withdrawing after acceptance after your MCAT and GPA increase

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UCDavisISokay

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Is this bad? If I were to withdraw from the school(s) that accept me after my MCAT increases to ~35 and my GPA goes up to 3.75.

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If for some reason you don't matriculate anywhere but withdrew an acceptance from a school, I don't believe they'll want to favorably ask you back next year. Don't withdraw any acceptances until you're sure you have a school you want to go to.
 
In a related question...what type of cleaner should I use on my golden toilet? I mean...I don't want to stain it but it's starting to lose its luster.
 
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In a related question...what type of cleaner should I use on my golden toilet? I mean...I don't want to stain it but it's starting to lose its luster.

IRRELEVANT!
 
If for some reason you don't matriculate anywhere but withdrew an acceptance from a school, I don't believe they'll want to favorably ask you back next year. Don't withdraw any acceptances until you're sure you have a school you want to go to.

This is why you only apply to schools that you would actually attend. Also, unless you were early decision, how do you already have an acceptance? Even still, it's generally common knowledge that turning down an acceptance one year and applying the next year is always fruitless because schools will blacklist you.
 
i didnt say i got in. I think I will get in. Anyways, who says you get blacklisted?
can someone verfity this?
 
i didnt say i got in. I think I will get in. Anyways, who says you get blacklisted?
can someone verfity this?
Its basically like this. You're really friendly to Jane Doe in Seat A-21 in bio lecture because she's the girl that gets great grades. You study with her, get an awesome exam score, and then kick her to the curb because you got what you want. Thats basically what you're doing to the school. They're spending the money and using the resources on you to make their school your first choice. You lead them on thinking something is there and then you say screw it, there are better schools out there.

Now, if you have multiple acceptances they will all try to get you to their school (if you can play your cards) but if you withdraw your acceptance, don't get into a school for the rest of the term, and then apply again next year, both Jane Doe and X-school of medicine will tell you to go to hell.
 
This is why you only apply to schools that you would actually attend.

I know, but I'm sure we have agreed before on this, too many people on SDN over apply to schools they will never go to. Yet, they get accepted, turn their noses to the air, tell the school to bugger off, and then that turns out being the only acceptance they ever get.
 
Its basically like this. You're really friendly to Jane Doe in Seat A-21 in bio lecture because she's the girl that gets great grades. You study with her, get an awesome exam score, and then kick her to the curb because you got what you want. Thats basically what you're doing to the school. They're spending the money and using the resources on you to make their school your first choice. You lead them on thinking something is there and then you say screw it, there are better schools out there.

Now, if you have multiple acceptances they will all try to get you to their school (if you can play your cards) but if you withdraw your acceptance, don't get into a school for the rest of the term, and then apply again next year, both Jane Doe and X-school of medicine will tell you to go to hell.

I want to emphasis the "go to hell" part, because it really needs to be said again. And schools ARE aware that you've been admitted someplace. They really will tell you to "go to hell."

Oh, the other thing is that you cannot say "I'm going to get in" until you have a letter in your hand stating that fact. That's how people screw up their applications in the first place.
 
I know, but I'm sure we have agreed before on this, too many people on SDN over apply to schools they will never go to. Yet, they get accepted, turn their noses to the air, tell the school to bugger off, and then that turns out being the only acceptance they ever get.

well, I thought I wouldn't mind about the location, but after my interviewing at some places, I realized that it does matter
 
well, I thought I wouldn't mind about the location, but after my interviewing at some places, I realized that it does matter

If, after interviewing somewhere, you realize that you would rather reapply next year than go there this year (just assume for the moment that it turns out to be your only acceptance), then withdraw NOW before you could possibly receive an acceptance and be in a pickle.
 
If, after interviewing somewhere, you realize that you would rather reapply next year than go there this year (just assume for the moment that it turns out to be your only acceptance), then withdraw NOW before you could possibly receive an acceptance and be in a pickle.
Its the only way out. :smuggrin:
 
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i didnt say i got in. I think I will get in. Anyways, who says you get blacklisted?
can someone verfity this?

