I was recently waitlisted at Villanova, and I could use some advice on the letter that I want to send to the Office of Admissions. Not much has changed grade wise or with my achievements, but I have done more community service. Should I put an emphasis on my new community service activities in my letter?
^^ I also have the same question. Was also waitlisted at Nova.
In the letter write why you think you are a good fit for Nova and emphasize anything you have (in this case service). Just keep it short. Maybe 2 paragraphs tops. If you are ready to accept if admitted say so (but only if it is true). They admit a fair amount from the waiting list (100 last year). Good luck!
Would you recommend having another letter of rec sent in by a teacher? Or is that overkill?
Waitlists are one of the dark areas of college admissions. At many schools the waitlist isn’t about holding on to kids they will accept if a space just opens up, it’s primarily marketing to future applicants.
There is no rule that requires only putting enough kids on the waitlist to provide a reasonable buffer for a shortcoming in enrollment. So smart college adcoms realized they could have it two ways. They could use the waitlist for kids for whom they’re hoping space opens, which is what most people think a waitlist does.
And they could use the waitlist to pass out quasi “acceptances” that didn’t require actually enrolling the kid!! HS juniors with similar stats will think “If Julie got in last year then I got a shot too” and apply. Thing is, Julie didn’t get in; she was waitlisted and somehow never made it off the list. Colleges love lots of applicants because the more apps they have the more selective they look.
You can sometimes find numbers in the Common Data Set reports. In 2019 for Northwestern 3,067 offered the waitlist, 55 eventually taken from it. UPenn offered 2,051, eventually accepted 101. WUSTL, well known for passing out waitlist slots, won’t even say how many are waitlisted!! But in 2018-19 they took 31 from it. In other words they know very few of the waitlist kids will get in but it’s a great move on their part to have thousands of kids spreading the word they were offered a slot on the waitlist.
In their 2019 CDS Villanova reports it accepted 6,470 and offered a slot on the waitlist to 5,553, so almost as many “waitlist” as admits. From the waitlist it eventually accepted 104.
I was recently waitlisted at Villanova and it’s my top choice if it get in. The problem is my stats; they are a little low for Villanova. My gpa is 4.39 W and 3.93 UW (this isn’t really the issue). My SAT is only 1350 so it makes it difficult for me to see myself getting off the waitlist. I want to send in a letter of continued interest, but I’m not sure what to add. Any help from alumni, parents, or students would really help. I applied EA and was deferred RD so they have my Q2 grades but nothing after that. So far the only thing I know I will be sending is an update on my grades (it went up since last quarter) and an explanation of community service I’ve done since I applied. Is there anything else I can add to help my chance of admission? Again thank you to anyone who has some information!
I’m having the same issue lol I had the same SAT score. I really hope I get off the waitlist, but I’m not feeling too confident.
I’m having the same issue lol I had the same SAT score. I really hope I get off the waitlist, but I’m not feeling too confident.
@astronomy11 @pandagirl567 don’t lose hope! i got in with a 1290 superscore, if that gives you guys any hope! best of luck!
@vulpix687 Thank you!
That is very kind of you, thanks! @vulpix687
it isn’t worth it, the school is very expensive! they don’t give much financial aid. to gauge, my EFC was 21,000 on FASFA and it was $35,000 and that’s with loans and work study so really $44,000.