Waitlisted? Here’s What to Expect.

News you have been waitlisted at one of the medical schools on your list is disappointing. But the game isn’t over. 

You can influence your chance of being selected from the waitlist of any school by continuing to showcase your interest in their program through update letters, visits, and meetings with professors, admissions directors, and current students. You can also craft a letter of intent to your first-choice program. This letter will be similar in content to an update letter, but it will include the key yield protection statement: “Medical School X is my first choice and, if admitted, I would attend.” If you can make such a statement, it will be impactful. Keep in mind, however, that you should only make this promise to one school. For other programs, you may send an update letter that expresses your continued interest without this level of commitment.

As the waiting game continues, keep in mind that the number of students who are admitted each year from the waitlist depends on the school. Competitive programs typically admit fewer because they have a higher yield (acceptances resulting from initial admissions offers). But other schools will admit up to half of the class from the waitlist. It is also important to note that many schools do not use “rolling waitlists.” Instead, they often delay until they have received final admissions decisions from prospective students on April 30th. After this date, you will only be able to hold a seat at one medical school. While you can withdraw from a school if you are accepted from the waitlist into a preferred school up to the point of matriculation, you cannot hold a seat at both schools. Familiarize yourself with school-specific waitlist policies via the AAMC website. 

Good luck!    

Related: The Medical School Application: Sending an Update Letter

The Medical School Application: Sending an Update Letter

The autumn is often a waiting game for medical school applicants. You will wait for interview invitations and admissions decisions. It can be excruciating! But there’s more to do. You can begin writing your update letters. If you haven’t heard anything from a school for six weeks (after submitting your application or interviewing) or you’ve been waitlisted, you will want to send them a letter that includes recent career or academic updates since submitting your application, reiterates your interest in the program with specifics, and makes the yield protection statement where applicable (if admitted, I will attend). Below, we have provided additional guidelines:

• Confirm that the school accepts update letters, as some admissions committees do not. Once confirmed, address your letter to the Dean of Admissions or the Admissions Director, rather than “To Whom It May Concern.” 

• Ensure that your updates are significant enough to merit communication. Examples of sound updates include: 

  • Publications: You contributed to a research article accepted for publication, authored an article published in a regional or national magazine or journal, or were interviewed for a published article

  • Professional Development: You presented at a national/regional conference, played a major role in organizing/executing the conference, just finished a successful project, or received a promotion with additional responsibility at work in a related field

  • Awards/Recognition: You received a prestigious award (e.g., Phi Beta Kappa), fellowship (Fulbright), or other honor 

  • Extracurricular Achievements: You took on a leadership position in a club/organization, significantly expanded the scale or reach of a club/organization, started a club/organization (not previously noted in your application), or a club/organization you lead received an honor or award

  • Significant positive changes to your GPA

• In crafting your letter, take the opportunity to tie your updates back to the school’s offerings as another way to reiterate your interest in the program. If you presented a research paper at a national conference, you may mention, by name, the school’s professors who are engaging in similar research efforts. 

• Keep the tone formal and the writing crisp. Your update letters deserve the same detailed review as your personal statement and secondary essays. 

• The length should run no longer than a page. 

• Do not send more than two letters per admissions cycle.