2018-2019 Waitlist Support Thread

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MemeLord said:
This sounds like a very encouraging non-gender-binary phrase. Imma steal it for the forums.

While I will use the WL support thread to encourage you and support your hope for waitlist acceptance, to anyone else reading:

Declining an acceptance is extraordinarily foolish and shortsighted. Chances of becoming a doctor just went from 100% to <100%. One of those is better than the other.
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StanleyYelnats said:
Are you holding another acceptance or was that your only one?
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Yes, I have another acceptance which I prefer over BSOM. But I definitely agree that one should never decline a guaranteed acceptance in hope of getting off the WL somewhere else!
 
Anyone know of anyone having like a letter writer or mentor call a school on our behalf? I have a LOR from an alumni from my WL
 
It's so irritating because one MD school I'm waitlisted at I'm in the top 1/3 and they usually make their way through ~2/3 of their waitlist year after year but has had practically no movement this year. Why did this have to happen the cycle I applied 😵
 
Meridian17 said:
Yeah they can remain on waitlist. But waitlist is trickle-down, and if the slots at the high tiers are full, they won't get any slots, so the high tier waitlists won't move and the mid tier PTEs will eventually become CTE, so the mid tier waitlists won't move, so people who are waitlisted at mid tiers and accepted to low tiers will become CTE to the low tiers,and then people who are waitlisted to low tiers won't get in anywhere. Believe me, I want to be optimistic here too! But just because people who are PTE at a mid or low tier hope to get off a waitlist, doesn't mean that they will. They will probably eventually become CTE.
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This assumes that everyone wants to go to prestigious schools, that’s not true. There are many other factors that we consider, cost, location, weather, mission, hospitals, etc. some people may want to move horizontally rather than vertically in relation to tiers.
 
So is the optimistic consensus that schools with historically large WL movement will have so this year, just later? I know it seems some schools are having less movement this year than previously, but in this scenario we're talking about schools where students joke that at least half of their class consists of waitlisters.
 
So if a student is on multiple waitlists, but they reached their CTE deadline for their accepted school, can they still remain on the waitlists?
If not, couldn't that cause some sort of trickle down because then fewer people would be left on the other schools' waitlists?
 
Hi so I sent almost two pages LoI (+updates) to my top-choice where I am waitlisted at. Do you think it’s okay to send in another letter to further express my continued interest? Or does sending another LoI seem neurotic? Please help T.T
 
coni81 said:
Hi so I sent almost two pages LoI (+updates) to my top-choice where I am waitlisted at. Do you think it’s okay to send in another letter to further express my continued interest? Or does sending another LoI seem neurotic? Please help T.T
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How long ago did you send the update?
 
coni81 said:
Hi so I sent almost two pages LoI (+updates) to my top-choice where I am waitlisted at. Do you think it’s okay to send in another letter to further express my continued interest? Or does sending another LoI seem neurotic? Please help T.T
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does your first state that if accepted you will matriculate at that school? Theres a formula for US world and news rankings that has to do with number of acceptances to full class ratio that some schools worry about
 
Kiwimd17 said:
So if a student is on multiple waitlists, but they reached their CTE deadline for their accepted school, can they still remain on the waitlists?
If not, couldn't that cause some sort of trickle down because then fewer people would be left on the other schools' waitlists?
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265902
 
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how do you find how much WL movement schools usually have? my school doesn't show anything on msar
 
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l;aksjdf;aljk;f said:
does your first state that if accepted you will matriculate at that school? Theres a formula for US world and news rankings that has to do with number of acceptances to full class ratio that some schools worry about
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Yes I wrote that “I will eagerly attend if offered the opportunity.”
 
coni81 said:
Yes I wrote that “I will eagerly attend if offered the opportunity.”
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then you should be good 🙂. I wouldn't send another but a phone call might help provided they did not specfically tell you not to call and you have not been calling all the time. I have organized a group of 4 students to call so that we get new info a few times a week to my school but each individual student is only calling every other week 🙂
 
l;aksjdf;aljk;f said:
then you should be good 🙂. I wouldn't send another but a phone call might help provided they did not specfically tell you not to call and you have not been calling all the time. I have organized a group of 4 students to call so that we get new info a few times a week to my school but each individual student is only calling every other week 🙂
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anyone have any suggestions on what more information to say to a school when you call them? I called my top choice waitlisted school two weeks ago. I want to call again to show interest but not sure what else to say

I already said it was my top choice school and I would withdraw from all other WL and acceptances (they said no need to send a LOI since I verbally told them)
 
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l;aksjdf;aljk;f said:
then you should be good 🙂. I wouldn't send another but a phone call might help provided they did not specfically tell you not to call and you have not been calling all the time. I have organized a group of 4 students to call so that we get new info a few times a week to my school but each individual student is only calling every other week 🙂
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Thank you! One last question though - are you suggesting that I call the admissions to get new info (like how much more waitlist movement they expect) or tell them about myself?
 
just to get info, might help your nerves, you should easily be able to find other waitlisted students on their school specific thread
 
LabileEmotions said:
If would be a great exercise, and very helpful to this thread, for about 6 people to coordinate among themselves and divide up the following work:

1. Go through each school specific thread for this year on SDN, as I did on 5/30 for the T20 schools, for those schools ranked 20-100 and count and document how many folks have gotten off WLs so far.

