<p>Reposting because I think I wrote a nice post, don'tcha think? Some advice for people who are currently waitlisted at JHU.</p>
<p>Hello, it is I, a mythical waitlist admittee! I was one of ~40 admitted off of a 1,000 person waitlist in 2007. I have said the same thing every year on this website and I will say it again.
This is what I did:
-I wrote an EMAIL to the dean of admissions for my area updating her on activities. In my case, they were 1. leading my team, as captian, to the state debate championship 2. winning a schoolwide scholarship for outstanding work in the social studies 3. Doing an independent study on Irish history (whew, can't believe I remember all of that 4 years later). I also said I would attend if admitted.
I did nothing else. Repeat, I did nothing else.</p>
<p>Now, from what I know due to conversations after the fact, I have learned the following: The people on the waitlist are not ranked, but I believe the JHU AdCom has a pretty good idea of the handful of people it would like to admit (I was admited May 10th or so, they couldn't have gone thru the ENTIRE waitlist between May 1 and May 10th). I know JHU had been looking at my application for a long time (I was from an area/school they were trying to attract) and were looking for some indication that I would attend if admitted. Once I gave that indication, I was good to go.</p>
<p>Now, my recommendations for you: 1. Write an email 2. FORGET about JHU. Buy yourself a sweatshirt for your school that you're attending, even if you don't want to go. I literally wore my GW sweatshirt everywhere, and every night before bed, I would chant "I love GW I love GW I love GW" a zillion times, and guess what? By the end of April I really started to love GW! The odds are not in your favor. They were not in my favor. Be pleasantly surprised (or shocked, I ran screaming through the halls of my high school when I got the phone call) if you get off the waitlist. But get prepared for what will undoubtedly be an amazing four years somewhere else.</p>
<p>Your advice about wearing the sweatshirt of the school you enrolled at is funny, because that’s exactly what I’m doing. I’m going all out in JHU gear, and my parents keep saying “But what if you find out you got into Georgetown next month?” I find it better if I get completely absorbed into the idea of going to the college that has actually accepted me, rather than pretend I still have a shot during the waiting list round lol.</p>
<p>I was set on going to Hopkins after I visited, but when I was accepted off the wait list at some schools, I kind of had the attitude of “Sorry, you should have accepted me in the first place - maybe I would consider going to your school then.”</p>
<p>It’s nice to attend a school that you know wants you too.</p>
<p>Honestly, don’t get your hopes up on the JHU waitlist. The yield has been increasing every year and once Hopkins reaches its target class of about 1250 (which they easily will this year), they won’t accept anyone off the waitlist. Start loving the schools you’ve been accepted to.</p>
<p>I don’t think that’s necessarily true: The volume of applications has also been increasing every year, with each applicant applying to more and more schools. When there are more cross-admits, the yield goes down.</p>
<p>Just finished reading The Master and Margarita… :)</p>
<p>Hah! Glad you recognized it. Are you as obsessed with it as I am? Everyone else on here thinks I just like drinking margaritas (which I do, but that’s besides the point).</p>