how to interpret waitlists?

[H0mersimps0n]

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My girlfriend got waitlisted at Hopkins and Jefferson...

what does it all mean?

She's a 3.7 GPA and 30MCAT with a stunning personality, I don't get it...

Still waiting to hear from other interviews...

thoughts? Could she be a bad "interviewee" and not realize it?

thanks...

 

[thinmint]

i just got wailisted at jefferson too, my first response from a school 🙁. although i kind of had a feeling i would right after the interview. my faculty interviewer asked me, if you got into every place you applied, honestly where would you go. i really hate that question and i made the mistake of actually being honest. i told him since i'm from california, i would go there since it's cheaper, closer to home, etc, although i wouldn't mind going to jefferson either. i thought it was an unfair question but i could tell that he wasn't that impressed with me after that either...oh well...i'm sure your girlfriend will get in somewhere else, good luck.

 

[Blanch]

I'm sorry to hear your girlfriend got waitlisted but she shouldn't take it personally at all. If a school admits 5% of their applicants that means that 95% get either rejected or waitlisted, so you can't really look at it as a personal failure. I would recommend that she not place too much hope in the Hopkins waitlist though, because their list is massive. They don't reject anyone post-interview and place everyone they don't accept onto that waitlist. It ends up being like 250 people or more, and they only end up taking like 20 of them. It's honestly cruel and unusual. I don't know anything about Jefferson's list.

 

[Megalofyia]

Originally posted by Blanch
I'm sorry to hear your girlfriend got waitlisted but she shouldn't take it personally at all. If a school admits 5% of their applicants that means that 95% get either rejected or waitlisted, so you can't really look at it as a personal failure. I would recommend that she not place too much hope in the Hopkins waitlist though, because their list is massive. They don't reject anyone post-interview and place everyone they don't accept onto that waitlist. It ends up being like 250 people or more, and they only end up taking like 20 of them. It's honestly cruel and unusual. I don't know anything about Jefferson's list.

And just what IS the point of schools that do this? WHY put so many people on a waitlist when you know very well that hardly any people are going go be accepted from it?

 

[TheFlash]

Originally posted by Megalofyia
And just what IS the point of schools that do this? WHY put so many people on a waitlist when you know very well that hardly any people are going go be accepted from it?

Moreover, they make you wait until May to find out if you haven't been weeded out by then. I hate waitlists. 🙁

 

[Tezzie]

Oh come on! I can understand the waitlist at Jefferson and why she is upset over that but 30M is sub par for Hopkins. Lets be a little bit more realistic.

 

[calebho501]

I think Jefferson really grill you whether you'll go there if you're from the West Coast. I got asked the question of "Why Jefferson when you come from Sunny California?"

I answered it honestly: Almost all the schools I applied to are on the east coast and in Chicago...my sister goes to school at Pittsburgh and I want to stay close to her. Also, I'm a cold weather person so I prefer a colder place than L.A.

Well...I got into Jefferson so that may very well be why.

 

[calebho501]

Originally posted by Megalofyia
And just what IS the point of schools that do this? WHY put so many people on a waitlist when you know very well that hardly any people are going go be accepted from it?

I think schools realize that some people will withdraw once they know they're on the waitlist. Schools just don't know who, so they just put everyone on the waitlist just to be safe.

 

[SOBEIT]

Did, anyone get the "Special High Priority Letter" (their words, not mine). Well I did, and I found the wording interesting. "Jefferson Medical College Committe on admissions has reviewed your file and is very favorably impressed." Then it goes on to say that they get lots of applicants, etc..., which continues into my favorite line. "Although we are unable to offer you a place in the class at this time, we hope to have place available in the class before too long. You have been placed in a special High Priority category by the committee. (the bolds were in the letter)

So what does "Before too long" mean? I like how the writing is somewhat informal.

I basicially read it as "if you are still interested in April, let us know and we will see what we can do."

I hate waitlists.


Oh and off this subject, Tezzie, when you say things like this "Oh come on! I can understand the waitlist at Jefferson and why she is upset over that but 30M is sub par for Hopkins. Lets be a little bit more realistic. you sound like the typical overstressed obnoxious premed.

Cheers

 

[calebho501]

Originally posted by Slickness
Who needs Jefferson anyway. The facilities weren't that impressive either. It just ticks me to know I wasted all this money going to different parts of the country just for stupid waitlists.

Hehe...I turned down Jefferson for Vanderbilt

 

[thewebthsp]

The obsession with stats and numbers is unfortunate. To make it to the waitlist at Hopkins means you're a stellar candidate. I think getting waitlisted might have to do with where you live (not in PA for instance).

