How to Decline a DO School Acceptance and Deposit

How to Decline a DO School Acceptance and Deposit

Email the college of osteopathic medicine (COM) directly, before May 1. AACOM's traffic guidelines say: "prior to May 1, applicants need to withdraw from any college(s) which they do not plan to attend and only hold a position at one COM to avoid having positions withdrawn." AACOMAS cannot do it for you once your application has gone to that COM.

Our view: six of the seven COM pages we checked call the acceptance deposit non-refundable (Noorda after a three-day cooling-off period), and the seventh does not say. The money is not coming back whether you decline in February or in June, so waiting buys you nothing. What waiting costs is the seat itself: after May 1, AACOMAS tells each COM who still holds a seat somewhere else, and a COM may rescind. Decline the day you choose, in writing, in four sentences.

Every page quoted below was checked on November 7, 2026. AACOM's guideline page states no cycle year; the AACOMAS help article quoted here names the 2026-2027 cycle. The deposit schedule itself (December 14, 30 days, 14 days) is laid out in the AACOMAS traffic guidelines and DO deposit deadlines.

Before May 1: the AACOM rule

The AACOMAS Traffic Guidelines set out what happens to an applicant who holds more than one DO seat:

"After May 1, AACOMAS reports to each institution the names and candidates for its entering class who hold an acceptance(s) at additional institutions."

"An osteopathic medical college may rescind an offer of admissions to a candidate who has paid deposits to or holds positions at multiple institutions."

"If the candidate does not respond after receiving the rescinded offer of admissions, their deposit is forfeited, and the seat may be given to another candidate."

The guideline also says "After May 1 of the year of matriculation, each medical college may implement college-specific procedures for accepted students who hold one or more seats at other medical colleges." So May 1 is when the COM you want to keep can act against you for a seat you forgot to release. Noorda-COM restates the obligation on its own admissions page: "Applicants may hold only one acceptance after May 1."

The countercase: if you are waiting on an MD decision past May 1, AACOM's rule still requires one COM seat only. Keep your single preferred COM, release every other COM, and decide on the MD offer when it comes. The guide to choosing between medical school acceptances covers the MD-vs-DO comparison.

Your deposit

Declining does not depend on getting money back, but you should know the rule before you write. These five COM pages, checked today, are not in our DO deposit table; that page covers ACOM, ARCOM, WesternU, KCU, Xavier and Northern Colorado.

What this changes in your email:

• Noorda: the page names a three-day cooling-off period. If you are inside it, decline now and say the date you paid.
• Touro California: the later tuition deposit is called refundable on the page. Ask how it is returned.
• Liberty: the page does not say. Ask once, as a process question.
• PCOM, WVSOM and the COMs on the deposit-table page: the page calls the deposit non-refundable. Do not ask for a refund; just decline.

Our arithmetic: an out-of-state WVSOM admit who pays both deposits has $3,000 committed, and a PCOM admit $750.

The email (constructed example)

Constructed example, written by us, not a real applicant's email. Context (invented): Malik Lee, CAS ID 0000000, paid a seat deposit at a COM in January and has now accepted an MD offer.

Subject: Declining offer of admission, Malik Lee, CAS ID 0000000

Dear Admissions Committee,

Thank you for offering me a seat in the class entering in 2027. I have decided to attend another medical school, and I am declining my offer and releasing my seat today.

Please let me know if any form is needed to complete my withdrawal.

Sincerely, Malik Lee

That is 61 words including the subject line. Why it is built this way:

• "Declining" and "releasing my seat" are both there. The COM needs to know the seat is free, not only that you are unhappy with it.
• "Another medical school," not "an MD school." No COM page we checked asks you to say whether you chose MD or DO, or where. Naming an MD school adds nothing the office needs.
• No refund request. Add one line only for Noorda's cooling-off window or Touro California's refundable tuition deposit: "Please tell me how the refundable tuition deposit is returned."

Withdrawing inside AACOMAS vs emailing the COM

AACOMAS's help center draws the line at submission. Once your application has gone to a COM, you contact the COM:

"Once you submit your application to a program, you cannot remove it. To withdraw yourself from consideration for admission to a program, contact the program directly."

That is from Deleting AACOMAS Programs. The Refunding/Withdrawing Your Application article gives three cases:

If you hold an acceptance, the COM already has your application, so you contact the COM, as the second and third rows both say. Requests to AACOMAS "must be received via email—requests are not accepted via telephone or chat." AACOMAS adds that "no refunds can be issued for any reason" once you submit. That rule is about AACOMAS application fees; the COM's deposit follows the COM's own rule.

If you are also leaving MD schools, AMCAS is a separate system; see how to decline a medical school acceptance for the MD dates.

Questions about declining a DO acceptance

How do I decline a DO acceptance for an MD school?

Email the COM's admissions office, say you are declining and releasing your seat, and stop there. Do it before May 1 if you hold more than one DO seat.

Can I get my DO deposit back?

At PCOM, WVSOM, KCU and ARCOM, the pages call the deposit non-refundable. Noorda names a three-day cooling-off period. Touro California calls its later tuition deposit refundable. Liberty's page does not say.

Is there a button in AACOMAS to withdraw from one school?

Not after submission. AACOMAS says "Once you submit your application to a program, you cannot remove it" and tells you to contact the program.

What happens if I hold two DO seats after May 1?

AACOMAS reports you to each COM, and a COM "may rescind an offer of admissions" with written notice. If you do not respond, the deposit "is forfeited."

The MD vs DO comparison and the medical school essays hub cover the rest of the decision.

Review the writing you send next

If you released a DO seat to wait on a waitlist, your next message is a letter of intent to that one school. Get a free Quick Review of your letter of intent to check that it gives a specific reason for the school and states your commitment at its true strength. For news since your interview, the update letter rubric reads for what changed. If you are thinking of declining a DO seat to reapply MD, run the five-question test before May 1.

Sources

Retrieved November 7, 2026.

• American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, AACOMAS Traffic Guidelines (no cycle year stated): May 1 withdrawal rule, AACOMAS reporting, rescission and forfeit.
• AACOMAS Applicant Help Center, Deleting AACOMAS Programs: no removal after submission; contact the program.
• AACOMAS Applicant Help Center, Refunding/Withdrawing Your Application (2026-2027 cycle): withdrawal cases, email-only requests, no application-fee refunds.
• Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, DO application: $250 prepayment and $500 deposit by April 15, 2027, both non-refundable.
• West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine, DO FAQ (no year stated): deposit amounts; non-refundable acceptance fee.
• Noorda College of Osteopathic Medicine, Admissions (no year stated): seat deposit, three-day cooling-off period, one acceptance after May 1.
• Touro University California, Osteopathic Medicine Admissions (no year stated): non-refundable acceptance deposit; later refundable tuition deposit.
• Kansas City University, Acceptance Deposit Payment (no year stated): $1,500, "non-refundable, regardless of the reason."
• Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine, 2026-2027 tuition and fees: "Non-refundable Seat Deposit - $2,000".
• Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine, Application Process (no year stated): $2,000 seat deposit; refund rule not stated.