Waitlisted at Pitt

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A lot of schools don't disclose waitlist position....I really don't think it's worth reading into. I just don't see why any school would tie themselves to a position commitment. Plus if they did disclose a specific position and someone you know is ahead of you.....well, just think of the skyrocketing premed homicide rate.
 
yeah i agree. i think if they did disclose rankings, the admissions office would be even more cluttered with stuff from candidates who are trying to move up spots, rather than ppl that would be genuinely enthusiastic about the school regardless.
 
Well, I just had a rather sobering meeting with Beth Piraino. She noted that they received 5400 applications, and that my raw numbers (3.24 QPA, 32T MCAT) were probably going to be too much of a hurdle for me to overcome the waitlist despite the rest of my application. She anticipates this being a larger hurdle for the next application cycle, as she noted that they are looking to reduce the number of students they invite for an interview (<1000 anticipated invites for 2008, down from ~1200 (~540 were waitlisted this cycle), as they are looking to up Pitt's ranking). I left her a copy of my CV for my file, but she doesn't anticipate accepting more than a few more people off of the waitlist (barring extreme cases of someone getting in off of the waitlist at a higher ranked school). Additionally, she recommended retaking the MCAT. Woof.
 
Quix said:
Well, I just had a rather sobering meeting with Beth Piraino. She noted that they received 5400 applications, and that my raw numbers (3.24 QPA, 32T MCAT) were probably going to be too much of a hurdle for me to overcome the waitlist despite the rest of my application. She anticipates this being a larger hurdle for the next application cycle, as she noted that they are looking to reduce the number of students they invite for an interview (<1000 anticipated invites for 2008, down from ~1200 (~540 were waitlisted this cycle), as they are looking to up Pitt's ranking). I left her a copy of my CV for my file, but she doesn't anticipate accepting more than a few more people off of the waitlist (barring extreme cases of someone getting in off of the waitlist at a higher ranked school). Additionally, she recommended retaking the MCAT. Woof.
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Wow, that IS sobering >). I would be really hesitant to retake the MCAT; a 32 is a good score, and if you did score lower you would REALLY hurt your chances at any school that wants it to be a little higher. One thing you should consider is that she kind of had to tell you something...she couldn't just say "reapply next year." You can't really change your GPA, and if you have good EC's, well, that only leaves the MCAT. I think it's good that they're cutting their interview and maybe waitlist pools down; that could save a lot of people money (interview traveling), stress, and anxiety. It really is better to know you're not getting in than to wonder until the last possible second. At least now we know...our stats are pretty similar >). On the reverse side, if we do get interviews/waitlisted next year, we can take that as a better sign than it was this year. But in the end...I guess this means we need to still hope for Pitt, but maybe concentrate on other schools.
 
I'm applying again regardless - this wouldn't be the first time I've fought a losing battle. I'm applying early this time, and I've done a lot since then that wasn't included in my first AMCAS (1 publication --> 7 publications; PI for two studies; changed other ECs (different presentations), etc.). I can be woefully idealistic for one more cycle. 😉

EDIT:

I'm way too tied to Pittsburgh to give up after one cycle. My family is here, I've got lifelong friends here, I'm tied into the hospital network, I coach at a local high school, etc., etc. They're not rejecting me without a fight.
 
Quix said:
Well, I just had a rather sobering meeting with Beth Piraino. She noted that they received 5400 applications, and that my raw numbers (3.24 QPA, 32T MCAT) were probably going to be too much of a hurdle for me to overcome the waitlist despite the rest of my application. She anticipates this being a larger hurdle for the next application cycle, as she noted that they are looking to reduce the number of students they invite for an interview (<1000 anticipated invites for 2008, down from ~1200 (~540 were waitlisted this cycle), as they are looking to up Pitt's ranking). I left her a copy of my CV for my file, but she doesn't anticipate accepting more than a few more people off of the waitlist (barring extreme cases of someone getting in off of the waitlist at a higher ranked school). Additionally, she recommended retaking the MCAT. Woof.
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Wow. Though I guess I'm not that surprised at her honesty. She was my faculty interviewer, and she didn't seem like the sugar-coating type. At least you know more about your waitlist position now so that you can prepare for next cycle. Good luck to you! I really hope you get into Pitt soon! 🙂
 
y8507 said:
Wow. Though I guess I'm not that surprised at her honesty. She was my faculty interviewer, and she didn't seem like the sugar-coating type. At least you know more about your waitlist position now so that you can prepare for next cycle. Good luck to you! I really hope you get into Pitt soon! 🙂
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Thanks, I appreciate it. 🙂

I found a line in the book The Company that I think sums it up nicely. It's a toast:

"Here's to the success of our hopeless task!"
 