Also, consider that schools use waitlists as a "buffer" -- basically if they admit some people who end up not going to their school they can dip into the waitlist to get the people they want for a balanced class. Sometimes the difference between admitted and waitlisted is arbitrary.

Btw I am also on some waitlists. Not too happy about it 😛.

Dave

 

[Tezzie]

Zzzzz. I think this board at this point is unrealistic. Check mdapplicants and see what the avgs for Hopkins are. Actually i read that is around 11.5 and 3.75. That's of course excluding ECs. Regardless of how you want to feel Hopkins attracts everyone. If you were the adcom who would you pick? A Squat and Squeeze type with stellar LORs, research, high scores OR someone who finished uwhatever, mid range GPA, no research/ no publications and whatever MCATs?

Gunners are people who feel that they deserve something or try to hurt others in the process of getting admited. There is a difference between that and having high scores or stellar ECs ( those mean that you just worked your a$$ off). I don't see why working hard is such a bad thing ?

After all. If there wasn't a need for MCAT/GPA/whatever then why are we forced to take it and waste or money ? Numbers and scores are there for a reason.

 

[sickofit]

I KNEW IT! Tezzie's a gunner!!!

There had to be a reason why I disliked her so much.

 

[thinmint]

a question about the waitlist at jefferson. in the letter it said that people on the waitlist are not ranked. it also says it's not necessary to keep checking on application status, but continued interest is encouraged. so basically i interpret that as saying if you keep showing interest by sending them updates or like kissing up to them by phone or by mail they will give you more priority on the wait list. when i interviewed at northwestern they kind of told us that's how their wait list works. does anyone know if this is accurate?

 

[H0mersimps0n]

what the hell, 8 interviews and 4 waitlists now...

she is crushed and thinks she put in her application too soon.

Is that possible?

 

[Adapt]

Originally posted by H0mersimps0n
what the hell, 8 interviews and 4 waitlists now...

she is crushed and thinks she put in her application too soon.

Is that possible?

No it means she is a bad interviewee. I bet she uses alot of "you know" and "like" in her sentences when she talks. Maybe you can give her a mock interview and see how she acts.

The interview can make or break her. Applying early only helped her. She didn't impress them enough at her interview.

 

[H0mersimps0n]

well, she and I had some mock conversations before hand and I tried to tell her that she needed to express more "passion" in her discussion of "why" she wants to get into medicine. I mean I know she really really really does but she is the kind of person that is very genuine and often doesn't have a lot of practice expressing herself passionately...

I've tried to hint to her that her waitlists may be due to her interviewing poorly, telling her that her numbers are good and thats why she was interviewed to just see what kind of person she was BUT...

she is insistant that because she called the schools to ask what is wrong with her application and they tell her "nothing we just don't have the spots" or whatever she is convinced she is being overlooked because her application is in so early and schools want to see what other applicants they will get...

Does anyone know if a GOOD website with interview DO's and DON'T maybe I could gently suggest she read.

I'm hoping she gets one more interview in which case I'm going to force her to find someone who knows what the heck they are talking about and give her some advice.

I was afraid this would happen, I know she loves medicine more than anything but unfortunately can come off as wishy washy...

DAMNIT....

More thoughts are definitely welcome! thanks

 

[bigbaubdi]

Originally posted by sickofit
I KNEW IT! Tezzie's a gunner!!!

There had to be a reason why I disliked her so much.

Not sure why ppl are ganging up on Tezzie in this thread. Hopkins accepts plenty of ppl who have approx 30 MCAT scores but at the same time, I don't think it is realistic to EXPECT to get accepted into Hopkins with a 30 MCAT score. For that matter, I don't think it is realistic to get accepted into any medical school on the basis of stats alone.

 

[Tezzie]

Homer it is admirable that you wish to help your girlfriend through her med school admissions process so much.

I don't think that there is right and wrong during the interviews. In my case the question "why medicine" was asked only about half the times and "why our school" most of the times.

One good way to answer the "why medicine" question better (if you think she doesn't have the right answers) is by actually asking the interviewer why he chose to go into medicine. That way she may get a different idea.

The thing that i believe (and i may be wrong here) can make you or break you during the interview is the "why our school question". You have to be both creative and researched the school. If she has any more interviews coming up tell her to research the school better and find *SOLID* reasons why she wants to go there.

During my interviews i think that half the time was spent with questions "why medicine", "why our school", "problems in X field" and the other half was just personal stuff. So i believe she needs to sound a bit more excited about her research, her undergrad, her education, her life, the works.

