2020-2021 Waitlist Support Thread

Started by retro2021
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It’s about that time of year...

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Blue Lion said:
Any reason for everyone giving up this past page of posts? Something happen?
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I think it’s mainly the fact that it’s getting close to two weeks past May, which is when the “big wave” is supposed to be happening. All the anxiety of waiting along with the silence from schools seems to be slowly draining us all, both mentally and emotionally.
 
Julatteluver said:
i heard schools can decide whether they want snapshot or not though, right? Or if they require casper, do they have to require the new portions as well?
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i think probably some schools will look at it and some won't! but the casper platform is making it "mandatory" so i think we're meant to do it even if we don't know if the schools will use it? who knows lol
 
SicilianDragon said:
I think it’s mainly the fact that it’s getting close to two weeks past May, which is when the “big wave” is supposed to be happening. All the anxiety of waiting along with the silence from schools seems to be slowly draining us all, both mentally and emotionally.
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Julatteluver said:
our mood swings are just oscillating crazy + schools have been prerttttty silent (at least on sdn)
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SuperSpies said:
It’s just that our souls have been crushed and our bodies can’t take it anymore

We’re all gonna hit the emergency room because that’s the closest we’ll get to becoming a doctor ❤️‍🩹
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Was gonna say, y’all were so hopeful just, well, yesterday, lol.

Again tho, this year lot’s of folks held onto multiple acceptances + COVID delays, I think we really just got to wait out this month.
 
Blue Lion said:
Was gonna say, y’all were so hopeful just, well, yesterday, lol.

Again tho, this year lot’s of folks held onto multiple acceptances + COVID delays, I think we really just got to wait out this month.
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I am still hopeful, just with more realistic standards for now! GUYS, the cycle is not over yet, it's most likely that another (smaller) wave of As will come in later this week or next week once schools know how many people declined their As after getting off WL. SO, SOME OF US WILL STILL GET As, just later. HOWEVER, it's possible that some of us, including myself, may face reapp. it's just what it is. Although I am incredibly upset about how this cycle unfolded for me, I am trying to accept the fact that luck plays a great part for this process + i had objective weaknesses that I tried to ignore that I will work on to fix.
 
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SicilianDragon said:
I think it’s mainly the fact that it’s getting close to two weeks past May, which is when the “big wave” is supposed to be happening. All the anxiety of waiting along with the silence from schools seems to be slowly draining us all, both mentally and emotionally.
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Yeah I agree. Many of us expected a big WL wave in the first week or so of May (no travel costs for interviews this cycle = more top-tier applicants going to more interviews = hoarding tons of acceptances before April 30th = insane WL movement soon after April 30th).

Unfortunately, that didn't happen. In fact, many schools have had historically less WL movement than ever before (by this time in the cycle), and many have reached and stayed at full class size.

All hope isn't lost, but the future doesn't look too great for us on the WL. :/
 
Microbe_Hunter said:
I just wish schools told us whats going on with the WL and if there are delays etc.
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Are you insane?????????????
omg i cant even
i have no words
im speechless

how dare you question our beloved med schools!!!!!! u sir, deserve the highest punishment
who are you to desire for equal and just treatment with proper transparency from a process that is so unforgiving
what a vile request

u ppl disgust me

#AAMCrules
 
I just remembered that TMDSAS also requires that personal characteristics essay in addition to the personal statement. I don't even know how that could change; my personal characteristics have not changed, but I feel like I'll look lazy if I don't change it.
 
I got my first and only acceptance to my favorite school that I applied to on Monday (5/12)! It was my only allopathic school interview and I was on the waitlist since mid-Feb with only 2 other waitlists to DO schools, so this was truly something that seemed and still feels unfathomable to me and I was fully expecting to need to apply again. Crossing my fingers for everyone on this thread still in limbo, I wish you all the very best!!
 
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my question is how does one get off the waitlist?! the school I'm waitlisted for suggests sending letters of interest/updates but I've sent a few and people who've only sent one to two tops seem way more successful? obviously, not salty about that and i want my peers to succeed but it makes me wonder how they pick between people on the waitlist if not for how much they show interest in a school at that point?
 
wegotthis20201234 said:
my question is how does one get off the waitlist?! the school I'm waitlisted for suggests sending letters of interest/updates but I've sent a few and people who've only sent one to two tops seem way more successful? obviously, not salty about that and i want my peers to succeed but it makes me wonder how they pick between people on the waitlist if not for how much they show interest in a school at that point?
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Super curious about this as well
 
You guys are keeping my hope alive and I'm thankful for WLgang but honestly SDN is becoming toxic. I never really went on SDN before bcus I've heard horror stories about it before from others on how ppl try to make you feel bad and discourage you (completely untrue in my experience so far--only feeling love and support<3)

All I do all day at work is refresh SDN and my email. I have not done my actual job in weeks. I just bailed on one of my commitments bcus I didn't prepare for it. I am so upset at myself for not being able to hold it together and I should be more resilient. And this makes me feel that these schools were right to not accept me and that I'm not resilient enough to get through medical training if this is how I'm handling this.

