Also did yo apply EA/ED to any of these colleges?
@CU123 Yes, Stanford.
That’s unfortunate, as that would be the least likely place to let you in. Having said that, since you are on so many waitlists there is a chance you will still be offered a slot especially at JH/NW/Duke/Vandy. I would definitely let them know of your continued interest. Hope it works out.
@CU123 Thanks! I have legacy at Stanford, so that’s partially what drove my decision to apply there early.
Full ride at a good state school that you like is wonderful! I sympathize that all those WLs are discouraging. Although it may feel bad, it’s actually quite an accomplishment to get waitlisted instead of rejected at all those reach schools. However, for your own peace of mind you should not get your hopes up about getting off the waitlist anywhere. Sure, you should follow up with your top two or three schools if you like (as suggested above) but at the same time you should really try hard to focus on your full ride option. Proceed as if you are definitely going there and really try to see the good in that school. If you do happen to win the waitlist lottery you will have a happy day; you can make the time between now and final WL decisions much happier if you actively work to get excited about your safety.
There’s really no way of knowing from one year to the next whether any school will touch it’s waitlist at all or possibly go deep into their waitlist. Letters of continued interest or helpful a call from your high school counselor to the admissions counselor is extremely helpful but other than that there’s no way of knowing if any will pan out
Yep, WL at those schools essentially means “we would take you if we had enough space . . . . but we don’t have enough space”.
If you valued a full ride to your flagship so highly that only the tippy-top could top it, then I see nothing wrong with your strategy.