Can GC find out reason for a wait-list decision?

Parent Cafe
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<p>Okay, after my son completed applications to his safety and match schools we discussed applying to reach schools. My son insisted he could handle being rejected at all of them and I said as long as he applied to schools that either met full need (preferably w/no loans or very low) or over 95% as I did not want to face the situation of him getting into a reach school that we had no way of paying for. Son applied to 7 reach schools, roughly 3 low, 2 middle and 2 high, non for EA or ED (this may have been a mistake but too late now) so these results are starting to trickle in. Son was accepted to all his safety and match schools, aid packages are trickling in, with some doable packages so son will be going somewhere next fall.</p>

<p>Whether it’s because he was accepted to all match and safety schools, so he began to think he wouldn’t be rejected or because it’s easy to say it won’t bother you to be rejected, but harder to actually feel that way, I don’t know but we have received the results so far from three of the reach schools, 2 at the low end and 1 in the middle. (I swore to son that I was not putting so much information in these posts that he could be identified, {although I would bet I’m the only parent at his school who posts on CC}, son can’t believe a site like CC draws so many parents, he finds it odd we spend time reading and posting, but so be if). Of the three we have gotten so far, we have 1 rejection (the mid-range), 1 acceptance and 1 wait-list (oddly in my opinion the school that waitlisted him is not quite as selective as the school that admitted him, but I’m coming to see that if you’re in range, there really is no way to predict the odds). </p>

<p>The school that rejected him (I hate that word), is probably the one he was most emotionally invested in attending, he knows some students there, feels he’s at their level or in one case considerably above. He is well aware it was probably his GPA (rough 9th grade, better 10th and excellent 11th & 12th) that was the first thing he asked. I told him yes, it was probably his GPA and the fact that he is a resident of the state and the school is making an effort to expand the geographical diversity. To make matters worse, (in his mind, I thought it might be a good sign) the letter stated that if his performance freshman year in college continued the same trend his last 2 HS years showed, they would be interested in seeing a transfer application, (son said, well maybe I’m not interested in showing them a transfer application). </p>

<p>The school that waitlisted him spoke highly of the strength of his application and said to be sure to watch the mail for details about wait-listing and mentioned that the list was not ranked in order of preference on their part (exactly what this means I do not understand). Son asked, why if his application was so strong they didn’t admit him. I see two possibilities; one which we may be able to improve on and one which will not change. </p>

<p>The first is demonstrated interest; the school posted that at the end, they had more candidates that admission staff wanted to admit than they could admit and now the hard-part was weeding though those and one of the things they looked for was demonstrated interest, they didn’t want to offer a place to a student who would be unlikely to attend. Well we didn’t visit, the school is quite far away, though we would plan a visit if admitted, there were no admission events that we knew about within 100 miles and he never actually spoke to anyone from the school. He did email, request information and do a considerable amount of research on the school so had a decent why this school essay, so he knows he is interested and it’s very possible he would attend it admitted. This we might can fix, letter, phone call etc… </p>

<p>The second possibility is that while the school meets 100% of need, I was unable to find out if they were need-blind for admissions. If they wait-listed him because of the amount of FA we will need, then that takes the school out of consideration, because that won’t change and the only way he could attend if taken off the wait-list is if he is still given FA. I know schools vary on whether there is aid for wait-listed students or not, I’m hoping the letter might have more information on that. </p>

<p>I’m pretty sure we can’t find out why he was wait-listed, but I was wondering could son’s GC possibly be able to find out? Son is private-schooled so GC is available. I have emailed GC but thought I’d see if anyone had any thoughts on this. Interestingly son is forgetting about the reach that did admit him that we’re waiting on a FA package from. I am not looking forward to this next week. And I’ll be watching, the other lower reach, is also in the same state, we did not visit it either, however both he and I had personally spoken to his admissions counselor and communicated the fact that this is the type of school son wants to attend and the dean of admissions emailed him and said they wanted to increase the number of students from out state, so maybe that will help. Guess we should have done the same with the other school. The one reach that he was rejected from he had visited a couple of times, the other three he’s not visited. He’s been on campus a few summers ago at one for a Boy Scout event, been in the state several times, he had an alumni interview with one and the other, well he had reasons for applying, it wasn’t just on a whim, but I don’t know what the school will think. The top 2 are such high reaches, I would probably faint if he got in, but heck at this point, who knows.</p>

