George Washington 2008 Alternate List

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
H

hsentar

Full Member
10+ Year Member
5+ Year Member
15+ Year Member
Joined
Oct 13, 2006
Messages
97
Reaction score
0
Well, so here we go again, now that many SDNers have gotten off of the mystery GWU Hold, let's see what happens with the Alternate List this year. I received the official snail mail letter two weeks ago, after interviewing Dec 7th (i was previously on hold (twice actually), and had my application complete on 8/27).

From what I know, the alternate list will remain in a large, general body of people until interviews are complete. Sometime in March (possibly early April) they send a letter to all the alternates (snail mail) asking if you're still interested or not - you have to respond. There are two versions of this letter that go out, one "top priority / small pool of applicants" and one 'general' pool of applicants.

Some years there's no movement off the alternate list at GW, and some years there is quite a bit - it just depends.

I have confirmed all the above with the admissions office (this is my second year applying), and they also told me that there are still spots in the class, so people who are going for interviews are still being selected for the class and not just the alternate list.


good luck everybody :scared:lets pray for some movement this year.
Members don't see this ad.
 
At my interview they said they were going to interview 1000ish and then accept 300ish. That means a lot of people will be on the alternate list. Is there anything in the original decision letter that indicates whether or not we'll be in the top tier waitlist or the general waitlist?
 
No, there is nothing that indicates if you are top priority or general in the letters going out right now (at least there was none in my letter 2 weeks ago).

Do any SDN-ers have advice/info on how to increase your chances of making it to the top priority list (other than sending grades and updates)?
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Tofutti27 said:
No, there is nothing that indicates if you are top priority or general in the letters going out right now (at least there was none in my letter 2 weeks ago).

Do any SDN-ers have advice/info on how to increase your chances of making it to the top priority list (other than sending grades and updates)?
Click to expand...

I have no idea how their alternate list works, but I would think that a letter of interest (or intent if that's how strongly you feel) could only help. Good luck!
 
I sent a pre-interview Letter of Interest and a post-interview Letter of Intent (before I received my WL decision). Also sent pre and post-interview Updates. I don't want to bombard them with letters, but want to continue to show my enthusiasm and commitment.

Any ideas? I live in the DC area if that makes a difference.
 
Any other GW waitlisters out there? We've got to stick together!!!
 
i was waitlisted in november...i feel like being waitlisted so early was a sign that they definitely didn't want me, so i'm not holding out much hope.
 
^^ i know what you mean - i have friends who applied early decision, and got put on the waitlist immediately after being deferred.

but don't lose hope - the waitlist for GW will never ever move before the spring, no matter when you were placed on it.
 
Waitlisted - Really blows since it was the only school I interviewed at. But I'm not surprised given the way my faculty interview went and how ridiculous the ECs of the other applicants I was interviewing with were.

But I will definitely figure out a way to show my continual interest because this probably will be my only shot this cycle.
 
medfool24 said:
Waitlisted - Really blows since it was the only school I interviewed at. But I'm not surprised given the way my faculty interview went and how ridiculous the ECs of the other applicants I was interviewing with were.

But I will definitely figure out a way to show my continual interest because this probably will be my only shot this cycle.
Click to expand...

when did you interview? when was your letter dated?

ugh..i hate waiting

best of luck to all! :luck:
 
rawr88 said:
when did you interview? when was your letter dated?

ugh..i hate waiting

best of luck to all! :luck:
Click to expand...

I interviewed Feb. 5th and my letter was dated March 6th.
 
anyone know how early anyone has ever gotten of the "alternate list"?
 
Members don't see this ad :)
I'm an alternate too. Does anyone get rejected anymore? Does everyone who interviewed and did not get accepted become an alternate?
 
Come on GW, show me some love! :love:
Best of :luck: to all those waiting! I feel ya!
 
LeLu said:
I'm an alternate too. Does anyone get rejected anymore? Does everyone who interviewed and did not get accepted become an alternate?
Click to expand...


plenty of applicants were rejected post-interview. that's what makes being on the alternate list so bad and good at the same time... (sigh)
 
I called after I received the AL letter in January and they said to not really expect movement until May 15th. I got the feeling that since they get a high # of applicants, they wait to see if the GW accepted students are actually coming-then they start to pull people off the AL list when those who were accepted withdraw.
 
When people say "waitlist" do they mean "alternate"? Or is there a difference between the two for GW?
 
Indigo252 said:
When people say "waitlist" do they mean "alternate"? Or is there a difference between the two for GW?
Click to expand...

Officially, GW calls it the "alternate pool," but it's the same thing as a waitlist.
 
i have a question: GW sent me a letter after my interview. It says nothing. I liked the school and I appreciate that they sent it. I mean, I paid like $130 for my application there. From this meager sum I was presented a bounty: a lunch, a letter, and a mug and a folder filled with papers. But what's the deal with it? I guess my question is simply, "Huh?" Thanks!
GWU SOM said:
Dear Mr. Jebus,

Thank you so much for taking the time to visit The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences and interview with us! I certainly hope you achieved a better sense of our program and our student body. Our new technology, multitude of opportunities, dedicated faculty and diverse student body contribute to our goal of educating our students to become leaders, providing superior healthcare to the community.

