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babybluee said:
I will say Dean Ratts specifically said they do seriously consider letters of intent and do take notice of them and consider them in their decision during my interview day. I also know LOIs are important to WUSM… so some may see at as desperation, but washu doesn’t seem like one of those schools.

These things really really vary by school, so I wouldn’t discourage individuals from sending them (especially since they almost never hurt someone’s app — if the school doesn’t care about them, they normally just don’t look at it, like JHU).
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Again, was she saying pre-decision or post-WL?

I ask because, if they are taking it into account before making decisions, people are lying their butts off, since a 33% yield is pretty bad for a T10 school. If only 1 out of 3 accepted candidates are actually enrolling, those expressions of intent are truly worthless, since their yield couldn't possibly be much lower if they limited themselves to people who didn't send them! 🙂 Post-WL, it's a different story, and a lot of schools take it into account because they don't want to have to make multiple calls to fill a single seat in May.

Pre-decision, schools that care about yield tend to do more resource protecting when deciding who to interview. T10 schools, not so much, other than Mayo, which is notorious for demanding signs of devotion before issuing precious As. Penn is rumored to do this as well. Mayo has a 60% yield to show for its efforts. Penn's yield is closer to 65%. If WashU is doing the same things, they are not doing a very good job, since their yield is only a little better than half those other schools. 🙂

As you said, though, it's never going to hurt, unless the schools tells you not to send them, so there is no reason not to if it makes you feel better. I prefer to send updates, and reaffirm my interest at the same time. I just can't bring to express intent to anyone so early in the cycle, given what I think I know about how they are perceived pre-II, or pre-decision.
 
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KnightDoc said:
Again, was he saying pre-decision or post-WL?

I ask because, if they are taking it into account before making decisions, people are lying their butts off, since a 33% yield is pretty bad for a T10 school. If only 1 out of 3 accepted candidates are actually enrolling, those expressions of intent are truly worthless, since their yield couldn't possibly be much lower if they limited themselves to people who didn't send them! 🙂 Post-WL, it's a different story, and a lot of schools take it into account because they don't want to have to make multiple calls to fill a single seat in May.

Pre-decision, schools that care about yield tend to do more resource protecting when deciding who to interview. T10 schools, not so much, other than Mayo, which is notorious for demanding signs of devotion before issuing precious As. Penn is rumored to do this as well. Mayo has a 60% yield to show for its efforts. Penn's yield is closer to 65%. If WashU is doing the same things, they are not doing a very good job, since their yield is only a little better than half those other schools. 🙂

As you said, though, it's never going to hurt, unless the schools tells you not to send them, so there is no reason not to if it makes you feel better. I prefer to send updates, and reaffirm my interest at the same time. I just can't bring to express intent to anyone so early in the cycle, given what I think I know about how they are perceived pre-II, or pre-decision.
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Those expressions of intent aren’t completely worthless when they explicitly said they care about them. It’s also especially valuable for individuals who may be under the normal stats of washu or know they are unlikely to get a scholarship.

Of course WUSM isn’t limiting themselves to only people who send letters of intent (I feel like that’s implied). But WUSM is a school that waitlists EVERYONE! They rarely send post-II Rs and so it actually could have more power sending it now vs when a ton of students start sending them after they are waitlisted. There’s pros to sending it now and cons! I’m voicing that people should do what they feel comfortable with and that washu will not see them as “desperate” as you put it.

I also think you’re missing bigger factors that are contributing to a low yield for WUSM the past year or 2, such as they just changed their curriculum 1.5 years ago or that it’s in St Louis and without the ability of people to visit through the past two years students may continue to hold misconceptions about the area. These may not hold as much water now that they are able to have a visit day and will have 2 classes of students that have gone through the curriculum. So just saying that I wouldn’t bet that it’s a 33-35% retention rate this year.

And Dean Ratts (She/Her) was saying this before she talked about the WL on the interview day and basically said to keep in contact with them before decisions come out. They like updates and even said something along the lines of “if we are your number 1 choice, we want to know”
 
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babybluee said:
Those expressions of intent aren’t completely worthless when they explicitly said they care about them. It’s also especially valuable for individuals who may be under the normal stats of washu or know they are unlikely to get a scholarship.

Of course WUSM isn’t limiting themselves to only people who send letters of intent (I feel like that’s implied). But WUSM is a school that waitlists EVERYONE! They rarely send post-II Rs and so it actually could have more power sending it now vs when a ton of students start sending them after they are waitlisted. There’s pros to sending it now and cons! I’m voicing that people should do what they feel comfortable with and that washu will not see them as “desperate” as you put it.

