medical school telling me they would accept me off waitlist

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Eastbloom

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In the previous cycle, I was waitlisted at a medical school that informs candidates of their approximate position on the waitlist (the list is divided into 9 groups and you're told which of these groups you fall into). When I was told that I was waitlisted, I was also informed that I was in a great position and it was not a matter of whether I got in, but when. I continued to get status updates every month about my position moving further up the list, and that I would probably get an acceptance call in the summer. In May, I got an email stating that I had moved to the top of the list and they would call me within the next couple weeks to offer me a seat. The email even said that they hoped to "see (me) there in august", and hoped that I would choose their program. Unfortunately, right after this, their waitlist screeched to a halt. No one ended up dropping their seats and I never got in. The school did apologize and tell me that their wait list had historically kept moving much later in the cycle and this was unanticipated. I just rolled with the punches at the time because I thought I was silly for believing I would definitely get in. I know it's a whole year later but I've always wondered how ethical this whole situation was? Any feedback?

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Entirely ethical. What do you expect them to do...move you up over higher ranked candidates? Wait list movement is, as you saw, other people moving off the list. This is an unpredictable process.

Everyone on a wait list should consider themselves rejected and be working on Plan B, until they have an accept in hand.

I wish you the best this cycle.
 
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They were stringing you along knowing that they typically would go down to that # on the waitlist. It served their purposes by keeping strong waitlist candidate in the queue rather than having them withdraw their applications. It was not in your best interest to postpone your subsequent cycle by a couple months but you acted in a way that was not in your best interest because you were mislead by someone who was feeding you a line of B.S. that was in their best interest. Welcome to the world.
 
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In the previous cycle, I was waitlisted at a medical school that informs candidates of their approximate position on the waitlist (the list is divided into 9 groups and you're told which of these groups you fall into). When I was told that I was waitlisted, I was also informed that I was in a great position and it was not a matter of whether I got in, but when. I continued to get status updates every month about my position moving further up the list, and that I would probably get an acceptance call in the summer. In May, I got an email stating that I had moved to the top of the list and they would call me within the next couple weeks to offer me a seat. The email even said that they hoped to "see (me) there in august", and hoped that I would choose their program. Unfortunately, right after this, their waitlist screeched to a halt. No one ended up dropping their seats and I never got in. The school did apologize and tell me that their wait list had historically kept moving much later in the cycle and this was unanticipated. I just rolled with the punches at the time because I thought I was silly for believing I would definitely get in. I know it's a whole year later but I've always wondered how ethical this whole situation was? Any feedback?

That...sucks. I assume you hung in there because you didn't have an admit somewhere else...?

A) If you did have another offer and this thread was posted out of sheer curiosity, congrats!

B) If you didn't have another offer, did the string along prevent you from applying early in the next application cycle?


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That...sucks. I assume you hung in there because you didn't have an admit somewhere else...?

A) If you did have another offer and this thread was posted out of sheer curiosity, congrats!

B) If you didn't have another offer, did the string along prevent you from applying early in the next application cycle?


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Unfortunately, B. I know I should have re-applied anyways but by the time they told me the waitlist wasn't moving anymore, it was late summer. So, I did end up applying late but I got multiple acceptances this cycle :) So it worked out!
 
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Unfortunately, B. I know I should have re-applied anyways but by the time they told me the waitlist wasn't moving anymore, it was late summer. So, I did end up applying late but I got multiple acceptances this cycle :) So it worked out!

Success is the best revenge --

Wondering - Did you reapply to the string-along school, and if so, did they accept you this time and did you decide to go there?

Inquiring minds want to know.
 
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Success is the best revenge --

Wondering - Did you reapply to the string-along school, and if so, did they accept you this time and did you decide to go there?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Yes, this year luckily turned out to be pretty great!! :D Noooo, I was pretty upset and embarrassed about that turn of events last year and didn't want to re-apply to that school. Especially since they're still continuing the same string along practice. Venting here, but yea the school prides itself on it's transparency in the admissions process but I think that they definitely mislead students at higher positions in the waiting list into thinking that they're always going to get in. They even refer to that upper portion of their waitlist as the "not yet accepted list" when communicating with waitlisters.
 
