2020 Cycle Waitlist Support Thread

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green0902 said:
Why do I feel like WL movement hasn’t really started yet HAHA
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For some schools this is a weird year. 1 of my WL has no movement at all. Another traditionally has a decent amount, but this year has only 2. Maybe it's bc of covid but imo it may be schools just adjusting to the new traffic rules implemented last year.
 
green0902 said:
Why do I feel like WL movement hasn’t really started yet HAHA
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Because, it seems, as schools adjust to the new rules that don't allow them to see where else their candidates hold As and WLs, they are becoming more conservative in handing out As (because they have no visibility on which to estimate yield), which, in turn, leads to fewer people holding fewer multiple As, which leads to fewer people dropping multiple As, which leads to fewer people being called off WLs, which leads to less WL movement, which leads to wash, rinse, repeat.
 
What are ppls thoughts on how the period of time ppl have to accept an offer plays into it? I have a friend with multiple acceptances because her recent acceptance gave her two weeks to decide (into the first week of June) and she hasn’t picked because she’s weighing the odds of each. I feel like giving 1-2 weeks to choose might lead to some more movement? (It also seems like a lot of ppl getting accepted off waitlists are also already holding acceptances (as compared to ppl w/o any As)?)
 
KnightDoc said:
Because, it seems, as schools adjust to the new rules that don't allow them to see where else their candidates hold As and WLs, they are becoming more conservative in handing out As (because they have no visibility on which to estimate yield), which, in turn, leads to fewer people holding fewer multiple As, which leads to fewer people dropping multiple As, which leads to fewer people being called off WLs, which leads to less WL movement, which leads to wash, rinse, repeat.
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Even with schools being more conservative with the # of acceptances and less applicants having multiple acceptances, I don’t understand why WL movement would be drastically different year to year. Without the MAR, schools are picking their favorite applicants. So wouldn’t top applicants have all the acceptances then? These top people can only go to 1 school and will have to drop their As at some point. Say 1 person has 10 acceptances, and still hasn’t dropped them yet. That would open up 9 spots when they do drop. Those people are also the first ones to get the call of the WL. They might wait the max # of days to accept the offer, like the above poster’s friend, and then decide to turn it down. I think there will be more movement in the next few months. We also can’t extrapolate based on what happened last year, as schools had no idea what they were doing last year when it came to PTE/CTE. Many schools over-accepted last year because of this and word on the street is that didn’t happen this year. Only time will tell what will happen though, so you may very well be right about less WL movement overall. I’m choosing to remain optimistic about more movement though since that helps me sleep better at night lol.
 
SwimBikeRun12 said:
What are ppls thoughts on how the period of time ppl have to accept an offer plays into it? I have a friend with multiple acceptances because her recent acceptance gave her two weeks to decide (into the first week of June) and she hasn’t picked because she’s weighing the odds of each. I feel like giving 1-2 weeks to choose might lead to some more movement? (It also seems like a lot of ppl getting accepted off waitlists are also already holding acceptances (as compared to ppl w/o any As)?)
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At this point in the season, I'm not sure the period of time plays into it at all. All of the deadlines are tight (1-2 weeks, as you noted), and some people will decide right away while others go right up to the deadline. In any event, each WL offer to someone with an A ultimately leads to another WL offer in a relatively short period of time, as the person who received the offer and now has 2 As has to drop one. The process keeps repeating itself until, ultimately the last people receiving As don't have another one to drop.
 
