<p>My nephew, who is on the UR waitlist, called the university last week to confirm that he wanted to remain on the list. The person he spoke with encouraged him to write a letter to "express desire"--which he did--and also to get another 1-2 letters of recommendation. However, the do's and don'ts brochure says not to send any additional material, other than grades. What to do?</p>
<p>I say go for it, and send the information to the attention of the admissions person he spoke to.</p>
<p>My take on additional letters of recommendations is this: The letters you come up with will not be as outstanding as the initial one(s)…otherwise you would have submitted them instead. And if they are equivilants, they will add no additional information and be useless and could hurt chances due to making admissions read the additional useless information.</p>
<p>I would suggest that the most important thing to do is for the student to write us about his/her interest in Richmond. That would be more valuable than additional letters of rec. However, for SonicEx Youth’s nephew, since he spoke to someone in the office who could have been looking at his file when he was advised, I would do what the admission officer said. It could be that he only had one recommendation and it might not have been all that helpful. </p>
<p>Letters from WL students about their interest will be most valuable to us in late April, so I might wait a week or two to write. Some students who are very enthusiastic this week may have gotten excited about another school by late in the month. We’ll want to know of your interest at the time when we’re actually looking a WL candidates. Of course, it is much too soon for us to know if we’ll go to the WL yet. </p>
<p>I hope this helps.</p>
<p>What about re-visiting? We’ve visited twice before and, from our end, feel very comfortable without seeing more. However, in the “Facts about Waitlist” it seems to encourage a visit. We will do what needs to be done to get off that list (and thought that we had already done that!?!?). Do you think it will make a difference???</p>
<p>Thanks UR Admissions–that’s very helpful. </p>
<p>One more question. There was an article in US News yesterday that said (among other things) that because of the recession, this year some institutions may just admit students off the waitlist who can pay their own way in full. Where does Richmond stand on this issue?</p>
<p>[What</a> to Expect if You Were Wait-Listed - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://www.usnews.com/articles/education/2009/04/06/what-to-expect-if-you-were-wait-listed.html]What”>http://www.usnews.com/articles/education/2009/04/06/what-to-expect-if-you-were-wait-listed.html)</p>
<p>It also shouldn’t hurt to send updated grades (quarterly report?), and any new honors/awards that your nephew has earned since his app was submitted.</p>
<p>In spite of the recession, Richmond plans to continue to be need-blind for any students we may need to admit from the wait list (for US Citizens and permanent residents, that is). </p>
<p>Certainly, new grade reports, honors and awards are good things to send. </p>
<p>As for the visit, we don’t want families feel they need to visit to prove their interest–that is just as effectively done by writing us–but if you are on the WL and have not visited, or feel you’d like to do so in order to determine just how strong your level of interest in Richmond might be should you be offered a spot in the class, then we welcome you to come for a visit.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for your very helpful suggestions and ideas. It’s going to be a long couple of months :)</p>
<p>Any updates on whether or not UR might use their waitlist?</p>
<p>It’s still too early to know. Sorry!</p>