<p>I wonder if there is any evidence to support a theory that I have. From what I have read, and from the experience of my D's college-bound friends, being on the waitlist for most highly selective LACs is just an exercise in futility. But just from what I see here, it looks like getting accepted off the waitlist at a selective music school or conservatory is actually possible. My D was waitlisted at a few schools (luckily not at the school she wanted to go to!) and it seemed to me the waitlist notification letters were surprisingly encouraging. </p>
<p>Any thoughts?</p>
<p>I do think there MAY be a greater possibility of getting off a conservatory waitlist. It is really a numbers game. The conservatory wants all of its studios full. If they have room for 10 violins, they may accept 15 hoping to get 10 of them. If they get 12, they will have to squeeze the extra 2 in, and will likely admit fewer the following year. However, if they only get 7, they will go to the waitlist. They will likely only put 5 or so violins on the waitlist. Therefore, IF the conservatory goes to the waitlist, you may have a decent chance. On the other hand, one of the elite colleges my son applied to placed as many people on the waitlist as it had accepted. Even if the school went to the waitlist, the chances of getting accepted are extremely low. </p>
<p>I think a number of schools do “courtesy” waitlists, meaning that you met our admission criteria, but we had too many qualified applicants, yadda, yadda, yadda. Conservatories are more interested in actually filling seats since their numbers tend to be pretty low so they need to hit target numbers students. They also have to have students who meet the musical standards. Waitlists allow music schools to manage this. They aren’t worried about hurting your feelings. If you make it on to the waitlist, you still may have a shot if their numbers are down a bit.</p>