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Yes, this year luckily turned out to be pretty great!! :D Noooo, I was pretty upset and embarrassed about that turn of events last year and didn't want to re-apply to that school. Especially since they're still continuing the same string along practice. Venting here, but yea the school prides itself on it's transparency in the admissions process but I think that they definitely mislead students at higher positions in the waiting list into thinking that they're always going to get in. They even refer to that upper portion of their waitlist as the "not yet accepted list" when communicating with waitlisters.

You should name the school in case there are fellow SDNers in a similar situation as you...
 
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Entirely ethical. What do you expect them to do...move you up over higher ranked candidates? Wait list movement is, as you saw, other people moving off the list. This is an unpredictable process.

Everyone on a wait list should consider themselves rejected and be working on Plan B, until they have an accept in hand.

I wish you the best this cycle.
They were stringing you along knowing that they typically would go down to that # on the waitlist. It served their purposes by keeping strong waitlist candidate in the queue rather than having them withdraw their applications. It was not in your best interest to postpone your subsequent cycle by a couple months but you acted in a way that was not in your best interest because you were mislead by someone who was feeding you a line of B.S. that was in their best interest. Welcome to the world.

I think this is yet another example of how medical school admissions is a seller's market, since waitlist/acceptance decisions are made in the best interest of the school (and not the applicant).
 
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Yes, this year luckily turned out to be pretty great!! :D Noooo, I was pretty upset and embarrassed about that turn of events last year and didn't want to re-apply to that school. Especially since they're still continuing the same string along practice. Venting here, but yea the school prides itself on it's transparency in the admissions process but I think that they definitely mislead students at higher positions in the waiting list into thinking that they're always going to get in. They even refer to that upper portion of their waitlist as the "not yet accepted list" when communicating with waitlisters.

Is the school UCF? I've got a friend who has experienced that same frustration of "Congrats! You're on our WL, which basically means you're accepted" without the actual acceptance.
 
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Is the school UCF? I've got a friend who has experienced that same frustration of "Congrats! You're on our WL, which basically means you're accepted" without the actual acceptance.

Yea, it was UCF :/ Sorry for your friend. Hope she got in/will get in!
 
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Yea, it was UCF :/ Sorry for your friend. Hope she got in/will get in!

Fortunately, he's got acceptances at other schools. It's a shame too, he really likes UCF, but it's pretty crummy to be strung along
 
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I smelt UCF all over this thread when I read the words " transparency" and a waitlist that's divided into 9 groups lol. I've withdrawn my acceptance from there. But they said last year they waitlisted 220 people and accepted 80 off that list. Meaning they did accept the top one third (as they always guarantee), but I definitely see where your frustration is coming from! Congrats on a successful cycle!
 
I smelt UCF all over this thread when I read the words " transparency" and a waitlist that's divided into 9 groups lol. I've withdrawn my acceptance from there. But they said last year they waitlisted 220 people and accepted 80 off that list. Meaning they did accept the top one third (as they always guarantee), but I definitely see where your frustration is coming from! Congrats on a successful cycle!

yep :/! They told me that I was very close to the border of the top one third (upper 1/3 of middle third). So after I interviewed, I was told that I would eventually get in which was reinforced through the cycle. But yea, they did say that they had a weird year and I should have gotten in. And thank you!!
 
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You should name the school in case there are fellow SDNers in a similar situation as you...

Since they're committed to "transparency," they shouldn't have a problem with this.

Besides, since it's a seller's market, the buyer should arm themselves with information.


