Question about doing something I consider weird...

[JTubule1386]

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This is just a hypothetical sitch I wanted to get everyone else's opinion on. Would you feel weird turning down an interview? Lets say you had top 3 schools that you applied to and you ranked them all the same. You got an early interview at school A, a little later interview at school B (but still considered early), and you got accepted to school A (the cheaper of the 3), then school C decides to send you an interview. Would you field weird turning a good school down for an interview? And how would you go about doing it?

 

[DaiCa86]

Why waste their time if you aren't serious? You can go to the interview, get accepted, and find that they may give you a better financial aid package. If that doesn't matter, then say you're no longer interested in an email.

 

[JTubule1386]

I'm not saying that I wouldn't decline. I would just for the simple fact that I know others are waiting on this spot and I know how stressful that is. What I'm saying is would you feel weird about doing it? And how would you do it?

 

[Rabbit36]

If you would rather go to the school you already got into, then it's a no-brainer. Turning down interviews is not uncommon. It's a pretty big waste of their time and your money if you already know you would attend another school. Of course it's difficult to discount a good school without interviewing and seeing it firsthand. A lot of their website info and gloss may turn out to be P.R. crap, and not really reflective of the culture of the school. If going to the interview is a big hassle, and if you're sure you would rather go to school A, then consider not going. Otherwise, I'd recommend going to the interview because you may fall in love with the school!

 

[airplanes]

I'm not saying that I wouldn't decline. I would just for the simple fact that I know others are waiting on this spot and I know how stressful that is. What I'm saying is would you feel weird about doing it? And how would you do it?

no man, you gotta look out for yourself and make the best decision. I would take the interview in case you take a visit and end up liking the school more than the others after your interview. It's admirable that you feel guilty but you don't want to have regrets down the line.

 

[chessknt]

I sort of ran into this situation about SUNY Buffalo--ultimately decided the cost to fly/stay out there for a chance at a school that might give me a better aid package was not worth it. If it had been free to go out there then I probably would have gone, but with an acceptance in hand I opted out in favor of saving the $500 and losing the chance of acceptance at a school I wasnt sure I wanted to go to.

 

[mmmfood]

i'm in your same situation. in a few minutes i'm going to call and tell the admissions office that i want to cancel the interview. i figure that it'll save me money and will mean less time that i have to take off of work.

however, i have been putting off the phone call because i feel weird turning down an interview

 

[TRN1983]

I don't understand where the problem lies. If you're already in your top choice and are committed to going there, then why would it be hard to turn down other schools? I guarantee you won't be the first person to call and say "Hi. I recently received an interview initiation from you, and I just wanted to let you know that I won't be able to make the interview because I've already been accepted to my school of choice. Thank you very much for your time and consideration. I hope I didn't cause you any inconvenience." <-- Say that and you're done with the added benefit of not shelling out extra cash to interview somewhere you don't want to go.

No offense to anyone, but I'm always relatively shocked when I see people who are going to become physicians and surgeons have such a hard time making trivial decisions--there are tons of threads and questions like this on SDN.

 

[JTubule1386]

Its not that you have a hard time making the decision, the decision is made. It's just that you feel weird about it when you step back and look at the whole process. For four years you have almost obsessed over your GPA and gone through hell and back studying for the MCAT, AMCAS, all those secondaries, and the whole time you're praying, God please let me get just one acceptance. Then you end up getting more than one interview (maybe surprising to you), and you get accepted to a good school then another good school invites you for an interview. Maybe its just me, but at some point I feel you would have to step outside yourself and think 'I am turning down a chance to interview for medical school', when less than a month ago, you were maybe freaking out and would do a lot of crazy things just to get in. It's weird I guess because those pre-acceptance feelings having completely dissipated and here you are making post-acceptance decisions. 🙄

 

[tabrazinski]

Its not that you have a hard time making the decision, the decision is made. It's just that you feel weird about it when you step back and look at the whole process. For four years you have almost obsessed over your GPA and gone through hell and back studying for the MCAT, AMCAS, all those secondaries, and the whole time you're praying, God please let me get just one acceptance. Then you end up getting more than one interview (maybe surprising to you), and you get accepted to a good school then another good school invites you for an interview. Maybe its just me, but at some point I feel you would have to step outside yourself and think 'I am turning down a chance to interview for medical school', when less than a month ago, you were maybe freaking out and would do a lot of crazy things just to get in. It's weird I guess because those pre-acceptance feelings having completely dissipated and here you are making post-acceptance decisions. 🙄

i guess it's kinda surreal, but it happens with every big life decision you make... choosing a college, or getting your first apartment, or getting married... such is life.

 

[ButImLETired]

Its not that you have a hard time making the decision, the decision is made. It's just that you feel weird about it when you step back and look at the whole process. For four years you have almost obsessed over your GPA and gone through hell and back studying for the MCAT, AMCAS, all those secondaries, and the whole time you're praying, God please let me get just one acceptance. Then you end up getting more than one interview (maybe surprising to you), and you get accepted to a good school then another good school invites you for an interview. Maybe its just me, but at some point I feel you would have to step outside yourself and think 'I am turning down a chance to interview for medical school', when less than a month ago, you were maybe freaking out and would do a lot of crazy things just to get in. It's weird I guess because those pre-acceptance feelings having completely dissipated and here you are making post-acceptance decisions. 🙄

Haha I know exactly how you feel. Today I withdrew from a school I had really wanted to go see and that offered me an interview and it was SO hard (I've already received an acceptance at one of my top choices). I just kept thinking "but what if that acceptance was a mistake? What if I go there and I totally fall in love?!". Plus it really is hard to turn off that "OH DEAR GOD I WILL GO TO ANY INTERVIEW EVER IF I CAN JUST GET INTO ONE" feeling. I think you just have to remind yourself that it's better for everyone if you don't go. You'll save money/time, the school will save money/time, and you'll be helping out a fellow pre-med who really wants to go there.

It is both amazing and really strange to be "done" (or at least mostly done) in October. Considering how long and hard we've been working towards this, it's totally surreal to just be like "o...k....I guess....that's it?!".

 

[funkydrmonkey]

I withdrew from an interview and I might be withdrawing from a few more. Right now it is just getting absurd. It feels bad, but hey you do not need to go if you would rather go to the other school.

 

[zpiff]

I was running out of money so I withdrew before a bunch of my interviews. I was really happy with my acceptances but it was still really weird to withdraw.