Were you waitlisted at a non-rolling school?

[Raoul9]

2 questions:

What is the earliest date that non-rolling schools tend to offer waitlist spots?

Can anyone let me know what I might expect if I am waitlisted in March?



Background:

Because my decision impacts my family, I will have to commit to one school by the end of May, even if I’m offered a spot from the waitlist of a preferred school after that date. I assume that this means that being waitlisted in March by a non-rolling school would be the same as a rejection. My reasoning is:

1) non-rolling schools won’t act on their waitlist spots until they have a sense of their actual yield
2) applicants are unlikely to decline offers to these top schools until close to the May 15 deadline (since they are compelling offers and applicants haven’t had much time to consider their options)

Therefore, schools won’t have much new information until May 15, which is pretty late for me. However, I’m hearing that some folks got in off of waitlists at Duke/Penn/etc. in between March and May.

Can anyone confirm this?

Thanks for any alternative logic or anecdotal evidence!

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[Raoul9]

** Note to mods: Please don't move this thread to the pre-allo forums; this was done inappropriately yesterday and folks in that forum (by definition) don't have insight into this question **

Hello, I'm wondering about the timing of movement on the waitlists of schools that aren't rolling.

What is the earliest date that non-rolling schools tend to offer waitlist spots?

I will have to commit to one school by the end of May, even if I’m offered a spot from the waitlist of a preferred school after that date. (I've got a family to consider and can't switch schools in August because I got off the WL.) I assume that this means that being waitlisted in March by a non-rolling school would be the same as a rejection, since I couldn't get in until the end of May.

Can anyone confirm this? Can anyone offer evidence of waitlist movement at non-rolling schools prior to the end of May? Can anyone suggest anything I might do, given this situation?

Thanks for any help on this!

 

[JacobSilge]

** Note to mods: Please don't move this thread to the pre-allo forums; this was done inappropriately yesterday and folks in that forum (by definition) don't have insight into this question **

Hello, I'm wondering about the timing of movement on the waitlists of schools that aren't rolling.

What is the earliest date that non-rolling schools tend to offer waitlist spots?

I will have to commit to one school by the end of May, even if I’m offered a spot from the waitlist of a preferred school after that date. (I've got a family to consider and can't switch schools in August because I got off the WL.) I assume that this means that being waitlisted in March by a non-rolling school would be the same as a rejection, since I couldn't get in until the end of May.

Can anyone confirm this? Can anyone offer evidence of waitlist movement at non-rolling schools prior to the end of May? Can anyone suggest anything I might do, given this situation?

Thanks for any help on this!

It does happen. I know of a few people at my (non-rolling) school who who got in off the waitlist on May 15th. Just don't expect it to happen much earlier than May 15th since schools don't want to risk overfilling their classes.

 

[EMH]

I would check with the adcom and see if they can offer any insight. For example what is the deadline for accepted students to defer. Just tell them your situation, say you're not asking for a favor but just trying to make an informed decision. If they know they are going to have to offer you by a certain date may influence their decision.

One of my lab partners got a phone call 2 days into orientation and 2 days before registration asking if he could be in Arkansas in two days (luckily he was already driving east from California).

In a related story, I had to confirm my acceptance to a D.O. school that will go unnamed by January 15th or something like that by sending a $1000 deposit. I sent the check and two days later got accepted to my state M.D. school. After canceling the check and having a brief back and forth with their adcom I received a letter from their lawyer. Bunch of crap, but I'll never get that $1000 back.

 

[MadameLULU]

Moving and merging this thread with the one in pre-allo, since this is an admissions related topic. Allopathic students are available to answer threads in preallo.

 

[Depakote]

it's hard to make a blanket statement about all non-rolling schools. in general, you won't see much movement prior to may... but once May 15th hits many waitlists do pick up and it then becomes a matter of whether your non-rolling school has over-accepted to fill its class or plans to fill from the wait list.

I wouldn't consider it a flat out rejection, but I would search for previous year's waitlist threads to see how and when it moved.