<p>Hi, I was recently waitlisted to Columbia. If I submit a waitlist letter and they take me off the waitlist, am I obligated to attend?</p>
<p>No. The decision is still entirely up to you. You haven’t submitted a letter yet?</p>
<p>No, you aren’t. However, only send them a letter if you are REALLY interested in being admitted; you could effectively be taking another person’s spot.</p>
<p>Nope. </p>
<p>And it’s funny that you say that @calgirl15 since i’m looking at your signature 
- trying to get rid of some of the competition?</p>
<p>Of course calgirl15 makes a valid point. You shouldn’t accept a spot on the wait list if you have no intention of attending. However, if you do, you do not have an obligation to attend if you are offered admission.</p>
<p>Ha, I actually wasn’t even thinking of that at all when I made that post (though of course, getting off the Columbia waitlist would be very nice ;)). I was just offering general waitlist advice…</p>
<p>@blanket92
Usually, if Columbia admits you off the waitlist, they will give you a few days to a week to make your decision. So, basically, it isn’t binding.</p>
<p>However, I agree with what calgirl and CarpeDiem are saying :)</p>
<p>I came across this article a few days ago while reading the Columbia Spectator! Interesting! Has anyone else done what she has?</p>
<p>[waitlisted</a> student makes plea via music video | Search Results | Spectrum](<a href=“http://spectrum.columbiaspectator.com/?s=waitlisted+student+makes+plea+via+music+video]waitlisted”>http://spectrum.columbiaspectator.com/?s=waitlisted+student+makes+plea+via+music+video)</p>
<p>No way. For one thing, I just don’t find it necessary to go through the trouble of making/editing a video in order to show the admissions committee what I have to offer to Columbia. This is something this girl didn’t directly address in her video. Sure, being an Intel semifinalist and excelling at tennis is great, but there are other people who have those accomplishments too. Those people who were interviewed in the video only offered comments that probably were already brought up in her recommendation letters. What is it about her that makes her distinctive? What does she have that other students do not? I personally don’t think she addressed this point sufficiently.</p>
<p>(P.S. I also happen to be a terrible singer, which is why I wouldn’t have done what she did in a million years, so I still have to give her credit for putting herself out there like that ;))</p>
<p>Wait a minute - I just realized that I know this girl! I also know many of her friends, who left glowing comments on the video. But Jess, if you’re reading this, my point still stands. I feel that it’s better to give you an honest, objective sense of what to expect out of the video. I think you should recognize that you shouldn’t expect to be admitted just because of this video - after all, it didn’t really cover a very crucial point (which I already explained above). Please don’t take this personally; I really want the best for you and I hope both of us get in! </p>
<p>Love,
calgirl15 (a.k.a. someone you do actually know - PM me if you’ve forgotten :))</p>
<p>I don’t think anyone should expect to be admitted because of a video. However, I DO think that just by doing the video by herself and taking on that effort…that alone shows that she’s willing to step outside of the norm and do something extra. I think that that commitment alone shows that she’s different. Sure, she probably showed what she has to offer to Columbia in her application, and just summarizing her application again in her video would have been boring. I think this is very creative and should work in her favor! Honestly, I don’t think many people will be willing to do this.</p>
<p>Just curious…how do you know the girl? And many of her friends? Does she live in California?</p>
<p>Don’t get me wrong - I’m also impressed with the fact that she made the video. I just wanted to point out that she didn’t address a crucial aspect of a successful waitlist appeal: highlighting what only she can personally offer to the school. Frankly, I don’t think she showed them anything new that wasn’t already covered in her original application (aside from the song, of course ;)). She probably already listed the tennis achievements and her Intel semifinalist status, and as I said earlier, the people in her video probably made the same comments that appeared in her letters of recommendation. </p>
<p>And no, she doesn’t live in California; however, she and I both applied to Stanford REA and we happened to make friends with all the other REA’ers, who are those friends who are commenting on the video.</p>
<p>Ahh I see. I guess she had to apply to more than one school (Columbia), but I definitely think she loves Columbia at least!</p>
<p>I also read about a Harvard waitlisted girl who made a video…but in this one she only sang. I also find it impressive that she put herself out there, but she mostly talked about how great Harvard is instead of talking about herself.</p>
<p>[YouTube</a> - Dear Harvard](<a href=“Dear Harvard - YouTube”>Dear Harvard - YouTube)</p>
<p>Hey guys, I read in the parents forum that some people have been taken off the waitlist already??!!! Does that mean its over for the rest of us???!!</p>
<p>arghh i just read that too! no it does not mean that its over for us. It means that they are probably going to take quite a few people off the waitlist (if that poster is no ■■■■■). I really hope that they take people off the SEAS waitlist too though… fingers crossed!</p>
<p>hey, can u post the source of the post here? thanx</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1129279-2011-going-off-their-waitlist-3.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1129279-2011-going-off-their-waitlist-3.html</a> - join us in our misery :(</p>
<p>Hey guys, not so sure whether that poster was correct. If you read past year’s threads about Colmbia going to waitlist, those who were taken refer to being emailed, not called. I have tried to confirm this with admissonsgeek or confidentialcoll but have not heard back. Hopefully they step in at some point and can shed some light. Last year it wasn’t before May 8th. Don’t get worried yet.</p>