<p>Well, if your reading this your probably on the waitlist too. Because the waitlist is unranked, I'm going to go out on a limb and assume most on the waitlist are pretty competitive with one another. (Or else they would have been accepted or denied). So what does it take to get off the waitlist? In listening to my mother read random college books, I came across a constant within all of them in dealing with the wait list- be proactive. All of them were calling for the sending of multiple faxes/letters of different awards won, honors received, or anything that would look good on an application since the submission date. (or at the very least a letter of interest urging the institution of the applicants desire to attend). Supposedly the more awards/interest an applicant shows during the waiting list, the higher probability said applicant has of getting off the waiting list.(if spots are available).<br>
So basically what does everyone think? Really I want to know what Dean J thinks. Is it true if we really...really...really...want to go to UVA this proactive method gives us a higher chance of getting off the waiting list? I know you've written on another post/blog that a letter of interest is the best thing to do, but how would admissions officer look at updated list of awards won?</p>
<p>I think a constant barrage of information might be a bit too much, but a sincere, passionate letter to the Dean is in order. Don't just say UVa's your #1 choice and you've loved it since you were a kid. This is what most people write and it winds up being a pretty short and generic letter.</p>
<p>Talk about why you belong here and what you will do here. Do it in a way that makes us commit your name to memory so when the times comes to pull applications for consideration again, we feel compelled to go looking for your file.</p>
<p>Once again you've provided great advice. Well, looks like I'll be off to writing my letter. One other question: how are those on the waitlist differentiated within their groups. ie. in/out of state - particular school. Since the waitlist isn't ranked do you just look over all the applications again and see who has the highest credentials out of the pool. In my case I know my writing section of the SAT is low, and I know I can deff improve it. Would it help me at all if I improved my SAT score if I know that was one of the causes for my waitlist. Or will UVA not recognize the new score. (either way I'm going to take it, because Im going to UVA one way or another. So if it comes down to me transferring, new SAT scores could help) Also my class rank was was just out of UVA's usual range of top 10%, but if things go well this semester I might be top 1 or 2 in the class. (My school only has 33 students in my class, and each person is about 3.3 percent). Should I make note of this by sending a letter if such a thing happens.
Oh by the way. As you can see I'm probably still in the Bargaining phase of grief . (Which i plan on staying in until I get into UVA :P )</p>
<p>Once all the mail from May 1st arrives, is opened, and student replies are logged into the system, we'll know what parts of the class have room (in-state CLAS, OOS SARC, for example). From there, we start pulling folders all over again and rereading. I wouldn't recommend taking the SAT again...it's just not a big enough part of our process for a new score to make a huge difference.</p>
<p>By the way, my perception is that "top 10%" isn't some sort of "safe zone" for applicants to be in. Obviously, that differs from school to school and yours being small, decile ranking isn't going to be a big factor. If you do get to 1 or 2 in the class, that's a remarkable accomplishment that does warrant a note to the Office of Admission.</p>
<p>Alright! Looks like I have my work cut out for me...</p>