<p>Let me first say how thoroughly disappointed I am with my decisions. My stats were competitive for all the ivies, I put in a great amount of time into my essays, and had pertinent ECs to go with them. However, I did not get accepted to a single Ivy (I applied to six). I was wait listed by Brown and UPenn.
So now to my predicament, Brown was pretty much my first choice until yesterday. Last night, I was pretty hot between Brown and Georgetown, which I got into EA. Since I was Wait Listed, I immediately opted to choose between JHU (which I was accepted to last night) and Georgetown and not even think about the Wait List option. However, some friends and family are telling me that I should attempt the Wait List. So here is my question, knowing the comparable quality and prestige of JHU and Georgetown with the Ivy League, is it even worth it to accept a spot on the Wait List? Is there some form of rank the admissions uses to gauge who they would like to take off the Wait List? And, how slim are my chances to even gain a spot off the wait list?</p>
<p>As someone who was deferred from their ED school, only got into their bottom 2 schools and was waitlisted at 3 others, I fully understand your pain. It’s totally up to you whether or not to stay on the waitlist. My gut says why not? There aren’t strict rankings for the waitlist but there are tiers. Getting in off the waitlist is incredibly difficult (back in 2005 it was usually ~50/500 got in but I think now they waitlist more and accept fewer from it), and if you decide to stay on, you have to assume you’re not getting in because odds are you won’t, and you’re only setting yourself up for failure if you hang on to tight to the dream.</p>
<p>See my posts here:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/brown-university/164270-waitlisted-now-what.html?highlight=waitlist[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/brown-university/164270-waitlisted-now-what.html?highlight=waitlist</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/brown-university/328709-waitlist-advice.html?highlight=waitlist[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/brown-university/328709-waitlist-advice.html?highlight=waitlist</a></p>
<p>@i<em>wanna</em>be_Brown: how do you know who your regional rep is to send the letter?</p>
<p>First, congratulations on getting into Georgetown and JHU. Those are excellent schools, with academics and reputations as good as the Ivies. Don’t be so fixated on an athletic association. There are students who have much worse acceptance stories than you. </p>
<p>If you want this to be all over, then go to Georgetown or JHU and don’t look back. If there’s a part of you that still wants Brown, and you are afraid you can’t let it go, then go on the waitlist, send a letter expressing your interest, and then forget about it. </p>
<p>Students are taken off the waitlist based on the students who matriculate vs. don’t matriculate. If every accepted oboist turns down Brown, they’ll accept a few oboists. There is no ranking. Some students are put on waitlists as a courtesy – legacy applicants, for example. If you suspect you are one of those, then your chances will be pretty low. (Most students probably have no idea if they fall into that category and I doubt there is an easy way to figure it out.)</p>
<p>Anyway, be happy, you did great, and hey, next year you’ll be in college!</p>
<p>fireandrain,</p>
<p>to some extent yes, but i was told within days of the decision coming out that I had a very good chance of making it off the waitlist. I highly doubt it was because they knew already that enough biology/classics double majors/varsity athletes interested in journalism were going to turn them down. Indeed, finding this out was not easy. My college counselor was extremely well known, connected, and respected, and could find things out that most never will. While they obviously want to maintain certain demographics, I think there are a group (god only knows how big) of kids who will get in if enough people, regardless of what type of people they are, say no.</p>
<p>br2pi5,
I knew both because the person visited my high school earlier in the year and because my college counselor told me the name/address to use. Yours should know. Worse comes to worst I’m sure you could contact the admissions office and ask for the name of the rep for your area.</p>
<p>@i wanna be brown</p>
<p>Were you waitlisted at brown? I have been waitlisted this rd round and this is my last hope.</p>
<p>What can I do to increase my chances? </p>
<p>What is the waitlist looking like this year compared to other years?</p>
<p>OP: like you I have some what competitive stats and have been rejected at 3/4 ivies (I’m also waitlisted at brown) as well as two other reach schools. Unlike you, the only other “good” school I got into is UMich and it’s unfortunately not an option due to no financial aid. </p>
