One acceptance to Hofstra---Reapply or Matriculate?

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x83ix

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Too much paranoia...
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Last edited:
x83ix said:
Hey Everyone,

I know these issues have been brought up before, but I feel like my situation doesn't exactly fit with similar dilemmas posted in past threads about reapplying even with an acceptance. So, here is my dilemma in a nutshell. I have one acceptance to Hofstra SOM, as many of you know is a new school that's is accepting students for its second class. I'm hesitant about going to a brand new school, but don't know if it's worth reapplying again. I'm also aware that there is some debate as to whether or not it looks bad to turn down an acceptance to reapply again. So, here's the list of pros and cons I came up with. Any further insight would be greatly appreciated.

Hofstra Pros:
1) Won't have to reapply
2) Step 1 practice questions provided every 4 weeks
3) Personal attention and guidance
4) Not having to re-study for the MCATS
5) Liked the school when I visited
6) Faculty and administration seemed to have their act together
7) Faculty seemed determined to see the first classes succeed


Hofstra CONS
1) Not a well named school
2) not physically connected to the clinical sites
3) New program that is not ranked
4) Not clear how well the students do in residency placement

Reapply:
PROS
1) Get into a school that is closer to home (I'm from CA)
2) Re-do the application process with more experience

CONS
1) Being delayed for 2 years (one to improve application, one to reapply)
2) Living at home for another 2 years
3) Don't know that hofstra will not do well
5) Don't know how much better my application will be in a year
6) Having to retake the MCAT

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Just curious as to how you can just assume you will get into another school if you reapply especially one that is closer to home if you are talking about CA schools. Also, how can you assume you will improve on the MCAT?
 
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Without knowing your stats it's impossible to even offer an informed opinion.
Despite that, anyone who advises you to spurn Hofstra and apply again is an idiot. :laugh:
 
I thought this was a troll thread. That should tell you how ridiculous it is to consider reapplying.
 
this is one of those dumb questions you shouldn't ask
 
Northwesterly said:
Without knowing your stats it's impossible to even offer an informed opinion.
Despite that, anyone who advises you to spurn Hofstra and apply again is an idiot. :laugh:
Click to expand...


I definitely agree with the comment about not being sure how competitive the application pool will be in 1 year or 2 years. Should have listed that as one of the cons of reapplying :/
 
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The answer is in your question:

Sum up the pros/cons of Hofstra= +3

Sum up the pros/cons of reapplying= -4
 
Hofstra CONS
1) Not a well named school
2) not physically connected to the clinical sites
Click to expand...
-North Shore-LIJ is well-known and one of the largest health care systems in the US.
-There are many schools for which a good portion of their clinical sites are distant from their main campus. I'm not sure what the problem with this is, other than inconvenience.
 
0919mmk said:
The answer is in your question:

Sum up the pros/cons of Hofstra= +3

Sum up the pros/cons of reapplying= -4
Click to expand...

True, but not all pro/cons are weighted equally...
 
well you probably don't need more than 3 months to study since there's only so much information you can retain.

hofstra pro: it's brand new and their facilities rock

reapply con: you probably just spent a few thousand dollars on applications and interview(s) with the added stress of agonized waiting and will have to do so again without the guarantee of another acceptance even if you improve your mcat score. also you would have to change your school list to only include those which you would feel comfortable attending if accepted.
 
Seriously?


You'd sacrifice an acceptance that you have now for possible acceptances you may or may not have 2 years from now?

And if you do get in 2 years from now, you will soon realize that those two years you wasted just to be close to home were effectively two years of lost physician earnings.
 
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Bro, for the love of everything that is good, matriculate.
 
If you don't matriculate, I'm positive that whoever gets in off the waitlist will love you forever, because you just made his/her dream of getting accepted into medical school come true. Be grateful that you got in and just take the spot. Honestly, someone would kill to be in your position right now.
 
If he declines the acceptance and reapplies, how will other schools know if he's been accepted before? I thought AMCAS only asked if you had matriculated before, not been accepted. Just curious
 
I like meowmix said:
If he declines the acceptance and reapplies, how will other schools know if he's been accepted before? I thought AMCAS only asked if you had matriculated before, not been accepted. Just curious
Click to expand...

All schools can see your acceptances at some point in the application cycle, even ones that haven't accepted you.
 
x83ix said:
33Q, 3.7 GPA, 3.45 BCPM GPA. From top 5 school. I'm almost certain I could do better on my MCAT. I took it once the summer after my sophomore year and only studied around 3 months for it. To retake, I'd pretty much dedicate 6-9 months to studying.

