Vanderbilt Waitlist

[lookslikerain]

Hi guys, I am new to this forum but am hoping for some info on Vanderbilt's waitlist. It's my top choice so I'm looking for as much info as possible. I know that it's unranked and that there are three groups - upper, middle and lower. They also seem to waitlist tons of people, like near 400 (makes me wonder how they choose who to accept). For those who are also waitlisted at Vandy, what are you doing to maximize your chances off getting off the list? Any insider tips on what their adcom looks for, how many people typically get off, etc? thanks.

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[ti89]

Keep them updated and write a Letter of Intent if you will go there if admitted.

It is three tiers (unranked within each tier). However, they do have little waitlist movement I believe so really let them know your intent. I loved the school and was waitlisted and am withdrawing soon.

 

[Dookter]

I think I have devised a fail safe plan to get myself off the waitlist. I am going to withdraw. That's right. Withdraw. But why? First of all, I called to see which of the three groups I was in, and I was told there are no groups. She said that the waitlist has absolutely no ranking or grouping of any kind and that every single application is looked at again and again. Talk about a lie. Also, they pulled that bull$hit about not downloading rec letters on time to make it to committee for me and just about everyone I have heard of. Also, I missed most of the tour b/c of going to my interview. It seems every other medical school handles tours and interviews to where you can actually see the school. Do I want to go to a school like that? Doubt it. But I will admit that Vandy is definitely a top school and I really liked what I did see. So I am just downing the school b/c they pissed me off, not because I think it is in any way not a good school. It is an excellent school...they just don't like me...ha ha ha.

 

[ND2005]

I think I have devised a fail safe plan to get myself off the waitlist. I am going to withdraw. That's right. Withdraw. But why? First of all, I called to see which of the three groups I was in, and I was told there are no groups. She said that the waitlist has absolutely no ranking or grouping of any kind and that every single application is looked at again and again. Talk about a lie. Also, they pulled that bull$hit about not downloading rec letters on time to make it to committee for me and just about everyone I have heard of. Also, I missed most of the tour b/c of going to my interview. It seems every other medical school handles tours and interviews to where you can actually see the school. Do I want to go to a school like that? Doubt it. But I will admit that Vandy is definitely a top school and I really liked what I did see. So I am just downing the school b/c they pissed me off, not because I think it is in any way not a good school. It is an excellent school...they just don't like me...ha ha ha.

I also was told that there is absolutely no ranking of the waitlist. The woman who I talked to said they will re-evaluate all apps at the end of the season, and pull people from the waitlist who "fit" the class.

Unfortunately, the more and more I've seen, the more confident I've become that Vandy is tied for my top choice. Too bad they WL'ed me!

 

[wildcat05]

I think I have devised a fail safe plan to get myself off the waitlist. I am going to withdraw. That's right. Withdraw. But why? First of all, I called to see which of the three groups I was in, and I was told there are no groups. She said that the waitlist has absolutely no ranking or grouping of any kind and that every single application is looked at again and again. Talk about a lie. Also, they pulled that bull$hit about not downloading rec letters on time to make it to committee for me and just about everyone I have heard of. Also, I missed most of the tour b/c of going to my interview. It seems every other medical school handles tours and interviews to where you can actually see the school. Do I want to go to a school like that? Doubt it. But I will admit that Vandy is definitely a top school and I really liked what I did see. So I am just downing the school b/c they pissed me off, not because I think it is in any way not a good school. It is an excellent school...they just don't like me...ha ha ha.

I am so with you! I interviewed the first week or two of interviews in august and my interviewer didnt turn in her letter until, oh, MID-NOVEMBER. Then they sat on my application for another few weeks. Definitely withdrawing from the waitlist!

 

[EZMcFlo]

Are we talking about the same school, here? Vanderbilt - like in Nashville, TN? In my waitlist letter, it said the wl is ranked and they'll let me know my position in May. Also, when I visited they were very accommodating to everyone, and we all had our interviews first, then we all went to the info session, and we all went on the tour. Nobody missed any part of the day.

 

[ND2005]

Are we talking about the same school, here? Vanderbilt - like in Nashville, TN? In my waitlist letter, it said the wl is ranked and they'll let me know my position in May. Also, when I visited they were very accommodating to everyone, and we all had our interviews first, then we all went to the info session, and we all went on the tour. Nobody missed any part of the day.

Vandy's interview day was great for me (I had a morning interview). But several people missed at least part of the tour.

My letter doesn't say anything specific about ranking, just that more info will be given in May. I called them last week to find out more about the waitlist, and this is what the woman I talked to (Jennifer?) said.

 

[Dookter]

Are we talking about the same school, here? Vanderbilt - like in Nashville, TN? In my waitlist letter, it said the wl is ranked and they'll let me know my position in May. Also, when I visited they were very accommodating to everyone, and we all had our interviews first, then we all went to the info session, and we all went on the tour. Nobody missed any part of the day.

