<p>I got my first decision back from my safety school and said that I was put on the waitlist. Assuming I don't get into any of my other schools, what do I do? Help? I'm so scared!</p>
<p>Some less selective schools have late deadlines to apply.</p>
<p>You can also go to community college for two years, then transfer to a state university to complete a bachelor’s degree.</p>
<p>If your safety was a school that considers “level of interest” as an admission criterion (more common with private schools, but some state universities also consider that), that indicates that it does not want to be used as a safety, so being waitlisted or rejected is not surprising, even (especially) if your stats are much higher than the norm at that school. But if that is the case, you may still be admitted to other schools.</p>
<p>However, if that is not the case, it could be that your safety was not really a safety at all, or the selectivity of that school got much higher than it was last year (this appears to be the case at at least one mid-level state university, perhaps due to both increased numbers of applications and capacity reductions due to budget cuts).</p>
<p>If your safety was a school that considers “level of interest” as an admission criterion (more common with private schools, but some state universities also consider that), that indicates that it does not want to be used as a safety, so being waitlisted or rejected is not surprising, even (especially) if your stats are much higher than the norm at that school. </p>
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<p>What do you mean by level of interest? Isn’t the fact that the student applied show interest? And how would they know if you apply to other schools?</p>
<p>If you apply to a school where your stats are significantly better than the average (ex. your safety school), they may consider you as low-interest and put you on the waitlist because they don’t believe you’d actually matriculate if accepted.</p>
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<p>Not necessarily. American University in Washington, DC, is a good example. They care a lot about applicants’ demonstrated interest, and they give applicants a number of ways to show that they’re interested. If you visit the campus, you can sign up for a guided tour or an information session, or just register at the admissions office. They keep track of who does this. They have online chats for prospective students; if you register for one of those, they keep track. In their mind, these are the things that separate applicants who are sincerely intersted in AU from the ones who are just using it as their safety.</p>
<p>On the other hand, some universities don’t give a hoot whether you demonstrate interest. Harvard, for example, pretty much assumes that anybody who applied is pretty darn interested in Harvard. By and large, they’re right.</p>
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<p>Some colleges and universities ask. Otherwise, I don’t see how they’d know.</p>
<p>So, it’s a matter of “We won’t accept a student who would have us as a college?” (with apologies to Woody Allen)</p>
<p>This has no bearing on your other college applications. I know it’s disheartening, but breathe. You’ll be okay.</p>
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<p>Look at the school’s common data set, section C7 to see whether “level of interest” is considered.</p>
<p>“Level of interest” is expressed by doing things beyond merely applying (e.g. visiting and having the visit recorded, applying early decision) that indicate a stronger than normal interest. Many schools assume that a high stats applicant is applying there as a safety, and is unlikely to actually attend if s/he gets admitted anywhere else (high stats admits tend to have a lower matriculation rate than low stats admits, since the high stats admits are most likely to have gotten into what are usually considered “more desirable” schools). In the interest of keeping yield high for ranking purposes, the school waitlists or rejects such high stats applicants if they have not otherwise indicated a higher than normal chance of attending.</p>
<p>Have you responded yet to let the school know that you are interested?</p>
<p>The only school my son has been waitlisted (or rejected) by was his so-called “safety” school. Relax…</p>
<p>You don’t have a safety. You need one. I think you should take some action. </p>
<p>1) You need to start researching schools whose deadlines haven’t passed. </p>
<p>2) You need to keep your grades up because they count. </p>
<p>3) You need to evaluate how much you can pay, because financial aid will be limited. </p>
<p>If come April 1, you do not have an admissions in hand, you need to let the schools that waitlisted know immediately that you do not have a place to go and that you are ready to commit should they offer you a place. </p>
<p>Around May 5th, after colleges see who committed to attend, a list comes out that identifies all colleges that still have openings. Someone on this board will post a link. Some schools even have financial aid left, though meeting full need will be rare. Every year there are some surprisingly excellent schools on that list. You need to have your recommendations lined up so that you can jump on opportunities should you need them. </p>
<p>I wouldn’t panic, but the situation definitely deserves your attention now. I noticed that your safety was Cal Poly SLO. </p>
<p>Some places I would checkout now that are still taking applications:
University of Arizona
Arizona State
Oregon State
University of Utah (Apr 1)
Washington State
Simon Fraser University in Vancouver - Application deadline is Apr 30.
