Waitlist: is it chance?

[jusanothapremed]

It's that time again for one of those great unanswerable questions, and I am asking specifically for people interviewing at top-20 schools.

We hear a lot about people who get on this proverbial "waitlist train" where they seem to be waitlisted at a disproportionate number of the schools they have interviewed at. Clearly, this is in part due to the large number of interviewees that schools waitlist to control enrollment.

Here's my question though. Do you think there is a certain tier of applicant that is right at that point where schools want to interview them but are not quite ready to accept them outright? If so, you could argue that being waitlisted is predictive, in that it increases the odds of you getting waitlisted by additional schools you have yet to hear from.

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[Euxox]

Do you think there is a certain tier of applicant that is right at that point where schools want to interview them but are not quite ready to accept them outright?

Yes.

I think I fall into this group myself. (Five waitlists, one acceptance at top twenty schools)

The best group of students is accepted, the second best is waitlisted, and the rest are rejected. I'm not sure what else there is to say about this frankly.

 

[jusanothapremed]

Yes.

I think I fall into this group myself. (Five waitlists, one acceptance at top twenty schools)

The best group of students is accepted, the second best is waitlisted, and the rest are rejected. I'm not sure what else there is to say about this frankly.

The counter argument would be that for such selective schools, there are so many factors at play and applicant evaluation is so subjective that it becomes, essentially, chance. And with so many applicants you are bound to have people who are accepted more than waitlisted (and vice-versa).

 

[Goro]

It will run a gamut. Sometimes people are just so marginal, that they don't rate an outright rejection, but thier wiat-list position means they're essentially rejected.

Others were either borderline or applied and interviewed late, and so are just a few declines by other acceptees away from an outright acceptance.

My advice is to be patient, but prepare for next year in case you're shut out.


Here's my question though. Do you think there is a certain tier of applicant that is right at that point where schools want to interview them but are not quite ready to accept them outright?

The admissions process is not a random one, even if it seems like it. If you're getting multiple IIs and multiple waitlists, then something is wrong with either your app, or your interview skills.

If so, you could argue that being waitlisted is predictive, in that it increases the odds of you getting waitlisted by additional schools you have yet to hear from.[/quote]