2018-2019 Waitlist Support Thread

[thegoatis11]

I'm collecting waitlists like candy if anyone wants to borrow any. (Of course grateful for acceptances)

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[jj_Sharp2]

Got my 4th WL today lol (Sinai). 4 left to hear back from and they’re all T20s so f*** me. I can’t for the love of me figure out if it’s my interviews or the staircase scenario. Part of my gap year Job is literally to train people on improving their interpersonal skills..

 

[bananafish94]

Got my 4th WL today lol (Sinai). 4 left to hear back from and they’re all T20s so f*** me. I can’t for the love of me figure out if it’s my interviews or the staircase scenario. Part of my gap year Job is literally to train people on improving their interpersonal skills..

When were your interviews? If you have 4 your odds are pretty strong at this point.

 

[jj_Sharp2]

When were your interviews? If you have 4 your odds are pretty strong at this point.

All before thanksgiving. Granted one was NYU but the other three were by far my best interviews.

I’ve always wondered what happens to the ppl who are on 7+ WL. Anyone know their success rates?

 

[honey&champagne]

I'm currently at 6 waitlists, and have 1 to hear back from

 

[saratonin]

I’m currently on three waitlists and I have one post II rejection. Super worried I’m not a good interviewer, except I thought they all went well besides the school where I was rejected (I was expecting it). Freaking out that I might have to reapply

 

[southpaw3]

Got my first WL today from my top school... It's hard not to feel a little rejected.

 

[Sagebrush]

Well, I got nothing from a school I was expecting to hear back from today which leaves me sitting on 1 waitlist, 3 deferred decisions, and 1 school that hasn't released decisions since my interview. Slowly coming to terms with the idea that I very well might be reapplying next year, but I'm struggling with the fact that I still think I put together a pretty dang strong application so I'm just not sure what to improve on...

 

[southpaw3]

Well, I got nothing from a school I was expecting to hear back from today which leaves me sitting on 1 waitlist, 3 deferred decisions, and 1 school that hasn't released decisions since my interview. Slowly coming to terms with the idea that I very well might be reapplying next year, but I'm struggling with the fact that I still think I put together a pretty dang strong application so I'm just not sure what to improve on...

I'm right there with you. The whole cycle I've been telling others, "Medical school is super competitive so I might have to reapply," but in my head I never really came to terms with potentially going through this process again. I hope you get good news in the near future!!

 

[Sagebrush]

I'm right there with you. The whole cycle I've been telling others, "Medical school is super competitive so I might have to reapply," but in my head I never really came to terms with potentially going through this process again. I hope you get good news in the near future!!

Thank you

I'm crossing my fingers for you, you've been so friendly and encouraging to everyone during this process, and I'm sure that attitude will shine through to your interviewers as well and you'll get the acceptance you deserve!

 

[southpaw3]

Thank you

I'm crossing my fingers for you, you've been so friendly and encouraging to everyone during this process, and I'm sure that attitude will shine through to your interviewers as well and you'll get the acceptance you deserve!

Thanks so much! That's just the encouragement I needed to hear today. Now we should all go enjoy our weekends and forget about med school for a few days Keep us updated when you hear back!

 

[farmmd]

Interviewed at 5 schools with 4 waitlist and 1 acceptance today. It only takes one to get in!

Dont feel discouraged, I know I couldnt help feeling like med school wasnt for me after each waitlist and with the uncertainty of ever coming off the waitlist. But dont give up, its not over until you receive the email that says so. Be hopeful and keep yourself busy with things that make you happy instead of refreshing sdn all day. Read a book, go to a party, volunteer whatever makes you get your mind off of waiting for a while!

Best of luck to all of you!

 

[initialize]

Interviewed at 5 schools with 4 waitlist and 1 acceptance today. It only takes one to get in!

Dont feel discouraged, I know I couldnt help feeling like med school wasnt for me after each waitlist and with the uncertainty of ever coming off the waitlist. But dont give up, its not over until you receive the email that says so. Be hopeful and keep yourself busy with things that make you happy instead of refreshing sdn all day. Read a book, go to a party, volunteer whatever makes you get your mind off of waiting for a while!

Best of luck to all of you!

Agreed, I got my first acceptance yesterday so I completely understand the feels ITT.

Another tip I highly recommend is to start meditating regularly. I recommend the Headspace app. It really took a lot of my stress away.

EDIT I forgot to mention, if you have a school email, you can sign up for Headspace for a full year for $10. Really good deal imo

 

[Sagebrush]

Congrats on your acceptances @initialize and @farmmd

 

[Master Thinker]

Currently on 6 post-II waitlists (at mid- and mid-high schools) with my accepts coming from lower tier schools (that have stats below mine). Does that mean my interview skills are bad or is it mostly because of the rule change?

 

[girlnextdoor23]

Does anyone know, or heard stories about how early the TMDSAS waitlist can move?

 

[PickleRickelus]

Currently on 6 post-II waitlists (at mid- and mid-high schools) with my accepts coming from lower tier schools (that have stats below mine). Does that mean my interview skills are bad or is it mostly because of the rule change?

