Timeline of Submission and IIs

[TibiaOrNotTibia]

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I have a question regarding submission time and IIs. I often hear people talk about a school and say “oh they sent out interviews, but it’s still really early.” What if someone submitted their secondary to them right away, at the earliest date, and did not receive an II in the first couple of waves?

My confusion surrounds whether or not an early submission gets your application looked at first. Because if that’s the case, wouldn’t everyone who submits very very early essentially be able to “assume” that, if they did not get an II in the first couple of waves, they likely won’t get one?

Edit: I am NOT complaining about the cycle! I am simply curious about this process.

 

[CDaFutureDocMan]

From my research on the schools to which I applied, I found that they all have different methods and priorities when reviewing applications. So while your application might have been in the first wave, it could have been put further back in line than others based on stats, IS status, mission fit, etc. There's also the chance you were reviewed and put in the "come back to later pile". Whatever the reason, I think of LizzyM saying not to stress about it until Thanksgiving.

 

[polymerization]

You can try to identify trends based on imperfect info online (like in the school-specific threads or Admit by looking at LM/metrics respectively), but you never really know.

For example, UChicago has been sending pre-II Rs like crazy lately, but from what I can see, it's virtually all high-stat applicants. It does also seem vaguely chronological. But surely lower-stat applicants applied to UChicago and submitted around the same time. How come they aren't reporting Rs? Are they only actually reviewing high-stat applicants and picking amongst them, intending to ghost/mass R low-stat applicants once they fill their interview slots? Or are they getting special consideration despite their lower stats? I can only guess.

When my partner comes home from work and asks me about admissions, I look very much like this:

 

[CDaFutureDocMan]

You can try to identify trends based on imperfect info online (like in the school-specific threads or Admit by looking at LM/metrics respectively), but you never really know.

For example, UChicago has been sending pre-II Rs like crazy lately, but from what I can see, it's virtually all high-stat applicants. It does also seem vaguely chronological. But surely lower-stat applicants applied to UChicago and submitted around the same time. How come they aren't reporting Rs? Are they only actually reviewing high-stat applicants and picking amongst them, intending to ghost/mass R low-stat applicants once they fill their interview slots? Or are they getting special consideration despite their lower stats? I can only guess.

When my partner comes home from work and asks me about admissions, I look very much like this:

This is exactly why I stopped looking for patterns. I fear it is making me lose my sanity.

 

[PickaGodnPray]

For example, UChicago has been sending pre-II Rs like crazy lately, but from what I can see, it's virtually all high-stat applicants. It does also seem vaguely chronological. But surely lower-stat applicants applied to UChicago and submitted around the same time. How come they aren't reporting Rs? Are they only actually reviewing high-stat applicants and picking amongst them, intending to ghost/mass R low-stat applicants once they fill their interview slots? Or are they getting special consideration despite their lower stats? I can only guess.

Also have to realize people on these sites are more likely to be higher stats anyways, skewing the data even more. Also are more likely to have submitted early, so decisions could have already been made on their app.

To the original point, submitting early just means your application is in the first batch they begin looking at. When a school starts making interview decisions, they will typically look at applications for fit or scores and decide which to give their first 50 IIs. If your app is in during that period, you get looked at and have an extra chance for an interview. If you don't get interviewed or don't have your app in yet, you get pushed to the next wave. Too many people think that schools review chronologically which is not the case.

 

[CDaFutureDocMan]

Also have to realize people on these sites are more likely to be higher stats anyways, skewing the data even more. Also are more likely to have submitted early, so decisions could have already been made on their app.

To the original point, submitting early just means your application is in the first batch they begin looking at. When a school starts making interview decisions, they will typically look at applications for fit or scores and decide which to give their first 50 IIs. If your app is in during that period, you get looked at and have an extra chance for an interview. If you don't get interviewed or don't have your app in yet, you get pushed to the next wave. Too many people think that schools review chronologically which is not the case.

I assume this is the logic behind the maxim "no news is good news."?

 

[polymerization]

This is exactly why I stopped looking for patterns. I fear it is making me lose my sanity.

At least in my case, the diagnosis is probably terminal. I can try and block all of these sites, but who am I really fooling?

I was so anxious I've been grinding through secondaries for a year and ended up applying to over 50 schools. I've heard back from a single one. I'm literally pacing around the house endlessly chatting with @Lee 's custom GPT that keeps telling me Harvard's II just got lost in the mail and is (oddly) insistent that I go out for ice cream, for some reason? Even the robot is telling me to touch grass! Somebody sedate me.

Also have to realize people on these sites are more likely to be higher stats anyways, skewing the data even more. Also are more likely to have submitted early, so decisions could have already been made on their app.

Yeah, I figure selection bias is also a factor. It's kind of like reading restaurant reviews... you know what you're reading is biased, but even imperfect and highly biased information is better than none. Plus, the stakes are way higher than finding a hair in your orange chicken, you know?