<p>So after waiting months for my #1 school's decision. I got WAITLISTED.
Does anyone know the statistics for waitlisted students at Tufts? How many get waitlisted, and how many from the waitlist get accepted?</p>
<p>Also, how can I increase my chances of being accepted after getting on the waitlist?</p>
<p>Some years, Tufts over-accepts and takes zero people off the waitlist. </p>
<p>My generic suggestion to anyone who is WLed is to send an updated resume with everything you’ve accomplished since January. Send in times from your swim meets, awards, notable community service achievements, etc. Senior year can be a busy time and is when students really start to shine in high school.</p>
<p>I can’t venture to speak for other schools, but for Tufts, that’s the wrong advice.</p>
<p>We’ve already reviewed your application, we know who you are, and we know we want you at Tufts (or you wouldn’t have gotten a waitlist offer). We’re not doing another review, we’re not making adjustments to your file, and we’re not pitting you against the other candidates on the WL.</p>
<p>For context, and again, this will be specific to Tufts, we <em>want</em> to admit just about every student on the WL. The challenge is, and I know it sounds cliche by now, too many awesome students, not enough seats. Generally speaking, the students that get taken off the WL are taken for demographic reasons: did we the right amount of prospective engineers, did fewer students than we thought from Pennsylvania or Arizona or Massachusetts join the class, what about religious diversity? Once we know what the need is, we find the students on the WL who fit and we offer them a space. </p>
<p>If this sounds clinical, and much less personality driven than the rest of Tufts’ admissions process, that’s because it is. But we can be clinical in that way because we already know we love you as a person. I promise you, someone in my office wanted to see you as a Tufts student - you’ve already got an advocate, so building advocacy isn’t what you need to do.</p>
<p>If we are your #1 choice, and you know for sure that (assuming you get the financial aid you need) you would enroll at Tufts and never leave, tells us that. Write an email to your admissions rep (which you can find on our website) to let us know how much you connect with us and send in the WL form - but once you’ve done that, it’s ok to move on and get excited about the schools that already admitted you. You don’t need to pour more work into the admissions well.</p>
<p>Is that helpful?</p>
<p>Thank you, Dan. That is very helpful. Will share with my son. Tufts waitlist letter was so kind and ouchless. Here’s to wishing you end up needing another engineer from Pa!
Aren’t you in China?</p>
<p>For one more glorious day. Then I’m in Bangkok. I stayed up until 3am to “watch” the decision release on CC, Twitter, and Facebook. And I’m typing this from the back of Shanghai taxi that smells exactly like freshly fried dumplings. Or, I smell like freshly fried dumplings and being in this enclosed space is exposing me to the delicious truth of my scent. I’m hoping its the first one.</p>
<p>Dan, why the complete confidence that none of your WLers have succumbed to senioritis, or have slacked off in their ECs? Tufts students are completely awesome, and most Tufts applicants are amazing people, but why is “Hey, I’m still the high achiever, passionate person I made myself out to be before January apps were due” a bad thing?</p>
<p>I didn’t read his post that way at all! And I think this is typical of other schools as well.
Anyone on the WL is already considered great. There just isn’t enough space. If they get off the waitlist, it will be because of institutional need, not because the student sent in more letters of recommendation or more artwork or more school awards etc. (unless they cure cancer in the meantime).
I think people waste a lot of time trying to figure out how they can get off the waitlist. They should spend that time and energy choosing among their acceptances and enjoying the rest of their high school time.</p>
<p>Thanks for the response Dan! (sorry, I don’t check CC often)</p>
<p>Any word on when we might be expecting a WL response ?</p>
<p>or could you say at least if there will be students accepted from the wait-list this year? I know from previous years that nobody got off the wait list</p>
<p>Is there any indication as to when the waitlist decisions will be available? And how will we find out? I’m graduating in a little over a week and I would really like to know what college will be on the programs under my name. Thanks!</p>