<p>Yes, I know, there are already plenty of threads on the waitlist, but most of them are about how to get off it, how the notification comes, etc. I wanted to start a more opinion-based discussion. The title is pretty explanatory - what does receiving one or more waitlists say about the applicant him/herself? The schools mention in their waitlist letters that they applaud waitlisted applicant's achievements and believe they would prosper at X school, but is this really true, or are they trying to let people down easy?</p>
<p>Also, I've been seeing many experienced CC-ers reply to posts saying that before an applicant picks their apply-to schools that they should first consider their own abilities and capabilities honestly. Does being waitlisted mean that you overestimated yourself and you're just not HADES (I use this term broadly to refer to all the first tier schools) material? Or does it mean you just have bad luck and was not what the school was looking for that particular year?</p>
<p>I have to admit, this is a selfish thread, as I received 5 waitlist letters last year, but I do believe this could be an interesting topic to discuss. Do all those waitlists mean that going to one of those schools is just out of my league? Did I really do a bad job of picking apply-to schools? Well, not that I had much of a choice with Asian parents and all, but did THEY overestimate me as their daughter?</p>
<p>So yeah. Thank you for your time if you respond! :)</p>
<p>Without actually asking the school, it’s hard to say for sure. As GMTplus7 states, the “official” reason is that there simply wasn’t enough room and that if they miss their yield and a bed becomes available, you’d be in the pool of kids they would consider.</p>
<p>We also know what it’s like to get nothing but waitlists so I understand where you’re coming from. When you have an acceptance or two in hand, it’s easy to write off the WL. But when it’s all you get, you start to second guess yourself by thinking that nobody wanted you enough to push you through the final cut and it’s almost worse than being rejected. When a rejection comes, you can say, “Oh, well they don’t know what they’re missing.” but a WL has a completely different psychological impact.</p>
<p>When an applicant has applied for FA, it can mean that they didn’t make the FA cut and it’s essentially a soft deny. I’ve heard some people say that well connected kids sometimes get WL instead of denied to ease feelings though I have no way of knowing whether that’s true or not.</p>
<p>I don’t know if it helps or not, but I’m pulling for you! (And so are a lot of other parents from last year.) Last year’s results left me befuddled so I won’t pretend to know whether any of you reapplicants will have a different outcome.</p>
<p>To answer your final question…NO! It does not mean that the school to which you applied are out of your league. If anything, it says that they are not. If I remember correctly, you are applying from an over represented country? They have to winnow their list of kids they love down somehow and whatever criteria they used to do so, left you out. It could have been nothing wrong with you and a specific need they were filling. Try not to take it personally. Please. Remember, my daughter was in the same position last year but the bucket she was left at the bottom of was the FA bucket. </p>
<p>Still, it stings when NONE of them work out. It’s heartbreaking, actually.</p>
<p>I agree. Being WL does not mean that you are not as good as those being accepted. Schools have to consider many other factors beyond academics to achieve diversity. For example, if you are from an over-represented minority, living in MA applying BS in MA and NH, need FA. To get in, you have to be much better than applicants who is from under-represented minority, and under-represented state and do not need FA. </p>
<p>A lot of factors do change. So do not lose your confidence and hope.</p>
<p>Not really. Please do not give the impression that being waitlisted is a reflection on the applicant’s qualifications, that they weren’t “much better” enough. Admissions officers are building a class. They have to admit students who will fill many different roles on campus. </p>
<p>A waitlist could indicate that the committee felt the fit wasn’t optimal. </p>
<p>I recommend that all applicants choose the schools they apply to carefully. If you have an acceptance on March 10th, with sufficient FA if applicable, move on and don’t look back. Love all your schools, and love the schools that love you.</p>
<p>My son was admitted to Thacher off the wait list. Overall, I think it means you are qualified for the school, but you got edged out in some tiny way by a direct admit. I also believe that a WL candidate one year, would be a direct admit in a different year. Selection criteria around the edges (and by “around the edges” I mean that all the core criteria are met and now it’s down to tiny differences in fit) varies year to year based on specific needs like expertise with a certain musical instrument or excellence in a particular sports position. Being wait listed is NO fun; waiting never is!</p>
<p>I am also a believer in wait list management and that you can improve your chances of getting off the WL if the school should open positions.</p>
<p>All I know right now is that I’d much rather have a rejection than a waitlist. My family and I have been “Well, oh, we don’t know yet, so we can’t do this-and-that yet…” for way too long. NO MORE WAITING. Like neatoburrito said, it’s a lot easier to just they-don’t-know-what-they’re-missing a rejection than a waitlist, but I’ll always have doubts for a waitlist: was it because I needed full FA? etc.</p>
<p>Good luck to you! Hope it’s your turn for an acceptance in this game this time around</p>
<p>There are probably different kinds of wait lists. At least that’s my theory. I’m sure that the schools don’t actually sort them out into different lists, but I do believe people end up on wait lists for distinct reasons, some of them with no prospect of seeing any movement. In this latter category I would count “developmental/alumni courtesy” wait list applicants: applicants who are not at all suited to matriculate but do not get an outright rejection letter as a courtesy because there is some development potential and/or the applicant is a legacy.</p>
<p>I recall one thread of yore in which there were 7-10 different types of wait-lists spelled out (in an exercise of pure conjecture).</p>
<p>It sounds like your case is the standard, ho-hum, run-of-the-mill wait list in which the applicant is fully capable of succeeding at the school but did not receive an offer of admission because they had already sent out quite a few letters to people who brought similar gifts and abilities to the school community.</p>
<p>I hope that the best of those schools realizes that they needed someone just like you when they make their decision in the coming days.</p>
<p>The waiting list says more about admission officers than it does about applicants. </p>
<p>An applicant may initially take solace from being wait listed rather than rejected. That solace, however, often turns to disappointment and then to resignation when the applicant realizes that her chances for admission are astronomically small. Until that sobering realization occurs, the waiting list can be a charade that needlessly prolongs the anxiety of the admission process. </p>
<p>The unfortunate thing is that admission officers calculate their yields with uncanny precision every year. In fact, top prep school often accept zero or less than a handful of applicants from their waiting lists. Nevertheless, these schools persist in populating their waiting lists with scores of students who have virtually no chance of admission.</p>
<p>When March 10 comes, love the schools that will hopefully love you. If the waiting list is your best option, adjust your expectations and hang in there. Sometimes people get lucky.</p>
<p>I think there certainly can be some gamesmanship on the part of the schools with their waitlists, in order to protect yield and especially if they have any questions about the candidate’s prioritization. For instance, if you are a legacy or have a sibling at one BS, even if this school is not your top choice, if you do not credibly convince the other schools that you would choose them <em>even over LEGACY school</em>, they may waitlist you or reject you under the assumption that the likelihood you would matriculate with them is not high. Same can be true if you are a niche athlete or artist/musician; if a school thinks you’re a better fit and a likely admit at one of their competitors, they may waitlist you just to see whether you care enough to get back to them or not. (If you want to pursue this angle further, search around for threads on the “Tufts effect”.)</p>
<ol>
<li> Qualified academically but lack the ECs needed to fill a specific need/role</li>
<li> Qualified but needs FA and none is available</li>
<li> Qualified but essays are off</li>
<li> Qualified but are an overrepresented minority</li>
<li> Qualified but live in an overrepresented state</li>
<li> Qualified but there are many others slightly more so (that year)</li>
<li> Qualified but BS gaming their yield stats</li>
</ol>
<p>If you do not get in this year, my son might as well forget it. I have read your posts and it surprised me that you were WL’d at what seven schools last year. GL!</p>