Acceptance and waitlist - how does it translate to your success in a program?

[Dentalicous1234]

---

Members don't see this ad.

D-Schools accept people that they feel confident would be successful in their program. By not being top picks or given a regular acceptance, in a way schools are saying that they don't think you can handle/be successful as others who better match the criteria of their program, or you applied late?

So wouldn't it be wiser for those who have already been accepted somewhere to choose the school that accepted them earlier and is confident in their success, rather than one of their reach schools that they make it off of a waitlist for in june?

I know you determine your success in a program and plenty of people are top in their class after coming in from the waitlist. But does this logic make any sense? Correct me if I'm wrong please, I might just be over analyzing the waitlist reasonings.😕

 

[trent]

Okay, I have a med school - not dental school story for you, but I'm guessing the same situation occurs in many professional programs. There are more qualified applicants than openings in programs. My friend recently graduated med school at the top of his class. Guess what his position was at the start of class? He was the LAST person to get accepted off the waitlist the week before school started.

So, personally, I don't think there much of a correlation. Getting into a program is what counts, I think. Then, the clock starts over. Who cares what rank you were at the beginning? Pick the school you want from the choices that you have, regardless of the ranking. It won't matter in the end.

One thing that I keep wondering about is how much all this DAT and GPA stuff really matters in your clinical abilities and success as a dentist, which is the goal at the end of the road.

Don't doubt yourself and good luck!!

 

[UNR.Grad]

Same thing, I have a med school story but I still think it applies. My step-brother was waitlisted and ended up getting in the summer a couple months before matriculation. Although he was one of the last to be accepted he is now in the top 10% of his class. Moral of story, don't worry about when you get accepted! Everyone starts day one with the same opportunity to excel and it's up to them to make it happen!

 

[superfinger45]

,

 

[toothfairy85]

I know someone that got accepted to Houston in late June years ago. Now he's an oral surgeon.

 

[rollypolly]

I agree with the others that you should go to the best school for you regardless of where you may start out on their totem pole. I just thought I would add another perspective (this is me just overanalyzing it like you):

This totally depends on your personality, but I think many people thrive off of trying to prove people wrong. If you were waitlisted at a school, that sends the message that you were pretty good and they liked you, but maybe not as good as someone else. To me, that would be incredibly motivating because I would want to show them that they were wrong about me and that they should have accepted me initially. So, you may feel more of a push to really excel in the school that you were wailisted at vs. the school that originally accepted you.

It's just another way to look at it if you are concerned about going to a school that waitlisted you over another school that accepted you. People use all types of psychological tools to help them succeed and I think sometimes overanalyzing a situation like this can be very motivating to some people. 😀

 

[ummjoey]

i think the OP and the other posts are all correct.

some early accepted people do well some dont. some late accepted people do well and some dont............