New Traffic Rules - Wait List

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turtle93

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From my understanding, if you hold multiple acceptances you have to narrow down your list to one school by April 30. However, for most schools it seems that wait lists don’t see any movement until after that date. What happens if you are accepted off of a wait list after that date with the new traffic rules? Or, when you narrow down your list to 1 school on April 30 do you give up your waitlist spot(s) as well?
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You keep waitlist spots. If you get off a waitlist after April 30 you have a specific time period to decide.
 
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turtle93 said:
Or, when you narrow down your list to 1 school on April 30 do you give up your waitlist spot(s) as well?
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Yes, everyone must relinquish their waitlist spots on April 30. Schools will then fill their classes with a "Thunderdome" process (200 premeds enter, 100 premeds leave).
 
gonnif said:
1) you can remain on as many waitlists as you want up to and thru your matriculation to a medical school
2) you can take an acceptance from any waitlist that is offered up to and thru your matriculation to a medical school

https://students-residents.aamc.org...ation-and-acceptance-protocols-admission-off/
  1. After April 30:
    1. Permit all applicants:
      1. A minimum of five business days to respond to an acceptance offer. This may be reduced to a minimum of two business days within 30 days of the start of orientation.
      2. To submit a statement of intent, a deposit, or both.
    2. Recognize and respect the challenges of applicants with multiple acceptance offers, applicants who have not yet received an acceptance offer, and applicants who have not yet been informed about financial aid opportunities at schools to which they have been accepted.
  2. In addition to any condition included in a school’s offer letter, after April 30, each school may exercise its school-specific procedures to confirm an accepted applicant’s intention to matriculate or to ensure that it fills each seat in its entering class. If a school is unable to confirm an applicant’s intention to matriculate, the school may choose to rescind the acceptance.
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Thank you for the insight! Did this policy change with the new traffic rules, or was the waitlist rule (holding as many WL spots until the day of matriculation) the same in previous years??
 
turtle93 said:
Thank you for the insight! Did this policy change with the new traffic rules, or was the waitlist rule (holding as many WL spots until the day of matriculation) the same in previous years??
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The rule has always been the same. The system will not function if applicants cannot stay on waitlists until matriculation.
 
Med Ed said:
Yes, everyone must relinquish their waitlist spots on April 30. Schools will then fill their classes with a "Thunderdome" process (200 premeds enter, 100 premeds leave).
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that is incorrect you can stay on waitlist spots unless you "commit to enroll" you can only hold on to one acceptance though after april 30 but as many waitlist spots you want
 
gonnif said:
Same as previous years. The major difference is schools can offer you acceptance AFTER you have formally matriculated at another school though it is highly unlikely this will affect a very small number, if any, students

As of April 30th medical schools can run detailed reports to identify their accepted and alternate list applicants who have selected “Plan to Enroll” or “Commit to Enroll” at their school versus another school. Previously, all schools could see all acceptances, though there was no way to see all applicants holding WL.
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Wouldn’t this effectively give each school the tool to figure out if a WL student hasn’t been given any acceptances elsewhere simply because that student wouldn’t have the ability to select “Plan to Enroll” or “Commit to Enroll”?
 
EasyEveryoneWouldDoIt said:
that is incorrect you can stay on waitlist spots unless you "commit to enroll" you can only hold on to one acceptance though after april 30 but as many waitlist spots you want
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@LizzyM prepares to fill the class of 2023:

mad-max-beyond-thunderdome.jpg
 
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Wait List Texas style: we have a date change this year:

"After 5:00 pm CT on May 15, no medical school in Texas may offer a position to an applicant already accepted by another medical school in Texas. This is the result of an agreement between the four UT System Medical schools, Baylor College of Medicine, Texas A&M University College of Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine, and University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth College of Osteopathic Medicine."

In previous years this date had been June 1. So what can happen after May 15?
-Applicants with all Texas WLs but no acceptances still have a chance to get in from their WL.
-Applicants with any Texas acceptances will drop off any Texas WLs they used to be on, and will know that their match is their school.
-Why would spots open up at Texas schools at this point? An accepted student might get in to an OOS school they prefer, or might withdraw for some reason, creating an unfilled spot.

This unique collaboration of Texas schools lets them all get on the same timeline. UIWSOM (AACOMAS) and TCU/UNTHSC (AMCAS) are not part of this agreement presently, but might be in future application years.
 
