2014-2015 Waitlist Support Group

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lockdoc92 said:
Would that not present a reason for a mandated school to waitlist for that purpose?
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No. There is no reason to interview OOS candidates in the first place if the odds of being able to get them are low!
Waitlisting a strong candidate just because they are good wastes their time and yours.
 
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gyngyn said:
No. There is no reason to interview in the first place if the odds of being able to get them are low!
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I'm sorry if it seems I am belaboring a point, but I am sincerely confused.

If a school is mandated to interview applicants that have stats above a certain threshold, wouldn't that present a situation where for example a student with "top 10 stats" that the school would normally not invite to interview due to the small likelihood of matriculation but does so due to mandates?
 
lockdoc92 said:
I'm sorry if it seems I am belaboring a point, but I am sincerely confused.

If a school is mandated to interview applicants that have stats above a certain threshold, wouldn't that present a situation where for example a student with "top 10 stats" that the school would normally not invite to interview due to the small likelihood of matriculation but does so due to mandates?
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There is no way around interviewing such IS candidates, but these are exactly the students you want to accept.
IS students are much more likely to want to attend their (cheaper) state school! The mandate is aligned with the school's interests with regard to the best IS candidates.

It also makes no sense to interview OOS candidates unlikely to attend.
 
So I realize this thread is rather disconcerting especially when I read gyngyn's status message:

Right now there is little you can do. Most schools have taken more applicants than we can seat and are waiting to see where they will go!
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Nonetheless, with April 30 around the corner, and some recent good news in school-specific discussions, there's a very good chance that most, if not all, you waitlisters will receive an acceptance. I understand this is a pretty torturing process, but I wish you guys the very best both now (in coming off the waitlist) and in future endeavors in your prosperous medical careers. :luck::luck:
 
Sorry if this has been answered before but when would one expect to see the most movement ? First week of May or later? I know some schools have later deadlines but what's the general time frame ?
 
your answer can be found about a page back.
 
gyngyn said:
I don't know any school that does this.
Every school I know could fill up their interview slots with extremely high-scoring applicants. We can only interview the ones we like the best that are more likely to attend. This "yield protection" is actually just resource management and it occurs before the interview. It makes no sense to waitlist the best interviewees when an early acceptance is our strongest recruitment tool.
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So would you say that schools that accept a relatively low number of students throughout the interview season and rely heavily on the waitlist to fill the class, typically have a lower yield?
 
ski89 said:
So would you say that schools that accept a relatively low number of students throughout the interview season and rely heavily on the waitlist to fill the class, typically have a lower yield?
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Their yield could theoretically be higher. They might only pick those holding no acceptances. This strategy puts one at risk for losing good interviewees, though.

This is different from the thoughtful selection of whom to interview.
 
gyngyn said:
Their yield could theoretically be higher. They might only pick those holding no acceptances. This strategy puts one at risk for losing good interviewees, though.

This is different from the thoughtful selection of whom to interview.
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I've seen a lot of people toss around the idea that if you interview late in the season at some schools you may be interviewing for a waitlist spot at best. Is there any truth to this?
 
lockdoc92 said:
I've seen a lot of people toss around the idea that if you interview late in the season at some schools you may be interviewing for a waitlist spot at best. Is there any truth to this?
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Depending on how well the early applicants interview this could, in fact be true. It is not, however, predictable.
 
gyngyn said:
Their yield could theoretically be higher. They might only pick those holding no acceptances. This strategy puts one at risk for losing good interviewees, though.

This is different from the thoughtful selection of whom to interview.
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Yes this would seem like a strange strategy. Along similar lines, how important is yield to a admissions dean? Is is used as an indicator of the dean's success?
 
ski89 said:
Yes this would seem like a strange strategy. Along similar lines, how important is yield to a admissions dean? Is is used as an indicator of the dean's success?
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Not much where I work. As long as we fill the class with the best of the best and come in under budget!
 
gyngyn said:
Their yield could theoretically be higher. They might only pick those holding no acceptances. This strategy puts one at risk for losing good interviewees, though.

This is different from the thoughtful selection of whom to interview.
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Yeah, I'm slightly anxious for how UMass does things because they seem to draw very heavily from the WL. I'm in a weird spot that I have an acceptance at a school close to my folks and I'm wondering if they'll just pass me over due to it.
 
if someone gives up their acceptance, do they pull someone off the waitlist right away and give your spot away?
 
Greenlee said:
if someone gives up their acceptance, do they pull someone off the waitlist right away and give your spot away?
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Yes, but only after we get to the desired number of matriculants.
Depending on how many are accepted this could be very late in the cycle.
 
is that phone call to the other school just a formality? does the other school ever give you a hard time about it, try to convince you not to pull them off the wait list, etc?
 
Vain Brother said:
is that phone call to the other school just a formality? does the other school ever give you a hard time about it, try to convince you not to pull them off the wait list, etc?
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It may be a formality, but it is rude to break traffic rules, if nothing else.
I've never heard a harsh word, and no one has ever tried to talk us out of a candidate except when they have begun a pre-matriculation program and we were unaware.
 
