Such a hard situation! Good luck! My daughter was waitlisted to DA too.
@sunnyschool She applied at Deerfield Academy too. Thanks for your compliments! She took an Astrophysics class at UMASS as a middle schooler over the summer and did very well - She got waitlisted at DA and NMH. She didn’t want to sleep away from home for high school, so that limited our choices. With DA we understand it’s more competitive across the country. But NMH choosing field hockey over STEM? Plus, the NMH head of school is leaving and they are supposed to be building a new 25 million dollar Science Center which keeps getting postponed. All of their buildings are beautiful, art, theatre, dance facilities are new and modern, sports facilities are superb - except the science center is falling apart, missing tiles from the floor, dead plants in the bio lab, swampy fish tanks … the robotics club is in the moldy basement …a printer from the 1980’s - but my daughter was willing to go there to have a better educational opportunity and the reputation of NMH is so good, we had faith … Maybe they don’t value strong science students as much as they say they do? Not that field hockey isn’t important, it certainly is. My daughter plays tennis and it’s easier to maintain a tennis team than a field hockey team, I get it `
btw- I’m new to this forum, I noticed if you like a post, you can’t also click ‘helpful’. So I’ve liked and found helpful many posts, but it seems to switch between the two, lol -
um… it would be great if someone could help me out :-h
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?
Would it be a good idea to send additional recommendations from a different teacher if you were waitlisted?
No. Admissions has all the information they need to make decisions; an additional rec is unlikely to say anything that has not already been said.
I know that there is a very high probability that I will not get off the waitlist at Nobles and Greenough, but if I do everything in my power to try is there a chance for me? I just recently received my final winter grades, which were not sent into schools. My grades, in my opinion, were pretty good: 4 As and 2 -As. Can I keep sending in reports and would it help if my secondary school counselor/placement team were to call and advocate for me? Not many girls from my school have been to Nobles and Greenough, since it is a day school that is farther away from my area.
Overall, is there anything I can do to help at least the tiniest bit to get myself off the waitlist?
I have a daughter also who is at the top of every academic pyramid, is a terrific athlete and… is an ORM. It’s unfortunate that being a top student only goes so far. My guess is that the hooks weigh in so heavily, that those just about trump everything when it comes to admission. You need to check a box that they need. URM, recruited athlete, horn player etc.
I think the timing of your application makes a difference too. For example, if you are a tuba player and you are applying for admission during the year that the only two tuba players are graduating, then your chances might increase because the school will need a tuba player. So knowing what schools “need” may or may not be helpful. There are just so many factors involved that I think it is nearly impossible to discern which factor in your application profile influenced your acceptance or denial. The hooks come into play as well as your gender, ECS, FA or FP status, what state you are from, or country, what sport you play, the list goes on.
Possibly, but for me, when I received my wait list decision, I was asked if I wanted to accept or decline it, and right below that, they asked for my phone number. The same thing happened to my friend as well.
Read absolutely nothing into this - it means nothing, other than they want to make sure their info is updated.
They want to make sure they have a way to reach you if they want you quickly, but that’s contingency planning, meaning they do this on everyone on their list. It doesn’t mean you’re on the short list.
It would be great if someone could help me out with my questions…
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?
@willmo: It’s fine to drop the AO at your FC school an e-mail indicating that you want to stay on their WL and that their school is your first choice and you will definitely attend if a spot for you opens up. You can send that now. If you have not already indicated that you wish to stay on the WLs of the other schools via whatever method they provide for indicating such, you should do so. You do not need to say or add anything else. As @skieurope posted:
I sent email to one of the schools that has my daughter on the waiting list indicating that she wants to stay on the WL. Their reply was “Thank you for letting us know, I will be sure to note that **** would like to remain on the waitlist. Like we mentioned in our letter, please feel free to send us any updates you may have about ****'s continued success in and out of school. If you have any other questions please reach out.”
So I guess some schools do want to know more. Weird thing is that we never got any letters from them. Maybe because of the snow storm it got delayed in the mail somewhere…
Agree with @yuor28 Each school has a different “ask.” However given these WL’s are typically so big one wonders if they even look at the additional material. One would hope if they ask for it, they’ll make use of it. But remember, there’s an old adage here “The thicker the file, the thicker the applicant.” Means ADCOMS run for the hills when they see students and families updating schools about every new hangnail. Comes off more narcissistic than helpful.
Also, if you were an FA applicant and find yourself no longer needing FA, that should be conveyed to the school.
IMO, read nothing into their response. They could just be being polite.
Agreed.
There’s nothing wrong with telling a school that they are your first choice, or to let them know of latest updates, but I feel that you should be judicious in what you are updating.
Schools will assume that most applicants will continue to receive honors and awards after the application has been submitted. You can certainly update them with significant updates, which in my mind is something that makes the regional/national papers outside of the free local weekly. But to update them because you receive a varsity letter or the Most Improved Player Award? No. As I said upthread, they have more than enough information to make their decisions; blinding them with paper will not improve your chances, IMO.
I certainly was not going to annoy them with my daughter’s success…Specially since she fell into a sleep mode after the applications process and all the stress was over :))
Our son was WL for 4 schools, Andover, St. Paul’s, Hotchkiss, and Lawrenceville. He received a “No” from Exeter, DF, and Choate. (That was the 7 he applied to). I had him write a “Thank you for reviewing my application…” letter and also to say he wanted to stay on the WL. Also submitted WL forms. Disappointed since his sister attended Andover and well… Just wait and see now. Looking at our Plan B’s. Thanks for all the great info.
I was waitlisted at Blair, Mercersburg and Episcopal High School and wanted to know if the waitlist for these schools usually moves??