1. Don't ever assume an acceptance until you get the letter.

2. If you get an acceptance and reapply, you will be looked down upon by every school you apply to again. This shows a level of arrogance that schools simply will not tolerate. You are going through this cycle to become a doctor, not to go to a school you think is better than another.
 
Say, is it looked down upon to hold onto several acceptanced before May? As I would imagine for most people, the financial package offered by each school will play a huge part in deciding where (if any medical school :) ) I will end up at. Is is okay to hold onto all acceptances until you can compare financial aid?
 
Say, is it looked down upon to hold onto several acceptanced before May? As I would imagine for most people, the financial package offered by each school will play a huge part in deciding where (if any medical school :) ) I will end up at. Is is okay to hold onto all acceptances until you can compare financial aid?

I would think the answer is "yes." And based on browsing SDN during past cycles, many people have done so for just that purpose.
 
Yes, blacklisting is possible. On apps, you have to list if you've been accepted before. I know a girl who was accepted to 1 school in 2004. She declined and reapplied every year since. Not even an interview!
 
Say, is it looked down upon to hold onto several acceptanced before May? As I would imagine for most people, the financial package offered by each school will play a huge part in deciding where (if any medical school :) ) I will end up at. Is is okay to hold onto all acceptances until you can compare financial aid?

You'll have to pay a deposit to hold your spots, but you can hold onto multiple acceptances until as late as June 15th. This is perfectly acceptable and is very common for people with multiple acceptances.
 
I would think the answer is "yes." And based on browsing SDN during past cycles, many people have done so for just that purpose.

So, by "yes", you mean no, it isn't looked down on.
 
You'll have to pay a deposit to hold your spots, but you can hold onto multiple acceptances until as late as June 15th. This is perfectly acceptable and is very common for people with multiple acceptances.

Schools however would prefer you stick to one school at a time whenever possible. That's why they make you pay a deposit, to hurry up and make people pick one school.
 
if i were to get an acceptance ~October 15 and withdraw within two weeks after the notice, i would not be hurting the school that much, so i dont know why i should be severly frowned upon
 
if i were to get an acceptance ~October 15 and withdraw within two weeks after the notice, i would not be hurting the school that much, so i dont know why i should be severly frowned upon

It's not a matter of "hurting the school." It's a matter of showing them that you care more about where you go, and less about actually becoming a doctor. Similarly, if you did happen to interview somewhere you detested, they assume you would have withdrawn before receiving your acceptance. We were only talking about "hurting the school" when someone, say, holds on to MANY acceptances until May. That is not the situation you were asking about.

Seriously though, just decide right now if you "hate" the school enough that you'd rather reapply next year than go there. If so, withdraw. If not, wait and see if you actually get an acceptance, and where else you end up with an acceptance.
 
if i were to get an acceptance ~October 15 and withdraw within two weeks after the notice, i would not be hurting the school that much, so i dont know why i should be severly frowned upon

I think your question is being answered from a different perspective than what you're trying to ask.

Yes, you can accept, AND you can hold onto that acceptance, as well as OTHER acceptances until a specific date. I think that is May the 15th. As of that date, you are allowed to hold only ONE acceptance. No school knows which others you have accepted before then. AFTER that date, it is still possible to be offered spots at other schools. If this happens, yes, you are allowed to take a NEW offer and withdraw your acceptance from the previous school. There is no penalty for that. People holding multiple acceptance drop all but one school, thus leaving openings at the others. So, new offers are made to waitlisted students. Sometimes those new offers come from schools higher on your preference list.

What is polite, earlier in year, before the cutoff date, is to notify other schools that you are withdrawing your acceptance as early as you can after you decided that you would go to one of them over the others. This helps to cut down on the 'musical chairs' time that takes place later in the season.

