Can Waitlist schools see your Acceptances

[bashini]

Can schools you are waitlisted at see your acceptances? (at this point) or will they every be able to see acceptances?

Is it ok to send a Letter of interest to a waitlist school even thought you have sent a letter of intent to a school (a long time ago) that have accepted you?
Do they actually talk to each other an ask about these type of things? (I would hope they have better things to do with their time)

Also, what If you don't get all your financial aid by May 15? DO you still have to drop all the schools and keep just one acceptance?

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[dr midnight]

Can schools you are waitlisted at see your acceptances? (at this point) or will they every be able to see acceptances?

Is it ok to send a Letter of interest to a waitlist school even thought you have sent a letter of intent to a school (a long time ago) that have accepted you?
Do they actually talk to each other an ask about these type of things? (I would hope they have better things to do with their time)

Also, what If you don't get all your financial aid by May 15? DO you still have to drop all the schools and keep just one acceptance?

March 31 all schools must report class List to AAMC (invitations to fill class.... offer to fill all seats so class of 200 school must offer that many offers to attend not confirmed acceptances by the student) this is avail then .... to all the schools But when I interviewed at a school in Feb the assis. dir told our group they had an un-offical list already..
Fin aid or not May 15th is the date you can hold only 1 school acceptance as many wait lists as you want.. I was told to fill out out Fin aid info even for those wait listed in case you so they can offer you aid later. I hope this helps

 

[scowdeva]

I'll try to address all of your points:

1) Schools can only see where else you have been accepted once they accept you. If you are waitlisted, they don't have access to your acceptances as they haven't yet accepted you.

2) So, you sent a letter of intent that wasn't truly full of intent. Schools probably don't have time to communicate this sort of info with each other, unless the admissions directors are great drinking buddies or lovers that share everything with their partner. The part that stinks to me is that you sent a letter of intent to a school you didn't intend on necessarily attending. This is now a personal dilemna- technically you gave someone your word that you would attend there. It matters how much you want to honor your word if you will actively pursue other acceptances.

3) You have to only be holding one acceptance by May 15, even if they haven't gotten you your financial aid package yet. You have access to their budgets, and if you haven't been offered a scholarship by the beginning of May you aren't getting one. Plan on the balance being loans, as that is likely what will happen. Call and ask them when they plan on releasing financial aid. It seems like June is popular, probably because they don't want to put together an extra 150-200 awards for kids who will withdraw anyways. That's a ton of extra work for their offices.

You can contact the individual schools to inquire if they give out need-based loans... only if this would apply to you. If you are in the lowest financial brackets and tended to get this form of aid as an undergrad, it might be available at the med level as well. They likely will be willing to give you an idea of any aid they give to everyone (say 5k a year) or how much the needy kids get on average. Just make your decision with the best information you have available.

 

[bashini]

I'll try to address all of your points:

1) Schools can only see where else you have been accepted once they accept you. If you are waitlisted, they don't have access to your acceptances as they haven't yet accepted you.

2) So, you sent a letter of intent that wasn't truly full of intent. Schools probably don't have time to communicate this sort of info with each other, unless the admissions directors are great drinking buddies or lovers that share everything with their partner. The part that stinks to me is that you sent a letter of intent to a school you didn't intend on necessarily attending. This is now a personal dilemna- technically you gave someone your word that you would attend there. It matters how much you want to honor your word if you will actively pursue other acceptances.

3) You have to only be holding one acceptance by May 15, even if they haven't gotten you your financial aid package yet. You have access to their budgets, and if you haven't been offered a scholarship by the beginning of May you aren't getting one. Plan on the balance being loans, as that is likely what will happen. Call and ask them when they plan on releasing financial aid. It seems like June is popular, probably because they don't want to put together an extra 150-200 awards for kids who will withdraw anyways. That's a ton of extra work for their offices.

You can contact the individual schools to inquire if they give out need-based loans... only if this would apply to you. If you are in the lowest financial brackets and tended to get this form of aid as an undergrad, it might be available at the med level as well. They likely will be willing to give you an idea of any aid they give to everyone (say 5k a year) or how much the needy kids get on average. Just make your decision with the best information you have available.

That really helped Thanks! The thing with the LOI (intent) was that I really did want to go there (I still do). But due to family issues, I am forced to change my mind because the school that waitlisted me is actually closer to my family. I'm not sending antoehr intent letter to the waitlist school. I'm only sending them a letter of Interest. But, I see your point. I've been losing sleep over this because I'm actually a very honest person. I wrote the interest letter but have yet to mail it. Hope everything works out in the end

 

[SamusLives]

Careful with letters of intent. If you agree to go to a school, but then change your mind b/c you got into another "better" school, you could be in trouble. Some schools have reciprocal agreements, not to allow this. I remember hearing of this when I applied years back. Essentially, I heard that if you break an agreement to go to school X, then school Y won't take you either. Just a word of advice.

