Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Medical school applicants: Waitlisted? Want more interviews? Here’s what you can do.

Jessica Freedman, MD
Education
January 13, 2017
111 Shares
Share
Tweet
Share

You submitted your application in July. You completed all of your secondary essays by mid-September. Other than one interview that resulted in a waitlist decision you’ve heard nothing but radio silence. What can you do?

Whenever I work with medical school applicants I emphasize that the application process is ongoing because the admissions process is fluid. It is not as if you submit your primary application and secondary essays and the job is done! An applicant must constantly work to bolster and improve his or her candidacy throughout the admissions season.

Assuming you are not accepted to your top choice school right off the bat, it is important to provide medical schools you want to attend with more evidence that you are an excellent candidate. Typically, you will offer this evidence to medical schools that are in one of two categories: 1) medical schools where you have interviewed and have been waitlisted and 2) medical schools where you have applied and have not yet heard anything. How to improve your chances of acceptance at medical schools in each of these two categories varies slightly.

Schools where you are waitlisted

To improve your chances of converting a waitlist decision to an acceptance at a school that is your number 1 choice, compose a letter of intent (LOI), unless the school specifically requests that no additional documentation or letters be sent. In this letter state explicitly that the medical school is your number 1 choice and you will attend if accepted. NEVER send this LOI if this is not a truthful statement, however. Include as many specific reasons for your interest in the school as possible, as well as information about how you would contribute to the medical school community. Also include any information about recent academic, scholarly, or extracurricular achievements.

What about the medical school that has waitlisted you and is not a clear number 1 choice? Students often ask me if “update letters” describing recent activities and accomplishments help with these schools. In my experience they do not. Medical schools have little incentive for accepting students off of a waitlist who aren’t guaranteed matriculants. Why is this? First, medical schools ideally want as many accepted students to matriculate as possible because this impacts the overall medical school “ranking” and competitiveness. Second, when a medical school admissions committee is trying to fill a class it would rather do so as efficiently as possible, especially as the summer approaches. Therefore, sending an “update letter” rarely influences an admissions committee decision to accept you. However, for medical schools where you have not yet interviewed, “update letters” can help (see below).

If possible, for schools where you are waitlisted that are not your top choice, send additional letters of reference (again, assuming the school is willing to accept them). The more ringing endorsements the school has to support your candidacy, the more likely they are to view your application favorably. You can also seek out a mentor, advisor, or professor to serve as your “applicant advocate,”– an individual who calls schools to support your candidacy.

Schools from which you haven’t heard

An update letter that outlines any recent academic, scholarly, or extracurricular achievements and expresses your interest in the school can help with schools in this category, unlike with schools at which you are waitlisted . (This letter’s content is similar to that of the LOI except, of course, that you should not state that a school that you haven’t yet visited is your number 1 choice for fear of sounding disingenuous, pushy, or uniformed.) But what helps most at this stage of the admissions process is to recruit an applicant advocate..

This applicant advocate (again, most likely your premed advisor, professor, or mentor) calls the medical school admissions office and speaks with an admissions dean or director, depending on the medical school admissions committee hierarchy, to offer support for your candidacy. Sometimes these personal and verbal endorsements from a colleague lead to interview invitations.

What about medical schools that have rejected you?

Rarely does a rejection decision convert to an interview invitation, but we have seen this happen when an applicant advocate has gotten involved. Enthusiastic verbal endorsements can be very effective in crunch time!

Remember, submitting your application often is just the beginning of the medical school admissions process. You must embrace a proactive role throughout the application cycle, seeking out experiences to strengthen your candidacy and building your recommendation base, until you have been accepted to the medical school that you will attend.

Jessica Freedman is president and founder, MedEdits Medical Admissions, and the author of The MedEdits Guide to Medical School Admissions: Practical Advice for Applicants and their Parents.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

Don’t laugh: I just want to help my patients

January 13, 2017 Kevin 1
…
Next

The deadly risk of being treated by a male physician

January 13, 2017 Kevin 16
…

Tagged as: Medical school

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Don’t laugh: I just want to help my patients
Next Post >
The deadly risk of being treated by a male physician

More by Jessica Freedman, MD

  • a desk with keyboard and ipad with the kevinmd logo

    Writing your medical school personal statement: Tips and myths

    Jessica Freedman, MD
  • 4 bad reasons why medical students choose a specialty

    Jessica Freedman, MD
  • 6 reasons why applicants fail to get into medical school

    Jessica Freedman, MD

Related Posts

  • End medical school grades

    Adam Lieber
  • 10 tips for non-traditional medical school applicants

    Joe Bardinelli, DO
  • The medical school personal statement struggle

    Sheindel Ifrah
  • Why medical school is like playing defense

    Jamie Katuna
  • Promote a culture of medical school peer education

    Albert Jang, MD
  • The unintended consequences of free medical school

    Anonymous

More in Education

  • The secret to success in medical school: self-awareness and courage

    Kaelor Gordon
  • Is mandating pre-medical training widening disparities in the U.S. physician workforce?

