US MD acceptane vs Master's Program

[test1234567890]

Hi all, weird situation but I would appreciate any advice. I was accepted very last minute to a US MD school, but the MD school has been very bad at communicating and there are several other issues so I am seriously considering doing a master's instead and reapplying

US MD Pros

• US MD, accredited 4-year program
• Decent research

US MD Cons

• Very bad at communicating, pre-matriculation
• High rate of people who did not match this year, very troubling (15%)
• It is in a city that I don't want to live
• Graded all 4 years
• very low primary care ranking, even when a good percentage of their graduates matched into primary care (this tells me it scored very low on the other metrics used, which are things like perception by residency directors/other admins)
• Interviewed very, very late, and virtual due to COVID which tells me something went wrong in the admin office, because no interview should be the time that second look should have been. This is a red flag to me

Master's Program Pros

• Difficult but rewarding program in a field I am interested in. Will allow me to help out my GPA (which was my biggest issue applying this cycle, I have high MCAT/low GPA).
• Located in City where I want to be and with an already established support network
• The school has been supportive and communicative pre-matriculation.
• Can apply in state after this program (which financially makes the 2 options similar)
• Many opportunities to publish, which will help both re-application and when applying for residency

Master's Program Cons

• Delaying med school
• May have to retake MCAT
• Reapplying will be awful
• No absolute guarantee I'll be admitted second time applying

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[chaim123]

Hi all, weird situation but I would appreciate any advice. I was accepted very last minute to a US MD school, but the MD school has been very bad at communicating and there are several other issues so I am seriously considering doing a master's instead and reapplying

US MD Pros

• US MD, accredited 4-year program
• Decent research

US MD Cons

• Very bad at communicating, pre-matriculation
• High rate of people who did not match this year, very troubling (15%)
• It is in a city that I don't want to live
• Graded all 4 years
• very low primary care ranking, even when a good percentage of their graduates matched into primary care (this tells me it scored very low on the other metrics used, which are things like perception by residency directors/other admins)
• Interviewed very, very late, and virtual due to COVID which tells me something went wrong in the admin office, because no interview should be the time that second look should have been. This is a red flag to me

Master's Program Pros

• Difficult but rewarding program in a field I am interested in. Will allow me to help out my GPA (which was my biggest issue applying this cycle, I have high MCAT/low GPA).
• Located in City where I want to be and with an already established support network
• The school has been supportive and communicative pre-matriculation.
• Can apply in state after this program (which financially makes the 2 options similar)
• Many opportunities to publish, which will help both re-application and when applying for residency

Master's Program Cons

• Delaying med school
• May have to retake MCAT
• Reapplying will be awful
• No absolute guarantee I'll be admitted second time applying

It sounds like I know what you want to do. You want to do the master's program. What I don't understand is why. You're dream is to be a doctor, you went through an entire cycle without luck, and you finally clutched the acceptance you've been waiting for. It may not be the perfect school for you, but I don't think you should give up an acceptance on the off hand things may be better next time around.

I will say, a school with an 85% match rate is troubling. Have you spoken to current students?

 

[test1234567890]

It sounds like I know what you want to do. You want to do the master's program. What I don't understand is why. You're dream is to be a doctor, you went through an entire cycle without luck, and you finally clutched the acceptance you've been waiting for. It may not be the perfect school for you, but I don't think you should give up an acceptance on the off hand things may be better next time around.

I will say, a school with an 85% match rate is troubling. Have you spoken to current students?

Yes, that's one of the issues I'm having, I've tried reaching out to the admissions contact, to see if they could put me in touch with a current student or someone who I could inquire more about the program (especially since I didn't have the full interview day where I would get more of a curriculum overview, etc) and they've been unresponsive, just sending me a link to their public website.

 

[Damson]

Oh no no no no. You have an acceptance. TAKE IT.

You've already perfectly outlined the reasons to why you should run with the MD.

• Delaying med school
• May have to retake MCAT
• Reapplying will be awful
• No absolute guarantee I'll be admitted second time applying

Take the A despite the cons you mentioned. If accepted and you turn down the A, your action will be visible and viewed as a red flag next cycle, if @Goro can confirm. Congrats, go celebrate your US MD A and kill those four years!

 

[The wise one]

What's the master's program match rate? 0%??? Take the acceptance. How are you losing sleep over this?

