<p>So I've been waitlisted to Vanderbilt and I wanted to know why. Is it acceptable for me to email my admissions counselor and ask? I haven't sent anything yet because very time I write something down, I feel as if it comes off snobby and demanding but I just want to know what could've been improved. Maybe my scores are comparably low or perhaps my essay was not as stellar? </p>
<p>Also, I'm thinking about writing an followup letter on saying what types of things I've accomplished since my application and just restating some of the reasons I'd like to attend. Is this an acceptable thing to do? If so, should I have it hand written or emailed?</p>
<p>I am waitlisted and (apart from accepting the spot), I have not done anything and will not until I meet with my college counselor on Tuesday, after I get back from spring break.</p>
<p>countysheriff,
I would not do anything at this time, especially not asking for a reason for your waitlist decision. I know it’s hard to deal with disappointment at this time. S was denied from his first choice school and ended up at Vanderbilt. He can not imagine a different or better experience now, but it was disappointing for him when he got his denial from choice #1.</p>
<p>It’s really true that the admissions staff is charged with building a class and not just taking the best slice of the applicant pool in terms of scores and grades. When you commit so many spots to athletes, musicians, etc., there aren’t as many left as you might think. When it’s time to pull from the waitlist, shortly after they look at the statistical profile of acceptances, they will be looking to fill specific needs for the class. It may be potential physics majors or maybe it will be education majors. You might want to e-mail your counselor to reinforce your interest in a month and to provide an update of any awards, etc. If you are potentially a full pay, this will play in your favor and you should mention that. While Vanderbilt and other schools are need blind in the early and regular decision rounds, after they look at who has matriculated, there may not be much in the way of financial aid left for students who come off the waitlist.</p>
<p>The admissions staff is overwhelmed at this time with the conclusion of the application season and, now, the intense month of April as they try to appeal to to those accepted students and encourage them to matriculate to VU. Give things a chance to settle and see how you feel in a month.</p>
<p>BTW, my favorite waitlist story is from The Gatekeepers, a book about the admission process at Wesleyan. It’s about a young man who took a creative strategy and mailed a postcard each day to the admissions office to keep his name fresh on their minds. The support staff fell in love with his daily messages and I guess some of the admissions staff did as well because he eventually came off the waitlist. He obviously developed a well executed and humorous approach to his writing, even prior to his enrollment at Wesleyan. He went on to have an interesting career as a writer for the Letterman Show and he now is the showrunner for a popular sitcom that will wrap up a 9 year run on Monday night. His name is Carter Bays.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t ask/worry about what can be improved. Focus on your commitment to Vanderbilt and your accomplishments. When they pull students from the waitlist, they want to be sure that you’re going to accept the offer.</p>
<p>Don’t write and ask why or complain, but there is something you can do. You can reply immediately saying you want to stay on the waitlist. They will ask you eventually anyway, if they haven’t already. My son was waitlisted and eventually admitted. You can definitely let them know you are still interested. Have your school send your last quarter grades. Send along any positive information, like awards/accomlishments that were too recent to be in your application, and stuff like that. I actually think a steady stream of info without being a pest can work, though I do know someone else who was waitlisted and that person emailed every single day between now and early May to express interest in coming and was eventually accepted also. And, if you have not visited the campus, then visit and let them know you are really interested in coming and will come for sure if they admit you. </p>
<p>I agree with above, wait 2-3 weeks to calm down. They will not look into the waitlist students until late April and early May. Don’t ask why, send a letter to your regions counselor, update any new accomplishments or awards, let them know Vandy is still your first choice and you will say yes if offered a spot.</p>
<p>There are no fixed rules, other than being courteous and not pesky! Indicate a firm interest in VU immediately. Follow up in a couple of weeks with a fantastically written personal statement about your commitment to VU. Indicate that you currently plan to engage fully at whichever school you end up at, but that you will instantly accept a spot off the wait list at VU. Take this opportunity to credibly explain any weakness in your application profile…e.g. a weak grade(s), which may have been due to time constraints because of sports, EC commitments, part time job, or a tough grading teacher etc etc, but also state that you found those courses rewarding and learned a lot from them, and do not blame the teacher. (Just an example). If you are not applying for aid, your chances will improve. If you can make a campus visit, alert your counselor, and show up anyway to say hello, even though they will likely advise that they do not budget time for this. Believe me it works! Be positive, mature, and likable, and if you can, explain how you will contribute to and gain from the VU community. In essence, when it comes time for the adcom. to finalize the class, you want to be the person about which they can say…“here is a qualified kid with exceptional commitment to VU, writes well, is mature and well adjusted, and has his/her head screwed on just right…let’s take him/her (especially if no aid involved!)”. Good luck.</p>
<p>I agree with above posts. A few things to remember:
-Waitlisted students are strong candidates
-Your odds of getting in from the waitlist are similar to your odds with RD, 10%+/-.