I also think you’re missing bigger factors that are contributing to a low yield for WUSM the past year or 2, such as they just changed their curriculum 1.5 years ago or that it’s in St Louis and without the ability of people to visit through the past two years students may continue to hold misconceptions about the area. These may not hold as much water now that they are able to have a visit day and will have 2 classes of students that have gone through the curriculum. So just saying that I wouldn’t bet that it’s a 33-35% retention rate this year.

And Dean Ratts (She/Her) was saying this before she talked about the WL on the interview day and basically said to keep in contact with them before decisions come out. They like updates and even said something along the lines of “if we are your number 1 choice, we want to know”
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Fair enough! 🙂 If that's what the dean is communicating, then that's what people should do.

As I said, I think such letters could definitely have a positive impact in getting called off the WL. OTOH, if everyone is placed on the WL, then probably not so much because, if genuine intent is a factor, their yield should be much higher than 33%, regardless of curriculum changes, COVID, etc.

They have a relatively low yield because they are in St. Louis and are competing with Penn, Harvard, NYU, Columbia, Cornell, UCSF, UCLA, Stanford, etc. for the same students, and they are apparently not a first choice 2/3 of the time. Sending non binding LOIs to try to get an A doesn't change that, as evidenced by their yield.

I'm sure their generosity with respect to merit money helps. It's clear that the dean soliciting expressions of intent isn't helping, since so many people lie and they suck at figuring out who is sincere. OR, while they "want to know" whether they are someone's #1 choice, they are not taking that into account and are just accepting whoever is scoring highest in the adcom ranking.

We'll see soon enough. My prediction is that many will respond to the request and send letters of intent/interest. Some will be accepted and will swear that a LOI helped. Others will be placed on the WL and will vent that it was a waste of time. And still others will find success without playing the game. Just like every cycle, at every school.
 
Anyone know when the last committee meeting of the season is? If I am scheduled for what I am assuming is the last round of interviews, when will my file be reviewed by the committee, and when do you think I will hear back? Thanks
 
ricepudding16 said:
Anyone know when the last committee meeting of the season is? If I am scheduled for what I am assuming is the last round of interviews, when will my file be reviewed by the committee, and when do you think I will hear back? Thanks
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I interviewed the first week of January, and they told us that all decisions will go out by 4/1. I am not sure when As vs WLs/Rs tend to roll out during this time frame.
 
KnightDoc said:
since a 33% yield is pretty bad for a T10 school.
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Just chiming in to say that even at T10s, yield on the MD/PhD side of things is often 3 As for 1 seat minimum. Some as high as like 5:1. Even Yale is at like 2.5:1.


Just your infrequent reminder that MD/PhD sucks don't do it. Yeet.

(Also, I was R'd here MD/PhD but their MD only liked me for context)
 
2021-2022-NonTrad said:
Just chiming in to say that even at T10s, yield on the MD/PhD side of things is often 3 As for 1 seat minimum. Some as high as like 5:1. Even Yale is at like 2.5:1.


Just your infrequent reminder that MD/PhD sucks don't do it. Yeet.

(Also, I was R'd here MD/PhD but their MD only liked me for context)
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Yeah, I was talking about MD only. MD/PhD yields are notoriously low across the board, especially at the top schools, because the schools are very specific in what they are looking for, and the pool of people fitting the bill is tiny, as are the class sizes. As a result, they all chase the same people, which causes the low yields since everyone can ultimately only pick one school.
 
So if we interviewed back in October and have not been accepted in the last two rounds of acceptances, does that probably mean we are being rejected or waitlisted?
 
McBainers said:
So if we interviewed back in October and have not been accepted in the last two rounds of acceptances, does that probably mean we are being rejected or waitlisted?
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Nobody here has that info my dude. You can’t estimate probabilities in a black box process like MD admissions at a t10. Keep your chin up - it ain’t over till it’s over
 
McBainers said:
So if we interviewed back in October and have not been accepted in the last two rounds of acceptances, does that probably mean we are being rejected or waitlisted?
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I've confirmed with admissions that they have semi-rolling admissions. Meaning that a few acceptances are given out before march, and a good chunk given out in March. I'm in the same boat.
 
From what I’m gathering the Kira video interview will ask questions similar to Casper and MMI questions, right?
 
I forgot there was a WashU Wednesday today... anyone know how heavily attendance is weighed?
 
Lorien said:
I forgot there was a WashU Wednesday today... anyone know how heavily attendance is weighed?
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It is listed as optional, and I'd be incredibly surprised if that went into the decision whatsoever. I never went because I had already learned everything I was curious about talking to M2s, M3s, and M4s on my own.
 
Lorien said:
I forgot there was a WashU Wednesday today... anyone know how heavily attendance is weighed?
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Fwiw, between the time of my interview and the time of my acceptance, I only registered for one Wash U Wednesday and forgot to attend anyways so I doubt attendance plays a big role (if any) in admissions decisions
 
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