Help with waitlist letter please!

Parents Forum
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<p>Hello. I am currently writing a letter to a college I was waitlisted by. I am an intl student so this idea is fairly new to me. I know that I should convey to the college my desire to remain on the waitlist, why this college and I are a good fit, and that I'll definitely enroll there if I am taken off the list (it is my top choice). But I already submitted a 'Why College XYZ' in the supplement. So should I include why XYZ or not in this letter?</p>

<p>Any general tips on writing a waitlist letter will be greatly appreciated:)</p>

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<p>So does nobody have any experience with waitlist letters?</p>

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<p>Lots of waitlist help in this reply from a few weeks ago:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/columbia-university/1121583-what-waitlist-all-your-questions-answered.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/columbia-university/1121583-what-waitlist-all-your-questions-answered.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Keep it a 1-page letter from you restating your interest, and make sure it contains only new information.</p>

<p>If anyone else sends it in, or if you send in new recommendations, or if you rehash material that is in your original application, that will all work against you.</p>

<p>Last, the most important thing you can do now is to focus on your “Plan B” school (the one you got accepted to). That’s because you have no control over any of the factors involved in getting you off the waitlist. And the chances of getting off a waitlist are usually extremely small.</p>

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<p>Thank you jpm. You said that sending in new recs can work against me, how so? I was planning on sending an athletic rec.</p>

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<p>I wouldn’t say that sending in additional recs is automatically a bad thing. I would, however, warn against sending in too many recs or sending in recs that don’t add anything new to the application. If you’re going to send in a new rec, make sure it adds something that wasn’t there when you originally applied.</p>

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<p>I sent in two recs from my professors and I am going to send in the third one from my Soccer coach so I guess it does add something new?</p>

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<p>A friend of mine worked in the admissions offices for two top-20 colleges. I asked her about this once. What I wrote in my previous reply was what she told me.</p>

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<p>In addition to recent achievements or accomplishments (how were your 3rd qtr grades? Honor roll? any community service?) try to include a specific experience about the college (when you visited or met an alum, etc…) & what that means to you (aka why it’s a good fit).</p>

<p>This is the most important letter you can write.</p>