2018-2019 Waitlist Support Thread

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Was recently placed on an alternative list due to a lack of volunteer hours. Since my initial application, I've volunteered 150+ hours and have included it in an update. One of my volunteer coordinators have offered to write me a letter of recommendation speaking on my initiative to serve - would this be beneficial to add? Is this even possible at this point?
 
CJhooper123 said:
Was recently placed on an alternative list due to a lack of volunteer hours. Since my initial application, I've volunteered 150+ hours and have included it in an update. One of my volunteer coordinators have offered to write me a letter of recommendation speaking on my initiative to serve - would this be beneficial to add? Is this even possible at this point?
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I did something similar with my boss at a new job I started after submitting my app. You can definitely upload it via AMCAS still, seems like ti could be helpful
 
Awesome. Thanks for the input. I was concerned that there might be a deadline for submitting LOR, but I guess not. I might call the school to see if it would be beneficial or would add to my application. Fingers crossed...
 
Just got another post-interview R. Leaves me with one school to hear back from and two waitlists (one of which is a "second-tier" waitlist that no one gets accepted from). I don't knohow I managed to blow seven interviews.
 
Sheiko said:
Just got another post-interview R. Leaves me with one school to hear back from and two waitlists (one of which is a "second-tier" waitlist that no one gets accepted from). I don't knohow I managed to blow seven interviews.
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Don’t give up ! It is too early to give up ! Plus don’t discount the waitlists !
 
Sheiko said:
Just got another post-interview R. Leaves me with one school to hear back from and two waitlists (one of which is a "second-tier" waitlist that no one gets accepted from). I don't knohow I managed to blow seven interviews.
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Keep your head up!! All it takes is one. Gotta keep believing until its over!
 
Sheiko said:
Just got another post-interview R. Leaves me with one school to hear back from and two waitlists (one of which is a "second-tier" waitlist that no one gets accepted from). I don't knohow I managed to blow seven interviews.
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Hang in there man. I've been following your cycle closely because our apps seemed pretty comparable (high-ish stat re-applicants), and I really hope it works out for you. Sending you good thoughts.
 
Sheiko said:
Just got another post-interview R. Leaves me with one school to hear back from and two waitlists (one of which is a "second-tier" waitlist that no one gets accepted from). I don't knohow I managed to blow seven interviews.
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Don't give up yet. It's not over until it's over. If it does end up not turning over, then look into some interview prep. Get a professional who can give you honest feedback and guidance. But you may not even need that. All it takes is one.
 
gorowannabe said:
All schools care about yield protection. The tippy top schools are not in a position to do much about it - they just have to accept the top students and try to woo them with great financial aid, and fantastic second looks. Mayo MN does try to play the yield protection game with their "highly interested" emails that they send to their top students, where they ask that the students let them know what they are thinking about Mayo, but most other top schools have few options when it comes to yield protection for the top students.

The schools in the next tier, the top 20-40 still want their chance at a lot of the top students, but they will sometimes put the tippy top applicants in their top tier of WL. That means that they will still be able to offer these students a spot in the unlikely event that some do not get any better acceptances, but by not offering the tippy top student an outright acceptance initially, they do not take a hit to their matriculation rate.

And yes, some schools may do yield protection after interviews, as some of what makes a tippy top applicant is garnered during the interview. If a great student on paper has a great interview at a place ranked in the 30's, they are all the more sure that the student is likely going to end up at a T10 school. The T30-T40 school may still want the students like these, but giving too many of them an outright acceptance is just going to create a low matriculation rate problem.
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In that case I will go ahead and pretend that my only Top 40 II wait-listed me because they thought I was too awesome.

EDIT: Can't do it. It's just not true for me 🙁
 
Sheiko said:
Just got another post-interview R. Leaves me with one school to hear back from and two waitlists (one of which is a "second-tier" waitlist that no one gets accepted from). I don't knohow I managed to blow seven interviews.
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A 521 with 7 II's tells me you're a very strong candidate on paper; however, 4 post-II rejections is a very clear indicator of poor interview performance. Something is going very wrong in the interviews to land you in the rejection pile at this many schools. These schools read your application and think "wow, I can really see Sheiko here" or "Sheiko has the potential to do well here," but then when they meet you face-to-face, they decide it's a no. And this has happened at 4 different medical schools. From one re-applicant to another, I really hope this works out for you because this process is down-right horrendous. God forbid you end up having to re-apply, but if you do, you know what you need to work on.
 