Nah bruh. They would've rejected you if that was the case. I suspect the higher competition at the schools and the change in traffic rules has more to do with it.

 

[Gfaries03]

Currently on 4 waitlists 0 acceptances with one upcoming interview. It'll be my first MMI. Anybody have any tips?

 

[farmmd]

Currently on 4 waitlists 0 acceptances with one upcoming interview. It'll be my first MMI. Anybody have any tips?

Practice scenerios that are on youtube or other sources. You might not get the same questions but youll be ready for the type of questions they might throw.

 

[Sagebrush]

Currently on 4 waitlists 0 acceptances with one upcoming interview. It'll be my first MMI. Anybody have any tips?

I would HIGHLY recommend running through one or two practice scenarios with 1. someone who is quite intimidating to you, and have them give you very little feedback in the way of further questions, facial expressions, etc.. to your responses while you're running through the scenarios and 2. someone with an accent that you may have difficulty understanding.

 

[thegrind33]

Does anyone know, or heard stories about how early the TMDSAS waitlist can move?

+1

 

[PickleRickelus]

Currently on 4 waitlists 0 acceptances with one upcoming interview. It'll be my first MMI. Anybody have any tips?

Yeah. Weigh both sides, give a direct and concise response without sounding like a
d!ck.

 

[M&L]

2 WL, 1hold(ETSU), one still waiting for results (Drexel), one interview next week .... this is depressing .....

 

[Rachapkis]

I hope to hear from all of you on the “What were you doing and how did you react when you got in” thread. Good luck and stay positive.

 

[wysdoc]

Does anyone know, or heard stories about how early the TMDSAS waitlist can move?

The last 2 cycles, offers to people on TMDSAS Waitlists began in March, except a few WL offers in the 2016-2017 cycle in February. If you're still in school try to dive in to your work and do your very best this spring semester, though I know it's hard with the wondering and worrying hanging over you.

 

[M&L]

I hope to hear from all of you on the “What were you doing and how did you react when you got in” thread. Good luck and stay positive.

there is a thread on that? thats nice... i hope i'll get to post there.

 

[tby331]

Does anyone else feel admissions committees don't really consider interviews? I am a pretty personable person lol and communicate well but still ended up on WL. And from talking with others who didn't feel very confident after interviews but did have higher stats, they were accepted. I feel like stats are really the only things that actually matter??

 

[Master Thinker]

Does anyone else feel admissions committees don't really consider interviews? I am a pretty personable person lol and communicate well but still ended up on WL. And from talking with others who didn't feel very confident after interviews but did have higher stats, they were accepted. I feel like stats are really the only things that actually matter??

I am like the opposite of you lol...confident in my stats but not so much in my interviews. Still ended up on lots of WL so this process feels like a monkey playing whack a mole

 

[gyngyn]

Does anyone else feel admissions committees don't really consider interviews?

Nope. Interviews are expensive and time consuming. If we were going to ignore them, it would be a lot cheaper just to eliminate them.

 

[EasyEveryoneWouldDoIt]

i think an interview can make or break you. my lizzyscore is only a 62.5 and i managed to get acceptances out of 4/6 schools (5/6 if you count high priority WL at USUHS). i interviewed at all M.D. during all of my interviews except 1 i was told by the interviewers they were impressed and expect me here in the fall. I am a non-traditional veteran so i was able to highlight my life experience. i think once you get screened for an interview they really want to see what makes you click and the interview is definitely taken into account

 

[tby331]

Thanks for your thoughts!! Ya'll are giving me hope!! (or maybe Im not as great of a communicator than I think I am lol).

 

[DrFortiusNatando]

Does anyone else feel admissions committees don't really consider interviews? I am a pretty personable person lol and communicate well but still ended up on WL. And from talking with others who didn't feel very confident after interviews but did have higher stats, they were accepted. I feel like stats are really the only things that actually matter??

See staircase analogy on SDN. Think it was LizzyM. Your stats put you at a certain place on the staircase. The interview can help you move up or down. Though you can fall way down with a bad interview, if your stats are on low side for a given school, you can only go up a few steps - even with a great interview. This will still put you only in WL zone for a lot of schools where your stats are on low side.

Remember that many students will get in off WL, bc there is a group of top applicants who applied to a lot of schools and will get multiple acceptances that they will have to relinquish on April 15 and May 1. Many of them are waiting to hear from schools that are not sending acceptances until Feb or March. And there are other students waiting to compare financial aid decisions, find out where partners can get jobs, etc. I am convinced that there is a phenotype that ultimately gets into med school but is what I call "waitlist fodder" at many target schools. They are fine, the med school would be happy to have them. But they are ORM, without hard luck story, with usual EC's, and with acceptable stats. Many of these people will get in somewhere off a WL at a target school. Doing well in the interview should help give you a boost when it comes time to pick off the WL - if I were selecting off WL, I would choose the student who did better on interview than they were on paper rather than the reverse. Best of luck!

