Waitlist Advice!

[paeony]

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I have a couple acceptances that I'm really grateful for and am currently waitlisted at 1 school. I am also waiting to hear back from a few schools in March.

The school that I am waitlisted at and the schools that I am waiting to hear back from are all higher ranked/top 20 schools...I THINK I would go to one of them over the schools that I have acceptances at but I really don't know which one would be my top choice.

I was hoping that I could make the most of the second look weekends to get a better feel of the school, ask more questions to current students and talk to several Deans before deciding on a medical school.

If I get wait listed at the schools I am waiting to hear back from and I don't get the opportunity to go to the second look events, I'm not sure how I should decide which school to pursue aggressively. Was anyone in a similar situation or does someone have any advice on what I might consider when making the decision between wait listed schools? To my knowledge, these schools do not have ranked waitlists. These schools are private (so $ is not a major factor in the decision) and all located in the same city (geography not a major factor),,,,

 

[plumazul]

I have a couple acceptances that I'm really grateful for and am currently waitlisted at 1 school. I am also waiting to hear back from a few schools in March.

The school that I am waitlisted at and the schools that I am waiting to hear back from are all higher ranked/top 20 schools...I THINK I would go to one of them over the schools that I have acceptances at but I really don't know which one would be my top choice.

I was hoping that I could make the most of the second look weekends to get a better feel of the school, ask more questions to current students and talk to several Deans before deciding on a medical school.

If I get wait listed at the schools I am waiting to hear back from and I don't get the opportunity to go to the second look events, I'm not sure how I should decide which school to pursue aggressively. Was anyone in a similar situation or does someone have any advice on what I might consider when making the decision between wait listed schools? To my knowledge, these schools do not have ranked waitlists. These schools are private (so $ is not a major factor in the decision) and all located in the same city (geography not a major factor),,,,

On April 1st, schools that have you on WL will be able to see if you've been accepted anywhere. If you have acceptances this may affect your chances of getting off a WL.(what I was told by several adcom members)

btw, congrats on the acceptances.

 

[music2doc]

On April 1st, schools that have you on WL will be able to see if you've been accepted anywhere. If you have acceptances this may affect your chances of getting off a WL.(what I was told by several adcom members)

btw, congrats on the acceptances.

In a positive or negative way?

I could see it going both ways -- acceptances obviously show you're a desirable candidate so it could make you more desirable, but it also shows you have other options, so they might decline to make an offer for fear of rejection....

 

[MT Headed]

On April 1st, schools that have you on WL will be able to see if you've been accepted anywhere. If you have acceptances this may affect your chances of getting off a WL.(what I was told by several adcom members)

So should an applicant decline acceptances now, in order to improve the chances of getting off of a more desirable waitlist?

 

[Finches]

So should an applicant decline acceptances now, in order to improve the chances of getting off of a more desirable waitlist?

I've never heard what plumazul is saying about your WL chances being altered by the number of acceptances you have, and like music2doc said, it could swing both ways.

Personally, I'd never take such a risk based on someone's sdn post.

 

[music2doc]

I've never heard what plumazul is saying about your WL chances being altered by the number of acceptances you have, and like music2doc said, it could swing both ways.

Personally, I'd never take such a risk based on someone's sdn post.

Neither would I.

I do know that at least one highly competitive school is said to find applicants with multiple acceptances "highly desirable," which makes me think that at least for them being informed of your several acceptances would be a big 👍👍👍... but I'd guess it might go the opposite way for weaker schools.

 

[MT Headed]

Neither would I.

I do know that at least one highly competitive school is said to find applicants with multiple acceptances "highly desirable," which makes me think that at least for them being informed of your several acceptances would be a big 👍👍👍... but I'd guess it might go the opposite way for weaker schools.

Oh. In that case, does anybody know if it is possible to rescind a recently withdrawn acceptance to a medical school?

 

[EBTrailRunner]

Oh. In that case, does anybody know if it is possible to rescind a recently withdrawn acceptance to a medical school?

Yeah, send a follow-up email with a subject line reading, "You got punked!"

 

[nuance]

So should an applicant decline acceptances now, in order to improve the chances of getting off of a more desirable waitlist?

I think the best idea would be to send a letter of intent to the waitlisting school, but still hold on to the other acceptances until they get a final decision.

Semi related: I have heard (from adcom members at an MD school) that they felt "less bad" about rejecting applicants post-interview that told interviewers that they already had acceptances elsewhere. I am pretty sure that these applicants would have been rejected anyways, but I didn't want to ask for any more details. I don't think this is a reason to lie about being accepted at other schools, though.

 

[wanderer]

On April 1st, schools that have you on WL will be able to see if you've been accepted anywhere. If you have acceptances this may affect your chances of getting off a WL.(what I was told by several adcom members)

btw, congrats on the acceptances.

So a school is less likely to accept you because a less desirable school has already accepted you? I don't buy it. Adcoms say a lot of things.

I doubt it affects your chances.