Hello all! I was wondering what the main difference is between alternate, waitlist, and priority waitlist? How many students do schools usually include? thank you!
The definition is defined by each school, but typically it ends up meaning the same thing, and you are on a waitlist behind your same type (gender, voice type, possibly your ethnicity or look) from their first round of offers. If their first choice declines the offer, they go to their waitlist. Every school has a different size list (or no waitlist at all…some just extend offers and expect attrition). I have found the larger the MT class, the larger the waitlist. For instance, NYU and BoCo have larger class sizes so they typically accept and/or waitlist more people in order to make sure they ultimately fill their class, as many end up being unable to finance their high cost of attendance (but they also both have a very large audition pool originally). Florida State only extends offers to about 10 and has only 2-3 on their waitlist and end up with a class size of 8-10. TCU extends offers to about 15-20 with no waitlist and ends up having 10-12 accept those offers. This question is usually answered during audition day Q&A or is on their website (some schools have a Q&A at Unifieds). How each school does it may change over the years, just like pre-screen format.
Some schools I heard sometimes have a priority waitlist and a waitlist (Texas State and Ball State comes to mind), and I believe for some schools “priority” means you are a “first alternate” after the initial offers and all others are put on a waitlist below that.
It’s a great question to ask each school at visits and information sessions.
while NYU does do a waitlist, I believe their class comes more from “yield” meaning they make more offers than they assume will accept. The last couple of years here on CC have not seen a ton of waitlist movement at NYU, and I know of a couple people D went to HS with that who were never came off that list.
Agree @loribelle - for TXST “priority hold, then alternate” meant next for our D. However, at CMU, priority WL did not. We assume she was NOT next since she’s now in school at BU with kids who were told they were “next” at CMU (also priority WL). Waitlists are just that and can have a ton of movement from year to year (or very little - just depends). D was on 7 waitlists/holds last year; came off 1.
If your child is waitlisted, I recommend asking specifically what it means, and where (if this is applicable) he/she stands on it. My d was waitlisted to Marymount; found out in January (one of her first decisions). We were told that there would be no movement until at least May. We kept in touch periodically throughout. In early April, when things weren’t looking good, we revisited the school and met with an admissions rep (again) to ‘demonstrate continued interest’. We were told that there’s no specific number assigned (which I found kind of interesting). With an academic acceptance in hand (from before the waitlist decision) we were offered a generic seat, but were told that you cannot re-apply for soph year. I appreciated their honesty. Wagner, on the other hand, lets you re-apply for the next year if you go as undecided or a different major. Within maybe two weeks of our visit, she was released from the waitlist (meaning, they had enough students for the program).
As others have stated, many schools now over-accept. I believe Marymount was one, so that means they would have had to have a lot of declines for her to be called off.
Also - ask about scholarships if a student is accepted off the waitlist. Practices vary by school.
Also many times you are waitlisted by type. So it is not a matter of what number you are but if a particular person drops and you fit that profile then you fill the spot. At top schools it can be same the mix of kids that are being shuffled around - at least that was our experience.