this is copied and pasted from a previous question I had, so…
If I was to contact the admissions office about their school being my first choice, when should I do it? Early as possible, or around April 10 when mostly finalized class will come in (or several times)? Also, what should I say to the other schools that I was waitlisted from?
there are schools that have rolling admissions
@DCmom2018 there are likely boarding schools that are still accepting applications. You might need to uncover a hidden gem though. I recall receiving email from Salem Academy in NC. I’m sure there are others.
Salem Academy has rolling admissions. My daughter attends there.
Here is an unhappy secret re rolling admissions schools with wait lists, if an applicant comes along in May who is stronger than the students remaining on the wait list, they can jump the wait list and secure the last spot.
That said, you might be surprised by the quality and range of schools that will have openings later this spring. Chimneykid2.0
was a late applicant last spring and schools with openings at that time who were willing to accept an application included Suffield, Millbrook, Proctor, Dublin, Williston Northhampton etc.
Boardingschoolreview.com keeps a pretty up to date list and if you go this route, which worked for us, I recommend calling first as schools are often trying to fill a specific hole and neither party wants to waste time. Proctor, for example, told us that our artsy daughter was a good fit but they were holding out for a hockey player. Ouch.
If you are on a WL and your financial situation (or assessment of it) has changed so that you need less (or no) FA, let the school know that as well.
Everyone on this page invested a huge amount of time and energy into the process. I think if you truly have questions about the WL and your status, an email or phone call to the admissions department is appropriate. In doing so, though I think you have to remember that most others on the WL also have a compelling story. Everyone on the WL wanted to be on the admit list. And, until the schools hear from all the WL candidates as to whether they want to remain on the list, they probably do not even know the size of their WLs. If you really want to just know whether you will get off the list, no one is going to be able to tell you that with 100% certainty. However, I do think that an honest admissions counselor would be able to provide some realistic assessment of your situation. They know the number of admits vis-a-vis yield rates, and the relative strength of your application as compared to others on the list.
What I think everyone on the WL has to accept for the near future is that your call or email alone will almost certainly not work magic i.e. calling and telling the counselor that the school was your first choice, that you worked so hard, and that your family is devastated will not cause the admissions committee to reconvene and reverse course with respect to your application— they are likely hearing that same story from dozens of others.
If you do reach out, consider the timing of your contact. This is an incredibly busy time for the admissions departments. They are fielding questions from admitted candidates as well as those put on the WL and rejected. While your case is the most important one to you, it is simply one of many to the admissions department. You are not the top priority right now. Like it or not, the top priority is the students that were admitted. You have to be patient and willing to wait a bit.
It brings me no pleasure to say any of this because my family is in the same spot as everyone on this thread. How I wish I could snap my fingers and move my child off the WL. I can’t, and I believe it is better to be honest with myself and with my child regarding realistic expectations. We knew going in that this was a competitive process with a less than certain outcome. My child worked hard, had good interviews, had a SSAT in the high 90s, and seemed to check off every box. At the end of the day, for reasons that may not be entirely quantifiable, we ended up here. It’s the hand we were dealt this go around. Perhaps things will work out and we’ll get off the WL–it’s a possibility–but not a probability. In all likelihood, it’s time to begin planning for next year both in terms of what school to attend and working toward reapplication.
Just in case anyone needs this:
http://www.boardingschools.com/find-a-school/quick-lists/rolling-date-application-deadline
@sciencegirlsmom She has an amazing profile, perhaps it was merely a small day student availability pool? I hope you get some insight when you call the school.
By phone. If you accepted to being on the wait list, the AO should have asked for your phone number.
Wouldn’t they already have your phone number from application? We accepted a waitlist spot, but nobody asked for our phone number, I don’t think!
Curious if anyone knows how many kids might be on a waitlist at a school of 300-400 students?
I don’t know how large a waitlist usually is for a school of 300-400, but I suspect that there could be a couple hundred kids on each one. It is my opinion that some of these schools run long waitlists because they are trying to protect the relationships with feeder schools who provide them with a lot of applicants. So instead of outright rejecting students from XYZ feeder schools, they waitlist them as a soft rejection. It’s political, and probably leads to larger waitlists pools.
Along with those “courtesy waitlists” (as I call them) they also have kids on there who can fill a certain hole if an admitted student decides not to attend. So the tuba player they want doesn’t come, so they choose a tuba player off the wait list. Or maybe the wait list has families who they think can and will go full pay if offered a spot, so they use them to balance the budget. Etc, etc…
The good news is that you now have a reason to consider Hawaii Prep !
In regards to schools with rolling admissions -what kind of financial aid are they able to offer? What if a student needs full or almost full aid? Would it be unlikely that a student would receive such a financial package from these schools?
@vwbug25 At this point in the game, you will need to contact the schools which offer rolling admissions that you are interested in applying to so that they may inquire because as far as financial aid goes, most schools have already earmarked their financial aid funds. It really depends on several factors such as whether or not you fit the criteria for a spot that they are trying to fill. Most schools will be candid with you about whether or not it makes sense for you to apply. It’s unlikely, but if it’s feasible for you, go for it!
Financial aid funds at rolling admissions schools probably vary, but most likely have little or no financial aid money at this late date.
Thanks Serioussweetie and Publisher, not asking for myself, but was curious about how that worked.
Her essays were comprehensive and candid. The questions were intense! They include parents in the application process so I had to write a few essays too. It was a long and arduous application to say the least, but she did her best. The question was to write about how something changed your world perspective. She’s a climate change activist and wants to be a meteorologist so she wrote about advocating for science in the culture of fake news. NMH spoke a lot about social justice on their website and asked about it directly in the application, so she thought she could be candid about her activity as a scientist. Maybe this was too much of a risk? If so, then I guess it wasn’t the school for her after all … She’s a critical thinker, but also very polite and serious about her school work. She’s active in theatre, chorus, tennis and robotics club, volunteers at the library and is in writing club, was an acolyte at our church. Even our priest wrote a letter! Her tennis coach wrote a letter … I’m not sure what else we could have done. Our neighbor knows her well, works at NMH - said she should have gotten in. She thinks they made a grave mistake for passing on a student like her. My daughter has a classmate who’s grades and activities were not as good as hers and this student got in because she plays field hockey …
@sciencegirlsmom - Thats what can happen. Day student competition at Boarding schools can be tough, because you have families with local connections, children of teachers/admin, kids recruited for certain sports, etc.
She sounds like a great candidate. Did she apply anywhere else? Most on this board applied to 6+ schools, esp if FA is a factor.