Will holding onto the two acceptances I have cause schools to recruit me off the waitlists I'm on?

[Goldslugs]

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I have 2 MD acceptances and one of them gave me a pretty significant scholarship. I'm also on 3 waitlists, and none of the schools which I'm on the waitlist for accept updates/letters of intent/interest. Will these schools I'm on the waitlist for look and see my multiple acceptances and try and recruit me because of that? How does this generally work?

@gyngyn - I'd appreciate your thoughts.

Also, I have no intention of holding onto acceptances until the last possible moment. That's stupid, but if holding onto them for a bit will help me get off these waitlists, I'll hold onto them for longer.

 

[The Knife & Gun Club]

I'd imagine it'd make them NOT accept you since they see there are other places you currently hold acceptances

 

[Goro]

Only if you're a really, really good catch.

I have 2 MD acceptances and one of them gave me a pretty significant scholarship. I'm also on 3 waitlists, and none of the schools which I'm on the waitlist for accept updates/letters of intent/interest. Will these schools I'm on the waitlist for look and see my multiple acceptances and try and recruit me because of that? How does this generally work?

@gyngyn - I'd appreciate your thoughts.

Also, I have no intention of holding onto acceptances until the last possible moment. That's stupid, but if holding onto them for a bit will help me get off these waitlists, I'll hold onto them for longer.

 

[candbgirl]

If they wanted you enough to recruit you they would have accepted you already. But it's fine to hold on to the acceptances until the deadline. Congrats!

 

[gyngyn]

Acceptances held by waitlist candidates only become visible in Spring.
We cannot see recruitment $ offered by other schools.
Acceptances at "lesser" schools have no effect on waitlist movement at a "better" school.
If you are holding an acceptance at a "better" or cheaper school and yet would prefer a school where you are waitlisted, it is reasonable to let the preferred school know after April 30 (or when waitlist movement starts).

The odds of recruitment $ from the waitlist is remote.

 

[Lost in Translation]

EDIT: the ever-impressive @gyngyn answering my question as I write it.

 

[Glazedonutlove]

If they wanted you enough to recruit you they would have accepted you already.

Then there would be no need for a waitlist...

 

[piii]

What's your rationale? "Oh my, @Goldslugs has been accepted at two schools, we must accept him now!"

Nah, if you're worth getting off the waitlist to them, you'll get off the waitlist regardless of you having an acceptance.

Actually, I see them taking people who have no acceptances over others with acceptances to give qualified candidates a chance.

 

[candbgirl]

Then there would be no need for a waitlist...

Well I've always thought the wait list was for students who weren't initially accepted but we're good enough to keep around for a bit before rejection. I never considered a position on a wait list a venue for recruiting.

 

[Glazedonutlove]

Well I've always thought the wait list was for students who weren't initially accepted but we're good enough to keep around for a bit before rejection. I never considered a position on a wait list a venue for recruiting.

People do get off the wait list - the number is school specific

 

[Glazedonutlove]

Well I've always thought the wait list was for students who weren't initially accepted but we're good enough to keep around for a bit before rejection. I never considered a position on a wait list a venue for recruiting.

People do get off the wait list - the number is school specific

 

[candbgirl]

People do get off the wait list - the number is school specific

I know that!Good grief!

 

[feather421]

Is there any advantage to holding on to acceptances between similar tier schools if I know I'll probably go to one of them? When they can see where else I've been accepted, is there more likelihood of aid money?

 

[MDmichelle]

I'm pretty sure that no school cares where else you got in

 

[Lost in Translation]

I'm pretty sure that no school cares where else you got in

Well if you're a stellar candidate, their financial aid office would likely give you more money to give you an incentive to come to them over somewhere else, especially if the other school is in the same general tier.

 

[Hangry]

Well if you're a stellar candidate, their financial aid office would likely give you more money to give you an incentive to come to them over somewhere else, especially if the other school is in the same general tier.

In which case you wouldn't have been put on their wait list in the first place...

 

[Lost in Translation]

I was saying in general, not specifically to OP's situation.

 

[Goldslugs]

In which case you wouldn't have been put on their wait list in the first place...

