<p>I accepted a spot on the waitlist at a few selective colleges. I have yet to initially contact my admissions counselor with a response email, because I didn't want my correspondence lost in a sea of angry emails from parents/students who had not been admitted.</p>
<p>Now that I think the wave of angry emails has died down, I want to send my initial notification of interest. My plan was to send a preliminary email expressing my extreme gratitude and interest, and then mail in a statement of my plans for a possible freshman year at that institution and why it is such a good fit for me, along with statements of updates of things I've been working on throughout my senior year (this would include a statement from me, a statement from a teacher, and a statement from an extracurricular advisor). I was also thinking of having my guidance counselor call the regional admissions counselor and explaining my interest/fit for the school.</p>
<p>If I could get some advice on how effective my plan of action is and on what to include in that initial email correspondence, I would greatly appreciate it!</p>
<p>Your plan is generally on target. I miss your point about “angry” parents. You may be overthinking your situation. No one will “envy” you for getting on the waiting list.</p>
<p>Talk to your guidance counselor before sending your “preliminary” email. See if he is enthusiastic and supportive for one particular college. Is he willing to advocate directly for you? Ask him for his recommendation for how to proceed.</p>
<p>@fogcity Thanks for the advice! And my main point is that I didn’t want to send an email to admissions the day after decisions were released just because I didn’t want my email/correspondence lost or forgotten because it was sent during a time when the admissions office was likely inundated with hundreds of other phone calls/emails from admitted or rejected students. I’ve just realized that it’s pretty much all a game of standing out, and I thought sending immediate correspondence wouldn’t have benefited me that much. I just wanted to be assured that I made the right decision in following that reasoning.</p>
<p>Your email won’t really get lost, regardless of when you send it. In addition to talking to your college counselor find out who the regional representative is for the (ideally one) college that is on top of your list. What doesn’t necessarily work well is to accept the wait list from multiple colleges. You want to say something to the effect that the college is where you want to go and that if they offer you a place you’ll accept. If you need financial aid this gets tricky because if they do offer you a place you may not afford to go. Advocacy for you from your guidance counselor is very important. Also you want to get stellar grades in your final semester. No senioritise. Good luck.</p>
<p>Don’t be too wordy… a whole new ‘essay’ on why you are such a good fit and a bunch of extra ‘statements’ are not likely to get a close reading… I say you should be succinct. Tell them you are still very interested and list any new accomplishments since your application was submitted. If they are truly your first choice and you will attend for certain if you get off the wait list, tell them so (but only if that it true). Ask you GC if they can contact the school and let them know you are very interested. I do not think additional recommendations are useful or considered desirable by admissions offices, and your initial application should have shown why the school was a good fit for you to begin with.</p>