2020-2021 Waitlist Support Thread

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adrummingdog said:
I was feeling the same way last year, about to submit my 4th apps in texas. I was honestly just going to quit after getting 7 II and no A this time, but after a few file reviews I feel like im so close. Had a med school prof tell me they didn't want to see me waste a year when I have a competitive app, so here I am studying for the mcat again lol
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Dang 7 😭😭😭 you really are SO close... best of luck w that mcat you got it!
 
KnightDoc said:
Above class size is definitely not good news on 5/18, but at class size is normal, everywhere.

WL movement is created by people dropping excess As, not by schools not being at full class size the third week of May. People will continue to hold multiple As until all WL movement stops, everywhere, and every matriculant at every school holds only that single A. Things are narrowing every day, but movement doesn't stop until all the CTE dates pass, and all the people having emergencies or getting cold feet at the last minute withdraw. 🙂
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But technically they can’t do that because the deadline for narrowing acceptances down to one school was April 30th. Would that mean they are in violation of the AAMC policy? Something is not clicking to me. Can someone please help explain this?
 
Blue Lion said:
Man, I got three IIs this year compared to my zero my first two attempts.

So seeing y’all with seven and being only on WLs fills me with fear 😭
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I have 5 WLs with rlly solid stats and good research/good story, but I've also seen people with much lower stats and less research get accepted... this process is truly unpredictable.
 
Microbe_Hunter said:
I have 5 WLs with rlly solid stats and good research/good story, but I've also seen people with much lower stats and less research get accepted... this process is truly unpredictable.
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I'm starting to think that after you've checked all the necessary boxes it's really just luck
 
Jedi2100 said:
But technically they can’t do that because the deadline for narrowing acceptances down to one school was April 30th. Would that mean they are in violation of the AAMC policy? Something is not clicking to me. Can someone please help explain this?
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The key to knightdoc’s logic is that although applicants can only hold onto one A, they can still be on multiple WLs. If an applicant prefers the WL school more than the school that he is already accepted at, he will definitely drop his A once his WL school accepts him. This will cause movements because now there will be one empty spot.
 
sun_flower580 said:
Getting everything ready to submit for primary app (TX apps are open already)... as a 3rd time re-applicant I am feeling the burnout!!! (On 2 WL currently but not counting on it) I can’t tell if I’m losing my passion for med school or if I’m just exhausted of doing this $h*t for 3 years in a row. Since the WL’s and cycles always overlapped there really has been zero breaks for going on 3 years now. I hate it here 🤧 anyone else in a similar boat? Honestly if it doesn’t work out this next cycle i don’t think I will be doing this a 4th time
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Literally in the same boat. 2 WL and going in as a 3rd time reapplicant. Been trying to get everything together and I'm retaking the MCAT next Friday. I'm just tired at this point. Really been trying to remind myself that this is all going to be worth it once we get there.
 
So almost all schools seem to take June of 3 years prior MCAT currently, does that mean my June of 2019 MCAT would most likely be okay for the 2022 cycle?
 
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Julatteluver said:
The key to knightdoc’s logic is that although applicants can only hold onto one A, they can still be on multiple WLs. If an applicant prefers the WL school more than the school that he is already accepted at, he will definitely drop his A once his WL school accepts him. This will cause movements because now there will be one empty spot.
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THIS^^^^^. Plus, there is a common misconception that just won't die. There is NO SUCH THING as "AAMC policy." AAMC deliberately chose to get out of the yield management business back in 2019 when the rules became protocols. These are now suggestions that individual schools are free to adopt or ignore, and to enforce however they see fit.

I don't want to make a bigger deal out of it than it is, but you should be aware that every school does not require people to make a PTE selection by 4/30. Theoretically, people holding an A at those schools could also be PTE somewhere else. Theoretically, the PTE school would expect those people to become CTE at the deadline, and, some of them will blindside the school by not selecting CTE because they were holding a hidden A all along. It happens!

Otherwise, @Julatteluver has it exactly right. Anyone with an A and a WL could have two As at any time prior to selecting CTE and withdrawing from the WLs.
 
ProseccoPapi said:
Will also likely have to retake a 511 if I don't get in
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I am curious what tier schools you guys are applying to. Depending on your school list, a 511 should not have to be retaken. Your application may be lacking in other areas such as medical experience, non medical volunteering, hobbies, interviewing skills, etc.. What I am saying is, this is a good stat for several medical schools, and you should maybe consider spending time on other activities then prepping for that god awful exam again.
 