fatherofdragons said:
Even with schools being more conservative with the # of acceptances and less applicants having multiple acceptances, I don’t understand why WL movement would be drastically different year to year. Without the MAR, schools are picking their favorite applicants. So wouldn’t top applicants have all the acceptances then? These top people can only go to 1 school and will have to drop their As at some point. Say 1 person has 10 acceptances, and still hasn’t dropped them yet. That would open up 9 spots when they do drop. Those people are also the first ones to get the call of the WL. They might wait the max # of days to accept the offer, like the above poster’s friend, and then decide to turn it down. I think there will be more movement in the next few months. We also can’t extrapolate based on what happened last year, as schools had no idea what they were doing last year when it came to PTE/CTE. Many schools over-accepted last year because of this and word on the street is that didn’t happen this year. Only time will tell what will happen though, so you may very well be right about less WL movement overall. I’m choosing to remain optimistic about more movement though since that helps me sleep better at night lol.
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Agreed about not extrapolating from last year, but there is zero evidence to suggest that there is widespread holding of multiple As at this point in the cycle, since just about every school seems to be enforcing its requirement that candidates select PTE in order to keep their As, and people can only be PTE at one school. WL movement at this point is precipitated by someone holding an A dropping it when they are called off another WL, rather than people with multiple As from 4/30 holding them indefinitely and then dropping them at some random point.

I wasn't trying to predict what might happen from this point forward, but was only offering a possible explanation for why it might be less than in prior years to this point. Namely, the lack of a MAR, plus schools' experience in over accepting last year, made them more conservative with initial As this year.

You are 1,000% correct - better candidates receive more As. In an environment in which there are less As to go around, fewer top candidates will receive fewer As. That will lead to fewer multiple As being dropped, which will lead to less WL movement, which is what I think might be happening to date.

Last year people also kept speculating that a wave of WL movement would come later due to uncertainty over how the new rules were impacting movement. It turned out that a number of schools over accepted, there were not, in fact, a ton of people holding multiple As late into June and July, and the hoped for WL wave at the end never came.

Unless a lot of people are still holding a lot of As, the same will happen again, with or without schools being over enrolled. The only possible movement will come from people with As receiving another A when they are called off a WL, and then having to drop one. This will continue to occur right up until classes begin, but is likely to be a slowing trickle rather than a building wave, since, at every school, an A will eventually go to someone not already holding one, and that will be the end of the WL calls resulting from the first WL call in that chain.
 
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KnightDoc said:
Because, it seems, as schools adjust to the new rules that don't allow them to see where else their candidates hold As and WLs, they are becoming more conservative in handing out As (because they have no visibility on which to estimate yield), which, in turn, leads to fewer people holding fewer multiple As, which leads to fewer people dropping multiple As, which leads to fewer people being called off WLs, which leads to less WL movement, which leads to wash, rinse, repeat.
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I believe schools will continue to have similar yields. So if fewer A’s are given out initially, I believe this will actually extend the WL process as it will take longer to settle the cascade. Typically in the past,each WL conversion to an Acceptance corresponded to an available seat. F the schools don’t have enough confidence and are passing out fewer initial A’s, I doubt they’ll pass out more WL -> A than seats. THis means that each offer can take a week to settle before they move on and a seat reopens.
 
proudofmykids said:
I believe schools will continue to have similar yields. So if fewer A’s are given out initially, I believe this will actually extend the WL process as it will take longer to settle the cascade. Typically in the past,each WL conversion to an Acceptance corresponded to an available seat. F the schools don’t have enough confidence and are passing out fewer initial A’s, I doubt they’ll pass out more WL -> A than seats. THis means that each offer can take a week to settle before they move on and a seat reopens.
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Unless the offer goes to someone who doesn't already have an A, in which case the offer will "settle" immediately and will not result in any more seats reopening. Ultimately, every seat made available will be filled this way. There is no extension of the process.

You seem to assume the so-called "cascade" will continue indefinitely, but it will not. In fact, it will dwindle to nothing as the cycle proceeds to its conclusion as classes begin. WL movement always builds from March forward as people start giving up their multiple As, peaking right after 4/30, when people are compelled to drop multiple As. WL movement is never as high as it is in the week or two after 4/30, and it always gradually slows after that time as classes fill. The "cascade" you describe only lasts for each vacancy until someone without an A is offered a seat -- it does not continue, at each school, until everyone gets their first choice.

