Schools seeing other acceptances

[AspiringERMD]

Hey SDN,

Quick question. I know that after a certain point in the cycle (I forget exactly when), schools can see where else you've been accepted. I wanted to know whether or not they see acceptances you've received but withdrawn from (and if so, do they show up any differently from acceptances you're still holding?).

Thanks!

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[singergirl18]

https://www.aamc.org/students/applying/amcas/faqs/305002/canschoolsseeotherschools.html

"In the February of each application cycle, schools will have access to the Multiple Acceptance Report, which will show them which of their accepted applicants are holding acceptances from other schools."

I believe if you do not accept the offer of acceptance, then you are withdrawing yourself from the process and are no longer considered as "holding" the acceptance. You let it go. So my guess is no, they cannot see the schools you withdraw from.

 

[doconeday1.0]

As a follow up question... what do medical schools DO with this information? Come April when adcoms are deliberating on an applicant who holds acceptances at other schools, does it affect their decision? Perhaps, depending on the caliber of school they hold acceptances at? Does anyone have insight into this? Thank you!

 

[gyngyn]

As a follow up question... what do medical schools DO with this information? Come April when adcoms are deliberating on an applicant who holds acceptances at other schools, does it affect their decision? Perhaps, depending on the caliber of school they hold acceptances at? Does anyone have insight into this? Thank you!

We cannot see where you are holding until we tender a decision.

 

[schiffbased]

We cannot see where you are holding until we tender a decision.

Can you see where else we hold acceptances if we are put on a waitlist? Or only if the school has accepted the student can't they see other acceptances

 

[gyngyn]

Can you see where else we hold acceptances if we are put on a waitlist? Or only if the school has accepted the student can't they see other acceptances

In February we can see where accepted students are holding. In March we can see where waitlisted students are holding. We can never see where you have interviewed or are waitlisted.

 

[ThisCouldBeYou]

Is this what you mean?

In Feb, if applicant A is accepted by MSX, med school X is able to see where else applicant A has been accepted.
In March, if applicant A is waitlisted at MSX, the med school X is able to see other med schools Student A has been accepted.

BUT
MSX is never able to see where applicant A has been waitlisted or has interviewed.

 

[alpinism]

Is this what you mean?

In Feb, if applicant A is accepted by MSX, med school X is able to see where else applicant A has been accepted.
In March, if applicant A is waitlisted at MSX, the med school X is able to see other med schools Student A has been accepted.

BUT
MSX is never able to see where applicant A has been waitlisted or has interviewed.

Yep.

At my school at least, we use the info to help decide who to take off the wait list.

 

[gyngyn]

Is this what you mean?

In Feb, if applicant A is accepted by MSX, med school X is able to see where else applicant A has been accepted.
In March, if applicant A is waitlisted at MSX, the med school X is able to see other med schools Student A has been accepted.

BUT
MSX is never able to see where applicant A has been waitlisted or has interviewed.

You got it.

 

[godawg300]

Yep.

At my school at least, we use the info to help decide who to take off the wait list.

Who to take off the waitlist? So if an applicant has no offers then you would take them over someone who has a bunch? Can you elaborate a little more?

 

[ThisCouldBeYou]

Who to take off the waitlist? So if an applicant has no offers then you would take them over someone who has a bunch? Can you elaborate a little more?

Odds are, the med school would take someone who had no other choices. Makes sense, doesn't it? In the end of the whole process, it's all about filling up a class to an exact number without going overboard.

 

[AspiringERMD]

You got it.

So if an applicant had been accepted somewhere and then they formally withdrew, would that school stop showing up on the list you see of their acceptances?

 

[alpinism]

Who to take off the waitlist? So if an applicant has no offers then you would take them over someone who has a bunch? Can you elaborate a little more?

Its a part of the whole applicant review.

If you have 2 applicants from CA and applicant A has other acceptances to UCSF, UCLA, and Sinai they'd be less likely to to take the spot compared to applicant B who only has an acceptance to USC.

Assuming their stats and ECs were generally similar and we were looking to fill another african american/hispanic/male/female seat for example.

Generally speaking, schools want to take students who don't have a better option and who really want to go there.

