<p>I think it depends on the school you’ve been waitlisted at, but overall, the chances are very low at any school. Also, more of your chances would depend on what kind of accepted students decide not to enroll. So if an athlete decides not to attend, they’ll need an athlete to replace him/her. And with non-need-blind schools, your financial need would be regarded as well. Does anyone know some ways of increasing your chances if you’re on a waitlist at all? I was put on several waitlists, too, including on my first choice’s. :(</p>
<p>I am a fourth former(10th grader) at SPS (St. Paul’s) and I got off the waitlist last year. The exmission person at my old school combined all the SPS applications from my school and sent them together to the wrong St. Paul’s and three applications didn’t arrive until 2 weeks after they were due. All 3 of us were wait listed. Eventually, I was taken from the wait list. If you are waitlisted, the best course of action is to write to your top choice of schools that waitlisted you and tell them why they are your first choice. It will also work to your advantage if you can get a letter from your principal. I know multiple people who were pulled from the waitlist. Do not lose heart. Also, if you are applying for the ninth grade and didn’t get accepted anywhere, try JR. boarding school. That’s what I did. My 8th grade year, I didn’t get in anywhere. I had three waitlists and four denials, I think. I applied to Bement, a junior boarding school and went there for my 9th grade year. It was a great experience, I got used to boarding, and (results may vary) my SSAT score went up by 7 percentile points.</p>
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<p>Hey people…does anyone know anybody has ever been taken off the waitlist of Choate&Milton?? I don’t have any acceptances and those are my only hopes.</p>
<p>I was waitlisted at Choate and Hotchkiss, and Choate’s waitlist FAQ says that between 10% and 50% of people get off their waitlist each year. Let’s hope that this year’s 50% :)</p>
<p>D on two HADES waiting lists and 66% financial aid award at hidden gem school. In a weird way, we are honored by the HADES waitlists and disappointed at the same time. But the school she got into is probably the best fit for her!</p>
<p>I have seen lots of posts on here where waitlist kids reapplied the next year and got into a HADES school. That seems more likely than getting off of a waiting list. But how about those applicants who are accepted into six schools? I know that this must go into a top school’s yield formula, but it leads one to think that some spots must open up.</p>
<p>It feels like the application process continues past March 10, and there might still be some way to impress an AO. I do understand about calling it a pool and not a list, and that makes it even more random! </p>
<p>We have a feeling that requesting FA affected our results quite a bit. Four waitlists might have been one or two more acceptances if it weren’t for financial aid. Our strategy, even for the hidden gems, was to try to focus on schools with high percentages of FA awards and the special programs D wanted, especially dance. It worked to some degree, but boy are those top schools tough, and we have family connections to two HADES schools.</p>
<p>Hey PaperIdeas, I’m hoping for the same thing. But as far as I know, Choate has not gone to wait list for the past two years…sigh, I highly doubt the accuracy of the information on the FAQ</p>
<p>Let’s hope that since schools have gotten “burned” in recent years by UNDER-estimating their yield rates, that now they will be more conservative and OVER-estimate their yield rate and end up having to draw worthy candidates from the WL.</p>
<p>Good luck</p>
<p>Carolaur - 66% financial aid at a hidden gem = take it and don’t look back. Seriously. Forget the HADES folderol. That’s all it is, really. Any of the top 25 schools will give your daughter an outstanding education. Just have to push past your own preconceived notions.</p>
<p>I love Dodgersmom’s advice on another thread:</p>
<p>"Don’t know OP’s gender, but for purposes of this post, let’s imagine you’re a girl:</p>
<p>It’s a week before your prom and the cutest boy in class, the one you’ve had a crush on for years, just told you that he’s invited someone else, 'cause he likes her better, and she’s said “yes.” But if she changes her mind, or her parents decide not to let her go, he’ll take you instead. Meanwhile, the second cutest boy in class, the one who’s always helped you with your homework when you needed it, and made sure you were never picked last for any team if he had anything to say about it, and who’s had a crush on YOU for as long as you can remember, has asked you to go with him. What do you do?</p>
<p>My advice would be to go to the dance with the school that loves YOU. Tell [WL school} that you love it . . . but that you deserve better than to wait around on prom night for a date who’s probably never going to show up. "</p>
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<p>It is a great analogy. What’s heartbreaking is the brilliant dancer who sits at home because she can’t afford a dress for the prom.</p>
<p>Dance with the one who loves you, by all means. If you’re runner up now, it doesn’t mean you’ll be runner up forever. Maybe you’re just trying to go to the wrong dance or that you are meant to dance alone.</p>
