What can I do at this point in the cycle Re: waitlist?

[dreamingabouta528]

I was waitlisted for one of my top choice schools at the beginning of November. Is there anything I can do that would help me at this point? I sent in an update letter with the most significant update in October (got a new Job) and there really isn't much more to add other than my development in that position. There have been some things I have been considering but I have my doubts about all of them.
1. send a letter of intent- someone I know is very insistent that they got in because of their LOI. but also this was 16 years ago and I've been rejected from that school anyway. On the other hand, I'm risking saying something that would negatively impact my application.
2. letter of continued interest/update letter- the issue here is that there isn't much to update on and the fact that I'm on still on the waitlist indicates that I am interested on being on the WL.
3. Just wait and do nothing. This seems like the best thing to do in order not to negatively impact my application but as I keep on getting more Rs and the cycle is starting to end, the anxiety is getting to me.

I would appreciate any insight that you can give on the matter.
PS I do have an A at a DO school so I have that to hold onto but I really like this particular program and would like to improve my chances as much as possible.

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[Med Ed]

1. Send a concise letter of intent shortly before waitlist movement picks up, like in the second half of April.
2. Get psyched up to attend DO school.

 

[candbgirl]

So your update letter went in before you were waitlisted? Do what @Med Ed said. Especially the party about getting yourself ready for DO school. Have you looked for apartments, made moving plans? You have an A. That’s more than most people have. Congrats, you can be a doctor if you want to be!

 

[dreamingabouta528]

1. Send a concise letter of intent shortly before waitlist movement picks up, like in the second half of April.
2. Get psyched up to attend DO school.

Is it fine if there Is no communication from me until april?

 

[dreamingabouta528]

So your update letter went in before you were waitlisted? Do what @Med Ed said. Especially the party about getting yourself ready for DO school. Have you looked for apartments, made moving plans? You have an A. That’s more than most people have. Congrats, you can be a doctor if you want to be!

I mentioned my new job to the people interviewing me but I wanted the update to be official so I sent it in even before they gave any decisions. Not sure if this was the best choice but I was advised to do this by an adcom that I know.
I've been starting to prepare with that I can but I have several reasons why I want to attend this school so I want to know if there is anyway to help my case at this point.

 

[GoSpursGo]

I've been starting to prepare with that I can but I have several reasons why I want to attend this school so I want to know if there is anyway to help my case at this point.

Nope. It sucks, but there are a bunch of other people who also want to attend this school equally as badly and who are equally qualified. That doesn't speak to anything negative about you, but rather to how competitive this process is.

You've done everything you can, and persisting in sending trivial updates when you've already made your position clear will just annoy them.

 

[dreamingabouta528]

Nope. It sucks, but there are a bunch of other people who also want to attend this school equally as badly and who are equally qualified. That doesn't speak to anything negative about you, but rather to how competitive this process is.

You've done everything you can, and persisting in sending trivial updates when you've already made your position clear will just annoy them.

I get that. I'm just worried that instead of overwhelming them with communication, I'm doing too little. I have not sent anything since my update about 5 months ago.

 

[GoSpursGo]

I get that. I'm just worried that instead of overwhelming them with communication, I'm doing too little. I have not sent anything since my update about 5 months ago.

If it makes you feel better to send a letter of intent and will help you sleep at night then that won't hurt.

 

[LizzyM]

Frankly, the school is waiting for 100 people to turn down the offer of admission before they even think of taking one person from the waitlist. Doing anything at this point is not going to move the needle. (I do not recommend trash talking the school to persuade those holding offers to drop them but I don't doubt that it happens.)

 

[LindaAccepted]

As long as your school is open to receiving updates. I strongly recommend that you send them an update/LOI letter. That will tell them you are still seriously interested more meaningfully than saying "You're my #1 choice."

Have you learned anything in your job since October? Acquired any new skills or responsibility? Update them. If you can, try to connect with a current student and learn more about the schools so that you can also write how (and why) this interaction increased your interest in the program.

There are definitely schools that weigh "demonstrated interest" in their program as a factor in doling out acceptances. I can hear an argument that it makes more sense to send such a letter in April, but if you think you'll have more to update them, I'd send now and again at the end of April. If you don't see anything changing, I'd probably send in early-mid April.

 

[MDMechEngr]

I have heard of people reporting on SDN that they were able to use their acceptance as leverage to get off the WL at their preferred school. I know someone who wrote a LOI to their preferred school stating they will decline the acceptance from a T40 school and matriculate to that preferred school (T25 and closer to home) if given the chance. They got the A three days later off the WL. They sent the LOI two weeks before they had to CTE to the T40 school.

