Waitlist Rumor True?

<p>Is it true if you are overqualified or apply to better schools that you get waitlisted? I applied to GW business school but wonder if I got waitlisted because I said I applied to Michigan and Indiana, both which have top tier business programs. I don't want to sound snotty, but I was really hoping to get in to GW. Half the schools I applied to are in the DC area for a reason...</p>

<p>I’m sure you are “overqualified.” :)</p>

<p>don’t worry. i just got waitlisted too, and i’m kind of shocked. i’m in the top ten at my school, have over a 4.0 gpa, and 31 act. i was considering gwu a good match school, but ended up waitlisted instead. every year, i’ve heard that gwu waitlists many of its extremely qualified applicants, which i think is unfair because its not very likely that i’ll get in to my top schools. oh well. but i bet if you call admissions about what you can do or write a letter, they’ll probably accept you based on your strong interest. i guess they want to accept more kids that will probably enroll, but it would have been nice to have the option.</p>

<p>what i’m going to do is wait until i receive all my other decisions, and if i really need gwu as an option, i’ll call and make a stronger effort to get in.</p>

<p>The time to show strong interest has passed .</p>

<p>I’m not necessarily affirming the speculation, but I had been considering GW a good match and somehow got wait-listed as well. On the supplement, I said that I applied to all the Ivies minus Brown and Cornell, Amherst, Williams, Barnard, NYU, and Smith. I have similar stats to tpatek, and received a likely letter from Dartmouth and an early-write to Smith, plus a 65k merit scholarship to the latter. </p>

<p>I had stopped considering GW once those two acceptances came in, however, so I’m really just more amused right now than anything.</p>

<p>Congrats to everyone who did get in and still wants to go, though, that’s awesome! Go celebrate, y’all deserve it (:</p>

<p>I already showed strong interest by visiting and emails etc and there’s no time to do anything else to prove my interest. There’s no way I can accept the waitlist offer because the process is so emotionally straining especially with up in the air financial aid. I guess I just have to suck it up because like you I’m equally surprised. 33 ACT and a 3.52/4.07 with many ECs that varied in area, I’m really shocked…</p>

<p>I was waitlisted too! I had a 2140 SAT and 32 ACT with 6 APs and a 3.7 UW GPA and I participated in the Intel Science Competition and started my own organization for kids in 3rd world countries. I also participate in tons of ECs in school. This is making me kinda nervous now though, because I have no idea how I’m going to get into any of my top choice schools if I wasn’t accepted at GWU! I’m also pretty shocked, but it is what it is.</p>

<p>I’m really starting to think this “rumor” might be true. I saw GWU as a target school and was even hoping to get some money, yet to my extreme surprise I was wait listed. On the activity center it even said that they waitlist many “very good candidates.”</p>

<p>GPA: 102.44 weighted (about 97 unweighted)
APs: 2 5s and 2 4s
Senior Schedule: 5 APs and electives
Recommendations: very strong!!! other schools have quoted them in my admissions letter
Essay: strong, i thought it had an interesting spin
SATs: 1380 (2 part) 2080 (3 part)
ECs/ Community Service: very diversified, sports, government, community outreach</p>

<p>I think for my the ONLY hold back could have been that I applied to the International Relations program which is probably GW’s strongest and most competitive…but I got into Colgate University today and American University yesterday as well as a number of other colleges/universities.</p>

<p>I applied to Georgetown too, which they could probably see from the Common App…so who knows!</p>

<p>every year this comes up. for each one of you that gets waitlisted or rejected with “great” stats and complains there is another student with the exact same stats that gets in. there is more to your applications then just sat and gpa. they get nearly 22,000 applications, and at least 75% of them have sat scores above 2000, great grades, blablabla. it is some nebulous combination of luck/connections/essays/demographics/etc that determines it. if you really wanted to go to gw, apply ed, then you wouldn’t have to worry. why do you think 40% of the class is ED? it’s one thing to complain on here about how it was your “top choice” then apply to 10 other schools.</p>

<p>I’m sorry I really didn’t mean to sound bad I was just questioning a rumor I had heard from multiple people. I only applied here and four other places and ED would’ve been nice but my parents didn’t let me because we weren’t sure if we were going to be able to afford it especially if we ended up with bad financial aid. I think it’s rude to attack me about that though because you don’t know what kind of situation I am in.</p>