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<p>There is a method to the madness of it all and trying to interpret or clarify the procedure would be futile beyond the basics we already know. For every scenario that pans out, there is almost an opposite situation that applied under the same circumstances. Examples could be given that would appear unfair or unwarranted. What transpires every year is never identical and what is perceived is hardly ever reality of the situation. All the schools want to seal the deals ASAP, see what they’ve got and go to work. Waitlist calls have gone out as early as March 10th and as late as August. Remember, the waitlist exist for the schools. Sounds a little cold and I apologize but we have to keep going. More emphasizes on those Hidden Gems is required.</p>
<p>Ops, I agree with you that there are fantastic schools beyond HADES etc unfortunately if you need a near full ride or full ride it isn’t really a viable option - We applied to 2 hidden gems and 5 tier 1 schools - waitlisted at the 5 top schools and accepted to the hidden gems but no FA. So what good did it do us- None! The idea of “fit” is a nice sentiment but the reality is that for many familes “fit” isn’t a luxury we have - so, your suggestion to look/apply beyond HADES is only useful if you have that great commodity called MONEY.</p>
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<p>@outdoorgirl - some “hidden gems” schools do offer substantial financial aid. If you do an advanced search on boardingschoolreview.com, you can search by the attribute “% students on financial aid.” Also, some of these schools give merit aid - they want to attract and admit top students who might otherwise matriculate to more “selective” schools, and the merit aid can be a powerful incentive to enroll.</p>
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<p>I love the dancing analogy! Sadly, though, I don’t have any BS options besides waiting for two HADES waitlists. But, if the waitlist doesn’t work out (which it probably won’t), I’m still really excited for high school!</p>
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<p>My d’s first choice was a hidden gem with an average FA award of less than half of tuition. I almost never suggested looking at that school in the first place because I thought the chance of getting the FA she needs-close to a full ride-was highly unlikely. I spent the last few months trying to keep a lid on her hopes.</p>
<p>Guess what, she did get accepted and a FA award of about 85%! I was floored. She was accepted at another school but waitlisted for FA. This other school has about twice the endowment-per-student yet offered only the WL.</p>
<p>She applied to 2 other schools-one a long shot (denied) and one that we thought was a safety (based on admissions and testing data and an almost-legacy) and she was denied there.</p>
<p>For us, the hidden gem did pan out, even though I looked at it more as a long shot, and maybe it was. I am not trying to gloat, just to say it is possible to get substantial FA from a “poorer” school.</p>
<p>For what it’s worth, and this is somewhat off topic, I did a lot of the filtering in helping decide which schools to apply to and here were our most important criteria, but as I mentioned, we stretched a bit here and there:</p>
<p>% of students that board
% students receiving FA
average FA award
casual dress
sports not required
Art courses
Computer Science courses
Science courses
Languages offered-especially Chinese or Japanese</p>
<p>We have family in New England so we did a preliminary tour which helped me see the schools through d’s eyes. She really wasn’t very into researching schools online so I did that. The next year we repeated the trip, to mostly different schools, and completed interviews.</p>
<p>^pretty much the same as 98beebee except i have 4 waitlists… argh maybe I’ll get lucky at one</p>
<p>Does anyone know the likelihood of a student coming off the waitlist at St.Georges? Also, has anyone been rejected by St. Georges ? ( it seems I’ve seen only acceptances and/or waitlist on cc from decisions to St. Georges).</p>
<p>@outdoorgirl said
</p>
<p>That’s precisely why those “top” schools have become so hard to get into for families that need aid. And their application pool is often twice the size of other schools. So if you do the math, applying to only those schools pretty much gets you nowhere if you don’t begin to look at other schools.</p>
<p>I’m sorry that the “Hidden Gems” schools didn’t offer you aid - but I know of a number of families who got full or partial funding at those schools when the HADES left them waitlisted for FA or declined them because of it. And didn’t look back and had an amazing time.</p>
<p>It could be that at some point in time the Hidden Gems won’t be “hidden” anymore and will get crushed with applications. When that comes we’ll find schools to replace them on the list. But for now - the odds are better at Hidden Gems then at the schools that half the world wants as a trophy.</p>
<p>@ayzswim- stay strong. You can get through this. The admissions officers thought you were a strong applicant, there just wasn’t enough room. I’m sure your personality is great and you are an amazing person. The judgements of a few people are not going to foreshadow how successful you will be later in life. I wish you all the best <3</p>
<p>@alooknac,</p>
<p>Glad that hidden gem application worked out for your family. 85% FA is great–that school loves your kid very much!</p>