Withdraw from waitlist or wait?

[CavsFan2016]

I have been accepted into an MD school but waitlisted at my dream school. I've found a really nice apartment that I will be moving into with my girlfriend if I don't get into my dream school, but I don't want to pay the deposit and finalize the arrangements while everything is still up in the air.

My question is: how many spots come from the waitlist at most MD schools after this point? It seems like most spots on the waitlist have already gone out. Should I wait it out a few more weeks to see if I get a call from my dream school and delay all of the other arrangements until then?

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[P0ke]

I have been accepted into an MD school but waitlisted at my dream school. I've found a really nice apartment that I will be moving into with my girlfriend if I don't get into my dream school, but I don't want to pay the deposit and finalize the arrangements while everything is still up in the air.

My question is: how many spots come from the waitlist at most MD schools after this point? It seems like most spots on the waitlist have already gone out. Should I wait it out a few more weeks to see if I get a call from my dream school and delay all of the other arrangements until then?

The chances of being accepted off a waitlist are not great, and highly school-dependent. Also, you can sometimes call up the school and find out where you are on the waitlist, and the likelihood of an acceptance from that position based on historical data. I wouldn't bet on an acceptance off a waitlist. You have an acceptance in hand, plan as if you'll be attending there (because you probably will).

 

[Lexicon0]

I had classmates coming in off the wait list up until orientation week (~mid July). If this really is your dream school, I don't see the harm in staying on the waitlist and making a decision if/when you get off.

 

[Tenk]

If you stay on the waitlist but set up everything to go at the other school you have a higher chance of coming off the waitlist because life.

 

[bbbcccppp]

Call the school. Politely ask if they can say your position on the waitlist. Then repost here and the experts may have educated guesses


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[bbbcccppp]

How many vacancies in your targeted apartment?


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[Toutie]

I have been accepted into an MD school but waitlisted at my dream school. I've found a really nice apartment that I will be moving into with my girlfriend if I don't get into my dream school, but I don't want to pay the deposit and finalize the arrangements while everything is still up in the air.

My question is: how many spots come from the waitlist at most MD schools after this point? It seems like most spots on the waitlist have already gone out. Should I wait it out a few more weeks to see if I get a call from my dream school and delay all of the other arrangements until then?

Has there been any W/L movement yet on your dream school?

 

[CavsFan2016]

Has there been any W/L movement yet on your dream school?

According to SDN, there has been about 10 people (at least connected to SDN) who have come off the waitlist so far. This was mainly in the first week of May.

 

[CavsFan2016]

Call the school. Politely ask if they can say your position on the waitlist. Then repost here and the experts may have educated guesses


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They do not share position on the waitlist unfortunately.

 

[Toutie]

According to SDN, there has been about 10 people (at least connected to SDN) who have come off the waitlist so far. This was mainly in the first week of May.

10 on SND alone is a pretty fair amount of movement. If there has been that much waitlist movement so far, it is likely it may continue at least through May, if not beyond. Are you able to wait at least through next week (early June) before committing to that apartment?

 

[Goro]

I have been accepted into an MD school but waitlisted at my dream school. I've found a really nice apartment that I will be moving into with my girlfriend if I don't get into my dream school, but I don't want to pay the deposit and finalize the arrangements while everything is still up in the air.

My question is: how many spots come from the waitlist at most MD schools after this point? It seems like most spots on the waitlist have already gone out. Should I wait it out a few more weeks to see if I get a call from my dream school and delay all of the other arrangements until then?

“Dream schools are like dream girls: better in the abstract than reality”. –The exceptionally wise gyngyn

 

[CavsFan2016]

10 on SND alone is a pretty fair amount of movement. If there has been that much waitlist movement so far, it is likely it may continue at least through May, if not beyond. Are you able to wait at least through next week (early June) before committing to that apartment?

I can wait but the longer I wait, the more likely the apartment we both really like will be bought. As soon as I pay the $750 deposit, it's pretty much a done deal


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[aymar]

I can wait but the longer I wait, the more likely the apartment we both really like will be bought. As soon as I pay the $750 deposit, it's pretty much a done deal


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This is $750 we are talking about?? I understand that that is a chunk of change, but I personally would eat $750 if it meant going to my dream school. That's a drop in the bucket at the end of the day.

