<p>So I've been reading some of the past threads and it seems that many people think that WashU waitlists overqualified applicants who don't show interest. I don't consider myself overqualified based on my scores, and being waitlisted at WUSTL (after showing interest) really concerns me. I know that it is a top-notch school with very competitive admissions, but I've applied to other selective schools as well, which makes me worried about my chances.
Based on the stats posted below, I'm a strong student but not overqualified by any means. Since I live in NY, I travelled down to WashU for a visit and did an on campus interview. Is the fact that I was waitlisted, despite showing interest, and indication of my weakness as an applicant? </p>
<p>academic stats: GPA: 94.5 SATI (cr.m.w): 710.770.800 SATII: m2/bio/us: 760/730/730
APs: Gov, Calc BC, Spanish, Lit, Bio (5), US (5), Lang (5), Euro (5), Econ (4)</p>
<p>I applied to Olin....does this have an affect on my wait list chances?</p>
<p>Nobody can tell without reading your essays/recs, knowing your school as well as admissions committees do, seeing a list of your activities, meeting you in person, etc. Numbers don’t tell the full story.</p>
<p>I know you’re right, and I know this won’t help…but here are my main ECs.
My counselor told me my recs were solid and my stats are a bit above the average accepted applicant from our school.</p>
<p>Notable ECs: DECA Regional/Chapter President, Varsity Tennis Captain, Model UN Chair/Officer, Mock Trial Team Captain, Interned at U.S. Senator’s office
Awards: NMF, DECA International Event Finalist, Model UN Outstanding Delegate, AP Scholar w/Distinction, National Spanish Exam Silver Medalist, Williams College Book Award</p>
<p>I know my first question is impossible to answer definitively…but does some one know if its easier to get off the wait list for a school like Olin (since in the wait list letter it says that its based off school).</p>
<p>It depends completely on the year. Last year 0 people were taken off the waitlist, since WUSTL’s yield was higher than expected. This year, since they supposedly accepted significantly fewer applicants, some people ARE expected to get off the waitlist. If I were you, I would contact admissions with questions etc. to show interest, send them updates, maybe make a visit, and just hope for the best. You definitely seem qualified, but then again so are thousands of others… it’s just up to you now to make yourself stand out. Good luck!</p>
<p>As for whether it’s easier or not to get off the waitlist for Olin vs another school, I’m not sure, but from what I’ve gathered Olin is slightly harder to get into unless of course you demonstrate business-related ability through your activities etc.</p>
<p>runi27, you are definitely qualified. I have no doubt that you will get into some other selective schools. Look at all the other qualified CC applicants with near perfect scores who were wait listed. Whether or not you believe someone can be overqualified, the fact is that WUSTL wait lists a ton of applicants who go on to great schools.</p>
<p>It doesn’t mean that something is wrong with your app just because you demonstrated interest and were wait listed. If they accepted every strong applicant who visited, we could then win the admissions game with ease!</p>
<p>Honestly, getting waitlisted probably says very little about the strength of your application, other than that you are, in fact, competitive enough to have had a good chance into getting in. There are a lot of applicants, and not everyone who is qualified can be accepted, and perhaps Admissions didn’t feel that, from your application, you were ‘right’ for the school. Beyond the objectivity of test scores and EC’s, there’s that subjective component as well. I also was accepted into Brown and Duke, but waitlisted at Cornell and Stanford. Between Brown (9.3%) and Cornell (18% acceptance), I feel, and it probably showed, that Brown was definitely the better fit for me. And from their personalities, I would bet that Brown definitely liked my essay more. I still ended up going to WashU. I didn’t show any interest, because I wasn’t interested, not until much later, 'round April. Maybe they liked my essay, or that I’m from the midwest. For whatever reason, they felt that I’d fit in at the school, and in retrospect, I’m glad they didl. It’s partially subjective, both ways. 2 out of 7 people from my school got in, and the other one was ED, not the best stats of the 7 by far, but loved WashU and showed it.</p>
<p>That many people who are waitlisted at WashU end up at good schools, says more about the fact that those of you who were waitlisted, will almost definitely get into a good school of your choice. WashU does tend to waitlist more people than other similar schools, but that does not mean they are waitlisting overqualified students. Really, it doesn’t matter how many people a school waitlists, a waitlist is practically equivalent to a rejection (so few people get off waitlists anyways). What you should take away from it is that, yes, you were competitive and a wonderful applicant, we’re sorry that we don’t have the room to accept you, but we know you’ll end up somewhere great.</p>