Order of Acceptance Question

[medapplicant27]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to this thread and have recently been looking into applying to medical school. This may be an obvious question, but I have noticed that schools expect you to declare whether or not you intend to accept their offer within several weeks of your acceptance, however the time period over which a student can be accepted spans over many months. So my question is, what if you hear back from a school that is lower on your list of desired schools to attend months before you hear from your top choices? It would be horrible to not accept their offer only to be rejected from your top choice, but it would also be horrible to accept their offer only to find that you were accepted to your dream school and can no longer attend. Do people just send a deposit to the school they get into first to reserve a spot and then pull out if/when they hear back from a school they would rather go to?

Thanks for your help!

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[CodeBlu]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to this thread and have recently been looking into applying to medical school. This may be an obvious question, but I have noticed that schools expect you to declare whether or not you intend to accept their offer within several weeks of your acceptance, however the time period over which a student can be accepted spans over many months. So my question is, what if you hear back from a school that is lower on your list of desired schools to attend months before you hear from your top choices? It would be horrible to not accept their offer only to be rejected from your top choice, but it would also be horrible to accept their offer only to find that you were accepted to your dream school and can no longer attend. Do people just send a deposit to the school they get into first to reserve a spot and then pull out if/when they hear back from a school they would rather go to?

Thanks for your help!

You can hold multiple acceptances until May 15th. You pay the deposit and then you have to pick one to matriculate to on May 15th. Realistically you can be in at 11 schools, but come may 15th, 10 people on the other waitlists are gonna be super happy.

 

[just one]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to this thread and have recently been looking into applying to medical school. This may be an obvious question, but I have noticed that schools expect you to declare whether or not you intend to accept their offer within several weeks of your acceptance, however the time period over which a student can be accepted spans over many months. So my question is, what if you hear back from a school that is lower on your list of desired schools to attend months before you hear from your top choices? It would be horrible to not accept their offer only to be rejected from your top choice, but it would also be horrible to accept their offer only to find that you were accepted to your dream school and can no longer attend. Do people just send a deposit to the school they get into first to reserve a spot and then pull out if/when they hear back from a school they would rather go to?

Thanks for your help!

Yes

 

[TheMightySmiter]

I'm pretty sure you can "hold" as many acceptances as you want until May 15th (or somewhere around there). You might have to put in a deposit to hold the spot, but most deposits are refundable before a certain date. Check MSAR under "accepted information" to see the policy for individual schools.

Of course, if you are accepted to multiple schools and you know that there is one or more that you will definitely not attend, it's common courtesy to withdraw your acceptance. That way, a school can take someone off their waitlist.

 

[NickNaylor]

I never paid a deposit to hold a spot. Maybe I was just lucky?

 

[CodeBlu]

I never paid a deposit to hold a spot. Maybe I was just lucky?

You were an adcoms dream candidate. That's probably why.

 

[phltz]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to this thread and have recently been looking into applying to medical school. This may be an obvious question, but I have noticed that schools expect you to declare whether or not you intend to accept their offer within several weeks of your acceptance, however the time period over which a student can be accepted spans over many months. So my question is, what if you hear back from a school that is lower on your list of desired schools to attend months before you hear from your top choices? It would be horrible to not accept their offer only to be rejected from your top choice, but it would also be horrible to accept their offer only to find that you were accepted to your dream school and can no longer attend. Do people just send a deposit to the school they get into first to reserve a spot and then pull out if/when they hear back from a school they would rather go to?

Thanks for your help!

This is generally how DO schools do it, but is not true for MD schools. MD schools would, of course, appreciate you telling them if you will or won't matriculate as soon as you are sure. The cannot ask for anything from you until May 15th, though.

 

[iniquus]

I never paid a deposit to hold a spot. Maybe I was just lucky?

I didn't either. I just made sure I deposited $100 to the school I wanted by May 15.

 

[ejw5075]

I never paid a deposit to hold a spot. Maybe I was just lucky?

Some schools do not require a deposit. I think schools that get more applicants and accept a higher percentage (Drexel) are the ones who usually require deposits. Most DO schools have deposits and cost A LOT.

 

[therunner12]

The pre-match system in Texas is a bit different but not complicated.

 

[music2doc]

You were an adcoms dream candidate. That's probably why.

So true. As long as they kept him on their "Matriculating Class of 2015" list, their Class of 2015 average MCAT score jumped an entire point! They probably would have paid him to stay on their list a little longer if he'd asked....

 

[NickNaylor]

I didn't either. I just made sure I deposited $100 to the school I wanted by May 15.

At Chicago we never had to pay a deposit. I guess I just lucked out on the deposit game.

 

[calvnandhobbs68]

At Chicago we never had to pay a deposit. I guess I just lucked out on the deposit game.

Yeah same thing...the only school I had to pay a deposit to was WashU. I made sure I got my dolla dolla bills back later though.

 

[CuttingCorneas]

You were an adcoms dream candidate. That's probably why.

This is true.

 

[therunner12]

Can I suck off Cole next?

 

[NickNaylor]

Can I suck off Cole next?