2017-2018 Yale University

[snail12345]

Not taking my spot after getting my FA hope it goes to one of you!

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[WesternBlot]

I haven't commented here before but I'm currently waitlisted for yale's MD program. I wanted to ask some of the current students, or other applicants/accepted students if they have input on this, about what is best to do during this time. I see threads from previous years where people call the admissions office about their waitlist tier numbers or for waitlist updates. I, like everyone else, want as much information as I can get about where admissions is in this process but I don't want to bother anyone at admissions or do something that could hurt my chances. That being said, I obviously want them to know how invested I am and how much I love Yale and that I would absolutely come without question if accepted. I've communicated this to Barbara and updated my application with transcripts and information on a new research position I started back in January. Are there any other kinds of updates that people know of that have boded well for waitlist applicants that any of you would suggest at this point?

I guess I wanted to ask for tips on what you all think are the best (or worst) ways to handle being waitlisted in terms of frequency of communication, whether they prefer email or phone communication, being engaged on forums like this, etc. Thanks in advance for anyone who sees this and replies, and thank you for all the great info I've gotten from this thread so far. I hope we all get answers soon!

My opinion: Seems like what you've done is appropriate. They release tiers to everyone at some point, so I wouldn't necessarily call them about that. The only other thing that I would think of doing is potentially sending a Letter of Intent about why Yale is right for you and that you intend to matriculate if accepted. (Obviously, do not send this if it is not true.) Otherwise, I wouldn't recommend calling or emailing frequently. Unfortunately, if you've given all your updates, you've given all your updates.

 

[FFH]

Right now about 20 spots have already been offered for those on WL for about that much seats--there might be a few for MD/PhD office to manage . The class is going to be 104 as usual, not 110. The class was suppose to be 100. The former MD/PhD director personally funded for extra 8 MD/PhD spots. The admin hasn't decided finally whether to expand the class to 108 or decrease the number of MD spots to keep it at 100, yet. So it's been 104 for the past few years.
As far as what to do while on the WL, if there is something that should change how they look at your application or if after much thought you really think there is something you can put your finger on that makes Yale and you a great match, can consider send a sincere, non-desperate, sensible letter of intent to advocate for yourself. Yale admission, as those of you who have interviewed here can probably see, is very humane and reasonable.

 

[Sashi1995]

Right now about 20 spots have already been offered for those on WL for about that much seats--there might be a few for MD/PhD office to manage . The class is going to be 104 as usual, not 110. The class was suppose to be 100. The former MD/PhD director personally funded for extra 8 MD/PhD spots. The admin hasn't decided finally whether to expand the class to 108 or decrease the number of MD spots to keep it at 100, yet. So it's been 104 for the past few years.
As far as what to do while on the WL, if there is something that should change how they look at your application or if after much thought you really think there is something you can put your finger on that makes Yale and you a great match, can consider send a sincere, non-desperate, sensible letter of intent to advocate for yourself. Yale admission, as those of you who have interviewed here can probably see, is very humane and reasonable.

Your post is kind of confusing. Are they currently considering increasing the size to 108 for this year? How do you know this? What do you mean by "there might be a few for MD/PhD office to manage?"

 

[FFH]

Your post is kind of confusing. Are they currently considering increasing the size to 108 for this year? How do you know this? What do you mean by "there might be a few for MD/PhD office to manage?"

The MD/PhD class expansion was done a few years ago, which had lead to the mild expansion of overall class size including MD and MD/phD from 100 to 104 and remained that way.
I have no information about the MD/PhD admission progress/waitlist movements, sorry guys.

 

[Microbug]

The MD/PhD class expansion was done a few years ago, which had lead to the mild expansion of overall class size including MD and MD/phD to 104. It has no impact on the current admission progress.
I have no information about the MD/PhD admission progress/waitlist movements. sorry guys.

Who is the former Yale MSTP director?

 

[FFH]

Who is the former Yale MSTP director?

Beloved Dr. James Jamieson.

 

[KLM098]

Yale MSTP update: no positions opened for WL and highly unlikely to draw from WL atm

 

[ASCIIfish]

^ Can verify. A friend of mine who applied said don't get your hopes up like at all.

 

[radiculating spines]

Yale experiment to reanimate dead brains promises 'living hell' for humans

HAS SCIENCE GONE TOO FAR?!?

Knew I should've applied here.

 

[KLM098]

^ Can verify. A friend of mine who applied said don't get your hopes up like at all.

Spots or not, admission should’ve updated people. There was one email to inform WL decision followed by zero communication from the MSTP side. It was a pain trying to get information even though this is suppose to be a relatively transparent process.

 

[avgn]

Spots or not, admission should’ve updated people. There was one email to inform WL decision followed by zero communication from the MSTP side. It was a pain trying to get information even though this is suppose to be a relatively transparent process.

