Consequences of turning down UCD?

[KTWD]

Hi guys,

 

I hope this thread does not offend anyone, and if it does I am greatly sorry.

 

I applied to Ireland, and have gotten into UCD. I did not get an interview anywhere in Canada.

 

I am thinking of turning down UCD. This is for a number of reasons. I can't justify the debt, I do REALLY want to go to medical school but it is not a "dream" of mine per say, and I know I would not be o.k having to do residency in a rural location or being a family doctor.

So here are my questions:

1) Do you think it is foolish to turn down an acceptance offer from UCD and I should take what I get,

 

2) If I decide I want to reapply to Ireland next year, will I be at a disadvantage as I got accepted, but turned it down.

 

Of note, this is my first time applying, I have only written the MCATS once ( 9/9/10 Q) and I am thinking of re-writing them this summer, my GPA is 3.7 and I have a MSc, should have a publication by next round of applications.

 

Thoughts?

[mtb2011]

Hi guys,

 

I hope this thread does not offend anyone, and if it does I am greatly sorry.

 

I applied to Ireland, and have gotten into UCD. I did not get an interview anywhere in Canada.

 

I am thinking of turning down UCD. This is for a number of reasons. I can't justify the debt, I do REALLY want to go to medical school but it is not a "dream" of mine per say, and I know I would not be o.k having to do residency in a rural location or being a family doctor.

So here are my questions:

1) Do you think it is foolish to turn down an acceptance offer from UCD and I should take what I get,

 

2) If I decide I want to reapply to Ireland next year, will I be at a disadvantage as I got accepted, but turned it down.

 

Of note, this is my first time applying, I have only written the MCATS once ( 9/9/10 Q) and I am thinking of re-writing them this summer, my GPA is 3.7 and I have a MSc, should have a publication by next round of applications.

 

Thoughts?

 

Dont worry KTWD, your post is not offensive...Here goes... First of all, keep in mind that I think my application is on reserve because I applied late, so despite the fact that I WANT YOUR SPOT , I will give you my honest opinion. I think you should take the offer to UCD. Though you can re-write the mcat, this does not guarantee that you will have a better mark. Even if you increase your mark to a 30 or 31, this effectively guarantees nothing. I have a masters as well, and the only places that care are U of T and queens (can u get a 10 in verbal?). Also, I know plenty of people who have higher GPAs than you, finished PhDs and postdocs, and still could not get into either school. On the other hand, I also know mediocre people who got in. Ultimately, your one publication, 3.7 GPA, AND even a whopping 32 on the MCAT wont make you a shoo in. Nonetheless, your concerns are perfectly valid. What I would do, if I were in your shoes, is go to ireland in september but rewrite the mcat prior to this. Go ahead and re-apply to canada, and if you get in, you can quit UCD in may and come back home . You should write down your pros and cons. Good luck though – it is a tough call to make. Also, in my experience, it is getting harder and harder to gain admission to canada. I counsel lots of undergrads, and people in 3rd/4th year cry over their 80's and "low" 90's (It kind of pisses me off sometimes). These are the people you will be competing with for spots.

 

Since medicine is not really your dream, have you given any thoughts to pharmacy? Actually, what about DO in the states?

 

Also, I don't know if you will be at a disadvantage for next year. Personally, if I were on the admissions committee, this year's rejection would cast doubt on your application...but that's just me!

 

ps: i think rural medicine would be fun , and starting off with family medicine does not make you ineligible to specialize. It will just take longer, probably as long as waiting to get into med school in canada

[md2be]

Agreed! I'm in a very similar situation (MSc, etc) and have put a deposit down on a spot at RCSI. I'll be going there this year if I don't get an offer from a canadian school, and then reapplying the next round...at least you'll be working towards one degree that could have you practicing medicine in canada, just in case you don't get interviews next cycle. Good luck!

[KTWD]

So I went to the bank, the most money I could get loaned is 150,000. This barely covers half. So whether or not I accept may be a non-issue. How do people get the other 150,000?

 

Thanks for your opinions guys!

 

Would you say if I want to work in the states, I am almost better off going to a school in the caribbean? Like st. george? That way I could do rotations in New York? Thoughts?

