My daughter was WL at the 2 schools she applied for 9th grade. We are newbies at this process and didn’t have any connections to either school. What are the next steps? I have advised her to write personal letters which we will deliver to the schools ourselves. We have also reached out to our community and found some current families who can call on her behalf. Should we as parents also write to the schools? Is there anything else we should do? She has a favorite but would be thrilled with either. thank you
The WL is a tough place to be. I’d definitely scan through the pinned waitlist thread for tons of wisdom, experience and commiseration from those who have been there.
If you want to stay on the waitlists you should definitely let the school know; they do want to know who is actually still waiting hopefully for some movement. Sending new info can be great - updated grades, new awards or accomplishments, new video or stats for sports/arts, and even an updated letter of recommendation. But make sure not to cross the line of overbearing and respect the AO’s time during this busy stretch. Honestly, having people without connections to the school cold-call feels like too much to me. Sending additional letters is plenty without being intrusive.
Prepare your daughter for the tough reality of waitlists… in some years schools won’t go to
their WL at all and in many more they’ll only pull a few students. When movement does occur it rarely happens before April 10th (AOs often don’t have any idea if they’ll pull from their WL at all until around then) and staying on a WL can leave you in limbo all the way through August. Schools don’t really rank people on their WL and who they pull in when space opens depends on the makeup of admittees who have accepted vs declined. But also stress that being waitlisted means that the school would be happy to have her and just doesn’t think they’ll have a space for her in this year’s 9th grade class.
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We have a pinned thread that runs the gamut of how to deal with wait lists. You might start with this classic response which pretty much covers it.
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I would say that both you and your child should write letters and deliver them together. Yours should state that you remain very supportive of your child’s desire to attend. If your D will attend her local public school if she doesn’t get in, you may want to let them know that. (I.e. “We will proceed with class scheduling at xyz LPS for now but will happily change course if a place becomes available at your school.” Some schools are more sensitive about “poaching” from other local privates.
I am guessing, since you have these decisions now, that these are day schools. Because almost every BS releases decisions on March 10, it is quite possible that some kids who were accepted at the schools where you are on the WL will decline their spots. If it’s more than the schools where you were WL anticipated, the list will move, so I would recommend that you do this asap (and before M10.)
When you deliver, it may be worthwhile to ask who would be the best person to stay in touch with on the status of your position on the WL. You want to be able to get updates in a way that helps you stay front of mind but not a pest. You could follow up by phone to confirm they got your letter and to ask when would be a good time to check on status. (I.e., “should I follow up in mid March after BS decisions come out?”)
In the meantime, embrace planning for the option you have.
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Thank you all for your helpful comments.
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