Regarding Early Decision Program

[Js01051]

Hello SDN'ers! A have a quick question. In 2015 I will be applying to medical school and I have heard about the early decision program. I was curious if you guys could update me on the subject. If I become rejected from my early decision. Does it give you plenty of time to apply to your other schools? Also how does it benefit a person, does it up your chances or what? Thank you for everything guys. Have a good weekend.

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[Lya]

If rejected, you will be applying late to other schools and usually people rather save money to apply early next cycle for a better chance of getting in.

You do EDP when you know your stats are above the school's average and know that you are a great fit for that school. You want to maximize your chances. It saves a lot of money and will know early that you got in, not having to worry about waiting for extra interviews later on or dealing with silence from schools for many months.

 

[cs24]

Hello SDN'ers! A have a quick question. In 2015 I will be applying to medical school and I have heard about the early decision program. I was curious if you guys could update me on the subject. If I become rejected from my early decision. Does it give you plenty of time to apply to your other schools? Also how does it benefit a person, does it up your chances or what? Thank you for everything guys. Have a good weekend.

I applied EDP last year. The way it worked then was that I applied to one school, and could not apply to any other schools until the school had made a decision to waitlist or reject me. The deadline for the school to make a decision by was October 1st. I was waitlisted by my initial school, and chose to apply out that year even though I was relatively late (very glad I did end up applying out).

As far as the overall process, no you don't have plenty of time to apply to other schools. You are already late in the game and you have to do all your secondaries starting the first week of October. That said, you can still get in elsewhere if you are a strong applicant. Benefits...it can help your chances as far as yield protection goes, but if they find something in your app they really don't like you won't get in just because you went EDP. Most schools are receptive to you meeting with their dean of admissions to discuss your chances of getting in if you apply EDP (some even require it). I would highly recommend this, it will give you a great idea of where you stand, and can be valuable even if you don't end up applying EDP.

As was mentioned above, another big advantage of EDP is the money you can save on primaries, secondaries, travelling, etc. I spent a fraction of what most people spend in the application process last year.

 

[Js01051]

I applied EDP last year. The way it worked then was that I applied to one school, and could not apply to any other schools until the school had made a decision to waitlist or reject me. The deadline for the school to make a decision by was October 1st. I was waitlisted by my initial school, and chose to apply out that year even though I was relatively late (very glad I did end up applying out).

As far as the overall process, no you don't have plenty of time to apply to other schools. You are already late in the game and you have to do all your secondaries starting the first week of October. That said, you can still get in elsewhere if you are a strong applicant. Benefits...it can help your chances as far as yield protection goes, but if they find something in your app they really don't like you won't get in just because you went EDP. Most schools are receptive to you meeting with their dean of admissions to discuss your chances of getting in if you apply EDP (some even require it). I would highly recommend this, it will give you a great idea of where you stand, and can be valuable even if you don't end up applying EDP.

As was mentioned above, another big advantage of EDP is the money you can save on primaries, secondaries, travelling, etc. I spent a fraction of what most people spend in the application process last year.

I greatly appreciate your post. Very informative. So you can actually call the school and ask them my chances of EDP?

 

[milkandcereal]

I greatly appreciate your post. Very informative. So you can actually call the school and ask them my chances of EDP?

Yeah, I think a good number of schools strongly recommend that you meet with their dean or admissions staff to discuss your chances at EDP at their institution. You'd never want to go into such a risky process blind.

 

[Mr Avante]

I greatly appreciate your post. Very informative. So you can actually call the school and ask them my chances of EDP?

I think it is more of an informal "review," rather than a call. Nevertheless, I wish you well, OP.

 

[Js01051]

I think it is more of an informal "review," rather than a call. Nevertheless, I wish you well, OP.

Thank you for everything guys. Still a year away but I want to be ready for everything.

 

[Chew Man]

This may be a naive question but why not just ask a few schools that your are interested in to do review of stats to see chances? (Tell them you thinking about EDP?)

 

[Js01051]

This may be a naive question but why not just ask a few schools that your are interested in to do review of stats to see chances? (Tell them you thinking about EDP?)

Chew Man, I am actually new to all of this and I just found out that you could do that. I had no idea. Any clue if every school offers EDP?

 

[deleted407021]

Not every school participates in EDP. I am interested in applying early decision in august of 2015 to Mercer. Can we get more information about this talking to dean of admissions thing? That is very interesting.

 

[gyngyn]

Not every school participates in EDP. I am interested in applying early decision in august of 2015 to Mercer. Can we get more information about this talking to dean of admissions thing? That is very interesting.

EDP is for applicants who are better than those the school can easily get in the regular process. The definition of "better" varies by school (and mission statement). Even the most hardened admissions officer does not want to harm EDP applicants by encouraging them when they have little chance of EDP acceptance. That is why they (we) encourage open communication with those considering a path that will put them a a significant disadvantage in the process if not accepted.