MedHeadBedHead said:
I am curious what tier schools you guys are applying to. Depending on your school list, a 511 should not have to be retaken. Your application may be lacking in other areas such as medical experience, non medical volunteering, hobbies, interviewing skills, etc.. What I am saying is, this is a good stat for several medical schools, and you should maybe consider spending time on other activities then prepping for that god awful exam again.
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youre forgetting they might have to because their mcat is expiring
 
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Blue Lion said:
Bro.....
What.......
You're in the Top 10% of MCAT scores.
Why would you want to retake it?
I genuinely have not seen MCAT averages at scores that are anything above an 88th percentile.
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I have to retake, took it junior year in 2018 and its expiring at most schools this year. This cycle has been an absolute disaster for me bro lol
 
ProseccoPapi said:
Will also likely have to retake a 511 if I don't get in
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Im thinking to take it in late July.
MedHeadBedHead said:
I am curious what tier schools you guys are applying to. Depending on your school list, a 511 should not have to be retaken. Your application may be lacking in other areas such as medical experience, non medical volunteering, hobbies, interviewing skills, etc.. What I am saying is, this is a good stat for several medical schools, and you should maybe consider spending time on other activities then prepping for that god awful exam again.
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I can confidently say my ec’s are pretty good and my interview skills are fair. I applied in Sept which hurt me. I’m an orm and didn’t get any II from my 3 public nj md state schools. My gpa has an upward trend and doesn’t warrant an smp. The mcat, if I can improve, would help a lot. Im on 3 WL and still waiting on 2 post-II decisions. Med school admissions are so random
 
this process really makes me want to cry. My school (that I did my masters at) is having a lot of WL movement for the last few weeks and has yet to reach out to me. I have sent multiple updates, a LOI and meet what they wanted for stats for the interview. I know this can go on until july but it is driving me insane.
 
adrummingdog said:
Retaking a 515, hoping to get off one of my 6 WLs before I have to
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Blue Lion said:
Also a 507 here if I don't get in (I can't believe a 507 is bad these days...)
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Same boat! I'm ORM and my ECs are actually really good. I'm just not a good test taker. I could take a risk and apply with my newly acquired master's GPA which is all MS1 courses. I got a 3.94 in the program. But my advisor said to try to improve the MCAT by 4-5 points to be safe.
 
swiftcoffeemed said:
this process really makes me want to cry. My school (that I did my masters at) is having a lot of WL movement for the last few weeks and has yet to reach out to me. I have sent multiple updates, a LOI and meet what they wanted for stats for the interview. I know this can go on until july but it is driving me insane.
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Dont worry, it gets better. Keep your chin up.
 
If anyone wants an RPG to play amidst all their waiting, I very much recommend Trails in the Sky on Steam.

Also playing it will probably be good med school prep given the game has enough text to fill five textbooks, always good to brush up on reading skills lol
 
Talldoctor96 said:
youre forgetting they might have to because their mcat is expiring
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Hey, can someone clarify the MCAT expiration for me? I took my exam in July 2020. I applied this 2020-2021 cycle and am currently on one waitlist. I am not reapplying this next 2021-2022 cycle. I want to reapply in the 2022-2023 cycle. Will my MCAT still be good? This would mean that in the summer that I apply, my MCAT will be 2 years old, and then it expires the following summer right? So it expires in the summer at the tail end of the application cycle. Would this be acceptable at schools?
 
Gobuffs18 said:
Hey everyone, I am new here! I am on a waitlist, however I am prepping my applicant for potential reapplication. I have submitted my transcript to AMCAS but have received 3 AMCAS confirmation notifications for the same transcript and it looks like they have duplicates of this transcript. Anyone else having this issue?
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Late reply, but YES! I submitted transcripts last week and have received confirmation emails almost every day.
 
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LiteralLungs said:
Hey, can someone clarify the MCAT expiration for me? I took my exam in July 2020. I applied this 2020-2021 cycle and am currently on one waitlist. I am not reapplying this next 2021-2022 cycle. I want to reapply in the 2022-2023 cycle. Will my MCAT still be good? This would mean that in the summer that I apply, my MCAT will be 2 years old, and then it expires the following summer right? So it expires in the summer at the tail end of the application cycle. Would this be acceptable at schools?
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I'm not sure, but if you have MSAR you could probably just take whatever date the schools say the MCAT expires and just project that out the year youll be reapplying! So like if a school says it won't take any MCATS before July 2019 for the 2021-2022 cycle, it's a safe bet that for 2022-2023 they won't take any before July 2020.
 
