I currently have been waitlisted by Cal, Carnegie Mellon, and UMichigan, but I would be willing to go to any of the three. However, the notifications of whether or not I got in from the waitlist comes out at different times, each with just a few days to decide on commitment. My question is whether or not I can say yes to one school when I find out, and then withdraw that offer should I get into another school. For example, if CMU accepts me first and I say “yes”, is it possible for me to change my answer if Cal also accepts me a week later?
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Yes you can unless you are asked to sign something as part of your acceptance saying you will withdraw all other applications.
I have heard of this happening. You get a RD, you accept, you get a wait list, you accept and withdraw RD, you get another wait list and withdraw the first wait list.
I am sure you know that the chances of getting off the wait list are unlikely so make sure you accept one your regular decision acceptances.
Yes, sure you can. You would just lose the deposit on both your first and your second school. You MUST accept a spot someplace by May 1 where you have been accepted, though, if you want to be sure to go to college in the fall. And honestly, your odds of getting off any waitlist is pretty low, you aren’t likely to run into this. Also, few schools tell exactly when they are going to go to their waitlist – they keep it open and make offers until they have filled their class. Sometimes they don’t use their waitlist at all if a lot of students accept their initial offers.
Sometimes they are pulling people off the waitlist late in the summer when tuition checks aren’t showing up by the deadline, the “summer melt”, or in June when someone made a last minute decision to defer for a gap year.