Reapplying after acceptance

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Potluk

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Rather than get bashed for turning down an acceptance and not being grateful, I am just curious if anyone has actually been in this scenario before, and what your experience was like the following cycle.
Are schools aware that you received an acceptance in the previous cycle and factor this into interview/acceptance decisions?

Just as an FYI the reason for potentially declining would not be because I want to go to a more "prestigious" school either.

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From what I have read on here and elsewhere, unless you are turning down the acceptance because it is absolutely necessary that you do not attend the upcoming cycle, you'll pretty much be SOL next year when applying.

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I believe that you will have to disclose that you were accepted last cycle in your app. Not 100% sure, though.
 
My PI actually did this...
 
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This happened to my roommate. She was accepted two cycles ago at a newly accredited school but wanted to get into a better school so she declined the acceptance. She applied again last cycle, got into the school she wanted and is currently an MS1.
 
From what I've heard, you will potentially be black-listed by schools (adcoms communicate with one-another) if you don't have a compelling reason. Will it completely bar you? I don't know, but is it worth the risk?

What is your motivation for wanting to re-apply? I don't think cost (something you knew you were getting into), timing (you can at least try for a deferral, rather than re-apply), or prestige would cut it.

Good luck though.
 
I reapplied after getting one acceptance to a newish medical school where my stats were significantly above the matriculant average. I was lucky in that I didn't apply to a ton of schools during my first cycle, so I was able to apply to like a dozen schools during my second cycle which evaluated me as a first time applicant. I ended up getting accepted to my state school (where I was a reapplicant) and the issue of applying again never came up in my interview. The decision saved me > $100,000 in loans, so it was absolutely the right choice in my case.
 
The decision saved me > $100,000 in loans, so it was absolutely the right choice in my case.

Unless you would make more than $100,000 as a doctor during the year you'd have graduated but subsequently "lost."
 
I believe that you will have to disclose that you were accepted last cycle in your app. Not 100% sure, though.

I checked my AMCAS and there's nowhere to disclose this. You only have to disclose matriculation. I think the only way schools would know is if adcoms talk or you flat-out say so. The stigma behind is primarily due to the gamble you're taking.
 
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Unless you would make more than $100,000 as a doctor during the year you'd have graduated but subsequently "lost."

Those were loans before interest, so likely that amount would've doubled under the most realistic repayment plan. I was able to do research during my extra year, get a publication, travel for 2 months (something I never did before) and I met my girlfriend :love: so I definitely have no regrets. For some people, this might not be the right choice. I would say my decision was based 80% on money and 20% feeling like I could do better.
 
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Unless you would make more than $100,000 as a doctor during the year you'd have graduated but subsequently "lost."

This myth keeps popping us on SDN. The number to look at for a year of lost income isn't 100k. It's the difference in the total amound payed over the life of the loan. That number will be a lot more than 100k.
 
I checked my AMCAS and there's nowhere to disclose this. You only have to disclose matriculation. I think the only way schools would know is if adcoms talk or you flat-out say so. The stigma behind is primarily due to the gamble you're taking.

Ah, that make's sense. Thanks.
 
The decision saved me > $100,000 in loans, so it was absolutely the right choice in my case.

Just want to point out that just because something works out in your favor doesn't mean it was the correct choice. In poker, you'll often make the optimal play but lose anyways - you don't play with the goal of winning, you just try to make the best decisions possible given the information you have.

Re-applying may have indeed been the best choice for you, but the fact that it saved you a bunch of money in loans doesn't necessarily guarantee that. There is a non-zero chance that by turning down an acceptance you doom any future chances at medical school. In your case, you figured that the risk of this was worth the potential reward based on the strength of your application, and it worked in the end which is great. For someone else with a weaker app or more aversion to risk, things might be different.
 
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