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I think something similar happened to me with Georgetown

Georgetown sucks
 
Unfortunately, B. I know I should have re-applied anyways but by the time they told me the waitlist wasn't moving anymore, it was late summer. So, I did end up applying late but I got multiple acceptances this cycle :) So it worked out!
First of all, congratulations on your multiple acceptances! What do you attribute your success this cycle to (esp with the late app)? Congrats again
 
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In the previous cycle, I was waitlisted at a medical school that informs candidates of their approximate position on the waitlist (the list is divided into 9 groups and you're told which of these groups you fall into). When I was told that I was waitlisted, I was also informed that I was in a great position and it was not a matter of whether I got in, but when. I continued to get status updates every month about my position moving further up the list, and that I would probably get an acceptance call in the summer. In May, I got an email stating that I had moved to the top of the list and they would call me within the next couple weeks to offer me a seat. The email even said that they hoped to "see (me) there in august", and hoped that I would choose their program. Unfortunately, right after this, their waitlist screeched to a halt. No one ended up dropping their seats and I never got in. The school did apologize and tell me that their wait list had historically kept moving much later in the cycle and this was unanticipated. I just rolled with the punches at the time because I thought I was silly for believing I would definitely get in. I know it's a whole year later but I've always wondered how ethical this whole situation was? Any feedback?
Hey man, I'm so sorry you had to go through this. If it helps, I interviewed at one of my top choices last cycle, then 8 weeks letter got an acceptance e-mail!!! The following day they said it was a complete accident and I was low priority waitlist lmfao. I'm glad I didn't tell anyone (not my parents, friends, facebook) or withdraw from other schools...
 
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Hey man, I'm so sorry you had to go through this. If it helps, I interviewed at one of my top choices last cycle, then 8 weeks letter got an acceptance e-mail!!! The following day they said it was a complete accident and I was low priority waitlist lmfao. I'm glad I didn't tell anyone (not my parents, friends, facebook) or withdraw from other schools...

Wow. Wtf.
 
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Hey man, I'm so sorry you had to go through this. If it helps, I interviewed at one of my top choices last cycle, then 8 weeks letter got an acceptance e-mail!!! The following day they said it was a complete accident and I was low priority waitlist lmfao. I'm glad I didn't tell anyone (not my parents, friends, facebook) or withdraw from other schools...

:O!!! I'm so sorry that happened to you. That's a terrible mistake...giving you the prize and then taking it away. Glad you had other acceptances though!
 
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First of all, congratulations on your multiple acceptances! What do you attribute your success this cycle to (esp with the late app)? Congrats again

Thanks :) :)!! I actually didn't apply very well last cycle lol in a couple ways. 1. I applied to schools that didn't fit with my MCAT/gpa. 2. My PS and secondaries weren't great. So, this cycle I was really careful about choosing schools. Re-wrote my PS to highlight my experiences and strengths more (which I definitely neglected last year), and similarly with secondaries. I also sent in updates with new research and ECs I started doing in the summer.
 
It's really crappy to be saying you "basically have a spot"

It's also naive to believe it unless they have already offered the actual spot or one the following year
 
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:O!!! I'm so sorry that happened to you. That's a terrible mistake...giving you the prize and then taking it away. Glad you had other acceptances though!
I didn't. I'm applying this cycle lol.
 
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They were stringing you along knowing that they typically would go down to that # on the waitlist. It served their purposes by keeping strong waitlist candidate in the queue rather than having them withdraw their applications. It was not in your best interest to postpone your subsequent cycle by a couple months but you acted in a way that was not in your best interest because you were mislead by someone who was feeding you a line of B.S. that was in their best interest. Welcome to the world.

Welcome to your tape*
 
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I am curious about the exact wording they used . If I am 95% sure my Patient has x, I still don't say they have x. I say I think they have x.... then I proceed accordingly.


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Residencys will do the same thing. The look at how far they historically have gone down the list and send love letters begging you to attend which you would think make you a shoe in. Unfortunately this is not always the case and some people end up getting screwed
 
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