<p>When schools put you on the waiting list, is it just a nice way for them to say no?, or you really have a chance. Last year I got waitlisted for all 4 schools I applied to, and not one ever got back to me even saying that they didn't have enough space to accept me. Do wait-lists give people a false sense of hope, or they really might be thinking of accepting you. Were any of you accepted off the waiting list?</p>
<p>It all depends on how strong an applicant you are. Most waitlists are ordered, with the strongest applicants at the top and the weakest at the bottom. If accepted applicants don’t matriculate, they open a space for the waitlisted applicant at the top of the list. For example, if you were third on the waitlist, three accepted applicants would have to choose not to matriculate for you to move off of the waitlist.</p>
<p>As far as I know, the size of waitlists vary by school, but I’d assume that the waitlist is about as long as the list of accepted applicants just to ensure that in the unlikely event that no accepted applicants matriculate, the school has an equally-sized group to fall back on.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that all schools over accept. They plan on a certain percentage of admitted students to attend elsewhere. The percent of accepted students that actually matriculates is called the yield. So, if a school has a historic yield of 50%, it will actually admit not quite twice as many students as it has space for. If their yield ends up being lower than 50%, then they may go to the waitlist. If they it’s higher, it will be crowded. I’m sure it’s a little more complicated than that though. I mean, they probably have different yields for difference grades, genders, FA amount, etc. but they know what they’re doing.</p>
<p>I apologize if you already know this. I just don’t want anyone who was waitlisted at XYZ Academy to get excited when someone else who was admitted decides on a different school. It does NOT mean that a slot has opened up. It means that the admissions office is doing it’s job and is counting on it.</p>
<p>thanks a lot both of you. and neatoburrito, i didn’t know that., so thanks again. I thought that schools only accept as many as they will have space for, and then move on to the waiting list once people don’t take the spot. That makes it a lot easier to understand. thanks. I just got a waitlist letter for the Potomac school, a private day school, so i’m not sure if day and boarding are any different. I guess I’ll just have to wait to see if i get accepted off the waiting list. </p>
<p>P.S. to all you guys who are applying to boarding school and find out on the 10th, good luck!</p>
<p>The top schools don’t go that deep into their wait list so if you are on the wait list there is only a small chance that you will be accepted. I think Northeastern last year had to go pretty deep into their wait list because many students applied but not that many accepted their offer of admission.</p>
<p>have any of you gotten accepted off the waiting list, say the name of the school if you have please.</p>
<p>I know a girl who was waitlisted by Potomac and got in but she got in like 3 months after she was waitlisted.</p>