2012-2013 Panic Thread

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I've been trying to figure out when the most waitlist movement should occur at schools. We all know the big decision day is May 15th. However, I'm thinking that most movement wont start happening until the days and weeks after the 15th due to the "chain reaction" of people dropping acceptances and causing waitlists to shift around. Am I correct? Or are we just gonna see a massive cluster **** of waitlist movement on the 15th exactly?
 
I've been trying to figure out when the most waitlist movement should occur at schools. We all know the big decision day is May 15th. However, I'm thinking that most movement wont start happening until the days and weeks after the 15th due to the "chain reaction" of people dropping acceptances and causing waitlists to shift around. Am I correct? Or are we just gonna see a massive cluster **** of waitlist movement on the 15th exactly?

People are usually accepted from the waitlist beginning about a week after the May 15 deadline for holding multiple acceptances. From what I have seen, quite a bit of waitlist movement happens in the period from the end of May to mid-June, but people can be accepted off of a waitlist in July or even August.
 
I've been trying to figure out when the most waitlist movement should occur at schools. We all know the big decision day is May 15th. However, I'm thinking that most movement wont start happening until the days and weeks after the 15th due to the "chain reaction" of people dropping acceptances and causing waitlists to shift around. Am I correct? Or are we just gonna see a massive cluster **** of waitlist movement on the 15th exactly?

From what I've seen in the past school specific threads, it seems that May 15 - May 25 will be the grand cluster****. Then it's a light trickle. It depends on the school though.
 
Anyone with thoughts about DO U.S. schools vs. overseas programs? Making the choice soon and looking at all sorts of programs. All feedback much appreciated! :idea: thanks a bunch you all!🙄

DO man. That is, unless you are considering living in a foreign country. If you cant go US MD, go DO all day.
 
Thanks for the WL info guys. The school I'm waitlisted at ranks us and updates the list every week so I can see the movement as it comes, which is nice. I was just curious because they have been taking one or two per week already which I was surprised about...
 
Today I DIDN'T get accepted at Jefferson, tomorrow I find out whether I was high priority waitlisted or just waitlisted (0-no chance) ugh.

I hate my life lol
 
Thanks for the WL info guys. The school I'm waitlisted at ranks us and updates the list every week so I can see the movement as it comes, which is nice. I was just curious because they have been taking one or two per week already which I was surprised about...

Man, I really wish more schools did this. Is it so much to ask that we get just a tad bit more information on the likelihood of getting off your waitlist. Bleh.
 
Damn, but the overseas things look appealing. They post res. placement rates etc. not all that shines is gold? ahhhh
To be fair, this is a hotly-debated topic still. There are some opportunities that are absolutely closed to you if you go the DO right, and the same goes for IMGs as well. So, depending on what you want, one may be better than the other.
 
Man, I really wish more schools did this. Is it so much to ask that we get just a tad bit more information on the likelihood of getting off your waitlist. Bleh.

Its nice and really takes the weight off my shoulders knowing I will probably get that MD acceptance. More schools should really do this.
 
Its nice and really takes the weight off my shoulders knowing I will probably get that MD acceptance. More schools should really do this.

Yeah, on the other hand, the schools that waitlisted me seem like they waitlist all the interviewees. Chances of an MD acceptance are as low as getting an interview...
 
Yeah, on the other hand, the schools that waitlisted me seem like they waitlist all the interviewees. Chances of an MD acceptance are as low as getting an interview...

Dang man thats no fun. Even knowing where I'm at on the list STILL doesnt help with the anxiety....I still stress about it.
 
Yeah, on the other hand, the schools that waitlisted me seem like they waitlist all the interviewees. Chances of an MD acceptance are as low as getting an interview...

I think almost all schools do this for some strange reason.
 
Well I still think that there are applicants who will never get in off the waitlist and should have been rejected. I mean, there are schools that throw ~500 people onto their waitlist. When you're accepting 150-200 people off your waitlist at the very most, then there should be no real reason why the people ranked at 300-500 should be there in the first place.
 
500 seems way high! Thats crazy....the one im on is 50...
 
