Should I take mediocre, only MD acceptance or reapply?

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cheesyC

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(Posted on behalf of a friend of cheesyC)

Today I was accepted to my first and only M.D. school off of their waitlist. I have already filed my AMCAS primary for 2010 and I am strongly considering following through with re-applying. My reasons for wanting to reapply are:

1. I do not love the school at all and think I can get into a better/cheaper school (I want to stay in-state for financial reasons).
2. My application has improved dramatically since last year. From my essays to clinical experiences to GPA improvement. I am also now familiar with the application process.
3. I just graduated from undergrad and feel burned out. I have been mentally prepared to take a year off and this school will not allow me to defer.

If anyone has experience with a similar situation, I would appreciate any advice. I understand that even this one acceptance is a great accomplishment, but I don't want to look back four years from now and feel that I settled (and that I have 200k in loans that could have been avoided).
 
first, why would your friend apply to a school that he didn't want to attend in the first place?

second, I would strongly caution against reapplying after receiving an acceptance. schools will know this (via AMCAS, and especially when they ask you). your friend will have to have a strong, passionate case on why they are reapplying.

reapplying can look like you're not serious (or at least not very passionate) about being a doctor or only shooting for the prestigious schools. be careful.
 
If I were in your shoes I would take the opportunity. Who knows what my acceptances will look like next year.......
 
The only thing worse than a mediocre MD acceptance is being a year later and having no acceptance and the opportunity to apply for a third time.
 
I thought I did want to attend until I showed up for the interview day. I seriously disliked the location and students did not seem happy.

Again, if I get into one of my state schools, I would save a ton in loans. My case to schools would be that I already have a staggering undergraduate debt and really needed a cheaper option.

Thank you for the advice. I had no idea that schools will receive information on the last application cycle. That may be the most valuable insight I receive.
 
cheesyC said:
I thought I did want to attend until I showed up for the interview day. I seriously disliked the location and students did not seem happy.

Again, if I get into one of my state schools, I would save a ton in loans. My case to schools would be that I already have a staggering undergraduate debt and really needed a cheaper option.

Thank you for the advice. I had no idea that schools will receive information on the last application cycle. That may be the most valuable insight I receive.
Click to expand...

Remember that since you'll be starting a year earlier than you would if you reapplied, you'll be allowing yourself to earn an extra year of physician's salary. Assuming this should be 150K+, you should make up the difference in cost just by starting to work a year earlier. I would definitely take the acceptance and not reapply.
 
its very easy for med schools to treat you as a number when they find a blemish that may hint at your lack of passion.

i know of several students who turned down MD acceptances and applied for the next two (yes, two) cycles unsuccessfully (granted, their motivations included getting an acceptance at a more "prestigious" school). turning down an acceptance can have very drastic consequences.

if you really want to pursue this, it can't hurt to try to contact your state school 's dean of admissions to discuss your situation. maybe you could do early decision (and in which case you should discuss your chances for EDP). unless you know right off that a few schools will not frown on turning down a decision and reapplying, i personally would not risk it.
 
what will you do in your gap year?
about the loans: does this mean you will ONLY apply to your state schools? that loan excuse obviously wouldn't fly for any other schools.
 
cheesyC said:
I thought I did want to attend until I showed up for the interview day. I seriously disliked the location and students did not seem happy.
Click to expand...

Should have withdrawn then and there. Well, maybe after getting home.

What was the point of staying on the waitlist if you didn't even want to attend? 😕

I know it's all said and done now, but this is a really tricky situation to be in. You could find yourself with zero acceptances next year...
 
cheesyC said:
I thought I did want to attend until I showed up for the interview day. I seriously disliked the location and students did not seem happy.

Again, if I get into one of my state schools, I would save a ton in loans. My case to schools would be that I already have a staggering undergraduate debt and really needed a cheaper option.

Thank you for the advice. I had no idea that schools will receive information on the last application cycle. That may be the most valuable insight I receive.
Click to expand...

are you talking about yourself or your friend?

whoever you're talking about, that person should heed Poor Richard's advice (you know... birds, bush)
 
Haven't we been over this already? The gap between a top med school and a middle of the pack one exists, but isn't as wide as you would think. Suck it up. And by suck it up, I mean take the acceptance you worked hard for along with tens of thousands of others who WOULD GIVE ANYTHING TO BE IN YOUR SHOES.
 
You know what they call someone who went to a "mediocre" medical school?























Doctor.

Reapplying will look really bad regardless of how much better you think your application has gotten.
 