Also, people seem to think that CTE deadlines will provoke a second wave of WL movement, but it doesn't work that way. CTE deadlines cause WLs to thin out as people are forced to drop off WLs, but the deadline does not cause people to be accepted from WLs. It just causes the final holdouts to convert PTE to CTE.

CTE deadlines force people to elect CTE, they do not cause people to drop the A and create WL movement. In fact, as time goes on, this actually slows WL movement since, as CTE deadlines come and go across the country, the only people remaining on WLs are those without an A, so each offer late in the cycle does not result in any "cascade" at all. This seemed to surprise people last year, and probably will again this year.
 
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The slowing of the waitlist movement these past few days and weeks is extremely terrifying... I am approximately #30 on my one and only waitlist, and I hold no As. I'm not sure I have a 3rd cycle in 3 years in me at this point and it's getting pretty late to think about a plan for another gap year. I just need another push of the list lol
 
Schools likely don't give our waitlist ranks because it can go up and down in the cycle. As people get re-reviewed. As more people interview. As people send update letters with publications. As people send letters of intent etc. If I were an adcom I would not give out WL rank for just that reason - more flexibility to move people around. I would also as an applicant not have to know I started at spot 15 and now i'm at 22. I think the fluctuation would have given me more anxiety
 
#wannabemd said:
Schools likely don't give our waitlist ranks because it can go up and down in the cycle. As people get re-reviewed. As more people interview. As people send update letters with publications. As people send letters of intent etc. If I were an adcom I would not give out WL rank for just that reason - more flexibility to move people around. I would also as an applicant not have to know I started at spot 15 and now i'm at 22. I think the fluctuation would have given me more anxiety
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I think if it's ranked they can't though per LCME. The ranking established on ranked WL have to be followed. For those schools I don't know why they don't all reveal rank #
 
KnightDoc said:
Unless the offer goes to someone who doesn't already have an A, in which case the offer will "settle" immediately and will not result in any more seats reopening. Ultimately, every seat made available will be filled this way. There is no extension of the process.

You seem to assume the so-called "cascade" will continue indefinitely, but it will not. In fact, it will dwindle to nothing as the cycle proceeds to its conclusion as classes begin. WL movement always builds from March forward as people start giving up their multiple As, peaking right after 4/30, when people are compelled to drop multiple As. WL movement is never as high as it is in the week or two after 4/30, and it always gradually slows after that time as classes fill. The "cascade" you describe only lasts for each vacancy until someone without an A is offered a seat -- it does not continue, at each school, until everyone gets their first choice.
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I actually said the opposite of indefinite. (we agree it settles out as CTE occurs and only candidates not holding As receive WL remain).
I doubt they’ll pass out more WL -> A than seats.

KnightDoc said:
Also, people seem to think that deadlines will provoke a second wave of WL movement, but it doesn't work that way. CTE deadlines cause WLs to thin out as people are forced to drop off WLs, but the deadline does not cause people to be accepted from WLs. It just causes the final holdouts to convert PTE to CTE.

CTE deadlines force people to elect CTE, they do not cause people to drop the A and create WL movement. In fact, as time goes on, this actually slows WL movement since, as CTE deadlines come and go across the country, the only people remaining on WLs are those without an A, so each offer late in the cycle does not result in any "cascade" at all. This seemed to surprise people last year, and probably will again this year.
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I don't agree. In some ways, CTE deadlines do force people to drop other As, and create WL movement. My kid was sitting on several additional new A's this past week and needed to drop all but one due to an upcoming CTE deadlines.

As you indicate, CTE doesn't produce additional seats. It does force available seats to pass along quicker with decision deadlines as well as reduces can didste pool to receive WL offered of adeptance; ending the Cascade as you indicate.
 
expressojoe said:
I think if it's ranked they can't though per LCME. The ranking established on ranked WL have to be followed. For those schools I don't know why they don't all reveal rank #
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They don't have to officially rank it. In their meetings they can order people as much as they want I mean its human tendency to put people in an order in a process like this. Not officially ranking it just gives them more flexibility to change this order as they re-review.
 
proudofmykids said:
I actually said the opposite of indefinite. (we agree it settles out as CTE occurs and only candidates not holding As receive WL remain).
I doubt they’ll pass out more WL -> A than seats.