500 seems way high! Thats crazy....the one im on is 50...

Only 50? From reading many of the school-specific threads on here, I get the feeling that quite a few schools are waitlisting just about everyone that doesn't get accepted after interview.
 
Only 50? From reading many of the school-specific threads on here, I get the feeling that quite a few schools are waitlisting just about everyone that doesn't get accepted after interview.

I was rejected without waitlist at 2/3 schools at which I interviewed, and wait listed at the third
 
I got alt. waitlisted at Jefferson today :/ They have a high priority waitlist that has never been exhausted :/

UGH, Looks like I'm reapplying, both schools I'm still waiting to hear from have low post interview acceptance rates and are also more conservative late in the game :/

I also be reapplying with a lower gpa and significant grade decline, senior 1st semester I got a 2.8 (from a 3.8 junior year) and this semester I'll likely be in the 2.0 area as well (though I plan on submitting transcripts to AMCAS before spring grades come out 😛). This drops my GPA from 3.74 -> 3.64 but on my AMCAS it will say Senior Year GPA- 2.85 which is probably a red flag. Ugh

I hate my life
 
I got alt. waitlisted at Jefferson today :/ They have a high priority waitlist that has never been exhausted :/

UGH, Looks like I'm reapplying, both schools I'm still waiting to hear from have low post interview acceptance rates and are also more conservative late in the game :/

I also be reapplying with a lower gpa and significant grade decline, senior 1st semester I got a 2.8 (from a 3.8 junior year) and this semester I'll likely be in the 2.0 area as well (though I plan on submitting transcripts to AMCAS before spring grades come out 😛). This drops my GPA from 3.74 -> 3.64 but on my AMCAS it will say Senior Year GPA- 2.85 which is probably a red flag. Ugh

I hate my life

Same, my last semester is gonna tank the hell out of my GPA. It's like this process just took away all of my energy. 🙁
 
Only 50? From reading many of the school-specific threads on here, I get the feeling that quite a few schools are waitlisting just about everyone that doesn't get accepted after interview.

Super small state school man. Very selective and not very competitive haha
 
I got alt. waitlisted at Jefferson today :/ They have a high priority waitlist that has never been exhausted :/

UGH, Looks like I'm reapplying, both schools I'm still waiting to hear from have low post interview acceptance rates and are also more conservative late in the game :/

I also be reapplying with a lower gpa and significant grade decline, senior 1st semester I got a 2.8 (from a 3.8 junior year) and this semester I'll likely be in the 2.0 area as well (though I plan on submitting transcripts to AMCAS before spring grades come out 😛). This drops my GPA from 3.74 -> 3.64 but on my AMCAS it will say Senior Year GPA- 2.85 which is probably a red flag. Ugh

I hate my life

Damn, I'm sorry man. I still hope one of those waitlists turn out. I have no experience on the matter, but I think schools will be wondering why they don't see senior year grades when you are reapplying right? Maybe you have a good explanation for grade drop? A 3.64 is still relatively solid and maybe you have extra research/volunteering to add on? If not maybe think about taking a year off before applying again.
 
I think I have a solid app for applying ASIDE from the grade cline, would taking a year off really be worth that?

I continued research in my lab and got a published abstract+ poster conference, haven't done much else aside from intramurals

I can apply w/o my last semester GPA because my reasoning will be I wanted a early app becaus emy last cycle was late. Submitting my grades before they come out will assure my application will be complete on the 1st day of June (transcripts and all) its kind of how a bunch of UC kids do not wait for their spring grades before submitting as spring rgades are released mid to late June and people don't think the grade enhancements are worth 3-4 weeks of extra verification. Mine will be similar though my grades are released late May (so I'll submit before that). Therefore I will only have 1 bad semester versus 2.


Solid plan lol?
 
