I have been waitlisted at my two top choice colleges (School 1 and School 2).
In my waitlist letter of continued interest to School 1, I let them know that they are my top choice, and that I will attend if admitted off the waitlist.
However, let’s say I am admitted off of the waitlist at School 2. My first question is, how long do schools typically give you to accept their waitlist admittance? And if it is a short timeframe, is it ok to accept the waitlist admittance from School 2 and tell School 1 that I no longer wish to remain on their waitlist? Or can I not do that because I told School 1 they’re my top choice?
Sorry if this is confusing. Let me know if I can clarify anything in the comments.
You’re free to accept any number of waitlists, and to freely choose anew as you are (hopefully) offered spots. Schools expect this. You may lose any deposits you sent in to accept spots.
Yes, you can accept the WL offer from School 2 and deposit there – just like if you got in there in late March in RD. Then you should tell the school you previously deposited to that you are not attending, so someone can get in off their WL. If you subsequently get into School 1 off their WL, you can deposit there and go there, but you’d lose your deposit to School 2 (and the prior school).
You can deposit at your 2nd choice school if you get off the waitlist. You don’t have to contact your 1st choice at all. If you get off their waitlist you can accept it then tell your 2nd choice you won’t be attending.
As others have said, you may lose deposit money if you commit to a school after having made promises to another school. But unless we are talking about breaking a binding ED commitment, don’t worry about violating some rule of acceptance etiquette or hurting the school’s feelings. It’s all part of the process. Choose the college that is your true top choice among all the school that offer you an acceptance, whether off the wait-list or not.
Here is an analogy that may help. Think of each college has a theater performance with a certain number of seats. Each theater performance is at the same time, so you can attend only one of them. At any given time, you may hold a ticket to only one show. Your acceptance at a college gives you the right to buy a ticket (in the form of an enrollment deposit) to that show, but a waitlist is just like a waitlist for any sold-out performance. The tickets are all non-refundable and non-transferable.
So, by May 1, you put your enrollment deposit down (buy a ticket) at one college (show). But after May 1, when some colleges find out that they have empty seats, they start to let people off their waitlists. So if you get off the waitlist at another college (show) you like better, you can put down an enrollment deposit for that one. They usually give you a week or two to decide, and people often change their minds about their college preferences at that time. If you do want to switch, you tell the other college where you are holding a seat that you are giving up your right to attend, so that they can sell your seat to someone else on their waitlist.
As you can imagine, there is a bit of flux in May and even through August while all the waitlists get sorted out. Hope this makes sense.
Most waitlist offers I’ve heard about have a short window – usually a number of days, not a week or two – though someone else may have more specific experience.
Some require immediate responses later in the cycle.
I recall it being you hear on a Monday and they have to know by Thursday or Friday. Then they move to wave two. Then it is usually individual calls and that is like a 24 hour type deal.
@privatebanker is right. Typically a phone call. 24 hours to respond. If yes, paperwork and deposit sent and must be returned in 2-3 days.
Remember that at this point, the schools are filling empty spots, and they want to do this quickly so that everyone can move ahead "normally " with housing and class selection.
You should deposit at your top choice for which you have an acceptance now (if you haven’t already.) If you get into WL#2, you’ll forfeit that RD deposit. If you later get into WL#1 and want to go, you’ll forfeit the deposit at #2.
Actually some schools in the past have created a two-tiered waitlist. You can choose to be on a priority waitlist where you promise to come if offered a spot.
Most schools don’t send out updates on waitlist until after May 1st, its best to waitlist for both schools as most students are usually in situations just like this. While waiting to hear back from the waitlists, still SIR to another school to meet the SIR deadline
Anyone have experience with small LACs how long one is given once spot offered? Don’t think we should visit the school now given unlikelihood of getting off waitlist yet would hope would be given at least a few day or enough time to visit.
I think colleges are different in their policies. The University of California gives you 1 week to decide after getting off a waitlist. I have also heard of colleges giving students time to visit once they get off a waitlist. But others above say they have received only 24 hours to decide, especially in later waves.