I don't agree. In some ways, CTE deadlines do force people to drop other As, and create WL movement. My kid was sitting on several additional new A's this past week and needed to drop all but one due to an upcoming CTE deadlines.

As you indicate, CTE doesn't produce additional seats. It does force available seats to pass along quicker with decision deadlines as well as reduces can didste pool to receive WL offered of adeptance; ending the Cascade as you indicate.
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Assuming there were no upcoming CTE deadlines, how would your kid be able to hold several additional new As past the week or two she was given to make a decision once she received them? CTE deadlines aren't forcing her to drop them, it's the deadlines she was given when she received them, which have absolutely nothing to do with CTE deadlines!!!
 
KnightDoc said:
Assuming there were no upcoming CTE deadlines, how would your kid be able to hold several additional new As past the week or two she was given to make a decision once she received them? CTE deadlines aren't forcing her to drop them, it's the deadlines she was given when she received them, which have absolutely nothing to do with CTE deadlines!!!
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Not if the school at which you originally held an acceptance (and had PTE’d) has a CTE deadline prior to the deadlines given to you by the schools from which you more recently received an A from the waitlist. You’d have to decide whether to CTE or drop from your original A.
 
Akjkl said:
Not if the school at which you originally held an acceptance (and had PTE’d) has a CTE deadline prior to the deadlines given to you by the schools from which you more recently received an A from the waitlist. You’d have to decide whether to CTE or drop from your original A.
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I meant in general, in the big picture of WL movement. Of course, specific exceptions are possible within a very narrow time window, but specifically, in response to the other post, someone holding several additional new As received during the last two weeks of May would be giving them up by the middle of June at the latest, whether CTE deadlines were 6/15 or 8/1.

In general, CTE deadlines do not precipitate WL movement. You don't have to believe me. You'll see it when the CTE dates come and WL movement doesn't follow in the next 6 weeks or so.
 
KnightDoc said:
I meant in general, in the big picture of WL movement. Of course, specific exceptions are possible within a very narrow time window, but specifically, in response to the other post, someone holding several additional new As received during the last two weeks of May would be giving them up by the middle of June at the latest, whether CTE deadlines were 6/15 or 8/1.
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I see what you’re saying, and I think that makes sense. I meant more that it could be possible in this specific person’s situation.
 
Akjkl said:
I see what you’re saying, and I think that makes sense. I meant more that it could be possible in this specific person’s situation.
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You are, of course, correct, but it's not true in that specific person's situation. She's a parent who is just speculating. If you look at her posts, her daughter received her As in the big movement at the end of April/beginning of May. She's not holding multiple As now, and is not dropping them due to CTE deadlines. She's just trying to win an argument!! 🙂
 
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KnightDoc said:
You are, of course, correct, that it's not true in that specific person's situation. She's a parent who is just speculating. If you look at her posts, her daughter received her As in the big movement at the end of April/beginning of May. She's not holding multiple As now, and is not dropping them due to CTE deadlines. She's just trying to win an argument!! 🙂
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Ahh, yeah, I don’t go that far down the SDN rabbit hole. Haha. Was just going by the posts on this thread.
I think the bottom line is, of course people will continue getting off the waitlist here and there throughout June, but we shouldn’t expect any more big waves.
 
Akjkl said:
Ahh, yeah, I don’t go that far down the SDN rabbit hole. Haha. Was just going by the posts on this thread.
I think the bottom line is, of course people will continue getting off the waitlist here and there throughout June, but we shouldn’t expect any more big waves.
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Yes. In fact, it will keep happening right up until classes begin, as people here and there drop out for various reasons in addition to being called off another school's WL.
 
KnightDoc said:
Yes. In fact, it will keep happening right up until classes begin, as people here and there drop out for various reasons in addition to being called off another school's WL.
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Good luck with your first cycle knightdoc! Have you submitted your primary yet?
 
