Waitlist advice to improve chances of acceptance

[SirCardiac]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Hi all, I am fortunate to hold multiple acceptances as of now but my top choice is one of my state schools where I did my undergrad. I was extremely disheartened to learn about my waitlist decision and now I am trying to do whatever I can to improve my chances of getting off the waitlist.

I recently contacted my undergrad PI and she told me that the paper that I am a co-author of is not ready for submission (pushed back month after month since last fall). However, she told me that there might be an abstract that I am a co-author of that is ready. How much weight will this hold since I have no record of publishing and just research hours?

My PI also asked me who she could contact to put in a good word for me. Since she already wrote me a recommendation letter, would this be considered unnecessary and desperate? If it helps, would the best person for her to contact be the dean?

 

[SirCardiac]

As does every student as each and every adcom know

Unless it has been formally accepted for publication, it is just something that you have prepared as anyone could



yes, unless your PI knows the dean and wants to make an informal call, it is not likely to help. At other end of this, while highly unlikely, a letter or call out of accepted process could be considered trying to unduly influence results. At most schools, this is highly unlikely to happen, though at a couple of schools, this has become such an issue, strict guidelines are in place to prevent or report these

Thank you for the advice, seems like it is in my best interest to just wait and hope for the best. As I try to formulate a LOI, I have heard mixed responses on how long these should be from half a page to a page. As a seasoned member, what is appropriate in this case?