Yes, that Vanderbilt.

 

[tennisnr2]

I am so with you! I interviewed the first week or two of interviews in august and my interviewer didnt turn in her letter until, oh, MID-NOVEMBER. Then they sat on my application for another few weeks. Definitely withdrawing from the waitlist!

Ditto here. The same interviewer just sat there and didn't turn anything in for wildcat and I even though the interview was 3 months prior. Shouldn't reflect on the institution as a whole but I think it does. Soo unprofessional.

 

[lookslikerain]

well, i am pretty sure that there are three groups to the waitlist because i called them and was told that i am in the upper group. i did speak with the dean though and he actually offered to tell me...i wouldnt have the guts to ask him! he also told me that the only people taken off the waitlist are in the upper group but i don't know anything more than that...like how many other people are in this group or how they decide who to take off from this group.

so who is waitlisted at vandy and definitely going to keep their waitlist spot through the summer?? let's commiserate. maybe i should start a separate thread for that.

 

[lookslikerain]

However, they do have little waitlist movement I believe so really let them know your intent. I loved the school and was waitlisted and am withdrawing soon.

why do you say that? is it b/c of the small class size? i would think that most people accepted to Vanderbilt also have acceptances to other top 20s or top 10s and Nashville isn't as popular a place to live in as some other cities. so i'd expect them to have moderate to good waitlist movement, but i'm just speculating.

 

[Rgroov3]

well, i am pretty sure that there are three groups to the waitlist because i called them and was told that i am in the upper group. i did speak with the dean though and he actually offered to tell me...i wouldnt have the guts to ask him! he also told me that the only people taken off the waitlist are in the upper group but i don't know anything more than that...like how many other people are in this group or how they decide who to take off from this group.

so who is waitlisted at vandy and definitely going to keep their waitlist spot through the summer?? let's commiserate. maybe i should start a separate thread for that.

how did u get to speak with the dean? Can u make an appointment?

 

[Saluki]

I think the reason there might be little waitlist movement (if that is in fact true) is because they carefully select the people they accept. They give full tuition scholarships or even full tuition + stipend to lucky people they think are likely to go elsewhere and then accept others who are from the area and might choose it even over a similarly ranked school somewhere else. Of course, this is all just speculation, but there you go.
However, I'd just like to say that I'm against schools waitlisting everyone when they already know that they're not going to accept people from the lower tiers....

 

[EZMcFlo]

I forgot to mention that last week I spoke with the admissions office specifically about the ranking of the waitlist and asked if there was anything I could do to make sure I had a good ranking. The woman seemed to know what I was talking about and did not deny the fact that the waitlist is ranked. Why are they telling different people different things?

 

[Em1]

For those of you who were told there is no ranking of the wl... did they ask you for your name at any point before telling you that?

Seems from the above posts that they're telling the top 1/3 it's ranked but not other people...

 

[speranza]

nm

 

[speranza]

However, I'd just like to say that I'm against schools waitlisting everyone when they already know that they're not going to accept people from the lower tiers....

i agree

 

[ND2005]

For those of you who were told there is no ranking of the wl... did they ask you for your name at any point before telling you that?

Seems from the above posts that they're telling the top 1/3 it's ranked but not other people...

No. My convo was without any name or identification being given.

 

[lookslikerain]

Hmm, maybe only the dean will give out that information about the tiers. One of you should call and ask (or hint about it) and see if he'll tell you. Maybe you can also find out how many people are in the top tier. 😉

 

[lookslikerain]

Thought I'd bump this since there are a slew of diffrent school waitlist threads on SDN.

Who else is planning on staying on the Vanderbilt waitlist (if given the chance)??

 

[EZMcFlo]

Me! I'm staying, but hopefully only until May 15th. Then maybe they'll accept me instead. I don't have any acceptances yet, but Vanderbilt is my second choice (also waitlisted at my first).

 

[lookslikerain]

How come this thread always get buried? We need more excited (or anxious) Vandy waitlist folks! 😉

Okay, so I have a question. I've been reading all these waitlist threads where people got different versions of the same waitlist letter. So does Vandy do this too? I haven't ever heard anything about different versions for it, but now I'm worried that there might be. My letter is at home so I can't post it now. If anyone has theirs handy, can you please post the relevant parts of it?? I remember that mine did not have any reference to what part of the waitlist I was on, only that I would be notified in May about my standing on the list.

 

[Nosferatu]

Mine says the typical more qualified applicants than can accept stuff (almost sounds like a rejection in the 1st paragraph). Then 2nd paragraph says that my app will be kept active and reviewed again once the entire app pool has been considered. Then it says they will write me again in May to give me a better appreciation of my standing on the waitlist.
For the record, I spoke with Dawn Sharp in person a while back and she said that May 15th is when the committee will begin looking at information again and that they do not touch waitlisted apps before then.

