<p>Interesting. My wife just got off the phone with the admissions office at one of our waitlist schools (I don’t want to say which one, out of something like superstition 
)…and they told her that they prepare FA packages for all waitlisted students at the same time as, and using the same criteria as, the packages for accepted students. She didn’t say specifically whether acceptance from the waitlist was need-blind, but according to my wife she seemed to be implying that.</p>
<p>Nightchef… I have been told the exact same thing by a college my son is WL at.</p>
<p>That may be true that they assess financial aid for all waitlist students, but I would GUESS that when it comes to taking those kids off of the waitlist that those package numbers could make a difference. Kid A and Kid B… pretty much interchangable except that one needs a couple grand and one needs 10’s of thousands. You can choose either kid – even for need blind schools during RD – which do you choose? If you care about budgets at all? You choose the kid needing less financial aid. When you have 700 kids vying for, on average, 50 spots at a small LAC, I think the choice is the school’s.</p>
<p>Even though the school told you about how they handle the kids they have weight listed, unless they told you specifically that they remain need blind throughout the waitlist process, I would suggest (almost guarantee) they do something like I’ve described above.</p>
<p>This will vary very much by school. Some of the schools told me the waitlists were need-blind, no exceptions. Some said need aware, and one school just about told me that if you need FA your kid is not getting off the wait list. The schools were surprisingly open about this.</p>
<p>And DS did get off a wait list immediately needing FA (before he’d even sent the deposit into his first choice school.)</p>
<p>I know someone who got off a WL after visiting the school and pleading his case in person. If money is no object, then, yeah, make a visit and, if you like what you see, tell them you are ready to commit.</p>
<p>Money is always a touchy subject, but it doesn’t have to be blatant. Just a “We love X U and are fortunate enough that we aren’t limited by finances when choosing a school.” They’ll get the hint.</p>
<p>I wrote to Cornell that we would absolutely pay full fare if D1 were to get off the list and she would attend. Her GC also called to confirm. D1 was called out of her class on a Fri to notify of her acceptance and they needed an answer EOD. They could reach me. The GC asked for the weekend. That weekend she also got off Duke</p>
<p>A girl got off Cornell, NU and Duke WL the same year. Her parents asked for a week. They visited all 3 schools in a week and ended up at NU. You could ask for more time. But often they won’t send anything to you until you have accepted. </p>
<p>A need blind school will give FA aid if it’s available. A school like Hamilton will only admit full pay students.</p>
<p>oldfort, perhaps not the best example to give, since Hamilton recently announced that they have adopted a need-blind policy.</p>
<p>(I should add by way of full disclosure that I am a Hamilton alum–and the main reason for this is their generosity with need-based aid back in 1975. Williams was my first choice, but Hamilton offered twice as much aid, and that was that. So I have to question whether Hamilton has ever been the best example of a school that “only admits full pay students,” off the waiting list or otherwise. If so, that’s a relatively recent development, and one they’re obviously thinking better of.)</p>
<p>Nightcef, my data is 3 years old. D1’s good friend got off Hamilton’ WL. She unfortunately found out it was the reason she got off the WL, along with everyone else. She was quite upset by it. I become very friendly with D1 GC, she confirmed it was the case along with many other non need blind schools. I went to Colgate. It is still not need blind.</p>
<p>
LOL, thats a little more than a hint 
But I agree with everyone–no need to be shy if a person is willling/able to pay full fee. Maybe in these trying times that is a sort of hook? :D</p>
<p>Alright, I’ll try that approach - thanks!</p>
<p>I agree with rjpfl. From what I can tell, students have applied to many more schools this year (10-15 instead of 8-10), so it is reasonable to assume that colleges’ yields will be more unpredictable, and quite possibly lower, than in prior years. So, it seems probable that they would go to the waitlists more than in prior years. My D got waitlisted at Lehigh, one of her top choices, so we are going to visit there when we visit NYU, another top choice where she was accepted. Make a nice family trip to New York out of it.</p>
<p>^^please tell me that this is not the first time she is visiting Lehigh? they are reknowned for waitlisting top kids who do not visit…</p>
<p>I have to disagree with the posters who suggest letting the school know you are full pay. I naively thought that might be an advantage back when we were first doing college visits. I asked if we needed to fill out a fafsa for possible merit aid, as we would not be requesting FA (subtle, I thought). The adcoms at two schools (I got the message and quit asking after that) were quite offended, and explained that admissions and FA were totally separate departments, and they did not appreciate receiving knowledge about an applicant’s financial status- it implied that they played favorites in accepting students.
And, if you didn’t ask for FA, I would presume they are smart enough to figure that out.</p>
<p>well, waitlists and regular admissions are different animals altogether, and in the WL line at many institutions, being full pay is an advantage, for good or ill. Finding a way to let them know, preferably through the GC, can be an advantage, as can letting them know that you will commit immediately. It’s not the same story on the WL.</p>
<p>I agree, knowing there is no financial need is a benefit for getting off the WL.</p>
<p>Typically they need an answer quickly, within a few days or a week. Not needing financial aid make the decision all the more streamlined. It helps them administratively if they accept someone who can immediately say “yes, i’m going”.</p>
<p>Sometimes full pay student may have received some nice merit aid from other schools, and may not want to do full pay any more. It was the case for D1. She received a full ride at a good LAC, but we let her WL school(s) know that we would be willing to forego the merit and support D1 to attend their school(s). It was a strong statement from us.</p>
<p>One thing to keep in mind is answers you get back when you ask in public vs in private may be completely different. My sister asked her alma mater during an info session about whether legacies get favorable treatment during ED. She got a very PC answer back and she swore to me that there was no benefit in applying ED as a legacy. Our school’s GC knew that wasn’t the case. Often it’s better to have GC convey your message for you, but many public school GCs will not provide that service, in that case you would need to make your own phone calls. I think it’s more effective for parents to make some of those calls.</p>
<p>I think there is a difference between asking about “chances” (if FA is not an issue) before acceptances are out vs when one is on the WL. When one is on the WL, it is probably advisable to pull out all the stops if they really, REALLY want to go to that school. Don’t think at that point it is seen as offensive or asking for favors. It says “if you have a spot I WANT IT”</p>
<p>Thanks for the tips :)</p>
<p>Actually…I ended up visiting one of the schools I got into, and I absolutely love it. Now I’m not even sure if I want to attend the schools I’ve been waitlisted at, even if they’re higher ranked!</p>
<p>Well, that’s a happy development, PandoraHearts! Nothing like loving someone who loves you back! Good luck with your decision.</p>
<p>:) Yeah! Its funny how it works out that way. To be honest, if I had gotten into the other schools, I may not have ever gone and looked at it which I think would have been a huge mistake.<br>
Everything happens for a reason, I guess.</p>