Keep your head up! It’s a long treacherous journey and sometimes it’s hard to see the light at the end. Things will get better but I know it sucks now. I think we have all gone through those same emotions of self-doubt and listlessness.
Yup, there's no doubt it sucks. It's a feeling like you did everything right and got 2nd place but there's only space for 1st place on the podium. It hit me hard about two weeks ago and made it hard to sleep. It definitely wasn't all for nothing, even if it feels that way.
Oh we're definitely insane. I was talking to a group of several M1s at my orientation and none of us had a true backup plan if med school didn't work out. Lol. We are so driven that, when it doesn't work out, it's crushing. But still, for your health, you gotta find ways to relax. It will work out eventually. I promise. It may not happen as quickly as you want, but it will work out. I got accepted this last July. I easily could have been you guys. I am incredibly lucky.
What process did you take for re-taking the MCAT? I tok it the 1st time May 2018 right after my Junior year, so I prepared all throughout my junior year and was in the middle of taking the relevant courses that'd be on the MCAT. When re-taking the MCAT after college, after there's been a decent amount of time since learning about those subjects, what did you do to study and prepare for the MCAT to be successful?
What don't you understand? Some people get cold feet or have something else happen that causes them to pull out at the last minute, or some hyper-considerate individuals hoard multiple acceptances until the bitter end because some schools tolerate it. Either way, given the overwhelming demand, every seat will be filled, regardless of how inconvenient or stressful it is for the lucky few who receive the last-minute call. The multiple acceptances could be stopped if the schools wanted them to; the other reasons are unavoidable and will never end.
Only the AAMC can stop this. The schools have no idea who is holding multiple acceptances.
The schools could stop it by using PTE/CTE, which would allow other schools to see the multiple acceptances. The other acceptances you can't see are at schools that do not require their candidates to select either PTE or CTE after 4/30. Also, schools that did not follow the protocol actually allowed their incoming students to hold multiple acceptances right up until the end.
There is nothing we can do to force another school to do anything.
Yes, totally understood!! I was trying to say that the issue is within the control of the schools that choose to tolerate it by not requiring use of the protocol. Since your school does use PTE/CTE, my understanding is that your acceptances are visible to others after 4/30.
Schools can only see CTE (or PTE). We cannot enforce behaviors of candidates or schools.Yes, totally understood!! I was trying to say that the issue is within the control of the schools that choose to tolerate it by not requiring use of the protocol. Since your school does use PTE/CTE, my understanding is that your acceptances are visible to others after 4/30.
Schools like yours are collateral damage insofar as you cannot see acceptances at schools that do not require PTE/CTE, and therefore you risk last minute withdrawals that are beyond your control, but the situation is entirely within the control of the schools that don't require PTE/CTE, since they could make their acceptances visible to you (and everyone else) by requiring PTE/CTE after 4/30.
Given the politics as you have previously described them, it seems very unlikely that your central authority is going to impose a requirement. Hopefully, however, the schools not using the protocol will realize they are not doing themselves (or anyone else, other than the selfish few procrastinators) any favors by allowing multiple acceptances to be held right into orientation, and will join the rest of the schools in using the protocol to put everyone on an even footing. Having each school independently agree to move to a common date after which everyone is required is required to select one school as PTE would allow orderly WL movement at a reasonable point in the cycle (May-June) and serve everyone's interest. I really hope you guys figure this out before it's my turn!
True, but obviously, if you could see PTE/CTE, you could enforce whatever policy you have against holding multiple acceptances after a certain date. The question is, without forcing any school to do anything, doesn't it serve the interests of the schools that do not require use of the tool (as well as every other school, such as yours) to not have candidates holding multiple acceptances until the bitter end???
I'm not sure about that. Several people reported being removed from WLs after they CTEd elsewhere -- how did their schools know to remove them if they couldn't see the other CTE and identify the candidate?
Please carefully reread what @gyngyn posted and compare it to my responses. I have not discredited his/her posts, and, in fact, we agree with each other. @Seihai questioned my understanding of the system, and I responded with a thoughtful response regarding what I think he or she is missing.
I understand!
I was just trying to be clever in my opening. I can only imagine how frustrating it must be to be left hanging so long, with a tiny glimmer of hope, when it would have been so easy for the schools to have collectively wrapped the process up 6 weeks ago. The rare people you described who have to withdraw at the last minute will always be a thing, but this year, we have the unusual phenomenon of some schools not adopting the new "rules" and allowing their incoming students to hold multiple acceptance up to the start of classes, creating additional and wholly unnecessary anxiety and very late movement.Yes, I am extremely invested in this as a future applicant, and will apply when I am ready.
As someone who is not on a waitlist but has been lurking, the more you keep saying this, the more it looks like you're calling gyngyn a liar.
Not at all. @gyngyn is saying holding multiple acceptances (but only at schools that do not use the protocol) is not the fault of his/her school and is beyond their control, and that is absolutely correct. @gyngyn has said his/her school CAN see PTE/CTE, so they CAN control the holding of multiple acceptances at those schools, and I assume they have done so.
... or, people could stop telling me how wrong I am, and this strain of the thread will die on its own. I am only responding to posts, not initiating them.
You omitted everything you disagreed on. You know. The important stuff.
I hope the subjectivity of it all helps you see that a lack of acceptance does not say that you're unworthy. You have to rely on fitting a hole in the school's needs relative to all the other accepted applicants (which is different every year!) Based on ECs, hobbies, accomplishments, SES, and much more. You have to meet the needs of the adcoms, which are different at every school and pretty subjective. They vary based on adcoms upbringings, age, etc. If you're on an unranked WL, you likely have to rely on someone similar to you (in who knows how many ways) withdrawing their acceptance. You have zero control over them. Can you see how random and unfair the process is?
Funnel those emotions back in to studying for a retake if that is what you are going for and kick that test’s ass!Just opened up my Kaplan Bio book to say “Hello, what’s up?,” and wow the emotions hit
what do you mean by 4.5 II
Western Michigan phone interview.
lol right? I can't help but feel like a lot of us got screwed over by the new traffic rules..
When I tried to do this with UConn, they told me they weren't allowed to provide any information on my 2018-2019 app since my 2019-2020 application was now being looked atalso just got dropped from my last WL today
Is it I’ll-advised to ask this school for feedback even though I already sent in my reapplication secondary?
Wow I’m sorry to hear that :/ thank you for the insight though!