I got alt. waitlisted at Jefferson today :/ They have a high priority waitlist that has never been exhausted :/

UGH, Looks like I'm reapplying, both schools I'm still waiting to hear from have low post interview acceptance rates and are also more conservative late in the game :/

I also be reapplying with a lower gpa and significant grade decline, senior 1st semester I got a 2.8 (from a 3.8 junior year) and this semester I'll likely be in the 2.0 area as well (though I plan on submitting transcripts to AMCAS before spring grades come out 😛). This drops my GPA from 3.74 -> 3.64 but on my AMCAS it will say Senior Year GPA- 2.85 which is probably a red flag. Ugh

I hate my life

Sorry to hear about the wait list at Jefferson. It stinks that they string you along like that.

But, really, don't reapply right away. If you still have finals left, try your best to bring your GPA up--it will really hurt if you have that significant of a grade decrease on your record. You won't get around this by not including these grades on your transcript; many schools will specifically ask to see updated grade reports.

If you're going to reapply, you need to show second how you've improved since your last app. Even with a better GPA (.1 increase), better MCAT, more shadowing, and around 100 hours more experience, I had trouble this cycle. You need to either get more research or clinical experience. I know your MCAT is solid, but if you could improve it, it would offset the grade decrease; still, most people would advise against retaking a 34 MCAT.

Good luck
 
I think I have a solid app for applying ASIDE from the grade cline, would taking a year off really be worth that?

I continued research in my lab and got a published abstract+ poster conference, haven't done much else aside from intramurals

I can apply w/o my last semester GPA because my reasoning will be I wanted a early app becaus emy last cycle was late. Submitting my grades before they come out will assure my application will be complete on the 1st day of June (transcripts and all) its kind of how a bunch of UC kids do not wait for their spring grades before submitting as spring rgades are released mid to late June and people don't think the grade enhancements are worth 3-4 weeks of extra verification. Mine will be similar though my grades are released late May (so I'll submit before that). Therefore I will only have 1 bad semester versus 2.


Solid plan lol?

Maybe post this is wamc or reapp forum. People there will be more knowledgeable than us. My advice is probably to wait a year before reapplying. A drop of 0.1 is kinda high in my opinion if you don't have a reasonable excuse. I don't think submitting app early will get you past the spring grades part. I believe schools will ask for updated transcripts later, but, again, don't quote me on that. The publication + poster is a positive boost though, so you do have that going for you.

Get some solid life experience. I loved my gap year and would not trade it for the world. In fact, I probably made a mistake applying last year as I needed my research experience that I got this year in order to be competitive. While it will suck reapplying, I have no problems or worries about taking another year off. Its your choice in the end. Ask more people about your situation and make an informed decision. Rushing into another application cycle is not advisable.
 
I cannot wait 2 years, I worked arm and leg to apply junior year, I was just late.

I can't imagine not applying this cycle

Aren't my stats still good at 3.65/34?

I had bronchitis this semester the week of all my midterms, plus interviews heavily affected my grades.

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Sorry to hear about the wait list at Jefferson. It stinks that they string you along like that.

But, really, don't reapply right away. If you still have finals left, try your best to bring your GPA up--it will really hurt if you have that significant of a grade decrease on your record. You won't get around this by not including these grades on your transcript; many schools will specifically ask to see updated grade reports.

If you're going to reapply, you need to show second how you've improved since your last app. Even with a better GPA (.1 increase), better MCAT, more shadowing, and around 100 hours more experience, I had trouble this cycle. You need to either get more research or clinical experience. I know your MCAT is solid, but if you could improve it, it would offset the grade decrease; still, most people would advise against retaking a 34 MCAT.

Good luck

Wouldn't you say your scenario is an outlier?

I mean you did get a lot of interviews no?

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Wouldn't you say your scenario is an outlier?

I mean you did get a lot of interviews no?

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Perhaps I shouldn't have used myself as an example. I'm going to partially revise what I said earlier--your numbers are good, for now. But as a reapplicant, you have to ask yourself-- is my application any different, or better, than last cycle? Almost every secondary is going to ask what you have to add since the last time you applied; you can't just say you applied earlier, and they aren't going to know that's the reason you didn't get in the first time around.