I definitely agree with the comment about not being sure how competitive the application pool will be in 1 year or 2 years. Should have listed that as one of the cons of reapplying :/
Click to expand...
I can't tell if the bolded is serious or not

You already spent 3 months studying. Go to the school that accepted you and be grateful for the opportunity
 
I like meowmix said:
If he declines the acceptance and reapplies, how will other schools know if he's been accepted before? I thought AMCAS only asked if you had matriculated before, not been accepted. Just curious
Click to expand...
Like Tantacles is suggesting, eventually, all the schools you applied to (even those who rejected you) will have access to your acceptance data. If the school keeps some sort of database of past applicants and someone notices that you applied to the school before, they could technically find out or have access to your previous cycle's acceptance data. If you apply to new schools, then they won't know unless you tell them
 
sector9 said:
Like Tantacles is suggesting, eventually, all the schools you applied to (even those who rejected you) will have access to your acceptance data. If the school keeps some sort of database of past applicants and someone notices that you applied to the school before, they could technically find out or have access to your previous cycle's acceptance data. If you apply to new schools, then they won't know unless you tell them
Click to expand...

Do schools actually keep data on past applicants like that?

But, yes I do agree that OP should matriculate this year. No guarantees in future.
 
sector9 said:
Like Tantacles is suggesting, eventually, all the schools you applied to (even those who rejected you) will have access to your acceptance data. If the school keeps some sort of database of past applicants and someone notices that you applied to the school before, they could technically find out or have access to your previous cycle's acceptance data. If you apply to new schools, then they won't know unless you tell them
Click to expand...

Not to mention that most secondary applications ask you if that cycle is the first time you are applying to their school, to any medical school, or both.
 
x83ix said:
33Q, 3.7 GPA, 3.45 BCPM GPA. From top 5 school.
Click to expand...

If you only got into one school with a 33/3.7 I would say your stats weren't a big enough problem to prevent multiple acceptances. It might be something else on your application/something about your personality that may not have clicked on interviews. That being said, reapplying with higher stats most likely wouldn't significantly improve your chances of acceptance compared to this cycle.

I think you can see where I'm going with this.
:idea:
Matriculate!!
 
x83ix said:
Hey Everyone,

I know these issues have been brought up before, but I feel like my situation doesn't exactly fit with similar dilemmas posted in past threads about reapplying even with an acceptance. So, here is my dilemma in a nutshell. I have one acceptance to Hofstra SOM, as many of you know is a new school that's is accepting students for its second class. I'm hesitant about going to a brand new school, but don't know if it's worth reapplying again. I'm also aware that there is some debate as to whether or not it looks bad to turn down an acceptance to reapply again. So, here's the list of pros and cons I came up with. Any further insight would be greatly appreciated.

Hofstra Pros:
1) Won't have to reapply
2) Step 1 practice questions provided every 4 weeks
3) Personal attention and guidance
4) Not having to re-study for the MCATS
5) Liked the school when I visited
6) Faculty and administration seemed to have their act together
7) Faculty seemed determined to see the first classes succeed
8) Already in, can begin immediately


Hofstra CONS
1) Not a well named school
2) not physically connected to the clinical sites
3) New program that is not ranked
4) Not clear how well the students do in residency placement


Reapply:
PROS
1) Get into a school that is closer to home (I'm from CA) <--Highly unlikely given the fact that you're reapplying after turning down an acceptance as this does not tend to bode well with adcoms...
2) Re-do the application process with more experience

CONS
1) Being delayed for 2 years (one to improve application, one to reapply)
2) Living at home for another 2 years
3) Don't know that hofstra will not do well
5) Don't know how much better my application will be in a year
6) Having to retake the MCAT
7) Likely being rejected everywhere the second time around (including -- nay, especially -- Hofstra)

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Fixed that for ya.... Not a smart thing to do. You should only have applied to schools you were willing to attend. Sorry.
 
....What everyone said. You'll lose out on at least over $300,000 in salary (much more if you specialize) for NO GUARANTEE you'll get into another medical school. Medical school applications are an iffy deal - just be happy you've gotten into one school. There are thousands of others who will gladly trade places with you.
 
Reapply OP,

Make sure you come back after your second cycle and let us know how you do. I'm really curious to see what happens.
 
g1334121547914726182.jpg
 
Aren't you still waiting on UCLA? There's still a possibility you may get in come May.
 
Matriculate. You have a guranteed spot to be a doctor NOW. In the future, you may have none.
 
OP you should have stopped after the first "pro" for Hofstra


"A bird in the hand is better than two in the bush"
 
Yeah, I can understand your desire to go to a potentially "better fit" (at least in your mind) school, but seriously, like posts upon posts have said. Just to get accepted to any allopathic or osteopathic school is a gift that many people will never get. Take it and just be beyond happy with what you got.

Anyone could theoretically win millions in the lottery, but I am not going give up on jobs/school just to focus on the lottery since it could set me for life.

Yes that is a drastic and slightly different example, but I think the idea is there; you have a chance at anything, but it is not guaranteed so you should accept what you got and MAKE THE BEST OF IT. I can't guarantee you of this, but from what I have heard, if you prove yourself at any med school you could have a shot at whatever residency you want. Yes, some schools have better reps then others, but if you do perfectly w/ your testing scores, clinical grades, and lor's, then there is no reason why you can't get into amazing residencies with having gone to Hofstra, which you don't necessarily have any reason to believe is in anyway "bad" .