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gonnif said:
1) you can remain on as many waitlists as you want up to and thru your matriculation to a medical school
2) you can take an acceptance from any waitlist that is offered up to and thru your matriculation to a medical school

https://students-residents.aamc.org...ation-and-acceptance-protocols-admission-off/
  1. After April 30:
    1. Permit all applicants:
      1. A minimum of five business days to respond to an acceptance offer. This may be reduced to a minimum of two business days within 30 days of the start of orientation.
      2. To submit a statement of intent, a deposit, or both.
    2. Recognize and respect the challenges of applicants with multiple acceptance offers, applicants who have not yet received an acceptance offer, and applicants who have not yet been informed about financial aid opportunities at schools to which they have been accepted.
  2. In addition to any condition included in a school’s offer letter, after April 30, each school may exercise its school-specific procedures to confirm an accepted applicant’s intention to matriculate or to ensure that it fills each seat in its entering class. If a school is unable to confirm an applicant’s intention to matriculate, the school may choose to rescind the acceptance.
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If you respond to an offer of acceptance after April 30th with a Yes, are you locked into that school or can you still wait for further offers from your waitlists?
 
subdermallight said:
If you respond to an offer of acceptance after April 30th with a Yes, are you locked into that school or can you still wait for further offers from your waitlists?
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(Not counting Texas...as they have their whole system that I do not know).
You can remain on unlimited waitlists, and continue to get offers until you matriculate somewhere. Depending on the time-frame (ie how close it is to matriculation day), you will have a set time to decide on any offer that you might get. As a courtesy, however, you should withdraw from WL's for schools you would no longer be interested in attending as the season progresses. If you like school A better than school B and C, and you get into school A, you should let schools B and C know immediately so they do not waste time reviewing your application should they have WL spots that open after that date.
 
gorowannabe said:
(Not counting Texas...as they have their whole system that I do not know).
You can remain on unlimited waitlists, and continue to get offers until you matriculate somewhere. Depending on the time-frame (ie how close it is to matriculation day), you will have a set time to decide on any offer that you might get. As a courtesy, however, you should withdraw from WL's for schools you would no longer be interested in attending as the season progresses. If you like school A better than school B and C, and you get into school A, you should let schools B and C know immediately so they do not waste time reviewing your application should they have WL spots that open after that date.
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So say school A gives me an offer and gives me 3 days to decide. I say yes and fully commit in writing. Then 2 weeks later (still a few weeks before matriculation), school B that had me on waitlist gives me an offer (I like them more). I can withdraw my commitment at school A no problem? If so, why even give a deadline unless it's just to screen out people who already have better offers and hadn't withdrawn from the waitlist yet
 
subdermallight said:
So say school A gives me an offer and gives me 3 days to decide. I say yes and fully commit in writing. Then 2 weeks later (still a few weeks before matriculation), school B that had me on waitlist gives me an offer (I like them more). I can withdraw my commitment at school A no problem? If so, why even give a deadline unless it's just to screen out people who already have better offers and hadn't withdrawn from the waitlist yet
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Yes, you can withdraw from A and go so school B.

Commitments are made based on available offers. When new offers are made the situation changes, allowing for new commitments.

Yes, the deadline exists to flush people off of waitlists so that schools can fill their classes with people who will actually matriculate. This is kind of important.
 
gonnif said:
1) you can remain on as many waitlists as you want up to and thru your matriculation to a medical school
2) you can take an acceptance from any waitlist that is offered up to and thru your matriculation to a medical school

https://students-residents.aamc.org...ation-and-acceptance-protocols-admission-off/
  1. After April 30:
    1. Permit all applicants:
      1. A minimum of five business days to respond to an acceptance offer. This may be reduced to a minimum of two business days within 30 days of the start of orientation.
      2. To submit a statement of intent, a deposit, or both.
    2. Recognize and respect the challenges of applicants with multiple acceptance offers, applicants who have not yet received an acceptance offer, and applicants who have not yet been informed about financial aid opportunities at schools to which they have been accepted.
  2. In addition to any condition included in a school’s offer letter, after April 30, each school may exercise its school-specific procedures to confirm an accepted applicant’s intention to matriculate or to ensure that it fills each seat in its entering class. If a school is unable to confirm an applicant’s intention to matriculate, the school may choose to rescind the acceptance.
Click to expand...

A school I recently interviewed at said we had to "commit to enroll" on AMCAS by June 19th and drop all WL spots at that time. Does that mean the 19th is considered the "matriculation" date even though classes don't start until august?
 
theKingLT said:
A school I recently interviewed at said we had to "commit to enroll" on AMCAS by June 19th and drop all WL spots at that time. Does that mean the 19th is considered the "matriculation" date even though classes don't start until august?
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The "CYMS" tool instructions say that it is also up to the applicant to read and know individual expectations for each school they are under consideration to attend. So, yes, this school of yours wants to know by June 19th.
 
wysdoc said:
The "CYMS" tool instructions say that it is also up to the applicant to read and know individual expectations for each school they are under consideration to attend. So, yes, this school of yours wants to know by June 19th.
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So going off this then it appears that schools could set their commit to enroll deadline as may 1st?!