Your over-simplification doesn't work for med school admissions. Stellar candidates are put on waitlists all the time, so try again.

Acceptances held by waitlist candidates only become visible in Spring.
We cannot see recruitment $ offered by other schools.
Acceptances at "lesser" schools have no effect on waitlist movement at a "better" school.
If you are holding an acceptance at a "better" or cheaper school and yet would prefer a school where you are waitlisted, it is reasonable to let the preferred school know after April 30 (or when waitlist movement starts).

The odds of recruitment $ from the waitlist is remote.

Thanks. All my schools on the waitlist and the ones I'm in at are around the same tier, so what would you say?

You should drop the acceptances to make sure you maximize your chances of getting off the waitlists

Naw I'm good with my acceptances.

 

[rudyin78]

Based on SDN posts and MDapps, it is not unheard of for waitlist candidates to be accepted with some form of aid--be that need-based or merit (depending on what the school offers). Some schools explicitly state this (Umiami for example).

OP, being accepted to two schools will likely not help you get off the waitlist at other schools. You should hold on to your acceptances until you've made your decision (and have received all of the information necessary to make the right decision for you). If that's April 30th, then so be it. You earned your acceptances, and as long as you're following AAMC traffic rules, you're good.

 

[Goldslugs]

What's your rationale? "Oh my, @Goldslugs has been accepted at two schools, we must accept him now!"

Nah, if you're worth getting off the waitlist to them, you'll get off the waitlist regardless of you having an acceptance.

Actually, I see them taking people who have no acceptances over others with acceptances to give qualified candidates a chance.

My rational is that the schools I've got accepted at and the ones I'm on the waitlist on are in the same tier, so I'm hoping it'll give the other ones insight into the fact I can be successful in med school. They're all in the same area of the country too and have very similar setups in their curriculum. chances?

 

[gyngyn]

My rational is that the schools I've got accepted at and the ones I'm on the waitlist on are in the same tier, so I'm hoping it'll give the other ones insight into the fact I can be successful in med school. They're all in the same area of the country too and have very similar setups in their curriculum. chances?

In my experience, the fact that a waitlist candidate has other acceptances at similar schools has little (no) effect on their chances of being accepted off the waitlist. We tend to trust our own judgement far more than the judgement of other schools (of any rank).
The waitlist is used to re-balance the class. Right now, your school of choice doesn't even know if it is going to be over-enrolled! The waitlist is the last thing on their mind.

 

[Hangry]

Your over-simplification doesn't work for med school admissions. Stellar candidates are put on waitlists all the time, so try again.

If a school considered you a stellar candidate worth recruiting with a merit scholarship, then they would not have put you on their wait list to start with. You seem a little sensitive about your waitlists; I promise I didn't mean to insult you and imply that you weren't a stellar candidate because you are on them 🙄

 

[Goldslugs]

If a school considered you a stellar candidate worth recruiting with a merit scholarship, then they would not have put you on their wait list to start with. You seem a little sensitive about your waitlists; I promise I didn't mean to insult you and imply that you weren't a stellar candidate because you are on them 🙄

Not
Sensitive you just need to realize the nature of how competitive this process.

 

[Hangry]

Not
Sensitive you just need to realize the nature of how competitive this process.

If you look under my profile picture, you can see the words "medical student". I was in your shoes a few short years ago, and then involved in admissions after that. During my own app cycle, I got interminably waitlisted at my first choice school despite being overqualified. I know how competitive the process is. Doesn't change the fact that if a school puts you on a waitlist, it is silly to expect that you have a chance at a merit scholarship from them later. You'd be lucky to just be accepted!

 

[Psai]

If you look under my profile picture, you can see the words "medical student". I was in your shoes a few short years ago, and then involved in admissions after that. During my own app cycle, I got interminably waitlisted at my first choice school despite being overqualified. I know how competitive the process is. Doesn't change the fact that if a school puts you on a waitlist, it is silly to expect that you have a chance at a merit scholarship from them later. You'd be lucky to just be accepted!

How were you overqualified?

