Waitlist Support Group 2017-2018

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amerepedestrian said:
I would also like to know if there are any specifics you think should be avoided. I wrote a fairly long letter of intent but expressed the intent portion in the first paragraph in case they were primarily interested in that (stating I know how busy they must be, and I’ve included the main point in bold letters for their convenience.) The rest of the time I spent expressing specific reasons I felt connected to the program and perceived a strong degree of “fit,” and I weaved that into an update about what I’ve been learning about healthcare at my current internship. Wondering if the length may have caused groans regardless of the quality of content. Thank you for your time!
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I think its generally best to keep it to one page
 
amerepedestrian said:
I would also like to know if there are any specifics you think should be avoided. I wrote a fairly long letter of intent but expressed the intent portion in the first paragraph in case they were primarily interested in that (stating I know how busy they must be, and I’ve included the main point in bold letters for their convenience.) The rest of the time I spent expressing specific reasons I felt connected to the program and perceived a strong degree of “fit,” and I weaved that into an update about what I’ve been learning about healthcare at my current internship. Wondering if the length may have caused groans regardless of the quality of content. Thank you for your time!
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I recommend against long letters of this type.
I do not recommend adding cartoons or links to you singing the school's fight song, wearing their jersey etc.
 
medschoolzombie said:
Not sure how accurate this is but I keep hearing that a ranked waitlist isn’t really a ranked waitlist as in you don’t really get off based on rank. Schools want to keep demographics constant so if someone else with those demographics gives up their spot and you’re in the general area on the list then you have a good chance
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I don't know about other schools with ranked waitlists, but Iowa gives acceptances according to rank. They are also kind enough to be transparent about the whole process: applicants who are put on the waitlist are given their ranking number on their application portal, which changes over time as other applicants ahead of them on the list withdraw, and the applicant can see how their current ranking changes over time (as opposed to their initial ranking) on their portal.
 
nontradcns said:
I don't know about other schools with ranked waitlists, but Iowa gives acceptances according to rank. They are also kind enough to be transparent about the whole process: applicants who are put on the waitlist are given their ranking number on their application portal, which changes over time as other applicants ahead of them on the list withdraw, and the applicant can see how their current ranking changes over time (as opposed to their initial ranking) on their portal.
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Why cant all schools have this system? I feel like the whole waitlist process would be less erratic
 
Ohiogirl said:
Why cant all schools have this system? I feel like the whole waitlist process would be less erratic
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Try to enjoy this year. Next year will be a whole lot more erratic.
 
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acceptmeplease.com said:
So as Im reading this thread, it seems that a lot of schools still haven't begun waitlist movement yet? So there is a chance? Lol
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I don’t know if begin is the right word to describe our situation. For some reason, it seems like less people are being taken off the list as a whole compared to this time in previous years. It could just be that the people being taken off aren’t on here or that schools really haven’t been sending them out. It could be that aamc meeting during the week of traffic day. I think there’s still a chance for all of us to get in somewhere!
 
gyngyn said:
Try to enjoy this year. Next year will be a whole lot more erratic.
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Do you think with these new rules some schools may be tweaking with their waitlist processes as a "test" this year to see what works best to minimize the chaos of next year? Just curious, I assume probably not but still wondering. I know if they have a ranked list they cant deviate from it but other than that I'm not sure
 
boogiecousins94 said:
Do you think with these new rules some schools may be tweaking with their waitlist processes as a "test" this year to see what works best to minimize the chaos of next year? Just curious, I assume probably not but still wondering
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No. We didn't find out until it was too late.
 
medschoolzombie said:
Do you see/think waitlist movement is going more slowly/kinda nonexistent when compared to previous years or is that just part of our neuroticism at this point? @gyngyn
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I think we should at least wait for this coming week to end before we can really say waitlist movement was less this year.
 
Ohiogirl said:
Why cant all schools have this system? I feel like the whole waitlist process would be less erratic
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A lot of Texas MD schools have unranked waitlists because they want to retain the diversity of their class. If a URM female drops, they want to bring in a URM female off the waitlist. If an older PhD applicants drops, they want to bring in an older PhD applicant off the waitlist. With a pre-determined rank, you can't really predict who leaves your school to attend another school.
 
Does anyone know anything about the Penn State waitlist?
 
brachialplexus said:
A lot of Texas MD schools have unranked waitlists because they want to retain the diversity of their class. If a URM female drops, they want to bring in a URM female off the waitlist. If an older PhD applicants drops, they want to bring in an older PhD applicant off the waitlist. With a pre-determined rank, you can't really predict who leaves your school to attend another school.
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From reading a couple of school threads, it seems like this does happen even with ranked WL too
 
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medschoolzombie said:
From reading a couple of school threads, it seems like this does happen even with ranked WL too
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Minus a few, I would assume the majority of schools with ranked waitlist would have a similar system to LizzyM’s stairs analogy. Multiple people can have the same rank aka being on the same step.
 