-VU will be scrambling to fill their class in May.
-Telling them you will accept an offer makes their job of filling the class easier and quicker…be the “easy button”
-They want students that want them…let them know VU is your first choice
-It’s not over til the fat lady sings in early June</p>
<p>Thanks for the help guys. Just to clear things up, I read in a couple places that asking why you were waitlisted was an acceptable thing to do (one of my friends did this to another school and they actually told her it was because her ACT scores were comparably low to other applicants). I just didn’t know if it was acceptable at Vanderbilt-- didn’t mean to come off as whiny. </p>
<p>I am not too terribly upset or disappointed about being waitlisted, actually pretty thankful. There were quite the number of students in my area that received likely letters so I didn’t put too much hope into VU after that. </p>
<p>Anyways, is it okay to email a follow up letter/personal statement or should it be hand-written?</p>
<p>I believe email is the usual. perhaps someone else has an opinion. but consider highlighting anything new that happened since you turned in your application or something about you that was not in the essays already. Good luck with your effort. You can also ask your GC to consider dropping a note to testify to your first choice, but be careful not to restate things they already have and stay reasonable in tone. </p>
<p>@countysheriff I don’t think asking why you were waitlisted is necessary and I am not sure it is a good idea either. You are making work for them at a very busy time, and even though it’s a good idea to continue to show interest, even if worded nicely, such a query has the risk of coming across as whiny or angry and it would not seem prudent to draw negative attention, even if slight. Keep it upbeat and optimistic! (They are also probably fielding calls from people flat out rejected, and compared to them you are in much better shape.) </p>
<p>I think waiting a week or two is OK, but just be aware they will be NOTIFYING the first people off the waitlist in the first days of May. They apparently start thinking about the waitlist in April, not May.</p>
<p>You are not going to get an answer to “why was I wait listed?”. It’s like asking a guy you bump into why they didn’t call you after the first date (to use an example from prehistoric times, when people still dated. And used phones to make phone calls.) – it just puts them on the spot and you are unlikely to get the truth or any useful information. </p>
<p>You’ve gotten great advice from previous posters. After doing what they’ve recommended, move on to the schools that accepted you & put down a deposit so you know you’re going somewhere in the fall.</p>
<p>For those that are going to send an update email, are you going to send it to the admissions office email address or to your regional counselor directly?</p>
<p>Okay, let me add a comment here… before last week, I would have thought that a college admissions counselor would NEVER give information about an individual file. But when my daughter was waitlisted at a college, even though both my husband and I were alums, we wanted to know why. My husband called her admissions counselor and left a voice mail, telling him we were really scratching our heads and didn’t understand.</p>
<p>I figured he’d call back with the standard, ‘we can’t give any info about individual decisions.’ Instead, when he called back, he had reviewed our daughter’s file and provided some really enlightening information. It was quite helpful to us, and while some of the things he said were disappointing to hear, it gave us some real insight into the process. It’s possible that he only gave us this info because our daughter was a double legacy, but you just never know.</p>
<p>BTW, one last warning… if you call and your counselor is willing to discuss this decision, be prepared to feel very differently about that school. Much of the info really made my daughter angry, and in fact she wants to be pulled from the waiting list now. So if this is your dream school and you don’t want to hear some harsh facts, then don’t call.</p>
<p>Repeating @collegeignorant 's question, to those sending waitlist updates, where are you sending them? To your regional counselor through the Vanderbilt website, or some email address to the admissions office in general?</p>
<p>@WAAHHH @collegeignorant I emailed my regional counselor and she said to send any additional updates to her. Either way would work though I’d think.</p>
<p>I’ve heard that sending in letters of rec providing new information can be an asset to someone on the waiting list. Has anyone tried this yet and/or have any advice about the proper way to go about doing it?</p>
<p>Also, does anyone have any idea when the admissions committee starts reviewing and admitting students from the waitlist?
A friend of mine just got off the waiting list at her top choice this past weekend and as far as I understood, most schools don’t start accepting from the waitlist until after May 1. </p>
<p>@SoCalDad2 thanks for sharing that. I don’t think there was any info in either my letter or on Vandy’s website saying that the information had to come from the applicant him/herself. I do vaguely remember reading somewhere that additional letters of rec are okay though.</p>
<p>Another thing: if I were to want to submit additional letters from teachers, would it be better to email them to my regional counselor directly or to send them to the general Undergrad Admissions email? I have been corresponding with my regional counselor however she seems rather curt; I assume she is swamped with things being sent in from other waitlisted students. Does anyone have any advice? I don’t want my admissions counselor to be irritated by my excessive desire to attend Vandy in the fall.</p>