My daughter got off the Ohio State waitlist last night at 11:15 pm…maybe Friday the 13th isn’t bad luck after all😂
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People who were on georgetown waitlist are either getting accepted, extended waitlist or firm reject.
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GA Tech admission said on Twitter they have met their entering class goals but still looking at various programs. I have heard there are still a few spots in their first year fall abroad (which starts in the summer) so maybe this is why? The head of admission at GT said they expect to release the WL by the end of May on twitter as well.
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It seems a lot of the popular schools are closing the WL or are just about closing and having just a few students admitted as summer melt occurs-- but obviously there are so many schools and many must still be admitting…right?!
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Posted yesterday on the Northeastern waitlist thread.
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My D was waitlisted at 6 (!) schools. She has committed to one she was accepted at, and removed herself from at least 3 of the WLs. But, as time goes on and you get more committed through housing and joining groups (music), it becomes more difficult to consider switching.
I am trying to make sure she really thinks hard if she would switch this late, and if not, let go of her place on the list. Early on, two schools asked if she still wanted to be on the list and she decided not to remain on. When I saw some people actually being accepted after emails like those, I really regretted that she took her name off one of those schools. So, now we are just not knowing when to let go. Will we make a mistake? what if? etc.
I think for our sanity, we will have to decide everything ahead of time and realize that it will be hard deciding between schools, given the chance, as the current school probably has the best location of any school, in my opinion (I grew up near there and know it well). All of this is to say, if schools could hurry up and decide, it would make my life easier. 
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I don’t see the harm in staying on the waitlists but letting your child know that it is very unlikely for them to get off. It is something that they will confront over and over and over in life - being the backup plan in many ways - whether it is from a job interview that they were second (or 100th) best, the offer on the house that they did not get (but they were told they would be the backup offer if it fell through), or the many other similar life’s scenarios they will face. It is ok and they will be fine and this is where they can begin to learn that. I don’t see the benefit in getting off the waitlist - instead of having a minimal chance of getting in or closure that you are not in, you now have 0% of getting in, and no closure (from the school’s side). I guess if they are 1000% sure they would NEVER go to that school even if they get off or they were never really invested in that school to begin with, then, ok, of course get off that waitlist. But for those schools they truly loved and wanted to be a part of, I would keep them on. We personally have not removed ourselves from those kinds of lists (only 2). Chances are even if your child gets off that waitlist, they may no longer be interested anyways because they have decided to invest in and pursue the school(s) that invested in and pursued them. However, there is some comfort in knowing that if, maybe if, they did get off - that you can either make that complete and informed decision to accept admission off a waitlist or be even MORE sure of the “backup” school they have accepted to be a part of. There is no harm or shame in being qualified enough to be on a list of other qualified enough people, but they should certainly move on as if it is not going to happen. The good thing is if they do get invested in other options, it has become a good lesson in life on how to move on and appreciate your other options and make the best of it, and hey, if you are called back - that could be exciting too. There are too many times in my own life (actually I cannot think of an exception where it worked otherwise) where when I did not get my first choice in something I ended up NOT loving where I landed. I may be an exception or anomaly but I have too much anecdotal evidence that has shown me that this is usually true with most people around me too. I guess if your child has moved on and is excited there could be some wisdom in releasing a spot off the waitlist for someone else who does not have that, and I could be a little selfish here, but I would rather satisfy my child’s need to have closure and a truly complete and informed final decision than have him (and honestly me too) wonder what if or lose an opportunity to go where they originally dreamed of.
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When decisions first came out, the end of May through mid June didn’t sound like too long of a wait – I know see that it is a VERY long time. And a LOT happens with the school you are committed to during that time.
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I have a question. I saw some univ. already CLOSED its WL, eg., Princeton, MIT, Yale. However, seems like that Harvard, Stanford are using their WT pool yesterday or next week or even later. Then a question arises.
If H and S will go off total 50+50 =100 ppl from WLs. If 70 out of the 100 were currently in Princeton, Yale, MIT, 30 were in Cornell, UPenn, Berkeley. We assume all the 100 ppl will drop their current ones and go to Harvard. Then, what P, Y and M will do? PYM will pick corresponding 70 ppl from their WLs, even though they already announced “we closed 2026’s WL”? Or they will simply NOT do anything no matter students left for Harvard？
If PYM silently move their WL after HS is starting the waves, then it will bring new waves for Cornell, UPenn, Berkeley, UCLA, UMich, Brown schools’s WL waves? All things are co-related…affect each other…from my logical reasoning.