I'm curious as to which school you are referring to, and why you believe it to be mediocre. If you're willing to label any U.S. allopathic medical school as such, then I am led to believe that you do not know the school well enough. You should definitely spend more time looking into this school and seriously assessing the aspects of this school that - on the surface - do not please you. Reason being, I think you'll find that coping with the "flaws" of this school is a far better choice than reapplying and possibly being accepted at a "better" choice with less potential debt. Of course, since you have not disclosed any school-specific information, it is next to impossible to give you anything more than generalized advice (IE: advice suited to the vast majority of similar cases).

As for your burnout, I think you'll find that a month or two off will be sufficient. Most people I know who have taken a year off (myself included) felt ready to go back to school within a few months of graduating from their undergraduate institutions. Not knowing you personally, however, this observation is the best that I can offer you, and only you can answer the question of whether or not you are prepared to begin medical school. If you feel absolutely ill-prepared, then reapplying for the sake of having time off may very well be a wise decision.
 
Seems like a "mediocre" applicant should be grateful for acceptance at a "mediocre" med school.
 
Medical school is a medical school and a MD is a MD. Take it and don't look back.
 
answers are getting kinda boring so i say re-apply
 
Don't settle for second-best. Take a year off, then re-apply, but only to one school. I say Stanford or WashU, but don't rule out Harvard, Yale, Baylor, or UCSF. But figure out which of those schools is the very best, and then just keep applying until they accept you.
 
There is no such thing as a mediocre MD. Only snobs think that an MD from a top 10 school is tangibly better than one from a lesser known medical college. You end up with the same job and paycheck regardless of the medical school you get your degree from. My vote goes against reapplying.
 
There seems to be an unusual number of threads similar to this one this year. Or I just didn't bother to read them cause I was busy applying.
 
I never understood the notion of a 'mediocre' med school. It's obvious that a school like Harvard/UCSF will have, on average, more distinguised faculty and more money invested...but the 'worst ranked' medical school probably only accepted like 5-10% of the total applicants that applied to just that school? That is still pretty damn competitive.
 
TexasTriathlete said:
Don't settle for second-best. Take a year off, then re-apply, but only to one school. I say Stanford or WashU, but don't rule out Harvard, Yale, Baylor, or UCSF. But figure out which of those schools is the very best, and then just keep applying until they accept you.
Click to expand...

Sounds like a plan; as they say, the squeaky wheel gets the oil, amirite?😉
 
I'm still lost as to why your friend opted to remain on the waitlist if he didn't like the school after the interviews. Obviously, some part of him was hoping to be accepted off such a waitlist.
 
acridknight said:
first, why would your friend apply to a school that he didn't want to attend in the first place?
Click to expand...

This question needs to be put to rest. People apply to a number of schools withough knowing everthing about them. SOMETIMES when you do learn a little more about the school (through your interview day, for example), you realize that its not for you.

This is the appropriate question:

shemarty said:
What was the point of staying on the waitlist if you didn't even want to attend? 😕
...
Click to expand...
 
mvenus929 said:
I'm still lost as to why your friend opted to remain on the waitlist if he didn't like the school after the interviews. Obviously, some part of him was hoping to be accepted off such a waitlist.
Click to expand...
perhaps OP though he could defer admission or something to either apply to a different school or prevent burnout.
 
Unless your mommy or daddy just got a job as head of admissions at your dream school, I agree with the rest of the posters here and say take it and run.

In 10 years it won't even matter where you went to med school.
 
GonnaHappen said:
This question needs to be put to rest. People apply to a number of schools withough knowing everthing about them. SOMETIMES when you do learn a little more about the school (through your interview day, for example), you realize that its not for you.

This is the appropriate question:
Click to expand...

There's no way you learn enough on interview day about a school to really make an educated decision about whether the school is a "good fit" for you or not. The OP said the students seemed unhappy. What does that even mean? Maybe they were coming up on a test and were tired. Maybe it was a dreary day. Maybe the Starbucks was closed. Maybe the OP ran into the 5% of students who are just A-holes. I just think you really can't learn jack unless you can talk to several people from each year as well as recent graduates. Very few people have the opportunity to do that. Unless the OP is unsure about medicine, he/she's a fool for turning down an acceptance.
 
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i think the best resource would be someone who actually has reapplied after being accepted. anyone else can only guess/ give opinions, not facts.

also, i don't think prestige of school is even the reason that the OP is considering re-applying. sometimes location and cost are important factors too.
 
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