Others have been waitlisted... does it mean I'm out?

[floatingmolecule]

I just saw that others who applied for my program have been waitlisted.  I interviewed and was emailed to make sure my papers were all in order, but after that..... silence.

Then I saw that people were getting waitlisted, meaning that a round of offers has already been sent out?  If so, does it mean that I did not make the cut for either or?
Has anyone been in this position before or know what it could mean?

[TXInstrument11]

No,because it is highly dependent on the program, unfortunately. When this happened to me, I simply called the grad admissions coordinator. If they don't pick up, write a very succinct (1-2 line) email. Try calling first though because you don't have to leave your name unless the ask.

I'm sorry because I didn't really answer your question, but I think this is the only definitive way to know. Anything else is just anxious speculation.

Edited February 16, 2015 by TXInstrument11

[floatingmolecule]

I'm hesitant in calling the admissions coordinator because I had extensive contact with him during the application process and don't want him to sigh, roll his eyes and think "oh, THAT person again".
I guess I'll just have to wait, agonize and theorize.  I've read that these offers/rejections come in waves, but do people get put on wait lists in waves as well?  Ordinarily, I would think it goes something like this:

1.  Reject obvious no's and accept as many definite yes's as possible to fill the yield of that particular school (If 50% usually accept offers and there is room for 100 students, 200 offers are sent out).  Put everyone else on a wait list.

2.  If the yield isn't filled by the students who were accepted, fill the void with wait list candidates during second wave.

3.  If the yield is still yawning, add more wait listers.  Reject everyone else.

But why would you not contact students?  What would be the purpose in that?

[TXInstrument11]

I really don't know. Half of the things grad schools do in this process don't make a lick of sense to me. 

 

Were these other folks waitlisted via official school email or did they receive waitlist notifications from their POIs?

 

I think, for some programs, waitlists are created lackadaisically by profs on an individual basis, so no waitlisted students are notified unless the prof's first choices refuse the offer. Faculty in these cases usually don't bother contacting waitlisted students unless previous contact was established. Some of this may be because they would feel awkward contacting a student to say, "Congrats, you're waitlisted" only to turn around the next day and say, "I'm sorry. You've been rejected", when all of the admitted students decide to go ahead and accept the school's offer. This seems to be the model for many programs who have high matriculation rates and admit no more students than they could handle funding. 

 

I wish admissions practices were more standardized across schools. It's a very unpredictable process.

 

I sympathize because I just saw a wave of rejections for U Oregon, which I had written off a month ago when I realized I hadn't been selected for an interview. Now, I'm filled with (probably false) hope that I'm hiding away on somebody's informal waitlist. 

[TXInstrument11]

Also, I just remembered, some schools actually send out their "maybes" and 2nd choices out before they contact their 1st choices. This happened to me with UPenn. I was going around telling everyone they should have heard something from them after I was rejected for the PhD and accepted for the master's.

 

2-3 weeks later, folks on here are saying they just received emails that they were accepted into the PhD program. 

[floatingmolecule]

Ahhhh.  All waitlist people listed "email" as the source of their notification, which doesn't clarify that point.  Perhaps they wrote their POI and were notified of being waitlisted in a personal email.
So.... maybe I am on the waitlist too and just don't know it.  I had an interview, so I had pretty high hopes.  The waitlisted people who posted their stats had lower GRE scores and GPAs, so perhaps I am still in limbo after all.  The fact that I am an international student lowers this chance, however, since most schools explicitly state that only a handful of international applicants are selected.  It always sounds like we are competing with each other, not with the American applicants.  In that case, my higher GRE and GPA does not mean much.
I don't even dare to dream that I am a first choice that gets accepted in the manner you described above.     But it's good to know that the possibility exists.

 

Argghhh.  Hope dies last.  Congratulations on your acceptances btw!  

I also noticed that I did not apply to enough schools!   

Edited February 18, 2015 by floatingmolecule