Thank you - I do not like throwing money away but this once may take the chance …my friends child at MX was waitlisted, then admitted and then got good FA
3 Likes
Thank you!
1 Like
It won’t cost you a penny unless you are accepted at MX after A10, so it sounds like you have a plan!
1 Like
I got waitlisted to Mercersburg too- so I have 2 Waitlists to get out of :(((
If there is ONE school to which you can say you would immediately commit if offered admission, let them know. This can help. Often, when schools get to the WL point, they are trying to fill seats. People who want to consider the offer and then potentially turn them down, only to force thrm to the next applicant, so this is an edge. But you must be honest. If you had a consultant or if your school counselor has a relationship with the school, they should reiterate this.
2 Likes
will do, thank you!
Do “financial aid waitlists” mean something else than regular ones at these schools? This particular letter said something to the effect of if you can afford to enroll without aid to reach out to the director of admissions. Does that mean if you decide to pay and let them know that they’ll take your kid?
2 Likes
That is what it sounds like to me. We were told by two schools D26 was waitlisted at that it was only because we applied for FA. If we were full pay we would be in.
1 Like
Thank you it is worth a shot. D26 wrote an email that he is going to send to admissions and it says just that along with some specifics on the “why” the school is so important to him.
1 Like
Just a reminder that sometimes the best option is to love the school that loves you and move forward. Waitlists tend not to have much movement, and when they do, it’s usually a specific need. Both my kiddos were waitlisted at their top choices, which was hard on all of us, but it turns out the schools that gave them an acceptance on M10 are the perfect fit for them.
9 Likes
its tough when your only waitlisted and get no acceptances lol
4 Likes
More and more the grandparents pay for private school tuition. It’s a way to avoid gift taxes for annual amounts above $10,000.
So unfortunately schools are asking if you have additional family funds.
Of course this is a different situation. In your case, I would get in contact with the AOs next week, let them know you are still interested, and stay on the WL indefinitely. You may also consider looking at schools with rolling admission and/or applying again next year.
If you were WL’d at your first-choice school, @gardentstategal’s advice is spot on as this is the only proactive thing you can do about a WL decision other than deciding you can move from FA to FP.
Every year, this thread fills up with variations of these main questions:
-Why was I WL’d?
-How big is the WL?
-What are my chances of getting off it?
I’m going to reach back into the archives to answer these questions to avoid some repetition.
First, unless a school tells you why you were WL’d (and unless the reason is FA, you’ll never know), the best answer is because there are too many qualified applicants for too few spots at that school. It’s not about who has the best stats. Each school is building a class for its unique community and each has more qualified applicants than it can accept. Don’t overthink this.
Also know that a wait list is for the benefit of the school and its size is irrelevant to any individual applicant. A WL could be 500 deep and if you are the one who matches a hole after A10, you’ll get off it. Conversely, a WL could be only 5 deep and if you do not match the need, you won’t get off it. As an example, if a school finds it needs a female day student and a female lacrosse player and you are male, you aren’t in the running for either of those spots regardless of your other qualifications. In either case, you have zero ability to assess chances as you have no idea who decided not to matriculate and what that now missing profile is.
And, as hard as it is to say this, you should consider a WL a soft rejection as some schools will not need to go to their WL at all and those who do will only take a handful from it, perhaps only one or two. If a school does not expect to use its WL or when it finds itself fully enrolled, it will send out a communication to that effect sometime after A10. So, consider a WL a soft rejection and move on. If you happen to be one of those who get the call, you can deal with that news when it comes, but you should assume it won’t.
Some will also post in the upcoming weeks that they have accepted one school and notified others to which they have been admitted that they aren’t coming to free up spots for those on the WL. This is a good thing to do, but it is also important to understand that one student declining admission does not necessarily equal one taken from the WL. A school will not go to its WL until the number of commitments is less than the space they have. For example, if a school wants to enroll 100 students and typically has an annual yield of 70%, they will send admission letters to 142 applicants. Only after the 43rd person declines will they be underenrolled and need to consider going to their WL. This is why we beat the drum to detach from your WL decisions and love the school that loves you.
This is the hardest thread to read on M10. Good luck to you all with the rest of your decisions.
13 Likes
I will also repeat what I posted yesterday on ski’s Post M10 Advice/Decisions thread: Please read this definitive WL post and this one by a BS expert with generational BS experience.
4 Likes
This is an excellent/helpful post.
1 Like
Hi I have applied for a boarding student 10 position for Choate and Exeter and a few other schools. I have been waitlisted at Choate and Exeter and was wondering if there was anyway I could advance myself up the list. Will emailing the admissions office help to appeal to them? And also do the schools normally take students of the WL? Thanks all
1 Like
Wait lists are not ranked so there is nothing you can do to “move up.” Please read the above posts where your questions have been answered. Welcome to CC.
2 Likes
Yes I just saw the above post thanks but does it happen? For Choate and Exeter to admit people on their waitlist?
It happens at every school, but those two in particular in any given year either don’t need to go to their WLs or take only a very few. You can remain on these WLs, but consider them soft rections and move on with either other acceptances or Plan B.
2 Likes