Waitlist questions

[ob_dc22]

I was recently added to an MD waitlist and I'm not sure what the next steps are. I plan on sending out an update letter that discusses my research and volunteer projects. I work full-time in a lab and also part-time as a tutor. I thought the interview went well, but the glaring weak points of my application are my undergraduate GPA (several F's several years ago) as well as my clinical experience.

Do I assume that is why I am on the waitlist and try to make up by these deficits by trying to find something clinical to do when I'm not working? Will taking upper level science classes improve my chances at all? Is it not advised to reach out to the schools and ask them areas I can improve to improve my chances of gaining admittance?

Thanks in advance for any help/advice. I'll be much more at ease once I have a set plan for how to approach the coming months.

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[Blueprint Med School]

There's no specific reason you're on the waitlist- as I believed LizzyM described it, a medical acceptance can be thought of as reaching the top of a ladder- your application will bring you to a certain threshold on the ladder, at which point you receive an interview, and then the interview is what will bring you to the top of the ladder. Those with fantastic applications will naturally be higher on that ladder and may only need a sub-par interview for an A, while those with fringe applications may need a stellar interview for the A.

You're on the waitlist because your combined application and interview were not enough (yet) to receive and acceptance from said school. If there's an obvious deficit somewhere, then improving in that area will absolutely help your application. With that being said, many schools have strict policies where once they create their ranked waitlist, they don't change it. Taking upper level science classes and clinical experiences might help you if you have to reapply, but will realistically do very little for this cycle.

As for contacting the adcom, many on SDN will say that this will do nothing for you, and chances are they're right. I don't say it myself because I did just that when I was on the waitlist of the medical school I now attend.

Kevin W, MCAT Tutor
Med School Tutors

 

[ob_dc22]

There's no specific reason you're on the waitlist- as I believed LizzyM described it, a medical acceptance can be thought of as reaching the top of a ladder- your application will bring you to a certain threshold on the ladder, at which point you receive an interview, and then the interview is what will bring you to the top of the ladder. Those with fantastic applications will naturally be higher on that ladder and may only need a sub-par interview for an A, while those with fringe applications may need a stellar interview for the A.

You're on the waitlist because your combined application and interview were not enough (yet) to receive and acceptance from said school. If there's an obvious deficit somewhere, then improving in that area will absolutely help your application. With that being said, many schools have strict policies where once they create their ranked waitlist, they don't change it. Taking upper level science classes and clinical experiences might help you if you have to reapply, but will realistically do very little for this cycle.

As for contacting the adcom, many on SDN will say that this will do nothing for you, and chances are they're right. I don't say it myself because I did just that when I was on the waitlist of the medical school I now attend.

Kevin W, MCAT Tutor
Med School Tutors

Thank you for the thorough response!