540 seems very high to me for a wait list, especially for Pitt. Given Pitt's caliber, they don't need a wait list 3X their class size (that is on top of the offers already made) to assure their seats get filled. I know many schools ranked lower only need to make total offers (including offering people off of their wait lists) the size of 2X class size to eventually fill all seats.

I don't think Pitt goes strictly with people's rankings on wait list, if they just call people down the rankings, there is no need for 540. I think their admission selection process continues during this wait list stage, maybe rankings are just used as references.

Thanks Quix for the info. I am sure I am one of many now that have one less thing to worry about.
 
bump...any word recently? Should I now lose all hope of going to medical school this year.. The facebook group has been growing over the past couple weeks. I can only hope it's from ppl who got in a long time ago rather than recently. Yeah I know, this is pathetic.
 
ultima said:
bump...any word recently? Should I now lose all hope of going to medical school this year.. The facebook group has been growing over the past couple weeks. I can only hope it's from ppl who got in a long time ago rather than recently. Yeah I know, this is pathetic.
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haha, i normally don't respond to anything, but i found this funny, so i guess i'll respond. i got in way back, and i just joined the facebook group recently. so no worries! 😎
 
would any of you feel comfortable posting your MCAT/GPAs? I am applying to Pitt next year and i am wondering what kind of stats it takes to even get waitlisted as i've heard they follow that whole MCAT + GPA*10 formula...i'd understand if none of you want to though as you are all sort of competing against one another! if not, can any of you attest to the fact that the "magic number" for the formula is 70?? haha

and good luck to ALL of you!!
 
I'm not sure if this post belongs in this thread.

Anyway, I've been on the waitlist and it doesn't look like i'm gonna get off of it.

I honestly think they had an automatic interview cut off this year at about 70. I had a 3.65 and a 35, but a really late interview at the end of January. I really wanted to go to pitt, but at least I'll be heading somewhere in the fall. best of luck to you.
 
benzene21 said:
would any of you feel comfortable posting your MCAT/GPAs? I am applying to Pitt next year and i am wondering what kind of stats it takes to even get waitlisted as i've heard they follow that whole MCAT + GPA*10 formula...i'd understand if none of you want to though as you are all sort of competing against one another! if not, can any of you attest to the fact that the "magic number" for the formula is 70?? haha

and good luck to ALL of you!!
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i don't necessarily agree with the 70+ "rule" in this case. i had <70 and i was invited for an interview back in august. i got waitlisted. but it does seem like next year they're going to be more stingy with the interviews and wait lists (if you read Quix's post, you'll know what I mean). Best of luck. 🙂
 
I'm still waiting with a ~3.6 and 38 from a top 10 school. I applied kind of late, and my faculty interview didn't go spectacularly. I'm still crossing my fingers because I think Pitt's waitlist is just moving rather slowly this cycle. I wouldn't be surprised to to hear something in July or even August. In the meantime, I'm looking into other options... Let's hope we hear something from someone soon!
 
Thanks for the feedback and I apologize if my post was out of place in this thread; i wasn't sure how else to contact people who'd applied to Pitt. I just wondered if i should even bother applying if i was below the magic number. haha.

Good luck to everybody...whether you'll be attending Pitt or not. And Quix, i hope you'll get in this time. I too feel very tied to Pittsburgh and it will be difficult to think of going anywhere else. GOOD LUCK!!
 
I'm also still waiting with a 3.83 and a 33 on the MCAT, and I just graduated from Pitt. My interview was at the end of January however, but both the student and faculty interviews went really, really well so I was hoping for the best. A few of my friends got interviews with 27's and 28's on the MCAT so it looks like this cycle they most likely didn't use the 70+ calculation method to grant interviews. I absolutely fell in love with the school and the area since I've been here so I'm anxiously hoping the waitlist will keep moving! Good luck to everyone and hail to Pitt 😀
 
3.8 and 35S here, interviewed 1 Dec, waitlisted, and certain I won't get off it. There's way more to admissions than your statistics! I felt like they interviewed anyone with a decent number (remember that ridiculous secondary-to-interview-invitation? No way they went through more than your numbers!) and then cherry-picked the ones with solid ECs and clinical exposure, of which I had little.
 
What's the difference b/w a QPA and a GPA?

Quix-- I'm in the same boat... with surprisingly same MCAT: 32T
I thought about retaking... I can't believe Dr. Piraino has changed the game so much... sounds much more run by the numbers than the find-quality-doctors school I though Pitt was.
 
