Waitlisted.. What can I do? What can I hope for?

<p>I got waitlisted. I like Grinnell, and would like to go there. It says only 25 of over 300 people were accepted off of the waitlist last year... That doesn't sound too good. What can I do to make myself stand out?</p>

<p>I was waitlisted too.</p>

<p>Yeah, so was I. And yes, I agree that the odds of being accepted aren't too good. However, I'm going to wait until I receive an actual letter from the school before I decide what do do about it. Does anyone happen to know if Grinnell admits students from its waitlist in a completely random fashion, or if waitlisted students should spend the next month or so sending in additional application materials?</p>

<p>Okay, I got the official letter. Are you guys (Idealistic and bjfcool) planning on accepting a spot on the waitlist, or are there other schools you'd rather attend? I'm not sure what to do, at this point.</p>

<p>I might take a spot.. I'll go to NYU if they give me good financial aid (unlikely), but otherwise I'd like to go to Grinnell.. Can anyone tell me how the hell I got into NYU (22% acceptance rate for RD) and waitlisted by Grinnell (40%)?</p>

<p>One thing I think it'd be good to do is send them a letter saying that Grinnell is your first choice (if it ends up that way)</p>

<p>I was waitlisted. 25 is much better than 0, in my opinion.</p>

<p>One of the colleges I applied to had a two-tiered admissions process. I was waitlisted but accepted to the finalist status, before being waitlisted again. For the first waitlist, I just wrote a letter showing why I wanted to go to that school.</p>

<p>The key word is show. Don't just say "Grinnell is my first choice" but show why you would enjoy Grinnell. Find some characteristic of Grinnell and show how you apply to that characteristic. </p>

<p>For example, you could say "I lived in cities, suburbs, and rural areas. My favorite time was living in a small town when I was twelve years old because I was able to ..... I loved the fresh air, the nice people, and the tight-knit environment." Give some anecdotes, then link the passage to Grinnell.</p>

<p>There may be more openings for waitlisted students this year - we were at another college's accepted student days on Thurs/Fri. Talk among the parents was that their students had been accepted by Grinnell but after getting their scholarship/financial aid package they found they just couldn't afford it with the big $$ increase this year. </p>

<p>So, you never know. There may be openings coming up this week...</p>

<p>I was accepted to Grinnell, but had been placed on the waitlist at Dickinson the week before. I was told to call about once a week, not to bug them or anything, but just ask if they had any updates. And send a handwritten letter in, and updated resume, grades, etc. And, if you have anything creative (writing, artwork, etc.) that you'd like them to see, send it in. They tend to not like extra teacher recs, because they already have a good idea of what type of student you were over the last four years... they want to know more about how you are as a student right now, and how interested you really are. If you're positive you'd enroll if you got accepted, make sure they know that.</p>

<p>Waitlisted</p>

<p>Asked to be removed from wait list.
Hopefully this will give one of you a chance.</p>

<p>I was waitlisted too. Anyway I'm going to Bates</p>

<p>I'm betting the acceptance rate was closer to 30% this year.</p>

<p>I was waitlisted as well. My parents want me to stay on the list, but I don't want to hang around until May when I was already accepted at my second choice (that's 20k cheaper per year). Farewell Grinnell!</p>

<p>I'm giving up my spot because I got good aid from another great school, so I hope one of you gets in!</p>

<p>I was also waitlisted- I wonder how many people are in the same boat this year. Anbody have an idea?</p>

<p>Hmmm- anybody have any additional information on this subject?</p>

<p>Anybody find out yet? blahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!</p>

<p>I might take a spot.. I'll go to NYU if they give me good financial aid (unlikely), but otherwise I'd like to go to Grinnell.. Can anyone tell me how the hell I got into NYU (22% acceptance rate for RD) and waitlisted by Grinnell (40%)?</p>

<p>It is all a matter of fit. It is not a sterile analysis of numbers printed in black on white paper -- there is more to admissions than numbers. If it was merely numbers, the admissions team would be computer IT people.</p>

<p>Yes, a Midwestern student might be more interesting to NYU than to Grinnell. Could be other factors also, but just geographically, it makes some sense. Grinnell is also accepting in the 30%s not 40s.</p>