2009-2010 Penn Waitlist Thread

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What did your status page say?

  • Tier 1 + invite to Penn preview

    Votes: 6 11.8%

  • Tier 1 + you will be considered for admission very early

    Votes: 2 3.9%

  • "Regular" Tier 1

    Votes: 37 72.5%

  • Tier 2

    Votes: 6 11.8%
  • Total voters
    51
Status
Not open for further replies.
I cannot for the life of me figure out why Penn manages their waitlist in such a manner. They are supposed to create two tiers and have the members of each tier be unranked, yet they designate individuals within the first tier as being "considered for early admission" or "considered for early admission and invited to Penn Preview." Does that not contradict their statement that the waitlist is unranked? Why not just use a four-tier system (with the first two tiers replacing the superlative designations mentioned above) and spare us the confusion/frustration/deception? The way I see it (from reading past threads), the system at present seems to overestimate the chances that those in the "regular" tier 1 have of being admitted.

That was just an observation. As a member of the "regular" tier 1 waitlist, I will likely be withdrawing my application soon, so those of you who are staying on will have a higher chance of being accepted. Best of luck to all!
 
Greonis said:
I cannot for the life of me figure out why Penn manages their waitlist in such a manner. They are supposed to create two tiers and have the members of each tier be unranked, yet they designate individuals within the first tier as being "considered for early admission" or "considered for early admission and invited to Penn Preview." Does that not contradict their statement that the waitlist is unranked? Why not just use a four-tier system (with the first two tiers replacing the superlative designations mentioned above) and spare us the confusion/frustration/deception? The way I see it (from reading past threads), the system at present seems to overestimate the chances that those in the "regular" tier 1 have of being admitted.

That was just an observation. As a member of the "regular" tier 1 waitlist, I will likely be withdrawing my application soon, so those of you who are staying on will have a higher chance of being accepted. Best of luck to all!
Click to expand...

It is quite frustrating. I'm in the "regular" tier 1 as well, and while it is somewhat demoralizing to know that there are people who are explicitly to be considered before me, I still really want to go to Penn so I have no choice but to attempt to ignore it and to continue to pursue the school.

And yeah, I have no idea how often people from regular Tier 1 are admitted... We'll see!
 
Greonis said:
I cannot for the life of me figure out why Penn manages their waitlist in such a manner. They are supposed to create two tiers and have the members of each tier be unranked, yet they designate individuals within the first tier as being "considered for early admission" or "considered for early admission and invited to Penn Preview." Does that not contradict their statement that the waitlist is unranked? Why not just use a four-tier system (with the first two tiers replacing the superlative designations mentioned above) and spare us the confusion/frustration/deception? The way I see it (from reading past threads), the system at present seems to overestimate the chances that those in the "regular" tier 1 have of being admitted.

That was just an observation. As a member of the "regular" tier 1 waitlist, I will likely be withdrawing my application soon, so those of you who are staying on will have a higher chance of being accepted. Best of luck to all!
Click to expand...

Withdrawing so soon? Do you have other acceptances?
 
harishchandra said:
Withdrawing so soon? Do you have other acceptances?
Click to expand...
Yes, I do.

Don't get me wrong, Penn is a great school, and I was thrilled to be invited for an interview. But, given that I am accepted at other schools where I would be just as happy (if not happier) for numerous reasons, I see no reason to go through the trials and tribulations (not to mention uncertainties) of Penn's waitlist.
 
I have to agree. They're waitlist protocol seems totally weird to me. If it is going to be unranked, then it should be unranked. If they want to rank it, that's cool to, but don't beat around the bush with it and make us all even crazier than we already are.

Anyways, are any of you planning on sending letters of intent/interest to penn?

I think i read somewhere that in the past they've allowed in about 40 folks off the list. is this consistent with other schools?
 
ebuni00 said:
I have to agree. They're waitlist protocol seems totally weird to me. If it is going to be unranked, then it should be unranked. If they want to rank it, that's cool to, but don't beat around the bush with it and make us all even crazier than we already are.

Anyways, are any of you planning on sending letters of intent/interest to penn?

I think i read somewhere that in the past they've allowed in about 40 folks off the list. is this consistent with other schools?
Click to expand...


40 is on the higher end. Schools usually say it ranges from under ten to around 30-50.

