Waitlisted but was planning a vacation in August, advice?

[teeezyyy]

Hey guys, I'd really appreciate your advice here. I've been planning a 10-12 day trip to Thailand and Cambodia for the end of July/beginning of August for such a long time now and today I found out I got waitlisted for Calgary (yay). Even though it can go either way at this point, people are accepted until July 3rd or whatever and I need to book my flight this week. I looked at the timetable for Year 1 for 2022 and I'd mostly just be missing lectures which are podcasted online so I'd be able to catch up... I also don't want to miss out on the opportunity to travel in case I don't end up getting accepted. Any advice? Should I just book my trip... Thanks in advance!! 

[t2n1n4]

The PDF schedule doesn't show miscellaneous mandatory activities sprinkled throughout - you only get a couple of excused absences per year, would be risky to use them to skip 2 week's worth of mandatory so early in the year 

[ChemPetE]

Depends on if you can or are willing to eat the money if you book and have to cancel. Assume if you get in, you are not going on your trip.

[chiynadoll]

I made this decision in September, gambled and booked flights to Japan right smack in the middle of interview season. Paid an extra 1k to change my flights by a day but still worth imo, as I would not have had the opportunity to go again in many years if I missed out on this one.  

If you find a good deal on flights, just book it. If you get in, in the long run, a 1-2k loss isn't the end of the world. You'll have financial assistance if money will be tight in the fall. You can also consider refundable tickets, where you'd only lose out on 2-500 instead of the whole ticket price, although that would mean spending more money outright if you didn't get in. But *knock on wood* if you would prefer to get in over not, or have no other school's invite *knock on wood*, missing out on the trip would be also very sad.

[Meridian]

Guess it depends if you have lots of money and are willing to forfeit it.   Don't plan to intentionally miss Med School if you are accepted.

[teeezyyy]

Thank you all for your replies!! I appreciate it

[birdy21]

Just to echo what a few others have said, if you do go ahead and book it be prepared to eat the cost if you end up getting in off the wait list. Missing 10-12 days during the first month or so is honestly not feasible IMO. Also a note on lectures, not all lectures are podcasted (notably, the prof for population health in july/aug actually does not always podcast for privacy reasons), and about 3x a week there are mandatory small groups to attend.

[teeezyyy]

55 minutes ago, psychsohard said:

Just to echo what a few others have said, if you do go ahead and book it be prepared to eat the cost if you end up getting in off the wait list. Missing 10-12 days during the first month or so is honestly not feasible IMO. Also a note on lectures, not all lectures are podcasted (notably, the prof for population health in july/aug actually does not always podcast for privacy reasons), and about 3x a week there are mandatory small groups to attend.

I just want to clarify that 10-12 days would mean I miss 5 school days. I don’t know if that makes it any better ... on a similar note though, as I am currently doing an MSc, i have a conference in October where I’d probably be missing 4-5 school days again. The conference is pretty international and a big deal in my field so is that also not feasible? Thanks for you input!

[Meridian]

You need to attend Med School. You cannot intentionally miss that much  You should also not try to overlap an MSc during your first year.   

[plzacceptme]

Idk where everyone is getting this information that you can't miss that much med school? Why? You have 3 flex days and can miss 10% of Small Groups no questions asked on top of that. In any case, most lectures are podcasted, and you'll just need to put in some extra effort to catch up. It's not ideal, and it'll not be great missing the first few weeks of Course 1, but it's definitely doable. Confirm with UME what exactly it is you will be missing, and then make your decision. PM me if you have questions.

[ChemPetE]

Is it wise to do so though? Probably not. You wouldn’t intentionally miss two weeks the first month at a new job, and you have to treat med school like one.

[teeezyyy]

22 hours ago, plzacceptme said:

Idk where everyone is getting this information that you can't miss that much med school? Why? You have 3 flex days and can miss 10% of Small Groups no questions asked on top of that. In any case, most lectures are podcasted, and you'll just need to put in some extra effort to catch up. It's not ideal, and it'll not be great missing the first few weeks of Course 1, but it's definitely doable. Confirm with UME what exactly it is you will be missing, and then make your decision. PM me if you have questions.

Its nice to hear a different perspective. Do you go to UofC? Yeah I think it's probably best if I confirm with UME!  Thank you, you made me feel better lol