Edit: looks like gonnif answered my question as I was asking it in the post above
 
gonnif said:
1) you can remain on as many waitlists as you want up to and thru your matriculation to a medical school
2) you can take an acceptance from any waitlist that is offered up to and thru your matriculation to a medical school

https://students-residents.aamc.org...ation-and-acceptance-protocols-admission-off/
  1. After April 30:
    1. Permit all applicants:
      1. A minimum of five business days to respond to an acceptance offer. This may be reduced to a minimum of two business days within 30 days of the start of orientation.
      2. To submit a statement of intent, a deposit, or both.
    2. Recognize and respect the challenges of applicants with multiple acceptance offers, applicants who have not yet received an acceptance offer, and applicants who have not yet been informed about financial aid opportunities at schools to which they have been accepted.
  2. In addition to any condition included in a school’s offer letter, after April 30, each school may exercise its school-specific procedures to confirm an accepted applicant’s intention to matriculate or to ensure that it fills each seat in its entering class. If a school is unable to confirm an applicant’s intention to matriculate, the school may choose to rescind the acceptance.
Click to expand...
To clarify: individual schools can insist you commit to enroll and relinquish your WL spots by a certain day prior to matriculation right? The school I am currently planning to go to if I don't get off of one of my WL's says I have to commit by June 17th. Although this isn't the AAMC rule, I assumed the school was allowed to make their own rules. Right? It's a bummer because I want as much time to get off these WL's as possible.

A related point: does most WL action really happen in May? As in do you think I'll be missing out on more spots on those WL's I want to get off of by having to relinquish my spot on them on June 17th?
 
lalalallala said:
To clarify: individual schools can insist you commit to enroll and relinquish your WL spots by a certain day prior to matriculation right? The school I am currently planning to go to if I don't get off of one of my WL's says I have to commit by June 17th. Although this isn't the AAMC rule, I assumed the school was allowed to make their own rules. Right? It's a bummer because I want as much time to get off these WL's as possible.

A related point: does most WL action really happen in May? As in do you think I'll be missing out on more spots on those WL's I want to get off of by having to relinquish my spot on them on June 17th?
Click to expand...

Drop your acceptance and find out.
 
If you have no other acceptances, and are on an alternate waitlist (with typically a lot of movement), do schools look unfavorably on this?
 
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If you have no other acceptances, can schools you have been waitlisted on see this on april 30th since the commit to enroll or plan to enroll button isnt an option?
 
gonnif said:
Schools where you have been accepted or waitlisted can see if you have been accepted or watlisted at other schools. If you have been waitlisted at a single school, with no acceptances or other waitlist spots, the single waitlist school will be able to see that
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That’s only if the WL student is able to use the choose your school tool, right?
 
gonnif said:
No, if a school has waitlsted you, it will see if you have any other acceptances or WL. If you have no acceptances, and therefore no access to plan/commit enroll, then it will see zero.

View attachment 254929
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Okay, that's exactly what I was thinking based on that chart and why I told the @bobbitybob that if they don't see you on the list, then it must mean you have 0 acceptances. These new suggestions and rules are kinda confusing.
 
So let’s say Joe is accepted at 3 schools and is waitlisted at 4 other schools. And Bob is accepted at 1 school and waitlisted at 1 school. Joe decides it is not right to hold onto acceptances and waitlists for schools that he would not attend, so he lets go of his two other acceptances and all but one waitlist which is to a school he would attend over his current acceptance.

If schools potentially would have looked at Joe more favorably because he had more schools interested in him, but then dropped those schools from his list, would this make Bob look more equal to Joe since they both now hold only one acceptance and one waitlist? If that is the case, then it would discourage applicants from withdrawing from their waitlists earlier than need be in order to gain an acceptance at their favorite waitlisted school.
 
gonnif said:
Schools where you have been accepted or waitlisted can see if you have been accepted or watlisted at other schools. If you have been waitlisted at a single school, with no acceptances or other waitlist spots, the single waitlist school will be able to see that
Click to expand...

If a candidate is waitlisted at 3 schools and has no offers then that candidate cannot use the Plan To Enroll tool. So how can each of those 3 schools see that the candidate has been waitlisted at 2 other schools?
 
ak-aka-dak said:
If schools potentially would have looked at Joe more favorably because he had more schools interested in him,
Click to expand...

