Why are some waitlists confidential?

[chingster]

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Some schools are more transparent about their waitlists than others. I can't come up with a theory for why they are though...how does it benefit the school, or the applicant? Is it more of a tradition to keep them secret?

 

[gettheleadout]

Are you talking about how many people there typically are on the waitlist? Or waitlist movement? Or what?

 

[SisterDisco08]

Florida State won't tell you where you are because their movement has been very unpredictable and they don't want to raise anyone's hopes. Example: I found out today from the dean there that I was in the top ten on the WL, but they only took four people. Two years ago they took almost half their class, and last year they took about a quarter.

 

[chingster]

Are you talking about how many people there typically are on the waitlist? Or waitlist movement? Or what?

I guess your first question wouldn't be as important as knowing your position on the waitlist. I understand that waitlists are highly variable from year to year, and movement can be unpredictable. However, knowing the speed of that year's waitlist movement and the historical likelihood of getting off from your position helps you make decisions in life.

For example, when signing up for classes at university--really popular classes can have wait lists and you know your position. You are then able to gauge whether or not you should drop the waitlisted class, and how it affects how you schedule the rests of your classes.

 

[RogueUnicorn]

I guess your first question wouldn't be as important as knowing your position on the waitlist. I understand that waitlists are highly variable from year to year, and movement can be unpredictable. However, knowing the speed of that year's waitlist movement and the historical likelihood of getting off from your position helps you make decisions in life.

For example, when signing up for classes at university--really popular classes can have wait lists and you know your position. You are then able to gauge whether or not you should drop the waitlisted class, and how it affects how you schedule the rests of your classes.

the thing is, if they told you your chances are slim, and too many people withdraw from the waitlist, the school won't have a robust pool to draw upon. on the other hand, they don't want to string you along with hope when nothing is certain. i don't think it's necessarily any nefarious intention that's at play, it's just an inherently sticky situation. SDN is a good gauge of waitlist movement however.

 

[Donnie1310]

I understand schools that don't tell you your exact numerical position (how would you feel to be #28 on the list where #27 got the last acceptance).

I do think it would be beneficial, at least for peace of mind in an already stressful process, to tell people what quarter (or even half) of a list they are on. Then the person could use SDN to make a guess with anecdotal evidence.

 

[chingster]

Valid points! How about if you set yourself a personal deadline to withdraw from the waitlist? And when that day came, you had a better peace of mind withdrawing knowing you were #50 instead of #1. I don't know...I know things won't change at schools, but I feel like schools should adopt either a tiered waitlist where they tell you whether you're high, mid or low-- and in case you exhaust the waitlist, a "hold" category.

the thing is, if they told you your chances are slim, and too many people withdraw from the waitlist, the school won't have a robust pool to draw upon.

People leaving the waitlist thinking that they have no chance are probably the ones that wouldn't give an arm/leg to attend that school.

Edit: Typo corrected, my excuse was that I was eating dinner.

 

[mauberley]

Valid points! How about if you set yourself a personal deadline to withdraw from the waitlist? And when that day came, you had a better piece of mind withdrawing knowing you were #50 instead of #1.

"peace"

*shrug* A lot of times, more information means you can plan more effectively, but for something as inherently unpredictable as a waitlist, I think knowing where one is on the list leads one down the path of faulty assumptions driving faulty planning.

 

[Seven of Nine]

more schools are moving towards the strategy of grouping their waitlists into thirds or quartiles rather then numerical rankings.

one school i interviewed at this season brought up the potential consequence of numerical rankings. they pointed to one of their recent classes which is a little more homogeneous in demographics and class profiles, directly the result of how candidates happened to be numerically ranked.

by grouping waitlists into thirds or quartiles, schools can group applicants who are similarly competitive and then further classify applicants within a groups who exemplify certain characteristics/qualities the school is looking for (e.g. research, service, non-trad). the schools are going to be very familiar with who is on their waitlists. with how "special" 🙂laugh🙂 we all are, how can you really say candidate A should be ranked 15th and candidate B should be 16th? when an accepted student declines their spot, the school can then choose a waitlisted candidate in the top group who fills the hole that is left by that spot/individual profile. this ensures the strengths and weaknesses of individuals in the class are balanced out overall at the end of the day.

even after adopting this strategy, schools are starting to take it one step further and give absolutely no information regarding what group a waitlisted falls in. it gives schools more flexibility in who they can pick to design their incoming class. they can also then pick the students who show the most interest with letters and updates and are most likely to matriculate. it probably also is less stressful on the waitlisted to be fixating on the number of people ahead of them on the list (i know i would).

 

[uclaussr]

I don't understand this either. I am trying to hold off on signing a lease for accepted school while im still waitlisted at my top choice. I may end up in a bad housing situation because all the good apartments will be taken by then. If i had any idea where i am on the waitlist i would be able to make a better decision right now as to what i should be doing. What deadlines are you guys setting up for yourself for when ull be withdrawing for waitlist? I want to make mine August 1st, but by then i will have to have a signed lease at accepted school, already moved in, and i dont know how i would move cross country to my top choice if they decide to take me within a few days. *sighhhh* i wouldnt wish this waitlist saga on even my worst enemy..