Talldoctor96 said:
Good luck with your first cycle knightdoc! Have you submitted your primary yet?
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No. Believe it or not, given the amount of time I'm spending here, I'm still focusing on the MCAT (I'm now on my 4th date/time/location) and praying I actually get to take it before I go back to school (and, I'm also praying I actually get to go back to school).

Given all the ECs I've lost between March and today, and what I might lose next year, and what the adcoms say about not rushing it, I'm 50/50 right now on waiting a year. I'll know for sure in a month or so. Thank you very much for the good wishes. What do you think about waiting vs. applying now and counting on EC slack due to the situation?
 
I just got a call from a professor at Stanford. He wants me to work with him in his lab on a research that’s applicable in medical school. He told me if I don’t get get off the waitlist at the school I’m waiting at, he’ll have me work with him during the year. If I do get accepted, he’ll work with me next summer between my first and second year in medical school. We haven’t started anything tho because everything is closed due to corona. Is this something I can update my waitlisted medical school? Or is not really anything significant since no work has been put in yet? I have already updated them once (about working on designing ventilators at my work because of the shortage), asked for an update once, and emailed them another two separate occasions.

Also, is this something I can put on my primary application even though the work hasn’t been started yet? Or would admission look at it unfavorably trying to just insert research without what I’ve learned from it and my impact in the lab?

Sorry this was long 🙁
 
TheDelOperator said:
LOL. You mean this dude/gal isn't an expert?
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KnightDoc said:
No. Believe it or not, given the amount of time I'm spending here, I'm still focusing on the MCAT (I'm now on my 4th date/time/location) and praying I actually get to take it before I go back to school (and, I'm also praying I actually get to go back to school).

Given all the ECs I've lost between March and today, and what I might lose next year, and what the adcoms say about not rushing it, I'm 50/50 right now on waiting a year. I'll know for sure in a month or so. Thank you very much for the good wishes. What do you think about waiting vs. applying now and counting on EC slack due to the situation?
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You can DM me. But I think there is nothing wrong with waiting until you have an MCAT score, and have been able to solidify your ECs
 
#wannabemd said:
They don't have to officially rank it. In their meetings they can order people as much as they want I mean its human tendency to put people in an order in a process like this. Not officially ranking it just gives them more flexibility to change this order as they re-review.
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If the told LCME that they rank, then there has to be an official rank. Any deviation and they risk their accreditation. People must then come of the list in that order. If they don't tell LCME they rank, then it doesn't matter what they do.

Hiddenleaf09 said:
I just got a call from a professor at Stanford. He wants me to work with him in his lab on a research that’s applicable in medical school. He told me if I don’t get get off the waitlist at the school I’m waiting at, he’ll have me work with him during the year. If I do get accepted, he’ll work with me next summer between my first and second year in medical school. We haven’t started anything tho because everything is closed due to corona. Is this something I can update my waitlisted medical school? Or is not really anything significant since no work has been put in yet? I have already updated them once (about working on designing ventilators at my work because of the shortage), asked for an update once, and emailed them another two separate occasions.

Also, is this something I can put on my primary application even though the work hasn’t been started yet? Or would admission look at it unfavorably trying to just insert research without what I’ve learned from it and my impact in the lab?

Sorry this was long 🙁
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Not worth an update since nothing has started. You can put it in your primary, just know that future events are typically looked at as not likely to occur, but should not be a negative.
 
Talldoctor96 said:
You can DM me. But I think there is nothing wrong with waiting until you have an MCAT score, and have been able to solidify your ECs
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Thanks!!! I will definitely DM you after I get the score, although, honestly, I'm way more worried about my EC hours being decent, but light, with no research (it was canceled this summer) and no leadership. I know (as you can see from my posts) that gap years are common and pretty much at the point expected, but I was hoping to avoid one. Then COVID hit and it almost seems like a sign that I need to wait another year.
 
