<p>wbwa, you are right, I misread your statement saying that 4/5 of those not accepted in your county were waitlisted, 1/5 rejected. My apologies. However, I do question that the data presented anecdotally by posters or self reported on Naviance can be assumed to be representative of schools nationwide or that this information can be used to categorize the size of Wash Us waiting list. For example, in this thread Weston HS is reported as having 26 people being waitlisted and only 2 rejected. If this were typical of the approximately 125,000 high schools nationwide, there would be 26 x 125,000 people waitlisted per year or 3.25 million students offered a spot on Wash Us waiting list which is obviously not possible. If Weston HSs self reported data were typical of only 5% of the high schools in the US, there would be 162,500 students offered a spot on Wash Us waiting list each year or approximately 7 times the number of students that actually apply and that wouldnt even include international students. </p>
<p>I am not defending Wash Us practice of not reporting the size of their waiting listing. I think students would be happier if they did. I am also not defending their having whatever size waitlist they do have, although I am not troubled by it. The only thing I am defending is how well they treat the students once they are admitted. </p>
<p>I have a lot of sympathy for the position of being waitlisted at a school you want to attend and wish everyone luck. I do think that the majority of students are very happy wherever they end up, even if it wasnt their first choice originally. I think the easiest way to get through this period of uncertainty for waitlisted students is to start focusing on and falling in love with your favorite school that did accept you. If the call from Wash U comes, great. If it doesnt, you are on your way to really looking forward to going to your new school.</p>