Waitlisted at X&Y School - Chance of getting II from X&Y School next cycle?

[Dilemma33]

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Hello guys.

I was waitlisted at X,Y schools this year, and I'm planning on reapplying to the same X,Y schools again this upcoming cycle. I am aware that the general consensus is to drastically improve your application before reapplying. However, when I called these X,Y school admissions to ask what I could do to improve my weaknesses that resulted in waitlists, they both told me that I am already competitive and I was simply beaten by the nature of competition. I thought my interview was the problem for both schools, but they said my interviews were fine and they don't seem to be the major problem. I'm not sure if they told me the truth, but I have a feeling they were keeping some of the things confidential to avoid conflict or potentially offending me.

Anyway, I've been continually working full-time at a clinic and performing research at a lab, so I didn't do anything drastically "new", other than adding a lot of additional hours to them. I re-wrote my PS from scratch, and I like it a lot better than my previous one.

How likely is it that these X, Y schools are going to re-interview me again next year? Are wait-listees in advantage/disadvantage in this case? or would they treat us the same as the first-time applicants?

Any insight would be appreciated. Thank you guys.

 

[gyngyn]

I'm not sure if they told me the truth, but I have a feeling they were keeping some of the things confidential to avoid conflict or potentially offending me.

Your feeling is spot on. Depending on the person speaking, they may never have been present during the meeting. Even those who attended are bound by confidentiality agreements.

Some schools do not re-interview, others get some of their better matriculants from the pool of re-applicants.
Public schools in smaller states seem more likely to consider those previously interviewed.

 

[MareNostrummm]

Hello guys.

I was waitlisted at X,Y schools this year, and I'm planning on reapplying to the same X,Y schools again this upcoming cycle. I am aware that the general consensus is to drastically improve your application before reapplying. However, when I called these X,Y school admissions to ask what I could do to improve my weaknesses that resulted in waitlists, they both told me that I am already competitive and I was simply beaten by the nature of competition. I thought my interview was the problem for both schools, but they said my interviews were fine and they don't seem to be the major problem. I'm not sure if they told me the truth, but I have a feeling they were keeping some of the things confidential to avoid conflict or potentially offending me.

Anyway, I've been continually working full-time at a clinic and performing research at a lab, so I didn't do anything drastically "new", other than adding a lot of additional hours to them. I re-wrote my PS from scratch, and I like it a lot better than my previous one.

How likely is it that these X, Y schools are going to re-interview me again next year? Are wait-listees in advantage/disadvantage in this case? or would they treat us the same as the first-time applicants?

Any insight would be appreciated. Thank you guys.

Forget them. They already saw your personality and decided they didn't want you enough to accept you.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Forget them. They already saw your personality and decided they didn't want you enough to accept you.

Or they had a really competitive pool this last cycle, and OP was just beaten out.

 

[Goro]

Hello guys.

I was waitlisted at X,Y schools this year, and I'm planning on reapplying to the same X,Y schools again this upcoming cycle. I am aware that the general consensus is to drastically improve your application before reapplying. However, when I called these X,Y school admissions to ask what I could do to improve my weaknesses that resulted in waitlists, they both told me that I am already competitive and I was simply beaten by the nature of competition. I thought my interview was the problem for both schools, but they said my interviews were fine and they don't seem to be the major problem. I'm not sure if they told me the truth, but I have a feeling they were keeping some of the things confidential to avoid conflict or potentially offending me.

Anyway, I've been continually working full-time at a clinic and performing research at a lab, so I didn't do anything drastically "new", other than adding a lot of additional hours to them. I re-wrote my PS from scratch, and I like it a lot better than my previous one.

How likely is it that these X, Y schools are going to re-interview me again next year? Are wait-listees in advantage/disadvantage in this case? or would they treat us the same as the first-time applicants?

Any insight would be appreciated. Thank you guys.

Everything depends upon why you were waitlisted. It's always good to work on interview skills, for starters.

 

[buckoh24]

It can also depend on the school. The 2 schools where I am WL I didnt have the best chance. The one interviews 360 ppl for 35 spots and said they WL most people. The other school I interviewed in March and that puts you at a disadvantage because you could be AMAZING for the class but they have way less seats. The school def sees you as a part of their class if they didnt reject you so I think you should go for it (Im applying to both of my WL schools also).

 

[Dilemma33]

Thank you guys for the reply.

If I were told what to improve by the admission, I would proceed without feeling doubtful and worried, but I'm just uncertain about a lot of things at the moment.
X School director of admission actually read through my application out loud from top to bottom on the phone, and she said I'm very competitive and she told me I must be very frustrated to not gain any acceptance this year. I hope that the other schools won't be turned off by the fact that I'm somewhat "competitive," but still couldn't manage to get any acceptance.

