Crunch time- Getting off the waitlist of my top choice for med

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dr.0ne

dr.0ne

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Hey everyone,

wanted to garner some input from all you fabulous individuals (hopefully current med students as well if they still frequent these forums)

i've been fortunate enough to have interviewed at my top choice but was unfortunately placed on the wait list, for which i'll hear back in late spring.

Right now I'm planning on sending an update letter with some heavy updates, namely a first authorship manuscrip pub. this letter will also remind the school of my great desire to still attend.

this is where it gets kind of hazy. advice at this stage in the process seems to be mixed so what are definite things i should do and things that i could do?

should i send a letter of intent or a letter of interest next?
should i ask a current med student to write an informal letter on my behalf?

i went to the same undergrad of this school of medicine and have connections affiliated with the school of medicine as well.

Thank you all
 
SouthernSurgeon said:
If your manuscript has been published (i.e. not just submitted)...I would advise sending one letter, and one letter only. Express your clear desire to attend the school and that is your number one choice, and update them on your research accomplishment.

I would avoid a "heavy update" if this involves a lot of fluff. The publication is certainly an accomplishment worth mentioning, but you risk diminishing the importance of it (or having someone miss it) if you distract with a laundry list of relatively trivial updates.

There is no need to send a letter of interest, followed by a letter of intent.

Send one letter. Tell them they are your #1.

Having a med student write a letter is not going to make a difference.
Click to expand...

+1 I am quoting instead of just liking for emphasis OP.
 
i have a similar kind of question. what happens if you write a letter of intent to a school you're waitlisted at saying they were your top choice, then get off the waitlist, but end up going somewhere else? do the schools talk to each other?

also, let's say you're waitlisted at a top 30 school and a top 3 school. if accepted into both, you'd definitely attend the top 3 school, but your chances of acceptances are higher at the top 30 school. would it be more beneficial for you to tell the top 30 school that they are your top choice, even if they are your 2nd choice?
 
bluemachine said:
i have a similar kind of question. what happens if you write a letter of intent to a school you're waitlisted at saying they were your top choice, then get off the waitlist, but end up going somewhere else? do the schools talk to each other?

also, let's say you're waitlisted at a top 30 school and a top 3 school. if accepted into both, you'd definitely attend the top 3 school, but your chances of acceptances are higher at the top 30 school. would it be more beneficial for you to tell the top 30 school that they are your top choice, even if they are your 2nd choice?
Click to expand...
This is why these LOI's have no traction.
We know you will say anything.
 
The schools do NOT talk to each other in this regard.

I know people like to ignore this advice, but once one is on a wait list, there's very little one can do to get off, except be patient.


bluemachine said:
i have a similar kind of question. what happens if you write a letter of intent to a school you're waitlisted at saying they were your top choice, then get off the waitlist, but end up going somewhere else? do the schools talk to each other?

also, let's say you're waitlisted at a top 30 school and a top 3 school. if accepted into both, you'd definitely attend the top 3 school, but your chances of acceptances are higher at the top 30 school. would it be more beneficial for you to tell the top 30 school that they are your top choice, even if they are your 2nd choice?
Click to expand...
 
Do additional letters of recommendation ever play a role in these situations (not from a medical student)?
 
dr.0ne said:
staff and faculty affiliated with the school of medicine, namely physicians
Click to expand...
If they know the dean of admissions, a personal call is better.
In order of influence: Chair, full-time faculty....clinical faculty, voluntary faculty, alum...
Depending on the school, this is likely to have only a modest effect on the outcome (if any).
 
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gyngyn said:
It they know the dean of admissions, a personal call is better.
In order of influence: Chair, full-time faculty....clinical faculty, voluntary faculty, alum...
Depending on the school, this is likely to have only a modest effect on the outcome.
Click to expand...
What about non-affiliated people? Would another strong letter/call have an impact or is it school dependent?
 
As far as the timeline for the next few months is concerned, knowing that I will hear back from the school in late spring is better to hold of on sending the letter now and send later instead or does it not matter?


Thank you for all your responses SDN giants. Much love and respect for offering us plebians your sage words.
 
dr.0ne said:
As far as the timeline for the next few months is concerned, knowing that I will hear back from the school in late spring is better to hold of on sending the letter now and send later instead or does it not matter?


Thank you for all your responses SDN giants. Much love and respect for offering us plebians your sage words.
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The best timing for contact is when the dean is considering calling waitlist candidates on an unranked list. This is variable but usually after traffic day (April 30th).
 
9iron said:
Unfortunately he has no connection, that would've been nice.
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You can take some comfort that even most "connections" will have little effect at this point.
 
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I got rejected from a school even though my PI went to med school with the dean T_T
 
even if these letter of intents/notifying schools that they are your top choice dont have much weight, what happens if this school pulls you off their waitlist and you end up going to another school? are there repercussions? for me, i personally like school A over school B and thus school A is my top choice, but i may attend school B due to financial reasons. in this situation, would it still be ok to call school A my top choice?
 
bluemachine said:
even if these letter of intents/notifying schools that they are your top choice dont have much weight, what happens if this school pulls you off their waitlist and you end up going to another school? are there repercussions? for me, i personally like school A over school B and thus school A is my top choice, but i may attend school B due to financial reasons. in this situation, would it still be ok to call school A my top choice?
Click to expand...


Nothing.

LOIs are non-binding.
 
There is comfort to know that so many premeds are honest enough to think that LOI might be binding.
 
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gyngyn said:
You can take some comfort that even most "connections" will have little effect at this point.
Click to expand...

This adds so much clarity to the process! A friend of mine was trying to get off the waitlist (she was in the top quarter too) and she did EVERYTHING, she had her friend who was a med student write a letter (this friend had previously written pre-interview), our Service Chief, who is an alum, wrote a few emails, and may have even called - idk, he's really cool so I think he did everything in his power - and she, besides sending numerous emails, actually went back to the school in person to plead her case I guess. No go. At the time I remember thinking, boy she's lucky to have so many connections to her top choice, but I guess it really has very minimal effect.
 
Keep in mind that in some years, my school takes no one from the waitlist, or perhaps only 2. This is because the school admits more than 2 applicants for every seat and the leadership in the admission office are munching antacids and hoping that more than half of the admitted applicants choose to go elsewhere. At this point in the year, the waitlist is the last thing on their minds.
 
BurbyPrep89 said:
This adds so much clarity to the process! A friend of mine was trying to get off the waitlist (she was in the top quarter too) and she did EVERYTHING, she had her friend who was a med student write a letter (this friend had previously written pre-interview), our Service Chief, who is an alum, wrote a few emails, and may have even called - idk, he's really cool so I think he did everything in his power - and she, besides sending numerous emails, actually went back to the school in person to plead her case I guess. No go. At the time I remember thinking, boy she's lucky to have so many connections to her top choice, but I guess it really has very minimal effect.
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i feel like being so overbearing would negatively impact your admission prospects rather than help
 
itsthat1guy said:
i feel like being so overbearing would negatively impact your admission prospects rather than help
Click to expand...

Totally agree, of course now she's an MS1 at another school which she did get off a waitlist from, but yeah, she was really gunning for this school.

Lol this can be the "what not to do" example. 😉
 
.
 
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Tman90 said:
Just out of curiosity, is there any point in the process that having "connections" help? And by how much?
Click to expand...
For the otherwise well qualified candidate, a early call from a well-respected person can improve odds of an interview.
Even marginal candidates related to lofty individuals have benefited when strings are pulled early enough and hard enough. The awkward moments come when Mr. Lofty starts pulling strings so late that no intervention can happen without everyone noticing deviations from protocol.
 
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