Maybe I am missing something here, but can anyone explain how waitlist movement occurs after May 15th? If everyone has already narrowed their list down to one acceptance, what would cause them to withdraw at a particular school for that school to have to pick up someone from the waitlist? It just seems to me that if you are on a waitlist, and you haven't heard anything within the first few days following May 15th, then you should start looking at the next cycle. Can someone correct me if I am right?
Waitlist Movement After May 15th
- Thread starter WiseGuy1
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Let's say you have one acceptance and three waitlists today. You get an offer from each of those three places tomorrow. You have two weeks to decide which one you want to go to. Then you withdraw from your one previous acceptance and take one of the waitlists (in two weeks). That opens up the one you withdrew from, and the two waitlist acceptances that you didn't take. Then they move on to another student in the same situation.... etc.
That's how I see it at least. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
That's how I see it at least. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
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Well you have to remember that not everyone on a waitlist has no acceptances, so a waitlist acceptance isn't necessarily the end of the waitlist movement chain. For example, say that Person 1 had narrowed their acceptances down to School A on May 15, but then the following week they get into School B off of the waitlist and are given a week or two to make a decision; after a week, they choose School B. Then School A might contact Person 2, who happens to already be accepted at School C, and THEY get a week or two to make a decision. This whole process may go through several iterations before that spot that opened up at the top of the chain finally trickles down to someone with zero acceptances; I've heard of people getting in as late as one day before orientation.
However, as far as next cycle goes, you absolutely should be looking at the next cycle if you're sitting on no acceptences; in fact, honestly, you should've been looking at that for a while now...
Good luck in the waitlist game, though!
However, as far as next cycle goes, you absolutely should be looking at the next cycle if you're sitting on no acceptences; in fact, honestly, you should've been looking at that for a while now...
Good luck in the waitlist game, though!
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Just to echo a few others on here, waitlist movement is highly variable, and an actual spot for someone with no previous acceptances may or may not open up fairly soon. It really just depends.
FWIW, I have a friend at my school who got in off the waitlist (with no previous acceptances) in late June last year. He just finished his first year with all high passes/honors. Meanwhile there are people who interviewed the first couple of weeks my school offered interviews that are just getting by with "passes". I know this is just silly anecdotal stuff, but hopefully no one thinks that just because they "barely" got into a school they'll compare unfavorably to their future classmates.
FWIW, I have a friend at my school who got in off the waitlist (with no previous acceptances) in late June last year. He just finished his first year with all high passes/honors. Meanwhile there are people who interviewed the first couple of weeks my school offered interviews that are just getting by with "passes". I know this is just silly anecdotal stuff, but hopefully no one thinks that just because they "barely" got into a school they'll compare unfavorably to their future classmates.