It's a hard pill to swallow
 
wegotthis20201234 said:
my question is how does one get off the waitlist?! the school I'm waitlisted for suggests sending letters of interest/updates but I've sent a few and people who've only sent one to two tops seem way more successful? obviously, not salty about that and i want my peers to succeed but it makes me wonder how they pick between people on the waitlist if not for how much they show interest in a school at that point?
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Maybe this is evidence that LOIs are nothing more than placebos to let you feel like you are not impotent when the reality is that you are, and the most important factor in receiving an A is how strong your file is as compared to everyone else's, and not how much you want it or how well you are able to express that? I dunno. Just thinking out loud here.
 
KnightDoc said:
Maybe this is evidence that LOIs are nothing more than placebos to let you feel like you are not impotent when the reality is that you are, and the most important factor in receiving an A is how strong your file is as compared to everyone else's, and not how much you want it or how well you are able to express that? I dunno. Just thinking out loud here.
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My assumption is that while LOIs matter, it only matters if the adcoms are already interested in you. They probably don't want to admit it since many schools refuse to release WL rankings, but it's pretty obvious that LOIs won't make anyone more attractive as an applicant. LOIs only benefit when the interest is mutual.
 
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tahinitajin said:
I am so upset at myself for not being able to hold it together and I should be more resilient. And this makes me feel that these schools were right to not accept me and that I'm not resilient enough to get through medical training if this is how I'm handling this.

It's a hard pill to swallow
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Ah, no. Sorry. There's not a single med school applicant who wouldn't struggle hard with the idea of reapplication, and going through the cycle again. Frankly, some of the most resilient people in medical schools are the reapplicants, and I can guarantee that whatever resilience they have upon finally starting med school, their outlook was pretty bleak around this point of their first cycle.

People don't just handle disappointment with a sunny disposition all the time. It's got nothing to do with having the right amount of resilience to get through med school. I'm pretty darn sure that every person on this waitlist thread will handle med school just fine (which is why you're waitlisted, and not rejected).

Time away from SDN is a good idea, regardless.
 
Julatteluver said:
My assumption is that while LOIs matter, it only matters if the adcoms are already interested in you. They probably don't want to admit it since many schools refuse to release WL rankings, but it's pretty obvious that LOIs won't make anyone more attractive as an applicant. LOIs only benefit when the interest is mutual.
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Which means they really don't matter at all! For most rational people, paying a fee, submitting a primary, paying another fee, submitting a secondary, attending an interview (virtual or otherwise) and not withdrawing from a WL after 4/30 is a sufficient expression of interest without multiple letters. Not being PTE at any school on 5/12 would be icing on the cake. Again, without a LOI.

LOIs make candidates feel like they are doing something, and some schools do actively encourage them because they seem to enjoy the act of subservience. As for whether they actually make a difference? Some people swear by them because they send them, achieve success, and then draw a cause and effect connection.

On the other hand, PLENTY of people are successful without ever sending a single one, even at schools that solicit them. An then there's @wegotthis20201234's observation. Don't get me wrong -- unless a school tells you not to send them, they are not going to hurt. But don't kid yourself. Med school admission is not a matter of who wants it the most. If it was, I'd be a shoo in for Harvard. 😎

Maybe, a week before school starts, between two similarly ranked candidates, the one who wrote the better letter might get the call. But, on 5/12, it's a safe bet most people wrote letters, and they aren't moving needles, assuming they are even read.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't keep writing them. That just means you shouldn't be hurt or disappointed that higher ranked people, even on "unranked" WLs, are receiving calls ahead of people who wrote more, better LOIs. JMHO, but, in my observation, this seems to be the way it works.
 
Super_Med said:
Has anyone who's accepted (but would choose any of their WL schools instead) looked into housing yet? I have not started at all because I still have a bit of hope I'll get off one of the WLs, but that hope is slowly dying...
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My school starts mid august so I’m going to start seriously looking/making deposits late June/early July
 
KnightDoc said:
Which means they really don't matter at all! For most rational people, paying a fee, submitting a primary, paying another fee, submitting a secondary, attending an interview (virtual or otherwise) and not withdrawing from a WL after 4/30 is a sufficient expression of interest without multiple letters. Not being PTE at any school on 5/12 would be icing on the cake. Again, without a LOI.
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In decades of experience, I can report, that many of those with no intention of attendance will not remove themselves from a waitlist.
When we had the MAR, we could guess who they were. Now, we have no clue.
 
gyngyn said:
In decades of experience, I can report, that many of those with no intention of attendance will not remove themselves from a waitlist.
When we had the MAR, we could guess who they were. Now, we have no clue.
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Fair enough! So then, is the LOI really the gold standard in measuring interest, given that so many desperate people seem to send them all over the place at this time of year? 🙂

From your perch as an insider, in your experience, do these letters actually make a difference at this stage of the cycle? The frustration expressed by others in the thread is that people sending many letters are being passed over in favor of those who don't.

From the outside looking in, it sure seems like everyone writes them, so I don't understand how they can make a difference.
 
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KnightDoc said:
From the outside looking in, it sure seems like everyone writes them, so I don't understand how they can make a difference.
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There are folks this cycle who have sent a sworn oath that they would attend, then told us that they got a better offer. I guess we're back to the old observation that it's all just pillow talk.
 
Super_Med said:
Has anyone who's accepted (but would choose any of their WL schools instead) looked into housing yet? I have not started at all because I still have a bit of hope I'll get off one of the WLs, but that hope is slowly dying...
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I plan on visiting my school in a about a week or so and start looking. Stil hoping to get of my dream school’s WL tho :/
 
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