Getting waitlisted from BC then ND was brutal
@IvyHopeful98
Because they don’t want to flat out reject you and they don’t want to admit you (yet)
@tina23 I understand that, but why so many? They know they won’t need nearly as many people as they accept to waitlist, which is what frustrates me.
I agree that 800 is high for a waitlist at ND, but there are many kids who don’t accept a spot on it. They may have adjusted it for this year, but there’s no way to know at this point.
I believe 800 is roughly the number of people that accepted the invitation. They actually offer waitlist to probably twice that number. Which goes back to @IvyHopeful98 question. Why so many?
@GraceDad is correct, I believe they offer about 1600 students a spot on the waitlist, and they said that they expect 800 to accept the offer.
So can we talk about the best strategy to try and get off the waitlist?
To the lady whose daughter made it off the waitlist - what kind of action did your daughter take to improve her chances.?
I’m thinking about sending a letter of intent to my regional admissions rep - saying that if I am taken off the waitlist, I 100% plan to enroll, and that I’m continuing to work hard in school and make good AP scores.
However, I don’t want to nag/annoy the AOs, so we’re limited in what we can do.
Any other suggestions about how to best increase our chances of making it? The chances are slim, but as Yogi Berra would say, “it ain’t over until it’s over.”
We’re in this together, guys 
Waitlisted at Notre Dame and I’m quite upset because it’s been my dream school since I was a little kid. I have four counts of legacy (dad, brother, sister, cousin), so my main concern is that they know that my credentials aren’t enough and they are just putting me on the wait list because they don’t want to say they rejected someone with legacy. Is that possible?
Hi @wneely16 I think I might be 'the lady" you are referring to as I posted a response earlier in this thread. My daughter was accepted off the waitlist after being deferred EA and then she was waitlisted RD–the dreaded double whammy! This was back in 2012, she’s a senior now at ND and wow, did these years go by fast even if the wait for admission was excruciately slow! As I mentioned before, I posted some of the things she did back in a post in 2014(?) to the waitlist candidates then and I am pretty sure that post is still there, take a look. You can also feel free to PM me, I recently found out that I get an email when someone does that (who knew
@MomofNewND Sorry I didn’t go back to the previous page, haha
I’ll look for this post! Thank you for the advice. If I have any questions, I’ll be sure to let you know.
as a current student writing from his dorm, I can say that people definitely do get off the wait list. I was deferred and waitlisted two years ago, but both my roommate and I were eventually accepted (he was waitlisted too). Here’s what I did.
within a week, I fired off an email to my admissions councilor talking about how although I was disappointed about being waitlisted, notre dame remained by first choice school, etc. then, I continued to email him probably every 2-4 weeks until may. Every time I sent an email, I talked about something new: grades came out, made deans list; was selected to represent my school in a mock congress; found out I had competed in my state competition and won the clinching bout for a state championship with a stress fracture; etc. Give them something new with each email!
when I talked to my college councilor from senior year, she says that it wasn’t my grades, ECs, or resume that got me in. It was how far I strived to reach out to the school, and how much I communicated to
extrapolating from the stats from my year, about 2000 will be wait listed, and another 800 will accept a slot on the waitlist. However, of those 800, only about 80 will continue regular correspondence with their regional admissions councilor. Send your emails, get to know them, and when an admissions director walks into their office and asks for 3-5 names come may, your name will be fresh in their mind. Don’t be overbearing, don’t act a victim, just show them through your continued efforts how well you’d fit on the notre dame campus. I was happy to lose my deposit at Villanova to attend Notre dame, and I don’t regret it in the least.
feel free to reach out with questions, I check this account semi-regularly. Best of luck guys!
ND will go to the waitlist as early as they can. Last year, my DD knew by May 8th (I believe) that they wouldn’t be going to the waitlist at all. Hopefully, this year, they didn’t “over accept” and will have room for a few WL’d students.
As soon as the May 1st deadline passes, they’ll have a good idea as to how many spots they’ll have. They don’t intend on making students wait too long.
But, don’t forget to pay your deposit at another college/university by the May 1st deadline.
on a similar note, I heard May 5th and my roommate heard may ~15th
Just sent a packet to my regional admissions rep containing:
[QUOTE=""]
letter that elaborates on “Why ND” - very emotional and introspective, I was very happy with it
sheet with some of my updated extracurrics on bullet points
copy of 3rd 9 weeks report card (everything above 96, except AP calc!)
photo of myself, because it’s harder to them to say no when they’ve seen your face
[/QUOTE]
Thanks for all the advice! Hoping for the best!
MomofNewND had a excellent post…I still can’t figure out exact process of regular admittance…Our daughter was waitlisted 2 years ago and was crushed. She stayed in close contact with ND rep for our area…Somehow she made it off waiting list…So, it does happen. As a side note she’s made the Dean’s List all three of her semesters. I’m sure the same can’t be said for a number of applicants who were admitted ahead of her. Net/Net – If you were waitlsted and you want to attend – Go for it. The experience will help you long term whether you get in or not.
@Maripatone Thanks for the advice! In the last month, I’ve received a $5,000 scholarship and been featured on the front page of the county newspaper for an event I’m organizing for Scouts. I sent my admissions rep an E-mail with my accomplishments, and she got back to me very quickly, which is great. I’m still holding out for good luck and hoping for the best 
Being waitlisted is hard!
Notre Dame expects to enroll about 2000 students, and one issue is that they have to house all those students in single sex dorms - which means, if they have too many, they have significant housing issues.
My advice is, as above, pick a school to commit to, learn to love it, and if nd comes calling - great - otherwise, you will have a great experience wherever you choose, or you can transfer in later. You are all immensely talented, wonderful people - DO NOT let a decision by admissions convince you otherwise!
i think @ndtxmom82 raises a great point: its important to find another school that you love, because the waitlist is incredibly fickle. having seen friends attend both of the schools I was considering while I was waiting on the waitlist, I know I would have fully immersed myself and would have loved either school. However, you can only do that if you really commit yourself to the school you pick instead of considering it a stepping stone to transfer from. Best of luck guys!
Any indication to whether the waitlist will be used?
^^^^ I can’t imagine there will be any indication until the May 1 deadline has passed.