 

[KnightDoc]

I have heard of people reporting on SDN that they were able to use their acceptance as leverage to get off the WL at their preferred school. I know someone who wrote a LOI to their preferred school stating they will decline the acceptance from a T40 school and matriculate to that preferred school (T25 and closure to home) if give the chance. They got the A three days later off the WL. They sent the LOI two weeks before before they had to CTE to the T40 school.

And I heard of 20+ people doing this and receiving no response. It never hurts to take the shot, but, if intensity and sincerity of interest were really important metrics, we'd all be attending Harvard.

Everyone who cares about ranking would drop a T40 to go to a T25, so making that offer really shouldn't have meant anything to the school. Sometimes offering to drop an offer from a higher ranked school gets an adcom's attention, but this is the first time I heard someone claim it worked in reverse.

If I had to guess, I'd say your friend's number just came up, and they would have received the call without offering to drop an A at a lower ranked school. JMHO.

 

[MDMechEngr]

And I heard of 20+ people doing this and receiving no response. It never hurts to take the shot, but, if intensity and sincerity of interest were really important metrics, we'd all be attending Harvard.

Everyone who cares about ranking would drop a T40 to go to a T25, so making that offer really shouldn't have meant anything to the school. Sometimes offering to drop an offer from a higher ranked school gets an adcom's attention, but this is the first time I heard someone claim it worked in reverse.

If I had to guess, I'd say your friend's number just came up, and they would have received the call without offering to drop an A at a lower ranked school. JMHO.

Yes that may have been a coiencidence. What made him think that the LOI somehow worked was because he got an email back form the dean within a couple of hours stating to the effect that they will review his application and that it was not a gaurantee. The fact that he got an email response and no one else on that school blog recevied a response after sending in their letter. LOL, he kept quite about it and did not mention what took place and his acceptance off the WL. He found out after matriculating to that school that they only took 5 off the WL that year. The previous years had around 25 to 30 WL movement. So he was lucky for sure, LOI or not.

 

[KnightDoc]

Yes that may have been a coiencidence. What made him think that the LOI somehow worked is because he got an email back form the dean within a couple of hours stating to the effect that they will review his application and that it was not a gaurantee. The fact that he got an email response stating that and no one else on that school blog recevied a response after sending in their letter. LOL, he kept quite about it and did not mention what took place and his acceptance off the WL on the SDN school blog. He found out after matriculating to that school that they only took 5 off the WL that year. The previous years had around 25 to 30 WL movement. So he was lucky for sure, LOI or not.

And THIS^^^^ is what gives us all hope and keeps us all going. You really never know, and it really costs nothing to try, in spite of what some of the adcoms say on SDN about the letters being treated as lies and ignored!!

 

[Mr.Smile12]

And THIS^^^^ is what gives us all hope and keeps us all going. You really never know, and it really costs nothing to try, in spite of what some of the adcoms say on SDN about the letters being treated as lies and ignored!!

It's great when something like that happens. Those of us who work in the system know how truly rare this is especially with timing. I assure you admissions deans don't monitor their email reading applicant emails.

We also tell you what our peers tell us that they consider most of those letters as having no impact. The admissions process is always running, and the admissions dean, chairs, and staff know what really is going on.

 

[dreamingabouta528]

And THIS^^^^ is what gives us all hope and keeps us all going. You really never know, and it really costs nothing to try, in spite of what some of the adcoms say on SDN about the letters being treated as lies and ignored!!

My primary concern is not that I'll waste time trying and nothing happens but rather that it may somehow negatively impact my application/position on the WL. I have seen some people online say it can do that and something that would otherwise seem like a good idea with no drawbacks might not be that great of an idea.

 

[dreamingabouta528]

As long as your school is open to receiving updates. I strongly recommend that you send them an update/LOI letter. That will tell them you are still seriously interested more meaningfully than saying "You're my #1 choice."

Have you learned anything in your job since October? Acquired any new skills or responsibility? Update them. If you can, try to connect with a current student and learn more about the schools so that you can also write how (and why) this interaction increased your interest in the program.

There are definitely schools that weigh "demonstrated interest" in their program as a factor in doling out acceptances. I can hear an argument that it makes more sense to send such a letter in April, but if you think you'll have more to update them, I'd send now and again at the end of April. If you don't see anything changing, I'd probably send in early-mid April.

I may send a LOI in April. I did gain a lot of experience in my position (add in a surge in covid cases to the regular workload and you get a nice concoction of experiences) but I don't think any of that would change within a month.

