<p>They say they will inform waitlisted applicants after May 1st with their decision if they can allow students in. However, May 1st is also the reply date for basically every college in the United States. What can I do if I still want to wait for my #1 school?</p>
<p>You accept a place at your second choice, pay the deposit, and then if you clear the waitlist you accept, pay, and lose your deposit at the other school.</p>
<p>^ This. You may want to look up the waitlist statistics at said school, if available. Chances are they’re not great. </p>
<p>Most wait list offers come in June. All colleges know this and expect to lose previously committed students who opt to accept WL offers. It’s standard and you’re not violating anything if you go that route. It’s part of what’s called the “summer melt”</p>
<p>There are articles that tell you what to do to enhance your WL chances and if this is your first choice school, let your GC know so she can give a little push to that.</p>
<p>But then “FUGGETABOUTIT”. Focus on your other choices. I’ konw a lot of kids who after clearing a WL, found that other schools were a better match, deal, etc. Open your mind up to other opportunities. DO NOT focus on the WL like it’s your golden ticket. </p>
<p>What is the name of the school? </p>
<p>The sad truth is many colleges use the waitlist like a tool to allegedly let applicants down easy. These days a lot put more students on the waitlist then there are places in the freshman class! The chances of getting off of it are miniscule. So while you can find information about how to boost your chances, realize that information is not particularly relevant to schools that defer a slew of applicants.</p>
<p>Your first step is to find out how many applications have been deferred the past few years, and how many were eventually accepted.</p>
<p>The school’s entry at <a href=“http://www.collegedata.com”>http://www.collegedata.com</a> or its common data set should tell you how many students it puts on the waitlist and admits off the waitlist.</p>
<p>If the admits off the waitlist are consistently few or none compared to the numbers put on the waitlist, better to assume that waitlist = rejection and move on.</p>