trackie10x

Today I found out I was waitlisted at WashU after falling in love at Discovery Weekend. After my initial disappointment, anger, denial, crying, and all those other phases of grief, I decided that there is probably something I can do about it.

Some Stats:
33 ACT, Student Body President, Superintendent's Roundtable Student Coordinator, National Honor Society Secretary, 4.0 GPA, valedictorian, Kodak Young Leaders Award, Coca Cola Scholars Semifinalist, National Merit Commended Scholar, many local awards, 3-sport varsity captain, individual track and field state qualifier, school's top scholar-athlete award, attended Johns Hopkins U. Center for Talented Youth once, Northwestern U. Center for Talent Development twice, community service on spring breaks...so many things I can't remember all of them. Also, I got a full ride to Tulane.



Some interesting websites:

GUIDANCE COUNSELOR; The New Safeties - New York Times

BW Online | May 29, 2002 | Playing the Wait-List Game

Waiting Out the Wait List for College: Tips for Getting Off the College Wait List and Getting In


"To maintain a 19 percent acceptance rate, Wash U has been known to wait-list top students it suspects are using it as a safety, says Will Dix, a college counselor at the Lab Schools of the University of Chicago. ''They're part of a weird phenomenon of schools who know they're a lot of kids' second choice but don't want to be,'' he says. ''They have mastered the art of manipulating numbers and of aggressive marketing."


Here's where I am: How do I get off the waitlist and get accepted?

atrophicwhisper

... Honestly, there isn't very much you can do. You'd quite honestly need a miracle to get off the waitlist- I've pretty much heard from most of the top schools that you should look elsewhere for your post-secondary education.

trackie10x

well... isn't that positive.

razzlegrl

ignore atrophicwhisper,

I know a friend who got off the waitlist.

What you need to do is contact them, preferably by email (I don't know how good of a speech-maker you are), and let them know that even though you were waitlisted, you still have WashU as your top choice, and that you would love nothing more than to be able to join them this fall.

Hit send, then cross your fingers.

best of luck!

enderkin

dominus96, search 'tufts syndrome' on this forum to find your answer. it's also at the bottom of the first post.

trackie10x

thanks for the support guys

razzle, good advice. i have already texted my basketball coach, who will be editing his earlier recommendation (which wasn't sent to washu) to be tailored toward washu, about his rec. another of my teachers, who i didn't know well enough in the fall to ask for a rec, is writing a recommendation for me. our school's local scholarship award committee is meeting monday to decide awards, and my counselor is going to enclose a list of the awards i get with another of her recs. i'm also writing a formal letter of the reasons i should get into washu, and why i fit there/want to go there. i'm also attaching an essay i wrote about my basketball team that fits with my coach's letter. and a picture of me wearing my WashU sweatpants and sweatshirt that i got when I was there! haha and also for a little comic relief, i'm sending in the papers from my doctor showing the results from my blood test that show i was diagnosed with mono on november 29th - just as the cram phase of applications begins.

dominus, don't be worried. there are plenty of spots for people everywhere. also, people have been telling me that this is something called "tufts syndrome." not entirely sure i understand that, but wikipedia explains it well. and honestly, i feel just like you sometimes - losing self-esteem from chances posts from people who think they won't get in anywhere with 99th percentile everything. it's crazy. but honestly, just believe in yourself! i believe that with everything new i'm sending in, i will get accepted. i just have to believe it.

dominus96

ah tufts syndrome i've heard of that. well that kind of makes sense, but thats still sucks that u get waited with such a good record. mine probably isn't even half that good...lol.

atrophicwhisper

Well, that's why you have safeties. It's not as if you CAN'T get off the waitlist, but the chances of one getting of the waitlist are slim to none at top schools because of the sheer number of qualified students. Being waitlisted isn't like deferrals from EA where there's at least a good chance of one being accepted later on. From what I understand, the only information you can send is new and compelling information that would severely change the college's decision for waitlist.

But either way, when you're waitlisted, you're best off making sure you go to a college rather than waiting for a college to make a final decision after the May 1 reply date (you honestly don't know what will happen with the waitlist), so hopefully you'd have accepted one college's offer of admission. That's why I said "look elsewhere" because you want to make sure you go to a college you like rather than wait for WashU to make its final decision and risk attending the local community college.

trackie10x

Jay Mathews, author of famous book Harvard Schmarvard: Getting Beyond the Ivy League to the College that is Best for You


Seattle, WA: Is there any truth behind "Tufts Syndrome," where schools reject overqualified applicants who they think will probably end up somewhere higher-ranked? Are LACs especially conscious of this?

Jay Mathews: There is some truth to it in a few cases, but they usually don't reject them. They waitlist them. A great kid who is on such a waitlist just has to say, take me, and he is in.

CallofDuty4

I definitely hope that you get in. You are in many ways much more qualified than I am to get into many colleges (not just Wash U).

Your attitude is also a remarkable one. It is great to see someone taking a such proactive stance in response to being waitlisted.

However, there are small issues that I am worried about. Your previous posts seem to hint that you are locked in on the case being "Tuft's syndrome." Although this may be a possibility, I would advise you not to sound arrogant (or even hint of anything remotely close to the content in your last post) in the package you plan on sending the university.

Just out of curiosity, I looked at the Wash U forum, and I saw a LOT of people with 4.0+ GPAs and 2200+ SAT's getting rejected. Is it just me, or does gaining admission to Wash U seem harder than gaining access to the Ivies?

trackie10x

i'm definitely not going to mention that, haha. i was just reading jay mathews's article in the washington post and i thought that was an interesting quote. before i send out my package with all my new stuff and recs, i'm going to call the admissions office and speak to the new york counselor, and ask what the weaknesses were in my application and reiterate that washu is my number one.


also, about the selectivity... washu is ranked 6th in selectivity in the USNWR rankings. they are famous for choosing students who they think/know will attend washu if accepted. they're also known for tufts syndrome, although yes, they do waitlist people who just aren't qualified enough.

raekwontc

you gotta be kidding me. Wait listed, with those stats... Tufts syndrome. Its a dilemma

rodney

trackie: definitely follow all the advice you have seen here and on other threads, but understand one BIG thing.....Demographics....

You will have a better chance of being accepted off ANY waitlist if a person of your gender AND your geographic area decline.....

trackie10x

haha i should just find every female majoring in political science who got accepted in the rochester, ny area and tell them they absolutely cannot go to washu

CallofDuty4

Well, definitely post the response you get from WashU. I find your story to be very interesting. I really hope you get in.