University of Alberta (May 1)
University of Calgary (May 1)</p>
<p>Re: safety was Cal Poly SLO</p>
<p>Oh, no wonder. Other CSUs like San Jose State have gotten increasingly selective. The jump in selectivity at San Jose State was large this year (although the OP’s claimed stats would still have gained admission to the CS major there this year), so it is likely that some students who thought it was safe ended up unpleasantly disappointed. It would not be surprising if Cal Poly SLO had a similar jump in selectivity.</p>
<p>Assuming the OP is in California, perhaps attending community college and then transferring as a junior would be a reasonable safety choice. [Welcome</a> to ASSIST](<a href=“http://www.assist.org%5DWelcome”>http://www.assist.org) can help planning course work for transfer purposes.</p>
<p>OP had outstanding stats. He should be going to a school that will allow him to move faster than at a CC, IMHO.</p>
<p>Hold on tight. You will likely have some good choices. If you’re still interested in Cal Poly SLO after you hear from a few more schools, ask your guidance counselor to give them a call. You’ll have a good chance of getting off the waitlist if they know you’ll come.</p>
<p>This makes me wonder about collusion in admit decisions between CSU & UC campuses. Similar tales are popping up about “over qualified” candidates not receiving honor’s college invites/acceptances to assorted UC campuses. I know about holistic review, yada yada, but I am starting to believe the yield management conspiracy theorists. Plus, for the first time this year, every UC campus will have a waiting list. That allows them to parcel out fewer acceptances for statistical purposes then keep everyone waiting until JUNE for final decisions.</p>
<p>My friend’s older brother, who is currently at Yale, was accepted by Yale, Brown, UPenn, Northwestern, and Columbia, to name a few, and rejected by Tufts. I know it’s supposed to be particularly bad at Tufts, but that’s not the only school that seems to hesitate with overqualified candidates. There’s really no way of knowing exactly how decisions will go, and this first decision by no means says anything about the rest of them.</p>
<p>Cal Poly SLO is highly selective and competitive for certain majors, and perhaps a safety for others. My kiddo was rejected there and accepted at 5 other excellent schools- UC and private. He considered it a “back up school.” Don’t fret. It is a relatively inexpensive yet highly regarded school for certain majors, thus very hard to get into. They don’t score applications holistically, just crunch numbers. Hang in there for a few more weeks.</p>
<p>Some of you are suggesting that the OP should take no action until he hears from the rest of his schools. To me that’s same thing as saying that he doesn’t need a safety. </p>
<p>I strongly disagree. He needs a safety whether it’s Jan 1, or March 6. He does not have one. His work on college applications is not done. He should at least start researching schools whose deadlines have not past to assess their viability for him. Though decisions will be out in a few weeks, I know that in our school the bureaucracy to get transcripts and recommendations out takes several weeks also.</p>
<p>Remember that CSU admission selectivity can vary considerably by major (Cal Poly is a CSU). UC admission selectivity often varies by division and sometimes by major.</p>
<p>At least at San Jose State, the fall 2012 admission selectivity was much higher for the major in computer science than it was for computer engineering, electrical engineering, or software engineering.</p>
<p>OP</p>
<p>Many schools either have late application dates, or hold open spaces for well qualified students who were not accepted elsewhere. Some even have merit scholarship money.</p>
<p>First, it’s likely you’ll get into one of your schools (assuming you had a well made list). However, if not, don’t worry. You soon will receive a second round of ‘mailings’ from schools looking for students like you. (whether you get in or not.)</p>