The end goal for every medical school applicant is to earn a seat in a medical school, preferably one of your preferred medical schools. If you are one of those who falls into this category, congratulations! Unfortunately, the other fates that can await you after interviewing is an outright rejection or you may be placed on a schools waitlist.
Every school handles its waitlist differently. Some have a ranked waitlist while other schools waitlists are unranked. You may be placed on the waitlist for one or more of several reasons. The admissions committee may feel that you have the qualities that would make a successful medical student but perhaps there were stronger applicants in the pool. Medical schools have a limited number of seats and its tough to give a seat to every applicant. You might also have some red flags in your application that warrant additional discussion by the admissions committee. Or, you may simply have applied too late in the cycle and there may only be waitlist positions available.
It’s important to realize that while you may feel like you have no control over being waitlisted, there are things that you can do to potentially increase your odds of having a favorable outcome. You can send a WELL CRAFTED letter of intent/interest to the school that expresses your continued interest in the school. You should also update your application with additional grades, volunteer experiences, publications, etc. You don’t want to bombard the admissions office with these updates however. I would say to update admissions no more than once a month. The admissions folks can be your advocate but if you come off as rude or pushy, this will not bode will for you. On my wife's admissions committee, I have seen the admissions coordinator suggest to the admissions committee, who should be moved up on the ranked waitlist, based on her interactions with applicants. ALWAYS BE POLITE!!!
If the school hosts open house events, virtual or face-to-face, attend these if possible. They show that you are interested in the school. Make sure that you network at these events; collect names, phone numbers, and email addresses of any admissions personel who attend these events. Sometimes who you know is more important than what you know. Make sure to regularly check your email in the event the school sends updates about your waitlist status and promptly communicate back with the school if appropriate. Finally, you just have to be prayerful and patient. Once you have done all that is in your power to let the school know that you are interested, it’s time to wait. While waiting, you can start to plan to reapply by working on any weaknesses in your application. If possible, ask to meet with someone on the admissions staff to see if they would review your application with you. They may be willing to point out areas that need strengthening.
The medical school application process is stress inducing and based on what I have seen with friends who have been waitlisted, it seems that an outright rejection might be better. At least you know where you stand. If you find yourself waitlisted, please try not to internalize any negative feelings. Don’t think of this as a school not being interested in you and don’t be discouraged. Use this time to strengthen yourself and your application and adopt a growth mindset. More than anything realize that a waitlist doesn’t mean that you will not earn a seat in the school. And even if you ultimately do not earn a seat, look at this as an opportunity to come back stronger in the next application season. Whomever is reading this, you are well-able to earn your seat in a medical school. You’ve got this!
