Medical schools who silently reject by waitlisting

[Midnight Schemes]

I'm trying to gauge where I am this cycle. I've been lucky enough to have 2 MD interviews, however, they both resulted in a waitlist. I've been doing a little research and it seems like these schools like to waitlist people post-interview instead of giving a solid rejection, I guess to spare the emotions that go with a rejection or maybe give hope that you might be accepted next cycle.

The two schools were George Washington, which resulted in an "Alternate List" and Albany, which gave me an "Under Consideration". I understand that people do come off the waitlist, however, it seems like way more people get put on the waitlist at these schools than are flat out rejected.

I've tried looking up a list of schools that silently reject people by waitlisting, but no such list exists. Anyone have any experience with this?

Edit: In order to create anxiety in future generations, I'll make a list of top suspects and keep updating

GWU
U Michigan

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[Lawpy]

I heard being waitlisted by Michigan is the same as a rejection because there has been no waitlist movement for several years

 

[LizzyM]

Some schools do want to "hedge their bets" in the unlikely event that a large proportion of the students who are expected to matriculate do not do so or if new information becomes available. ("What?? Your uncle won the Powerball and wants to endow a chair in the medical school? How wonderful!")

 

[Lost in Translation]

I think a GWU wait list is effectively a rejection because they're a low yield school.

 

[Midnight Schemes]

I heard being waitlisted by Michigan is the same as a rejection because there has been no waitlist movement for several years

I'd like to make a list so future generations of neurotics can benefit. (Or become even more neurotic)

GWU
U Michigan

Any other suspects?

 

[Officer Farva]

Probably an top-10 school. Also, I believe the non-Upenn philly schools do this.

 

[LizzyM]

would endowing a chair almost guarantee a seat in the med school? and how much would this cost? asking for a friend

From one top school's website:

Faculty Chairs

• $1,000,000 will establish an endowed chair to support a visiting professor.
• $1,500,000 will establish an endowed chair to support an assistant or associate professor.
• $1,500,000 will establish an endowed chair to support a professor of the practice.
• $2,500,000 will establish an endowed chair to support a full professor.
• $3,000,000 will establish an endowed chair to support a university professor with appointments in more than one discipline.
• $5,000,000 will establish an endowed chair to support a faculty member holding the distinguished designation of dean.

If I were the Dean who just learned of a generous donation from "your friend's" uncle, I would certainly ask the Dean of Admissions to give "your friend's" application "every consideration" meaning your friend should have been admitted already and "what are you waiting for?"

 

[Recon_13999]

Probably an top-10 school. Also, I believe the non-Upenn philly schools do this.

Duke had like 10-15 get accepted off the waitlist last year in a class of ~110.

 

[Officer Farva]

Duke had like 10-15 get accepted off the waitlist last year in a class of ~110.

You are right, and I heard WashU takes a lot from the WL too. I guess I should be more specific by saying top-10 in a major city. If I remember correctly, Albany has really bad acceptance odds after interview.

 

[njtrimed]

I'd like to make a list so future generations of neurotics can benefit. (Or become even more neurotic)

GWU
U Michigan

Any other suspects?

I don't know specific schools, but I imagine any school that has both a "high priority waitlist" and an "alternate list" uses the alternate list as a silent rejection. They may also reject some applicants, but if I was not placed on the HPWL, I wouldn't be very optimistic.

 

[Midnight Schemes]

Probably an top-10 school. Also, I believe the non-Upenn philly schools do this.

Drexel, ect?

 

[Krupke]

You are right, and I heard WashU takes a lot from the WL too. I guess I should be more specific by saying top-10 in a major city. If I remember correctly, Albany has really bad acceptance odds after interview.

Albany accepts ~33.33% who interview. They accept like 300 for 100 spots (the rest are BS/MD students). They don't go over 100 acceptees at a time, so around 200 people get pulled from the waitlist.

11% chance of an acceptance, 30% chance of getting off waitlist.

 

[Officer Farva]

Albany accepts ~33.33% who interview. They accept like 300 for 100 spots (the rest are BS/MD students). They don't go over 100 acceptees at a time, so around 200 people get pulled from the waitlist.

11% chance of an acceptance, 30% chance of getting off waitlist.

I heard they only used to interview HALF their current amount before switching to MMI. Completely ridiculous

 

[Dr Tony T. Chopper]

From one top school's website:

Faculty Chairs

• $1,000,000 will establish an endowed chair to support a visiting professor.
• $1,500,000 will establish an endowed chair to support an assistant or associate professor.
• $1,500,000 will establish an endowed chair to support a professor of the practice.
• $2,500,000 will establish an endowed chair to support a full professor.
• $3,000,000 will establish an endowed chair to support a university professor with appointments in more than one discipline.
• $5,000,000 will establish an endowed chair to support a faculty member holding the distinguished designation of dean.