 

[bashini]

Careful with letters of intent. If you agree to go to a school, but then change your mind b/c you got into another "better" school, you could be in trouble. Some schools have reciprocal agreements, not to allow this. I remember hearing of this when I applied years back. Essentially, I heard that if you break an agreement to go to school X, then school Y won't take you either. Just a word of advice.

What if the first school didn't even acknowledge the Letter of Intent? They never said they got it or whether it made a difference. They just accepted me. Has this even happened before where School X drops you because you sent a letter of interest to School Y?

 

[MilkmanAl]

That seems like a fairly naive way of looking at the situation. Assuming you sent the letter to the correct address, the med school in question got it and has reviewed it. Just know that you're playing with fire if you go back on a letter of intent.

 

[SamusLives]

I doubt a letter of interest to school Y would affect your admission to school X. I'm not sure what you filled out exactly for School X.

When I got accepted to my med school, they sent me a letter within a few days, and I signed an agreement that I would go to that school. If that's what you mean by letter of intent, then you might have trouble getting out of it. The letter I signed had very specific language, that made it clear that the agreement was legally binding.

Your situation might be different. Just be careful.

 

[flip26]

Careful with letters of intent. If you agree to go to a school, but then change your mind b/c you got into another "better" school, you could be in trouble. Some schools have reciprocal agreements, not to allow this. I remember hearing of this when I applied years back. Essentially, I heard that if you break an agreement to go to school X, then school Y won't take you either. Just a word of advice.

A letter of intent is not a binding contract, but here on SDN lots of people seem to think they are binding. I think all this talk of people getting into trouble for reneging on an LOI they sent is urban legend...

 

[SamusLives]

Like I said Flip, it depends on what the OP signed. Its possible to entertain several offers from different medical schools, but when you make your final decision, you may have trouble taking it back. You should read the agreement carefully, and be aware of any deadlines. Like I said, the one I signed was binding (it was 4 years ago, but things don't change much; I used the Texas Match). Schools don't want to end up with open spots, they want a commitment.

 

[scowdeva]

A letter of intent is not a binding contract, but here on SDN lots of people seem to think they are binding. I think all this talk of people getting into trouble for reneging on an LOI they sent is urban legend...

I don't think you could really get in trouble for going back on a letter of intent, maybe in the far-reaching sense that if you wanted to apply for a residency or some kind of appointment with that school, they may have a file on you as a previous applicant...but this is a pretty extreme case. The issue lies with a lot of people that you gave someone your word, and it depends on how much value you place on that.

OP, I'm not meaning to bash you or call you dishonest, but I know if I was an adcom and I saw that you withdrew after an intent letter and subsequent acceptance, that would really make me mad. Sometimes these letters really will push you into an acceptance rather than a waitlist, and the schools don't want to give a spot to someone who they thought was a guarantee only to have to fill it in June. If you know that you no longer want to attend this school, my suggestion would be to withdraw ASAP and write them a letter explaining exactly how things changed and why you no longer have them as a first choice. This would be the best solution so as not to burn bridges. However, since you are waitlisted at the other school, my guess is that you will be waiting until summer to withdraw from your acceptance. This is really a raw deal for the school where you are holding an acceptance. Just my personal opinion.

 

[bashini]

Like I said Flip, it depends on what the OP signed. Its possible to entertain several offers from different medical schools, but when you make your final decision, you may have trouble taking it back. You should read the agreement carefully, and be aware of any deadlines. Like I said, the one I signed was binding (it was 4 years ago, but things don't change much; I used the Texas Match). Schools don't want to end up with open spots, they want a commitment.

wait what? I thought you could withdraw from any school. The only differencce is that, if you withdraw before May 15, you get your deposit back and if you withdraw after that, you lose your deposit. The only thing i signed was the Intent to register, which says you can withdraw from the school.

I wish someone would tell me for sure whether these Letter of INtents are binding or not. Especially because I sent the letter before financial aid offers etc back in october.

So let's say I got into my waitlist school and decide to withdraw from the school that accepted me (the one that I sent a Letter of Intent to ). What would happen? Would the latter school take their anger and frustration out of me by telling the former school that I went back on my word? It just seems too funny to me that schools would have this kind of time on their hands. Moreover, could they possibly jepordize my future like this?

WHere's LizzyM when you need her? I just need FACTS not hypothetical scenarios

 

[bashini]

I don't think you could really get in trouble for going back on a letter of intent, maybe in the far-reaching sense that if you wanted to apply for a residency or some kind of appointment with that school, they may have a file on you as a previous applicant...but this is a pretty extreme case. The issue lies with a lot of people that you gave someone your word, and it depends on how much value you place on that.