 

[EZMcFlo]

Just so everyone knows, I spoke with admissions yesterday. They said as of now, the entering class is still overbooked. They don't rank the waitlist until after May 15th when they have a better idea of how many slots are open. They usually accept about 2 dozen students from the waitlist. There was no mention of whether they inform us of our rank once they decide, but from the initial waitlist letters, it sounds like they will let us know in some form. Good luck everyone!

 

[lookslikerain]

The class is still overbooked? That's not good news, although May 15th is still two weeks away...

I'm going to call them tomorrow to check on something so I'll see if I can find out anything else about the wl. 🙂

 

[ND2005]

The class is still overbooked? That's not good news, although May 15th is still two weeks away...

I wouldn't read too much into that. Erica (asst. admissions dir. at Emory) said on our interview day that their class is usually still overbooked on the 15th.

People are procrastinators...

 

[P-Bone]

wats the dillyo? no one be postin' today? i thought we wanted to go to vandy . . .

 

[Doko]

From Dean Helderman himself:

Says that Vanderbilt will not think about the Waitlist until about June 1st.

 

[lookslikerain]

From Dean Helderman himself:

Says that Vanderbilt will not think about the Waitlist until about June 1st.

are you kidding me?! what happened to looking at it right after may 15th? do you know why ... is it because the class is so overbooked?

great, even more waiting 🙁

 

[CaliPlease]

Maybe they just want to make sure they have all the final data on who exactly is committed so that they can have the right number of male/female students, northern/southern states students etc? Could it be an unranked=matched waitlist?

 

[ND2005]

are you kidding me?! what happened to looking at it right after may 15th? do you know why ... is it because the class is so overbooked?

great, even more waiting 🙁

I'm not sure what to make of this. Obviously things can change, but that doesn't jibe with what Helderman said a month or so ago, and it also isn't in keeping with the last couple of years of reported WL movement here on SDN (in past years Vandy has been calling peeps on the 17th and 16th).

But whatever...it's called a waitlist. And I'm prepared to wait.

 

[lookslikerain]

I'm not sure what to make of this. Obviously things can change, but that doesn't jibe with what Helderman said a month or so ago, and it also isn't in keeping with the last couple of years of reported WL movement here on SDN (in past years Vandy has been calling peeps on the 17th and 16th).

But whatever...it's called a waitlist. And I'm prepared to wait.

Yeah, it doesn't jibe with what I've heard several times from several different people in admissions. I'm calling them in a few days to see what's up. I'm prepared to wait as well, but the less waiting, the better. 😉

 

[lookslikerain]

Attn Vandy waitlist folks! I just talked to Dr. Sagen, head of admissions at Vandy, and she told me they will start to TAKE PEOPLE OFF the waitlist in 7 to 10 days!! I don't know if this overrides what a previous poster said about June 1, but that's what she just told me.

 

[ND2005]

Attn Vandy waitlist folks! I just talked to Dr. Sagen, head of admissions at Vandy, and she told me they will start to TAKE PEOPLE OFF the waitlist in 7 to 10 days!! I don't know if this overrides what a previous poster said about June 1, but that's what she just told me.

Coolio.

Thanks for the update.

Good luck!


edit: by the way...whenever I see this thread get bumped, I think someone got called off the list!

 

[ezmoney1]

Attn Vandy waitlist folks! I just talked to Dr. Sagen, head of admissions at Vandy, and she told me they will start to TAKE PEOPLE OFF the waitlist in 7 to 10 days!! I don't know if this overrides what a previous poster said about June 1, but that's what she just told me.

this will definately be the slowest 7 to 10 days of my life!

 

[dulop]

this will definately be the slowest 7 to 10 days of my life!

Hey everyone,

EXTREMELY excited, got the call this afternoon at around 5 PM, and I"M IN. It's my top choice so I'll be headed there in the fall. I was VERY surprised to hear so early as I was bracing myself for a summer's long wait and a slow grind into June/July. Either way, I wish all you luck, it really is an amazing school. Take care.

Dulop

 

[EZMcFlo]

Hey everyone,

EXTREMELY excited, got the call this afternoon at around 5 PM, and I"M IN. It's my top choice so I'll be headed there in the fall. I was VERY surprised to hear so early as I was bracing myself for a summer's long wait and a slow grind into June/July. Either way, I wish all you luck, it really is an amazing school. Take care.

Dulop

Man, I'm jealous. Congratulations! Vandy's my first choice, too, so I hope I get to accompany you in the fall!

 

[ND2005]

What is the deal with all the conflicting info from Vandy?