MedHeadBedHead said:
I am curious what tier schools you guys are applying to. Depending on your school list, a 511 should not have to be retaken. Your application may be lacking in other areas such as medical experience, non medical volunteering, hobbies, interviewing skills, etc.. What I am saying is, this is a good stat for several medical schools, and you should maybe consider spending time on other activities then prepping for that god awful exam again.
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Also, don't forget that race is a factor. 511 means different things for ORM, URM and White candidates. It is below average for one, above average for one, and average for one. It's pretty hard to make the case that someone who had no success with a below average score shouldn't at least consider a retake. If this wasn't relevant, AAMC would report scores broken out like this.
 
KnightDoc said:
Also, don't forget that race is a factor. 511 means different things for ORM, URM and White candidates. It is below average for one, above average for one, and average for one. It's pretty hard to make the case that someone who had no success with a below average score shouldn't at least consider a retake. If this wasn't relevant, AAMC would report scores broken out like this.
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Important to remember that being below average is okay!!!! Half of people who get into med school are below average!
 
Blue Lion said:
Anyone here actually considering applying to -less- schools this cycle? Third time re-applicant here, first time getting interviews, and it feels like the only schools that were more willing to consider my improvements (positive MCAT trend, post-bacc GPA, getting more clinical experience) were IS ones. Whereas OOS schools for me, both in terms of getting IIs from them, or even just any sort of communication, was rough for me, I did not get anything.

It just feels like at this point unless you’re some superstar applicant, it doesn’t feel like there is much reason to apply to OOS schools. This feeling is emphasized even further for me given that a lot of my friends who were in similar stat/experience ranges as myself all went to IS schools.

As someone who (hopefully won’t have to) reapply a fourth time, I just really don’t want to spend more time and money on applications than I need to. I would like to actually enjoy a summer for once.
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I’m not sure about this. I really wanted to go to my IS school, but heard nothing. I got 8 IIs to OOS schools, though. I wouldn’t limit your options, just maybe do research about which OOS schools are more open to OOS students
 
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fogo said:
Be brutally honest — is WL movement almost concluded? Are we SOL and doomed to be re-applicants?
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Do u realize we are on third week of May? Yes it seems like there is less movement this cycle, but that doesn’t mean the movement will end in May. Smaller waves will continue to come, that doesn’t mean we will get in, but that also doesn’t mean we don’t have any chance either.
 
fogo said:
Be brutally honest — is WL movement almost concluded? Are we SOL and doomed to be re-applicants?
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Unfortunately there's nothing for anyone to be brutally honest about vs sugar coat.

You've just gotta tolerate the uncertainty. No one knows the specific answer for WL movement at your schools...even adcoms don't know exactly how their WL movement will shake out because they don't know which of their candidates will get As elsewhere and drop their spots.

What's helped me is not giving up, but taking some steps to start working on my re-app.

I'd recommend thinking about, if it's worst case scenario and you do have to reapply, when do you want to reapply (right away or future cycles) and what were the weaknesses/things that could be improved in your app (everyone has something they could improve, there are always more experiences to be had, more hours to accumulate, and there is no such thing as a perfect essay).
 
Talldoctor96 said:
Important to remember that being below average is okay!!!! Half of people who get into med school are below average!
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srstudent said:
They're actually below median, but yes!
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A minor point, but most successful applicants are "above average" relative to their peers, hence why matriculants have higher average GPA/MCAT's than applicants. I'll show myself the door now.
 
LiteralLungs said:
Hey, can someone clarify the MCAT expiration for me? I took my exam in July 2020. I applied this 2020-2021 cycle and am currently on one waitlist. I am not reapplying this next 2021-2022 cycle. I want to reapply in the 2022-2023 cycle. Will my MCAT still be good? This would mean that in the summer that I apply, my MCAT will be 2 years old, and then it expires the following summer right? So it expires in the summer at the tail end of the application cycle. Would this be acceptable at schools?
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Most schools take an MCAT up to 3 years old and many Texas schools extend that to 5 years.
Check your school list 1 by 1 to be sure.
 
Talldoctor96 said:
Important to remember that being below average is okay!!!! Half of people who get into med school are below average!
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Of course, but it's also important to remember that we are not talking about half of the people who got in! When you are part of the 60%+ who don't get in, AND your stats are below the median, average, whatever, it's as reasonable to consider improving that as improving anything else in the app. OTOH, if your stats are above average, it's a pretty safe bet they are not the problem.
 
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