The Wait List

When school reaches out to someone on the waiting list… do they offer revisits etc as they would to accepted child? Some time to decide? Or it’s “take it or leave it” offer?

No. The expectation is the the applicant/parent(s) will only be accepting a spot on the waitlist if they would attend if accepted.

You get a few days. You don’t need to give an answer on the spot, but there is not much time to decide, as there are others who will accept immediately.

How do prep schools decide who is the first one off the waitlist. Thanks guys!

The short answer - they will take from the waitlist what the school needs or wants. If it’s a female 10th grade softball player, then that’s what they will take.

There is no set formula, and you will go crazy if you try to discern one.

My daughter was waitlisted to two schools and rejected from the 3rd. Is it worth waiting oast the 4/10 deadline?

Pansy23. We wrote ALL the schools, 7 of them, on M11. We thanked them " for reviewing the application and that we would continue to look at Prep Schools for a more challenging education. " For the WL schools, we told them same and said we were excited to be placed on the WL since he did not receive a slot YET. Also told them to please keep him on the WL as long as possible and needed. His #1 school, he said this was his first pick, with he reminded them that his sister attended there AND that’s when he first fell in love with the school. Also, she accredited the Prep school for her success in Cornell University now. We heard back from all the WL schools and his sister’s school also sent her a Hello. NOT GIVING UP!

Didn’t receive a revisit offer.

I applied for two schools and am wait listed by both - both are top-10 schools with admission rate below 15 % and with yield above 65%. My SSAT was 99% in each and every categories and I am a balanced student in art, sports, services, and with A’s from the accelerated classes and etc.

For summer camp purposes, I just took the SAT and received very strong scores (even for high school juniors’ college application and I hope equally useful for prep school application). Question: would you think this is useful info that I should update the prep schools?

@Heading2HS Given your high SSAT score, I doubt the schools are concerned about your ability to do the work. You can provide the information if you want a reason to reach out and remind them of your interest but I would suggest waiting until closer to April 10th when they have a better idea of their class acceptances and open spots.

I’m curious if anyone needing FA got into any schools. Seems like most of the WL and Rejections are probably due to Financial Aid needs.

My daughter was admitted to several schools with FA…

If waitlisted, what can be the plan b other than local public school? Apply other schools on rolling admission? Look at other areas? New England is just too competitive.

Although some may have received acceptance with FA from several schools, I think it is safe to say there are more out there needing FA that received WLs. @vivianwangnew I think you answered your own questions. There are several very high quality schools in other areas that do have rolling admissions, so if location is not as important to you, that is an avenue to consider. But consider quickly because the FA will be spoken for quickly.

Hi I am wait listed at my dream school and I have no alternative B options. I am willing to wait this year and am prepared to to re-apply for admission next year. And I already sent school a short note confirming I am willing to stay on the waitlist.

But I wanted to also inform the school several significant (higher/new) achievements I made in the last three months. What would be the more effective way for this - a letter written by myself the student, or written by my parents, or written by one or several of recommendation people? One or all the above? I just feel very uncomfortable to be seen even remotely as over-doing-it. What is your experience and view? Thanks!

So far I’ve been waitlisted at 7 out of the 12 schools I’ve heard back from. I haven’t been rejected yet, which is great, but I still find this really weird. Should I put my name on the waitlist for all of them (I really like all of the schools sopersonal preference is not an issue), or should I try to pick 2 or 3 to focus on?

It’s fine to put your name on the waitlist for all of them.

@Heading2HS The update should come directly from you, the student. It is also a good idea to let the school know they are your first choice and you will attend if a spot becomes available. I would email the AO who interviewed you and cc the general admissions email. One email is not pushy. Wishing you luck.

I’m currently on Peddie’s waitlist, and I noticed that they have rolling admissions from April to June. I don’t want to assume or get my hopes up but if they offer rolling admissions, doesn’t that mean they still have spots open at that time even after going to their waitlist? I was wondering if anyone has more information about Peddie’s waitlist specifically and how rolling admissions affects it.

@potterpoints are you a full pay student or did you need financial aid? That can play a big part in seeing that some schools may still have openings. Sometimes a school has used their allotted FA funds, but still have openings for full pay students that may fit into a niche they’re trying to fill.

I don’t know about Peddie’s wait list or policies, and every school handles things a little differently. Unfortunately there have been cases posted about here in the past where a rolling admissions boarding school takes a new applicant who applies late over a wait-listed applicant. It could be that the new applicant fills a needed hole, or that the wait listed applicant was a “courtesy” WL due to being a legacy etc. We will never know, but you can’t assume that the wait list will automatically get priority over a late applicant. If Peddie does not typically offer rolling admissions and they are doing so this year, that could be a sign that they anticipate having some spaces to fill.