The hell? Could you be more entiteld? It's only been 11 days since the response deadline and you think admissions owes you an explanation already? Remember you are on a WAITlist. If you are tired of WAITing already after 1.5 weeks, you can very easily withdraw your name from consideration. Do not complain that admissions is not being NICE enough because you're not getting day-by-day analysis of your WAITlist status. ugh

 

[DocAfri]

Spots or not, admission should’ve updated people. There was one email to inform WL decision followed by zero communication from the MSTP side. It was a pain trying to get information even though this is suppose to be a relatively transparent process.

The hell? Could you be more entiteld? It's only been 11 days since the response deadline and you think admissions owes you an explanation already? Remember you are on a WAITlist. If you are tired of WAITing already after 1.5 weeks, you can very easily withdraw your name from consideration. Do not complain that admissions is not being NICE enough because you're not getting day-by-day analysis of your WAITlist status. ugh

lol ok relax avgn, you have a point that KLM098 could be more patient but remember the cycle's approaching the year mark and some people are nervous/antsy/scared. Let's all hope for the best

 

[sammyers_sm]

lol ok relax avgn, you have a point that KLM098 could be more patient but remember the cycle's approaching the year mark and some people are nervous/antsy/scared. Let's all hope for the best

Yeah I think the issue is too that some people have been told there are no spots open but there hasn’t been an official email sent to all the applicants. So it’s all by word of mouth right now. Some of us also have to start at a different program as early as June 1st, so waiting for decisions can seem more agonizing.

 

[WesternBlot]

Yeah I think the issue is too that some people have been told there are no spots open but there hasn’t been an official email sent to all the applicants. So it’s all by word of mouth right now. Some of us also have to start at a different program as early as June 1st, so waiting for decisions can seem more agonizing.

I have to imagine that the process is a horrible trickle process. For instance, if you got off the waitlist at Yale and matriculated, you would free up a spot at your current institution that would then have to be filled. And then whoever filled that spot would open up somewhere. Sometimes people take a few days to decide, so it can take a bit. While they may not anticipate any more spots opening, they also want to fill their program and are not going to formally close their waitlist because they do not know yet. Weird things happen.

 

[KLM098]

I didn’t ask for a day-by-day analysis, there has been zero update since March. And yes, I did withdraw as soon as they told me they’re highly unlikely to draw from the WL. But that information has not been made known to everyone in the WL, just those who are more persistent in asking. All I said was this piece information should have been made clear to everyone currently on the WL, I don’t know why you got so defensive.
And yes, they do owe applicants updates on their current status and that’s why we pay secondary fees, isn’t it?

 

[KLM098]

I have to imagine that the process is a horrible trickle process. For instance, if you got off the waitlist at Yale and matriculated, you would free up a spot at your current institution that would then have to be filled. And then whoever filled that spot would open up somewhere. Sometimes people take a few days to decide, so it can take a bit. While they may not anticipate any more spots opening, they also want to fill their program and are not going to formally close their waitlist because they do not know yet. Weird things happen.

I'm also not asking for a final decision because that would be unreasonable for the reasons that you mentioned. All I'm asking for is some sort of update on the current situation. One email saying that they are currently full but there always remain the possibility that someone will WD to another institution, that's it. This is not an unreasonable request.

 

[realperson9018]

I'm also not asking for a final decision because that would be unreasonable for the reasons that you mentioned. All I'm asking for is some sort of update on the current situation. One email saying that they are currently full but there always remain the possibility that someone will WD to another institution, that's it. This is not an unreasonable request.

Well, your wish has been granted, I suppose.

 

[realperson9018]

Ohhhhh cry me a river Toughen up. Patience as thin as yours, you won't make it through medical school without a breakdown or generally being a gigantic pain in everyone's ass

There’s really no reason to be so rude. It sets a bad example about the students at Yale, of which those I met during visitation day were incredibly positive and helpful. As everyone is well aware, it’s a stressful time, and it can be especially stessful for those whose situations are more dire. It is totally understandable to want to hear back in order to make quickly-approaching life decisions accordingly.

For the record, an update was sent to waitlisted students earlier this week, hence my previous post. Frankly, Yale has been far more transparent about the current status of the class than other schools, and I appreciate the effort by the admissions department in empathizing with our current situation.

 

[SIL94]

There’s really no reason to be so rude. It sets a bad example about the students at Yale, of which those I met during visitation day were incredibly positive and helpful. As everyone is well aware, it’s a stressful time, and it can be especially stessful for those whose situations are more dire. It is totally understandable to want to hear back in order to make quickly-approaching life decisions accordingly.

For the record, an update was sent to waitlisted students earlier this week, hence my previous post. Frankly, Yale has been far more transparent about the current status of the class than other schools, and I appreciate the effort by the admissions department in empathizing with our current situation.