Having just graduated from Pitt, I have to disagree with the last post. Dr. Piraino has not changed the game that much. There were always numbers involved in the application cycle. The truth is that elevating MCAT/GPA scores for selection is a much more top down directive than simply something Beth Piraino decided was a good idea. The other sad truth is that at schools like Pitt, they are in a have their cake and eat it too position when it comes to selecting candidates in that they can get people with great numbers who will also be "quality-doctors." One definetly doesn't preclude the other and while many people with lower numbers want someone to "take a chance on them" you really have to have extraordinary accomplishments/circumstances to get good schools to look at you. I personally think it sucks because american medical education is turning away a lot of great people who would be great docs. good luck to everyone on the waitlist and everyone who is reapplying. Pitt is a great place and I hope the people that really want to go there get a chance.
 
How much have the stats risen for entrance to Pitt? According to my MSAR, they accept an average of a 33 MCAT and a 3.7 GPA, which I think is on the lower end for most schools in their ranking. So my impression was that they seem to look at more than just numbers.
 
Like other top schools, Pitt has the ability to select candidates who are very competitive both academically, extracurricularly, and personally. MCAT scores in particular provide a good measure of performance in medical school, which is topic that has been beaten to death in other threads. It only makes sense to select initially from those high-scoring candidates who would also be very capable and talented physicians based on their other experiences. This is not to say that other lower-scoring candidates should not be doctors or would not be great physicians. It just means they would be less likely to be accepted at a top-ranked school.
 
One definetly doesn't preclude the other and while many people with lower numbers want someone to "take a chance on them" you really have to have extraordinary accomplishments/circumstances to get good schools to look at you.

And this, I think, is inherently problematic - we all probably think that we have extraordinary accomplishments/circumstances. 😉
 
Just shot an e-mail over to Dr. Piraino, and she actually had a pretty positive response. She did repeat the slow waitlist movement thing again, but said that it would be 'entirely possible' that I would be hearing from her in a few weeks, and that she does expect a few more withdrawls. She said to e-mail her back in a week, so when I know more info, I'll pass it along.

For reference, with a 3.85 and 38Q, I have not gotten in anywhere yet, and I'm only sitting on two waitlists: here and WashU. UPitt's my first choice, but at this point, I just don't want to repeat the process over again.

There may still be some hope yet, for all of us!
 
Chu, I'm surprised you havn't gotten anywhere with UMD. I'm assuming you're a resident.
 
Chu020 said:
Just shot an e-mail over to Dr. Piraino, and she actually had a pretty positive response. She did repeat the slow waitlist movement thing again, but said that it would be 'entirely possible' that I would be hearing from her in a few weeks, and that she does expect a few more withdrawls. She said to e-mail her back in a week, so when I know more info, I'll pass it along.

For reference, with a 3.85 and 38Q, I have not gotten in anywhere yet, and I'm only sitting on two waitlists: here and WashU. UPitt's my first choice, but at this point, I just don't want to repeat the process over again.

There may still be some hope yet, for all of us!
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Looking at your mdapp, I scratch my head and wonder how you did not get in anywhere...the only possible thing I see is you did not apply very broadly in terms of competitiveness...did you apply late? Or did you have some deficiency not reflected in your numbers?

Man, your example is very sobering...
 
Actually, I asked Dr. Piraino about that in the e-mail I sent her, and she said that the only reason that I hadn't been accepted yet was because I completed my app/interviewed late. To be honest, I sent out the primary at the beginning of september and a lot of the secondaries right before their respective deadlines. I think I was a little overconfident.

You're absolutely right about the schools I applied to. I couldn't get an interview at any of the lower-ranked schools I applied to because they all must have figured that there was no way I'd go to them if I got into any of the upper-ranked ones, which there were far more of on my list. Oh well, if I don't get in this time, I have a good idea of what went wrong this time.

I keep trying to tell everyone not to freak out over my example, because it really was my own fault. I really shot myself in the foot on this one, but at least it's comforting to know that I shouldn't get too worried if I have to reapply.

Oh, and I'm an MA resident, so I did get the interview at UMass, but not UMD.
 
Good advice, but a 38 is much higher than most of us sitting around 30-35. Even the difference between a 35 and a 38 is pretty sizable in this range. Heck, you're only 7 points from a statistically perfect score, and Pitt seems to really care about MCAT/GPA.
 
Chu020 said:
Actually, I asked Dr. Piraino about that in the e-mail I sent her, and she said that the only reason that I hadn't been accepted yet was because I completed my app/interviewed late. To be honest, I sent out the primary at the beginning of september and a lot of the secondaries right before their respective deadlines. I think I was a little overconfident.

You're absolutely right about the schools I applied to. I couldn't get an interview at any of the lower-ranked schools I applied to because they all must have figured that there was no way I'd go to them if I got into any of the upper-ranked ones, which there were far more of on my list. Oh well, if I don't get in this time, I have a good idea of what went wrong this time.

I keep trying to tell everyone not to freak out over my example, because it really was my own fault. I really shot myself in the foot on this one, but at least it's comforting to know that I shouldn't get too worried if I have to reapply.