So, is it safe to say that waitlistees, even with a good amount of improvement from the previous cycle, have no real advantage over other applicants? or are we pretty much viewed the same despite the fact that we were waitlisted?

 

[gyngyn]

So, is it safe to say that waitlistees, even with a good amount of improvement from the previous cycle, have no real advantage over other applicants? or are we pretty much viewed the same despite the fact that we were waitlisted?

Re-applicants with strong applications are vulnerable in a different way.
One might reasonably assume that they got plenty of interviews...

 

[Dilemma33]

Re-applicants with strong applications are vulnerable in a different way.
One might reasonably assume that they got plenty of interviews...

I agree with your statement because it logically makes sense. For that reason, I'm anxious because schools may be turned off by it and they might not want to take the risk to waste an interview spot on me. I'm really hoping that schools are forgiving and put more weigh on my maturity, perseverance, and experience that I've accumulated for several years... Sigh

 

[gyngyn]

I agree with your statement because it logically makes sense. For that reason, I'm anxious because schools may be turned off by it and they might not want to take the risk to waste an interview spot on me. I'm really hoping that schools are forgiving and put more weigh on my maturity, perseverance, and experience that I've accumulated for several years... Sigh

This is a good reason to add as many schools as possible where you are not a re-applicant (and get some mock interviews).

 

[Jaigantic]

This is a good reason to add as many schools as possible where you are not a re-applicant (and get some mock interviews).

If I were a reapplicant but during my second cycle, applied only to schools that I didn't apply to during my first cycle, would I look like as a first time applicant to them? Or does submitting AMCAS twice show you as a reapplicant to all schools, whether its the first time applying to that particular school or not.

 

[MareNostrummm]

If I were a reapplicant but during my second cycle, applied only to schools that I didn't apply to during my first cycle, would I look like as a first time applicant to them? Or does submitting AMCAS twice show you as a reapplicant to all schools, whether its the first time applying to that particular school or not.

Some schools ask in their secondary essays if you ever applied to MD schools before, even if you didn't apply to theirs.

 

[gyngyn]

If I were a reapplicant but during my second cycle, applied only to schools that I didn't apply to during my first cycle, would I look like as a first time applicant to them? Or does submitting AMCAS twice show you as a reapplicant to all schools, whether its the first time applying to that particular school or not.

AMCAS does not indicate that you are a re-applicant unless you have previously applied to our school.
As just mentioned, many schools do ask about the outcome of previous cycles (even if you are a first-time applicant to that school).

 

[donutzebra]

Re-applicants with strong applications are vulnerable in a different way.
One might reasonably assume that they got plenty of interviews...

This is the most disheartening thing I've read in a while. If I have to reapply (in 2019 or later), which seems really likely now, I'm going to work on improving on my interview skills. But admissions people don't know that, and it'll be all for naught if they decide not to give me a second chance to interview. Having a second MCAT score will also make it clear to all the schools I apply to that it's my second time applying, even if it's the first time applying to their school. What would you suggest that I do to make myself competitive in this situation?

 

[stickgirl390]

My personal experience: last cycle I was only interviewed at 2 MD schools, waitlisted and ultimately rejected from both. I reapplied the next cycle (no gap year) and was reinterviewed at those same two schools, accepted out-right at both. N=1, but it is possible.

 

[gyngyn]

This is the most disheartening thing I've read in a while. If I have to reapply (in 2019 or later), which seems really likely now, I'm going to work on improving on my interview skills. But admissions people don't know that, and it'll be all for naught if they decide not to give me a second chance to interview. Having a second MCAT score will also make it clear to all the schools I apply to that it's my second time applying, even if it's the first time applying to their school. What would you suggest that I do to make myself competitive in this situation?

All is not lost.
If the only deficit is the interview, work on communication and interpersonal skills.
Take your time.

 

[HockeyGuy2772]

My personal experience: last cycle I was only interviewed at 2 MD schools, waitlisted and ultimately rejected from both. I reapplied the next cycle (no gap year) and was reinterviewed at those same two schools, accepted right-out at both. N=1, but it is possible.

Do you think it came down to how you interviewed or were you able to really boost your application within that one year?

 

[stickgirl390]

Do you think it came down to how you interviewed or were you able to really boost your application within that one year?

I’d like to select choice D: all of the above

 

[FroYoOreo]

Is it possible adcom will be like "okay that was the problem, and he/she improved it this time" when they pull out the old application and compare it with the new one?