What is difference between ranked and unranked waitlist?

[beponychick]

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What do you guys think? Do numbers matter in an unraked list?

 

[hakksar]

The difference between a ranked and unranked waitlist are as follows. A ranked waitlist is ranked so that there is an order list of who will get in off the waitlist 1st, second, third, etc. This way the school can tell you you are number 4 on the waitlist meaning that 4 spots need to open up before you get in. Unranked waitlists do not have an order list. This way if a white male with a 3.5 GPA turns down his acceptance the school can pull another white male with about a 3.5 GPA off the waitlist and keep the class dynamics similar.

 

[Persistence101]

Unranked waitlists do not have an order list. This way if a white male with a 3.5 GPA turns down his acceptance the school can pull another white male with about a 3.5 GPA off the waitlist and keep the class dynamics similar.

Can someone please elaborate on this? So there are certain quotas a class has to meet?

 

[angstrom55]

one of my waitlisted schools is unranked....and what they've told me is that they will continually review the files to see who gets off it. So in a sense, everyone is on equal ground, although i'm not quite sure in what order they will "continually review" though.

 

[hakksar]

Can someone please elaborate on this? So there are certain quotas a class has to meet?

Not necessarily as is referenced by the fact that some schools have ranked lists. However, the risk is in a ranked list would be that you would have a class that has a certain demographic (lets say for example 50% male and 50% female) at the begginning but the top half of the waitlist was a much different demographic (say 90% male and 10% female). So after people drop their acceptances you could end up having a different class dynamic (say for instance 75% male to 25% female or something). This may not fit the schools mission (for instance Drexel evolved out of 2 medical schools including one that was a Woman's Medical School so obviously they want to keep a large portion of the class female).