Is an early hold sign of bad things to come

[voxveritatisetlucis]

I was just wondering if a hold(soft rejection) is a bad sign for the rest of this cycle?

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[KnightDoc]

I don't understand the question. You've already been through a cycle, so, what exactly are you talking about? Being placed on hold for a possible II?

Don't actual WLs only come after IIs? And, does any school actually issue decisions so quickly after interviews this early in the cycle? I know As don't come out until mid-October, and other decisions could be issued sooner, but, are they? What's a soft rejection in July, anyway?

Of course, actual rejections this early are definitely not a good sign, but that's not what you're asking about!

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

hold for interviews. Edited original because the way it was written is confusing.

 

[KnightDoc]

hold for interviews. Edited original because the way it was written is confusing.

In that case, I respectfully disagree with the premise.

Plenty of people have reported being given IIs, and later, As, after being on hold. It's not a soft rejection. Being ghosted for an entire cycle is a soft rejection, but, being reviewed and then placed in the "maybe" pile in July or August is not a soft R, at least not in my book.

Of course, it's not as good as receiving an II. OTOH, it's not reasonable to expect to bat anywhere near 1.000 on IIs, so each individual failure to receive one is not a sign of anything, just like receiving a secondary from schools that screen for them is also not a sign of anything! It works both ways.

TBH, your posts are making me very anxious about my failure to be so uptight a mere 4 weeks since first transmission. If you're open to some friendly advice, I humbly suggest trying to chill until at least Labor Day.

I know conventional wisdom says to sit tight until Thanksgiving, but, I'm not so patient, and I'm not sure that rule should apply to people complete in July. OTOH, I think it's unreasonable to be complete in the first or second week of a year long cycle, and then to start climbing the walls five minutes later when IIs don't arrive immediately after the first people in the country start reporting receiving them.

If you've applied to 30 schools, as you reported in another post, and if you have zero IIs 6-10 weeks after being complete, sure, maybe start to be a little concerned. I'm not sure I'd be freaking out a week or two after being complete, after seeing maybe one or two of your 30 schools have started dribbling out IIs and you are not in the first group to receive some love. JMHO, but, it's going to be a very long cycle, and you need to pace yourself on the worrying.

 

[Goro]

Could be.

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

Do these tend to be akin to silent rejections at your school/other schools. For example the school doesn’t want to seem rude, so it’s out of courtesy @Goro

 

[jhmmd]

People can be placed on hold for many reasons. Did you receive word that you are complete at this particular school(s)?

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

People can be placed on hold for many reasons. Did you receive word that you are complete at this particular school(s)

I think it means that they might ask you to interview later on, but maybe not.

 

[KnightDoc]

Do these tend to be akin to silent rejections at your school/other schools. For example the school doesn’t want to seem rude, so it’s out of courtesy @Goro

Courtesy? That's the last thing on most schools' minds!!!

Don't read more into it than is there. It's nothing more than a very transparent way to let you know you were reviewed, and not either rejected nor selected for II.

Most schools will just ghost you after making a similar determination, so no, it's not a soft R, or them letting you down easy. If they wanted to play games, they'd just ignore you like most other schools do, and then let you down gently at the end of the cycle. At transparent schools like this, when you are really R, they will absolutely let you know.

 

[Goro]

Do these tend to be akin to silent rejections at your school/other schools. For example the school doesn’t want to seem rude, so it’s out of courtesy @Goro

My school, like many others, do not put people on hold. We just make them wait.

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

Do these tend to be akin to silent rejections at your school/other schools. For example the school doesn’t want to seem rude, so it’s out of courtesy @Goro

Depends on the school. UCSD puts people on hold in first round (Oct/Nov) and informs the applicant that they will review again in January. I hope more schools do like that.

 

[lanzhou_lamian]

N=1, but I eventually got an II and later an acceptance from the school where I was put on pre-II hold. I’d just wait it out and see what happens.

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

So there is no such thing as a pity hold/waitlist?

 

[KnightDoc]

So there is no such thing as a pity hold/waitlist?

Because they care? Where'd you get that from???

And even if they did, pity would translate to cruelly stringing you along???

 

[Goro]

So there is no such thing as a pity hold/waitlist?

Nope. Med schools do not give out sympathy ****s

 

[LunaOri]

I think early hold=yield protection at schools like NYMC, so you may get II at other (better) schools.

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

What about GWU, drexel, wvu etc.

 

[KnightDoc]

I think early hold=yield protection at schools like NYMC, so you may get II at other (better) schools.

Why would yield protection result in a H instead of a R?

 

[KnightDoc]

Why reject when you can consider later if need be, after you get thru the likely matriculants.

In that case, is it really yield protection, or just garden variety putting an application in the maybe pile?

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

I could see a courtesy waitlist in the following cases:

-you went to the same school for undergrad and they don’t want to alienate future donors
-Legacy cases (same reason as above)
-Parent is faculty (would be awkward giving an outright rejection)
-Parent is a prominent politician (but they would probably be accepted, not waitlisted)

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

What about a “waitlist” for an interview spot? Does that mean an application was viewed positively or is it the same thing as a hold?