Wait List Woes

[jlm1009]

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I recently received a phone call from the DCT of a PsyD program that is near the top of my list to inform me that I am near the top of the waitlist after my interview. He also asked me where their school was in my decision process. I answered him honestly and told him that this program is my top choice. He also told me to call back if I was facing a decision about accepting another offer. Is this a good sign for possibly being accepted off the waitlist?

 

[rerope]

It may or may not be. The best question to ask would be how often people have gotten in off the waitlist in the past. Though I wouldn't just ask that question and would wait until I have another offer to raise it. I was waitlisted at 4 places (the general consensus is that this year was a bad year to be an applicant) post-interview but was finally accepted off one and may be accepted off the other so its possible especially as we get closer to mid-march and more of the applicants who interviewed earlier are finalizing their decisions.

 

[psych.meout]

the general consensus is that this year was a bad year to be an applicant

Huh, how so?

 

[jlm1009]

It may or may not be. The best question to ask would be how often people have gotten in off the waitlist in the past. Though I wouldn't just ask that question and would wait until I have another offer to raise it. I was waitlisted at 4 places (the general consensus is that this year was a bad year to be an applicant) post-interview but was finally accepted off one and may be accepted off the other so its possible especially as we get closer to mid-march and more of the applicants who interviewed earlier are finalizing their decisions.

I've already been accepted to one school, it's just not necessarily my first choice.

 

[metta.cognition]

Huh, how so?

A couple of emails from faculty telling me about my waitlist status seemed to contain extra emphasis on how competitive the pool was this year. Another message board has applicants saying they heard similar things from their POIs. When I interviewed at one program in an arguably "undesirable" location, I heard murmurs among the current students that their program had topped the 200 application mark for the first time.

All anecdotal, but I was a nervous applicant myself this round, so I'm biased.

Anyone got any "I SURVIVED THE CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY APPLICATION ROUND OF 2017-2018" t-shirts? I'll take one.

 

[rerope]

I've already been accepted to one school, it's just not necessarily my first choice.

Even better. You can politely use it as a bargaining chip when following up (a good time frame would be in a week or so) and just emphasize that you'll hold that offer till you can hear back. What may happen is that they could a) tell you to keep holding it if there's a good chance of you getting off the waitlist or b) tell you to go ahead and accept because at that point they have a pretty good idea of who their cohort will be comprised of.

 

[rerope]

A couple of emails from faculty telling me about my waitlist status seemed to contain extra emphasis on how competitive the pool was this year. Another message board has applicants saying they heard similar things from their POIs. When I interviewed at one program in an arguably "undesirable" location, I heard murmurs among the current students that their program had topped the 200 application mark for the first time.

All anecdotal, but I was a nervous applicant myself this round, so I'm biased.

Anyone got any "I SURVIVED THE CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY APPLICATION ROUND OF 2017-2018" t-shirts? I'll take one.

Huh, how so?

Ditto. I've even heard this from professors not directly in the admissions process. Also many of the schools I applied to emphasized the ridiculous amount of applicants they got this year (one POI flat out stated she was shocked that she got 250+ just for the one spot in her lab). I know the number of applicants probably rises each year but this cycle seemed to be a bit of an anomaly.