 

[DokterMom]

Will the girlfriend be on the hook for the full rent if you make the deposit then decide to go to dream school?

 

[kb1900]

Stay on the WL - if that school is in New York, I feel like there's more wl movement than people seem to think!

 

[watermelon master]

If it is a lease, or even worse a purchase, you are agreeing to the entire agreement with the deposit and they can go to court to enforce it. In other words, you own the lease for the year and would have to pay a fee to break it.

I've never heard of that being the case, why would putting down a deposit on a house cause you to pay the full lease for a year? The lease isn't enforceable until you sign it. If you decide to back out before signing the lease then you lose your deposit.

 

[watermelon master]

In NYC/NYS, a verbal contract is legally enforceable and by paying the deposit you have shown evidence that the contract exists. Therefore you have agreed to the lease, whether or not the specific instrument has been signed or not. Good practice for landlords is to get the deposit and not cash it until such time as the lease is signed. By a landlord not cashing it, he/she has not shown evidence of acceptance and therefore can drop the renter usually with little trouble. If you buy a house, usually you will give a retainer and a single signed slip "I john smith will but from jerry jones a house at address for amount." Again the seller should not cash the retainer without the signed contract. I have been on both sides of these agreements (landlord, renter , seller, and buyer) and am yet again dealing with my lawyer over one of them just today.

Interesting. Obviously it seems like this will vary by state. Is there a specific NYS statute which outlines this?

 

[aymar]

If it is a lease, or even worse a purchase, you are agreeing to the entire agreement with the deposit and they can go to court to enforce it. In other words, you own the lease for the year and would have to pay a fee to break it.

Interesting! Did not know this. Some apartments in my area offer a deposit option to "save" the apartment, but you can back out at any time prior to move in (and forfeit the deposit). But I'm also not in a large city so that could be part of it.


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[CavsFan2016]

I have no idea if I will be committed to a full-year long lease just because of the deposit. But for me, $750 is a lot of money. On top of that, my girlfriend will have to make certain arrangements and commitments as soon as we sign onto the lease and pay the deposit.

I will be waiting a few more days to see if I get a call, but that's it.

 

[aldol16]

If it is a lease, or even worse a purchase, you are agreeing to the entire agreement with the deposit and they can go to court to enforce it. In other words, you own the lease for the year and would have to pay a fee to break it.

If you're a landlord and an dingus, you can take the guy to court to enforce the entire term of the lease as set out in the agreement. But most lease agreements have specific clauses dealing with breaking the lease and usually say that if you break a lease, you are on the hook for any lost rent the landlord incurs until he or she finds a new tenant (plus advertising costs for finding that new tenant). This is the so-called "mitigating damages" part. In most states, the landlord has a legal obligation to mitigate his or her damages from you breaking the lease - that is, to make a reasonable effort to find a new tenant. Technically, you're on the hook for the whole year if the landlord "can't" find another tenant but depending on the housing market, you could get off without having to pay the full term.

That's not to say one should enter into a lease unless one intends to stay the whole term, of course. It's just that life happens - say you lose your job and can't make the rent for the whole year - and a decent human being of a landlord will try to work with you to figure things out.

 

[aldol16]

This was a question on simply giving a deposit on a place prior to signing the agreement. NY City Housing Court as is full of these kinds of cases.

Yes, but as you have put it yourself, oral agreements are enforceable. In this case, the oral agreement would be limited to whatever the terms of the lease would be - you don't have carte blanche to impose whatever conditions you want upon the oral agreement. A typical lease agreement would place legal responsibility on the landlord to mitigate damages from the tenant breaking the lease. So it's unlikely that this person would be liable for a whole year's worth of rent - maybe only a few months until the landlord can find a tenant to fill that spot.

 

[DrLove1206]

same situation here and I really do feel like it's worth waiting for. do you have connections for places to live in the area at the current school you're accepted at in case things don't work out with your dream school? also I've seen things work out into June so waiting a couple weeks may not be the craziest thing? although ADCOMs prolly know better

 

[CaliforniaDreamer]

Why would you ever drop the waitlist spot, are you often in the habit of hamstringing yourself?