Faculty and students enjoyed meeting with you and learning more about your passion for medicine as a career.

The Committee on Admissions carefully and judiciously reviews files, which does take some time. We humbly appreciate your patience in the process.
My best wishes and regards.

Sincurrrly,

Dean Lady.
Click to expand...

When should I expect my WL letter?
 
jebus said:
i have a question: GW sent me a letter after my interview. It says nothing.
Click to expand...

I am pretty sure everyone gets that letter post-interview. When did you interview? Did that letter come w/in less than a month post interview?
 
bostonhopes said:
I am pretty sure everyone gets that letter post-interview. When did you interview? Did that letter come w/in less than a month post interview?
Click to expand...

a couple o' days after my interview. late interview = (crazy delicious) WL. i know. but i just want some closure.
 
7 wks post-interview and no news...typical?
 
hsentar said:
Well, so here we go again, now that many SDNers have gotten off of the mystery GWU Hold, let's see what happens with the Alternate List this year. I received the official snail mail letter two weeks ago, after interviewing Dec 7th (i was previously on hold (twice actually), and had my application complete on 8/27).

From what I know, the alternate list will remain in a large, general body of people until interviews are complete. Sometime in March (possibly early April) they send a letter to all the alternates (snail mail) asking if you're still interested or not - you have to respond. There are two versions of this letter that go out, one "top priority / small pool of applicants" and one 'general' pool of applicants.

Some years there's no movement off the alternate list at GW, and some years there is quite a bit - it just depends.

I have confirmed all the above with the admissions office (this is my second year applying), and they also told me that there are still spots in the class, so people who are going for interviews are still being selected for the class and not just the alternate list.


good luck everybody :scared:lets pray for some movement this year.
Click to expand...
Does anyone have any more information on a "general" vs "high priority" alternate list letter or email? I got my first alternate list letter (the typical one) in the mail about two weeks ago (interviewed end of January), and I responded to them via email twice that I wanted to stay on the waitlist. But I got another email today that said "Updated Information for Alternates" which basically said "you remain active in our applicant pool. please tell us by 4/28 if you want to remain on the list, or we will withdraw you." Did anyone else get this? I don't think this indicates any position on the list, but I'm just wondering if it means anything. I just found it odd that I got this after I had already told them I was staying on it. Thoughts, anyone?
 
redwing5 said:
Does anyone have any more information on a " But I got another email today that said "Updated Information for Alternates" which basically said "you remain active in our applicant pool. please tell us by 4/28 if you want to remain on the list, or we will withdraw you." Did anyone else get this?
Click to expand...

I got this letter today as well.
 
I also got the alternate email today. I am withdrawing....Good luck everyone.
 
When did you guys interview?
I'm still waiting...:scared:
 
rds726 said:
When did you guys interview?
I'm still waiting...:scared:
Click to expand...

I'm still waiting, too. I interviewed mid-March, which is really, really late. It was probably their last batch of interviews. I'm thinking the best I can hope for is Alternate List. :(

At my interview, they also said to expect a response in 6-8 weeks, but someone at the Admissions Office told me we might be able to expect a faster response, since they're not as backed up now as they were in Oct/Nov/Dec.

Good luck!
 
I got the e-mail too. Did the applicants last year get that letter via e-mail or snail mail? Also, did anyone get an e-mail saying anything about "high priority"
 
yeah, i don't think this email indicated anything about priority. i posted about it just to figure out if this was the letter that hsentar talked about them sending to people in the alternate pool.

i interviewed last week of january and found out two weeks ago. so they did hold to their 6 wk time frame.
 
philiobuster said:
Hey medfool24, I think I may have interviewed the same day as you. Sorry about your WL. I know it probably won't make you feel any better, but I too received the dreaded WL today. Sad...Anyhow, best of luck to you and all on this thread.
Click to expand...

Oh really? That's interesting. Well maybe you remember who I am then. I think I was probably the least qualified among the bunch, that interview group was pretty...umm...unique. Thanks for the luck, I'll need it for sure.

Getting on with why I am posting, I got the e-mail about "Updated Information for Alternates" as well two days ago. I replied yesterday telling them that I was still interested and all wanted to remain on the waitlist.

There was no information about priority or anything like that. I agree with the comment about closure, but hey, I still want to get in :).

But being able to actually have a summer without worrying about something would be amazing.

Best of luck to all.
 
I just withdrew my acceptance to GW... hope it goes to one of you!

:luck::luck::luck::luck:
 
Got the waitlist letter today (no high priority mention)... not a big surprise. Here's to more waiting! Ugh.

Good luck at Mizzou/Rochester lacrossefiend73! I'm sure a deserving candidate will get your GW spot.
 
I also withdrew my acceptance to GWU this week.

Good luck to everyone waiting.

Like lacrossefiend73, I hope they pull one of you guys from the alternate list! :luck::luck::luck::luck:
 
rottiesrock said:
I also withdrew my acceptance to GWU this week.

Good luck to everyone waiting.

