First of all, I just want to say I know it is extremely difficult to be on a waitlist, and I don't want this to seem like I'm saying any of this is your fault specifically. This system is f'd, and realistically tons of good applicants get rejected for dumb reasons.

I have some experience running applications for other things, and I want to explain the logic behind why some candidates get rejected or, in our case, shortlisted.

Medical schools don't bring people in for interviews they know they will reject. If you get an interview you are legitimately in the running. At this point, you will not be rejected for your MCAT, your GPA, or anything else quantitative. If they were going to reject you for those, they would not have given you an interview. What they are looking for is your intangibles. How well do you carry yourself in the interview? Can you explain your experiences in a compelling way? Sherrif of Sodium has a great video on this as it pertains to Residency applications.

If you get waitlisted, chances are, it's because someone else with similar stats to you had a better interview. Your interview wasn't a disaster (they would have just rejected you if it was), but it didn't bring you to the top of the pile. I think we need to be focusing much more on interview strategy here rather than stats and IS/OOS type discussions. If you are a WLW who is going to re-app next year, especially if you are on multiple WLs, you should be focusing on how to improve your interview. Some of that may be MMI strategy, some of it may be just practicing so you're not as stressed with some friends. Read books on medical ethics, it will help you with MMI questions. Practice telling the story of your experiences in a way that feels natural and easy.

To everyone waitlisted, I'm very, very sorry, and I hope that getting a little window into the way the process works in similar situations helps.