This week’s topic on the OldPreMeds Podcast is applying early decision to medical school—whether it’s a wise decision and how to weigh out the pros and cons.
As usual on the OldPreMeds Podcast, our question is taken from the Nontrad Premed Forum.
Our poster this week is deciding if they should apply for early decision at the medical school in the city they live in. They are also asking about applying for the HPSP scholarship: What are the pros and cons?
Early decision is a program by some medical schools typically designed for students who:
When you apply early decision for medical school, it means you’ve committed on the AMCAS application to only apply to that school until a decision is made.
When you apply early decision for medical school, it means you've committed on the AMCAS application to only apply to that school until a decision is made.Click To TweetThe major downside of applying early decision is that the decision often doesn’t come out until October. This can result in a situation where you don’t get accepted to that school, and now you have set yourself back for all the other medical schools.
Now it's October, and you've set yourself back on applying to all the other medical schools.Click To TweetIf you then applied to other schools in October, you’re already late in the cycle. We’ve covered in other podcast episodes why that’s not a good idea.
You should not even consider early decision unless you’re an extremely strong applicant, you have a strong geographic connection to the area, and you are a good fit for that school.
How can you tell if you’re a good fit for that school? It’s based on the school’s mission and the specific angle they have. If they have an emphasis on rural primary care, for instance, that is a pretty specific focus, and if you align on that, that would make you a good fit. But still, it’s risky to apply early decision and set yourself back with all the other medical schools.
Generally speaking, the cons outweigh the pros, and we can’t recommend applying Early Decision to medical school.
Generally speaking, the cons of applying early decision to medical school outweigh the pros.Click To Tweet
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit
I just received my admission to XXXXX! This is unreal and almost feels like I am dreaming. I want to thank you for all of your help with my application. I cannot overstate how influential your guidance and insight have been with this result and I am eternally grateful for your support!
IM SO HAPPY!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR HELP, IM INDEBTED TO YOU! Truly, thank you so much for all your help. Thank you doesnt do enough.
I want to take a few moments and thank you for all of your very instructive, kind and consistent feedback and support through my applications and it is your wishes, feedback, and most importantly your blessings that have landed me the acceptance!
I got into XXXXX this morning!!!! It still has not hit me that I will be a doctor now!! Thank you for all your help, your words and motivation have brought me to this point.
I wanted to once again express my heartfelt gratitude for your help in providing feedback during my secondary applications. Your guidance has been instrumental in my journey.
Just wanted to share my wonderful news! I received my first medical school acceptance! Thank you for all that you do for us Application Academy!!!
I am excited to tell you that I just got my third interview invite from XXXXX today! I can’t believe it. I didn’t even know if I was good enough to get one, let alone three – by mid-September. Thank you so much for all of your help and support up to this point; I would not be in this position without it!!
I wanted to thank you for helping me prepare for my XXXXX interview. Even in a 30-minute advising session, I learned so much from you. Thank you for believing in me, and here’s to another potential success story from one of your advisees!
I just received an acceptance with XXXXX! This is so exciting and such a huge relief and so nice to have one of our top choice schools! I also received an interview with XXXXX which brings the total up to 20 interviews! Thank so much, none of this would have been possible without you!