 

[CavsFan2016]

Why would you ever drop the waitlist spot, are you often in the habit of hamstringing yourself?

I signed a letter of intent to my dream school. I would feel morally obligated to attend if they offered me a spot on the waitlist, so I think withdrawing my application would be the right thing to do after I make commitments elsewhere.

 

[SoYouDontWantaFishSandwch]

You may have already done this, but I would call the dream school and not just politely ask for your position of the waitlist (I know you said they don't give it out), but instead explain the situation exactly as it stands. If they refuse to give you any indication of your chances, then maybe drop the waitlist. One thing to consider, however, is that $750 is gonna be a drop in the bucket compared to all of the test prep material fees/study guides/supplemental books/equipment that will be extorted out of you over the next 4 years.

 

[aldol16]

But if you have a simple verbal agreement with no specified terms, you can be, in the words of my Father, screwed, blued and tattooed with it. Or as I learn in contract law, what a contract doesnt say will kill you. And a verbal agreement leaves much open to interpretation. So If I put down $1,000 dollars on apartment with verbal agreement with a landlord, it implies some length of lease. If you then back out, the landlord can bring action in housing court or state civil court to enforce the agreement putting the onus on the renter for all costs and fees to now find another tenant. In NYC, the landlord can and will make you either pay for the whole lease or will expect you to find a tenant as in you must pay the rental agent fee. On the other hand, if a landlord tries to pull out, you can take them to housing court and keep them from renting it out . I have been on both sides of this issue both in NYC housing court and NYS Supreme (Civil) court. Most times, landlord and renter will come to agreement as it may not be worth the time, money and effort. However, as more and more units become high priced in NYC (especially Brooklyn) and more buildings are managed by large agent companies, they will drop actions on you at the drop of a hat with staff lawyer.

Sure, an oral contract could really screw you over. But again, the point is that the landlord does not have carte blanche to put anything he/she wants into the oral "contract." For instance, it would be hard to find a court that would rule in your favor if you entered into an oral contract with a tenant but then you "claim" afterwards that the oral "contract" also requires the tenant to babysit your pet elephant - that part was just left "unsaid" during the agreement. A court is more likely to uphold "terms" that are more typical of leases like no pets or 60 day notice prior to vacating.

Say I agree to pay you $1000 deposit for lease of "some length" that was not specified in the oral agreement and then break the lease or agreement immediately after. The first thing that applies is the NY Statute of Frauds. Oral agreements on leases can only be valid for up to year - anything longer than that and courts will not enforce the oral agreement (written is required for over a year). This is to prevent someone from saying, "Oh, he agreed to a twenty year lease on the apartment! Now he owes me 20 years of rent!" The second thing is that the landlord still must mitigate damages. The courts (yes, even in NY) have ruled over and over again that it's unreasonable for someone who suffers damages as a result of some act to continue suffering those damages and not do anything about it. That's the whole basis for mitigating damages and applies whether we're talking about oral or written agreements. So say the landlord, you, has made the oral agreement for a 1 year lease and you take actions to mitigate your damages from me breaking the agreement by 1) paying your end of the rental agent fee to find a new tenant and 2) advertising for the vacancy. If you take me to court then, I may be required to pay both of those fees in addition to any lost rent due to the vacancy, up to the period of one year. But the fact is that the oral lease cannot be made to last more than a year and you still have to try to mitigate damages.

All I'm saying is that although lease contracts are often written to drastically favor the landlord, there are some safeguards still in place that protect tenants from unreasonable landlords.

 

[aldol16]

Somebody just posted this in another thread which on topic in the danger in promises and leases

Very interesting! The OP on there should definitely have known that you don't sign a 2-year lease with people you do not know and/or trust - especially when one-year leases are the norm. The OP should also have realized that leases are almost always written so that the tenants are "jointly and severally" responsible so even if multiple roommates move out, the landlord can still legally demand full payment from the people who remain. But that court correctly ruled that since the landlord took steps to mitigate damages, the OP didn't have to pay the full lease.