Hey all, just venting here. With everything going on, things are getting tough. I’m still waitlisted and have worked on my reapplication, but I’m really having trouble finding the energy to finish it all and submit. Like, I don’t know what to make of multiple waitlists since I thought I had a chance for at least one school..and now it’s June and still nothing. And then this week happened and its making me feel really unhopeful about society, but I have to believe all of us here are the good ones who do what’s right, so I know I’d be honored to have you all as future health partners. Really wanted to say to all people who are affected on here who are angry, sad, hopeless, we need to keep strong. Really hope we get though this time and if not accepted this year, I want to believe this wait is meant to happen and we become better doctors/community leaders because of it.
 
Booksandshoes said:
I am curious as to the general consensus on emailing your interviewers if on a waitlist. One of my interviewers responded well to my thank you email, but I have not been in touch since.

Sent from my SM-G965U using SDN mobile
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If you do want to send an email to inquire about waitlist movement, it’d be better to ask admissions directly. At this point in the game, unless your interviewer sits directly on the adcom, they probably know just as much as you do.
 
gyngyn said:
I don't recommend this.
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How about emailing the admissions office on the status of the WL at this point? Also, is it viewed poorly upon if I tell them I have a CTE deadline that I need to adhere by from another school, and ask to remain on the WL/evaluate my candidacy earlier if they plan on doing so(?) after that date? Ofc, I would emphasize that the school is my absolute first choice
 
expressojoe said:
Can you elaborate on why? Not that I disagree or that I was thinking of doing so, just want to know the rationale why
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It gives off a stalkerish vibe, frankly (especially in light of the waitlist decision).
 
vi0linm0nster said:
How about emailing the admissions office on the status of the WL at this point? Also, is it viewed poorly upon if I tell them I have a CTE deadline that I need to adhere by from another school, and ask to remain on the WL/evaluate my candidacy earlier if they plan on doing so(?) after that date? Ofc, I would emphasize that the school is my absolute first choice
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You are free to let them know that your time on their waitlist is limited by the impending CTE.
The implication is obvious so you need not elaborate.
 
vi0linm0nster said:
How about emailing the admissions office on the status of the WL at this point? Also, is it viewed poorly upon if I tell them I have a CTE deadline that I need to adhere by from another school, and ask to remain on the WL/evaluate my candidacy earlier if they plan on doing so(?) after that date? Ofc, I would emphasize that the school is my absolute first choice
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I‘m in the same boat as you. I have a CTE date for June 15 yet still lingering on the waitlist at my top choice. Every day that passes is just adding more stress. I was thinking of emailing them to ask about waitlist movement but I figured if they’re not going to call me before my CTE date then there’s nothing we can really do about it and emailing would just seem like we’re nagging and pushing them when we’re in no position to. I feel like it all just boils down to whether or not they have openings to fill and if you’re up next.
 
2182885 said:
I‘m in the same boat as you. I have a CTE date for June 15 yet still lingering on the waitlist at my top choice. Every day that passes is just adding more stress. I was thinking of emailing them to ask about waitlist movement but I figured if they’re not going to call me before my CTE date then there’s nothing we can really do about it and emailing would just seem like we’re nagging and pushing them when we’re in no position to. I feel like it all just boils down to whether or not they have openings to fill and if you’re up next.
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On the other hand, since the WL school is your first choice, and since the CTE date is a legit thing that will force you to withdraw, I'd characterize it as a last minute statement of intense interest rather than nagging and pushing. You are very likely correct about it coming down to whether or not they have openings and where you are on the list, but, if they might have an opening and if they have any interest in you, it creates an opening for them to reach out, and costs you nothing, especially if you go in with no expectations.
 
Booksandshoes said:
I am curious as to the general consensus on emailing your interviewers if on a waitlist. One of my interviewers responded well to my thank you email, but I have not been in touch since.

Sent from my SM-G965U using SDN mobile
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I have to respectfully disagree with others who say that this is not recommended. N=1 but I did this for 2 of my WL schools and got pulled off both of them. PM me if you like.
 