Like lacrossefiend73, I hope they pull one of you guys from the alternate list! :luck::luck::luck::luck:
Click to expand...

Thanks you two- best of luck to you both! :hardy:
 
put me on the list. I just got the mail today. :(
I would like to get in pretty badly but I don't know what I'll do if they don't let me know by like July. I'm gonna have to make plans for a different school.

How long are you guys planning to wait?
 
I already put a deposit down at another school (non-refundable). GW is my first choice so i'll wait until the day of orientation of the school I was accepted at :) as per AAMC guidelines of course. Congrats on getting in somewhere people. Good luck to you all.

Anyone know how soon they would start pulling people off the alternate list? I would imagine after May 15th. How soon though?
 
Add another bloke to the list...just got the letter in the post today. Cheers!
 
russiandoc said:
I already put a deposit down at another school (non-refundable). GW is my first choice so i'll wait until the day of orientation of the school I was accepted at :) as per AAMC guidelines of course. Congrats on getting in somewhere people. Good luck to you all.

Anyone know how soon they would start pulling people off the alternate list? I would imagine after May 15th. How soon though?
Click to expand...

I was told by the adm office that there would be "no real movement until after 5/15."
 
aliziry said:
Add another bloke to the list...just got the letter in the post today. Cheers!
Click to expand...

when did you interview?

just curious b/c i interviewed 2/26 and am still waiting. trying to get a sense if it i'm looking at another 2+ weeks or not...

thanks and good luck!
 
shepdogg2 said:
when did you interview?

just curious b/c i interviewed 2/26 and am still waiting. trying to get a sense if it i'm looking at another 2+ weeks or not...

thanks and good luck!
Click to expand...

got the letter: alternate list as well.... probably won't be too much movement until after 5/15, so the wait continues...

good luck everyone.
 
did other people receive the e-mail several days ago asking if you wish to remain on the alternate list? I'm trying to see if anybody's mentioned "small pool" or "high priority", mine had the words, "you are in a pool if applicants". (the word pool was really underlined in the email, leading me to believe there may have been alternate forms of the email). In the past, there has been a distinction.

anybody???
 
if you scroll up, it looks like a bunch of us got that email, with "you are in a pool of applicants," and were wondering the same thing. i think we all concluded that there was no small vs general pool distinction that they were going to let us know about.
 
redwing5 said:
if you scroll up, it looks like a bunch of us got that email,
Click to expand...

eek - sorry, i was in a rush and didn't read some of the latest posts.

goodluck everybody... maybe 6-8 more weeks before we start hearing anything.
 
So I stopped by the Admissions Office.... here's what I found out:

-They are still reviewing applications from the last batch of interviews, they still ~3 committee meetings left to make decisions and inform these applicants before 5/15.
-Only after 5/15 will they start looking at alternate list (this has been fairly obvious) - there's no prediction on if it will move it all or how much it may move, obviously because they haven't completed decisions from the last several interview days.
-I clearly asked if 5/15 was the actual date they would start reviewing applications and received a vague response - so probably within two or three weeks of that date.
-I was told that this year there was no 'high priority' or 'small pool of applicants' version of the letter - just the one form that I guess all of us on SDN received via e-mail. (I guess I believe it since nobody on SDN got the other version this time around, but in previous years the Admissions Office has denied the other letter's existence even when other students on SDN received it...)
-It was a little scary to find out that it takes almost two weeks between the time a letter arrives at the School of Medicine downstairs through the general mail and when they actually add it to your applicant file in the Admissions Office. So if anybody wants to send in additional LORs or LOIs, then now is the time to do it. Or if you know somebody in DC, have them hand-drop it off for you at the Admissions Office.

that is all.
 
hsentar said:
So I stopped by the Admissions Office.... here's what I found out:

-They are still reviewing applications from the last batch of interviews, they still ~3 committee meetings left to make decisions and inform these applicants before 5/15.
-Only after 5/15 will they start looking at alternate list (this has been fairly obvious) - there's no prediction on if it will move it all or how much it may move, obviously because they haven't completed decisions from the last several interview days.
-I clearly asked if 5/15 was the actual date they would start reviewing applications and received a vague response - so probably within two or three weeks of that date.
-I was told that this year there was no 'high priority' or 'small pool of applicants' version of the letter - just the one form that I guess all of us on SDN received via e-mail. (I guess I believe it since nobody on SDN got the other version this time around, but in previous years the Admissions Office has denied the other letter's existence even when other students on SDN received it...)

that is all.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the update!
 
Good to know. I received my WL letter through snail mail and not through email though.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Next unread thread

Similar threads

C
George Washington vs Temple LKSOM
Replies
1
Views
460
thefirerisen
thefirerisen
L
Wayne State vs Western Michigan vs George Washington (WL)
Replies
5
Views
856
Busy11pk
B
I
George Washington vs. Hofstra
Replies
9
Views
1K
showkayaker
S
chilly_md
2023-2024 George Washington
20 21 22 23 24
Replies
1K
Views
257K
spaghettimaster69
S
B
George Washington vs. Temple
Replies
2
Views
1K
Curlywhirly1
Curlywhirly1
Top