 

[raltima07]

I don't understand this either. I am trying to hold off on signing a lease for accepted school while im still waitlisted at my top choice. I may end up in a bad housing situation because all the good apartments will be taken by then. If i had any idea where i am on the waitlist i would be able to make a better decision right now as to what i should be doing. What deadlines are you guys setting up for yourself for when ull be withdrawing for waitlist? I want to make mine August 1st, but by then i will have to have a signed lease at accepted school, already moved in, and i dont know how i would move cross country to my top choice if they decide to take me within a few days. *sighhhh* i wouldnt wish this waitlist saga on even my worst enemy..

But what happens if knowing where you are gives you false hope?

 

[MeowMeowCAT]

Probably because they don't want the top 5 to go mayhem when they are not picked. Then people start assuming things...

"But I was the first one on the list! I bet I didn't get picked because I am white!"

😛

 

[iniquus]

more schools are moving towards the strategy of grouping their waitlists into thirds or quartiles rather then numerical rankings.

one school i interviewed at this season brought up the potential consequence of numerical rankings. they pointed to one of their recent classes which is a little more homogeneous in demographics and class profiles, directly the result of how candidates happened to be numerically ranked.

by grouping waitlists into thirds or quartiles, schools can group applicants who are similarly competitive and then further classify applicants within a groups who exemplify certain characteristics/qualities the school is looking for (e.g. research, service, non-trad). the schools are going to be very familiar with who is on their waitlists. with how "special" 🙂laugh🙂 we all are, how can you really say candidate A should be ranked 15th and candidate B should be 16th? when an accepted student declines their spot, the school can then choose a waitlisted candidate in the top group who fills the hole that is left by that spot/individual profile. this ensures the strengths and weaknesses of individuals in the class are balanced out overall at the end of the day.

even after adopting this strategy, schools are starting to take it one step further and give absolutely no information regarding what group a waitlisted falls in. it gives schools more flexibility in who they can pick to design their incoming class. they can also then pick the students who show the most interest with letters and updates and are most likely to matriculate. it probably also is less stressful on the waitlisted to be fixating on the number of people ahead of them on the list (i know i would).

Yeah, I think most of the schools that have a ranked waitlist take people out of order. It's kind of like you said. If a female drops, then they'll fill it with the highest ranked female (not necessarily #1). So, rank doesn't matter as much as quartiles and demographics. I would never stay on a waitlist if they told me I was at the bottom, and that does make me more concrete in my decision making.

I understand that people don't want to have their feelings hurt, and the school is keeping waitlist confidential for the sake of both parties--especially because pre-med students seem to be more neurotic and sensitive about anything related to medical school admissions (haha). However, I would gladly want to know where I stand, and I'm sure the majority of students do. If we're going to be responsible for taking care of human life and deemed mature enough for medical school, we should be emotionally stable enough to understand that being first on a waitlist does not guarantee admission, even if someone drops.

 

[JJMrK]

Some schools like to try to replace people who drop out of the accepted class with somebody who has similar personal/academic characteristics. Not ranking (or not discussing) the WL allows them greater flexibility.

 

[bassvp]

Probably because they don't want the top 5 to go mayhem when they are not picked. Then people start assuming things...

"But I was the first one on the list! I bet I didn't get picked because I am white!"

😛

Of course they didn't get picked b/c they were white. There are only white people on the waitlist (or so I hear on SDN...) 😉

 

[NatrixCaelicola]

Yeah, I think most of the schools that have a ranked waitlist take people out of order. It's kind of like you said. If a female drops, then they'll fill it with the highest ranked female (not necessarily #1). So, rank doesn't matter as much as quartiles and demographics. I would never stay on a waitlist if they told me I was at the bottom, and that does make me more concrete in my decision making.

I understand that people don't want to have their feelings hurt, and the school is keeping waitlist confidential for the sake of both parties--especially because pre-med students seem to be more neurotic and sensitive about anything related to medical school admissions (haha). However, I would gladly want to know where I stand, and I'm sure the majority of students do. If we're going to be responsible for taking care of human life and deemed mature enough for medical school, we should be emotionally stable enough to understand that being first on a waitlist does not guarantee admission, even if someone drops.

I like this answer... well, I mean I think it's valid (aka the "like" part) but don't like it because, well, it seems unfair.

 

[SisterDisco08]

Probably because they don't want the top 5 to go mayhem when they are not picked. Then people start assuming things...

"But I was the first one on the list! I bet I didn't get picked because I am white!"

😛

😛 I was in the top ten on a list and wasn't picked because I was OOS (why isn't there a giant crying smiley face?)