Sending a letter of intent right now. 🙂 They said email or hard copy is fine.
 
nice! way to get on it super speedy. Who did you address it to? how long is it and what is your general format? at the moment i'm going with 1.what I like about penn and how we fit together 2. an update since I interviewed quite some time ago. really wish I'd sent this about a month ago! hard not to wonder if things would be different.
 
out of curiosity, is the person who got invited to the preview an MSTP student or just a lowly MD like me?
 
I sent one in February between my Dec. 5th interview and decisions and still got waitlisted so idk if it would have changed anything. Sending another now.
 
ebuni00 said:
nice! way to get on it super speedy. Who did you address it to? how long is it and what is your general format? at the moment i'm going with 1.what I like about penn and how we fit together 2. an update since I interviewed quite some time ago. really wish I'd sent this about a month ago! hard not to wonder if things would be different.
Click to expand...

Addressed to Gaye Sheffer. Its about a page long but that's including my address and her address. This is a pretty general I love Penn and this is why and if you accept me I will come letter. Ill be sending a seperate update later. Combined would be too long.

I already had this written. Just had to edit it a bit. I'm not usually this quick about things.
 
ebuni00 said:
out of curiosity, is the person who got invited to the preview an MSTP student or just a lowly MD like me?
Click to expand...

MD only, though we're definitely not "lowly" 😉
 
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Has anybody heard how many people are usually on the waitlist? From what I hear from the premed advisor at my undergrad institution, 30 students were admitted from the list last year.
 
quirks said:
Addressed to Gaye Sheffer. Its about a page long but that's including my address and her address. This is a pretty general I love Penn and this is why and if you accept me I will come letter. Ill be sending a seperate update later. Combined would be too long.

I already had this written. Just had to edit it a bit. I'm not usually this quick about things.
Click to expand...


seems like a good approach- and then you have another reason to contact them in a few weeks.
what email address have you been using when you've been asking questions?
I sent one to
♫
[email protected] but didn't get a response. perhaps they're just swamped though.
 
ebuni00 said:
seems like a good approach- and then you have another reason to contact them in a few weeks.
what email address have you been using when you've been asking questions?
I sent one to
♫
[email protected] but didn't get a response. perhaps they're just swamped though.
Click to expand...

Yup, that's the email I've been using for everything. I emailed my letter there as an attachment, and I might mail a hard copy too. I think they are swamped. I sent an email early yesterday and didn't get a response till sometime this afternoon. At some point (April? It's not urgent) I'll need to send an email about contact info. I'll be out of the country May 10th to May 31st. Which is terrible for being on wait lists but I'm not canceling my vacation! I needs it.

As to your earlier question about the waitlist, the wait list faq says:

How many others are on the waitlist?

There are not a fixed number of positions on the waitlist. Individuals are placed on the waitlist if they are found to be highly qualified, and there is no room in the class. The list ranges from a larger number (400) in March to a reduced size (100) later in the year (May). Reductions occur by self-selection or Committee action.


Wow. I need to stay out of the Penn Med Class of 2013 thread. It's really sad reading the thread and they're all deciding between Penn and other places (that didn't want me either).
 
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How do you guys know which tier you are in? I don't know where I can find out which one I am in. I've contacted the admissions office, but they are so unwilling to answer questions. Also, is there a difference between the hold list and the wait list? So if there are about 400 on the wait list, this must mean that almost nobody gets flat out rejected after the interview, but does this make sense?

Good luck to all of you!
 
greeng said:
How do you guys know which tier you are in? I don't know where I can find out which one I am in. I've contacted the admissions office, but they are so unwilling to answer questions. Also, is there a difference between the hold list and the wait list? So if there are about 400 on the wait list, this must mean that almost nobody gets flat out rejected after the interview, but does this make sense?

Good luck to all of you!
Click to expand...

If hold is pre-interview hold, then yes, there's a difference. Wait list happens post interview, and yes, it does seem like they don't really reject post interview.

If you were interviewed, you have a status page that they sent you when you got the interview invitation, and that is where you find out your post interview admission decision.

Did that help? I can't tell based on your post whether you were interviewed or not.
 
