My son has three schools that put him on the waiting list. He is genuinely interested in 2 of them and this is messing up his decision making.
Do the schools usually advise you if admission from the waiting list prior to May 1?
If so, great.
If not, what happens if you pay deposit at another school and then do get off the waiting list?
schools do not admit off the waitlist before may 1st. the function of a waitlist is to have kids on retainer if the school does not meet its yield. it is in your sons best interest to pay a deposit at another school that he would genuinely like to attend before may 1st, as getting off the waitlist is rare at a lot of schools. to know his chances, look up the common data set for those schools, there will be waitlist admission info. if/when you pay a deposit at another school and then get off the waiting list, you can write to the school and let them know formally that you will not be attending, at the penalty of losing your deposit.
CDS data does not really help as the wait list admission depends on the current year yield. The WL admission can swing a lot (even more than 10 fold year to year in some cases). In general, don’t put much hope on the WL and assume nothing will happen.
@MAGAdad61 Please read this thread to further understand what to do with waitlists: http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/2068808-waitlist-what-is-it.html#latest
Thanks. Excellent advice.
It is true that most schools do not go to their wait list until after May 1, but it sometimes happens earlier. I recall from last years discussions a bunch of schools went to wl’s before May 1, and a couple days ago someone said that Bates had taken someone off the wl already this year. Don’t count on it by any means, but you can wait to put the deposit down at the school he is accepted to until may 1 or a day or so before… just in case.
Good luck
Ass1) Assume you will attend one of the colleges you HAVE gotten into. Accept their offer of admission. Start reading all the info.
2) For the WL school, tell them that you would like to remain on the waitlist. If you have won any awards or improved grades, send a Letter of Continuing Interest .
3) If one of those WL schools is your top choice, let them know. Tell them that you would enroll if admitted.
4) Sometimes you don’t get as much financial aid if admitted off the waitlist. Make sure you understand your family’s budget.
5) Look on the Common Data Set in Section C2 to see if many students are admitted off the waitlist. If it is usually less than 10, don’t get your hopes up. If it is 400, then that is something else.
6) If you are admitted, then they would probably ask you if you would enroll if admitted. If you said yes, then you would be admitted.
7) After you put a deposit down on the WL school, Let the other school know you will not be attending. You may not get your deposit back.
8) Sometimes schools start taking kids off the WL in late April…but often it is after May 1.