Waitlisted two days after skype interview, still have a chance?

[renguomin]

I was interviewed by some admission committee members(not POI) on 12th Feb via skype, and informed by the committee chairman(the prof who called me on skype on the interview) today that I am on the waitlist, here is the content of the email:

I am writing to let you know that we were quite impressed by your interest in XXXXXXX and your accomplishments so far. We are placing you on a waiting-list as we continue to interview other candidates. In the mean time, if you have questions, feel free to contact me. If you have any good news to share including offers at other institutes, please keep us informed. I hope to get back to you as soon as possible. 

my question is:

1. Did I do something wrong on the interview so they put me into waitlist? I thought I was doing quit well, at least better than my first one for another school.

2. What does "as we continue to interview other candidates" mean? Why do they still need to interview more students when they don't have enough slot for the current waitlists? Am I not good enough so they continue to find more, stronger student?

3. Why did they ask me if I have any other offers, I mean I am not admitted yet.

4. I emailed this school to ask how long will I be on the waitlist and they just said "please be patient with the process, it will take a while". Since I have one backup offer and I need to make my decision in one week, could any one give me some advice what should I do in the next days? Thanks a lot.

Edited February 14, 2014 by renguomin

[iphi]

This is odd. Have they admitted anyone? They may want to admit you, but would like to see what the rest of the applicant pool is like first.

 

Why do you have to make a decision in one week? You should have until April 15. If you don't, I would try telling the waitlisted school that.

[renguomin]

This is odd. Have they admitted anyone? They may want to admit you, but would like to see what the rest of the applicant pool is like first.

 

Why do you have to make a decision in one week? You should have until April 15. If you don't, I would try telling the waitlisted school that.

The backup school is not in U.S., so there is no 415 rule

[Kleene]

I was interviewed by some admission committee members(not POI) on 12th Feb via skype, and informed by the committee chairman(the prof who called me on skype on the interview) today that I am on the waitlist, here is the content of the email:

I am writing to let you know that we were quite impressed by your interest in XXXXXXX and your accomplishments so far. We are placing you on a waiting-list as we continue to interview other candidates. In the mean time, if you have questions, feel free to contact me. If you have any good news to share including offers at other institutes, please keep us informed. I hope to get back to you as soon as possible. 

my question is:

1. Did I do something wrong on the interview so they put me into waitlist? I thought I was doing quit well, at least better than my first one for another school.

2. What does "as we continue to interview other candidates" mean? Why do they still need to interview more students when they don't have enough slot for the current waitlists? Am I not good enough so they continue to find more, stronger student?

3. Why did they ask me if I have any other offers, I mean I am not admitted yet.

4. I emailed this school to ask how long will I be on the waitlist and they just said "please be patient with the process, it will take a while". Since I have one backup offer and I need to make my decision in one week, could any one give me some advice what should I do in the next days? Thanks a lot.

@ 4: This is what they ask you to let them know!

 

Usually, being waitlisted means that you are a good candidate and they will come back to you if they cannot fill all positions with better applicants.

[TakeruK]

It sounds like to me that one of the following situations are true:

 

1. The school has not admitted everyone yet, and they are telling everyone that they interviewed and thought did well that they will be on a waitlist. Maybe they have 10 spots and after they interview everyone, they decide who goes from waitlist to accepted.

 

2. The school has immediately accepted a few top candidates and they are waitlisting everyone else until all interviews are completed and they can then decide who gets the last few spots.

 

3. The school has already filled its quota and they have put you on a waitlist but they are still interviewing other people to determine position on the waitlist. Perhaps you were in the second round of interviews and they are expecting quite a few people in the first round to decline the offer so they want a strong waitlist.

 

I think if it's the first two cases, perhaps the wait-list should really be called a "short list" in this case. 

 

In response to your other questions:

 

- You probably did not do anything wrong. In most cases, it's not a matter of being "good enough" for grad school, most applicants would be. However, when there are limited spots, they can only make offers to the best candidates. It might be possible that no matter how well you interviewed, there were just too many people with better everything else. 

 

- You should tell them about your other offer and that you have only one week left to decide. If you were already at the top of their shortlist (cases 1 and 2 above), you might get a decision sooner because they won't want to lose you. At the same time, you should ask your backup school about having a few extra weeks to decide.

 

- Remember to try your best to be patient with both schools

[renguomin]

Thank you very much all above!