Parents, I would love your help

<p>Hi, I have a favor to ask of everyone. I posted this on the Cornell forum, but odyssey suggested that I post here (thanks for the idea!).</p>

<p>I've been waitlisted at Cornell. I know I should send a letter, but I get the feeling (after my Yale deferral/rejection) that I really don't know the proper way to communicate with adcoms. I know I should talk about recent awards and my love for the school, but I feel that I really need some help saying these things correctly.</p>

<p>So please, if your son or daughter was admitted after a deferral or waitlisting, could you PM me a copy of the letter you sent?</p>

<p>I feel that I am strong in all of my stats, and that this sort of thing would be one of the reasons that I was waitlisted.</p>

<p>Thanks in advance for all your help.</p>

<p>(Also, do you think it's a good idea for me to ask a Cornell alumn that I know very well to write me an additional recommendation?)</p>

<p>There's a good book called The Gatekeepers, written about three years ago, that describes the situation of a girl waitlisted at Cornell and how she communicated with the adcom and eventually got in. I don't remember the details, but one somewhat unusual thing was that she agreed to start in January, when every school is down some students. I think she spent the fall in Costa Rica, then started in Jan. There were others like her entering at the same time, so it wasn't the lonely experience you might think.</p>

<p>One of my daughter's soccer friends did the Jan. admission thing at Berkeley back in 2003 (that was the only choice they gave her). She is very happy there, academically and socially.</p>

<p>Good luck! You will need some extra perserverance and grit --and my heart goes out to you!</p>

<p>Thanks SuNa. I just got back from Barnes and Noble, and, unfortunately, they didn't have that book. (I flipped through about seven others, though!)</p>

<p>I've never heard of starting a semester late; that's very interesting. I'll certainly keep it in mind.</p>

<p>You should call Cornell and ask if financial aid will still be available to those from the waitlist if this is a factor. Some schools give it all out to the admits and have nothing left.</p>

<p>Next, think about how much you really want to go there compared to the schools that accepted you. Have you visited it and your other options? Talked to students at the different schools? Is it TRULY your top choice? If so, in your letter you could promise to enroll if accepted off the waitlist. Schools can pluck anyone from the waitlist, and when they turn to the list its because they have an opening. They're much more likely to take someone they know will enroll rather than someone who just sent a postcard saying "ok, keep me on the waitlist".</p>

<p>However I feel bound to say that I wonder if you really know Cornell is right for you, that it would be a better fit than your acceptances. Aside from being in the Ivy league, Yale and Cornell are VERY different schools. When I someone applying to both of these, I wonder if they are just chasing prestige rather than finding colleges that are a fit for them.</p>

<p>What you said, mikemac, is exactly what I'm worried about. That I've convinced myself to chase prestige instead of going to a school I'll be happy at (like Vassar, which accepted me).</p>

<p>Still, I visited every school on my list before applying, and I spent three weeks at the Cornell Summer Session. I realize that in the summer, there was a much smaller number of students, but I really got to know and love the campus and Tompkins County. Because I was in the Vet Program, we went on field trips almost every day, and we had prepaid TCAT bus passes. I also got to visit Pathology Show and Tell at the Vet School, which was amazing. </p>

<p>I know I will be happy at any school I go to, but I think the resources and diversity (in course selection) at Cornell make it my top choice. Plus, I've already lived there three weeks, so I have a feel for how my life would be there.</p>

<p>Thanks for the advice. I'm planning on calling up the admissions office tomorrow afternoon.</p>