That was what I was doing today. I think it’s the best thing to do.
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My son was WL at Middlesex 3 years ago and never got off it. He was a highly recruited athlete.
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i got waitlisted at exeter, i applied for 10th grade
just popping back in after a while to share some experiences w/wls. i applied to a ton of schools and got wled at half of them (and never got off of the wls as far as i know). my best piece of advice is if you are wled at your dream school, reach out and hope for the best. express your interest. if you are wled on a school you’re not super interested in going, take your name off and save everyone some time. the chances of getting off the wl are extremely slim - however, it has happened before. around the 2020-2021 application season, most wls are regarded as a soft rejection. i believe that the trend has continued because of the large number of applications every year.
on a final note, go somewhere where the AOs genuinely want you and saw something in you. i was rejected by my 1st and 3rd choice and ended up going to my 2nd - i love it here. if an AOs sees something in you that others don’t, give them a chance (aka learn more about the school/revisit if possible/ask questions on cc!/etc).
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Ours didn’t…but getting in and going has been the real prize
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what’s the usual time that someone would reach out if you got off the waitlist? Like around what month or week?
If lucky, a few days prior to April 10. But it could just as easily be after that date.
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Actually, although it happens, it would be unusual for a school to go to its WL before A10. Only after all decisions are in will a school know if it has any open spots. WL calls can occur right up to the start of school in the fall as students decide not to matriculate for any number of reasons throughout the summer. Most schools will send information regarding their WLs in the weeks after A10 to let you know if they they plan to use them, what their enrollment status is, and to ask if you still wish to remain on.
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I have only one year of experience with this stuff and so will defer to those with more data points. But last year, we were contacted on April 8 and had to make a decision by the morning of April 9. There was at least one other poster here who heard on April 6 and had to make a decision on a similar (maybe even faster) timeline.
I think certain schools like to send out a “we are fully enrolled” email to all people on the waitlist on April 10 or 11, so they will go to their waitlist on a targeted basis leading up to that date to fill out the class.
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Are these school portals really work? I’m the mother that I don’t want to block other students to get a chance on a school that we are no longer interested on. My daughter’s best friend is on WL in all schools she has applied to. It’s very tough to see this, so the first thing I did on Monday was to remove our daughter from all the schools that she has been waitlisted but today I have received an email from one school that I will hear soon from the admission to receive an offer.
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It is not uncommon to hear from schools betfore A10. They are pretty good at determining whether – and who – they will need from the WL based on enrollment decisions and declines in the time leading up to A10, and they know their odds are better at filling those holes if the WL folks have less financial and emotional commitment to another school. But you are likely to need to provide a yes or no quickly.
With that said, @ChoatieMom is right that WL offers can come all the way up to the start of the school year. Some schools WILL send out a letter to let you know the WL is closed and there will be no more activity. Some may ask in June if you want to remain on the WL. It differs by school and by year.
And yes, if you know you do not want to go to a school that extended an offer of admission or WL, decline it. They may not process it immediately (which can be frustrating - but they are working other parts behind the scenes, and creating a class is not done by algorithm but by people), but they will do so and keep the process moving. But do not feel compelled to decline until you are certain.
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Also only using one experience we heard of acceptance from the waitlist 4/6 last year and were asked to give an answer that day.
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Thank you…and when I started the process I found out that I have a distance relative who works in admission at one school in Maryland and she told me they rarely look back on their WL pool. So I told my daughter a WL is a politely way of saying NO but here I am today receiving this message.
I haven’t removed my daughter’s first choice yet 
though by her being on a WL it gave us time to look at other schools and found out that the second choice is even better for her but if it wasn’t for that she wouldn’t even want to look at this school. But with me I don’t know if her first choice school gives us an offer today I will take it anymore. She’s already excited to go to her 2nd choice.
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But with me I don’t know if her first choice school gives us an offer today I will take it anymore. She’s already excited to go to her 2nd choice.
This is not uncommon. These things have a funny way of working out!
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This. We declined several schools last year by March 25th.
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On my waitlist letter from Taft it said I would hear from them no later then April tenth?
Rely on what the school told you. My comment was in general. It is possible to get a WL decision before A10 but, because that is the date all decisions are due, most schools won’t have an accurate picture of enrollment until all decisions are in.
@cosierthunder , believe what they tell you.
I support there’s always a chance they could ask by that date if you want to remain on an extended WL, but the schools really want to be done with this process by A10 too!
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Is it possible that this year there will be movement in the WL? At least at Exeter, which is the one I got WL in. If anyone knows that is.
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No. One. Knows. Or, can know.
I am sorry because uncertainty can lead to anxiety, but there is just no way to know.
Since if there IS any wait list movement, it will be minimal, it really is better to think that you will not be going to your waitlist schools.
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