Booksandshoes said:
I am curious as to the general consensus on emailing your interviewers if on a waitlist. One of my interviewers responded well to my thank you email, but I have not been in touch since.

Sent from my SM-G965U using SDN mobile
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I think it depends on the school and your interviewer. When I sent my thank you letters, they were supposed to be addressed to the office of admission which makes me curious as to whether my interviewers got them in the first place.
 
Hiddenleaf09 said:
I just got a call from a professor at Stanford. He wants me to work with him in his lab on a research that’s applicable in medical school. He told me if I don’t get get off the waitlist at the school I’m waiting at, he’ll have me work with him during the year. If I do get accepted, he’ll work with me next summer between my first and second year in medical school. We haven’t started anything tho because everything is closed due to corona. Is this something I can update my waitlisted medical school? Or is not really anything significant since no work has been put in yet? I have already updated them once (about working on designing ventilators at my work because of the shortage), asked for an update once, and emailed them another two separate occasions.

Also, is this something I can put on my primary application even though the work hasn’t been started yet? Or would admission look at it unfavorably trying to just insert research without what I’ve learned from it and my impact in the lab?

Sorry this was long 🙁
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As someone said previously, I wouldn't put something on your primary that you have yet to do. But maybe this professor would be open to writing a LOR for you since you mentioned that you already provided this info in a update letter.
 
fatherofdragons said:
Even with schools being more conservative with the # of acceptances and less applicants having multiple acceptances, I don’t understand why WL movement would be drastically different year to year. Without the MAR, schools are picking their favorite applicants. So wouldn’t top applicants have all the acceptances then? These top people can only go to 1 school and will have to drop their As at some point. Say 1 person has 10 acceptances, and still hasn’t dropped them yet. That would open up 9 spots when they do drop. Those people are also the first ones to get the call of the WL. They might wait the max # of days to accept the offer, like the above poster’s friend, and then decide to turn it down. I think there will be more movement in the next few months. We also can’t extrapolate based on what happened last year, as schools had no idea what they were doing last year when it came to PTE/CTE. Many schools over-accepted last year because of this and word on the street is that didn’t happen this year. Only time will tell what will happen though, so you may very well be right about less WL movement overall. I’m choosing to remain optimistic about more movement though since that helps me sleep better at night lol.
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One of the most tidbits I heard somewhere deals with the composition of a class. You may have X, Y and Z going for you, but one candidate may have that "special sauce" to move up ahead of you. Maybe they represent a sub section their school has never had a strong population in? Or maybe they have some life experiences that connect really well with a particular program / curriculum they are trying to expand - like rural medicine? So it's not always who has the higher stats, but who best fits that missing piece of the puzzle best.
 
openstage said:
One of the most tidbits I heard somewhere deals with the composition of a class. You may have X, Y and Z going for you, but one candidate may have that "special sauce" to move up ahead of you. Maybe they represent a sub section their school has never had a strong population in? Or maybe they have some life experiences that connect really well with a particular program / curriculum they are trying to expand - like rural medicine? So it's not always who has the higher stats, but who best fits that missing piece of the puzzle best.
Click to expand...

That makes a lot of sense to me. In my mind the people that get the most love from medical schools are unique in some way and have high stats. There are plenty of people who are academically qualified for medical school, but it’s the wow factor people that get the 10+ medical school interviews.
 
RJ McReady said:
I have to respectfully disagree with others who say that this is not recommended. N=1 but I did this for 2 of my WL schools and got pulled off both of them. PM me if you like.
Click to expand...
Congratulations. Where have you decided to attend?
 
Looks like WL movement has slowed down over the past week 🙁 There was a trickle of reported acceptances today at Hofstra, Rochester, Ohio State, Albany, and USUHS. Of note, Albany is requiring acceptees to select PTE within 24 hours to keep their seat

Edit: UCSD had a reported WL acceptance today as well
 
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