Also, each offer comes with a time table for acceptance, and requires a deposit to hold the spot. Be sure to read the letter thoroughly and to submit the required paperwork and deposit in a timely manner! Otherwise, it's just like declining an acceptance. If your hopes don't work out, and you don't any others, your arse is toast.

If you do accept a slot, then decide to rescind your acceptance w/o actually attending another med school that year, yes, the others are right, you are toast. There never will be an offer from a "better" school, no matter how much your MCAT score and GPA increase.
 
there's probably a thread out there for this, but if you are hold multiple acceptances, say at a high tier school and a mid tier school, how exact do you go about leveraging the mid-tier for fin aid? do you just tell them whats going on?
 
Davis--you may be a very qualified applicant, and your MCAT and GPA might increase by the end of the year. If they do, maybe that'll turn a waitlist spot into an interview.

First question: If you're already a competitive applicant (you're getting early interviews) why are you retaking the MCAT?

With that said, everyone's spot on--if you turn down an acceptance and reapply another year, you're blacklisted. I don't know if allopathic schools communicate with osteopathic ones, or Carribbean ones, or European ones...but it's the worst thing you can do for your future as a physician. So far the advice I've read here has been very wise: if you are positive you would rather risk not going to med school at all than go to the school you just interviewed at, withdraw now! You can cite something like, "I just didn't feel it was a good fit for my goals/personality/preferred environment." Just do it before the possible acceptance.

There was a girl in my master's program who did just that--she got into an allopathic med school, didn't want to go there, turned them down, and enrolled in our master's program. On top of that, she withdrew from the Master's program in March (bad idea). This girl, who was on her way to being a doctor in 2010, will never ever ever practice as an MD.

Lastly, always wise to play the cards in your hand, not the ones in the stack. You may get accepted at this school, you may not--you'd be extremely blessed to have an acceptance anywhere--lots of people won't get in this cycle, or ever. Also, figure you're applying with your current MCAT, until your new scores come in--you never know. And work with the GPA you've got. By being realistic, you're setting yourself up for success; by crediting yourself with goals instead of accomplishments, you're setting yourself up for disappointment.

Best of luck to you, and I hope you end up in a place you truly decide to be. But if not, it's only four years, you can usually do away rotations, especially 4th year, and then there's always residency. Our first day the Assistant Dean of students told us it's all about "delayed gratification." So far he's been right.
 
"i didnt say i got in. I think I will get in."

I seem to remember a saying about enumerating unborn poultry...
 
From my reading-between-the-lines skillz (or lack thereof, perhaps) I think what you're saying is essentially "I'm getting interviews at lower-tier schools, and I go there to interview, and afterwards I think I'm smarter than that."

MD=MD. If you work hard at any medical school in the country you'll be able to get a good residency in almost anything. Wayne State for example matches mad people in derm and neurosurgery. Reapplying will not help you. If you're lucky enough to be one of the 50% in this cycle who gets an acceptance, don't screw it up. :thumbup:
 
From my reading-between-the-lines skillz (or lack thereof, perhaps) I think what you're saying is essentially "I'm getting interviews at lower-tier schools, and I go there to interview, and afterwards I think I'm smarter than that."

MD=MD. If you work hard at any medical school in the country you'll be able to get a good residency in almost anything. Wayne State for example matches mad people in derm and neurosurgery. Reapplying will not help you. If you're lucky enough to be one of the 50% in this cycle who gets an acceptance, don't screw it up. :thumbup:
Ok Mr. Penn ;). I wish I was in your shoes. However, you are right. A school is a school for the most part. Good luck!
 
if i were to get an acceptance ~October 15 and withdraw within two weeks after the notice, i would not be hurting the school that much, so i dont know why i should be severly frowned upon

This is a major risk. If you turn down the acceptance, and wind up not getting into another school, then you're in trouble. If you really don't want to go to this school, wait until you get into another school that you would want to go to. Then withdraw. The only thing you have to lose by waiting to withdraw from this school is your deposit. People do this all the time.
 
there's probably a thread out there for this, but if you are hold multiple acceptances, say at a high tier school and a mid tier school, how exact do you go about leveraging the mid-tier for fin aid? do you just tell them whats going on?