 

[lookslikerain]

I am so confused!! Why are people in admissions telling us all these different dates! Next week, June 1, and now someone's already gotten a call? What is going on?

Dulop, congratulations! God, I hope I get a call soon!

 

[ND2005]

I am so confused!! Why are people in admissions telling us all these different dates! Next week, June 1, and now someone's already gotten a call? What is going on?

Dulop, congratulations! God, I hope I get a call soon!

I 'll give 'em a call this afternoon and see if we can't get even more different info.

 

[dulop]

I 'll give 'em a call this afternoon and see if we can't get even more different info.

So i've gotten a few PM about my situation and how I got in. Helderman was the person who called me at around 5:10 PM or so yesterday. I interviewed in October of last year and waitlisted a month or so after. After my interview, I sent a letter of continued interest to the school restating my desire and certain features of the program that appealed to me. I then sent 2 update letters spaced about a month apart as well as a letter of intent stating I would matriculate if accepted, this was sent early May. Finally I had my boss at work send in a LOR on my behalf. My stats aren't stellar, about a 3.5 GPA and 34 MCAT but I did have a solid amount of clinical and research experience as well as other strong extracurriculars (service, RA, etc.). Any other questions, feel free to PM me. Best of luck to all.

Dulop

 

[ND2005]

So i've gotten a few PM about my situation and how I got in. Helderman was the person who called me at around 5:10 PM or so yesterday. I interviewed in October of last year and waitlisted a month or so after. After my interview, I sent a letter of continued interest to the school restating my desire and certain features of the program that appealed to me. I then sent 2 update letters spaced about a month apart as well as a letter of intent stating I would matriculate if accepted, this was sent early May. Finally I had my boss at work send in a LOR on my behalf. My stats aren't stellar, about a 3.5 GPA and 34 MCAT but I did have a solid amount of clinical and research experience as well as other strong extracurriculars (service, RA, etc.). Any other questions, feel free to PM me. Best of luck to all.

Dulop

Congrats...

I wasn't trying to doubt/question you.

I'm more confused by all the different things coming from the admissions office's direction (ie telling one person June 1 at earliest; telling someone else next week; when they are obviously already pulling some people)

 

[lookslikerain]

Congrats...

I wasn't trying to doubt/question you.

I'm more confused by all the different things coming from the admissions office's direction (ie telling one person June 1 at earliest; telling someone else next week; when they are obviously already pulling some people)

Exactly.

Perhaps Helderman has a select group of people he's calling in advance of June 1 (or whatever date) that are at the absolute top of the waitlist? That's the only thing I can think of.

 

[plainolerichie]

So i've gotten a few PM about my situation and how I got in. Helderman was the person who called me at around 5:10 PM or so yesterday. I interviewed in October of last year and waitlisted a month or so after. After my interview, I sent a letter of continued interest to the school restating my desire and certain features of the program that appealed to me. I then sent 2 update letters spaced about a month apart as well as a letter of intent stating I would matriculate if accepted, this was sent early May. Finally I had my boss at work send in a LOR on my behalf. My stats aren't stellar, about a 3.5 GPA and 34 MCAT but I did have a solid amount of clinical and research experience as well as other strong extracurriculars (service, RA, etc.). Any other questions, feel free to PM me. Best of luck to all.

Dulop

I am hoping Vandy accepts me too. I went there as an undergrad, awesome campus.

 

[Anabolic1]

I live in Nashville whoohoo lol

 

[dulop]

Congrats...

I wasn't trying to doubt/question you.

I'm more confused by all the different things coming from the admissions office's direction (ie telling one person June 1 at earliest; telling someone else next week; when they are obviously already pulling some people)

oh i know, i just randomly hit ur post to reply to, best of luck man.

 

[ND2005]

And...

I'm in!

See y'all in Nashville this fall!!!!!


Dr. Helderman said he has 5 invitations to give out today. Good luck everybody!

 

[dulop]

And...

I'm in!

See y'all in Nashville this fall!!!!!


Dr. Helderman said he has 5 invitations to give out today. Good luck everybody!

DUDE, THAT'S BADASS, congrats man. Looking forward to seeing you in the fall, although Vandy football can't touch ND.

 

[EZMcFlo]

Let me ask you this: How do you refrain from screaming "YES!" into the phone as if Dean Helderman has just asked you to marry him? I've been waiting for so long, I feel like I either won't be able to control my excitement, or will think it's one of my friends prank calling me and won't believe him. Oh, man, I just hope I get in.

 

[ND2005]

Let me ask you this: How do you refrain from screaming "YES!" into the phone as if Dean Helderman has just asked you to marry him? I've been waiting for so long, I feel like I either won't be able to control my excitement, or will think it's one of my friends prank calling me and won't believe him. Oh, man, I just hope I get in.

I debated going with the Jerry Maguire: "You had me at hello"