<p>When we spoke w the AO at one of the very, very low admit-rate schools, the AO said that one year they admitted 2 students from the WL, and that was a lot-- most years they pull zero students in from the WL.</p>
<p>If you look thru some of the threads from last year’s postings, you will see that the pool of WL students is very large.</p>
<p>For the most competitive schools, the chances of getting admitted from the WL is near zero. That may not be the case, though, for the next tier schools.</p>
<p>If you are wait listed, you should make other plans. If you have acceptances in hand from other schools, don’t look back. </p>
<p>This site is filled with reams of speculation about waitlists. If you use the search function, you can amuse yourself for days on end. In the last analysis, though, however small the odds are for admission before March 10th, they get drastically smaller after March 10th. Let’s say the lowest admission rate is around 15%. That means they admit 15 out of every hundred applicants. After the dust has settled, they may need to admit one student. Even if they run very small waiting lists of 25 students per category (for example, 9th grade boarding, male), to admit one student works out to an admission rate of 4%.</p>
<p>Also, it’s not entirely the same pool. I’ve heard and read of students submitting applications late, and being added to the waitlist. You might have been the second-most-appropriate tuba player at the beginning of March, but someone from Australia might be more appealing, once the committee or admission director decides to fill the spot left by the tuba player who decided to attend Stuyvesant. </p>
<p>Some schools rank their waitlist, some schools don’t. If you don’t have other options lined up, you should keep the admissions department updated on grades, awards, your continuing interest, etc.</p>
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<p>^ ^ ^ Well said!!!</p>
<p>Make sure you have a back-up plan to boarding schools. Whether it’s a respected day school in your area, or something along those lines, make sure you have an alternative if the boarding school scenario doesn’t play out. I understand the “Go big or go home” mentality, but at the same time I imagine it’d be a tough adjustment from looking at these grandiose schools to the terrible public schools. Not saying all public schools are terrible, but I don’t think my local public school offers me what the other private schools do.</p>