Medical School Admissions – Recommendation Calls to Admissions Committees

Now that the March 15th deadline has passed, you should know where you stand with most schools – accepted, waitlisted, or rejected. Some schools have a “hold” designation. Consider a “hold” to equal a waitlist spot at this point in the medical school admissions cycle.

Many clients come to me for help formulating a waitlist strategy. In addition to writing a letter of intent to the top choice school and update letters to other waitlisted schools (see January 25 and February 1 posts for more details on these letters), clients often ask if calls from recommenders or school alumni to the admissions office on their behalf are beneficial. In general, any glowing recommendations will help your case. But calls should only be from recommenders who know you well. A call from your uncle’s cousin’s wife who has met you once but happened to graduate from your waitlisted school will not be of much help and might even hurt you. So be smart. Don’t inundate the admissions staff with calls. One or two glowing phone calls, or even unsolicited written recommendations, can improve your application.

Stuck in medical school waitlist limbo? E-mail info@MDadmit.com to get your waitlist strategy going with help from a Harvard/Stanford MD and medical school admissions expert!