Thanks for responding so fast! Yes, I did interview (Feb 2) and was put on the hold list. Hmm, I've been going through the emails I got when I got the interview invite, and the only thing there is a link to the general PSU Medical website. I've also logged into the secondary application again, and it just saya that the admissions committee is going to make a decision and notify me in a few weeks...I am a bit confused.
 
greeng said:
Thanks for responding so fast! Yes, I did interview (Feb 2) and was put on the hold list. Hmm, I've been going through the emails I got when I got the interview invite, and the only thing there is a link to the general PSU Medical website. I've also logged into the secondary application again, and it just saya that the admissions committee is going to make a decision and notify me in a few weeks...I am a bit confused.
Click to expand...

LOL. I think you're on the wrong thread 🙂. We're talking about UPenn's waitlist, not Penn State. I think they have another thread going. You might find more info there. Good luck!
 
MightyChip26 said:
LOL. I think you're on the wrong thread 🙂. We're talking about UPenn's waitlist, not Penn State. I think they have another thread going. You might find more info there. Good luck!
Click to expand...

It all makes sense now. :laugh: I can see how the name of this thread would be confusing.
 
are the people on the waitlist who were invited to Preview going to go?
 
How many of you folks are planning on staying on the waitlist? Will you hang on till the bitter end or set a deadline. I know at a certain point i'm just gonna have to cut my losses. I hear those stories of people being accepted a day before class starts, but I certainly can't handle that level of uncertainty, that's for sure!
 
ebuni00 said:
How many of you folks are planning on staying on the waitlist? Will you hang on till the bitter end or set a deadline. I know at a certain point i'm just gonna have to cut my losses. I hear those stories of people being accepted a day before class starts, but I certainly can't handle that level of uncertainty, that's for sure!
Click to expand...

I think my deadline is when I move out of my current apartment. I have my apartment till the end of July, but depending on what acceptance I'm holding at the time, I might move earlier or later. If I'm going to SUNY Downstate (which right now I need to assume that I am), I need to start living in New York in July to qualify for state residency for the next year, so then that would be my deadline.
 
quirks said:
I think my deadline is when I move out of my current apartment. I have my apartment till the end of July, but depending on what acceptance I'm holding at the time, I might move earlier or later. If I'm going to SUNY Downstate (which right now I need to assume that I am), I need to start living in New York in July to qualify for state residency for the next year, so then that would be my deadline.
Click to expand...

sounds like a plan quirks. for what its worth, I live in brooklyn and know a fair bit about downstate and the clinical experience there is pretty unbeatable.
also, as somebody raised in bk, it's a really wonderful place to live, so no matter what happens you have some things on the horizon.
 
I'm glad there is now a Penn waitlist thread for this year! I also agree with the fact that the ranking/unranking is confusing and frustrating. I am definitely going to put effort into getting off of the waitlist...at the same time, I don't want to become more obsessed with Penn than I already am if I (a regular tier 1) really has no realistic shot at getting in.

Anyways, I'm sending in a letter of intent tomorrow and an update on my research in a few weeks.
 
ebuni00 said:
sounds like a plan quirks. for what its worth, I live in brooklyn and know a fair bit about downstate and the clinical experience there is pretty unbeatable.
also, as somebody raised in bk, it's a really wonderful place to live, so no matter what happens you have some things on the horizon.
Click to expand...

Thanks for saying that actually. 🙂 I know very little about New York in general and I've seen very little of Brooklyn.

linguini said:
I'm glad there is now a Penn waitlist thread for this year! I also agree with the fact that the ranking/unranking is confusing and frustrating. I am definitely going to put effort into getting off of the waitlist...at the same time, I don't want to become more obsessed with Penn than I already am if I (a regular tier 1) really has no realistic shot at getting in.

Anyways, I'm sending in a letter of intent tomorrow and an update on my research in a few weeks.
Click to expand...

Isn't it kind of frustrating that all we can do is send letters and then wait for over a month to see what happens? I'm really glad I had a very early and quick "I can do this!" surge of energy and now I'm able to go on with my life (except for still lingering on SDN...).

I admit I'm a little worried about the poll numbers. I'm hoping they're not that representative of the larger population, because if so, that's a lot of people in the higher Tier 1s. 🙁 I hope my early letter helps.
 
I admit I'm a little worried about the poll numbers. I'm hoping they're not that representative of the larger population, because if so, that's a lot of people in the higher Tier 1s. 🙁 I hope my early letter helps.[/quote]

I would imagine that SDN is probably skewed towards the higher end of things. I would make sure to take the poll results with a grain of salt.
 
After reading past PENN waitlist threads, am curious if:

Only/mostly MD/PhDs are in "Tier 2"?
Only/mostly MDPhDs are invited for preview?

