What are some ways applicants are taken off the WL?

[tunaktunak]

Just curious to see if any of these are potential ways and if there are others?

1) The WL is in random order. If an accepted student rescinds their offer, then a random person from the WL is given that acceptance.

2) The WL is tiered based on overall application and/or interview performance. If an accepted student rescinds their offer, then it's given to the highest ranked applicant on the WL.

3) The WL is in random order, but applicants who send the strongest letters of interest/intent will compete for a spot from an accepted student who rescinds their offer.

Are these all valid and are there other ways the WL is set up?

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[sevenout]

At least for Arizona-Tucson I'm almost certain its !closest! to option 2. They score students on a scale between 1 and 5 using decimal points they set a cut off say 4.25 and then periodically lower their cut off until they have a full class of comitted students.

 

[LizzyM]

I know at least one instance where a gender imbalance was corrected by being selective in going to the waitlist (a severe gender imbalance will cause overcrowding in one anatomy lab locker room).

I know of one instance at the same school where a letter of interest very late in the cycle resulted in an offer (most applicants already had firm plans at that point and the waitlist was thin).

 

[deleted889094]

I know at least one instance where a gender imbalance was corrected by being selective in going to the waitlist (a severe gender imbalance will cause overcrowding in one anatomy lab locker room).

I know of one instance at the same school where a letter of interest very late in the cycle resulted in an offer (most applicants already had firm plans at that point and the waitlist was thin).

Do you remember which way the gender imbalance was? Curious since recent years have shifted the ratio from men to women in medical school.

 

[LizzyM]

Do you remember which way the gender imbalance was?

Yes, I remember but I'd rather not say. It really can go either way at any given school in any given year.

 

[Catalystik]

Just curious to see if any of these are potential ways and if there are others?

1) The WL is in random order. If an accepted student rescinds their offer, then a random person from the WL is given that acceptance.

2) The WL is tiered based on overall application and/or interview performance. If an accepted student rescinds their offer, then it's given to the highest ranked applicant on the WL.

3) The WL is in random order, but applicants who send the strongest letters of interest/intent will compete for a spot from an accepted student who rescinds their offer.

Are these all valid and are there other ways the WL is set up?

4) The waitlist may be either ranked or in random order, and when a space opens up in a class, a replacement is chosen based on similar demographics, ie, in a fictional example, a rural exmilitary female 25-35 years of age with a LizzyM score equivalent of 65 is replaced with someone similar.

 

[KnightDoc]

Just curious to see if any of these are potential ways and if there are others?

1) The WL is in random order. If an accepted student rescinds their offer, then a random person from the WL is given that acceptance.

2) The WL is tiered based on overall application and/or interview performance. If an accepted student rescinds their offer, then it's given to the highest ranked applicant on the WL.

3) The WL is in random order, but applicants who send the strongest letters of interest/intent will compete for a spot from an accepted student who rescinds their offer.

Are these all valid and are there other ways the WL is set up?

I'm not an adcom, and hopefully someone who knows more than I do will correct me if I am wrong, but my understanding is that WLs are either ranked or ranked. If ranked, schools are required to follow the order, I think with some limited flexibility. If unranked, schools could literally do whatever that want, but I really don't think there is anything random about it. Maybe they replace a white woman from the mid west with another one, maybe they go for the most desperate, most likely person to attend, maybe something else, but I can't imagine they literally randomly generate an acceptance from everyone on the list. I am also pretty sure they separate IS from OOS to keep whatever balance they seek, especially the public schools.

 

[gyngyn]

If ranked, schools are required to follow the order, I think with some limited flexibility. If unranked, schools could literally do whatever that want, but I really don't think there is anything random about it. Maybe they replace a white woman from the mid west with another one, maybe they go for the most desperate, most likely person to attend, maybe something else, but I can't imagine they literally randomly generate an acceptance from everyone on the list. I am also pretty sure they separate IS from OOS to keep whatever balance they seek, especially the public schools.

One of the limitations of a ranked WL (from a school's perspective) is that there is no flexibility.
Unranked waitlists still have a method. It does vary by school.

 

[KnightDoc]

One of the limitations of a ranked WL (from a school's perspective) is that there is no flexibility.
Unranked waitlists still have a method. It does vary by school.

Thanks for the clarification. So, in that case, do they have separate lists for IS and OOS, male and female, or not even? Also, if zero flexibility, why would any school tie its hands by going this route?

 

[LizzyM]

Thanks for the clarification. So, in that case, do they have separate lists for IS and OOS, male and female, or not even? Also, if zero flexibility, why would any school tie its hands by going this route?

In some cases, the powers that be want the person holding the list to have little power. The list is ranked and you go down the list.

In some cases, the list is more like my staircase with people in groups from top group to bottom group. Within a given group, one has the flexibility to choose applicants to fill in gaps in the class (e.g. class needs more people of one gender, or more people from a specific geographic area, etc) from within that top pool.

One thing to keep in mind about WL is that it shrinks over time as people on the waitlist withdraw their applications and choose to narrow their choices to schools that actually made them an offer (particularly if one's top choice made an offer and a less desirable school offered a spot on the WL).

 

[KnightDoc]

In some cases, the powers that be want the person holding the list to have little power. The list is ranked and you go down the list.

In some cases, the list is more like my staircase with people in groups from top group to bottom group. Within a given group, one has the flexibility to choose applicants to fill in gaps in the class (e.g. class needs more people of one gender, or more people from a specific geographic area, etc) from within that top pool.

One thing to keep in mind about WL is that it shrinks over time as people on the waitlist withdraw their applications and choose to narrow their choices to schools that actually made them an offer (particularly if one's top choice made an offer and a less desirable school offered a spot on the WL).

The grouping you described is the "limited flexibility" I contemplated in my initial post on the topic. This, in conjunction @gyngyn's post makes it crystal clear. Many thanks!!!