I just don’t understand this whole process. I know a kid with lower stats than my daughter that was accepted to Isenberg and my daughter was waitlisted with a more rigorous curriculum and better extracurriculars.
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If you look at the UMass website, their waitlist is actually a deferral. It says there are three options that an applicant could land in. Accept, Deny and Waitlist, meaning they will compare your waitlisted student with other RD students and then decide
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I’m just curious- no skin in this game currently -
How does UMASS then choose FROM the students opting in to the waitlist? Lets just say, come May 1, they have 20 open spots in Nursing with 500 students on waitlist. What is that selection process like? Super competitive again? And is it then rolling as they move through the waitlist to see who actually accepts? Multiple waves all over again?
Same for my son. He was also waitlisted. Does not make any sense.
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It’s not a deferral. It’s a true waitlist. They are not putting waitlist into the RD review pile. They’ll accept waitlisted applicants if yield falls below their expected numbers by certain date milestones.
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I think the moving WL years are aberrant pandemic ones. My kid was WL last year so I went back many years to see if that was true. Usually v v few get off the list unfortunately.
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The UMASS website says that the best chance to be admitted from the waitlist is to get on the waitlist as soon as possible. I wonder if this means that EA waitlisted kids have a better chance than RD waitlisted kids?
My son will not be on the waitlist as he has better options for him. But I’m still shocked that as an in-state kid he wasn’t accepted. He has had all AP and honors classes all through high school, 4.2 GPA, a 36 ACT, several awards, lots of extra stuff, summer jobs. etc. Something seems off. Oh well, good luck to everyone on the waitlist-make sure you join it as soon as possible.
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Hmm… Implies they time-stamp the moment someone joins the waitlist??
Hopefully that process is transparent.
Is it possible Umass is putting kids on waitlist to see who is really interested in going there rather than defer them? It seems allot of kids who were accepted had amazing stats and will most likely be accepted to more selective schools. This may not attend UMass. Then UMass would go to the waitlist to admit those kids interested in attending. Thoughts?
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I read the FAQ about application decisions and it was indicated that the best chance of being accepted off the waitlist is to join it as soon as possible so maybe they do time-stamp them. I may have misread it but I’m pretty sure that is what was written.
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Could be but I’m not sure. There are some very bright kids (stats well above UMASS average) who are instate and counting on instate tuition and those are the kids I feel bad for. Either UMASS is playing games OR it is really just that competitive.
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I am so sorry for those who were unexpectedly deferred despite amazing stats. We feel your pain and frustration. We are from way out of state and have the same issue at our state flagship. The school is excellent and has the same two issues:
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Super high stats kids treat it as a back up. Or at least that is what the school suspects. It’s great that many or most of the high stats kids get into better schools BUT those are generally way more expensive - especially for the instate kids. So maybe they aren’t “better” after all. omeStimes they aren’t a truly viable alternative.
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Like UMASS, our excellent flagship is also not a guarantee or safety for anyone. Which makes a lot of residents upset and for good reason. As such our daughter who would have been very happy to go there had to cast her net much wider just in case. We won’t hear from her flagship till March and there is no ED or EA. So she flew cross country and visited and applied to UMASS and several others and got accepted to all - with good stats but not top stats or EC’s. And in the process fell in love with a couple and is doubting she’ll now go to her flagship if she even gets in haha. I’m sure those flagships will be more than happy to accept her out of state tuition . Ugh.
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Yes, I agree with this. Our children’s school warned us to make sure to visit UMass–that while there is no demonstrated interest per se, they expect those MA residents who can easily visit to do so (to minimize the idea that UMass is viewed as a “safety”). So, even though oldest is a student there and we’ve visited plenty, S23 still did a formal visit. As for it being a safety, it really isn’t, and hasn’t been for a number a years. That idea is still perpetuated around, however–by student and some parents. Naviance may say “match” or “safety,” but those aren’t always accurate–especially now.
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DD got accepted.
Her stats:
3.94 GPA
1540 SAT
7 APs
Great ECs, leadership positions, volunteering and work experience
School doesn’t rank
From Massachusetts
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Forgot to mention, she got accepted in the first wave back in December.
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That’s interesting….my high stats, instate kid did NOT visit….maybe this is a factor in him getting waitlisted. Makes sense.
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What major was she accepted for at UMass?
What major?
My bet is that visit probably did not matter. They asked why UMASS in common app. All else being equal “Why UMASS?” might be the one that differentiates across IS students with similar stats.
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My issue with the waitlist is that potentially students won’t hear until late April, well after most accepted students have chosen their dorm. UMass (like a lot of schools these days) has housing issues, and WL students will have not so great options and possible forced triples. My friend’s son is a senior there and said that outside of CHC the housing isn’t great for underclassmen. Oh well. Time to move on…
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