bottom of WL but still accepted?

[Creightonite]

I was reading "Received today" thread and found that someone was told by EVMS that they were on 1/3 bottom of the WL but that person got an acceptance just on 5/10. Does the bottom of the WL automatically mean rejection or people can share some other stories? Thank you.

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[emaj1n]

I was reading "Received today" thread and found that someone was told by EVMS that they were on 1/3 bottom of the WL but that person got an acceptance just on 5/10. Does the bottom of the WL automatically mean rejection or people can share some other stories? Thank you.

Schools can take whomever they want from the waitlist. This means demographics may come into play as well as an applicant's persistance. If you are a medical school and need tuition checks, are you not going to take someone who is definitely dedicated to medicine, loves your school, and has been active during the WL process just because, I don't know, their MCAT score is two points below the first 50 waitlisted applicants?

 

[senioritaelena]

hey, that person was me. I was totally schocked because when they told me I was on the bottom 1/3 of the waitlist I gave up hope. Before they told me though, I sent in a thank you and talked to the associate dean on the telephone and emailed one student on the admissions committee. But after I was told, I thought it was hopeless and did not contact the school again for about 2 months. Then last Wednesday I get an acceptance in the mail. It was weird becuae i was told that they would call you if you got off the waitlist and that if you weren't home they would move on to the next person. That didn't happen for me. Oh well, I am happy I got another acceptance, but am unsure with what I will do with it.

 

[nabs86]

hey, that person was me. I was totally schocked because when they told me I was on the bottom 1/3 of the waitlist I gave up hope. Before they told me though, I sent in a thank you and talked to the associate dean on the telephone and emailed one student on the admissions committee. But after I was told, I thought it was hopeless and did not contact the school again for about 2 months. Then last Wednesday I get an acceptance in the mail. It was weird becuae i was told that they would call you if you got off the waitlist and that if you weren't home they would move on to the next person. That didn't happen for me. Oh well, I am happy I got another acceptance, but am unsure with what I will do with it.

Congrats! Who did you email on the adcom? I'm also looking to get in off the waitlist at EVMS. And are you OOS or IS?

 

[Darksmurf]

Schools can take whomever they want from the waitlist. This means demographics may come into play as well as an applicant's persistance. If you are a medical school and need tuition checks, are you not going to take someone who is definitely dedicated to medicine, loves your school, and has been active during the WL process just because, I don't know, their MCAT score is two points below the first 50 waitlisted applicants?

Demographics may play a role, but med schools are not hurting for people to pay tuition checks. I think many schools do seriously consider the impact of dropping their average MCAT score and GPA. I only have anecdotal evidence, but I was told at one interview that the school had under-enrolled the year before because everyone else on the waitlist would have hurt their averages. Take it for what you will.

But then again, there's no reason why a med school (as capricious as they are) would not just rearrange their whole waitlist if that's how they felt. So a bottom WL is not necessarily the kiss of death.

 

[alwaysaangel]

It was weird becuae i was told that they would call you if you got off the waitlist and that if you weren't home they would move on to the next person.

Damn! The school told you that?! Thats BRUTAL!

 

[alwaysaangel]

I only have anecdotal evidence, but I was told at one interview that the school had under-enrolled the year before because everyone else on the waitlist would have hurt their averages. Take it for what you will.

I would not want to go to a medical school that was so number obsessed. I know they're out there and I think its pretty sad.

 

[Depakote]

Waitlists are tricky things... plenty of times it's just that they didn't want to reject you after you spent all that money to travel and interview there so they thought they'd give you some nice false-hope for your trouble. This is the "lower-third".

Do schools "cherry-pick", they can. It varies from school to school, but it takes a special circumstance and I wouldn't count on it happening.

In general, I wouldn't count on making it out of the bottom of the waitlist. If you do, you've got some divine intervention to thank.

 

[Darksmurf]

Damn! The school told you that?! Thats BRUTAL!

It's not something the school put out in one of its brochures. It was just mentioned by someone in an unofficial setting.

I would not want to go to a medical school that was so number obsessed. I know they're out there and I think its pretty sad.

Yeah, I'm not sure.

On the one hand, I'm sympathetic to those who want to be doctors, despite their inability to test well.

On the other, I think that if they don't have the scores (or other interesting things about them to counterbalance the scores), then perhaps they're not qualified.

 

[alwaysaangel]

On the other, I think that if they don't have the scores (or other interesting things about them to counterbalance the scores), then perhaps they're not qualified.

Well this I would agree with. But if a school is going to ignore ECs, circumstances, etc. just because that students GPA/MCAT might decrease their averages (and therefore their ranking) then I wouldn't want to go there because I doubt they have much diversity in students.

 

[holafarita]

my personal experience last year was:

ohsu-in the 90's, didn't get in
uvm-middle third, didn't get in
nymc-unranked (if i remember correctly), didn't get in

but the admissions office people always say "you never know" because i guess every year is very different!

 

[Goldenhair]

Comment to the previous posts about the brutality of their methods of taking off the waitlist


Quoting from an email I received from UB Dean of Admissions:

"Beginning June 18th, an opening in the Class will be filled by a DIRECT PHONE CALL to the next candidate, and if "live" contact is not made, we must continue to proceed down the wait list to the next highest ranked candidate."

 

[alwaysaangel]

Comment to the previous posts about the brutality of their methods of taking off the waitlist


Quoting from an email I received from UB Dean of Admissions:

"Beginning June 18th, an opening in the Class will be filled by a DIRECT PHONE CALL to the next candidate, and if "live" contact is not made, we must continue to proceed down the wait list to the next highest ranked candidate."

Thats pretty ridiculous. Not everyone has a cell phone, not everyone can answer their phone at all times etc.

Pretty unfair of them to expect that. I could understand something like - you have to get back to them in 24 hrs or lose your spot. But immediate? Thats ****ed up.

 

[happy snake]

There must be a 24-hour turn-around-time after every call. If you have Sprint like me, then definitely some calls will never even get through.

 

[Creightonite]

Comment to the previous posts about the brutality of their methods of taking off the waitlist


Quoting from an email I received from UB Dean of Admissions:

"Beginning June 18th, an opening in the Class will be filled by a DIRECT PHONE CALL to the next candidate, and if "live" contact is not made, we must continue to proceed down the wait list to the next highest ranked candidate."

answering machine could also be "live". You cant expect people to be on the phone 24hrs a day.

 

[belgianbeerguy]

I interviewed there in September. Found out in early November that I was in the top 1/3 of the waitlist. I kept calling and sending updates, but I remained in the top third.

I just received my acceptance today. I'm very happy to be in, but it's just kinda odd how they move through that waitlist.

 

[EMDream]

i dont know what to think about bottom oof waitlist. my fiance was told he was bottom of the bottom 1/3 at suny buffalo and he got in a few weeks before classes started. i think they just pick whomever too. dont give up.

 

[EMDream]

altthhhooough...i do believe he got an extra lor and submitted if after he was told this, from someone who happened to be on the faculty there. but its hard to know if they got it as he was pulled REALLY quickly after he asked for that. he also sent a letter of intent.