<p>My Son found out yesterday that he has been wait-listed at Evansville. We are not sure if this "limbo" state is better or worse than a flat out rejection. I would be interested in others thoughts or experiences with wait-listing. In particular if someone has some knowledge about the prospects of moving off the Evansville's wait-list and moved to much wished for "accepted".</p>
<p>Evansville is a mostly hidden gem. It is definitely a top-tier undergrad theatre program. Its graduates regularly get accepted to the nation’s top graduate schools.
Theatre people know this. But a lot of high school students and parents, venturing forth on a college search, don’t know it. Thus – and this will work in your favor – they will often choose a bigger name school over UE.
There’s no way of knowing what your wait list chances are. It all depends on the group that was originally accepted.
Evansville, though, is worth the wait. I wish you the best of luck.</p>
<p>A waitlist is a huge accomplishment!!! I can’t say that strongly enough. It has to mean something to these kids that someone would be willing to take a chance on them, even if they weren’t a “first choice.” It’s huge, compared to a rejection!</p>
<p>I don’t know about Evansville’s WL, but BU told us that they’re going to accept 80 kids for 40-45 spots, and will have a waitlist. They said they have gone to their waitlist in past years. Even the best schools have to balance their yield, and I’d say if you can stomach it, staying on a waitlist can be really worth it. </p>
<p>I’ve seen wonderful waitlist success stories here on CC, and in real life. It can happen, too, that a kid really invests in the school they’ve chosen instead in the meantime, and by the time they get in off the waitlist, they don’t want to change. </p>
<p>But it’s a wonderful way to keep options open. You and your S should be very proud!</p>
<p>If I may weigh in on wait-listing without any knowledge of Evansville or your son’s interest, I would say that in general (and this is something I learned last year in three real-life experiences, as my daughter and a friend’s daughter both successfully moved from wait-lists to their dreams schools), the best way to move from the wait-list to the acceptance list is for your son to make it extremely clear to the admissions committee that this school is his first choice and that he is seriously interested in attending. If you can go there in person ASAP and meet with the admissions department (even if you have already been there), that’s the best thing. Bring along a fresh “updated” resume, a headshot, and letters of recommendation. Get anyone connected with the school (alumni, any teachers you might know, even in different departments) to write letters, email, or call on his behalf recommending him as a candidate for the program. Have your son call and email the admissions office alternately, making at least two contacts a week. I’m not kidding. Ask how many are on the waitlist, where he stands on the waitlist, etc. He was placed there because they see him as someone could thrive in their program. When a spot opens up, and it will, they are going to want the best candidate for the school-- and a candidate who really wants to go to the school is going to rise to the top above others who are passive.</p>
<p>Not to disagree with the previous poster, but in UE’s case I would advise against contacting the admissions office. In a theatre program where admissions are based upon auditions, the decisions are made by the department, not the university-wide admissions dept.
Sometimes, the decision could be based upon something as simple as “already have too many blondes” in the incoming class.
Blessedly, our D got in on her initial try. But my educated guess is that a phone call and a followup letter (with headshot, as a reminder) couldn’t hurt, and address them to the head of the dept. John David Lutz IS the department, though it abounds in great profs and instructors.
Theatre program admissions at most schools aren’t at all like trying to get into an Ivy school, Northwestern, Wash U, etc. In terms of numbers, It is actually easier to get into Yale, for example, than to get into Juilliard or other school’s theatre departments.
UE theatre tries to accept, I think, 15-20 performance majors each year.
Again, I wish you the best of luck. Reiterating your interest in UE to John David can’t possibly hurt your chances of rising to the top of the wait list.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the kind words and suggestions. It will be good for my Son to hear this from someone other than Mom & Dad.</p>