 

[gyngyn]

So if an applicant had been accepted somewhere and then they formally withdrew, would that school stop showing up on the list you see of their acceptances?

It would cease to appear on daily lists. If info from previous lists has been retained the fact that a school has disappeared from a particular applicant's list of accepted schools would still be apparent (if the reviewer cared).

 

[AspiringERMD]

Perfect, that's what I was wondering. Thank you!

 

[ProbablyAPenguin]

You got it.

So this also means that if med school X has not accepted applicant A in Feb, MSX will not be able to see where applicant A has been accepted?

 

[cryhavoc]

Hm, this confuses me. Say I got into a bunch of lower-tier medical schools. Hypothetically. Would the higher tier schools be able to see this before they decide whether to accept me or not?

How will it influence their decision, if it does at all?

I'm obviously applying to a lot of "safe" schools, and osteopathic schools because my stats are above average for those schools.


(But I am at the average or slightly below for most allopathic schools. I'm basically gunning to get into an allopathic, but will go osteopathic if I don't get in to any. Doesn't matter where I become a doctor, I just want to go allopathic if I can because it will make getting into a residency easier. )

 

[gyngyn]

Hm, this confuses me. Say I got into a bunch of lower-tier medical schools. Hypothetically. Would the higher tier schools be able to see this before they decide whether to accept me or not?

We cannot see where you have been accepted until we make a decision on your application.
Thus, direct acceptances are not influenced.
In March, there is the possibility that acceptances from the waitlist may be influenced.

 

[Zelda840]

Also, I don't believe MD schools will have access to your acceptance/waitlist status for DO schools.

 

[gyngyn]

Also, I don't believe MD schools will have access to your acceptance/waitlist status for DO schools.

That is correct.

 

[doconeday1.0]

We cannot see where you have been accepted until we make a decision on your application.
Thus, direct acceptances are not influenced.
In March, there is the possibility that acceptances from the waitlist may be influenced.

thanks for the info gyngyn!

Do medical schools use the data on acceptances at other schools to determine how many students might theoretically matriculate? Just curious about WHY medical schools would be able to/need to see where a student has been accepted after that particular medical school has accepted the student...
What exactly do schools do with that initial data?

 

[gyngyn]

thanks for the info gyngyn!

Do medical schools use the data on acceptances at other schools to determine how many students might theoretically matriculate? Just curious about WHY medical schools would be able to/need to see where a student has been accepted after that particular medical school has accepted the student...
What exactly do schools do with that initial data?

Yes we can estimate how many are likely to matriculate and extend more offers if needed.

 

[Allium cepa]

That is correct.

Is this also true for TMDSAS schools as well? Will MD schools on AMCAS be able to view your acceptances/waitlists at TMDSAS schools?

 

[gyngyn]

Is this also true for TMDSAS schools as well? Will MD schools on AMCAS be able to view your acceptances/waitlists at TMDSAS schools?

Yes, we see them.

 

[einsteinm]

I think that it's ridiculous that med schools even receive this information. It can only hurt the student (like those on a wait list). They receive enough applications to fill a class.

 

[gyngyn]

I think that it's ridiculous that med schools even receive this information. It can only hurt the student (like those on a wait list). They receive enough applications to fill a class.

At this point in the cycle, how does it hurt them?
This information is only given after a decision is made and very late in the application cycle.

 

[Vain Brother]

We cannot see where you have been accepted until we make a decision on your application.
Thus, direct acceptances are not influenced.
In March, there is the possibility that acceptances from the waitlist may be influenced.

i'm sure it depends, but in general how is a wait listed student affected by the fact that the school on whose wait list they sit can see that they have other acceptances? is a school less likely to select someone with other acceptances (thinking them lower-yield), or more likely (supposing that, if they have other acceptances, they might be a stronger applicant than they'd originally thought)?

 

[einsteinm]

At this point in the cycle, how does it hurt them?
This information is only given after a decision is made and very late in the application cycle.