OP, I'm not meaning to bash you or call you dishonest, but I know if I was an adcom and I saw that you withdrew after an intent letter and subsequent acceptance, that would really make me mad. Sometimes these letters really will push you into an acceptance rather than a waitlist, and the schools don't want to give a spot to someone who they thought was a guarantee only to have to fill it in June. If you know that you no longer want to attend this school, my suggestion would be to withdraw ASAP and write them a letter explaining exactly how things changed and why you no longer have them as a first choice. This would be the best solution so as not to burn bridges. However, since you are waitlisted at the other school, my guess is that you will be waiting until summer to withdraw from your acceptance. This is really a raw deal for the school where you are holding an acceptance. Just my personal opinion.

THank you so much for your sincerity. ACTUALLY, NO i will not be waiting until summer for the other waitlist school. I would know by May (late may). I will not wait until August or even July to tell the school I'm accepted into that I'm withdrawing from it. To me, that just seems mean. And I'm honestly a good person stuck in a bad family situation. I would never do that to a school that was kind enough to offer me a straight acceptance.

But, my question is: is it wrong to send the waitlist school a Letter of Interest (NOT INtent because I already told that to school 1)? Interest does not mean I will definitely go there.

 

[SamusLives]

I think a letter of interest is fine. Just keep an eye on deadlines. At some point things do become final.

 

[flip26]

wait what? I thought you could withdraw from any school. The only differencce is that, if you withdraw before May 15, you get your deposit back and if you withdraw after that, you lose your deposit. The only thing i signed was the Intent to register, which says you can withdraw from the school.

I wish someone would tell me for sure whether these Letter of INtents are binding or not. Especially because I sent the letter before financial aid offers etc back in october.

So let's say I got into my waitlist school and decide to withdraw from the school that accepted me (the one that I sent a Letter of Intent to ). What would happen? Would the latter school take their anger and frustration out of me by telling the former school that I went back on my word? It just seems too funny to me that schools would have this kind of time on their hands. Moreover, could they possibly jepordize my future like this?

WHere's LizzyM when you need her? I just need FACTS not hypothetical scenarios

Here are the rules:

Until May 15, you can hold unlimited acceptances.

After May 15, you can hold only one acceptance, but can remain on unlimited waitlists.

If you accept a waitlist offer of admission, you have (I think) one week to sort it out, but this may vary from school to school - but you will have a limited timeframe to drop any other acceptance you are holding and to accept the new offer.

You can accept a waitlist offer at another school up until the day you matriculate at the first school you accepted, and assuming the waitlist school has not yet started.

As for the LOI - it is not a binding contract. Nobody is going to be "mad" at you if you turn down a waitlist offer from some school you sent an LOI to...all of these schools have plenty of other people to offer the spots to...

FWIW - people reported last year on SDN holding on to multiple acceptances after May 15 while waiting for finaid packages - I don't know how this works, exactly, but my guess is you would need to notify all your schools of what you are doing if this is your situation...

Finally, gird yourself for the coming endless debate on these letters, the "interest" vs "intent" issue, the ethics of having only one "intent" letter out there, etc. A letter of "interest" sent to a waitlist school seems like a waste of paper to me...as for the rest of it, let your conscience be your guide.

 

[SamusLives]

BTW, you mentioned your letter went out in October. Did you do early decision? They have separate rules for that.

 

[bashini]

BTW, you mentioned your letter went out in October. Did you do early decision? They have separate rules for that.

No i didn't do early decision. I jsut interviewed early. I sent my letter of intent one week after my interview. Then, month later, I got the acceptance call. Then, I got into the waitlist of school 2 two weeks ago. Things change drastically from OCt to March, believe me. If school 1 (the one I sent a Letter of intent to) is closer to my family (I need to be around to take care of a sick family member), I would go there in a heart beat, but alas it is not. This is why I have this dilemma since school 2 (waitlist) is very close to home.

 

[flip26]

BTW, you mentioned your letter went out in October. Did you do early decision? They have separate rules for that.

ED is only binding to people who are accepted. I don't think a waitlist is a common outcome on ED - I think it is usually a thumbs up or down kind of thing...but even if they put you on a waitlist in October, that is no different than being put on a waitlist in March or June...

 

[flip26]

No i didn't do early decision. I jsut interviewed early. I sent my letter of intent one week after my interview. Then, month later, I got the acceptance call. Then, I got into the waitlist of school 2 two weeks ago. Things change drastically from OCt to March, believe me. If school 1 (the one I sent a Letter of intent to) is closer to my family (I need to be around to take care of a sick family member), I would go there in a heart beat, but alas it is not. This is why I have this dilemma since school 2 (waitlist) is very close to home.

No dilemma. You are free to hold the acceptance and remain on the waitlist at the second school for as long as you wish, up until the day the first school starts class. If the waitlist school offers you admission before May 15, you can hold both acceptances. Only after May 15 will you have to cut it down to one school, and you have no more obligation to the first school than you do to the second in terms of which one you pick.

Read my list of "rules" posted above.