Feel free to confirm or deny.

gl to all waiting:luck:
 
ebuni00 said:
I would imagine that SDN is probably skewed towards the higher end of things. I would make sure to take the poll results with a grain of salt.
Click to expand...

True. Anyway, there isn't really anything much I can do at this point but wait for May (and make sure I send the rest of my letters later this month). 🙂

RainerMaria said:
After reading past PENN waitlist threads, am curious if:

Only/mostly MD/PhDs are in "Tier 2"?
Only/mostly MDPhDs are invited for preview?

Feel free to confirm or deny.

gl to all waiting:luck:
Click to expand...

I don't know anything about Tier 2, but I do know that there are MD students invited for preview. I don't know the numbers though.
 
RainerMaria said:
After reading past PENN waitlist threads, am curious if:

Only/mostly MD/PhDs are in "Tier 2"?
Only/mostly MDPhDs are invited for preview?

Feel free to confirm or deny.

gl to all waiting:luck:
Click to expand...

I'm not sure either but i heard that most of the folks invited for preview are MD/PHD. I know at least one person on this site is just MD though. maybe other folks invited to preview could chime in?
 
for those who sent LOIs: did you just send it via email, or did you also send a hard copy? thanks!!!
 
LaLu112 said:
for those who sent LOIs: did you just send it via email, or did you also send a hard copy? thanks!!!
Click to expand...

I sent it only via email to [email protected] as Penn seems to prefer electronic correspondences over surface mail. But I'm sure it's fine if you also send a hard copy.
 
me too. I think you could send a hard copy in addition if you wanted to, but I would not send only a hard copy. I've just gotten the sense through this whole process that Penn is pretty paperless these days, so I would make sure to email one. good luck!
 
thanks everyone! i emailed it this morning...i procrastinated a little in writing it. hope i didn't wait too long!
 
I don't think its too late. I would say by May it will be too late. But who knows, our chances are so slim anyway.
 
Good morning!

Did anyone who sent a letter via email get a response from the admission's office to confirm that it was received? I didn't, but I want to make sure I'm not the only one here.
 
linguini said:
Good morning!

Did anyone who sent a letter via email get a response from the admission's office to confirm that it was received? I didn't, but I want to make sure I'm not the only one here.
Click to expand...

No response so far. Only time they replied was when I had questions.
 
I got a confirmation of my letter about a week after I had sent it
 
Enroh said:
I got a confirmation of my letter about a week after I had sent it
Click to expand...

Hmmm ok, good to know. I sent mine on the 1st so hopefully I will get confirmation that they received it shortly or I'll call and ask. If you remember, what email did you send it to? Seems like there are 2 email addresses for the admissions office ([email protected] and [email protected]). I sent it to the former and have not received any confirmation.
 
I sent to the adms2009 email address on March 31st, heard back from them on April 6th.
 
Enroh said:
I sent to the adms2009 email address on March 31st, heard back from them on April 6th.
Click to expand...

I emailed [email protected] on the 27th and haven't gotten a response yet. =/ I think I'll try to be patient and wait till next Monday though. Or maybe I'll give in and call tomorrow.
 
I emailed my LOI to admiss@... on 4/1 and got a confirmation email today 4/9. Something along the lines of "we will make sure it's added to your file...the waitlist won't be used until early may at the earliest...let us know if you have any questions."

Quirks - since you sent your letter a few days before mine, if you still haven't gotten a confirmation, you may want to give them a call just to make sure it was received!
 
I also received a confirmation email today, and I sent in my letter on 4/6 (fast turnaround!). It said pretty much the same thing...it's nice to know that they got it though!
 
linguini said:
I emailed my LOI to admiss@... on 4/1 and got a confirmation email today 4/9. Something along the lines of "we will make sure it's added to your file...the waitlist won't be used until early may at the earliest...let us know if you have any questions."

Quirks - since you sent your letter a few days before mine, if you still haven't gotten a confirmation, you may want to give them a call just to make sure it was received!
Click to expand...

LaLu112 said:
I also received a confirmation email today, and I sent in my letter on 4/6 (fast turnaround!). It said pretty much the same thing...it's nice to know that they got it though!
Click to expand...

Well crap. I'm going to re-email today and call tomorrow/Monday. And the whole point was to have sent it super early! 🙁
 
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