<p>My S was accepted into the Spring 2010, and is on the waitlist for Fall 2009. First time I have heard of this combination. Is this usual for Whitman? Waiting (still) for the packet to better explain all to us</p>
<p>should be interesting?</p>
<p>My D was also waitlisted. She didn’t tell me whether it said anything about spring admission, though.</p>
<p>At least we now know the denominator of schools we are dealing with! The clock is ticking for decision time.</p>
<p>It showed on my S’s account on the webadvisor as a spring admit. And you are right the clock is ticking.</p>
<p>I don’t know how common this practice is at Whitman, but I have heard of it at other schools. Essentially your S is being offered one the slots that will open up as a few fall admits fail to come back in spring–which the admissions office knows happens every year. It provides a means of extending the number of slots the college can offer and helps ensure full enrollment.</p>
<p>It is a good option if he likes Whitman. What he would miss is orientation services that are available to fall admits and the “early bonding” that results. In this way his situation would be somewhat akin to that of a transfer student. Depending on his advanced credit standing he might also be unable to graduate with his class (although not everyone does, regardless of the term of entry) which might bother some people. Just a few things to consider.</p>
<p>Interesting! I remember reading a thread about this – I think it was for Whitman.</p>
<p>ETA: Here it is – <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/whitman-college/673815-spring-admission.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/whitman-college/673815-spring-admission.html</a></p>
<p>Kumitedad my niece was a Spring admit this year at the school that had the major that best fit her. She decided to forego her other acceptances and accept the spring admit, but time will tell if this was the best decision. She had a difficult fall as her BF and friends headed off to colleges all over the country, while she was still at home. She did work and took classes at the Community College, but that did not head off depression. She has connected with a group of gals and will probably join a sorority that some of her friends are in, but she thinks she has missed out on some of the connections other Freshman have found.</p>
<p>I think a Spring admit would be good if your son has a plan for the fall, could use a break, and can make connections with a small group of people. I don’t think Whitman is particularly cliquish, which I think my nieces school is, so it may not have some of the social issues she experienced. He would also need to be sure he is OK with his friends heading off in August, while he waits until January. </p>
<p>You may want to search Spring admit, because I have read more positive stories of students experiences on other threads.</p>
<p>My daughter, now a junior, had the same option: accepted as a freshman for spring and waitlisted for the fall. I believe I have posted about this recently (in addition to extensively at the time). So you may be able to search the archives and find those old posts (or directly search my previous posts). She told Whitman that she would attend in the Spring, but really wanted to go in the fall. She ended up getting off the waitlist for the fall fairly early in May. In a variety of ways, she got herself on the radar at the Admissions Office, which I think is important for getting off a wait list. I think that starting college in January can seem daunting to a kid, but I’ve heard of a lot of kids doing great things during that fall term that they otherwise would never have done. It seems like kids who start Whitman in January (called Jan Starts) generally have a good transition. I can understand it being scary to a kid. It was scary to me, as a parent, worrying about whether it would affect the success of her experience. I think if your son really wants to go to Whitman and has decent social skills, then the spring option will work out.</p>
<p>re an earlier post: the spring admit offer is increasingly common (happens at UC Berkeley for a good sized group) and , at least at a school like Whitman, it is made possible because enough kids go abroad spring term that there is room in dorms and classes that is not necessarily there in the fall. (an earlier poster suggested it is that kids drop out which is not the case at Whitman but I suppose could be a big universities). It is also a way to say to a wait-list candidate–we really want you but there isn’t room–yet. I do know that quite a few spring admits do get in for the fall afterall, so if it is a first choice is is probably worth doing.</p>
<p>It certainly means that you’re near the top of the wait-list, for what it’s worth.</p>
<p>(Orygunmum’s daughter)</p>
<p>When I visited Whitman, my host was a spring admit, and so was their boyfriend. They didn’t seem to be limited socially, but I do think it is more a matter of if you can handle that term at home while your friends go off.</p>
<p>Brown and Middlebury both offer Spring admits. It also has to do with the numbers of students who go abroad Spring junior year so there are a lot more beds that semester.</p>
<p>I think dorming is more the difficulty than classes.</p>
<p>Hey, I am a current Whitman student who just started this Spring semester after being admitted as a Jan-start last year. I asked to be put on the fall waitlist but I didn’t get off of it, and I don’t think very many people did, but I could be wrong. While I was a bit apprehensive about the whole idea at first, the fall semester actually ended up being a period filled with a lot of self-growth for me. I agree that it’s a little weird having your friends off at college in the fall while you’re still at home, but in general it was a really positive experience for me: I did things in the fall that were extremely eye-opening and personally enriching (having my first “real job”, playing in a local symphony orchestra, etc.) which I wouldn’t have had much opportunity to do at Whitman or any other college. If you think Whitman’s for you, I would definitely encourage you to consider accepting as a Jan-start.
Also, dorming is not really an issue as far as I can tell. My roommate is also a Jan-start which helps things out a bit (since you already have that common bond), and people I’ve talked to seem to have gotten one of their top dorm choices. Feel free to message me if you have any questions about being a Jan-start!</p>