The Wait List

Yes, but you will lose your deposit, which is around 10% of the yearly tuition. It’s a personal choice, but “love the school that loves you” is great advice.

@flamestorm Your question is answered in detail in the enrollment contract for your local school. Read it carefully. Depending on when you quit, you may lose more than “just” the deposit. You may be locked in for a full year of tuition.

Has anyone had a school inform they they are on the WL but near the top? If so, what school. I ask because in past years I have heard about this happening.

There is rarely a “near the top”. The reason is that folks from the WL will fill any empty holes the school has in the community. They may be full for girls but need boys. They may need singers or soccer players. It is not uncommon for FA to be gone by the time WL activity starts.

You just can’t know. This is why the advice is to let the school know of your interest. If you are 100% positive you would attend (easiest to say if you are FP and do not have another option ), tell them so. And then start planning your life as if it won’t happen.

This definitely is a lot of great information for new comers. thanks

@PhotographerMom Could you PM me please? in dire need and not sure I can post it

@GradEdD - done!

Thanks much.

I was waitlisted to every school I applied to. Any advice moving forward?

Take the weekend to let it sink in. Next week, confirm your place on the waitlists and send a brief email to each school AO, noting your enthusiasm for any openings and provide any updates to your application. Then, move on with making other plans for next year. Assume that you will not get off the waitlist and in the coming months, decide if you’re going to reapply next year.

@ThatScorpio what Altras said. If your main concern with your school is being young look into doing something interesting in between high school and college, or taking a year off now and doing online courses. There are so many cool experiences in this world, don’t limit yourself to boarding school! You mentioned you attend a great public school. Think of all the money you are going to be saving not going private!

Hey all,
Thanks again for all the help. Just one more question, since I couldn’t find it on Andover’s website [i’m pretty nervous as you can probably tell :P]: how will they tell waitlisted students when they are on the accepted list? Will they email when one student decides not to join, or will they email starting on the last day students are allowed to communicate their decisions?

Thanks!

I’m so sorry . No one can answer that, but your best bet is to accept a place on their WL ASAP.

Read the WL thread for more info and good luck!

@flamestorm Your parent or guardian usually gets a phone call from the DOA or someone in admissions… For schools across the board- it can happen at anytime- even during the summer. See my posts on page 127 for more info about what to expect and good luck!

Most schools will send out an email blast when their WL is officially closed. FWIW- This has happened as early as the middle of March at a number of schools .

This year I applied to five schools and got rejected from 4 and wait listed for 1. The one I got wait listed for was Kent and I was wondering if anyone knows how many people are typically wait listed and what are my chances of getting off the wait list(percentages) and what are some things I can do to get off of the wait list.

@ThatScorpio - us too, WL at all 4 boarding schools. There’s a ton of info in here so we are digesting it all and figuring out next steps. Thanks to all who have contributed with helpful advice. We still have 6 day schools in the area coming out with decisions in a few weeks so we’ll see what happens then.

Good luck to all on the wait list and congrats to those who made it in…

Also is it true that prep schools will accept more students than how many spots they have open since they know not everyone is going to accept?

@astudent04 Yes. Schools calculate about how many people to let in based on their typical “yield” - that is, the percentage of the people they let in who accept the offer. Schools like Exeter and Andover tend to have very high yields because they are many people’s “top choice,” whereas schools that are less well-known tend to have lower yields - this contributes to differences in admission rates because well-known schools that people are likely to choose if they get the chance don’t need to let in as many people to make sure they get enough to fill all their slots.

Is there a chance for a FA student to get off the waitlist?

Yes, but the chances of getting off the wait list at all aren’t great and they’re lower if you need financial aid.
I wish you the best of luck!