I've seen people post about this and say they informed both schools what was going on. Some of them said it worked to their advantage, as both schools offered more fin aid after. Not a bad idea. Schools understand it's an issue.
 
Its very simple as other people say. Would you actually go there if you have no other choices? If yes, hold on to school until you receive others that you like more. If not, withdraw before they accept you
 
Its basically like this. You're really friendly to Jane Doe in Seat A-21 in bio lecture because she's the girl that gets great grades. You study with her, get an awesome exam score, and then kick her to the curb because you got what you want. Thats basically what you're doing to the school. They're spending the money and using the resources on you to make their school your first choice. You lead them on thinking something is there and then you say screw it, there are better schools out there.

Now, if you have multiple acceptances they will all try to get you to their school (if you can play your cards) but if you withdraw your acceptance, don't get into a school for the rest of the term, and then apply again next year, both Jane Doe and X-school of medicine will tell you to go to hell.

I disagree. I have a job interview this week. The company is paying for my plane tickets, hotel room, food, etc.

At medical school interviews, I pay for my flight, hotel, and even for them to consider my application; I get a folder, and maybe a t-shirt... They are not wasting great resources on potential applicants who decide to go elsewhere.
 
I disagree. I have a job interview this week. The company is paying for my plane tickets, hotel room, food, etc.

At medical school interviews, I pay for my flight, hotel, and even for them to consider my application; I get a folder, and maybe a t-shirt... They are not wasting great resources on potential applicants who decide to go elsewhere.

But they do only have a limited number of interview slots and acceptances to give out. If the OP has no intention of going to a school in the first place, why accept an interview there? Of course, if he doesn't realize how he feels until after the interview, that's understandable. As for post-interview costs, they're not financial so much as the fact that he'd be holding onto an acceptance that he has absolutely no intention of keeping. To some extent, they can't extend another invitation to interview or another acceptance until people like him release their acceptance, and in the meantime, students that they would have liked to have interviewed or accepted may decide to withdraw due to costs or simply timing. Just my guess.
 
I disagree. I have a job interview this week. The company is paying for my plane tickets, hotel room, food, etc.

At medical school interviews, I pay for my flight, hotel, and even for them to consider my application; I get a folder, and maybe a t-shirt... They are not wasting great resources on potential applicants who decide to go elsewhere.

The problems is not so much that the medical schools have to spend money on applicants who have no intention of attending. Rather, it's very unfair to other applicant(s) who may otherwise have received an interview and/or an acceptance if not for this applicant. If you wouldn't attend a school even if it's your only acceptance, then don't apply period.
 
The problems is not so much that the medical schools have to spend money on applicants who have no intention of attending. Rather, it's very unfair to other applicant(s) who may otherwise have received an interview and/or an acceptance if not for this applicant. If you wouldn't attend a school even if it's your only acceptance, then don't apply period.

There are other factors but I generally agree with the advice given. Let's look at the following scenario. Student A gets 3 early interviews, loves 2 schools, hates 1. On October 15, he receives an acceptance from the school he dislikes and waitlists from the other two. He then receives 10 more interviews, loves all of the schools, and decides to withdraw from School A (his acceptance) in Nov/Dec. Ultimately he fails to be accepted at the other 12 schools he is waitlisted at. Are we saying he'd be blacklisted from all med schools b/c he declined to go to the one school he was accepted it after disliking it since he didn't withdraw immediately after interview? Clearly this isn't the OP's situation but just wondering what people thought.
 
