What's the point of the October 15th rule?

[moxche]

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A lot of schools know if they're going to admit certain applicants before October 15th, so what's the rationale behind making the schools wait?

I can understand having the March 15th deadline (so that they don't keep applicants waiting forever), but can't think of a good reason for the one in October.

 

[FlowRate]

making premeds sweat

 

[LizzyM]

Otherwise, I think that the first offers would be earlier and earlier. Some applicants will stop interviewing after they have an offer so the 15 Oct starting gun at least gives schools a month to interivew "the cream of the crop" before that elite group becomes more discriminating and starts cancelling further interviews.

 

[mvenus929]

I was under the impression that it was put in place so that those students who didn't get in via EDP had some chance to put in their applications before other admissions decisions went out. The deadline for AMCAS submission each year is sometime around then too, isn't it?

 

[moxche]

Otherwise, I think that the first offers would be earlier and earlier. Some applicants will stop interviewing after they have an offer so the 15 Oct starting gun at least gives schools a month to interivew "the cream of the crop" before that elite group becomes more discriminating and starts cancelling further interviews.

Doesn't the current system just waste those applicants' money and the school's resources? I have a feeling that currently they probably still withdraw from those schools or just not consider them when choosing a school.

Or is the idea that the "less-competitive" schools will woo the "cream of the crop" during the early interviews?

I was under the impression that it was put in place so that those students who didn't get in via EDP had some chance to put in their applications before other admissions decisions went out. The deadline for AMCAS submission each year is sometime around then too, isn't it?

But if the admission decisions to some of the non-EDP kids have already been made, how does it benefit the EDP kids? Maybe it would be more helpful if the rule was to have the schools just not make any decisions until after the EDP applicants have a chance to apply to other schools?

 

[KickedOut]

But if the admission decisions to some of the non-EDP kids have already been made, how does it benefit the EDP kids? Maybe it would be more helpful if the rule was to have the schools just not make any decisions until after the EDP applicants have a chance to apply to other schools?

If I'm reading your last sentence correctly, you believe that schools should not make any decisions until EDP applicants have a chance to apply to other schools.

That's basically how it's set up now. All EDP decisions must be made by 1 Oct. No regular decisions can be sent out prior to 15 Oct.

Additionally, the final day to submit your AMCAS application is 15 Oct. So, nobody can receive an acceptance until all the applications are in.

 

[mvenus929]

But if the admission decisions to some of the non-EDP kids have already been made, how does it benefit the EDP kids? Maybe it would be more helpful if the rule was to have the schools just not make any decisions until after the EDP applicants have a chance to apply to other schools?

Exactly... EDP decisions have to be in by Oct 1, so the applicants who didn't get in EDP have some shot of applying in the regular cycle if the normal applicants can't get any admissions decisions until Oct 15th.

AAMC can't exactly tell schools 'sorry, you can't make any admissions decisions, official or otherwise until Oct 15th', because that's impossible to legislate--schools would have a fit if they couldn't interview until after Oct 15th--but they can say 'sorry, you can't make any official admissions decisions until Oct 15th'. It's by no means a perfect system, but it's the best they have right now.