From my son’s experience last year. While it is unlikely to be selected off the WL, just getting their and going through the process is positive. It means you have what it takes.
After M10, you can still look and apply to other schools. You may be pleasantly surprised. Don’t get fixated on the ones that didn’t take you. There are others out there that would love that have you.
sorry i didnt check cc until now, i was selected from a waitlist
Which school was it? If you’re okay with sharing!
I’ve been waitlisted by Berkshire and Hill.
The Hill send us the e-mail that I have been placed on the second form waitlist.
How many students are in each form? and does the second form have a better chance than the third form? What are my chances of getting in?
As for Berkshire, how many students does the school willing to take from the waiting list?
According to the Groton waitlist letter they say there were 90 openings and 1550 applications, would there be more waitlist letters than acceptance letters. I’m applying to 8th grade they also say on the website they accept approximately 30 8th graders. Not really sure how it would work for 8th grade since most of the class is siblings and faculty kids.
If the “Prep School Decision Charts” on this site are directionally correct, waitlists outnumber acceptances 5 to 1 at Groton. Not sure how it would look across grades, but waitlists seem to be quite long at all of these places.
Nobles and Greenough stated in their waitlist letter that they have only 50 kids on the waitlist for 7th grade next year. Does anyone know if anyone actually was given a spot off the waitlist at Nobles last year, year before? thank you!
Has anyone on this thread heard back from wait lists? My child is wait listed at Exeter, Kent, and Westminster. Just curious as to what information people have received.
There will be no wait-list movement until they see how many people accept on April 10
At the earliest
I had emailed Exeter about it and they said they’ll only be able to update us towards the end of April.
Also, if you know a current student there, should you ask them to write a letter of recommendation for you? (If you’ve been waitlisted)
There is nothing you can do at this point to increase your chance of getting off a WL. You weren’t put there for lack of a recommendation letter or because something was left unsaid or undone.
If you read upthread, you will understand that a school will only use its WL to fill a profile hole made by a student who chose not to matriculate, and the school will be looking for a matching/similar student: male/female, boarding/day, foreign/domestic, certain type of athlete, etc. For example, if they need a male boarder and you’re female, no additional letter of recommendation will change your chromosomes.
I know it’s hard to wait but, as posted above, most schools will not have a true picture of their enrollment status until after the A10 decision deadline, and even then it may take a few weeks to sort out whether or not they need to go to the WL as one student declining does not equal one open slot.
Sometime after A10, schools will provide an update to those on the WL. Most of these communications will announce that the school is fully enrolled and does not plan to use its WL, but some will ask if you wish to remain on the WL through the summer even though the chance of coming off is slim, and you will be encouraged to move forward with your plan B.
Mid-summer, after deposits are due, there is a very slight possibility of WL movement at a few schools but usually not the ones most mentioned on this board.
The best advice is to consider a WL the end of the road for that school and embrace the school you commit to on A10. It’s funny how that school has a way of being the best one for you. Good luck!
Why would they have more waitlists than actual openings? They already have high yields!
I think it’s primarily to give the schools flexibility to pull from the waitlist students that meet very specific needs. Please see the post from @ChoatieMom above, which lays it out more clearly than I could!
Because many kids apply to 5-10 schools.
Because as @ChoatieMom posted above, the WL serves as a place from which to pull kids to fit a specific profile hole. Sometimes very specific.
So in the abstract ideal (from the school’s perspective) they’d want at least as many WL kids as Acceptances. Literally one backup per profile spot, if not more than one. If that world class tuba player they accepted enrolls elsewhere, they better have (at least) another one on the WL. If they don’t the orchestra would be short.
Agreed.
There are really 2 Waitlists - the initial March 10 WL, and the post-April 10 WL. 50-80% of kids drop off most WLs after April 10.
So when people ask, for example, why would Choate Waitlist 1,000 or more kids vs. 350 acceptances, it’s in anticipation of the Spring/Summer WL becoming much smaller.
ChoatieMom, I appreciate this advice but it seems easy for those on the other end to give and difficult to hear for those of us who have a child without any options other than the LPS which is not working out well sadly. It’s not always “for the best” how things work out.
Has anyone heard of any WL movement yet? I’m guessing not much if any. My son is WL at Hotchkiss, Choate, Loomis, and Milton and we know the odds are slim, but are holding out hope for some movement. We will share any updates we get and are grateful if others do the same. Thank you!
From what I have read on here, it seems movement is not likely to happen until after the deadline to confirm enrollment has passed. It won’t be until then that schools will have an idea of their yield and know if they need to take any waitlist students.