 

[deleted407021]

EDP is for applicants who are better than those the school can easily get in the regular process. The definition of "better" varies by school (and mission statement). Even the most hardened admissions officer does not want to harm EDP applicants by encouraging them when they have little chance of EDP acceptance. That is why they (we) encourage open communication with those considering a path that will put them a a significant disadvantage in the process if not accepted.

Thanks. How should we go about connecting with the right people at the schools we are interested in?

 

[gyngyn]

Thanks. How should we go about connecting with the right people at the schools we are interested in?

After looking at the information on their website (and determining that you are willing to forgo potential for recruitment scholarships, if appropriate) contact the admissions office and indicate that you would like to know if they offer guidance regarding your potential for EDP.

 

[deleted407021]

Thanks doc!

 

[cs24]

This may be a naive question but why not just ask a few schools that your are interested in to do review of stats to see chances? (Tell them you thinking about EDP?)

I would not do this. First of all, if you are just trolling various schools by pretending to be considering EDP that would be dishonest and would look strange if you did meet with the dean, he/she encouraged you to apply EDP and then you applied as a normal applicant or did EDP elsewhere.

Secondly, they are discussing your chances of being accepted EDP, not accepted overall. EDP is more competitive, so the odds of you being accepted through that pathway are lower. You might be a perfectly good candidate for a school in general, and they would still discourage you from applying EDP if you are not the sort of outstanding candidate they look for in that specific pathway.

Just do things the normal way and look at stats, fit etc and you would be much better off.

 

[siliso]

It's a fine option if there is only one school that you could or would attend, and youre a good candidate for admission. Like for me, the only one in my state. If you're committed enough to a particular place that you would apply EDP, ask for an appointment with the admissions director to talk turkey. They'll do it gladly. You can simply call to the office of admissions and say you're thinking of applying EDP and would like to schedule a meeting with the director to discuss the process and your prospects please.

 

[kaprincess247]

I applied EDP this cycle and was accepted. I agree with others that you should only consider it if you are a) highly competitive for the school and b) it is honestly the one school you would give anything to attend. Otherwise, if you're rejected you are very late in the cycle to send out to other places. That's not a risk worth taking if you're not super competitive. I didn't talk to anyone in the admissions department- my work schedule didn't allow me to take advantage of the pre-application counseling, but I matched my stats to the schools stats and looked closely at the most important character traits and extra-curricular activities that the school looked for. Based on those, I knew I was very competitive for the school and it worked out in my favor. Thankfully!!

 

[Bink]

I'm a successful early decision applicant and here are my 2 cents after going through this process. Sorry for the novel but I found the EDP advice on SDN to not be very helpful when I was struggling with the idea of applying EDP. Every school is going to have different policies on how they run their EDP so be wary of posters on SDN making blanket statements which just add confusion and unnecessary anxiety in people considering EDP. Call the schools you are interested in and ask about the program. For me, the main admissions office for the school I was interested in wasn't helpful at all. They told me this wasn't undergrad admissions where they provided counseling to applicants . I then called the number listed for the admissions director, the secretary scheduled an appointment for a telephone meeting with the admin director, and then I later received very helpful feedback on if I was competitive for EDP and how their EDP program works. It might take some extra work but really try all of your options into getting a meeting with someone who knows what they are talking about to discuss your file.

Some of the questions I asked were:

Did they only accept a fixed amount of EDP applicants? Answer: No. (This was the most important question for me because the MSAR showed <5 people matriculating from the EDP program. It was a great relief to know I wasn't competing for just 1 or 2 spots).

How many applicants apply to EDP? Answer: Couldn’t give out that information (but definitely ask this because it can’t hurt).

Do they only consider extremely competitive applicants (i.e. high gpa/mcat, great experiences)? Answer: No. If I was competitive for the normal admissions then I would be competitive for EDP.

Does applying EDP affect my chances in getting accepted either positively or negatively? Answer: Not really. It's not a backdoor to getting an acceptance.

Am I competitive for EDP then? Short answer was yes and received some broad feedback about my application. I could have (and did) look at the MSAR to decide if I was competitive (I felt I was), but admins look through thousands of applications and have a good idea on what they are exactly looking for. So even though I didn’t receive any ground breaking feedback on my file, I felt confident I’d at least get offered an interview based on talking with the admin. Once you get the interview, the rest is up to you to seal the deal.

A question I should have asked but forgot is if I applied EDP and wasn’t chosen for an interview, would they notify me right away and release me from EDP or would I have to wait until October 1st?