<p>You have a better situation and I congratulate you on your acceptances to Georgetown and JHU. Both are excellent schools. The question you have to ask yourself now is will you be able to stay on the waitlist and still be happy at GT or JHU if it doesn’t work out. If yes then I say go for it.</p>
<p>I suppose I’m in a similar situation. I applied to all eight Ivies, include Yale SCEA, and was ultimately waitlisted at Brown and Cornell and rejected from the other six. I was accepted at Notre Dame and UCBerkeley.</p>
<p>I know I’ll probably end up at Berkeley, but I’m remaining on Brown’s waitlist and I have every intention of doing all that I can to get off of it. If it works out, I can go to Brown (though I’ve already decided I won’t accept a z-list offer). If not, I’ll go to UCBerkeley and life will, by some surely inconceivable miracle, go on.</p>
<p>In the end, it’s not the college that makes a person successful. It’s the person that makes the person successful. That being said, best of luck to whatever you choose to do, and congratulations on your acceptances and waitlisting at Brown.</p>
<p>Applying to all eight Ivies is a little odd. They are all so different from one another that it makes me think that you just are interested in prestige. There are only two things they have in common: they belong to a nebulous sports league and they are incredibly competitive. Other than that they are completely different in just about every way. You might want to define what you want in a school with some clarity.</p>
<p>It was mostly to make connections. A lot of what I want to do after college with research would really be aided by strong connections with people in various fields. That being said though, I see your point. I am nonetheless glad that I did though, as it left me on two waitlists that I may not have been on if I had been more restrictive with my choice of schools to apply to.</p>
<p>posterguy,</p>
<p>if you read the links I posted you will get the answers to your questions (except the compared to other years one. I have no idea)</p>
<p>Thanks for all your help! I don’t really think I’m going to take the spot any more. But I appreciate all the help you offered me! Thanks again!</p>
<p>I am an international student from a country very very less people recognize. I have been waitlisted at Brown. What do you all sugest me to do to get in!?</p>
<p>Franglish, are you sure about that? I think they have a lot in common. They are all populated by faculty members and students who are mostly at the top of their game. Maybe due to the competitive nature of getting in, the students are highly engaged, involved in a huge range of topics, are rarely simply going through the motions to get the piece of paper. Not all and not always but considerably so.</p>
<p>@Livelyramu: I would hope you had already done this in your application package, but if there is someone who knows you well who is a Brown grad, or second choice, a fairly recent grad from a comparable college in the US, have them write and e-mail (to avoid it getting delayed or lost in transit) a stellar recommendation for you. I am suggesting this because you may have followed just what you were asked for re recommendations, and foreign student letters of recommendation from teachers, guidance counselors etc. who have not been in the US college system tend to be less discriminating and all superlatives, so maybe of less value to the admissions department as a judge of whether you will succeed at a school like Brown. Coming from a “less well known” country, and thus less well known school system, having a rec from a family friend etc who knows if you are a good fit, by experience with Brown or a comparable school, might be more helpful.</p>
<p>If I send an email, would it be a good idea to address it to both the brown admissions office and the regional officer, or just the regional officer?</p>
<p>Your regional admissions officer is who is being referenced above. (not alumni etc.) so they are part of the admissions office and is the only contact needed. (Unless you have a sub group for admissions such as PLME, RISD etc.)</p>
<p>@livelyramu where are you from. Am a waitlisted international too.</p>
<p>Divvy has 2 fine schools in Georgetown and JHU. Yet there were so many Ivy rejects. Jordansaidwhat had ND and Berkeley, and similar Ivy blanks. The accepts all are fine schools that I suspect are better fits for these students. As for the prestige question, I am an alum of the coveted Ivy, have had a long and successful career in a field where connections matter, and not once has an Ivy relationship made a difference. Georgetown by the way, seems put off by any notion of being a safety for Ivy hopefuls. It is justly proud of its special qualities and perhaps rightly expects applicants to intend to enroll if admitted.</p>