Understanding Waitlist Mvmt??

[docmemi]

I dont understand how waitlist movement occurs.

By May 15 everyone must choose one medical school. All medical schools will, therefore, have all the spots filled by then also (well by March 15 in reality). Theoretically then whoever committs to a school must go there and has no where else to go cause they would have declined all other spots they were holding.

so my question is, how would any spots open on the waitlist in june or july or agust?? if someone who committed to that school back in May drops, then he/she has no other school to go to since they had to decline all but one school. do people just drop like that and not become doctors? well, you might say, no...they got in at another school of the waitlist........but how in the world did that position open up for them in the first place to go there, wouldnt that mean someone else dropped and isnt going to become a dr?

now that confuses me because some schools are known to accept a very large percentage of the class, sometimes 30-40 spots, off the waitlist?? please help.

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[kokonut]

you're forgetting the chain reaction, or rippling effect, that occurs when waitlist movement occurs.

Say, I decide to only hold an acceptance at Tulane come May 15. Then, at the end of May, I hear from Vanderbilt that I've been accepted off the waitlist. I decide I'd rather go to Vandy than Tulane so I let go of my acceptance to Tulane. Then, someone who's on Tulane's waitlist will hear in early June that they've been accepted. They decide to accept the position, and drop their position at State U. State U then turns to their waitlist, and notifies someone on their waitlist by mid-June that they've been accepted. etc. etc. etc.

 

[docmemi]

i totally get that. BUT, if by May 15 everyone should ideally hold only one spot and ALL classes are filled (well by March that should of already been true). then how in the world did that spot at Vanderbilt open for you after May?? (perhaps...either of two things maybe...someone dropped Vand cause they were holding more than one acceptance or someone isnt become a dr).

i understand the chain rxn that occurs after that. but my question is how does it start to begin with, namely at Vandi (for example)? do you see my confusion? its bothering me a lot now.

 

[OldLady]

multiple acceptances

and there is no guarantee classes are filled by May 15, the only thing they have to do is extend a number of acceptances equal to their class size by March 15th, but people often hold those until they decide to go elsewhere.

 

[Lochmoor]

Many people hold out til the last minute to make a decision or just procrastinate. They wait to hear back on financial aid or scholarship inforamtion.

On May 15, each applicant can only hold a max of 1 acceptance. That's why the whole cascade begins around May.

 

[Adapt]

Originally posted by docmemi
i understand the chain rxn that occurs after that. but my question is how does it start to begin with, namely at Vandi (for example)? do you see my confusion? its bothering me a lot now.

From what I understand it could begin by one of several ways. The person is holding multiple MD acceptances so chooses to drop one.

The person is holding an acceptance from another type of school such as a DO, DDS, DVM pharmD, etc. and chooses to go that route instead of MD.

I think it would be rare that a person just doesn't want to become a doctor particularly if they went through all that trouble to interview. It is more likely they have another MD acceptance or are pursuing a different field.

 

[dsblaha]

While some of the classes are full, more people will choose not to go to a certain school on May15th than the total spots that they will offer.

I disagree that by May15th all spots in the country are taken becuase people hold multiple acceptances.

 

[ms. a]

Originally posted by docmemi
i totally get that. BUT, if by May 15 everyone should ideally hold only one spot and ALL classes are filled (well by March that should of already been true). then how in the world did that spot at Vanderbilt open for you after May?? (perhaps...either of two things maybe...someone dropped Vand cause they were holding more than one acceptance or someone isnt become a dr).

i understand the chain rxn that occurs after that. but my question is how does it start to begin with, namely at Vandi (for example)? do you see my confusion? its bothering me a lot now.

Just because a school says its class if full doesn't mean it will stay that way. If a particular school's class limit is 100, it just means that they've offered at least 100 spots. Say 50 of those applicants hold multiple acceptances - on May 15th, those 50 have to decide whether or not they want to go to that school. If 25 decide to go elsewhere, suddenly 25 spots are open in the class. Now, most schools account for this by offering more acceptances than the class size allows. But, it's usually not many. In this example, the school might have offered a total of 110 acceptances. After 25 people dropped, the school has 15 spots to fill on May 15th. They then turn to waitlists and the ripple effect begins.

 

[docmemi]

interesting. im understanding. thanks!

 

[Mr. Rosewater]

someone else pointed this out, but your mistake is assuming that a schools class is full by 5/15. at that point 2/3 of what they thought was there class may drop out.

 

[coldchemist]

The way I understand the OP's question is: how can you be moved on a waitlist after May 15th when you had to withdraw from everywhere on May 15th?

Here is the answer:

You only have to decide between the schools that have already accepted you by May 15th. If you are still on one or more waitlists, you are free to remain under consideration (so DON'T withdraw). If you are accepted off of a waitlist after May 15th to a school that you prefer to attend over your previous acceptances, then you can drop the one school you are holding and accept the offer from that school.

 

[lightning4]

What if you are accepted off one waitlist and then a few weeks later, after accepting the offer, you are accepted off another? Are you able then to decline the first waitlist acceptance?

 

[coldchemist]

Yeah...this can keep going as long as it needs to. The whole point of this setup is to give the schools a better of idea of their entering class early on, while still giving applicants the freedom of pursuing their top choices. That's why your allowed to accept offers from the schools who waitlisted you, even after the deadline.

 

[ChE_Babe]

There seems to be a lot of confusion surrounding the date May 15. I thought that I would try to clear it up a little...

May 15 is the day that applicants are expected to give up all but one acceptance, but they are not necessarily required to. Schools are allowed to penalize students holding multiple acceptances as of May 15, meaning that they can withdraw their offer, but some instead simply penalize financially (i.e. you forfeit your deposit if you withdraw after that date), so theoretically you can hold multiple acceptances after that date if specific school policies do not prohibit it. This means that after May 15 all bets are off and acceptance policies (response time allowed, rules on holding multiple offers, etc.) are decided by the schools themselves, so you should check directly with the schools you're interested in. You can follow this link to see the official AAMC acceptance procedures:

http://www.aamc.org/students/applyi...mmendations.htm

This interpretation of the AAMC rules was confirmed by one of my interviewers, he said that it is not uncommon for students to continue to hold several acceptances after May 15 and just forfeit their deposit, so their waitlist could continue to move into July.