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Does anyone else feel admissions committees don't really consider interviews? I am a pretty personable person lol and communicate well but still ended up on WL. And from talking with others who didn't feel very confident after interviews but did have higher stats, they were accepted. I feel like stats are really the only things that actually matter??

The mistake people make is that they think that once you get to the interview, the rest of your app doesn’t matter. That’s just not true.

 

[tby331]

there is a phenotype that ultimately gets into med school but is what I call "waitlist fodder"

ORM, without hard luck story, with usual EC's, and with acceptable stats.

Great analogy. I appreciate this explanation- I think it is extremely accurate and that I probably fall into this phenotype lol. I hope other admissions committees will also be inclined to lean towards those who can rock an interview over the MCAT, thank you!! This was encouraging.

 

[southpaw3]

Does anyone else feel admissions committees don't really consider interviews? I am a pretty personable person lol and communicate well but still ended up on WL. And from talking with others who didn't feel very confident after interviews but did have higher stats, they were accepted. I feel like stats are really the only things that actually matter??

I echo this sentiment. I do think interviews matter and they factor into the decision, but in my personal experience, I don't think my interview scores carried enough weight to tip the decision in my favor.

 

[southpaw3]

See staircase analogy on SDN. Think it was LizzyM. Your stats put you at a certain place on the staircase. The interview can help you move up or down. Though you can fall way down with a bad interview, if your stats are on low side for a given school, you can only go up a few steps - even with a great interview. This will still put you only in WL zone for a lot of schools where your stats are on low side.

Remember that many students will get in off WL, bc there is a group of top applicants who applied to a lot of schools and will get multiple acceptances that they will have to relinquish on April 15 and May 1. Many of them are waiting to hear from schools that are not sending acceptances until Feb or March. And there are other students waiting to compare financial aid decisions, find out where partners can get jobs, etc. I am convinced that there is a phenotype that ultimately gets into med school but is what I call "waitlist fodder" at many target schools. They are fine, the med school would be happy to have them. But they are ORM, without hard luck story, with usual EC's, and with acceptable stats. Many of these people will get in somewhere off a WL at a target school. Doing well in the interview should help give you a boost when it comes time to pick off the WL - if I were selecting off WL, I would choose the student who did better on interview than they were on paper rather than the reverse. Best of luck!

This is an excellent explanation! Thanks for taking the time to share!

 

[Goro]

Does anyone else feel admissions committees don't really consider interviews? I am a pretty personable person lol and communicate well but still ended up on WL. And from talking with others who didn't feel very confident after interviews but did have higher stats, they were accepted. I feel like stats are really the only things that actually matter??

Most people are terrible judges of there own interview performances.

Interviews will make or break you.

 

[applicant45]

what is the harm in sending more than one letter of intent? i understand that you can only have one school that you really want to attend, but if i were to send a letter of intent to a school and then choose not to go, what would happen? just curious tbh

if this is relevant at all, I am talking about for D.O. schools

 

[gyngyn]

what is the harm in sending more than one letter of intent? i understand that you can only have one school that you really want to attend, but if i were to send a letter of intent to a school and then choose not to go, what would happen? just curious tbh

if this is relevant at all, I am talking about for D.O. schools

This is the reason that nobody believes them.

 

[Master Thinker]

This is the reason that nobody believes them.

Not going to do this, but what if someone sends a LOI with a notary? I think I saw someone gave that idea on this forum, and in practice, would it make them more believable?

 

[ThrowawayShmoaway]

1 acceptance

I feel like this disqualifies you from this support group, lol

 

[M&L]

I feel like this disqualifies you from this support group, lol

That’s EXACTLY what I was thinking )) hahaha

 

[CandH23]

Lol my bad guys

 

[M&L]

Lol my bad guys

Yeah this is for tortured soles with no acceptances )

 

[Pharaoh95]

I feel like this disqualifies you from this support group, lol

Yeah this is for tortured soles with no acceptances )

The thread should be renamed to "No Acceptance Support Thread" then

Lol my bad guys

There is absolutely nothing wrong with having an acceptance somewhere and hoping to get off the waitlist at another school. We all have preferences.

 

[CandH23]

The thread should be renamed to "No Acceptance Support Thread" then

There is absolutely nothing wrong with having an acceptance somewhere and hoping to get off the waitlist at another school. We all have preferences.

Exactamundo

 

[M&L]

The thread should be renamed to "No Acceptance Support Thread" then

There is absolutely nothing wrong with having an acceptance somewhere and hoping to get off the waitlist at another school. We all have preferences.

Hey , don’t jinx )))))

 

[thegrind33]

Nope. Interviews are expensive and time consuming. If we were going to ignore them, it would be a lot cheaper just to eliminate them.

Then what do you think causes an applicant to snatch that WL instead of an A after an interview went really well (or at least felt like it)?

 

[ThrowawayShmoaway]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with having an acceptance somewhere and hoping to get off the waitlist at another school.

Relax man, no one came even close to saying there was

 

[Pharaoh95]

Relax man, no one came even close to saying there was

Did you just assume my gender?