If a student who has already been accepted somewhere is on a waitlist at another school, the school will offer the seat to someone who hasn't been accepted anywhere as they know they are more likely to matriculate (according to other posts on this topic). However, I'm on a few wait lists and one of those schools is my top choice (but is much lower ranked than a school I've been accepted to). I guess this system can help those with no acceptances which I'm ok with.

 

[gyngyn]

If a student who has already been accepted somewhere is on a waitlist at another school, the school will offer the seat to someone who hasn't been accepted anywhere as they know they are more likely to matriculate (according to other posts on this topic). However, I'm on a few wait lists and one of those schools is my top choice (but is much lower ranked than a school I've been accepted to). I guess this system can help those with no acceptances which I'm ok with.

Actually no. If you are accepted to a "better" school and have indicated that you would prefer the waitlist school, you are still a good candidate for the waitlist school.

 

[gyngyn]

i'm sure it depends, but in general how is a wait listed student affected by the fact that the school on whose wait list they sit can see that they have other acceptances? is a school less likely to select someone with other acceptances (thinking them lower-yield), or more likely (supposing that, if they have other acceptances, they might be a stronger applicant than they'd originally thought)?

With an unranked waitlist, a student holding an acceptance at Harvard is unlikely to be called if that candidate is just as desirable as those holding at other schools. This can be overcome if the candidate tells the admissions officer that they would prefer to attend the waitlist school.

Candidates holding acceptances at "lesser" schools suffer no disadvantage at "better" schools where they are on the waitlist.

 

[ThisCouldBeYou]

Just curious @gyngyn, but are the med schools able to manipulate the list of students on WLs by the school that WL'd them, or by the student? I suspect both ways. Do the schools that accepted me see where I'm WL'd? And then, are the schools where I am WL'd also see where I have been accepted? Oh, what a puzzle they must contend with!

 

[gyngyn]

Just curious @gyngyn, but are the med schools able to manipulate the list of students on WLs by the school that WL'd them, or by the student? I suspect both ways. Do the schools that accepted me see where I'm WL'd? And then, are the schools where I am WL'd also see where I have been accepted? Oh, what a puzzle they must contend with!

We can never see where you are (or have been) waitlisted.
We can see where the students we have waitlisted are holding acceptances on April 1st.

 

[rugger4]

How does it work? Like say if I'm accepted at another school today, do all the other schools I've been accepted to receive a notification that day or what?

 

[gyngyn]

How does it work? Like say if I'm accepted at another school today, do all the other schools I've been accepted to receive a notification that day or what?

The school would have to log into the institutional portal and generate that day's School Acceptance Report.

Individual notifications are not sent.

 

[AspiringERMD]

When a school tells you you're "deferred," do you know if that is treated the same way as being WL'ed for the purposes of being visible to other schools? And thank you so much, @gyngyn, for answering our questions. I'm the OP from back in November, and you've really helped clear up what I didn't understand.

 

[gyngyn]

When a school tells you you're "deferred," do you know if that is treated the same way as being WL'ed for the purposes of being visible to other schools? And thank you so much, @gyngyn, for answering our questions. I'm the OP from back in November, and you've really helped clear up what I didn't understand.

Yes. If you have been interviewed, deferred is functionally the same as waitlisted.
You're welcome!

 

[Valyria]

This makes me nervous. I am waitlisted at my top choice, but I have an acceptance from another school that out of state. I would drop my current acceptance in a heartbeat for an acceptance from my waitlisted school, so I really hope that my acceptance wouldn't keep me out of the running, especially since my top choice doesn't accept updates or anything.

 

[bkclts]

At this point in the cycle, how does it hurt them?
This information is only given after a decision is made and very late in the application cycle.

If my understanding is correct, med schools can 'manipulate' students' matriculation by offering them scholarship based on the information. For example, if a student is accepted to A, B and C schools where the ranking of schools are A>B>C. School C would be able to offer scholarship to lure the student in. It's sort of unfair because sometimes where the student is accepted has less to do with their true ability but more to their fit to a certain quota or requirement. It's also frustrating to those who may deserve a scholarship but don't get one. The bottom line is, the system is 'flawed' - why do med schools need to know where else the students are accepted (in order to make their own decisions) and and why are they allowed to play the game with the students' information?