Like I said earlier, each school’s EDP program is going to be different so you need to ask. I only shared these answers because it contradicted a lot of the general comments by uninformed posters on SDN (not this thread specifically but other SDN threads). Some other thoughts:

There is a lot of talk about applying late on October 1st if you aren’t accepted EDP. I submitted my primary in the middle of July (which was verified in 11 minutes), and I had been accepted last week on about the exact same day that AMCAS had finally gotten around to verifying applications on my primary submission date. That’s an interesting thought. For me, EDP was worth the risk of having to wait an extra week and a half to apply to other schools if I didn't get in through EDP. While it isn’t ideal to apply to schools on Oct 1st if EDP doesn't work out, it’s not a deal breaker if you are working on secondary answers while waiting for an EDP decision.

I am not a super competitive applicant. I was competitive, well rounded, and had a good reason to applying to that one specific school. Maybe some schools only take the superstars but you need to get that from the horse’s mouth before writing yourself off for EDP.

There are a lot of comments that if you are competitive enough to get accepted into EDP then you are competitive enough to get accepted in the normal admissions program. Yeah….but sometimes applicants fall through the cracks when there are 10,000+ applications to screen. EDP cuts through some of this risk.

I hope this is helpful and best of luck to anyone applying EDP.

 

[CarlosDanger]

I agree with the above poster - in the state where I'm from, a lot of undergrads in my class thought EDP would be a backdoor to acceptance because they weren't as competitive as they should have been and they thought by applying EDP they would be competing with less people and would have a better chance...it didn't really work out that way. It can be a good idea, but only do it if your stats are at least at the average for a particular school or above. Its pretty risky to do, and I would only do it if I had to be in one geographical location only for some reason - spouse, family issues, etc. I personally considered it this year but decided against it mostly because I'm a re-applicant and can't afford to put all my eggs in one basket.

 

[kaprincess247]

I'm a successful early decision applicant and here are my 2 cents after going through this process. Sorry for the novel but I found the EDP advice on SDN to not be very helpful when I was struggling with the idea of applying EDP. Every school is going to have different policies on how they run their EDP so be wary of posters on SDN making blanket statements which just add confusion and unnecessary anxiety in people considering EDP. Call the schools you are interested in and ask about the program. For me, the main admissions office for the school I was interested in wasn't helpful at all. They told me this wasn't undergrad admissions where they provided counseling to applicants . I then called the number listed for the admissions director, the secretary scheduled an appointment for a telephone meeting with the admin director, and then I later received very helpful feedback on if I was competitive for EDP and how their EDP program works. It might take some extra work but really try all of your options into getting a meeting with someone who knows what they are talking about to discuss your file.

Some of the questions I asked were:

Did they only accept a fixed amount of EDP applicants? Answer: No. (This was the most important question for me because the MSAR showed <5 people matriculating from the EDP program. It was a great relief to know I wasn't competing for just 1 or 2 spots).

How many applicants apply to EDP? Answer: Couldn’t give out that information (but definitely ask this because it can’t hurt).

Do they only consider extremely competitive applicants (i.e. high gpa/mcat, great experiences)? Answer: No. If I was competitive for the normal admissions then I would be competitive for EDP.

Does applying EDP affect my chances in getting accepted either positively or negatively? Answer: Not really. It's not a backdoor to getting an acceptance.

Am I competitive for EDP then? Short answer was yes and received some broad feedback about my application. I could have (and did) look at the MSAR to decide if I was competitive (I felt I was), but admins look through thousands of applications and have a good idea on what they are exactly looking for. So even though I didn’t receive any ground breaking feedback on my file, I felt confident I’d at least get offered an interview based on talking with the admin. Once you get the interview, the rest is up to you to seal the deal.

A question I should have asked but forgot is if I applied EDP and wasn’t chosen for an interview, would they notify me right away and release me from EDP or would I have to wait until October 1st?

Like I said earlier, each school’s EDP program is going to be different so you need to ask. I only shared these answers because it contradicted a lot of the general comments by uninformed posters on SDN (not this thread specifically but other SDN threads). Some other thoughts:

There is a lot of talk about applying late on October 1st if you aren’t accepted EDP. I submitted my primary in the middle of July (which was verified in 11 minutes), and I had been accepted last week on about the exact same day that AMCAS had finally gotten around to verifying applications on my primary submission date. That’s an interesting thought. For me, EDP was worth the risk of having to wait an extra week and a half to apply to other schools if I didn't get in through EDP. While it isn’t ideal to apply to schools on Oct 1st if EDP doesn't work out, it’s not a deal breaker if you are working on secondary answers while waiting for an EDP decision.

I am not a super competitive applicant. I was competitive, well rounded, and had a good reason to applying to that one specific school. Maybe some schools only take the superstars but you need to get that from the horse’s mouth before writing yourself off for EDP.

There are a lot of comments that if you are competitive enough to get accepted into EDP then you are competitive enough to get accepted in the normal admissions program. Yeah….but sometimes applicants fall through the cracks when there are 10,000+ applications to screen. EDP cuts through some of this risk.

I hope this is helpful and best of luck to anyone applying EDP.

Best answer. 🙂 Each school definitely has their own way of handling it.