[md2be]

Would you say if I want to work in the states, I am almost better off going to a school in the caribbean? Like st. george? That way I could do rotations in New York? Thoughts?

 

RCSI has affiliations with schools in the US (Mayo clinic, Columbia, etc) where you can do electives. However, you will definitely have the opportunity for more US experience if you go to a Caribbean school...

[KTWD]

Yeah, I only got into UCD. I spoke to someone at the ABP, Dublin has 20 spots for 600 students who applied, I feel it is so stupid to turn this down.

[Doc22B]

There is a possibility to get two 150K loans, each from a different bank. My cousin has done it, and I am planning on doing it as well. I can't really explain to you the details since I do not know them (my father's the expert), but I can assure you its possible.

[Sface]

So I went to the bank, the most money I could get loaned is 150,000. This barely covers half. So whether or not I accept may be a non-issue. How do people get the other 150,000?

 

Thanks for your opinions guys!

 

Would you say if I want to work in the states, I am almost better off going to a school in the caribbean? Like st. george? That way I could do rotations in New York? Thoughts?

 

One option to get the other half of the money is if your parents have payed off the morgtage on their house. you can take out a home equity line of credit up to the full value of the home.

 

but taking out 2 150,000 loans sounds much better, ive never heard of that before. thanks for the tip, im definitly going to look into that (heading to UCC next year if i dont get into a canadian school)

[Sface]

Hi guys,

 

I hope this thread does not offend anyone, and if it does I am greatly sorry.

 

I applied to Ireland, and have gotten into UCD. I did not get an interview anywhere in Canada.

 

I am thinking of turning down UCD. This is for a number of reasons. I can't justify the debt, I do REALLY want to go to medical school but it is not a "dream" of mine per say, and I know I would not be o.k having to do residency in a rural location or being a family doctor.

So here are my questions:

1) Do you think it is foolish to turn down an acceptance offer from UCD and I should take what I get,

 

2) If I decide I want to reapply to Ireland next year, will I be at a disadvantage as I got accepted, but turned it down.

 

Of note, this is my first time applying, I have only written the MCATS once ( 9/9/10 Q) and I am thinking of re-writing them this summer, my GPA is 3.7 and I have a MSc, should have a publication by next round of applications.

 

Thoughts?

 

 

i also want to add that if you REALLY want to go to medschool, you should do it. youll be able to get the money some how, and it will be worth it in the end. HOWEVER if this is your first time applying to canada, you might want to try again. i seriously doubt that turning down your UCD offer this year will affect your application next year, but you should email ABP to verify.

 

also, this is my second year applying to a canadian school, and this year i got two interviews, i have a similar GPA and MCAT, but no masters. i chose to take the year off and try again, because really, its only a year, and the price of irish tuition is so huge it was worth it to me to try again. so maybe think about if taking a year off could be a serious option for you

[mtb2011]

i also want to add that if you REALLY want to go to medschool, you should do it. youll be able to get the money some how, and it will be worth it in the end. HOWEVER if this is your first time applying to canada, you might want to try again. i seriously doubt that turning down your UCD offer this year will affect your application next year, but you should email ABP to verify.

 

also, this is my second year applying to a canadian school, and this year i got two interviews, i have a similar GPA and MCAT, but no masters. i chose to take the year off and try again, because really, its only a year, and the price of irish tuition is so huge it was worth it to me to try again. so maybe think about if taking a year off could be a serious option for you

 

 

This is also a good point. If u think you can get into canada next year, you can always go for it KTWD. But one thing that bugs me, which I think has no logic, is taking a year off to save money for med school. Even if you are lucky and manage to save a whopping 35K, you are effectively delaying yourself another year of getting closer to a 6 figure salary. You are picking 35 K over >100K. That's just how I see it.

[leviathan]

This is also a good point. If u think you can get into canada next year, you can always go for it KTWD. But one thing that bugs me, which I think has no logic, is taking a year off to save money for med school. Even if you are lucky and manage to save a whopping 35K, you are effectively delaying yourself another year of getting closer to a 6 figure salary. You are picking 35 K over >100K. That's just how I see it.

Exactly...you only have 30-50 years (and that's pushing it) to work before retirement, and you are choosing to use one of those years at a 35k salary instead of 150k.