Suppose...

[kronickm]

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Here is a little scenario.

You are in a post-bac with a linkage track to a good med school. Through this linkage you can be accepted before you take your MCATs and can skip the glide year. Thus when you finish this program in Nov '07 you can still matriculate Fall '08. Now assume that you are a bit on the old side, not that old, but not your typical pre-med, let's say about 26. Also assume that you do stand a fairly decent chance at getting in through the normal application process, let's say around a 3.4 cum, lots of clinical experience and EC's, some research and maybe a balanced 30 on your MCAT.

Now, suppose that you would be happy to go to this linked school, but there are other places you would want to go to more. My question is this; would you turn down a linkage acceptance to a good med school, a year before you can apply anywhere else, just to take a shot (and maybe fail) at getting in to a school you may want to go to more.

Not my exact scenario, just curious how others feel about this.

 

[postbacker]

Here is a little scenario.

You are in a post-bac with a linkage track to a good med school. Through this linkage you can be accepted before you take your MCATs and can skip the glide year. Thus when you finish this program in Nov '07 you can still matriculate Fall '08. Now assume that you are a bit on the old side, not that old, but not your typical pre-med, let's say about 26. Also assume that you do stand a fairly decent chance at getting in through the normal application process, let's say around a 3.4 cum, lots of clinical experience and EC's, some research and maybe a balanced 30 on your MCAT.

Now, suppose that you would be happy to go to this linked school, but there are other places you would want to go to more. My question is this; would you turn down a linkage acceptance to a good med school, a year before you can apply anywhere else, just to take a shot (and maybe fail) at getting in to a school you may want to go to more.

Not my exact scenario, just curious how others feel about this.

You are obligated to take the linkage deal if you apply for it and are accepted. It is a contractual kind of a deal...I suppose you can turn down a linkage acceptance, but it would not be kosher to do it the way you are proposing...

 

[Law2Doc]

Now, suppose that you would be happy to go to this linked school, but there are other places you would want to go to more. My question is this; would you turn down a linkage acceptance to a good med school, a year before you can apply anywhere else, just to take a shot (and maybe fail) at getting in to a school you may want to go to more.

One year is meaningless if we are talking about a 40 year career, so the one year should not factor into your decision. If you were 40, that would perhaps be different. Obviously if the prior poster is correct and you are contractually obligated to do the linkage then do so (I don't know that this is true at all places with linkage though).

But I have problems with the "assume I get a balanced 30" part of your post. In my experience, many people who post on SDN and ask readers to assume this don't hit the mark. The truth of the matter is that most people who take the MCAT do not get a balanced 30, and so until you have taken it, you have a zero. I also would note that a 3.4 is currently below average for matriculants at many med schools, so I wouldn't necessarilly bank on doing better than the linkage based on your current numerical credentials.
Good luck.

 

[notdeadyet]

Thus when you finish this program in Nov '07 you can still matriculate Fall '08.

If you're looking to finish in November and not start until the following Fall, you haven't really eliminated any glide year.

 

[lilnoelle]

If I was in your situation, I would definitely take the linked program. The uncertainty of the application cycle stinks. In the senario you have, you already know that you've gotten into med school. The education you recieve at that school shouldn't be much different than what you recieve at any other school, so unless there is some huge reason not to attend the school (>$40K tuition), then I would stick with what you have.

 

[GeorgeFoster]

I myself would take the linked program unless I found the educational environment at that med school to be absolutely antithetic to my psychological health.

This will be the next four years of your life so don't enter the decision lightly. That being said, I already feel like I've wasted a year by not being well informed on the medical school admission process, wasted some time by taking a little longer to come to the decision to pursue medicine and am anxious to commit to my future career since I found my last career so lacking; thus I'm predisposed to being impatient.

Also, a 3.4 cum and a "I bet I could hit a 30" isn't that great, nothing I would bet on, but I'm a conservative gambler. A 3.6 when you factor in the post-bac and a "I've been getting low to mid 30's on my practice MCATS" would change the situation a little, I'd bet, but still, many a good students might only get one acceptance out of 12, and it might not be an acceptance to a better school than the school your program is linked to.