Wait Listed

Yesterday I talked about college rejections.  And that is a tough topic... but, I have to be honest that being wait listed is just as difficult.  

Being offered a wait list slot tends to create anxiety and uncertainty for students because the top school on their list didn't fully accept or reject them - they put them on their Waiting List.  Being wait listed often feels like being in an emotional limbo.  Every year I end up talking to students about their feelings regarding this life in limbo and I understand how difficult it can be as I'm not always the most patient person either.

I need to be brutally honest (even though I know you don't really want to hear this...) and say that there is not a lot that you can do to improve the chance of coming off the wait list and being accepted to the college. You need to make plans and start getting your mind set on attending one of the other schools who accepted you.  This includes submitting your deposit to attend, figuring out housing, and everything else related to attending college at the other school from your list.  The reason this is critical is that offers of admission to students currently on the waiting list are typically not extended until after the May 1st decision deadline.  You don't want to hold out hope for a wait list option to come through and then not end up having a position for you at one of your other colleges.

If, in time, you find out that you have the opportunity to attend the school that had previously put you on their wait list, then you can re-evaluate and decide if you still want to attend. The reality is that very few students actually end up being selected off the wait list for acceptance. (Once again, this is why it is so important to tell colleges as soon as possible when you know that you will not be attending in the future so that they can make plans to potentially accept other students off their wait list.)  And yes, I also have to acknowledge that we don't know how COVID will impact how many students may or may not be moved off the wait list, but I do know that colleges have said their waiting lists are larger than in past years which means that it is still going to be a long shot to get accepted off of the waiting lists.

In the mean time, if you decide that you want to remain on a college's waiting list, be sure to follow their directions (usually mailing back a post-card indicating your desire or completing information on their admissions portal) and then you can also consider sending them a letter updating them about any new achievements, awards, or other information that you have accomplished since your application to their college so that might be able to take that into consideration when making their waiting list decisions.  (Some colleges will look at additional information as a part of the wait list evaluations and others do not.  If your colleges have specifically stated that they do not want anything extra submitted, then by all means, do NOT send anything else - you absolutely need to follow their directions!)

As always, if you have questions about the waiting list process, please feel free to stop in and see me!