Proceeding with admissions to multiple schools

[Pamp]

I am blessed with multiple acceptances, while waiting for a few more admissions decisions. The schools that accepted me only gave me a few days to accept, and my understanding is to accept all decisions and then later decide on one. Do I proceed with all the pre-matriculation steps for all the schools, and then decide on one once I get financial aid offers? Do I then email the schools I won't be attending that I am withdrawing my acceptance?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[LizzyM]

Love 'ya, @Goro but @Pamp is not hoarding accepts. Declining now does not make an offer available to someone else right away. Most schools make more offers than they have seats and applicants are within their rights to get started with the financial aid process and make a binding decision after financial aid offers are on the table.

Most schools have an application portal where you "accept" or "decline" the offer when you are ready to do so. Email is far too inefficient.

 

[Pamp]

haha I appreciate the wisdom @Goro and @LizzyM. By multiple, I meant duple. I wouldn't mind going through this process faster, but I feel like I'd be doing myself a disservice by not seeing what financial aid offers I get, and seeing if I can leverage more. I definitely understand the circumstances but it seems with FAFSAs delayed arrival that financial aid departments are adjusting and its taking longer than usual.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I am blessed with multiple acceptances, while waiting for a few more admissions decisions. The schools that accepted me only gave me a few days to accept, and my understanding is to accept all decisions and then later decide on one. Do I proceed with all the pre-matriculation steps for all the schools, and then decide on one once I get financial aid offers? Do I then email the schools I won't be attending that I am withdrawing my acceptance?

I agree that for AMCAS, you can accept all of them for now. Later on in March, you will have to consider narrowing down through Choose Your Medical School tool in addition to direct communication. Hopefully the FA packages will come in by then.

 

[chssoccer7]

Strongly disagree with "stop hoarding acceptances and letting others live their dreams". Narrowing acceptances to 1 before seeing financial aid packages is unwise. This is the first time in the process an applicant has the upper hand, they aren't doing others a disservice by waiting and making a financially wise decision before undertaking several hundred thousand dollars of debt. We spend thousands of dollars in the application process just to try and get a seat at the table (and some schools accept that application money and literally never respond). If schools don't want students to "hoard acceptances", change the system.

On the other side, I agree with not accepting interviews/acceptances if you have another acceptance and there's no chance you'd go to the other school.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

FAFSA will be further delayed in delivering information to financial aid offices until March 2024. You should think about ranking your schools based on what you know about their costs of attendance. In making your lists, you should know why you want to attend each school and specific programs or tracks that address your desired vision in medicine through interviews and other networking. You don't need to decline an acceptance unless you see that among the offers you have, the program is inferior.

https://www.chronicle.com/article/education-dept-wont-send-completed-fafsas-to-colleges-until-first-half-of-march

 

[j_diggity]

FAFSA will be further delayed in delivering information to financial aid offices until March 2024. You should think about ranking your schools based on what you know about their costs of attendance. In making your lists, you should know why you want to attend each school and specific programs or tracks that address your desired vision in medicine through interviews and other networking. You don't need to decline an acceptance unless you see that among the offers you have, the program is inferior.

https://www.chronicle.com/article/education-dept-wont-send-completed-fafsas-to-colleges-until-first-half-of-march

What a pain in the neck for all students and schools. Shouldn't AMCAS delay the CTE / "pick 3" deadlines in April to account for this?

 

[Mr.Smile12]

What a pain in the neck for all students and schools. Shouldn't AMCAS delay the CTE / "pick 3" deadlines in April to account for this?

That is a good question for AMCAS and the Committee on Admissions. I don't they can make changes unless they all come to a consensus on that. But I don't see this affecting the launch of CYMS in February.

It will affect the other admissions processes for the other professions so I don't think you should expect changes. But I can be surprised.

 

[eigen]

I'm hearing even later than March delays for FAFSA now, along with a lot of issues in the new calculations. It will be an interesting year for federal (and other) financial aid.