 

[Goldslugs]

If you look under my profile picture, you can see the words "medical student". I was in your shoes a few short years ago, and then involved in admissions after that. During my own app cycle, I got interminably waitlisted at my first choice school despite being overqualified. I know how competitive the process is. Doesn't change the fact that if a school puts you on a waitlist, it is silly to expect that you have a chance at a merit scholarship from them later. You'd be lucky to just be accepted!

I don't expect a merit scholarship that'd be crazy. I'm hoping for an acceptance tho. Since you were in my shoes and described yourself as overqualified you should know better than to say qualified applicants wouldn't be on the waitlist in the first place. We both know the nature of this process and how anything can happen, so that's simply not the case. All it can take is one interviewer who isn't on the same wavelength as you or one little misinterpretation in review of your file.

 

[davisfenos]

can i have one of your acceptances pls

 

[7331poas]

Im siding with that guy. I find it hard to believe that if you were good enough to get a sizeable merit scholarship after a school "competes for you", you were good enough to get accepted in the first place.

What do we think is happening here, a school doesnt want someone, then realizes that another school does so now they are going to scramble head over heels for the applicant?

 

[Hangry]

How were you overqualified?

Stats, connections to the school, + a few other things that I won't be mentioning on a public forum but I will tell you over PM if you desire.

I don't expect a merit scholarship that'd be crazy. I'm hoping for an acceptance tho. Since you were in my shoes and described yourself as overqualified you should know better than to say qualified applicants wouldn't be on the waitlist in the first place. We both know the nature of this process and how anything can happen, so that's simply not the case. All it can take is one interviewer who isn't on the same wavelength as you or one little misinterpretation in review of your file.

We're pretty clearly talking past each other here. I'll give you the thread from my perspective-
1. You as OP ask if having acceptances will get you off waitlists
2. The answer is no
3. Someone else says that schools will compete for stellar candidates with merit scholarship money, which is true, but kind of irrelevant in your case since if that school was going to recruit you with money they wouldn't have waitlisted you
4. I point out said contradiction

I never argued that the process is simple, or straightforward, or that qualified candidates never get put on waitlists, which is what you are arguing for above.

 

[Goldslugs]

can i have one of your acceptances pls

nope.

 

[efle]

What odd logic.

Seems clearly to me there's a hierarchy of:

1) People we are so impressed with we will recruit with $$$.
2) People we are impressed with enough to accept.
3) People we are impressed with enough to accept if people from category 2 fail to fill our seats (waitlist).

Now you're asking if getting in somewhere else will move you from 3 to 1? Why would that happen???

 

[Glazedonutlove]

I think he's asking whether his chances of acceptance would be higher, not whether they'd give money

 

[WedgeDawg]

What odd logic.

Seems clearly to me there's a hierarchy of:

1) People we are so impressed with we will recruit with $$$.
2) People we are impressed with enough to accept.
3) People we are impressed with enough to accept if people from category 2 fail to fill our seats (waitlist).

Now you're asking if getting in somewhere else will move you from 3 to 1? Why would that happen???

The only way that happens is if tier 2 school like stanford waitlists applicant and tier 1 school like harvard accepts applicant and then tier 2 school wants to steal a student from tier 1 school. Generally this only works if a letter of intent is sent and is really the only situation in which a letter of intent will make a tangible difference. It's still only bumping from 3 to 2 though, not 3 to 1.

 

[Goldslugs]

I think he's asking whether his chances of acceptance would be higher, not whether they'd give money

Exactly. Money has nothing to do with it.

 

[efle]

Ok, so from 3 to 2. I still don't follow though. Why would they move you higher in the waitlist for getting in elsewhere? Your appeal as an applicant to them shouldn't change based on whether they're denying you to someone else.

Unless med schools are spiteful jealous rivals that care more about harming each other's yield rates than getting the applicants they judged most attractive lol

 

[Goldslugs]

Ok, so from 3 to 2. I still don't follow though. Why would they move you higher in the waitlist for getting in elsewhere? Your appeal as an applicant to them shouldn't change based on whether they're denying you to someone else.