    Deepak Gupta, MD and Sarwan Kumar, MD
  • Equalizing the future of medical residencies: standardizing work hours and wages

    Deepak Gupta, MD and Sarwan Kumar, MD
  • From studying to baby kicks: Navigating motherhood in medical school

    Natalie Eichner-Seitz
  • The power of advocacy: a medical student’s journey to helping an uninsured immigrant

    Fabiola Plaza
  • From AI to love: the key to a better future in medical education

    Stevan Walkowski, DO
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Nobody wants this job. Should physicians stick around?

      Katie Klingberg, MD | Physician
    • The real cause of America’s opioid crisis: Doctors are not to blame

      Richard A. Lawhern, PhD | Meds
    • The struggle to fill emergency medicine residency spots: Exploring the factors behind the unfilled match

      Katrina Gipson, MD, MPH | Physician
    • Healing the damaged nurse-physician dynamic

      Angel J. Mena, MD and Ali Morin, MSN, RN | Policy
    • From physician to patient: one doctor’s journey to finding purpose after a devastating injury

      Stephanie Pearson, MD | Physician
    • Breaking the stigma: Addressing the struggles of physicians

      Jean Antonucci, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • The hidden dangers of the Nebraska Heartbeat Act

      Meghan Sheehan, MD | Policy
    • The vital importance of climate change education in medical schools

      Helen Kim, MD | Policy
    • The fight for reproductive health: Why medication abortion matters

      Catherine Hennessey, MD | Physician
    • Resetting the doctor-patient relationship: Navigating the challenges of modern primary care

      Jeffrey H. Millstein, MD | Physician
    • Nobody wants this job. Should physicians stick around?

      Katie Klingberg, MD | Physician
    • The Titanic sinking: a metaphor for the impending collapse of medicine

      Aaron Morgenstein, MD & Corinne Sundar Rao, MD & Shreekant Vasudhev, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Revolutionizing COPD management with virtual care solutions [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • What I think it means to be a medical student in the wake of AI

      Jackson J. McCue | Tech
    • It’s time for C-suite to contract directly with physicians for part-time work

      Aaron Morgenstein, MD & Corinne Sundar Rao, MD | Physician
    • The psychoanalytic hammer: lessons in listening and patient-centered care

      Greg Smith, MD | Conditions
    • From rural communities to underserved populations: How telemedicine is bridging health care gaps

      Harvey Castro, MD, MBA | Physician
    • 5 essential tips to help men prevent prostate cancer

      Kevin Jones, MD | Conditions

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

Leave a Comment

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

CME Spotlights

From MedPage Today

Latest News

  • Sam Neill's Rare Lymphoma
  • Day in the Life of a Doctor: Treating a Patient With Septic Shock
  • Paxlovid May Lower Long COVID Risk, VA Study Suggests
  • Digital Inhalers May Improve Uncontrolled Asthma Management
  • Another Win for Zolbetuximab in Advanced Gastric/GEJ Cancer

Meeting Coverage

  • Switch to IL-23 Blocker Yields Deep Responses in Recalcitrant Plaque Psoriasis
  • Biomarkers of Response With Enfortumab Vedotin in Advanced Urothelial Cancer
  • At-Home Topical Therapy for Molluscum Contagiosum Gets High Marks
  • Outlook for Itchy Prurigo Nodularis Continues to Improve With IL-31 Antagonist
  • AAAAI President Shares Highlights From the 2023 Meeting
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Nobody wants this job. Should physicians stick around?

      Katie Klingberg, MD | Physician
    • The real cause of America’s opioid crisis: Doctors are not to blame

      Richard A. Lawhern, PhD | Meds
    • The struggle to fill emergency medicine residency spots: Exploring the factors behind the unfilled match

      Katrina Gipson, MD, MPH | Physician
    • Healing the damaged nurse-physician dynamic

      Angel J. Mena, MD and Ali Morin, MSN, RN | Policy
    • From physician to patient: one doctor’s journey to finding purpose after a devastating injury

      Stephanie Pearson, MD | Physician
    • Breaking the stigma: Addressing the struggles of physicians

      Jean Antonucci, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • The hidden dangers of the Nebraska Heartbeat Act

      Meghan Sheehan, MD | Policy
    • The vital importance of climate change education in medical schools

      Helen Kim, MD | Policy
    • The fight for reproductive health: Why medication abortion matters

      Catherine Hennessey, MD | Physician
    • Resetting the doctor-patient relationship: Navigating the challenges of modern primary care

      Jeffrey H. Millstein, MD | Physician
    • Nobody wants this job. Should physicians stick around?

      Katie Klingberg, MD | Physician
    • The Titanic sinking: a metaphor for the impending collapse of medicine

      Aaron Morgenstein, MD & Corinne Sundar Rao, MD & Shreekant Vasudhev, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Revolutionizing COPD management with virtual care solutions [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • What I think it means to be a medical student in the wake of AI

      Jackson J. McCue | Tech
    • It’s time for C-suite to contract directly with physicians for part-time work

      Aaron Morgenstein, MD & Corinne Sundar Rao, MD | Physician
    • The psychoanalytic hammer: lessons in listening and patient-centered care

      Greg Smith, MD | Conditions
    • From rural communities to underserved populations: How telemedicine is bridging health care gaps

      Harvey Castro, MD, MBA | Physician
    • 5 essential tips to help men prevent prostate cancer

      Kevin Jones, MD | Conditions

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today iMedicalApps
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Leave a Comment

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...