<p>Hi I was waitlisted by the math phD program at Stanford, which is the school that I would like to attend the most out of the 13 schools that I've applied to. Does anyone know how many people would eventually get off of the wait list at a top math graduate school? Is there anything that I can do in the mean time to improve my chances?</p>
<p>I can tell you that Stanford has taken some students off the waitlist each year in the past few years, but I cannot tell you how many. If you are super curious, the graduate director might tell you how high up you are on the waitlist. (I inquired about my waitlist status last year because I was wondering if it would make sense for me to visit Stanford on my own after the Berkeley Open House.) </p>
<p>If you do get off the waitlist, it will probably be within a few days of the reply deadline and you may not have time to arrange a visit before you respond.</p>
<p>Will I be placed higher on the wait list if I get the NSF fellowship?</p>
<p>It definitely helps at some schools to let them know if you’ve been awarded a major fellowship. Others have ample funding for students and won’t be swayed, but it still doesn’t hurt to update them, serving the dual purpose of letting them know you’re really interested in their program.</p>
<p>Which schools were you accepted at?</p>
<p>I have gotten offers from Columbia, UCLA, Brown, Wisconsin, waitlisted at Yale, rejected by Princeton, Harvard, Chicago, and I’m still waiting to hear back from MIT, Berkeley, and Cornell.</p>
<p>I have not been awarded an NSF yet - I am just wondering if that would help me getting off of the wait list at Stanford, which is my top choice out of the schools that haven’t rejected me yet.</p>
<p>I am certainly happy with my options right now but it would be great to go to Stanford.</p>
<p>
Probably not. I was in your shoes last year. When I notified Stanford and Princeton of my NSF (waitlisted at both), I got responses along the lines of “Thanks for letting us know, but we don’t really care.” </p>
<p>Less well funded programs do most certainly care though. I know math students who got off the waitlists at Michigan and Austin specifically because they received an NSF fellowship. I also have a friend who was initially rejected from Berkeley; after telling them about his NSF, they told him that he could transfer to Berkeley the following year provided he didn’t touch his NSF money in the meantime.</p>
<p>I know of someone who got off the wait list at Berkeley because of NSF.</p>