Sorry if this has been answered before, but is there any merit to sending an LOI to a school pre-April 30? The waitlists I'm on are not ranked (at least I think so), but I'm wondering if it is worth sending an LOI (also since I really don't have anything new going on update-wise).
 
gyngyn said:
It may be a formality, but it is rude to break traffic rules, if nothing else.
I've never heard a harsh word, and no one has ever tried to talk us out of a candidate except when they have begun a pre-matriculation program and we were unaware.
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So the school where the applicant is currently situated can refuse to give them up?
 
ridethecliche said:
I wasn't sure what the outcome would be if they had started a pre-matriculation program!
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You are right that this could be viewed as a gray area, but generally speaking, if the student has started any program, they are viewed as matriculants.

I thought you were asking about the admissions equivalent of a WWF smackdown.
 
gyngyn said:
You are right that this could be viewed as a gray area, but generally speaking, if the student has started any program, they are viewed as matriculants.

I thought you were asking about the admissions equivalent of a WWF smackdown.
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Now that you mention it....

Well what do you consider pre-matriculation? Orientation? I would have thought that the deadline was the first day that classes start!
 
ridethecliche said:
Now that you mention it....

Well what do you consider pre-matriculation? Orientation? I would have thought that the deadline was the first day that classes start!
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Each school submits an orientation start date to AMCAS. After traffic day the potential poaching school must refer to this list to make sure that orientation has not started for this student and notify the poachee school of the intended purloinment. This is would be when when the poachee informs the poacher that the object of theft has started a pre-matriculation class (or other similar program).
 
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gyngyn said:
Each school submits an orientation start date to AMCAS. After traffic day the potential poaching school must refer to this list to make sure that orientation has not started for this student and notify the poachee school of the intended purloinment. This is usually when the poachee informs the poacher that the object of theft has started a pre-matriculation class (or other similar program).
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Got it.

I thought it was the first day of classes, not orientation!
 
Can schools that waitlist you see where you have been accepted, even if you have withdrawn the acceptances?
 
bostonite said:
Can schools that waitlist you see where you have been accepted, even if you have withdrawn the acceptances?
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Only if they keep a record. The schools from which you have withdrawn do not appear on the daily report.
 
Are additional letters of recommendation sent in after being waitlisted a good idea? My PI I've been working with for the past year I s willing to write me one that wasn't on my AMCAS
 
I had 3 II, and now am on 3 waitlists. But hey, 3 is my lucky number so something has gotta work out 🙂
 
Dtran904 said:
Out of curiosity, is there a particular reason why it's no help this cycle? Applicant volume maybe?
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Can you imagine having to reassess a few hundred candidates who might already be ranked? I would assume after a point it just becomes too much.

In my daily job, I've had people send dozens of updates and changes after the deadline while I was working. After the first one or two which I considered, I learned I was just encouraging them (hence how I ended up with 20 different versions of something in less than 24 hours), so finally turned to them and said "DUDE! Save it! Let me get through it once!"

Can you imagine, if every waitlisted candidate sent just one additional LOR?

I feel bad enough for the adcomms who have to wade through the millions of transcripts for the waitlisted students.
 
joining the party. on 8 WLs. hoping for some movement within the next few weeeks!
 
I have a question that may be obvious to some people, but here goes. I have 1 DO acceptance, 2 MD waitlists, and 3 Hold for Spring Considerations. So let's say an MD sends me an acceptance mid-May, do I have a deadline to accept their offer, even if it is before hearing back from the other waitlists/holds? If there is a deadline, and I choose that new acceptance and withdraw from the DO, and a week later I get another acceptance, can I withdraw from that new acceptance? I hope this is not that confusing!
 
smooki said:
I have a question that may be obvious to some people, but here goes. I have 1 DO acceptance, 2 MD waitlists, and 3 Hold for Spring Considerations. So let's say an MD sends me an acceptance mid-May, do I have a deadline to accept their offer, even if it is before hearing back from the other waitlists/holds? If there is a deadline, and I choose that new acceptance and withdraw from the DO, and a week later I get another acceptance, can I withdraw from that new acceptance? I hope this is not that confusing!
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I believe they give you a week or two to decide. And yeah I think you have the right idea.
 
Is anyone else filling out the Fin Aid at all of your waitlisted schools? Some of my WL letters said to fill out the Fin Aid stuff even if you're waitlisted while other letters don't mention anything. One school has recommended that I fill out Fin Aid, but I don't have a student ID to access any of their systems. :shrug:
 
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I feel like the financial aid department doesn't really work with the admissions office. I got rejected at a school and the financial aid ppl still sent me emails and even snail mail to remind me to fill out their finaid application otherwise I would not be able to get scholarship from them -_-
 
nOchemallday said:
Is anyone else filling out the Fin Aid at all of your waitlisted schools? Some of my WL letters said to fill out the Fin Aid stuff even if you're waitlisted while other letters don't mention anything. One school has recommended that I fill out Fin Aid, but I don't have a student ID to access any of their systems. :shrug:
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My waitlist school said to fill out FAFSA and NeedAccess. It didn't mention other forms, though.
 
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