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Sheiko said:
Just got another post-interview R. Leaves me with one school to hear back from and two waitlists (one of which is a "second-tier" waitlist that no one gets accepted from). I don't knohow I managed to blow seven interviews.
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Don't give up hope yet Sheiko! Each school/interviewer looks for different things in a candidate. Just because you were rejected to some places doesn't necessarily mean that you 'blew' it. There are some randomness and luck to this process and especially with interviews where you may be paired with someone you click with or not. Really only takes one acceptance and you will be a doctor. I'm sure there is a place that will recognize your good qualities.
 
received post-II R from one of 3 MD interviews, and ironically happens to be the one I'm most competitive for. I have 2 WL, one of them I'll find out in a month whether I'm tier 1 or 2, where all of tier 1 historically gets in.

I believe i had strong interviews but the 123 in CARS destroyed me 😀
 
Pharaoh95 said:
A 521 with 7 II's tells me you're a very strong candidate on paper; however, 4 post-II rejections is a very clear indicator of poor interview performance. Something is going very wrong in the interviews to land you in the rejection pile at this many schools. These schools read your application and think "wow, I can really see Sheiko here" or "Sheiko has the potential to do well here," but then when they meet you face-to-face, they decide it's a no. And this has happened at 4 different medical schools. From one re-applicant to another, I really hope this works out for you because this process is down-right horrendous. God forbid you end up having to re-apply, but if you do, you know what you need to work on.
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I hear that, but it's still surprising considering I did several mock interviews - my boss, a physician, premed advisor from my undergrad and even with a colleague who coaches people on interviewing for jobs. But if I cant get an A after so many interviews I agree that it's obvious what's wrong.
 
Do some schools say their WL is not ranked but might have some internal system whether it's points or whatever that they use when picking people to come off the WL?
 
phillykat96 said:
Do some schools say their WL is not ranked but might have some internal system whether it's points or whatever that they use when picking people to come off the WL?
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Most schools at least rank their WL people internally - at least in tiers. In the beginning of the WL season, they will likely go to the top tier and replace any given offer with a similar applicant whenever possible. As the season goes on, especially within a couple weeks of first day of school, the adcom office may be more judicious and offer any last minute spots to a known candidate. This would include a student known to already be in the area, working at the institution with a powerful PI, etc.

Most schools do not have a ranked list bc they will not be necessarily going in a pre-specified order as they offer up WL spots. In order to end up with a diverse, balanced class, when an accepted URIM female Ivy grad with strong scores and strong basic science lab experiences decides to go to BMS (best medical school!), SBMS (second-best medical school) wants to replace her with a similar WL applicant.

Of course, the schools continue to have the upper hand for most of this process. They WL many more students than they could ever imagine needing, as there is no way they want to end up with no one to give offers to. So you can be sure that the schools have very deep wait lists that far exceed the number of students they have ever needed to approach.

The lowest tier schools will be at a relative disadvantage though of course. After June 1, WL spots will be just a trickle and the vast majority of WL spots will be the result of domino effects from higher ranked schools.
 
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gorowannabe said:
Most schools at least rank their WL people internally - at least in tiers. In the beginning of the WL season, they will likely go to the top tier and replace any given offer with a similar applicant whenever possible. As the season goes on, especially within a couple weeks of first day of school, the adcom office may be more judicious and offer any last minute spots to a known candidate. This would include a student known to already be in the area, working at the institution with a powerful PI, etc.

Most schools do not have a ranked list bc they will not be necessarily going in a pre-specified order as they offer up WL spots. In order to end up with a diverse, balanced class, when an accepted URIM female Ivy grad with strong scores and strong basic science lab experiences decides to go to BMS (best medical school!), SBMS (second-best medical school) wants to replace her with a similar WL applicant.

Of course, the schools continue to have the upper hand for most of this process. They WL many more students than they could ever imagine needing, as there is no way they want to end up with no one to give offers to. So you can be sure that the schools have very deep wait lists that far exceed the number of students they have ever needed to approach.

The lowest tier schools will be at a relative disadvantage though of course. After June 1, WL spots will be just a trickle and the vast majority of WL spots will be the result of domino effects from higher ranked schools.
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Thanks for the response! What's the significance of June 1st?
 
Anyone else studying to take the MCAT again? It's really strange to study for a test I might not have to take if I get pulled off a waitlist. It makes mustering motivation all the more challenging.
 
