Most schools accept more than twice the number needed to fill the class.So how exactly does the waitlist work? If the deadline is May 15 (or April 30 idk) and by the time deposits are due, which shouldn't be more than 2 weeks after that, then shouldn't they already have the class about 95% full by now? Or do they wait a while before calling people off waitlists?
Anyone that is still waiting for wait list movement and currently have no acceptances-- a new MD school has opened up recently and is accepting applications to start THIS August:
http://medicine.cnsu.edu
Not a bad idea if you're in need of a plan B.
The Admissions Dean is responsible for admitting a sufficient number to fill the class. This sounds easy. It isn't. Based on historical norms a school may need to accept 1.5x, 2x, 2.5x or some other number to fill, but not exceed the required number of seats. Since no one knows where the students will go, this can be a moving target. Therefore, the dean accepts the calculated number of students preferred by the committee, and waitlists the rest. In a perfect world the number of (over)acceptances results in a perfectly filled class. As you may imagine, under-accepting a little is fine as long as the waitlist has a sufficient number of good candidates. Since we don't know how many we will need, the waitlist should be at least a little larger than projected need. I don't see much point in keeping the ones that were rejected by the committee, but other schools may see it differently.Hi @gyngyn, if you are willing could you answer some questions I have about how waitlists work. As a member of an Admissions Committee, what would be your reason for waitlisting an applicant? They're good but not good enough? They were too late in the process? The school needs more "wiggle" room? One part of their application (GPA or MCAT) was subpar but was still good in other areas (ECs)? Or do you sometimes waitlist applicants all the while knowing that he/she won't have a chance of getting in?
Thank you in advance!