Received this update as well. I understood it as no more MD/PhD spots will open up however, perhaps solo MD spots will.

 

[KLM098]

Ohhhhh cry me a river Toughen up. Patience as thin as yours, you won't make it through medical school without a breakdown or generally being a gigantic pain in everyone's ass

Wow, if you are representative of Yale students, then I definitely don’t want to be there.

 

[KLM098]

There’s really no reason to be so rude. It sets a bad example about the students at Yale, of which those I met during visitation day were incredibly positive and helpful. As everyone is well aware, it’s a stressful time, and it can be especially stessful for those whose situations are more dire. It is totally understandable to want to hear back in order to make quickly-approaching life decisions accordingly.

For the record, an update was sent to waitlisted students earlier this week, hence my previous post. Frankly, Yale has been far more transparent about the current status of the class than other schools, and I appreciate the effort by the admissions department in empathizing with our current situation.

I’m talking specifically about the MSTP process, I know nothing about the MD process

 

[GibbsFreeNRG]

Anyone heard from Barbara since the waitlist update email she sent last week?

 

[Disco Rice]

Anyone heard from Barbara since the waitlist update email she sent last week?

Nothing...maybe tiers will be released soon? Weirdly kinda hoping I'm in tier 3 so I can justify withdrawing and finally have some closure. I love Yale and it has been my first choice from the beginning but I think it's time for me to move on. I'm very happy with my current school and getting an offer from Yale at this point or later would just provoke greater cognitive dissonance.

 

[Swipernoswiping]

Does anyone know how many tickets we get for the white coat ceremony?

 

[scoobydoo1027]

Hi guys, this is my first time posting here and give that I got of the waitlist recently I wanted some info about LGBTQ life in Yale. I would appreciate if some upper can tell me if a sizeable proportion of the class at Yale med identifies at LGBTQ. What is the LGBTQ life in New Haven like? What kind of LGBTQ events are held on campus?

I come from a big city and this was one of my main concerns coming to New Haven. I definitely feel very lucky to have gotten in and I know Yale is a great school but this is also an important concern for me.

 

[avgn]

Hi guys, this is my first time posting here and give that I got of the waitlist recently I wanted some info about LGBTQ life in Yale. I would appreciate if some upper can tell me if a sizeable proportion of the class at Yale med identifies at LGBTQ. What is the LGBTQ life in New Haven like? What kind of LGBTQ events are held on campus?

I come from a big city and this was one of my main concerns coming to New Haven. I definitely feel very lucky to have gotten in and I know Yale is a great school but this is also an important concern for me.

Define sizable? What kind of percentage are you looking for? Off the top of my head, I would say that 5 of my classmates (out of 104) are openly LGBTQ, but I spend zero time thinking about this so that could be way off the mark AFAIK. No idea about the social life here. There's very good coverage of events from the undergrad side and probably much more happens in the other grad/professional schools as well. There is a affinity club here for LGBTQ students, I have no idea how active they are but they recruit every year at the fair for sure. There are enough people in New Haven for you to fit in but if you're looking for that big city dating environment with lots of fish, I can tell you that's not going to happen here; at the very least, the probability is stacked against you.

 

[avgn]

Does anyone know how many tickets we get for the white coat ceremony?

When we used to hold it in a sauna, there were no limits. Then last year we had enough of the sauna so they moved it to a smaller auditorium with 3-ticket limit. (Trust me, if you've never been in that sauna, this was a MUCH better option) Then there were complaints about ticket limits so they moved it to a lawn space and removed ticket limits.

So what I'm saying is that we have no frigging clue what it's gonna be lol but probably no limits. If your class is as cool as the class before you, when they thought there were ticket limits, people were raffling off their extra ones to the highest bidders, one of whom offered her first-born son and 10 extra points on Step 1 (more like they gave it away for free but this version of the story is funnier to tell tho)

 

[avgn]

Anyone heard from Barbara since the waitlist update email she sent last week?

It's been a week...there's not going to be much news besides, "we might have taken some more people and it wasn't you." If I were you, I'd rather not be told that tbh. Hang tight, find something else to occupy your time so you're not stressing over this now for no reason

 

[realperson9018]

Anyone heard from Barbara since the waitlist update email she sent last week?

Nothing...maybe tiers will be released soon? Weirdly kinda hoping I'm in tier 3 so I can justify withdrawing and finally have some closure. I love Yale and it has been my first choice from the beginning but I think it's time for me to move on. I'm very happy with my current school and getting an offer from Yale at this point or later would just provoke greater cognitive dissonance.

In previous years, the waitlist tier list appears to have been sent in last week of May/first week of June. Hopefully we'll hear something in the next week, though Memorial Day may throw a wrench in the scheduling. Keep your chins up, everyone!