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<p>The GC can absolutely find out why a student was wait listed. One of my students was wait listed last Monday. When she told me she was wait listed I asked her if this was really her first choice school and if admitted would she attend. I did not want to contact admissions and advocate on her behalf if she were not serious. She told me that she had submitted her request to be on the wait list.</p>

<p>I called the regional admissions person directly (not the admissions director) because it is the regional person who reads their application and brings their application before the admissions committee to decide. I told them that one of my students was recently wait listed, however she accepted a spot on the wait list and if she had a moment to discuss the application.</p>

<p>The admissions rep told me that they would have to pull the file and she would get back to me. She also told me that they had an admissions rep dedicated to the wait list and I could speak with them if I wanted to. I told her whatever worked best for her that either one of them could call me back. The regional rep called me back in less than 5 minutes. She told me all of the things that they thought were positive about my student’s application. She also told me two small things that they were on the fence about and gave me recommendations to pass on to my student. She also told me that they had already noted in the file that she accepted a spot on the wait list immediately after receiving the decision and that was a good thing because it showed that she was really interested in attending. Student is working on those things and now we will just have to wait and see how it all plays out.</p>

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<p>It’s definitely worth asking the GC even at our school where we thought S2’s GC was a little ditzy she told us a story about a student who was waitlisted from GW (her first choice) while others seemingly less qualified were admitted. The answer turned out to be she hadn’t visited and they thought she wasn’t serious. I believe she got in off the waitlist - can’t remember as the point of the story was that if son was interested in GW he needed to make sure they knew he’d visited. (He did and hated it! LOL)</p>

<p>I’ve also heard a story here on CC where I believe the student called and they said they were worried by a C on the midyear transcript - which was a typo. It got corrected and student was accepted if I remember correctly.</p>

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<p>See? This kind of thing kind of freaks me out. I suppose a student should be getting copies of their transciprt even at the mid-year report. But, who would think of that? A typo?</p>

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<p>If one of my kids were waitlisted at their number one choice and I knew that it would be affordable you betcha he would be calling and I would be backing that call up and the GC, too, to say that “yes” we were also firmly behind attendance. I would not support one of mine if the school that waitlisted him was a crapshoot financially even if it was a number 1 choice, in this case I would gently push my S to move on…</p>

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<p>Also, it might depend on the school, but I know a guidance counselor who has gotten a paper copy of my friend’s application for him. They went through it, found weaknesses (ie. essay) and filed a petition (on top of just joining the waitlist).</p>

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<p>OP- you can do your S a big favor at this juncture by helping him decide among the schools he’s been accepted to, figuring out where the finances are going to work, etc, and not pouring quite so much time and attention into the WL school.</p>

<p>I have to admit I’ve done a 180 degree turn on this since my own kids went through this process- but having observed over two dozen kids (nephews, close friends of my children, neighbors) over the last couple of years, I think you do your kid a disservice by finding more reasons to keep mentioning the name of W/L school or leaving room in your brain for it to occupy.</p>

<p>Some schools waitlist as a polite way of saying no. Some schools waitlist as a polite way of saying “We would have taken you but the aid we’d have given you was going to be so crappy we knew you wouldn’t come anyway”. And some schools waitlist because your kid is a champion frisbee player who likes to crochet, so if the other frisbee playing kid who crochets who they liked more turns them down, maybe they’ll go back to the list and take another look at your kids app.</p>

<p>Do kids get in off the wl? yes. But I know kids who have sat on 3, 4 and 5 w/l, and all through Prom season and senior dinner and senior trip and the service program and all the fun “end of an era” stuff your son could be doing while he’s getting excited about college, is spent not investing in the college he’s told he’s attending… because he’s waiting to hear about his wl school.</p>

<p>In my mind, unless the difference between wl school and the one he’s been admitted to, is so substantial and life altering-- why prolong the agony?</p>

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<p>^^^ This is a great post . . . so many kids have spent most of their senior year angsting over college apps and acceptances, competing and comparing on FaceBook, etc.-- at the expense of enjoying their last year together . . . honestly, I think a lot of this is the outcome of a generation of helicoptering parents pushing their competitive expectations-- and I include myself in that comment.</p>