Kiwimd17 said:
Thanks for the response! What's the significance of June 1st?
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No specific significance except that there is little WL movement after June 1. There are a few accepted people who decide to defer their admission or decide not to go to medical school at all, but this is a small number and most make this decision by June 1. And that is the only way that any real spots open up in the system. Then there is a trickle down, as the one spot created when a T20 accepted student decides to defer, creates a domino effect all the way down the chain.
 
southpaw3 said:
Anyone else studying to take the MCAT again? It's really strange to study for a test I might not have to take if I get pulled off a waitlist. It makes mustering motivation all the more challenging.
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Im in the same boat. I have hope for the waitlist that im on, but that's making it even harder to start studying for a retake. (Your score is also better than mine:horns:)
 
southpaw3 said:
505
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Ah gotcha. Yeah I imagine it is hard to get motivated. Hopefully you aren’t taking it while the cycle is still going, otherwise you’ll have to muster the energy. Something like 2/3 of retakers score at or below their original score. Don’t want to be one of those! But hang in there. The real waitlist movement hasn’t even begun yet.
 
Matthew9Thirtyfive said:
Ah gotcha. Yeah I imagine it is hard to get motivated. Hopefully you aren’t taking it while the cycle is still going, otherwise you’ll have to muster the energy. Something like 2/3 of retakers score at or below their original score. Don’t want to be one of those! But hang in there. The real waitlist movement hasn’t even begun yet.
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Something I've noticed very often is someone who takes the MCAT before the start of junior year because they want to apply at the end of junior year. Halfway through junior year they start to realize they aren't ready so they apply at the end of senior year with a 2-year old MCAT score. And they go the entire cycle on an ultra high stress level because their first application cycle coincides with the last valid year of their MCAT. So in addition to the stress of possibly reapplying, they have the stress of possibly having to retake the MCAT. This has been a huge problem for so many people in the past few years because most students who take gap years didn't go into college thinking they'd be taking them.
 
Just to add on my previous post above, what makes it worse is that they could have scored much better had they taken the MCAT after junior year because then they'd have a year of upper div. science courses under their belt.
 
ClamShell said:
Something I've noticed very often is someone who takes the MCAT before the start of junior year because they want to apply at the end of junior year. Halfway through junior year they start to realize they aren't ready so they apply at the end of senior year with a 2-year old MCAT score. And they go the entire cycle on an ultra high stress level because their first application cycle coincides with the last valid year of their MCAT. So in addition to the stress of possibly reapplying, they have the stress of possibly having to retake the MCAT. This has been a huge problem for so many people in the past few years because most students who take gap years didn't go into college thinking they'd be taking them.
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I thought new scores were valid for five years?
 
Matthew9Thirtyfive said:
Ah gotcha. Yeah I imagine it is hard to get motivated. Hopefully you aren’t taking it while the cycle is still going, otherwise you’ll have to muster the energy. Something like 2/3 of retakers score at or below their original score. Don’t want to be one of those! But hang in there. The real waitlist movement hasn’t even begun yet.
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I’m planning on taking it in late May or early June. That way I can cancel if I get accepted before then. I figure I should hear back before then...hopefully! But woah, 2/3rds is pretty high! Why do you think the rate is that high? I’ve made a lot of adjustments to my study strategy, and I’m studying about 2x as much as I did the first time, so I’m hopeful my score will improve.
 
Kiwimd17 said:
Im in the same boat. I have hope for the waitlist that im on, but that's making it even harder to start studying for a retake. (Your score is also better than mine:horns:)
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I feel you! Did you they give you a WL #, or are you flying blind?
 
southpaw3 said:
I’m planning on taking it in late May or early June. That way I can cancel if I get accepted before then. I figure I should hear back before then...hopefully! But woah, 2/3rds is pretty high! Why do you think the rate is that high? I’ve made a lot of adjustments to my study strategy, and I’m studying about 2x as much as I did the first time, so I’m hopeful my score will improve.
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Most people probably don’t adjust their study habits or techniques and just take it again without doing a lessons learned. And I’m sure a smaller number of people just hit their ceiling and won’t do better without a significant amount of time and effort.
 
Matthew9Thirtyfive said:
Most people probably don’t adjust their study habits or techniques and just take it again without doing a lessons learned. And I’m sure a smaller number of people just hit their ceiling and won’t do better without a significant amount of time and effort.
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That would make sense. I hope 505 isn’t my ceiling [emoji15] I’ve scored higher on all of my practice tests, so I’m hopeful I can do better! But my fingers are crossed that I won’t have to take it again [emoji4] Thanks for all of your insight!
 