You said that your GPA is going to decrease-- that's going to be a problem, even if you still have a 3.64. If you're applying the first time with that GPA, it probably wouldn't be an issue. But think, if you were an adcom, how would it appear that the only change in the applicant's profile is a decrease in grades? When I knew I would be reapplying last cycle, I made day-gone sure that I was going to bring my grades and MCAT up, and get more clinical experiences. I knew that I had something substantial to talk about if asked the 'how have you improved?' question.

If you feel any new experiences that you have had this year make your application stronger, by all means apply again. But just applying early with the same app is a bad strategy in my mind. And there's nothing more depressing than failing to get in a second time around.

You should post this in the 'what are my chances forum'-- Catalystik gives much better advice than I can.
 
Nabiles, I felt the same way as you did when I got my last decision but I think it's an objectively better decision to wait a year. Our applications and demographics aren't so different, we were both late, we're both undergrads, and we're around the same range numbers wise. I can't speak for you but I don't think the lateness was the sole damaging factor in my application. From what I've noticed, the majority of the people at my interviews were in their gap year and older than me. I just think that while my application is strong enough, I just don't have the life experience and didn't conduct myself as maturely as the older applicants. Maybe it's something subtle, but they definitely seemed to be better than me in the personality department. I guess I'm relatively immature and that is probably the reason why I failed out of 5 interviews. I'm not going to suggest that you're immature but maybe taking a year off will let people like you and me get into a great school in the future.

I'm still bouncing around between my choices but I am leaning towards taking a year off before applying again. I'll probably make a post on WAMC to see what Catalystik thinks in the next few days.
 
@TheShaker - your post shows some wisdom and I think waiting a year and reapplying is a good decision. I am sure you will be able to get into a great school if you keep up this good attitude and continue to excel in all areas.
 
I understand, I don't know maybe I'm stubborn but I think I could get into a school so long as my grade decline is not a red flag. Also replying after another year would include spring grades dropping me to a 3.5 most likely- plus I would probably have to do post back simply because one year at A 2.5 as my most recent year will still be a red flag and post bacs are expensive.

I real lay want to be in medical school. I went to 3 community colleges at a time to make sure it only took me 2 years to transfer, and I finished my 2 years at USC on time and applied after junior year because of how much I Crave to be learning my field of interest. I couldn't stand applying after senior year, applying after one year of college means 2 years of further postponing medical school.

I think whatever ec experience I gain by 1 extra year will be counterbalanced by another .1 GPA drop, the cost of a post bac, and delay of my passion

I already learned a lot about why I want to be a doctor by practicing interviews, I think I could write a better personal statement now

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@nabilesmail - I think you should make a post in the "what are my chances" thread so you can get some adcom opinions. Either way that you reapply, you are going to have to deal with the grade drop dilemma.
 
I understand, I don't know maybe I'm stubborn but I think I could get into a school so long as my grade decline is not a red flag. Also replying after another year would include spring grades dropping me to a 3.5 most likely- plus I would probably have to do post back simply because one year at A 2.5 as my most recent year will still be a red flag and post bacs are expensive.

I real lay want to be in medical school. I went to 3 community colleges at a time to make sure it only took me 2 years to transfer, and I finished my 2 years at USC on time and applied after junior year because of how much I Crave to be learning my field of interest. I couldn't stand applying after senior year, applying after one year of college means 2 years of further postponing medical school.

I think whatever ec experience I gain by 1 extra year will be counterbalanced by another .1 GPA drop, the cost of a post bac, and delay of my passion

I already learned a lot about why I want to be a doctor by practicing interviews, I think I could write a better personal statement now

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I think you should think long and hard about your next move. From your logic, it seems like you are playing this as a numbers game and think ECs and strengthening your app. can "make up" for drops in GPA. At this point in school you should have the process figured out and you should be kicking ass and taking names in your classes. The bad semester seems like a major red flag at this point and it may be hard to explain. The first thoughts that come to mind are: 1) This kid is obviously smart. Did he/she slack off because they thought they would get in this year and grades wouldn't matter? or 2) Can they handle med school when things get a little stressful? Sickness and interviews can explain a dip in grades, but a 2.8? Try to get that up with finals coming up.

