What to do When Waitlisted
Ivy Link works one-on-one with students to create bespoke waitlist strategies, including assistance with the Letter of Persuasion. The following is general, and important, information that all students should know:
According to the National Association of College Admissions Counseling or the NACAC, 43% of colleges surveyed reported using waitlists, with highly-selective colleges placing a greater proportion of students on those waitlists. If your student is one of these, here is some information to help you through this process.
Why do colleges use waitlists?
The simplest answer is that colleges accept a certain number of students each year. The college is aware that some students who are offered admission will not accept. Therefore, they create a waitlist of qualified students who will be accepted when their first-pick students decline.
What does it mean to be waitlisted?
If your student is waitlisted, it is important to remember that only qualified candidates find themselves on the waitlist. So this means that your student still has a chance of acceptance at the college. This is good news!
Why was my student waitlisted?
There are a few different possibilities here:
Waitlists can soften the blow of rejection. In some instances, say for the students of faculty or alumni, a waitlist can be the college’s nice way of rejecting the student.
There may be a flaw in the application that makes your student a borderline candidate. Maybe their grades were on the fence or their extracurricular activities lacked depth.
The most common explanation is that there were just too few spaces available and too many qualified candidates for the spots. The students who were accepted might have looked better on paper in some arbitrary way.
What can my student do to get off the waitlist?
Students shouldn’t take the term “wait” literally. Don’t sit around waiting to hear back. Take some proactive steps to move forward.
Contact the admissions office with a Statement of Persuasion. Write a letter to the admissions representative with details such as what campus activities your student would like to participate in, and what courses they would like to take. Be sure to emphasize how they would enhance the college’s community.
Have your student find out where they rank on the list. The letter might indicate if they are in the first pool of students to be considered for admission. If not, contact the college and find out where they are on the list. Ask if there is a priority list, or if the list is ranked.
Stay focused and keep up the grades! Students need to maintain senior year grades, study hard for AP exams and finals, and above all maintain a great attitude in school in order to have the best chance of getting off the waitlist.
Give the college updates. Have your student’s grades improved since they submitted their applications? Have they started a new project or joined a new community group? Reach out to the college and let them know about this. These factors could increase your student’s chance of gaining admission. Also, consider having your student submit an additional letter of recommendation to the school that could add depth to their application.
So if your student is waitlisted, don’t panic. There’s a lot they can do on their own, or, Ivy Link can help! Contact us below to schedule a consultation.