southpaw3 said:
That would make sense. I hope 505 isn’t my ceiling [emoji15] I’ve scored higher on all of my practice tests, so I’m hopeful I can do better! But my fingers are crossed that I won’t have to take it again [emoji4] Thanks for all of your insight!
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fyi, some schools accept new scores WHILE you are on the waitlist before a final decision. one of the schools i am waitlisted at allows us to send new scores before the cycle ends and that was the biggest dilemma i had and ended up not retaking lol. had the same score as you. but CARS (123) killed me
 
thegrind33 said:
I thought new scores were valid for five years?
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I don’t think most schools have adopted that policy yet. 3 years seems to be the most common

southpaw3 said:
That would make sense. I hope 505 isn’t my ceiling [emoji15] I’ve scored higher on all of my practice tests, so I’m hopeful I can do better! But my fingers are crossed that I won’t have to take it again [emoji4] Thanks for all of your insight!
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It’s not impossible to do better especially since you’re scoring higher! I was in a similar situation as you a couple years ago. I’m probably an anomaly though since I ended up improving by 10+ points, but it is possible. The best option would be to not have to retake it so I hope this cycle goes well for you!
 
medschoolzombie said:
I don’t think most schools have adopted that policy yet. 3 years seems to be the most common



It’s not impossible to do better especially since you’re scoring higher! I was in a similar situation as you a couple years ago. I’m probably an anomaly though since I ended up improving by 10+ points, but it is possible. The best option would be to not have to retake it so I hope this cycle goes well for you!
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Fellow retaker here. First attempt was 5 years ago now (old MCAT, 25). Was stressed about the new one. Studied my ass off (self prep this time, only used AAMC materials and Kaplan booksm and got a 512.

If i can do it, you can too
 
Shammyguy3 said:
Fellow retaker here. First attempt was 5 years ago now (old MCAT, 25). Was stressed about the new one. Studied my ass off (self prep this time, only used AAMC materials and Kaplan booksm and got a 512.

If i can do it, you can too
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same here! what i did was go through about 50 questions a day using the question bank, and i would write down the concepts that I got wrong, and then, later that day, I would go through the concepts REALLY well. Next day, - the same. Eventually i simply ran out of concepts that i did not know!. In addition to that i went through Psychology/Sociology flashcards that i downloaded on Quizlet for about 30 min daily, and wrote all amino acids with structures, as well as all physics and chemistry formulas once a week. Twice a month a took full length practice test. And i got 511 after only 1 month of prep, WHILE working full time.
 
Remember, the plural of anecdote is not data. Most people do not do better. But I would retake a 505, and what you should get out of these stories is that these people were willing to change things up and not just do the same thing that got them the lower score in the first place.

For you guys and gals who did that much better, great job! Way to be adaptable and self reflective.
 
Matthew9Thirtyfive said:
Remember, the plural of anecdote is not data. Most people do not do better. But I would retake a 505, and what you should get out of these stories is that these people were willing to change things up and not just do the same thing that got them the lower score in the first place.

For you guys and gals who did that much better, great job! Way to be adaptable and self reflective.
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Definitely! I changed EVERYTHING. I found a few forums from ppl who got high scores and tried to find out how they studied and compared it to me . And I realized that I made a mistakes of focusing on the books vs questions . So I did what I did (see post above ) and it worked for me .
 
mmaslyanko said:
Definitely! I changed EVERYTHING. I found a few forums from ppl who got high scores and tried to find out how they studied and compared it to me . And I realized that I made a mistakes of focusing on the books vs questions . So I did what I did (see post above ) and it worked for me .
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I concur. The 509+ MCAT thread is absolute gold. I went from a 504 --> 510 (122 --> 126 in CARS). Not a huge jump... but substantial and I'm hoping it's enough to get me an MD admit. I think I made the most progress when I started writing down every mistake I made on questions. At the end of the week, I would review this once.
 
I’ve been debating retaking the MCAT, but being in the 510+ range, I worry about doing worse. In retrospect I probably should have studied longer than 1 week. I originally wanted to apply the next cycle but my husband pushed me to take it and apply.
 
futuredoc0307 said:
fyi, some schools accept new scores WHILE you are on the waitlist before a final decision. one of the schools i am waitlisted at allows us to send new scores before the cycle ends and that was the biggest dilemma i had and ended up not retaking lol. had the same score as you. but CARS (123) killed me
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I didn't know you could send another one during the cycle. Wow! That's interesting.
 
mmaslyanko said:
Definitely! I changed EVERYTHING. I found a few forums from ppl who got high scores and tried to find out how they studied and compared it to me . And I realized that I made a mistakes of focusing on the books vs questions . So I did what I did (see post above ) and it worked for me .
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Yes! I've been trying to focus more on questions as well. What practice questions did you use? AAMC? Kaplan?
 
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