Oh, and I'm an MA resident, so I did get the interview at UMass, but not UMD.
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Thanks for sharing with us. Time and again, I see a late app as the #1 killer of otherwise stellar applicants. Hope you get in off the waitlist, but if not, I think you will have a very good year next year. Good luck...
 
I thought I would let you guys know that I was just pulled off the waitlist! For those waiting, there is still hope...I think the waitlist will continue to move throughout june and july, but slowly. Hang in there, and good luck to everyone!
 
ultima said:
I thought I would let you guys know that I was just pulled off the waitlist! For those waiting, there is still hope...I think the waitlist will continue to move throughout june and july, but slowly. Hang in there, and good luck to everyone!
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congrats! was it by phone?
 
ultima said:
I thought I would let you guys know that I was just pulled off the waitlist! For those waiting, there is still hope...I think the waitlist will continue to move throughout june and july, but slowly. Hang in there, and good luck to everyone!
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Congrats.
 
So have those of you on the waitlist that are planning on applying to Pitt again already listed Pitt on your primary? I've already turned my AMCAS in and am planning on applying to Pitt again as well, but I wasn't sure if it would be right to have an application going for the next year while still on this year's waitlist.
 
incandiferus said:
So have those of you on the waitlist that are planning on applying to Pitt again already listed Pitt on your primary? I've already turned my AMCAS in and am planning on applying to Pitt again as well, but I wasn't sure if it would be right to have an application going for the next year while still on this year's waitlist.
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It has zero effect - I asked Beth about this two weeks ago when I met with her, and she said that one application cycle doesn't affect another. I'm waitlisted and re-applying, and listed Pitt on my primary (which was verified less than an hour ago).
 
Excuse me IndiaMacBean but you completely mis-categorized my statement by funneling a spectrum into a binary choice-- a change can be made without the extreme being true. I completely agree that people with high scores can be incredible people and there's a large population of applicants fitting both descriptions. My statement was about the weight of a point versus the impact of the person. Admitting someone with a 40 3.9 and ingenuity is an obvious choice... but anyone on the waitlist has reached a certain academic threshold, and there's diminishing returns between the correlation of scores and success. I had seen Pitt as a school which placed a higher premium on the applicant more than the numbers. Not negating the importance of numbers-- but higher than many other schools. Please do not present a counter-argument to a statement before double-checking your faulty logical inferences. I don't know why but your response just really pissed me off.
 
merlinwall said:
Excuse me IndiaMacBean but you completely mis-categorized my statement by funneling a spectrum into a binary choice-- a change can be made without the extreme being true. I completely agree that people with high scores can be incredible people and there's a large population of applicants fitting both descriptions. My statement was about the weight of a point versus the impact of the person. Admitting someone with a 40 3.9 and ingenuity is an obvious choice... but anyone on the waitlist has reached a certain academic threshold, and there's diminishing returns between the correlation of scores and success. I had seen Pitt as a school which placed a higher premium on the applicant more than the numbers. Not negating the importance of numbers-- but higher than many other schools. Please do not present a counter-argument to a statement before double-checking your faulty logical inferences. I don't know why but your response just really pissed me off.
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I think what indiamacbean was saying is that Pitt has enough applicants with the personality AND the numbers that it doesn't have to choose one over the other, or place a premium on numbers over personality - it gets both in one package with most of its accepted applicants. what about those statements don't you get?
 
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What happened to the goodwill and the love and the sharing of information? I think we need to get this back on track with some good news.

Speaking of which, just got an e-mail from Dr. Piraino. Looks like I'm in!
 
YEEEAAAHHH Congrats, Chu! May the future movement and goodwill be plentiful!:luck:
 
Chu020 said:
What happened to the goodwill and the love and the sharing of information? I think we need to get this back on track with some good news.

Speaking of which, just got an e-mail from Dr. Piraino. Looks like I'm in!
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Congrats man!
 
Just got the Pitt secondary for the 2008 cycle. This should be interesting. I'm also in a bit of a quandary about the ethical issue question, as I still think that what I wrote about last year (a patient consult) has been the most interesting ethical dilemma I've dealt with (nothing more significant has come up in the past year).
 
Quix said:
Just got the Pitt secondary for the 2008 cycle. This should be interesting. I'm also in a bit of a quandary about the ethical issue question, as I still think that what I wrote about last year (a patient consult) has been the most interesting ethical dilemma I've dealt with (nothing more significant has come up in the past year).
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I just got it too; my ethical dilemma last year was really lame, so I'll probably try to come up with something new for this year.
 
On second thought I ended up going with the same ethical issue as before...although I did polish it a little bit. I just got my 2008 interview invite; looks like they're already booked through (or maybe just not interviewing until) September.
 
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