Getting into UCSD: no unforced errors

At the end of the interview day, a guy from the admissions office came in and gave the group some practical information, most importantly when we might expect to get a decision. The committee meets every other Monday, we were told, with the next meeting on March 23rd and the following meeting on April 6th. Most likely, we would be discussed in the later meeting. Decisions would be sent out the following day, phone calls for acceptances and e-mails for those who are placed in the "acceptable pool of applicants."

The big catch: we were invited to contact the admissions office and request to be moved up to the earlier meeting. "I really want to know now!" I thought. Should I request an earlier review? This felt oddly like some sadistic social experiment. I decided to ask the opinion of my co-worker who has served on admissions committees. "Don't mess with them," he advised. "Remember, this is a process of elimination, 6000 applications for a hundred or so spots." The game, now, is to lie low and not stick out from the crowd in a bad way. No unforced errors.