<p>As I combed through some of the old waitlist threads, I began to wonder how many kids actually get waitlisted per school. There seems to be a lot, but it's obvious that a school would never miscalculate their yield badly enough to need dozens of kids. Is it because they need certain types of kids or are they just trying to refrain from breaking too many hearts? And, I know it will vary by school, but how many students does the average school put on their waitlist?</p>
<p>There is no answer to that one. No one really knows they depth of any school’s waitlist unless they tell you. The waitlist thread tells you everything there is to know without actually knowing. All you will get with this thread is rehash.</p>
<p>I was at a workshop yesterday talking about the end of this process and the head of this organization was telling us that there can be all sorts of results…acceptance , acceptance with FA, acceptance but FA waitlist, waitlist, then he put “waitlist” again but this time in " " . He was explaining to us that there are meaningful waitlist and then there are the waitlist from schools that don’t want to make anyone feel bad so they don’t send RJ but just waitlist.<br>
He said that he would be able to find out for us or your HS advisor will be able to find out for you if it’s a real waitlist and your place on that list. </p>
<p>If you’re waitlisted at your first choice you should immediately email the school and tell them you’d like to stay on the WL. After that ( as hard as this sounds) move on. If you are accepted to other schools go to revisit days and enjoy them. Celebrate the acceptance letters you do have and put the WL school out of your mind. You’ll have a full month M10-A10 to decide. If you or your child still want to see the WL school through to the bitter end (A10), here’s one way you can do it:</p>
<p>After the revisit days, choose a school, fill out the contract, write the check and place everything in an overnight envelope. Don’t mail it yet. Three days before the deadline (NOT before) call the WL school and ask them for a status update. Most schools will be very candid and understanding of the A10 deadline you have with another school. If they tell you it doesn’t look promising: thank them and hang up. Call the School (AO Contact) that Loves You and tell them that your child will be attending next year and you’ll be sending the contract and deposit overnight. </p>
<p>This way you can hold out for a WL miracle and still move forward at the same time. </p>
<p>^^^ Also: Make sure you send the WL email with Return Receipt 
</p>
<p>My Groton waitlist said “literally hundreds of people fall into this category.” I don’t know if this is hundreds of people who “could do good work at Groton,” or hundreds of people on the waitlist. They only admitted 158 students last year anyway…</p>
<p>Just to add one more quick thing: If you call the WL school three days before the A10 deadline you will have the option to stay on the WL or be taken off. I don’t like the Stay On Option for a number of reasons but the biggest one is that it doesn’t provide closure. ( As you get closer to A10, you’ll know what I mean ). Also, if by some miracle you are taken off the WL in the weeks/ months following A10, you will have to forfeit a very large deposit at the other school and break the commitment. I don’t see a lot of upside doing it this way but everyone is different. </p>
<p>The best advice I can give is to talk over WL scenarios with your kid and devise a plan that suits your family best. Everyone has a threshold for pain… now would be a good time to think about what your limits are. M10-A10 can be an emotional rollercoaster for many people- sometimes a WL looming over a family’s head is more trouble than it’s worth… IMHO. </p>
<p>I just got off the phone with my sister who will be going through M10 with her child. She called a WL at her son’s first choice a potential Vortex- something they’re prepared to deal with until the A10 deadline but not suffer for if they’re fortunate to have other viable options. They applied to nine schools so one could hope. ( And yes- he loved all nine… my sister said she had to whittle the list down from eleven). </p>
<p>If it makes anyone feel better- this is not the first time she’s been through BS admissions with a child. She said it never gets easier. If anything- it’s gotten more stressful. You are not alone. </p>
<p>She also said she’s considering wearing a pith helmet M10. Whatever that means… She should be back to her normal self… I’m thinking maybe around Mid- April. :)</p>
<p>Pith helmet - <a href=“http://www.forestry-suppliers.com/Images/Original/1103_24338_p1.jpg”>http://www.forestry-suppliers.com/Images/Original/1103_24338_p1.jpg</a></p>
<p>I know what it is and I’ve seen her wear it! I was just wondering how wearing a hat with a fan will help her M10! LOL. She’s a piece of work. :)</p>
<ul>
<li>I get it now… it’s the fan (to keep her cool?). I need more coffee. I totally missed that one! :)</li>
</ul>
<p>Thanks @PhotographerMom I’ll be keeping that advice in mind post M10.</p>
<p>@PhotographerMom Why wittle it down? I applied to 10, and if I’d been more open-minded, it could be twice that…</p>
<p>And yes, I love them all too.</p>
<p>@stargirl- All three (mom/dad/child) had to be all in with every application. My guess is some didn’t make the cut- for whatever reason. I got the impression she regrets cutting the schools now, but I think that’s just nerves talking and (very natural ) second guessing as we approach M10. As her sister, my job is to listen and try to make her laugh… or just let her calls go to voicemail. :)</p>
<p>Some people believe you can’t possibly fall in love with 9-10 schools, but I’m with you. If you’re open-minded it’s really easy to do. </p>
<p>PhotographerMom’s detailed and informative posts underscore a great point that smarter people than me have made before here: Love the school that loves you.</p>
<p>While you may hold out great hopes for coming off Exoverhotch’s list, if you’ve done your homework in applying to schools…you should be happy to attend any of them.</p>
<p>Why apply if you wouldn’t want to go? </p>
<p>@stargirl3: You’ll find a lot of people asking various posters that after M10…in reaction to posts like “I got into SCHOOL X and wait listed at SCHOOL Y, but I don’t really want to go to SCHOOL X, what should I do?”</p>
<p>I do think there are instances of submitting an app before you have toured/interviewed and something about your visit really rubs you the wrong way. But I also think that some folks simply HAVE applied to places that they truly do not want to attend…whether because their parents “made” them or perhaps they were just trying to “cast a wide net” and weren’t applying the “If this was the only school I got into, would I be happy going there?” test to the schools on their short lists.</p>
<p>@SevenDad I agree with everything you just said. (Wrote?) :)</p>
<p>Those “I got in but I don’t want to go,” posts annoyed me so much last year, seeing as I had no options.</p>
<p>Where we live you can’t pull into a Starbucks parking lot without seeing AndoverGrotonKentTaftDeerfieldGunneryPomfretExeterBlairCanterburyHotchkissChoate car decals parked side by side. Many private day schools are BS feeders and kids apply to BS from our local middle school and HS, too. The month of March is like the Kentucky Derby around here and it’s ridiculously competitive. Even the most grounded person or family on earth can be swept away. </p>
<p>@stargirl - The schools her family cut have been generating a lot of favorable buzz lately and instead of being confident in her nine wonderful choices, she’s allowing things to get inside her head that don’t belong there. Thankfully, she’s very careful to keep most of this turmoil to herself (faraway from her son) and calls me five times a day. I’m exaggerating. It’s more like two but it feels like five. I’m sure DN is dealing with his own stuff right now. Imagine the atmosphere at his school with so many of his peers waiting for M10. </p>
<p>So… I try to give her the best advice I can: Switch cars with your husband, don’t go to Starbucks and do your grocery shopping after midnight. That’s why they pay me the big bucks :)</p>
<p>I have a feeling you and my nephew are going to be just fine M10. </p>
<p>Bump: While my suggestions aren’t the last word on WL strategy, it might be helpful to have a look and see one way you can handle it if you were to receive one next week…</p>