 

[KnightDoc]

My primary concern is not that I'll waste time trying and nothing happens but rather that it may somehow negatively impact my application/position on the WL. I have seen some people online say it can do that and something that would otherwise seem like a good idea with no drawbacks might not be that great of an idea.

I totally get it. We are all in exactly the same boat. I'm just an applicant like you, so I don't want to give the impression that I have any special expertise, but, quite frankly, I don't take everything anyone says on SDN as gospel, and strongly suggest you do the same.

There are a few adcoms who post frequently on SDN who have apparently been burned by these more than a few times and seem to have a strong distaste for LOIs. They use their credibility and influence to steer people like you away from them by referring to them as non-binding promises made by desperate people that are treated as lies. If you are going to buy that hook, line and sinker, of course lying to an adcom will not help advance an application.

I don't buy it hook, line and sinker. I understand they are probably taken with a huge grain of salt because so many people send them and so many people don't follow through, but they do seem to have some value because I have seen plenty of adcoms actively solicit them. They might not be taken to heart by the adcoms, and they probably won't move the needle for someone relatively low down on their list (even if it's not formally ranked, I seriously doubt everyone on any WL has an equal shot at being called), but they ARE an expression of continuing interest for those going to the trouble of submitting them, and most adcoms making calls in May do place a value on candidates likely to accept.

As to drawbacks, as @gonnif, @gyngyn and others have astitutely pointed out repeatedly over the years, a poorly written letter will certainly do more harm than good, so there's that, and a lot of us don't write nearly as well as we think. Getting the school name wrong could be lethal at this stage, and it happens more often than you would think, since you would think it would never happen, and it does! In addition, bombarding them with multiple updates when you really have nothing to say must begin to become annoying at some point, where it risks crossing the line from expressing motivation and interest (attractive) to desperation (unattractive).

TLDR: A well written update and expression of interest/intent will either help or be ignored. A poorly written one, or one sent when the adcom has indicated they will not be receptive, can certainly hurt. As with just about everything in life, there is rarely anything that is all reward with no risk, but if you are a halfway decent writer and don't annoy them with multiple insignificant updates, the risk is low and the potential reward is high. Good luck!!

 

[PhD_to_DO]

I’m not sure if update letters and letters of intent actually help all that much (my wife sitscon the adcom at an AZ med school and shared with me that they don’t even read these things when students send them) but a well-written LOI wouldn’t hurt. Worse case scenario? It doesn’t get looked at. TBH, you said that you’ve been accepted to a DO progrsm; I’d thank the universe that for the acceptance and prepare to start medical school. I understand how it feels to be waitlisted and turned down by a preferred option (this happened to me when I was going for my PhD) but at the end of the day, you just need one program to see value in you. U of Missouri gave me my shot and the rest is history. Take the DO acceptance and go be a doctor. Best of luck to you.

 

[CrazyHorseLady]

I was waitlisted for one of my top choice schools at the beginning of November. Is there anything I can do that would help me at this point? I sent in an update letter with the most significant update in October (got a new Job) and there really isn't much more to add other than my development in that position. There have been some things I have been considering but I have my doubts about all of them.
1. send a letter of intent- someone I know is very insistent that they got in because of their LOI. but also this was 16 years ago and I've been rejected from that school anyway. On the other hand, I'm risking saying something that would negatively impact my application.
2. letter of continued interest/update letter- the issue here is that there isn't much to update on and the fact that I'm on still on the waitlist indicates that I am interested on being on the WL.
3. Just wait and do nothing. This seems like the best thing to do in order not to negatively impact my application but as I keep on getting more Rs and the cycle is starting to end, the anxiety is getting to me.

I would appreciate any insight that you can give on the matter.
PS I do have an A at a DO school so I have that to hold onto but I really like this particular program and would like to improve my chances as much as possible.

Send a letter of intent. I highly suggest if your job is not related to healthcare probably don’t talk about that in the letter unless there is something relevant. The best thing you can do is find someone else to let you shadow them, and write an update about that experience.

I got accepted after I sent a LOI to CCOM. I had not previously shadowed a DO and when I got waitlisted I found a DO to shadow, got a letter from him, and attached the letter with my LOI. I’m sure it had a lot to do with why they chose to take me off the waitlist.

Other than that, nothing wrong with DO school. Just had someone from our M4s I know personally match optho a couple weeks ago. Everyone I know has been matched (just waiting to hear where). Plus basic OMM can come in handy for life in general- I get requests from family members and my boyfriend for it all the time and it makes you more comfortable examining patients early on. So either way I wouldn’t stress.

-an OMS-3