Unless med schools are spiteful jealous rivals that care more about harming each other's yield rates than getting the applicants they judged most attractive lol

I've seen it brought up on here multiple times for example when it comes to letters of intent, they only hold meaning when the applicant has multiple acceptances, and I've always resd similar information mentioned about recruiting candidates with multiple acceptances being looked at positively when it comes to moving ppl off the waitlist.

 

[WedgeDawg]

Ok, so from 3 to 2. I still don't follow though. Why would they move you higher in the waitlist for getting in elsewhere? Your appeal as an applicant to them shouldn't change based on whether they're denying you to someone else.

Unless med schools are spiteful jealous rivals that care more about harming each other's yield rates than getting the applicants they judged most attractive lol

Value by proxy. "Harvard wants her so she must be really good. Let's snag her!"

Again, I think it only works if you send an LOI and only if you're sending it to the (in gyngyn's words) "lesser" of the two schools. And even then it might not work.

 

[Goldslugs]

Also a large Portion of the candidates recruited Off waitlists seem to have multiple Acceptances but that may be a coincidence.

 

[WedgeDawg]

Also a large Portion of the candidates recruited Off waitlists seem to have multiple Acceptances but that may be a coincidence.

I don't know if this is true. Do you have data that supports this claim?

 

[Glazedonutlove]

I've seen it brought up on here multiple times for example when it comes to letters of intent, they only hold meaning when the applicant has multiple acceptances, and I've always resd similar information mentioned about recruiting candidates with multiple acceptances being looked at positively when it comes to moving ppl off the waitlist.

I'd pay attention to what gyngyn said above rather than the info you read

I don't know if this is true. Do you have data that supports this claim?

if it is true, could just be that they are better applicants-> multiple acceptances and also got off waitlist

 

[efle]

Oh, I gotcha. So if you're telling your state school "I got into Hopkins but I'd still choose you!" it will make you more attractive, or at least keep them from skipping you out of belief you'd never matriculate.

Still a skeptic, but best of luck to OP! Hopefully his schools are very jealous or impressed with the names he's holding

 

[WedgeDawg]

Oh, I gotcha. So if you're telling your state school "I got into Hopkins but I'd still choose you!" it will make you more attractive, or at least keep them from skipping you out of belief you'd never matriculate.

Theoretically, yes.

As an anecdote, at my Keck interview, the dean told us a story of an applicant they waitlisted. The applicant called them up a few months later (presumably after the point where schools can see what acceptances applicants are holding) saying "I have an acceptance to Yale but I want to go to USC" and was accepted more or less on the spot. The moral for us interviewees was don't worry if you get waitlisted here, but the message I took away from it was don't worry if you get waitlisted here as long as you get into Yale.

 

[efle]

Theoretically, yes.

As an anecdote, at my Keck interview, the dean told us a story of an applicant they waitlisted. The applicant called them up a few months later (presumably after the point where schools can see what acceptances applicants are holding) saying "I have an acceptance to Yale but I want to go to USC" and was accepted more or less on the spot. The moral for us interviewees was don't worry if you get waitlisted here, but the message I took away from it was don't worry if you get waitlisted here as long as you get into Yale.

Alright here's my hypothesis...they waitlisted him out of yield protection, because they thought if they accepted such a superstar they'd just be adding to the pile of "accepted but chose to go elsewhere". When he calls up and professes his continued love in spite of his wealthier and sexier suitor, they say awesome, you really would take us up on the accept, you're in!

 

[Goldslugs]

I don't know if this is true. Do you have data that supports this claim?

I wish I did I spent a lot of time digging around school threads and previous year threads and md applicants.
That's the trend I've picked up, may or may not be right, and there are many explanations for it being right.

 

[Glazedonutlove]

I wish I did I spent a lot of time digging around school threads and previous year threads and md applicants.
That's the trend I've picked up, may or may not be right, and there are many explanations for it being right.

so you're accepted to top schools and wanting to attend somewhere else? I think letting them know is worth trying then

 

[Goldslugs]

so you're accepted to top schools and wanting to attend somewhere else? I think letting them know is worth trying then

They're not top schools, but all the schools I got accepted to and waitlisted at are in the same tier. I never said top schools