2. Go though past years' SDN school specific threads for the last 2-3 years, to determine what has been the average WL movement by school. I did not document this for the T20s, but I have looked at them enough over the months to know this year's movement is directionally in line with previous years.

I guarantee this exercise will bind up anxiety for those who take it on, and it will allow us to have more fact-based discussions on this thread.

And for those schools, not included in the above, should anyone have done this for their WL school, please add it as an individual post.
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I’ve been doing this for the school I’m waitlisted at and there’s been no report of movement, but historically movement at this school hasn’t been begun until June, so it’s a bit of an oddity.
 
Boonshoft
Movement this year
8/9 people first tier thus far off waitlist (not all from SDN but I know several students)
7 more people 2nd tier
7 people 3rd tier
9 rejected post interview
430 interviewed
120 initial acceptances
according to adcom, the movement has reached the bottom of the first tier (as of monday)

previous years
WL movement started mid april and reached 2nd tier by may 1st with 3rd tier by may 15th
This year, Wl movement started May 3rd and has yet to reach 2nd tier with CTE deadline coming up on June 17th.

am I missing anything?
Group is already organized to call admissions committee twice a week so message me if interested in the info but this is all I have so far.
 
Kiwimd17 said:
So if a student is on multiple waitlists, but they reached their CTE deadline for their accepted school, can they still remain on the waitlists?
If not, couldn't that cause some sort of trickle down because then fewer people would be left on the other schools' waitlists?
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If you want to stay on WLs , stick with "Plan to Enroll". Realize though that not switching to "commit" at your accepted school by the deadline could lose you that spot.
 
I highly encourage people to seek any possible avenues for app feedback from schools. I was able to talk to someone from Ohio (pre interview rejection) this morning and also others post interview rejection. It was highly enjoyable and valuable and gave me an opportunity to learn about the school, get some human interaction, and what exactly the adcom were thinking when reviewing my app and what they look for in general in terms of characteristics.
 
1nside said:
I highly encourage people to seek any possible avenues for app feedback from schools. I was able to talk to someone from Ohio (pre interview rejection) this morning and also others post interview rejection. It was highly enjoyable and valuable and gave me an opportunity to learn about the school, get some human interaction, and what exactly the adcom were thinking when reviewing my app and what they look for in general in terms of characteristics.
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If you’re talking about the OSU feedback thing that they do, that list fills up asap every time lol.

I literally had my email open and kept refreshing on the appropriate day and time. As soon as the email pops, I click the link, the page is red saying “No slots available”, kinda ridiculous, but I appreciate them doing this.
 
1nside said:
I highly encourage people to seek any possible avenues for app feedback from schools. I was able to talk to someone from Ohio (pre interview rejection) this morning and also others post interview rejection. It was highly enjoyable and valuable and gave me an opportunity to learn about the school, get some human interaction, and what exactly the adcom were thinking when reviewing my app and what they look for in general in terms of characteristics.
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private message me
 
Vladimir7 said:
If you’re talking about the OSU feedback thing that they do, that list fills up asap every time lol.

I literally had my email open and kept refreshing on the appropriate day and time. As soon as the email pops, I click the link, the page is red saying “No slots available”, kinda ridiculous, but I appreciate them doing this.
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Yeah I missed it the first time around.. I dunno, I know schools are busy but it helps alot and I don't think it hurts to ask if phone appt are available at some of these schools unless they explicitly deny it.

She said alot of movement happened by she still expects more albeit slowly. That's school dependent though.
 
l;aksjdf;aljk;f said:
Boonshoft
Movement this year
8/9 people first tier thus far off waitlist (not all from SDN but I know several students)
7 more people 2nd tier
7 people 3rd tier
9 rejected post interview
430 interviewed
120 initial acceptances
according to adcom, the movement has reached the bottom of the first tier (as of monday)

previous years
WL movement started mid april and reached 2nd tier by may 1st with 3rd tier by may 15th
This year, Wl movement started May 3rd and has yet to reach 2nd tier with CTE deadline coming up on June 17th.

am I missing anything?
Group is already organized to call admissions committee twice a week so message me if interested in the info but this is all I have so far.
Click to expand...

I may have misread but are you saying 7 people from 2nd tier and 7 from 3rd tier have received an acceptance?
 
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That's unfortunate. Are you guys getting feedback from other applicants or people who know about the process? Personally, I was able to tell or guess what my deficiencies are. And you probably can as well if you are honest. It is just nice to have some more confirmation and if you are willing to really pick apart your app or interview and work on that to become excellent within a field of excellent people. Do you want to grow as a physician and person so you come off as a more compelling applicant, or do you think you've hit your threshold and languish in the absurdity of the process.

