why would a school give you no response vs putting you on a waitlist?

[chingaling]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Hello all,
Does anyone have any insights as to why a school would take a super long time to give you an answer post- interview (had an interview pre-december, still have not heard anything)? If the adcoms aren't rushing to accept me, why not just waitlist me? What is the advantage to giving me no response? I'm not taking it personally (ok, that's a little bit of a lie) but I just want some logical explanation.

Thanks for any input...

 

[r2thekesh]

Save money/time? A lot of schools hide the way their process works IMO unless you're able to be super inquisitive or you know someone who can give you insider info.

 

[wired202808]

Hello all,
Does anyone have any insights as to why a school would take a super long time to give you an answer post- interview (had an interview pre-december, still have not heard anything)? If the adcoms aren't rushing to accept me, why not just waitlist me? What is the advantage to giving me no response? I'm not taking it personally (ok, that's a little bit of a lie) but I just want some logical explanation.

Thanks for any input...

Schools are probably evaluating other candidates before they make their decision. The way I see it, schools use two methods: method A is the rolling admissions method where the first interviewed candidates that are liked are accepted. Method B is to interview everyone and then make a choice based on the interviewed pool i.e. compare each interviewee and pick the best ones. The school you're thinking about probably employs Method B, while it sucks it's still better than being put on a waitlist. Waitlist is a huge maybe when it comes to getting an acceptance and you should be happy you're not on one. Your chances of admission are much higher than if you were on the waitlist.

 

[dantemac]

Lots of waitlists require their own deposits/refunds/rankings, etc. Some schools may just not wish to do that with applicants.