Firstly, thank you for providing consult to a random stranger over the internet - I sincerely appreciate your generosity.
I am a Washington State resident, and this cycle I applied broadly to medical schools, including UW, my dream school. Unfortunately, I was rejected from UW, but ended this cycle with acceptances to UCF and FAU. I know I should be thankful for an acceptance into an MD program, but the fact that I got rejected from UW broke my heart and shattered my hopes of being around my cherished family and friends while I attend medical school. There are several reasons why I personally feel that committing to Florida for an MD is not ideal: the OOS costs for attending a Florida school is through the roof even with financial aid, I strongly prefer the UW MD program over that of UCF/FAU, I feel that being literally across the country for four years away from my family would be detrimental to my studies, and I truly believe that I can be a strong fit for UW's MD program.
I feel that the reason I wasn't able to get admitted to UW was how I performed on interview day' I was not as confident and articulate as I hoped I would have been and I did not sell my myself as a strong applicant to the interviewers. Currently, I am debating whether I should take a second gap year and reapply to UW this upcoming cycle or bite the bullet and commit to UCF or FAU for the next four years. I understand it makes me look bad if I turn down an acceptance to reapply to medical school, as this demonstrates that you may not be fully committed to a career in medicine. However, UW is my dream school and I feel like I'm just settling if I decide to commit to a Florida school.
I apologize if I may sound ungrateful in any way - I am thankful to have completed this cycle with an acceptance despite how difficult this past year has been. But, I just feel so lost right now. I don't know what the best decision is for me right now. I'm just scared to commit to Florida and move across the country for the next four years, but reapplying and getting into UW is also a longshot and never guaranteed. I truly appreciate any help and advice you can offer me, and please let me know if I can provide any other information about my application/ gap year experiences.
Thank you in advance!
