you may be overestimating how many acceptances have been given out already. I think the main point is that these schools accept double the number by the END. While some schools may accept double the number right off many do not, and I think a large portion of these acceptances come after may 15th with the crazy shuffle of students.

You may be right about these numbers being off-base, but I think it is within the realm of feasibility.

 

[hakksar]

Check with the adcomms . . . I know at least 2 of the schools I applied to were this way (Colorado and USUHS). I realize there are some schools (Columbia) that do it the other way. However, I would be willing to bet that it is closer to the majority of state schools doing it the way Colorado does. BTW, Colorado says they offer 210 spots to fill a class of 132. However, I talked to the admissions office and this is counted in August after the class is finalized.

 

[avicoo]

Originally posted by hakksar
Check with the adcomms . . . I know at least 2 of the schools I applied to were this way (Colorado and USUHS). I realize there are some schools (Columbia) that do it the other way. However, I would be willing to bet that it is closer to the majority of state schools doing it the way Colorado does. BTW, Colorado says they offer 210 spots to fill a class of 132. However, I talked to the admissions office and this is counted in August after the class is finalized.

The point is not whether they offer this many acceptances, but WHEN they offer them. The point is how the math works out if the top 10% of applicants are CURRENTLY holding 90% of acceptances. Even if this is true, it only increases the number of acceptances that schools will have to hand out by august to fill their positions.

The more people holding many acceptances the more acceptances must be offered.

 

[hakksar]

The more people holding many acceptances the more acceptances must be offered.

Exactly my point. In the end all schools accept many more students than their class size, however, a lot of these acceptances occur AFTER someone with multiple acceptances drops. For people waiting on waitlists it means that if the multiple acceptances drop earlier than the waitlisters will know their futures earlier (much the jist of the email sent by the adcomm above).

Also, I went and got some numbers from the AAMC website. Last year 34,786 people applied to allopathic medical schools in the US. There were 16,538 students who matriculated. That means 2.1 times as many people applied as matriculated. If the majority of schools offered 2 X as many spots up front than it would mean they would of offered about 30,000 spots already. This would mean that if even 1/2 of the people only have a single acceptance (or withdrew from their others) the class would already be almost completely confirmed.

Here is my source: http://www.aamc.org/data/facts/2003/2003slrmat.htm

edit: and a lot of schools would be begging people to defer

 

[avicoo]

You are still arguing a different point. It doesn't matter how many people are offered acceptances by the end, only how many acceptances have been handed out as of now.

Many schools would be stupid to hand out very many excess acceptances seeing as they will be top choice schools for many of their applicants.

Additionally even lower tier schools may wish to only hand out as many acceptances as required for the March 15th deadline by AMCAS because they are still interviewing applicants even now. This way they can keep their options open, and also see where other students already have acceptances.

 

[avicoo]

The numbers we were talking about were for the number of acceptances that have currently been issued not all that will have been issued by the end.

Additionally the adcom who gave me those percentages may have been talking about positions rather than acceptances which definitely changes the numbers.

 

[hakksar]

I know, I agree, the majority of acceptances have not been handed out already (if you look above everyone is saying they hand out 2 X the number of acceptances up front). I disagree with the posters above not you avicoo, in the Fall they offered 2 X the number of acceptances to fill the class. That is why I provided the matriculant (which is how many actually are in the class) vs applicant data and my analysis (afterall, if even half the people accepted only had 1 or withdrew from their others early there would be a lot of people with an acceptance with no spot if schools accepted 2 X the number of spots already) I am not sure why I am fighting this battle since I am not waitlisted . . . I guess it is just me trying to help some waitlisters out.