Question about timing of acceptances

[Conics98]

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Hi all! I'm really unfamiliar with the Choose Your Medical School Tool, and I have a couple questions about it since it'll be relevant in the coming months. I've been fortunate enough to get accepted into one school thus far, but I am hopeful of IIs and As at a few schools I would rather go to. That said, assuming I get interviews from them before the end of the cycle, can I choose to go to one of those schools after April 30th?

I think the way I'm understanding it is that on April 30th, since I have one acceptance, I have no choice but to pick it with the "Commit to Enroll" button, no matter how many schools I'm still waiting to hear back from/waitlists I could still be pulled off at that point. I think my biggest fear is picking my only A at the moment on April 30th and removing myself from a high waitlist position/probable A at a school I would rather attend.

Am I understanding this correctly? Please correct me if I'm not!

 

[KnightDoc]

Fortunately, you are totally misunderstanding how it works. 4/30 (it will be 5/2 this year because 4/30 falls on a weekend), you will most likely be expected to select PTE (Plan to Enroll). All schools don't require it, but most do.

A very few schools do require you to CTE as early as 4/30. You need to check with you school to see what its date is. Each school is free to set its own. AMCAS recommends that it be no sooner than 3 weeks before orientation, and a lot of school stick pretty close to this guideline.

The important thing to keep in mind is that, with PTE, you can stay on as many WLs as you like, but, once a school's CTE date rolls around, you have to either give up all your WLs OR give up the seat at the CTE school. After 4/30, you can typically only hold one A, with the exception being a short window after you are called off a WL, during which you'll have to decide which A to keep and which to drop.

If your understanding was correct, the only people who would be able to benefit from WL movement after 4/30 would be those with no As. That's not how the system is designed to work.

Does this help?

 

[Conics98]

Fortunately, you are totally misunderstanding how it works. 4/30 (it will be 5/2 this year because 4/30 falls on a weekend), you will most likely be expected to select PTE (Plan to Enroll). All schools don't require it, but most do.

A very few schools do require you to CTE as early as 4/30. You need to check with you school to see what its date is. Each school is free to set its own. AMCAS recommends that it be no sooner than 3 weeks before orientation, and a lot of school stick pretty close to this guideline.

The important thing to keep in mind is that, with PTE, you can stay on as many WLs as you like, but, once a school's CTE date rolls around, you have to either give up all your WLs OR give up the seat at the CTE school. After 4/30, you can typically only hold one A, with the exception being a short window after you are called off a WL, during which you'll have to decide which A to keep and which to drop.

If your understanding was correct, the only people who would be able to benefit from WL movement after 4/30 would be those with no As. That's not how the system is designed to work.

Does this help?

I see! So say that the CTE date isn't until June, I could still get pulled off of waitlists throughout May with a short window to determine which A I'll hold onto until that school's respective CTE date. Is that right?

 

[KnightDoc]

I see! So say that the CTE date isn't until June, I could still get pulled off of waitlists throughout May with a short window to determine which A I'll hold onto until that school's respective CTE date. Is that right?

Absolutely!! This is exactly how it's supposed to work. Also, schools are usually pretty liberal in extending deadlines until they can get you financial aid information, although they are under no obligation to do so.

I was very concerned about this when I first started studying it when it was first implemented in 2019, but, in practice, it's a big nothing for most people at most schools. A few schools game the system by obnoxiously imposing early CTE deadlines to lock in their class and preclude their students from participating in WL movement. It will suck if your only A is at one of these schools. Otherwise, it's something to consider when deciding if you have more than one A.

For most people, however, WL movement has died down before they have to make decisions in June or July. The VAST majority of WL movement occurs between the middle of April and end of May, with a trickle before and after. You can also reach out to a WL school before you have to make a CTE election at another school. People rarely report success doing this, but it's not impossible if you are near the top of someone's list and they think they are going to have movement.

 

[Conics98]

Absolutely!! This is exactly how it's supposed to work. Also, schools are usually pretty liberal in extending deadlines until they can get you financial aid information, although they are under no obligation to do so.

I was very concerned about this when I first started studying it when it was first implemented in 2019, but, in practice, it's a big nothing for most people at most schools. A few schools game the system by obnoxiously imposing early CTE deadlines to lock in their class and preclude their students from participating in WL movement. It will suck if your only A is at one of these schools. Otherwise, it's something to consider when deciding if you have more than one A.

For most people, however, WL movement has died down before they have to make decisions in June or July. The VAST majority of WL movement occurs between the middle of April and end of May, with a trickle before and after. You can also reach out to a WL school before you have to make a CTE election at another school. People rarely report success doing this, but it's not impossible if you are near the top of someone's list and they think they are going to have movement.

I can confirm that my school is not one of those that locks the class in too soon with an early CTE! That said, I still have no other IIs, but a half hour ago, I thought my cycle would be over on April 30th! Thanks so much for the info 🙂

 

[KnightDoc]

I can confirm that my school is not one of those that locks the class in too soon with an early CTE! That said, I still have no other IIs, but a half hour ago, I thought my cycle would be over on April 30th! Thanks so much for the info 🙂

My pleasure! 🙂