Wait List

Before I talk about being put on a college wait list - I want to remind everyone that tomorrow is another Career Club meeting date.  The guest presenter will be sharing information about her career as a Realtor.  Hope to see you in the auditorium during 5th or 6th periods tomorrow!

OK, so now about college and managing when you have been put in the limbo land of being wait listed...  Being placed by a college on their wait list often brings a lot of anxiety and uncertainty because the school on your list didn't fully accept or reject you.  I have had several students stop in to talk about their feelings about 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. 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.)

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 filling out a form online or mailing back a form indicating your desire) 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.

If you are feeling stressed about your college decision and what to do about being placed on a school's wait list, please stop by to see me and we can look at some of the data on the college and their past wait list movement to help you know what to expect moving forward.