Hi all, weird situation but I would appreciate any advice. I was accepted very last minute to a US MD school, but the MD school has been very bad at communicating and there are several other issues so I am seriously considering doing a master's instead and reapplying

US MD Pros

• US MD, accredited 4-year program
• Decent research

US MD Cons

• Very bad at communicating, pre-matriculation
• High rate of people who did not match this year, very troubling (15%)
• It is in a city that I don't want to live
• Graded all 4 years
• very low primary care ranking, even when a good percentage of their graduates matched into primary care (this tells me it scored very low on the other metrics used, which are things like perception by residency directors/other admins)
• Interviewed very, very late, and virtual due to COVID which tells me something went wrong in the admin office, because no interview should be the time that second look should have been. This is a red flag to me

Master's Program Pros

• Difficult but rewarding program in a field I am interested in. Will allow me to help out my GPA (which was my biggest issue applying this cycle, I have high MCAT/low GPA).
• Located in City where I want to be and with an already established support network
• The school has been supportive and communicative pre-matriculation.
• Can apply in state after this program (which financially makes the 2 options similar)
• Many opportunities to publish, which will help both re-application and when applying for residency

Master's Program Cons

• Delaying med school
• May have to retake MCAT
• Reapplying will be awful
• No absolute guarantee I'll be admitted second time applying

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Turning down a US MD acceptance is possibly the worst decision a pre-med can make.

 

[sealfriendo]

Us md = good

 

[drgoldenboy]

You did it. You got into a US MD medical school. What 60k applicants per year are striving to get. And you're gonna decline it??

Don't be foolish.

 

[Goro]

Oh no no no no. You have an acceptance. TAKE IT.

You've already perfectly outlined the reasons to why you should run with the MD.



Take the A despite the cons you mentioned. If accepted and you turn down the A, your action will be visible and viewed as a red flag next cycle, if @Goro can confirm. Congrats, go celebrate your US MD A and kill those four years!

Many med school apps ask if you have been previously accepted.

I find the OP's reasons for turning down the accept to be superficial

Turning down CNU is the only MD school I can recommend doing so.

 

[Goro]

Why CNU? Their Match List was decent, had a derm and 2 ortho matches. Lots of folks ended up with residencies at the UCs too. 98.9% match rate.

subMenus

California Northstate University College of Medicine

medicine.cnsu.edu

Why NOT to apply to CNU (from the wise gyngyn and Med Ed)

1. Their method of selecting the inaugural class was slapdash. They didn't use AMCAS, just faxes and PayPal. This disregard for modern systematic processing makes one wonder if their profit motive was more important than thoughtful consideration.

2. This class ended up with twice as many men as women. The second Class still has more men than women. If their mission precludes thoughtful evaluation of candidates, one wonders what other important elements of education are being missed.

3. A review of faculty credentials STILL reveals a significant lack of scholarship.

4. In a state that is at least 30% Mexican American, they only had a single representative from this group. In the 2nd Class this number has risen to 7, which still is < 10%, and for the entering Class of 2018, it's 5 (which is 5.2%).

5. They had the chance to enable their students to be able to get federal loans. They refused, and still do so. This says that their profits are more important than their students. There are hoops that every other US medical school (MD or DO) has chosen to comply with in order to allow their students repayment options. They permit them the option to choose federal loans and perhaps more important, payback mechanisms. The fact that this school stands alone in denying their students this option speaks far louder than I can in denouncing this behavior.This puts CNU in the same category as the very worst of the Caribbean schools. The fact that they have chosen this course makes them even worse.

Compare this to another new school (UNLV) that covered the bridge to federal loans by offering free tuition.

6. Because of these and other points too numerous to mention, the PD's I know are reluctant to consider these graduates in the same light as other applicants at the moment. (NOTE: for whatever it's worth, a recent PD's survey ranking the reputation of US medical schools placed CNU literally dead last among all the MD schools.)

7. The LCME did not really "allow" CNU to have a class starting 2015. The LCME granted preliminary accreditation in June (not unusual), and then CNU took the unprecedented step of seating a class less than three months later. Literally ever other new medical school accredited in the modern era has gone through at least a partial AMCAS cycle. This is why the LCME is apparently pissed off at CNU, and why [students] might end up paying a price later. The only reason for CNU to have done this was to get money flowing in the door ASAP. Again, every other new medical school has used the gap between preliminary accreditation and white coat to shore up the faculty and curriculum.

8. Just compare their mission statement to any other medical school. It’s telling.

9. Their first match list was inferior to a number of DO schools, especially in the inability of graduates to get into competitive specialties. If anything, their successes were in spite of their school, not because of it.

10. Ask them how well prepared their Student Affairs dean was to help their unmatched students in the SOAP. (hint: this was a disaster)