<p>I wanted to know exacly what such a letter says. I mean it cant be all cheerfull but its not a rejection so does anyone know what such a letter or response might say?</p>
<p>Here's the JHU one:</p>
<p>Dear -,</p>
<p>Thank you for your interest in Johns Hopkins. Your official notification is on its way to you now by postal mail. In the interest of letting candidates know their decisions as soon as they become available, the Admissions Committee has decided to release this information initially by e-mail.</p>
<p>The committee has reviewed your application for admission to Johns Hopkins, and is unable to offer you admission at this time. However, the committee was impressed with your credentials and would like to keep you on our wait list in the hope that we can still find a place for you in the class.</p>
<p>Admitted students must respond to our offer by May 1, 2008. Depending on how many decline our offer of admission, we may be able to admit students from the wait list. Our capacity to admit wait-listed students varies from year to year, and we cannot determine how many spaces we can offer or the amount of financial aid available this year until mid-May. The wait list is not ranked. If spaces do become available, the Admissions Committee will reconvene to review the applications of students who show a continued interest in Johns Hopkins.</p>
<p>sylenteck0 wow that looks familiar oh ya i got that yesterday too, and then i got one from NU earlier in the week, wow waitlist sucks...this year is ridic for admissions but at least im not rejected. i think im gonna stay on the wl and jhu depending on what happens at cornell... how about u?</p>
<p>Well, it's been a crazy year for all of us, I guess :)</p>
<p>I got waitlisted at UChicago too (it was one of my higher choices :( )</p>
<p>I'm waiting for Cornell and 5 more Ivies on Monday, so it all depends. Looks like we're in the same boat :)</p>
<p>if the letter starts with the words "Thank you..." it's definately a waitlist or a rejection, lol</p>
<p>Heres how the UVA one starts</p>
<p>Dear *****
The Com. on Admission has reviewd carefully all apps from the year and has voted to place your name on our wait list. blah blah blah most applications ever blah blah strongest applicants ever, etc</p>
<br>
<p>"Thank you for your interest in Johns Hopkins. Your official notification is on its way to you now by postal mail. In the interest...blah blah"</p>
<br>
<p>Kinda long-winded, huh? If anyone's essays looked like that, I doubt they'd be reading that particular reply. I wonder how often an admissions department is a representation of the college overall, and how often they're their own little fiefdom.</p>
<p>Stanford's:</p>
<p>"We have just completed our review of applications for admission to Stanford for fall 2008, and I am writing to offer you a place on our waitlist. Although we cannot offer you admission at this time, I want to assure you that any student we place on our waitlist is someone who has shown great promise, whom we would like to admit if space becomes available."</p>
<p>I trump most of you, being on 3 waitlists. that's not a good thing, though, ha. But they all tend to go, "this year we had the most applicants..."</p>
<p>Rice:</p>
<p>Dear ***,</p>
<p>The Committee on Admission has just completed a most careful evaluation of your application for admission to Rice. You have been selected as an alternate for the class of 2012, and I have been authorized to offer you a place on the waiting list for the fall of 2008. While we recognize this is not what you were hoping for, we want you to know that the decision was not easily reached.</p>
<p>***, the Committee was impressed by your overall record and qualifications. Our inability to offer you admission at this time is the result of a large number of outstanding candidates vying for a small number of spaces. This year, we received 9,800 applications for only 775 first-year openings. </p>
<p>Your official letter was mailed March 25. Our selections will be made from those who accept a place on the waiting list. Therefore, we ask that you reply online (Login ID: *********) as soon as possible, certainly prior to May 1.</p>
<p>For now, you should secure a place at one of the schools that offered you admission. If we offer you admission later and you choose to attend Rice, you can withdraw your application from the other school. We will complete all wait list movement by July 1, 2008.</p>
<p>Also enclosed with your official letter, you will find some information about the waiting list at Rice. It is impossible for us to predict space availability at this time. We will contact you by the end of May, if not before, with an update on the progress of the waiting list. </p>
<p>Thank you for the time you took to prepare your application and to explore the educational opportunities at Rice. We look forward to receiving your reply card and we will hope for the opportunity to contact you with better news in the future.</p>
<p>Grinnell:</p>
<p>Dear ***,</p>
<p>This year we received the largest number of first-year applications in Grinnell College's history. As a result, there are many fine candidates to whom we cannot offer admission at this time, but who would succeed at the College. Even though we are unable to admit you at this time, we would like to offer you a position on our Alternate List (i.e. Waiting List), and consider you for any space in our class that might become available in May.</p>
<p>Our Alternate List is not ranked in any fashion, so we encourage you to submit additional supporting documents you feel will strengthen your application.</p>
<p>Please complete and return the enclosed card by April 15 to let us know whether or not you wish to be considered for any vacancies that may occur. If you do accept a position on our Alternate List, it is unlikely you will be notified of vacancies in our class until May, so you should submit a deposit to another college to guarantee yourself a space for next fall. The college to which you submit a deposit would appreciate knowing you are active on our Alternate List.</p>
<p>Sometimes they start off like:</p>
<p>"Congratulations! After a thorough examination of your application, we are pleased to offer you a place on the alternate list."</p>
<p>Just to throw you off.</p>
<p>Seriously? That would suck!
rule-of-thumb tends to be, "congratulations" is very very good while "thank you" or "the admissions committee" or "this year" or "unfortunately" is bad.
has anybody else gotten something different for an acceptance? imagine:
The Admissions Committee at Cornell has performed a careful review of your application. This year we received the greatest number of applications in the history of the University. All of our applicants were extremely talented, and unfortunately we could only select a very small percentage to join the ranks of our freshman class. Luckily for you, we are proud to say you have been selected as one of them.</p>
<p>No way, that cannot be true. They must know the amount of sadness such a letter must cause after you see a congratulations to beggin with.</p>
<p>lol the University of Delawre one acceptance letter starts out "our answer is a resounding "yes!""</p>
<p>so technically it defies the congradulations rule</p>
<p>Yeah, but the suspense does not go past the same sentence.</p>