I respect your considering other options, but this is a no brainer because of the uncertainty of the field/getting into it.
 
Dude, follow your heart and reapply. Good luck!
 
As many have said, it would be foolish to turn down any MD acceptance. Retaking the MCAT alone should deter you from reapplying, but new facilities, practice Step questions, and probably a great curriculum outweigh any potential disadvantages for residency by a long shot. Granted how well you match may be heavily dependent on how the first class does, but again I would think the pros > cons. Take it and run - especially being a CA applicant with a solid GPA/MCAT but subpar sGPA.
 
x83ix said:
Hey Everyone,

I know these issues have been brought up before, but I feel like my situation doesn't exactly fit with similar dilemmas posted in past threads about reapplying even with an acceptance. So, here is my dilemma in a nutshell. I have one acceptance to Hofstra SOM, as many of you know is a new school that's is accepting students for its second class. I'm hesitant about going to a brand new school, but don't know if it's worth reapplying again. I'm also aware that there is some debate as to whether or not it looks bad to turn down an acceptance to reapply again. So, here's the list of pros and cons I came up with. Any further insight would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

Imagine this conversation:

"Yeah, I got accepted to medical school, but I turned down the offer."
 
OP is smart enough to get into med school but dumb enough to let it go because he/she thinks he/she can get into a better school next time around especially in two years. Take that acceptance and run with it.....
 
I don't think this is a dumb question at all, especially given the tenuous position that Penn Commonwealth was (is?) in. And as someone else mentioned in a thread about Hofstra, the faculty is going to be helping students place into residencies for the very first time
 
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x83ix said:
I don't think this is a dumb question at all, especially given the tenuous position that Penn Commonwealth was (is?) in. And as someone else mentioned in a thread about Hofstra, the faculty is going to be helping students place into residencies for the very first time, which probably means some mistakes will be made. Also, Hofstra doesn't have an AOA chapter or other such connections, which may also cause some setbacks...
Click to expand...

That is a weak argument. You're actually judging the school, the quality of its students, facilities, and clinical rotations based on this?

While we're at it, lets judge Harvard, Stanford, and Yale SOM for lacking these end-all-be-all "conncetions".

Also, Hofstra =/= TCMC, by a long shot. Know why? One's on probation. The other...isn't.
 
x83ix said:
I don't think this is a dumb question at all, especially given the tenuous position that Penn Commonwealth was (is?) in. And as someone else mentioned in a thread about Hofstra, the faculty is going to be helping students place into residencies for the very first time, which probably means some mistakes will be made. Also, Hofstra doesn't have an AOA chapter or other such connections, which may also cause some setbacks...
Click to expand...

You can't save people from themselves, folks...
 
OP, all these people are gunning for your potential spots at other schools and don't want you as competition! Plus, if you matriculate, you'll always wonder "what if". Take the time to refocus and strengthen your app, and if it so happens that you don't get accepted in 2 years, well, at least you know that you had what it took. Good luck!
 
x83ix said:
Hey Everyone,

I know these issues have been brought up before, but I feel like my situation doesn't exactly fit with similar dilemmas posted in past threads about reapplying even with an acceptance. So, here is my dilemma in a nutshell. I have one acceptance to Hofstra SOM, as many of you know is a new school that's is accepting students for its second class. I'm hesitant about going to a brand new school, but don't know if it's worth reapplying again. I'm also aware that there is some debate as to whether or not it looks bad to turn down an acceptance to reapply again. So, here's the list of pros and cons I came up with. Any further insight would be greatly appreciated.

Hofstra Pros:
1) Won't have to reapply
2) Step 1 practice questions provided every 4 weeks
3) Personal attention and guidance
4) Not having to re-study for the MCATS
5) Liked the school when I visited
6) Faculty and administration seemed to have their act together
7) Faculty seemed determined to see the first classes succeed


Hofstra CONS
1) Not a well named school
2) not physically connected to the clinical sites
3) New program that is not ranked
4) Not clear how well the students do in residency placement

Reapply:
PROS
1) Get into a school that is closer to home (I'm from CA)
2) Re-do the application process with more experience

CONS
1) Being delayed for 2 years (one to improve application, one to reapply)
2) Living at home for another 2 years
3) Don't know that hofstra will not do well
5) Don't know how much better my application will be in a year
6) Having to retake the MCAT

Thanks!
Click to expand...

A bird in your hand is worth two in the bush.
 
Gut Shot said:
You can't save people from themselves, folks...
Click to expand...
This. OP hasn't heard the opinion he wanted to hear, so he is repeating the question in different ways, hoping the answer will change. If a solid page of responses telling you to take your acceptance and run with it isn't going to convince you, there is no use in posting further.
 
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