<p>@shot, sorry - wasn’t replying to you specifically.</p>

<p>GWAlum07- Thanks for commenting on this thread. I too get tired every year of individuals who get rejected from GW or wait listed noting on CC how shocked they are and further that GW must have Tufts Syndrome for rejecting overqualified students. There are many high achieving applicants who DO get offered admission. GW is noted for accepting students who demonstrate a sincere interest in attending the university versus just wanting to study in DC or, applying as a back up. Sure, there are some who are admitted without visiting/ interviewing but they are not the majority. Shortstop I’m sorry for your upset but it’s not about being unsympathetic it’s about standing up for our school. Understandable that you are looking for feedback but you are minimizing those individuals like myself who have stats like you, were admitted and attended GW. Best of Luck at your other “top tier schools”</p>

<p>GWAlum07 is right. There are many factors that affect GW’s decisions. Again, the key to separating yourself from others and getting accepted to GW is to show very high interest. Like you all (including previous years’ waitlists and rejects) said, there’s a correlation between high stats and non acceptances. Why? Because TYPICALLY these applicants treat GW as a safety school and thus do not show a lot of interest. GW would rather not waste time on those who wouldn’t want to matriculate. That doesn’t mean that overly qualified students don’t get accepted though. Because they do, and the reason is that they showed high interest through essays or whatever. For example, saying on the common app that you applied to ivies or w/e schools clearly doesn’t show that GW has your sole interest. That’s the reason why GW asks that question in the first place.
Anyway, good luck to you all if you haven’t heard back from other schools. Don’t let GW’s decision bring you down. I promise you all that everything in the end will play out fine. You’re all bright individuals. Good luck!</p>

<p>exactly my sentiments msbc. it’s a slap in the face to all of us that DO go here and a “rumor” that simply isn’t true. tons of people with “ivy worthy” (ugh) stats DO get in and come here. </p>

<p>i know the psychology - you’re looking for justification, to make yourself feel better, etc. i get it. rejection sucks. i’ve gotten rejected from plenty of jobs and told myself i didn’t want to work for that company anyway. but there’s absolutely no reason to think you’re automatic just because you have a sat score above 2100. so do tens of thousands of other kids. you’re not that special.</p>

<p>My son has comparable stats to you top students who are wait listed. I read the letter and it’s clear that if you want them to consider you, complete the form, tell them why, and then back it up with a call. Perhaps GW is not top choice for some of you and it was to be the back up, as one of you said. What I know of private universities is that unlike massive public universities, there really is the personal touch. Are those of you who have been offered wait list going to go for it?</p>

<p>this rumor isnt true.
first of all, there are people with perfect SATs and GPAs and ECs who get into GW. like GWalum said, over 20,000 people apply to GW.
and with RD its all about chance.
And honestly, you should know how to play the “college game”. If you were bent on coming to GW and it was one of your “top choices”, why would you tell them that you’re applying to all of the ivies ??</p>

<p>another thing. the why GW essay is a really essential part of the application. dont be so quick to jump to the conclusion that your stats are “too good” for GW.</p>

<p>I really am not trying I offend anyone and I am very sorry if I did. I do appreciate the apology GWAlum. I really thought I was a solid applicant who showed a lot of interest in GW through visits and heavy communication which is why I am confused and saddened especially because if applying ED would’ve made a difference, but there was just no way my parents would let me, I tried.</p>

<p>I also didn’t mean to offend you when I said “top tier” I was just trying to look for an answer because for my major Michigan and Indiana are ranked highly and well known whereas GW blows most out of the water in international programs.</p>

<p>This really was heartbreaking and there is no way I can go through more potential heartbreak by going through the waitlist process and technically commit to another school and make plans for it but end up changing everything if I got accepted.</p>

<p>Again apologies for everyone I offended, I really had no intention of that at all.</p>

<p>Also I applied to no ivies if that makes a difference. American Maryland GW Michigan Indiana.</p>

<p>I was waitlisted with a 2330 and overall a strong application, in my opinion. I had a feeling this could happen so I showed interest by visiting campus (twice!!) and having an interview but it didn’t help. GW was sorta my safety if I got merit aid, but that’s not going to happen anymore. I really did like the school so I am bummed.</p>

<p>It’s true, GWU seems to exhibit Tufts Syndrome - a phenomenon by which schools waitlist applicants with relatively high objective stats in order to keep the school’s yield rate high. </p>

<p>But many times, it could just be that the admissions committee didn’t find anything interesting about your application. GWU DOES admit students with very high scores, so don’t chalk it up to “I’m too good for GWU” </p>

<p>Personally, I like their admissions strategy. They are admitting people that they feel would generally like to be part of the university. This stops acceptances from going to waste on non-enrollees and more importantly, keeps the snobby, Ivy-league rejects to a minimum…</p>

<p>It is what it is,</p>