Do not retake the MCAT. Your score is awesome and increasing it isn't going to make up for anything.

There is really no need to rush this process. We all have goals but take a step back, you're what 21? From what you have said in your posts it kind of seems like you are in a hasty rush to get into med school. To be honest, you might apply next year and get in. It's definitively possible, but do you really want to go through this horrible struggle again with a less than stellar reapplication?
 
Yeah I understand, but my process was always tough and stressful. I had to start college from like Algebra 2 -> Calc 2 and remedial english because I was a terrible student in HS/Middle schools etc. But I got to transferring in 2 yrs, graduating in 4, and applying after Junior year. I most definitely can handle myself, these two semesters were burnout+ paired with bad luck + interviews affecting grades+ more bad luck (lost quizzes etc)

I hate my life lol. 3 years of hard work and I'm stuck!
 
Same, my last semester is gonna tank the hell out of my GPA. It's like this process just took away all of my energy. 🙁

It scares the **** out of me that you did not get an acceptance...
 
It scares the **** out of me that you did not get an acceptance...

Don't worry, I didn't really have the smoothest cycle due to a few major mistakes that I made. Looking at the statistics, 93% of 3.8/34 applicants make it in. It sucks to be me, but you probably won't be. 🙂
 
Yeah I understand, but my process was always tough and stressful. I had to start college from like Algebra 2 -> Calc 2 and remedial english because I was a terrible student in HS/Middle schools etc. But I got to transferring in 2 yrs, graduating in 4, and applying after Junior year. I most definitely can handle myself, these two semesters were burnout+ paired with bad luck + interviews affecting grades+ more bad luck (lost quizzes etc)

I hate my life lol. 3 years of hard work and I'm stuck!

I decided to go to med school 5 years ago, double majored, took 2 gaps years to do research and I still might not get in. It's cool though. I just keeping working hard to get better and I'll just get into a better school next year or score a scholarship if I don't get SD or MN this year. Things usually work out in the end, just keep at it.

I just had a phone meeting yesterday with the advisor at Madison (my state school) they interviewed me on the last day of interviews (February), wait listed me, and rejected me a week later. Come to find out that they loved me, they were just concerned because I was lacking clinical experience. Turns out, my interviewer didn't mention that I had been shadowing an internist every Thursday morning since November and watching neurosurgeries at work..... I felt sick to my stomach when I heard it. Silver lining is that I now know what the concerns were and it's likely that the other schools that wait listed me have the same concern. Kickass update is being composed for UCSD!
 
I just had a phone meeting yesterday with the advisor at Madison (my state school) they interviewed me on the last day of interviews (February), wait listed me, and rejected me a week later. Come to find out that they loved me, they were just concerned because I was lacking clinical experience. Turns out, my interviewer didn't mention that I had been shadowing an internist every Thursday morning since November and watching neurosurgeries at work..... I felt sick to my stomach when I heard it. Silver lining is that I now know what the concerns were and it's likely that the other schools that wait listed me have the same concern. Kickass update is being composed for UCSD!

Thank you for reminding me why I wanted to call them too. I told an advisor that I planned to call a couple of schools to find out where things went wrong, but he told me to just concentrate on sending letters of interest to the schools at which I am waitlisted. However, it would be nice to know if there are any areas of concern I can try to mitigate or eliminate in my letters. Good luck with your letters, and I hope you get that acceptance this year!
 
I decided to go to med school 5 years ago, double majored, took 2 gaps years to do research and I still might not get in. It's cool though. I just keeping working hard to get better and I'll just get into a better school next year or score a scholarship if I don't get SD or MN this year. Things usually work out in the end, just keep at it.

I just had a phone meeting yesterday with the advisor at Madison (my state school) they interviewed me on the last day of interviews (February), wait listed me, and rejected me a week later. Come to find out that they loved me, they were just concerned because I was lacking clinical experience. Turns out, my interviewer didn't mention that I had been shadowing an internist every Thursday morning since November and watching neurosurgeries at work..... I felt sick to my stomach when I heard it. Silver lining is that I now know what the concerns were and it's likely that the other schools that wait listed me have the same concern. Kickass update is being composed for UCSD!