It doesn't really work this way. Admissions committees make their own judgements about applicants. If Joe is getting a lot of interest it's because Joe is a strong candidate.

If anything, Joe having multiple acceptances could conceivably work against him come waitlist time, as schools might be less inclined to spend time fighting over people with other options.
 
Med Ed said:
It doesn't really work this way. Admissions committees make their own judgements about applicants. If Joe is getting a lot of interest it's because Joe is a strong candidate.

If anything, Joe having multiple acceptances could conceivably work against him come waitlist time, as schools might be less inclined to spend time fighting over people with other options.
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If Joe has multiple acceptances (at comparable med schools to top choice waitlist school) and mentions in a letter that he will immediately withdraw all waitlists and acceptances if chosen for this school, is that a meaningless gesture? Or could it hold at least some weight as in they see other schools liked him and the commitment to drop these schools shows the top waitlist school won’t have to spend energy fighting for him as you said?
 
So after April 30th schools you are waitlisted at can see how many acceptances you originally had (but had to drop to only one acceptance on April 30th)? Now with the new traffic rules the waitlisted schools can’t see the location of those acceptances and can only the number of acceptances an applicant had? What is the point of that if the applicant had to drop all but one acceptance on April 30th?

Also, prior to this year applicants could stay on a waitlist up until matriculation day, but now their fate seems to be sealed by a pre-determined date set by each school. Seems a bit unfair for applicants who are accepted at schools that start in June or early to mid-July vs schools that start in August. It would be nice to have a list going of all of the school commit due dates.
 
ak-aka-dak said:
Also, prior to this year applicants could stay on a waitlist up until matriculation day, but now their fate seems to be sealed by a pre-determined date set by each school. Seems a bit unfair for applicants who are accepted at schools that start in June or early to mid-July vs schools that start in August. It would be nice to have a list going of all of the school commit due dates.
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A list would be nice!

Not every school outlines rules about waitlists though. Seems like some students will be able to stay on WL after matriculation and take a new acceptance if they really want. (Unless the newest acceptance has rules about not accepting students that have already matriculated).
 
ak-aka-dak said:
Also, prior to this year applicants could stay on a waitlist up until matriculation day, but now their fate seems to be sealed by a pre-determined date set by each school. Seems a bit unfair for applicants who are accepted at schools that start in June or early to mid-July vs schools that start in August.
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The previous system was potentially unfair, which is apparently why the AAMC preempted litigation over how schools use the multiple acceptance report and national acceptance report.

The current system at least addresses the worst possible outcome, which would be a school having an open seat it cannot fill.
 
EasyEveryoneWouldDoIt said:
that is incorrect you can stay on waitlist spots unless you "commit to enroll" you can only hold on to one acceptance though after april 30 but as many waitlist spots you want
Click to expand...

Does this mean once an applicant (who already has one acceptance) receives another acceptance after April 30th, they have to decide within the day itself and drop one? Or do they have a specific time period to decide without either of their acceptances being rescinded after April 30th?
 
mariposas905 said:
Does this mean once an applicant (who already has one acceptance) receives another acceptance after April 30th, they have to decide within the day itself and drop one? Or do they have a specific time period to decide without either of their acceptances being rescinded after April 30th?
Click to expand...

The new acceptance will give you a specific timeline. I’ve heard 3-5 days, a week or two weeks. The timeline will be clear.
 
mariposas905 said:
Does this mean once an applicant (who already has one acceptance) receives another acceptance after April 30th, they have to decide within the day itself and drop one? Or do they have a specific time period to decide without either of their acceptances being rescinded after April 30th?
Click to expand...

The traffic rules are clear on this: after April 30 you have a minimum of 5 business days to consider any new offer. This is restricted to 2 business days when the new offer is made within 30 days of orientation.

This is a point of confusion every year. After April 30 the rules prohibit holding multiple acceptances (i.e. holding seats in more than one school), but they do not prohibit holding more than one offer of admission for a reasonable period.
 
OchemOficionado said:
The new acceptance will give you a specific timeline. I’ve heard 3-5 days, a week or two weeks. The timeline will be clear.
Click to expand...

Med Ed said:
The traffic rules are clear on this: after April 30 you have a minimum of 5 business days to consider any new offer. This is restricted to 2 business days when the new offer is made within 30 days of orientation.

This is a point of confusion every year. After April 30 the rules prohibit holding multiple acceptances (i.e. holding seats in more than one school), but they do not prohibit holding more than one offer of admission for a reasonable period.
Click to expand...