So realistically we're waiting for people to just drop off the medicine train? cuz everyone only has one acceptance right now right?
 
dr.dareyou said:
So realistically we're waiting for people to just drop off the medicine train? cuz everyone only has one acceptance right now right?
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We're basically waiting for people to accept a different WL position, which would (hopefully) open up a spot at the school we want.
 
dr.dareyou said:
So realistically we're waiting for people to just drop off the medicine train? cuz everyone only has one acceptance right now right?
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I think we're actually waiting for people with acceptance to drop off the waitlist train. There's people who already have an acceptance and are also getting off WL right now so they get around 2 weeks I think to decide which acceptance they want to keep. So in a way, we're back in the same situation we were in pre-May
 
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SCN1a said:
I’ve just started studying for the MCAT again and it’s a seven month ordeal that I’m really unable to fathom at the moment.
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Who here is planning on applying right away vs take the MCAT and apply for 2019-2020 cycle??

I'm debating since I am afraid I am getting quite old these days.. need words of advice
 
mustbanyas said:
Who here is planning on applying right away vs take the MCAT and apply for 2019-2020 cycle??

I'm debating since I am afraid I am getting quite old these days.. need words of advice
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I’ll be in my 30’s if I apply again. I’ll have to work and study for the MCAT but I know this is what I want to do so I’m going to do what I can to make it happen at least one more time.
 
MooberGoober said:
I keep telling myself next week, but I'm starting to lose hope at this point.
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I woke up at 4am today feeling pumped, got a good run, went to school telling myself "today (or this week) is the day I will see some movement at my WLed school" and as the day progressed and I checked SDN and the portal more and more often, I felt like a weigh on my shoulders and had less and less energy (in hindsight might have been from food coma from lunch lol, but well)

Moral of the story: avoid checking portal and try to keep busy and productive/ try not to stuff myself to death
 
SCN1a said:
I’ll be in my 30’s if I apply again. I’ll have to work and study for the MCAT but I know this is what I want to do so I’m going to do what I can to make it happen at least one more time.
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I just saw your thread on reapplying and you do have a mind blowing application! I am rooting for you this cycle!

As for myself, I am leaning towards taking this year off to do research and service and applying June 2019. I had no luck with interview invites except for one, which is alarming that applying again in like 2 weeks won't change things drastically.
 
@gyngyn I am on the waitlist at one school. I am retaking the MCAT Friday. I have been scoring 5 points higher on the AAMC practice MCAT tests. Should I apply June 1st with my old score and have an incomplete application? I will check that I am waiting for new scores. Or, should I wait until June 20th to apply with my higher score?
 
houstonhandle said:
@gyngyn I am on the waitlist at one school. I am retaking the MCAT Friday. I have been scoring 5 points higher on the AAMC practice MCAT tests. Should I apply June 1st with my old score and have an incomplete application because I will check that I am waiting for new scores, or should I wait until June 20th to apply with my higher score?
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The quality of your primary application will determine your outcome. No school is under any obligation to wait for your new MCAT score before screening your application. Updates are a shot in the dark unless you are a resident of a very lucky state (like WV or MS).
 
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houstonhandle said:
@gyngyn I am on the waitlist at one school. I am retaking the MCAT Friday. I have been scoring 5 points higher on the AAMC practice MCAT tests. Should I apply June 1st with my old score and have an incomplete application? I will check that I am waiting for new scores. Or, should I wait until June 20th to apply with my higher score?
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I believe I heard a few people submitted their application day one, but only to one or two schools. Once they got their newest MCAT score, they added the rest of the schools and since their application was already processed, it's faster than waiting to hit submit on June 20th. Not sure as I didn't go that route, but possibly something to look into?
 
Squeaks said:
I believe I heard a few people submitted their application day one, but only to one or two schools. Once they got their newest MCAT score, they added the rest of the schools and since their application was already processed, it's faster than waiting to hit submit on June 20th. Not sure as I didn't go that route, but possibly something to look into?
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I can't recommend more than a single "throwaway" school for this tactic. It can work if the only deficit were the MCAT score.
 
Squeaks said:
I believe I heard a few people submitted their application day one, but only to one or two schools. Once they got their newest MCAT score, they added the rest of the schools and since their application was already processed, it's faster than waiting to hit submit on June 20th. Not sure as I didn't go that route, but possibly something to look into?
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Thank you!
 
gyngyn said:
The quality of your primary application will determine your outcome. No school is under any obligation to wait for your new MCAT score before screening your application. Updates are a shot in the dark unless you are a resident of a very lucky state (like WV or MS).
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Thank you. Just saw this.
 
Finally got accepted today off the waitlist as a re-applicant! To those without acceptances, stay strong! I promise you will have such an appreciation for this process no matter how long it takes you to finally get that email/call. In the mean time, good luck to all for this cycle! I’ll be pulling for all of you!
 
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warriorsmlb said:
Finally got accepted today off the waitlist as a result-applicant! To those without acceptances, stay strong! I promise you will have such an appreciation for this process no matter how long it takes you to finally get that email/call. In the mean time, good luck to all for this cycle! I’ll be pulling for all of you!
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Which school?
 
Halfway through May already, and I promised myself I was dropping off the waitlist at the end of May 😕 Got a lease to sign and moving plans to make for my current school.....

I hate this process and honestly can't wait for it to end. I feel so torn with this whole waitlist thing; I'll be happy when it's over, either way.
 
I really just wanna hear back soon because my partner is planning on moving with me wherever I go or moving down here if I have to take another gap year. I dont wanna sign a lease and then happen to get accepted because breaking a lease is expensive. Plus he needs to find a job before he moves anywhere. Come thruuu schools. We have planning to do!
 
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