Nice attitude. Good luck with everything. Its looking highly likely I'm taking 2 gap years as well. Sorry about that Madison thing...did you not put that experience down on AMCAS?
 
Nice attitude. Good luck with everything. Its looking highly likely I'm taking 2 gap years as well. Sorry about that Madison thing...did you not put that experience down on AMCAS?

I started shadowing after my primary and secondary for Madison were submitted. Madison makes it very clear that at the end of the faculty interview you have the opportunity to include any updates (this is the only opportunity to update anything about your file). I told her to included some abstracts I put out and a protocol amendment I had written for a new project but I didn't mention the shadowing specifically. I didn't mention it at that point because we had talked about it for about 10 minutes during the interview. She just didn't say anything about it in the report she wrote. It was my mistake but I just assumed it would get mentioned.
 
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Thank you for reminding me why I wanted to call them too. I told an advisor that I planned to call a couple of schools to find out where things went wrong, but he told me to just concentrate on sending letters of interest to the schools at which I am waitlisted. However, it would be nice to know if there are any areas of concern I can try to mitigate or eliminate in my letters. Good luck with your letters, and I hope you get that acceptance this year!

Thanks. After speaking with her it was kind of a wakeup call. A solid update can make ALL the difference. I was paranoid about a couple things such as my 8 in VR and the fact that I have done 5 years of research without a publication (work is coming to a head and I'll have around 4-5 this summer). At least at Madison, all they want is a composite score of 30 or better because it means you will pass step 1 the first time. Even a 28 or 29 is usually good enough for them. She said they really liked that I work at NIH and they had no concerns about my ability to succeed academically. It became very apparent that with the high number of qualified applicants it only takes a minor shortcoming to get wait listed or rejected in this process.
 
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I see the panic has died down a bit since this thread regularly falls to the 4th and 5th page
Anyways, 5 ii, 3 rejections, 1 waitlist (ie rejection), still waiting for my last school
I felt the interview went okay... We're all gonna make it.
 
I see the panic has died down a bit since this thread regularly falls to the 4th and 5th page
Anyways, 5 ii, 3 rejections, 1 waitlist (ie rejection), still waiting for my last school
I felt the interview went okay... We're all gonna make it.

I was wondering when this would pop back up. Let's all hurry up and wait.
 
Well the 15th is 2 weeks away. Fingers crossed.

btw, rather than create a new thread, I was hoping someone can give a quick answer to my question. I have a publication coming up, but there might be a chance it won't be in by June 5th. So is it better to wait on submitting primary till I get it published or should I just note on the primary that publication is pending and submit on first day?
 
Well the 15th is 2 weeks away. Fingers crossed.

btw, rather than create a new thread, I was hoping someone can give a quick answer to my question. I have a publication coming up, but there might be a chance it won't be in by June 5th. So is it better to wait on submitting primary till I get it published or should I just note on the primary that publication is pending and submit on first day?

Submit without it being published. The reason for this is that you don't know for sure it will be published in a week or a year. I would submit the app the first day and just send an update letter once it is actually published.
 
What do you mean, the panic has died down? I'm sitting here on eight waitlists. ¡Viva el pánico!

My top choice has been telling me I'm 'in a pretty good position,' but other people are getting pulled from the wait list before me. I guess it depends on the definition of 'pretty good.' So it looks like I'm going DO.

Oh, and the DO school is going to put me in half a million dollars of debt. So I'll be panicking pretty much for the next four years.
 
What do you mean, the panic has died down? I'm sitting here on eight waitlists. ¡Viva el pánico!

My top choice has been telling me I'm 'in a pretty good position,' but other people are getting pulled from the wait list before me. I guess it depends on the definition of 'pretty good.' So it looks like I'm going DO.

Oh, and the DO school is going to put me in half a million dollars of debt. So I'll be panicking pretty much for the next four years.

This sounds like me. Only I've only got 1 MD waitlist...
 
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