It is always prefaced with the fact that this is a supremely competitive process and a rejection does not always mean you were not competitive. This school said they had roughly 1k more apps and 100 less interview spots. That said, we all know the areas of interest: How are your grades, are you deficient in research or service, and if so, how are you demonstrating excellence in your mission to balance that out. Did you make it evident that you explored the field and know what you are getting into. Are you applying to the right schools that fit, how are your secondaries, did you show in all your writing and interactions that you are committed and continue to learn and grow from your experiences to become a better physician. How were your letters. Is it all coherent and compelling.

There are so many of us, and so many great applicants that have it all, or can speak or communicate about it better. It is definitely all the same general advice, and there isn't really any secret, it is definitely a crap shoot, but I continue to get the feedback on making things more personal and to add depth so that you maximize your impression and how adcom may learn about you as a person and future physician.

As far as specifics, I aim to respect confidentiality about conversations and my own application, because the advice will always be unique to each applicant. All I can say is that schools have discussed with me the notes from the review process. If you do not think that is worth seeking out, regardless of the effort or possibility, then so be it.
 
Its a tough one! How does someone with barely the bell curve 503 get an acceptance... And the 520+ crowd not get a chance?????
 
kittycatmd said:
Its a tough one! How does someone with barely the bell curve 503 get an acceptance... And the 520+ crowd not get a chance?????
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Because schools with your MCAT score are likely looking for students with ridiculously good ECs and diversity, and the schools lower than your MCAT score likely yield protect you. Crazy how that works.
 
Man, I know I really need to let it go and not think about it but on the thread for my WL school, there was someone who basically had the same exact demographics as me except they were OH and I'm CA, and got in. It sounded like their interview went better than mine so maybe that gave them the edge but ARGH....COME ON! Gimme a chance!
 
Question: does anyone know which schools are open to providing feedback? is there a master list or something?
 
l;aksjdf;aljk;f said:
Boonshoft
Movement this year
8/9 people first tier thus far off waitlist (not all from SDN but I know several students)
7 more people 2nd tier
7 people 3rd tier
9 rejected post interview
430 interviewed
120 initial acceptances
according to adcom, the movement has reached the bottom of the first tier (as of monday)

previous years
WL movement started mid april and reached 2nd tier by may 1st with 3rd tier by may 15th
This year, Wl movement started May 3rd and has yet to reach 2nd tier with CTE deadline coming up on June 17th.

am I missing anything?
Group is already organized to call admissions committee twice a week so message me if interested in the info but this is all I have so far.
Click to expand...
Much of Boonshoft's waitlist movement last year was due to applicants concerns over major budget issues at Wright State and a new curriculum that started rough. You can investigate it more, but the undergrad institution was in a lot of trouble. The wl movement last year was atypical. I hope I'm wrong but I would not expect movement into the third tier this year (as many of those concerns last year were over reactions and everything with the med school was fine).
 
LabileEmotions said:
The specifics help one to determine if the feedback is granular and actionable enough to put in the effort to secure it.

BTW, seeking out the impossible is not something I would recommend.
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That's true. I can only speak to its value for me. Maybe I'm lucky and I know not all schools offer that. I was able to cold e-mail and get something going multiple times. If it is no value to you, then disregard my post, simply put as it was only a suggestion with the best intentions. Trying to contribute to some proactivity compared to the usual despair, but that is the flavor of the month and I take my bow. Best of luck all. I continue to look forward to more reports of acceptances.
 
I hope what I’m seeing (and I assume that what I’m seeing!) on this thread about suicidal ideation is largely a joke.

But in case it’s not, allow me to say this: this thread is meant for support but that sort of support is largely out of the pay grade of the people here. Please consider seeking help and talking to a professional about those thoughts. You are worthy of your life even if you don’t become a med student this year. I can only imagine how hard many of you have worked and all the difference you might make in the future. It’s worth it to nurture yourself.
 
Please don't post things like this, even in jest... especially in jest.
Many of us are dejected by outcomes thus far, and don't realize what a bright future may hold.
 
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Man this thread is grim af.. I was gonna post a reply about being old fashioned and would prefer tying a rope to the ceiling, but I won’t.

561C2015-14F3-49CD-BEEB-7A88C20F8441-356-00000033B38E89BE.jpg


P.S. if you look closely, you can see the light in the cup of tea.
 
gyngyn said:
Please don't post things like this, even in jest... especially in jest.
Many of us are dejected by outcomes thus far, and don't realize what a bright future may hold.
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Sorry, I made my post after the fact. You are right. And yes, what a bright future indeed, the feeling of gaining an acceptance after a long and painstaking app cycle including previous gap years makes it all the more sweet.
 
FlyerScribe said:
Much of Boonshoft's waitlist movement last year was due to applicants concerns over major budget issues at Wright State and a new curriculum that started rough. You can investigate it more, but the undergrad institution was in a lot of trouble. The wl movement last year was atypical. I hope I'm wrong but I would not expect movement into the third tier this year (as many of those concerns last year were over reactions and everything with the med school was fine).
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I’m pretty sure the year prior to last they still reached the bottom tier though. You would think they would at least dip down into the middle tier, but the waitlist has barely moved.
 
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