I was waitlisted at Twin Cities and Madison with a 3.43 GPA and a 30 ACT. I had excellent letters of recommendation and essays as well as a good list of extracurriculars.
How do I get myself off of these waitlists and accepted? Should I get another letter of recommendation? Any advice?
This is purely anecdotal, but having known many U of M applicants (who got in and who didn’t), it seems like the U is extremely stats-based for admission. They don’t require an essay or letter of recommendation. Which colleges within the U did you list on your application? I know a few students who were rejected from CSE in the last couple of years with higher stats, including one who was waitlisted for CSE last season and did not get in, even having worked in a professor’s lab and with rave recommendations from that professor and another bigwig in CSE. He submitted the letters, but sadly, they didn’t matter. It seems like the undergrad admissions folks are compartmentalized away from the influence of department heads and professors (and/or they just wouldn’t budge on his slightly lower stats that other admits).
Do you have other good options that you can afford and that have admitted you?
Have you looked at each school’s website to see what they say about being waitlisted?
Some schools offer admissions to waitlisted students but it might be after the 1 May deadline. & there is no guarantee that you would come off the waitlist.
Like mnparentof3 said. “Do you have other options that you can afford and that have admitted you?”
I’ve been admitted to the University of South Florida, Towson university, and Ohio state. I’ll get decisions from the other two by April, so I’ll have enough time to make a decision
What college or major did you apply to ?
They may be able to reconsider you for another college ?
Which were your safeties (safety = school you’re sure to get into, that you like, and is affordable.)
Political science, so I meet requirements and am a little above average for the specific colleges.
My safeties are Towson and USF
Hmm, did you apply after the priority deadline? If you had 87%+ 28-30 or 1300+ you should have been admitted, did you email to ask what the problem was?
Right now, Towson and Usf can’t be your safeties since your parents aren’t able or aren’t willing to pay for them. You need to find universities that would be roughly 22-25k, either in Minnesota or in Wisconsin (or elsewhere if you find one.) look for universities and apply quickly.
I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure UW-Madison has not waitlisted anyone yet. OP, are you deferred? Students who are deferred will be re-reviewed during this regular decision period. I believe those decisions will be release mid-to late March. At that point, you could be a yes, no or waitlist.
**ETA, I see by your other posts you already know you are deferred, so you can disregard this post!
Wait a second, I am confused. Your other post clearly states that you don’t want to go to either college. So have you changed your mind?
My daughter got off two waitlists. For the first college, she literally did nothing except say she would accept the waitlist. She was offered a place two days after deposits were due. For the college she now attends, she sent a short email right after being waitlisted, expressing interest, saying it was her top choice and that she would definitely attend if accepted. Then she waited until a couple of days before deposits were due and emailed again. In both emails, she addressed it to the regional rep. She reiterated the same, but added more detail about why she was a good fit for the school and elaborated on what classes she wanted to take and why. It seemed to work.
Bottom line, the best way to get off the waitlist is to let them know why you fit in there and that you will attend if accepted.
University of Wisconsin is tough on OOS applicants. At our IL high school, according to Naviance, the average accepted student to Madison has a 33 ACT and a 5.35/5.0 weighted GPA. It’s not an easy admit.
^but this student is instate, I think. (In-state for UWI, reciprocity for UMN?)
To the OP, if you do end up getting accepted to the U of MN from the waitlist, please be sure to apply for reciprocity - it is NOT AUTOMATIC: https://onestop.umn.edu/reciprocity-programs
I applied to both schools as soon as the applications were available, and yes at Madison I was deferred
In any case, you may or may not get in, so you need to talk with your parents about what to do if you don’t.
I made it into twin cities
Congrats, @Zachnkess. Is that the one where you can get in state tuition rates if you request them? It’s great to have an affordable option this early in the game.
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Apply for reciprocity rates right away.
And now you don’t need to scramble to find other universities such as UMN Morris or UMN Duluth.
Though Morris and Duluth cost a few thousand dollars less than the Twin Cities, if cost is an issue.
To the OP, I’m still curious about two things, though: (1) Did you get admitted to the U of M TC off the waitlist or had you been deferred before? And (2) is it still the case that you don’t want to attend the U but your parents want you to? Have you visited yet?
@Zachnkess : any update?