Waitlisted at Carleton

Colleges and Universities A-Z Carleton College
1

Hey guys. I was just waitlisted at Carleton and I would like to remain on the waitlist. I just have a few questions.

1.) There is a space to put any additonal info. on the waitlist reply form. Carleton would likely be my top choice if I recieved enough financial aid. Should i mention this or not? Should I mention anything in this section?

2.) I’m not entirely sure how the waitlist works. When will I hear back? If I don’t get into Carleton I’ll likely go to UW Madison, but I don’t want to not reply to Madison in time. Can I tell Madison I’ll accept and then if I get off the Carleton waitlist can I decide to go there instead?

3.) What is your knowledge of the differences between physics programs at these two schools? I’ve had several internships at UW Madison in chem and physics that I enjoyed so I’d like to continue doing that. Does Carleton offer good research internships?

Sorry for the long post and confusion haha.

2

Looking around the internet, it seems like waitlist students will be notified during May and maybe as late as June. This timeframe is after the deposit date for most other colleges, so it means you have to commit to another school with a deposit and then forfeit that deposit if you are offered and take a waitlist spot. So… it’s just a money thing at that point - not insignificant, but hopefully not a deal breaker for something as important as choosing as college.

3
  1. I would definitely recommend telling them that Carleton is your top choice, although I would leave out the part about only if you receive enough financial aid.
  2. You might not hear back until after May 1 if you make it off the waitlist. You should proceed as if you have not gotten in and commit to another school and pay their deposit. You will likely lose it if you do get into Carleton, but if you don't get into Carleton, you will have a spot somewhere. This is a common practice and schools know that this may happen. Check the Carleton common data set to see how many students have been admitted off the waitlist in past years. That might give you some idea of your chances of getting in off the wait list.
  3. I can not really speak about the physics program at either school other than to say that Carleton has some of the top STEM programs for liberal arts colleges. There are lots of research opportunities for STEM majors at Carleton and I would suggest you check the physics departments webpage for more info.
4

plantmap … Can you please share your stats ( SAT, GPA, Extracurriculars …). I am applying next year and I’d like to know what it takes to get wait listed at Carleton. I’m sorry I can’t answer your question because I’m new to this to. But can you please help me out?

5

If UW-Madison is where you will go if you don’t get off the WL with enough aid at Carleton, you should go ahead and accept the UW offer and pay the deposit. Then you will get access to the housing information, which will involve another deposit but you can wait a bit to pay that one. But don’t miss the deadline for the housing lottery.

6

Does anyone have any word on the wait list? Wondering if anyone has been offered a spot off it yet…

7

@CaliMama1 not yet

8

Got an email – Carleton is over-enrolled and will not be accepting anybody off of the waitlist this year.