Good luck!

 

[H0mersimps0n]

funny you say that Tezzie, while she did do a lot of research on these schools before going I think it probably showed that all but 5 or 6 of the 8 interviews were safety schools she didn't really want to attend. I think possibly her conscious or her inability to stretch the truth hurt her because she was probably exuding "I don't really want to go here" vibes.

she's just really really disappointed and frustrated and I feel really bad for her. It's frustrating for me to watch her...

thanks

 

[Lux Aeterna]

At my interview day at Jeff, Dean Callahan basically told us to write her an email if you were placed on the waitlist and express your interest in Jeff, and that would help A LOT.

If your gf is really interested in Jefferson, I'd suggest this route. I have some friends from last year who were waitlisted at Jeff, and they got the phone call from Dean Callahan very shortly post-email.

 

[bigbaubdi]

Originally posted by H0mersimps0n
...I think it probably showed that all but 5 or 6 of the 8 interviews were safety schools she didn't really want to attend. I think possibly her conscious or her inability to stretch the truth hurt her because she was probably exuding "I don't really want to go here" vibes. thanks

Interesting dilemna....

She doesn't have to stretch the truth for safety schools. If she is interviewing at a safety school, then she needs to emphasize those things that made her apply to the school in the first place. Every school has certain aspects about it that are really cool so I would emphasize those things over the negatives.

 

[calebho501]

Hey talking about how much you love a safety school is not lying or dishonest, it's simply "emphasizing" the good things about the school.

When you do your application, you also try to sell yourself and try to emphasize your good qualities. If you were to tell the whole truth, it'll include things like, "Yea I got a C in Organic chem cause I suck at chem" or "I had a bad experience volunteering in that hospital b/c I had to clean up after a code brown (patient's bowel movement)"

 

[jlee9531]

do tell your gf that applying early is NEVER a negative. its the only reason i am getting the opportunities i am right now.

just continue to help her with her responses and im sure things will turn up well. for some schools the earlier you get on the list is good since they move people during the year and not just at the end.

 

[Tezzie]

Well since she has so many waitlists (care to tell us where and which schools is she waiting to hear from?) there is only one thing to do : letters of intent.

If handled properly she can really earn a spot pretty fast.

For example you seem to have a great relationship with her. So if both of you live in city X which has med school Y then she can write and say that not only did she absolutely fell in love with the school but also it will help her maintain her relationship cause you can't move for a,b,c reasons. I think they might be a little bit more understanding of the situation then.

Now if the above scenario is not really your situation then she needs to write great letters of intent to each one of the schools she got waitlisted at. She also needs to keep calling etc ... until she gets into one school at least.

Tezzie

PS. Your gf did the same mistake that a lot of other med applicants do. They treat a school like a "safety" and find out the hard way that there is no such thing as a "safety" med school.

 

[hale-bopp]

Um, isn't a letter of intent a letter that says "If I get into your school, I will attend."?
Sending that to more than one school is unethical to say the least. On the other hand, a letter of INTEREST is just a letter expressing strong interest in attending a school, for reasons X,Y, and Z. your girlfriend could certainly send letters of interest to all of the schools.
Also, when I asked about Hopkins admissions on here, a current student there told me that last year, they didn't admit anyone till november, so maybe that is going on also.

 

[Tezzie]

Not really. Look at the situation more closely. This applicant has problems with the interviews and didn't show enough excitement about school. What if there is no waitlist movement? Or even if there is ... maybe she is at the bottom for not showing enough interest at the school.

Actually it wouldn't be unethical at all. This is a person that wants an MD. Just like all of us we want to make it to *A* medical school first and *IF* we have more acceptances then go to where we fit in best. But as of right now she has no acceptances. So she can't risk it. The 50-100$ you send to a school to hold your place is in a way saying that you will attend. But most people don't.

The best thing for her right now is to start spamming the school. Letters, phonecalls, emails ... until she is able to get in someplace and then she can remove herself from the other waitlists or wait until the end.

 

[bigbaubdi]

Originally posted by Tezzie
...Actually it wouldn't be unethical at all. This is a person that wants an MD....The 50-100$ you send to a school to hold your place is in a way saying that you will attend.

You only send $50-100 to med schools after you get accepted. If you send a letter of intent to med school X, then you are saying that if you are accepted, then you will withdraw your application to other med schools and that you will attend definitely attend med school X. A med school that is interested in boosting its admissions statistics and figuring out who is really interested in med school X might accept you on that basis. If you back out on that, then med school X might contact other med schools and tell them that you are a liar. And that won't look good on your application.