@carey46 yea I got that email about Destination UChicago I plan on going
hey guys!! I have a question. Is everybody on the waitlist offered a gap year? And how exactly does the gap year option work?..
@alexmake If you get in, you can ask them for that option.
For the WL, if you get off it, only then can you ask for one.
These are the only ways.
I think I poorly expressed myself. When I click on the “Reply to the Waitlist” button, they ask two questions.
Do you wanna stay on the waitlist? AND (here is the one I was talking about) If the University is unable to offer you a place in Class of 2023 (to begin classes in the fall of 2019), would you like to be considered for a place in the Class of 2024 (to begin classes in the fall of 2020) after taking a gap year?
Okay so I guess my question is - if I accept the gap year, am I guaranteed admission? And how many people got the gap year option? Ughhhh sorry for the question overload it’s just I’m sooooo lost
If you opt for the gap year you are NOT guaranteed admission. What you are being offered is another chance to enroll at UChicago if they don’t accept you this year off the waitlist.
Last year they didn’t accept anyone off the waitlist because they were oversubscribed at 1800. The year before, they accepted kids off the waitlist because they wanted to be somewhere between 1700 and 1750. This year, they are probably shooting for the same range, probably something closer to 1700. They will only offer you a spot if they under-enroll. Not very likely, based on the pattern from the past two years.
Edit/update to add: last year they DID accept a few off the gap list. There are at least a couple of posters who were accepted for class of 2023 who applied for class of 2022.
If it were me and I wanted to keep my options open at Uchicago, I would accept a spot on both Waitlist and Z-list (gap year) but would start thinking seriously about the schools to which I’ve been admitted (or will be admitted), as the chance of ending up at one of them is going to be much, much higher.
@JBStillFlying So thats how it works?
I thought the Z-list guaranteed admission for the next year provided you get in off the Wl or just by normal admission.
Well, if you request it specially, ofc I get why there’s no guarantee.
@TheGuy1 - The wording for the z-list doesn’t imply you are guaranteed a spot, only that you would be considered for one. However, no one really knows how it works. Maybe they only offer that option to those they’d admit. Again, in order to keep options open, you’d want to accept as many offers for consideration as they give you 
Those admitted students who would like to gap on their own initiative and have cleared that with Admissions are not considered Z-listers, I thought. I thought Z list was a deferral till following year on the university’s initiative, not the student’s. The university likes you and wants to admit, but they simply don’t have room in the current enrolled class.
Edit/update: as a mom with exactly zero kids ever on a waitlist or Z-list, I’m probably the last person to decribe how it works LOL.
Best guess: there won’t be a lot of kids pulled from the waitlist or z-listed this year. That’s why it’s best to prepare to move on.
Yes that is how it works, you can get off the WL by admission this year, or you can get off waitlist by admission next year(Z-list). Usually the Z-list option is taking by applicants (who are offered admission) once this years class is full. If this class is already full there will most likely be a few offers of admission for next year.
Oh! THanks for the clarification!
THe Harvard Z-list definition/wording and the news coverage on it words it slightly differently and in a way I said, so I was wondering if the same context applies. Apparently not.
THanks for highlighting the differences.
So which schools do the waitlist (just for personal info if any1 knows)? I just know UChic and Harvard do them (as per my best knowledge regarding this)
Z-list is not guaranteed admission? I thought getting on Z-list this year implied that you would enroll in fall of 2020. Well, I am surprised. What if a student takes a gap year and UChicago still says no? Then he has no place to go to?
I was wondering about the same re: z-list terminology. The media accounts of the Harvard case define z-lists differently – not in terms of the gap year option but in terms of who they put on the z-list.
OK we might need a better definition of terms: does “z list” refer to an admission to class of '24, or an invitation to be considered for an admission to the class of '24? I was - perhaps mistakingly - using “z list” to refer to the latter but I’ve seen it used both ways.
@85bears46 anyone who is admitted and gaps - whether it be via a deferred admission or the student’s initiative, does so with the understanding that they are enrolled the following year. Gap years aren’t allowed except by approval of the university.
@Lucy11 - UChicago may or may not follow the procedures of other colleges and uni’s. Anyone offered the option of being considered for the following year’s class should contact Admissions and get clarficiation on exactly what that means. And then please report back here for the benefit of everyone else!
Honestly I think its pretty clear, you either get an offer of admission this year or if no slots are left for this year you get an offer of admission next year (which puts you on the Z-list as an accepted student for '24). Saying you’ll accept a gap year in order to be admitted via the portal just signals that you are willing to take a gap year and confers nothing concerning admittance.
Thanks for the clarification @JBStillFlying
After re-reading my gathered info on the z-list, it seems that i misread some info
Apologies.
How many kids get admitted from waistline? some universities such Columbia and MIT are at 0
For Uchicago, the WL admits is 0
Do all waitlisted applicants get this z-list gap year consideration? I got it and I’m wondering if it’s something everyone gets or if it’s a good sign…
Definitely not.
Its not a good or a bad sign.
Its something you opt for, or something you request for (if at all)