I’ve never heard of an ED1 waitlist - which my daughter received for NYU Stern today. I feel like there should be rejection, acceptance or deferred to ED2 OR regular for an Early Decision App - What kind of game is NYU playing here? SHe’s crushed and I’m, well irritated as heck.
I have not of WL for ED. I also did a quick search on NYC and I didn’t find anything about ED WL. Would you mind posting language in the letter?
There was a poster here last year who was waitlisted in the ED cycle at Wesleyan. (S)he ultimately did get admitted there, if that’s of any encouragement. I agree that it’s weird and irritating. 
Here it goes:
After careful review of your application and all supporting documents, we would like to offer you a place on our waitlist. While we cannot offer you admission to NYU at this time, your application presented compelling academic and personal achievements, and we would like to continue to evaluate your credentials should space become available in our class.
If you wish to remain on the waitlist, please let us let us know by completing the short form called Wait List Offer Response found on your status page by January 3, 2019.
Another student from her high school received a deferral - but never heard of this.
It is something new.
If your kid is still very interested in NYU, I would have your GC contact NYU to find out what’s missing in your kid application (stats, interest, ECs, awards, etc). Your kid or GC could then try to address some of those concerns. Your kid could also send in another packet, which would include updated transcript, additional LORs, and another letter of interest.
My kid did that when she was WL during RD and was admitted to 2 WL schools.
Her GPA should climb and she raised her super score by one full point - we will keep them updated. sigh… thanks everyone
Is she a legacy? It could be a courtesy WL?
I think this is a new thing for NYU. I’m sure deferred was the only non-admit-or-reject decision option last year,but a few people have waitlists this year. Because they are still deferring some students, I’m wondering if this isn’t actually a waitlist off the ED1 pool itself - as 3 Jan is also the date by which ED students have to accept or pass up their place. NYU seems to lose a number of ED offers due to financial considerations so this could be a way for them to keep the numbers taken out of the ED1 pool relatively high. I’d suggest calling admissions to confirm.
Shouldn’t be level of applicant’s interest that is lacking – the applicant applied ED, which is the strongest possible expression of interest.
Why couldn’t a waitlist kid from ED1 then apply through ED2? The letter states no offer can now be made until May…why should someone have to wait 5 months now?
I’d assume (guess) that the student is released from the ED commitment and no longer bound to accept a spot if offered later on. (And hope that the letter states that as well?).
What if your kids were deferred and then waitlisted in April? Would they be better off? The answer would still be the same. Either way they are going to have to wait 5+ months for an answer.
What would be the point to NYU to continue to hold an app for further review if they have already made the determination that the applicant is unlikely to be admitted, but is strong enough for their waitlist? Why create false hopes for your kids, who may very well be better off applying to and working up enthusiasm for other colleges in the interim.
NYU has a very good FAQ page here: https://www.nyu.edu/admissions/undergraduate-admissions/how-to-apply/wait-list-faq.html
Please note that they do NOT want submissions of additional material beyond what their online forms ask for. No matter what anyone on CC suggests.
@ucbalumnus - do you think sometimes a student may lose interest in a school after he/she is deferred or WL? Do you not think it would be good to let Adcom know he/she is still very interested in the school? Not sure what your kids would have done, but my daughter did that and she was admitted.
per calmom’s post, it appears NYU does not want any additional information. I would still have the GC make a call.
No, She is not a legacy. I don’t even know anyone who has graduated from NYU. Stats: 33 ACT, 3.9/4.5, rigorous classes, Sr. Class Pres., Athlete, two successful businesses she started ALL on her own, 2 internships with advertising/film co’s.
Cal mom - We are released from the ED commitment and she already signed her waitlist form.
She felt confident she had a chance and still wants is desperately, but she needs to emotionally move on. Five months and almost no chance for $$ makes it a tough sell for this mom.
And yes, Old Fort, NYU makes it quite obvious they want NO ADDITIONAL CONTACT - its almost as if that could get you black balled according to the verbiage on the site. We contacted 3 different GC and CC’s - and they had never heard of it.
Tbh, I would prefer this to being deferred to RD and then being WL which is what often happens.
You know you will not be accepted in the RD round and you know that the odds of coming off a WL are low.
This is permission to get invested in other options. Sure, you might come off the WL, but this says “go through the process prepared to deposit somewhere else by April 30.”
I realize it’s disappointing, but after you have grieved, you can go forward with a bit more clarity.
Last year my D;s friend applied ED1 to Wesleyan. At decision time, she was told that she was not being offered a spot in the ED1 cycle, but they asked if she wanted to be put into the ED2 round (not waitlist). She said yes. She was then rejected in the ED2 round. That really smarted!
No grieving here (from mom anyway) and she is doing fine - just so confused about all the complicated games colleges are playing these days.
We live in Cali and the one thing our state does that makes sense is the college admissions process. State schools do not accept ED or EA, they refuse reference letters and release acceptances in April. No reasons for deferrals or lengthy waitlists - so simple!! AND, the prices are CHEAP for instate.
Now if we could only get them to protect the instate admissions percentages…
@oldfort NYU is a huge school with a bazillion applicants. They don’t want phone calls from gc’s. They have made their decision. These applicants didn’t make the cut as compared to others in the applicant pool and what they project they will be seeing in the ED 2 and RD rounds. It’s not a specific deficit - they just have enough info already to project likely outcome at the end of the admission season, and they don’t want to created the added burden on their admission staff of an additional review.
They aren’t going to change their mind and they really aren’t going to be able to give the g.c. any useful info that the gc can’t figure out on their own.
So I really think that these students should add their names to the waitlist and move on. Best case scenario is that these students have better options in April at colleges that want them. But no harm in keeping the outside possibility of admission to the first choice college open for now.
@calmom - not sure why you are addressing me on this issue?! At my kid’s private school, the GC could usually get through to AO and discuss their applicants. My kid’s GC was able to speak to most of AOs to get additional information on my kid’s behalf. I don’t think I even mentioned the GC could/would change AO’s mind. It would be to inquire what AO thought was lacking in the application and maybe it could be addressed with additional information. Very common thing to do during the process.
On the other hand, Cornell is probably just as HUGE, but they do not cut anybody off anyone on offering more information.
@calmom - since you opened this conversation with me:
How do you know that? Do you work for the NYU admission? What if they misinterpreted the student’s essays? Maybe there was a problem with the student’s LOR. If a GC has a good relationship with AO, feedback like that could potentially help with the student’s RD applications.
When D1 was WL at her ED, her GC called the school’s AO for those precise reasons.