I’m a high school senior in Indiana and I recently got waitlisted by Ball State University. I have a 3.4 gpa and all around, an average student who takes above average classes. BSU is one of my top choices so I applied early decision. I had no ides what a waitlist even was and I was very unprepared to see that decision. I feel like I have been rejected. Does anyone have any advice to deal with being put on a waitlist and what is my next action? Thanks!
Waitlisting is very common, and getting more so as kids apply to more and more colleges every year. It depends on the school, but I think at this point you wait until spring and you will hear if you are accepted off the waitlist. It should be explained in what you got from the school as to if/how you accept a place on the waitlist. In the meantime, apply to the rest of your schools and I would recommend proceeding like Ball State is off the table. From what I’ve seen, everything happens for a reason - you will find a great school, and even if you get off the waitlist in spring, you may have moved on. Good luck!
I believe Ball State has rolling admissions which means that they review applications in the order they are submitted. Applying early is usually a benefit in rolling admissions but there must have been something about your application that made them decide to wait until they see the bigger pool of applicants before making an admissions decision. You have not been accepted or rejected at this point. In all honesty I would put Ball State towards the back of your mind for now and apply to the other schools you are considering. I would let Ball State know if there are any positive developments (ex. you win an award, etc.) and if you do well first quarter/first semester ask your guidance counselor to send an updated transcript to Ball State. If get into Ball State down the road consider it to be a bonus.
Be sure to have academic and financial safeties on your list.
You also may want to make an appointment with your guidance counselor and get his/her ideas.
They could also be waiting to see how you are doing senior year. So keep your grades up and if you think you can improve ACT or SAT scores you may want to re-test and send in higher scores.