What happens when you're waitlisted?

Prep School Admissions
1

<p>What does it mean when you're waitlisted? and What are you supposed to do?</p>

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<p>@vivsters,
When your waitlisted at a school, it means that the school wishes they could offer you admission, but they don’t have enough spaces. Generally, most schools take a few people off the waitlists, and they are usually FP applicants. If you are on the waitlist you have two options:

  1. Accept admission from another school, and go off the waitlist
  2. Stay on the waitlist
    From what I’ve heard, a waitlist from a top school is essentially a rejection.</p>
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<p>You could always call the school that waitlisted you if it’s your favorite and say: “I would really like to attend (insert school here) and I’d like you to know you’re my favorite” or something along those lines.</p>

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<p>vivsters - there is a significant amount of strategy that comes into play if you are looking at a mix of acceptances and wait lists, especially if the WL is at your top choice. ifax is incorrect to say that a wait list from a top school is essentially a rejection. As a general rule, a small number of spaces do open up. It’s true that in some years top schools do not predict yield accurately and no WL candidates are admitted. But usually there are a few spots up for grabs.</p>

<p>As I’ve said in other threads, if your top choice wait lists you, let them know immediately that they are your first choice and that you will accept their admission offer as long as it comes before the date you need to commit to another school. </p>

<p>All the top schools will be eager to know as soon as possible whether admitted students are going to choose a different school so they can make offers to their wait list if necessary. Unfortunately, taking people off the wait list happens over a period of months - for lots of different reasons.</p>

<p>My overall mantra is to “love the school that loves you back.” If your first choice school wait lists you, and you don’t get an offer of admission before the time you have to accept your second choice school, then close the chapter with your first choice, stop torturing yourself, put all your positive energy into the school that you will attend. It will turn out to be a GREAT path for you! It always does (99.9% of the time!)</p>