Waitlisted for PA School? What to Do Next

After you interview, your application usually goes one of three ways. You get accepted and can accept or decline the offer, you get waitlisted (sometimes called an alternate list), or you get rejected. A waitlist means you are on a list of applicants who may be offered a spot if one opens up. That is so much better than a rejection, because once a school rejects you, your time with that program in the current cycle is done and there is no way to dispute it.

The first question everyone asks is, "Why am I on the waitlist?" I get emails like this all the time. Being waitlisted does not say anything about you as a person. It does not mean you failed or that they hated you. PA school is incredibly competitive, and sometimes another applicant had slightly better stats or interviewed a little stronger. Other times there is no clear rhyme or reason. Please do not read into it too much or let it become part of your identity. It stinks and it is a real disappointment, but it does not define you.

Every school handles waitlists differently. Some schools keep an unranked group of applicants, and when a spot opens they go back to the list and reevaluate everyone before choosing who to offer. Other schools rank as people come in and may tell you your exact number, though those lists can still shift if a new interview group bumps you down.

Schools do not always disclose where you sit on the list. If they are willing to tell you, they will, and it is not usually a secret. But if they do not share, you probably cannot convince them to. It does not hurt to ask once. From what I have seen, most schools keep a waitlist around 40 people, roughly the same size as the class, just in case. They might pull 30% of the class from the waitlist one year and only one or two people the next. Some schools even keep waitlists for interviews, which is a slightly different situation but still common. Each program has limited spots and has to build a cohesive class that will do well over the next two years.

It is genuinely hard to predict because of all these different processes, and honestly the schools often do not know either. Here is the encouraging part: people are getting accepted to programs every single day. If you are waitlisted at your first choice and someone holding an acceptance there gets into their own first choice, that opens a spot for you. That is why this process is so fluid.

Movement can happen right up until the program starts. PA programs want full classes, so they want every seat filled. Life happens, people have emergencies, illnesses, or family situations and sometimes give up their seat at the last minute. I have seen people get pulled off the waitlist a week before school started. So please do not give up. I have gotten so many sad emails lately, and I just want you to hang in there, because you really can come off a waitlist.

This is a tough spot. Say you have been accepted at one school but you are waitlisted at your first choice. My opinion is that you have to think long and hard before you give up an acceptance, because that opportunity may not come again. You do not know what the next applicant pool will look like or whether the school will change its requirements.

If you have an acceptance, really weigh giving it up. If the only reason is that you would be happier elsewhere and you truly do not feel like you could do it, that might be a fair reason. Otherwise I would try to stick it out. You may lose some deposit money if you come off the waitlist, but in the grand scheme that is not the end of the world.

One thing some people do is call their first choice, explain they have an acceptance elsewhere, and see how the school responds. I have seen it go both ways. Sometimes it lights a fire and they accept you, and other times they let you go because you are already placed. There is risk, but I have also seen it pay off. There is no shame in telling a school they are your number one. I did exactly that in my interviews, and I think it helped. If you are being genuine, they will see it.

First, give yourself a couple of days. It is okay to not feel excited, so take a bath, get a massage, eat some ice cream, do whatever you need to do. Then get to work and prepare as if you will need to reapply.

Take an honest, objective look at your application and find your weak spots. Most people want to keep polishing their strengths instead of fixing their weaknesses, but that is not the most effective attitude. Look at your patient care and healthcare hours, shadowing, volunteering, and your commitment to your community and the underserved. Then look at your grades and GPA. Are all your prerequisites correct and matching the programs you are applying to? You might even retake a class to raise a grade. The goal is to give the admissions committee no reason not to accept you.

If you accomplish something significant, like a lot more hours or a repeated course with an A, send the program a short update email. Something like, "I wanted to let you know I have 400 more EMT hours, an extra 100 volunteer hours, and I just finished retaking general chemistry with an A." This shows you are still working toward the goal and still interested, and it is a much smoother approach than repeatedly asking your rank. You do not want to annoy a program before you are even a student!

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The waitlist is uncomfortable, but it is not the end of your story, and so many applicants have come off waitlists even days before classes started. Use this time to make your application as strong as it can be and keep believing it can happen for you. If you want a second set of eyes on where your application is weak, our Pre-PA counseling is here whenever you are ready.