Some schools who announce that they have “closed” their WL actually have kept a very small number of students on the WL(some call it extended WL) for these types of “summer melt” issues. Alternatively, some schools that “closed” their WL without taking any off are still actually above enrollment goals, so 30 some kids drifting off as they get into other schools will not cause any need to replace them.
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Good explain. However, why a colllege keeps an “Extended WL” if they are still under-enroll? Why not simply admit those students? We assume, any AO director’s job KPI is to make his/her college EXACT-enroll(or little bit over-enroll). Seems like that the “Extended WL” is to prepare for ppl’s drop-out when a univ is just “exact-enroll”.
Based on your model, Yale, MIT, CMU, Princeton are all over-enrolled already and thus CLOSED the WL pool.
Why do you think a college has an extended WL if they’re under-enrolled? 2Devils said those that have “closed” their WL have the extended WL. They’re the ones that are at or over capacity already. Your post postulated some of those folks “melting” over to other colleges still using their WL. That’s when the extended WL would come into play.
So, College A has filled their class. They close their WL. They keep a few folks on an “extended” WL just in case.
College B has not filled their class. They continue to admit off their WL.
In the remote possibility that College B gets one of College A students, and that puts College A under, they might go to their extended WL. However, that is likely to trigger more at the “10 students +/-” level than it is on the “1 student! gasp! we must replace!” level.
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Maybe I did not explain well enough. In my estimation, extended or smaller WL are not for under-enrolled colleges, but for currently at enrollment, so only would be used if students who have already committed move to a different school(or take gap years , etc). And “closed” WL does not necessarily mean over-enrolled, because some schools say “closed” WL but they actually do keep a small number on the WL, because they are right around enrollment, and use that small/extended WL to cover those who have already committed but shift to a different school later.
EDIT: @nothappyabout explained it much better than I did!
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Also, the longer these colleges wait to admit from their WL, the more likely it is that students will say no, because they’ve already gotten familiar with the college that admitted them, put down deposits, found a roommate/place to live, registered for classes, etc. So, melt becomes less likely as the summer proceeds.
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Has anyone heard about more movement on WL’s?
Several reports of offers to OOS kids from UCLA yesterday
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Our school and the neighboring school have had a couple of WL offers recently —less than the first half of May though. Overall the consensus around here seems to be more movement than last year, far less than the dramatic 2020 WL waves.
Our h.s. has seen movement, too (5 or so students). We’re in a large private school in southeast. I think it all depends on how one attacks the situation. In the CDS, most schools say they do not consider demonstrated interest, but that is just absolutely not true. If you just check the box that you’re willing to stay on the WL and then do nothing else, your chances are beyond slim to get pulled off that WL; you’ve dug yourself into a pit. Maintain upbeat, brief, positive contact with your regional AO. Upload updates. Confirm (and re-confirm) your commitment to the school and say (if true) you’ll take a spot immediately if offered one. It’s not all a lost cause unless you abandoned ship upon receiving the original WL notification. Send a LOCI (or 2 if you move to an Extended WL). Reconnect with your interviewer. Get a new letter of rec or two. Make sure your AO knows who you are. Get your college counselor involved to test the temperature of the water and advocate fiercely for you. Be creative. You’re walking the plank, so do whatever it takes to get noticed and shine above the other WL-ers. Best of luck. It’s the most miserable and anxiety-inducing place to be, for sure. But with a good, intentional, well-planned, and executed strategy, a WL isn’t always a soft-no. It’s an opening offer in a negotiation to see who has the guts to put themselves out there in a vulnerable, unique way to stand out and who has the patience and stamina to hang on until the bitter end.
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I don’t know, I think this is true - but not across the board. We are on a waitlist and DS has sent updates, immediately sent a LOCI, reiterated interest, made it clear this college was his first choice and is still waiting (and has committed elsewhere of course, and is getting excited about that). Yet we know of 2 others who did nothing else but check off the box and are now off the list. Their stats were not better than DS but I think this round is different - I think this could be less about who the candidate is and more about what the school needs. I think those ways of showing continued interest and setting yourself apart matter if you are in a group of others that the school just has a need for, but if you are not in that group, I don’t think it matters what you do.
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Yes. Most schools seem to be near or above their enrollment capacity already this year. Those that were not, sent out WL offers shortly after May 1.
For the rest, at this point it’s only about meeting any remaining institutional needs. If an applicant on the WL meets that need they might get a call, otherwise they’re not going to get picked.
But even so, no harm in sending an email or update re-expressing your desire to attend if picked (except at schools that specifically ask you not to contact them).
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