Couple of questions

Nontraditional Premed Discussion
1

So I’ve been placed on the waitlist as UAMS. While good, it has me reevaluating my plans and that’s brought up a few questions.

  1. At this point, if I get pulled from the waitlist, I may see about deferring. If I’ve taken a deferred acceptance, could I still apply to other schools in the upcoming cycle?

  2. Assuming I reapply, does the address I give in AMCAS determine my in/out of state status, or would the information I put in my secondary apps determine that?



2

Here’s my understanding of the process, based on what I have heard/read. Although if this is wrong, someone feel free to correct me! It’s also possible this is school specific. So it’s important to get the information directly from your intended school.


Here goes:

  1. If you take a deferred acceptance, you are NOT allowed to apply to other schools in the upcoming cycle. (This is according to one school Web site I read.) Note that some schools also have a deadline for submitting a deferral request, which MAY mean that if you get pulled off the wait list after that date, you can’t defer at all. I don’t know the answer to that for sure.

  2. Your in/out of state status, from the schools I have looked at, seems to depend on your residence for a certain amount of time (in my case, a full year). For example, if you lived in X state for 1+ years, and that is on your AMCAS application, then moved to Y state and put that on your secondary, your residence - according to MY state school at least - would be at X, not Y. At some schools, they will let you change your status (in/out of state) after your first year. Others, your status is determined at the time of acceptance (that’s how Colorado is). It all depends on the school.


    One more thing: from what I have heard, a school is not required to give you a deferral. You have to justify your request, and then they decide whether your justification is, well, justified. I know you didn’t ask that, but I thought I would point it out.
3

The schools I’m looking at review deferral requests on a case by case basis. I talked with one student who said it was as easy as sending an email to admissions, but that’ll probably be on a school-by-school basis.


The way I understand it, you’ll act like you’re matriculating this year and pay the deposit now to hold your seat. Next cycle, you’ll apply via AMCAS/AACOMAS but using the deferred “box” to flag your application as special (i think it’s a check box). You’ll only apply to the school you have a deferral to. To apply to others, you have to give up your acceptance and compete again at-large. You shouldn’t have to go through all of the essays or interview, and may or may not have to pay supplemental fees. In a perfect world, you’d just pay the standard application via to the major app system.


One school I’m applying to says they don’t consider deferrals from people who are accepted off of the wait list. I’m sure this is school specific though, as other schools don’t have that stipulation (listed on their website anyway). Good luck and keep me posted. I’m trying to do the same thing for a different reason.