Thanks for clarifying! So will School 1 that we have already been accepted at before April 30th wait those 2-5 days until we consider the School 2 we got into after April 30th? I just hope School 1 won't see that we are holding two acceptances and rescind their offer...do we need to notify School 1 via email about the new second acceptance first to make sure this doesn't happen or will they automatically wait?
 
mariposas905 said:
Thanks for clarifying! So will School 1 that we have already been accepted at before April 30th wait those 2-5 days until we consider the School 2 we got into after April 30th? I just hope School 1 won't see that we are holding two acceptances and rescind their offer...do we need to notify School 1 via email about the new second acceptance first to make sure this doesn't happen or will they automatically wait?
Click to expand...

You’re overthinking this. According to the link that MedEd shared, it seems the applicant would just need to make a decision within the given timeframe and then communicate that to both schools, if necessary. (If you’re choosing the first school it seems you only need to withdraw your app from the second school)

@Med Ed please correct me if I have it wrong.
 
mariposas905 said:
I just hope School 1 won't see that we are holding two acceptances and rescind their offer...
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That course of action would get School 1 sued repeatedly every cycle.

mariposas905 said:
do we need to notify School 1 via email about the new second acceptance first to make sure this doesn't happen or will they automatically wait?
Click to expand...

You do not need to notify your existing school about new offers. You may go through this process once, we do it every year.

Edit: it looks like some schools do demand email notification of other offers. My bad!
 
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Med Ed said:
The traffic rules are clear on this: after April 30 you have a minimum of 5 business days to consider any new offer. This is restricted to 2 business days when the new offer is made within 30 days of orientation.

This is a point of confusion every year. After April 30 the rules prohibit holding multiple acceptances (i.e. holding seats in more than one school), but they do not prohibit holding more than one offer of admission for a reasonable period.
Click to expand...
An important distinction, and all applicants need to read the rules and emails carefully so they know what they need to do.
The closer it gets to orientation/matriculation date the shorter a time you will probably have to accept or decline a new WL offer.

Another thing applicants get confused about: If you are offered a spot from a WL, you don't HAVE to take it. You compare it to your current spot. If you prefer the new offer, accept it. If you prefer your current match, politely decline.
You don't have to inform your current match school about WL offers, unless you are going to leave your current school to go to the new one.
If you decide to give up a seat you now have in favor of a WL offer, you MUST inform the original school that you are doing so.

Or, if you have all WLs and no offers so far, then accept it!
 
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wysdoc said:
An important distinction, and all applicants need to read the rules and emails carefully so they know what they need to do.
The closer it gets to orientation/matriculation date the shorter a time you will probably have to accept or decline a new WL offer.

Another thing applicants get confused about: If you are offered a spot from a WL, you don't HAVE to take it. You compare it to your current spot. If you prefer the new offer, accept it. If you prefer your current match, politely decline.
You don't have to inform your current match school about WL offers, unless you decide to take them.
If you decide to give up a seat you now have in favor of a WL offer, you MUST inform the original school that you are doing so.

Or, if you have all WLs and no offers so far, then accept it!
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Of course, as @wysdoc says, you do not have to take a WL offer. However, as a courtesy, if you already know that your current A is preferable to a given WL that you hold, withdraw from the WL now. Some people will need to see financial aid information or get more information about where a partner will be next year, and in those cases, it may make sense to stay on WLs. But if you already know now that you would turn down a WL at school X because you already hold an Acceptance to school Y, withdraw from that WL now. That way, your peers and SDN friends who are on WL's will be offered a position sooner. Keep in mind that schools may not be able to give you F.A. information quickly if they offer you a spot off the WL, so you might have to choose without knowing your aid package. You can certainly ask the FA office at any school to which you are WL what they do about getting offers to those who are WL and how quickly they can do this.
 
@gonnif, but others as well...

How can I learn about "know the individual school policies for any school where you have been accepted or WL".
Related to that, should we receive detailed offer letters (for example for MD/PhD) which spell out all awards, and WL requirements?
 
So if we hold an A but prefer a waitlisted school should we select plan to enroll? Or is it best to not make a selection? Considering the school in which I’m accepted has no plan to enroll requirement, just a commit to enroll.
 
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mseecu said:
@gonnif, but others as well...

How can I learn about "know the individual school policies for any school where you have been accepted or WL".
Related to that, should we receive detailed offer letters (for example for MD/PhD) which spell out all awards, and WL requirements?
Click to expand...

By speaking with your schools or reviewing their website and acceptance emails/materials. There is no one standard way that every schools communicates this info.

AlphaDoctor said:
So if we hold an A but prefer a waitlisted school should we select plan to enroll? Or is it best to not make a selection? Considering the school in which I’m accepted has no plan to enroll requirement, just s commit to enroll.
Click to expand...

Up to you then, doesn’t matter.
 
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