New Waitlist Info and When to Visit

My S called Lehigh today to ask:

  1. Is he waitlisted for the program he requested (computer science and business) or the school
  2. How long does he have to accept the offer if taken off the waitlist

He was told that those coming of the waitlist would get a phone call before the end of the month and they have until May 1st to decide. Also at that time, they would be notified if they got into their first choice program or whether they are being offered an alternate program.

We haven’t visited Lehigh because it is far from us (live near Chicago) and had planned only to visit if admitted. The wait list option throws a wrench in the works. I thought about trying to visit on a Saturday even before hearing back but there are no weekend visit days. We are reluctant to take time off school (6 APs to prep for) and spend money with no definite answer. At this point we are hoping near the end of the month doesn’t mean two or three days before so we can still try to make a last minute visit.

Singermom4:

Didn’t you post this yesterday on another thread?

“S came home early from school today not feeling well and with a sore throat - apparently 22 kids were sent home sick yesterday. And we’re supposed to leave Thursday night for our whirlwind trip to see BU and University of Rochester!”

Maybe you could fit in a visit to Lehigh, this weekend, if you are really interested. Given how much Lehigh factors in demonstrated interest your son might have been accepted instead of being waitlisted if you had visited before applying. You can’t visit the campus without an official weekend visit date? I think you could go there and spend time researching the school yourselves. Your son could write up a nice letter - with some photos - to his admission officer saying why after visiting he was sure he wanted to go to Lehigh.

Best of luck!

It was too tight to fit in Lehigh and looking at the waitlist admission stats the chances still seem slim. Original plan was to fit Lehigh in if we could have used Easter weekend but with back-to-back admit days for the other two universities this coming weekend we pushed it off. And the original original plan was if he had gotten admitted he was told that he would be flown in - hence, why we waited on the visit plans until admissions came out. Additionally he has had trouble with Calc BC so those first semester grades are not good and also not good at beginning of 2nd semester. I know Lehigh looks mostly at rigor and he is now pulling up and ironically quite likely to get a 5 on the AP test but that will come too late to help with admissions. He is capable of the material but needed a bit more time for it all to meld. I still told him he should write a letter expressing his continued interest and an explanation for the calc grade. He likes to challenge himself and refused to drop down a class to improve the grade.

He did interview with a regional rep. With 3 relatively nearby airports, I figure I can get in with miles into one of them. I suppose we still could visit on a Saturday but how does that demonstrate interest if no one is there to register it. It’s too high a price tag to take just a drive by. I personally have some concerns about fit - think the CRWU/UofRoc model fits him better.

You can certainly that’ll to the admissions officer. Lehigh likes kids who take their own initiative. I would think they would like you coming. On your own to visit the campus and write a nice essay about the experience. If you include pictures and even a copy of the plane ticket there would be no doubt your son visited. Lehigh is pretty upfront valuing prospective students to take the time to visit the campus. Good luck!