Ivy Link College Waitlist Tips for 12th Graders
At this time every year, Ivy Link hears from families who had not worked with us and are disappointed in their children’s admissions results. Many had been rejected, while others got waitlisted. We can’t turn back the clock and have these families engage us months (or even years) ago. Rejections are rejections -- we have never seen a reversal in the many years we’ve been involved in college admissions.
But there’s hope for those on the waitlists. Ivy Link advisors can help to review students’ applications and advise on strategies to increase their chances of getting admitted from the waitlists. Instead of flooding admissions offices with desperate phone calls and emails, Ivy Link students learn strategies specific to their profiles. We’ll share a snippet of our approach below, but keep in mind, no two students are alike, and the advice you found on the internet or heard from a neighbor likely will not help your student’s specific situation. Time is of the essence.
Respond- Respond to the waitlisted colleges and let them know you wish to stay on the waitlist. This seems obvious, but if you don’t respond, some colleges will interpret that to be a lack of interest and will remove you from the list or lower your ranking on the list. Respond before the end of April!
Gather information- Many colleges release the percentage of waitlisted applicants that they typically end up accepting. If that value is high, such as UC Berkeley with approximately 27%, there is a decent chance your student will be accepted. However, most highly-selective colleges, such as Princeton, Brown, or Stanford, will accept fewer than 5% of waitlisted applicants.
Commit to other colleges- It is never wise to place all of your hopes on one college, even if it is your dream school. Send a deposit to at least one college to which you’ve been accepted, even if your first choice has a high waitlist acceptance rate. The last thing you want is to hold out past the deposit deadlines and receive a rejection letter from the college that placed you on the waitlist.
We have more specific strategies that are custom-tailored to individual waitlisted students. Schedule a consultation with an Ivy Link advisor to review your application and help with your waitlist process.
