I know there have been plenty of waitlist threads these past few days but, when schools mention that calls or questions will be accepted after March 15th, does this mean that they welcome questions like, “Why was I waitlisted?” “What can I do to get off of it?” Or is that a don’t in the prep school world?
It means that after Mar 15th, you may start communicating your interest in remaining on the WL (or dropping off the WL), sending in new info (grades for a new term, an award you have won etc), and maintaining an ongoing conversation with the admissions for status update. Schools usually won’t give you more specific answers regarding “why waitlist” or “how to get off it” other than what they told you in the WL letter.
The “how to get off of it” isn’t a necessary question. If the school has an accepted student who shares a certain needed characteristic as the student on the waitlist, and originally accepted student declines the offer, then there’s movement on the waitlist.
That’s a pretty simplified version of what actually occurs, but you get the idea.
It means that the school is on break and the Admissions Office took a few well-deserved days off . 
In your case ( if you haven’t already ), I would convey ( by telephone, email or * handwritten note ) that the school remains your FC ( if it truly is ) and that you wish to stay on the WL. That’s all you can do for now until you get much, much closer to the A10 deadline. If you check the WL status during the month of March … it’s usually fruitless because most schools simply don’t know.
FWIW- Some former WL people will tell you that they got in by stalking the AO. I believe that’s the very rare exception not the rule- so do that sort of thing at your own risk because I can see it backfiring more than I see it succeeding . That said- I know AOs have encouraged some WL parents/kids ( after their first WL status check ) to check in with them once a week for updates but this ( again ) rarely happens before A10.
The Why am I on the Waitlist? and How do I get off the WL? aren’t questions I’d ask an AO . To be honest ( and this isn’t meant to be cruel or hurt your feelings- I’m sorry!!! ) BSs are only focused on accepted students/ parents right now- not the students on their WL. They’re also super busy fielding questions from them and ramping up for their revisit days.
That actually killed me to say that but it’s the truth. Take your power back and move forward! Your time will be much better spent doing fun activities that bring you joy while you wait for this thing to playout. I know that right now that’s a lot easier said than done and I wish I knew how to make it better but please, please try.
- IMHO- A handwritten note to an AO is best right now ..... followed by a phone call in early April but I understand everyone communicates differently and it's all good. I just believe that a handwritten note shows a little bit more care and stands out a bit more..... and you can always take a very plain envelope and make it more interesting by choosing a fun postage stamp.
I’m the nut who finds joy when I’m focused on a super small detail… like a really cool postage stamp.
Anyway…
All the best and good luck!!
I’ve asked why, but not until after April 10 when things have died down.
AO are doing their best to sign up as many accepted students as they can, so they won’t even have to look at the WL. It seems that the chance of getting off from WL is much smaller than getting accepted. I would keep WL like a lotto in my pocket, but move on as it is just a lotto ticket and not much more.
@stargirl3 Did you get a good response/was it good info that you built on?
@26443586 Looking back, I think I only asked schools that flat-out rejected me. It wasn’t “Why was I rejected?” but rather, “What can I improve for next year?” One school which rejected me twice told me that my math SSAT score was too low (74). I doubt that they were telling me the full story, since kids on here have gotten into that school with the same score, but it successfully told me that I should not bother with them.