If I were the Dean who just learned of a generous donation from "your friend's" uncle, I would certainly ask the Dean of Admissions to give "your friend's" application "every consideration" meaning your friend should have been admitted already and "what are you waiting for?"

Can the benefactor choose the chair's name or must if be his/her own name?

Never mind, found this on some slides from UCSF:
• Names may be clearly spelled out in defining documents.
• Problems may arise if names do not agree with donor wishes when funds are repurposed or combined.
• Problems may arise in naming for active faculty members.

So I can literally have a Doctor Evil Endowed Chair of History of Bio weapons development and deployment.

 

[Almighty Saguaro]

Hmm...seems reasonably priced.

Gonna have to brown bag more of my lunches if I am to buy my kids a seat in Harvard Med.

From one top school's website:

Faculty Chairs

• $1,000,000 will establish an endowed chair to support a visiting professor.
• $1,500,000 will establish an endowed chair to support an assistant or associate professor.
• $1,500,000 will establish an endowed chair to support a professor of the practice.
• $2,500,000 will establish an endowed chair to support a full professor.
• $3,000,000 will establish an endowed chair to support a university professor with appointments in more than one discipline.
• $5,000,000 will establish an endowed chair to support a faculty member holding the distinguished designation of dean.

If I were the Dean who just learned of a generous donation from "your friend's" uncle, I would certainly ask the Dean of Admissions to give "your friend's" application "every consideration" meaning your friend should have been admitted already and "what are you waiting for?"

 

[Krupke]

Can the benefactor choose the chair's name or must if be his/her own name?

Never mind, found this on some slides from UCSF:
• Names may be clearly spelled out in defining documents.
• Problems may arise if names do not agree with donor wishes when funds are repurposed or combined.
• Problems may arise in naming for active faculty members.

So I can literally have a Doctor Evil Endowed Chair of History of Bio weapons development and deployment.

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/nyu-martin-shkreli_56784d7ae4b014efe0d63ba2

Naming endowed professorships reminded me of this, hahaha

 

[Dr Tony T. Chopper]

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/nyu-martin-shkreli_56784d7ae4b014efe0d63ba2

Naming endowed professorships reminded me of this, hahaha

Can't believe I missed this. This guy on the Shkreli chair was an ex-Retrophin consultant. You can't even make up stuff this good.

 

[Dr Tony T. Chopper]

It would take less than a mill to groom a HMS-competitive student, wouldn't it?

Hmm...seems reasonably priced.

Gonna have to brown bag more of my lunches if I am to buy my kids a seat in Harvard Med.

 

[bc65]

Albany accepts ~33.33% who interview. They accept like 300 for 100 spots (the rest are BS/MD students). They don't go over 100 acceptees at a time, so around 200 people get pulled from the waitlist.

11% chance of an acceptance, 30% chance of getting off waitlist.

I can't speak for Albany, but I'm familiar with other schools. Those schools also accept 3 students for every seat, but take almost no one off the waitlist, typically in the single digits, because they accept more students than they have seats for initially, based on expected yield rates. If they need a few more students towards the end, they take them from students who still have decisions pending. So unless you know for a fact that Albany operates differently, I wouldn't assume that they take more than a few from the waitlist.

 

[Krupke]

I can't speak for Albany, but I'm familiar with other schools. Those schools also accept 3 students for every seat, but take almost no one off the waitlist, typically in the single digits, because they accept more students than they have seats for initially, based on expected yield rates. If they need a few more students towards the end, they take them from students who still have decisions pending. So unless you know for a fact that Albany operates differently, I wouldn't assume that they take more than a few from the waitlist.

I know for a fact because they said it at the interview

 

[bc65]

I know for a fact because they said it at the interview

Good to know. Thanks.

 

[GrapesofRath]

Oh good, let's see how many unreliable self-reported lists we can compile on the front page today!

Almost as good as those semi-weekly lists people love to post of "which schools average multiple MCAT scores" where every single list would report 95+% of schools claiming they only use the highest score when in reality that was laughably false.

 

[PugsAndHugs]

I think a GWU wait list is effectively a rejection because they're a low yield school.

I don't think that's the correct logic. Low-yield schools waitlist more students because many high-stat applicants apply to them as a safety, and end up not choosing to matriculate, giving up their acceptance. This is where pulling students from the waitlist come in.

This is all speculation though, so pretty pointless.

 

[spiffysteve]

While I can't be completely sure, I'm like 90% certain that EVMS does this. I think they use both "under pre-interview consideration" limbo and a tiered waitlist. It's just to make sure they can fill their seats in case something really weird happens late in the cycle, but it's annoying.

 

[nwts]

I don't know specific schools, but I imagine any school that has both a "high priority waitlist" and an "alternate list" uses the alternate list as a silent rejection. They may also reject some applicants, but if I was not placed on the HPWL, I wouldn't be very optimistic.

Jefferson is one of the schools that has a high priority waitlist and an alternate list. I have been told that it is very rare for anybody to be admitted off the alternate list (as in the one that is not labeled high priority).