<p>I think she should start getting excited about staying on the West Coast, personally. I agree with Danalynn. I think it's best for the student if she starts getting excited about the school that she's most likely to go to instead of holding out hope all summer for something that's very unlikely to happen. This is especially true given how waitlists are now used as "polite rejections" at so many schools. I think waitlists are only worth staying on, really, if that school is vastly better (in the student's opinion) than the schools the student was accepted to. I'm assuming that your daughter got into a UCal, in which case she's not only going to an excellent school, but your family will be saving a significant amount of money. She can go to the East Coast for graduate school or in the summers to work. Get her excited about where she got in. Remember, it's much easier to stay relatively close to home in terms of moving there and back every year and visiting home for Thanksgiving or a long weekend. I'm a pretty independent person, but I start missing home if I haven't been there for a couple months. Sometimes you just need a break from college. Many students at my school have reported similar feelings. My parents are nice enough to fly me home for a long weekend every term, but it's definitely more of a hassel than one of my friends who can just take the train home. I'm about a three hour flight and hour and a half drive away. Your daughter would be much further.</p>
<p>The thing about staying on the waitlists and thinking of them as lottery tickets is that so few seventeen year olds are capable of doing that. They will still, in their heart, be holding out hope a little bit. When people ask where she's going to college, she should be able to say "I'm going --------" with a smile on her face, instead of explaining that she sent in her deposit to A but is on waiting lists for B, C, and D.</p>