We discovered this forum last year when my child was waitlisted after googling “prep school wait list”. I wanted to take a moment to share a happy result. My child was waitlisted at two HADES schools and accepted to two other fine schools. We revisited the other schools and got very close to sending in a deposit ($1500). In the meantime my child decided to stay on the two waitlists. In each case she wrote them a handwritten letter about why she wanted to attend their school and what she had accomplished since submitting her application. For her first choice, she wrote that she would immediately accept an offer of admission if pulled from the waitlist. I also called each school to see if there was anything I should know about her application that would help her if she ever reapplied. One AO said she was their top female academic applicant but there was no space for her after they met their “institutional needs” - faculty students, legacies, siblings, athletic recruits, geographical diversity, etc. This was a relief to hear and my child appreciated this candor. Sometimes the choices the schools make have nothing to do with your child. Three days before the April deposit deadline, I got a call from the head of admissions at her top school. She was pulled off the waitlist and is happily enrolled. I know this is not typical but it can happen. The odds are slim but it can occur. We forgot to pull her off the other waitlist and received a letter from that school as late as late July saying she was still on their list. Thank you for letting a lurker come out to share their story. It may be an exception but it happened. I am not saying the process was without frustration, tears and angst but it did work out.