There are other factors but I generally agree with the advice given. Let's look at the following scenario. Student A gets 3 early interviews, loves 2 schools, hates 1. On October 15, he receives an acceptance from the school he dislikes and waitlists from the other two. He then receives 10 more interviews, loves all of the schools, and decides to withdraw from School A (his acceptance) in Nov/Dec. Ultimately he fails to be accepted at the other 12 schools he is waitlisted at. Are we saying he'd be blacklisted from all med schools b/c he declined to go to the one school he was accepted it after disliking it since he didn't withdraw immediately after interview? Clearly this isn't the OP's situation but just wondering what people thought.

i really dont think one should reject an acceptance offer unless one has ANOTHER acceptance offer already in hand. wait lists are unpredictable, and if you truly want to be a doctor then you'll go to the one school that you didn't particularly like but that accepted you and is willing to educate you to become a physician.
 
i really dont think one should reject an acceptance offer unless one has ANOTHER acceptance offer already in hand. wait lists are unpredictable, and if you truly want to be a doctor then you'll go to the one school that you didn't particularly like but that accepted you and is willing to educate you to become a physician.

That's the general rule, but if you interviewed somewhere and hated it, I don't think its unreasonable to withdraw. Clearly it would be better to do so prior to being accepted, but sometimes its difficult to evaluate something in a vacuum without experiencing other schools and if you found it lacking compared to others you interviewed at, that could happen after you were accepted.

My main point was that medical school is as much about fit from the applicant's perspective as it is from the school's perspective, and if you don't feel you'll like it somewhere, I don't think it would be inappropriate to withdraw. However, if you're doing so because you feel the school isn't good enough for you, that isn't a good reason. Of course, it is difficult for objective observers to understand your motivations which is where the problem lies.

In a perfect world, you won't have applied somewhere you wouldn't feel comfortable going to, but then again, a lot of the time you don't find out how you really feel about a school until after you've interviewed and even then, you're pretty much only seeing what they want you to see.
 
There are other factors but I generally agree with the advice given. Let's look at the following scenario. Student A gets 3 early interviews, loves 2 schools, hates 1. On October 15, he receives an acceptance from the school he dislikes and waitlists from the other two. He then receives 10 more interviews, loves all of the schools, and decides to withdraw from School A (his acceptance) in Nov/Dec. Ultimately he fails to be accepted at the other 12 schools he is waitlisted at. Are we saying he'd be blacklisted from all med schools b/c he declined to go to the one school he was accepted it after disliking it since he didn't withdraw immediately after interview? Clearly this isn't the OP's situation but just wondering what people thought.

This is why we are warning you that if you do not like a particular school, you should withdraw before they give you an acceptance. Yes, it's a really horrible situation, but that's how the system works unfortunately. It's impossible for people to distinguish between sincerely not wanting to go to a school and wanting to "trade up" to something better.
 
This is why we are warning you that if you do not like a particular school, you should withdraw before they give you an acceptance. Yes, it's a really horrible situation, but that's how the system works unfortunately. It's impossible for people to distinguish between sincerely not wanting to go to a school and wanting to "trade up" to something better.

When people say acceptance in this context are they referring to you putting down a deposit or them giving you an offer? People mentioned some schools have the adcom meet immediately after interviews, so if it's after Oct 15, you could conceivably have an acceptance before you even return home from an interview.
 
When people say acceptance in this context are they referring to you putting down a deposit or them giving you an offer? People mentioned some schools have the adcom meet immediately after interviews, so if it's after Oct 15, you could conceivably have an acceptance before you even return home from an interview.

Acceptance = offer.
 
When people say acceptance in this context are they referring to you putting down a deposit or them giving you an offer? People mentioned some schools have the adcom meet immediately after interviews, so if it's after Oct 15, you could conceivably have an acceptance before you even return home from an interview.

Well if you dislike a school strongly enough that you would withdraw even if they were to give you an acceptance, then one would think that it wouldn't take long to decide after your interview to withdraw. You can't be mulling over this for a few months and THEN decide. It sadly doesn't work that way.
 
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