 

[asclepius16]

Have all the open MD spots been given away to people on the waitlist, or are they still going to hand out more? Tiers don't mean much if they're done giving out spots.

 

[avgn]

Yes, SDN is a small pool but at least says something about the WL movement activity post-tier email.

This is very flawed reasoning. Garbage in, garbage out. There's a reason why small sample size is such a travesty in statistical reasoning and that reason, very simply, is variance or standard error. The information you gain from the "small pool" of SDN WRT acceptances is utter crap. Seriously, I invite you to do the math if you so choose. Yale accepts 200+ (idk the actual number, too lazy to count the spreadsheet we are given) people in the regular cycle. What % of those post every year in these threads on D-Day in March? I would say easily under 10%. Statistically, that is pure garbage. Trash. Assuming a population size of 225 (guesstimate of how many accepted RD; the exact number is not important) and 22.5 respondents with 95% CI, your margin of error would be 19.64%. In order satisfy requirements often used for a standard survey study, the margin of error would be <5%, which means the required sample would be 143 respondents. A 64% response rate is absurd for a voluntary anonymous Internet forum. Even if we decrease the CI to something like 90% or increase the allowed margin of error to something like 10% (both of which already put a huge dent in the validity of the conclusions gained), the numbers are still terrible and absolutely inconclusive of anything meaningful. That's a simulation for RD. As the population size for WL shrinks even smaller, the numbers are only going to get worse. You are gleaning absolutely no meaningful information by trying to treat SDN as anything close to a representative view of the reality you seek to make sense of. This site is amazing and informative for many reasons, but treating it as a representative of anything is just absurd. I understand that stress and anxiety can bury even the noblest of men, but you all should know enough math to see the point I am trying to make. pls stop using school-specific threads for this purpose. You are truly doing yourself no favors at all. Wait for the tier email. If Barbara doesn't change the format too much, it will be incredibly clear where everyone stands at that point.

 

[JH1120]

Any idea when tier email will be released?

 

[realperson9018]

Any idea when tier email will be released?

Maybe it won't happen this year, with Dr. Silverman retiring and the resultant change in administration. None of the correspondence from Barbara so far have indicated any sort of tier list or individual information being released.

If they are planning to send the tier list, they must do it this upcoming week. It's getting pretty late, and there will be likely be very little movement in the future, aside from deferrals. I really hope they do... aching for information but staying as patient as I can.

 

[avgn]

Maybe it won't happen this year, with Dr. Silverman retiring and the resultant change in administration. None of the correspondence from Barbara so far have indicated any sort of tier list or individual information being released.

If they are planning to send the tier list, they must do it this upcoming week. It's getting pretty late, and there will be likely be very little movement in the future, aside from deferrals. I really hope they do... aching for information but staying as patient as I can.

Yes, nobody is sure whether plans have changed with Barbara at the helm. No, this is not unlike what has happened in previous years. First week of June is still on track for the tier explanation email to be sent. Yes, there is very little movement left after the traditional tier email is sent. All it gives is a real-time update of the situation; there have been years where the emails went out and basically said there are no more spots left. It's an update, not any indication that there will magically be movement with the email.

 

[JH1120]

It's been a ride. think it's almost over. there will be no or very little movement as the class is currently full. And no tier update this year....

 

[realperson9018]

It's been a ride. think it's almost over. there will be no or very little movement as the class is currently full. And no tier update this year....

Was either of that confirmed by the admissions staff? I'm still holding out the tiniest sliver of hope ...

 

[JH1120]

Was either of that confirmed by the admissions staff? I'm still holding out the tiniest sliver of hope ...

Yes. the admissions staff told me that the class is currently full, and that I should focus and prepare to attend the other school where I was accepted. Looks like this year is different in that there is no tier update.

 

[realperson9018]

Yes. the admissions staff told me that the class is currently full, and that I should focus and prepare to attend the other school where I was accepted. Looks like this year is different in that there is no tier update.

Man, that really blows. Thanks for keeping me and other lurkers in the loop. Guess I’ll kill any hope left and give up on this one.

 

[Dr. Moose]

Accepted off the waitlist today!

 

[JH1120]

Accepted off the waitlist yesterday!!

 

[avgn]

Gentle reminder that it's not over until it's over. Congrats to the late admits

 

[GibbsFreeNRG]

Gentle reminder that it's not over until it's over. Congrats to the late admits

So true! Accepted off the waitlist on Wednesday!

 

[NELIUM]

how to visit your site ?

 

[NELIUM]

how can I get information about financing studies?

 

[EpictetusInATightSpot]

Who is the former Yale MSTP director?

Hi, @Microbug. Are you currently in a position to give an overall impression of a PS?