In general, how often do people get off waitlists?

[randombetch]

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Obviously some schools accept more off the waitlist than others, but on average, around what percent of the waitlist does a med school accept?

Oh, and I also know that around a quarter to a half of the interviewed students are accepted - is the same amount also waitlisted?

Just trying to gauge how much of a shot a waitlisted person has of getting into a school of choice.

 

[Raigon]

Obviously some schools accept more off the waitlist than others, but on average, around what percent of the waitlist does a med school accept?

Oh, and I also know that around a quarter to a half of the interviewed students are accepted - is the same amount also waitlisted?

Just trying to gauge how much of a shot a waitlisted person has of getting into a school of choice.

Actually, on average, 1/7~1/9 of the interviewed get accepted. Less than that, like say.... 10 out of 100 from what I've heard.

Usually it's somewhere around 3000 people apply, 900 interviews, 300 waitlists. Of the interview 100 people get accepted, and probably 10~20 from waitlists. More or less depending on schools.

But that's what I've heard from some of the schools. Not sure about the rest. It's better to get more opinions.

 

[slowbutsteady]

Chances of getting in off the waitlist varies tremendously from school to school. It depends, to some extent, on how "popular" the school is. But far, far more important is how they structure their admissions process.

Some examples:

SUNY Buffalo: many, many people get in off the waitlist

Boston University: hasn't taken anyone off the waitlist for years

Georgetown: Puts many of its future class in a "competitive applicant pool" which kinda looks like a waitlist. Many people get in from the pool.

Yale: Usually takes a few, maybe a dozen (guessing a bit here)

Anyone want to add more examples?

 

[jackson1]

Actually, on average, 1/7~1/9 of the interviewed get accepted. Less than that, like say.... 10 out of 100 from what I've heard.

Usually it's somewhere around 3000 people apply, 900 interviews, 300 waitlists. Of the interview 100 people get accepted, and probably 10~20 from waitlists. More or less depending on schools.

But that's what I've heard from some of the schools. Not sure about the rest. It's better to get more opinions.

that seems a bit low to me. most schools i've been to eventually accept 1/3 to 1/2 of the students they interview.

from eduers.com:

Temple-9890 applied, 817 interviewed, 539 were accepted, 178 enrolled

Wake Forest-7485 applied, 501 interviewed, 276 were accepted, 120 enrolled

Albert Einstein-1500 interviewed, 500 accepted

as far as waitlist movement goes, of the school I've been to it seems like University of Vermont, Georgetown (70% of waitlisted students that write a LOI get in), VCU and Wake Forest have lots of waitlist movement then EVMS, Albert Einstein, Temple, and Penn State have a moderate amount but not quite as much. I'd say it just depends a lot on the school and it could be anywhere from 0% to 70% get off the waitlist.

 

[BlueElmo]

Yeah, it will depend on each school, so it will vary a lot, IMO.

 

[SirGecko]

Chances of getting in off the waitlist varies tremendously from school to school. It depends, to some extent, on how "popular" the school is. But far, far more important is how they structure their admissions process.

Some examples:

SUNY Buffalo: many, many people get in off the waitlist

Boston University: hasn't taken anyone off the waitlist for years

Georgetown: Puts many of its future class in a "competitive applicant pool" which kinda looks like a waitlist. Many people get in from the pool.

Yale: Usually takes a few, maybe a dozen (guessing a bit here)

Anyone want to add more examples?

USUHS is a little unusual in that they only accept the exact number of spots that are open. (unlike most schools that accept more people than they actually expect to enroll) Then then have a waitlist that has a lot of people moving off of it and an alt list with a lot less movement.

 

[MilkmanAl]

As others have insinuated, waitlist movement depends entirely on the school and may vary substantially by year as well. For instance, BU overaccepted like crazy a couple years ago and literally took nobody from the waitlist. Vandy regularly takes very few people off the waitlist, but the list here at UAMS moves around 50% every year, or so I'm told.

 

[ThaliaNox]

Actually, on average, 1/7~1/9 of the interviewed get accepted. Less than that, like say.... 10 out of 100 from what I've heard.

Usually it's somewhere around 3000 people apply, 900 interviews, 300 waitlists. Of the interview 100 people get accepted, and probably 10~20 from waitlists. More or less depending on schools.

But that's what I've heard from some of the schools. Not sure about the rest. It's better to get more opinions.

I think you may be confusing matriculation numbers with acceptance numbers. Most schools accept between 1/3 and 1/2 after interviews. The 100 out of 900 you state would be more likely for matriculants, with another 200 or so accepted, but choosing to go to another school. Usually about 1/8 to 1/10 of applicants get interviews, then around 1/3 to 1/2 get accepted, and many of the rest are waitlisted.

 

[slowbutsteady]

What people often fail to take into account, mostly because these numbers are not publicly available, is the extent to which an individual school overaccepts.

Each school has a pretty good idea what their yield will be, and therefore how many offers they need to make to fill their class. Even TOP schools accept many more than the number they need to fill their class.

Yale, for example, I am told, outright accepts 200 people to get a class of 100. If they still come up short (e.g., 105 choose to go elsewhere), they fill a handful of slots from the waitlist.

So waitlisters at many schools are really dreaming if they think they will get in. Hundreds of acceptees have to decline the offer before they even go to the waitlist.

I bet we can't name 6 schools that have a very active waitlist. And even at those schools, there are hundreds of people on those lists, so your chance of getting one of those slots that opens up is very slim.

I went through the entire 2008 cycle believing that there must be great waitlist movement. I was on the waitlist at Yale, Georgetown, Rochester and MSSM. I got into Georgetown off the CAP.

 

[wanderer]

Most schools interview between 3 to 7.5 people per seat.

 

[bannie22]

yes. unfortuantely, seems that its always best not to be on the waitlist... but i cant help it 🙁

 

[slowbutsteady]

yes. unfortuantely, seems that its always best not to be on the waitlist... but i cant help it 🙁

awwww, sorry! It is def better than a rejection. And you are better off than I was in that you do not put too high hopes on the waitlists. It is just a big bowl of pain.

Hang in there, bannie.

 

[BoxerCar12]

Most schools interview between 3 to 7.5 people per seat.

Did you like not read this thread at all before posting that?

 

[randombetch]

Did you like not read this thread at all before posting that?

Hahah, some people just don't get it.

Anyway, thanks for the replies. I always thought, in general, a waitlisted applicant has a decent shot at getting into the school, but I guess not really except for the handful of schools with very active waitlists.