Just curious what everyone does when all notifications are in? Do you travel out to the contenders for a final visit, make a decision, and then notify all the schools you have acceptances to of your decision? Do you wait until the last second and then decide? I wonder if all the waitlist people are on pins and needles hoping to know but having to wait until 4/30 at 1159pm??
Most people hoping to come off a wait list will not find out until well after May 1st. This is because schools have to see who accepts their initial offers. If they still have space available once that deadline has passed, they will move to the wait list.
If you are wait listed but you definitely want to go to college next year, you need to go ahead and accept to one of your choices to which you’ve been accepted by May 1st to insure a place to go in the Fall. If you do come off the wait list at another school at some point and you decide to go there instead, you will probably forfeit any deposits you made to the school to which you initially accepted. But you can tell them you are no longer coming and accept your spot at your wait listed school.
Once you have acceptances, before making a final choice, I think it is good to visit the schools you have yet to see from among your choices. You may have already visited them when you auditioned and not need to visit again. But others you may want to take another look. It’s really up to you and what you need to see to feel confident when making your final school decision.
Once you do make a final decision, make sure you have everything in place at your accepted school, then let the other programs and schools know you have chosen to attend elsewhere. But do not feel rushed to make a decision until you have all the facts about your choices and you are confident in your choice of school.
@Dankadon our plan is that as soon as the last of my daughters top choices notifies then do a quick trip (to visit any we didn’t see over the last year or so). during spring break then decide by April 1.
If you are fortunate enough to have choices, it is really important to make an accepted student visit to your top 2 or 3 schools, even if you have visited before. Trust me, the reception and vibe is MUCH different than when you were a prospective student. Make those visits if at all possible. If you have other acceptances that aren’t in your top 2-3 I think you should notify them immediately.
@MTDadandProud
How is it different? We only visited some schools for auditions and did rest at Unifieds. If we have multiple choices we were only going to visit those that we had not seen before. Thanks.
Glad you started this @Dankadon! I’m wondering what stories others could share about how they went about making their decision to attend a certain program or not. Any insight as to what you factored in? Or how you gathered your information? You’ve touched on visiting after accepted. Anything else you did to get the information you needed to make an informed decision? Thanks!
@HappyDancer98, there are multiple years of Final Decision and Background threads where people do just that! And I totally agree: visit your acceptances if you can! An accepted student is treated very differently than an applicant. Schools just can’t give the same kind of attention to 700+ people applying to their program. But once you are accepted, they are invested in you.
@Callienne, how are wait list candidates treated? We were hoping to do a road trip to visit three, maybe four, schools over Spring Break, but two schools on our route have turned out to be wait list options. Would it be weird and awkward to visit while on the wait list? I want to make the most of time off during Spring Break, but I don’t want my kid feeling like he’s second choice or second best. Any thoughts?
I think visiting wait list options could help your cause if they need a way to differentiate between those on their wait list. They want to offer available spots to people they feel will accept if offered. By going to visit, it shows you truly hope to attend their school.
Realistically, many people do not have the time or resources to visit 3 or 4 schools again before May 1st. So you may have to make some tough choices. Do as much due diligence as you can. See if you can talk or email with current students to ask questions. Try to get all your questions answered by teachers, students or administrators. But get first person information from people who are really there or have attended there.
For those who can’t visit, be aware that even an accepted student visit isn’t a foolproof way to help you figure out which school suits you best. So if you cannot revisit or visit your choices, don’t fret. Do your best to make the most informed decision that you can. Sometimes you just have to go with your gut.
Thanks @Calliene. I’m looking for a short-hand version, I guess. Perhaps I should not have used the word, “Story.” What I really want to know is how you gathered your information. Every program claims to be fabulous, just like every college or university. How did you tease it out? Did you just visit the schools? What did you find most valuable or enlightening about your visit? Did you talk with other industry professionals? Did you talk to current and/or former students? Were there certain resources you relied on to substantiate claims made about a particular program? I’m grasping at straws, I suppose, but any bits of wisdom could help those of us who are now starting to embark on the decision phase of this process. And, this doesn’t just apply to those who are choosing among programs. It can apply to those who are considering a gap year because they aren’t sure they like the programs where they received offers. Thank you!
Haha @HappyDancer98 :). But seriously, the shortest shorthand advise is probably what @vvnstar said: listen to your gut. We did visit (again) (twice in fact in one case) and did talk to industry professionals, coaches, and students, extensively. But probably the most important factor is that it just FELT right.
People advised my D to make pro and con lists… She had zero interest in doing that. In the end, she went with her gut… And her gut was right!
Use your resources (here & elsewhere) and talk to students in your schools. Most will be pretty candid about what they love about their program, what classes are like, what surprised them, etc.
In my D’s case, showing interest in her waitlist school, Ball State, was very important. We found out on a Thursday that she was wait listed and flew from California to Indiana on Monday so she could sit in on classes and meet faculty and students. It sealed the deal for her and luckily she came off the waitlist two weeks later. It definitely let them know that BSU was her top choice. The other thing we did at every school we could was to have her sit in on actual classes. But, I agree with others, it is, at the end of the day, a gut decision.
Do wait-listed kids get the same access as accepted kids?
As @MTDadandProud said, visiting most programs as an accepted/waitlisted student is a much different experience from visiting as an auditionee or “prospective HS junior/senior”. You generally get a much more “personal” view - often sitting in on classes, perhaps sitting in on a rehearsal, eating with students. It’s a much more intimate “vibe” to tingle your “Spidey Senses”. That said, try to go as early as you can. Many schools are wrapping up their regular classes by early to mid-April. Seniors will be prepping for senior showcases or away for NYC/LA showcase (with faculty in tow). Lower levels will be prepping for juries, recitals, end-of-year shows, final exams. You may not get a glimpse of a “typical” day-in-the-life-of, but may still be able to get a feel for the place, regardless.
We visited the final 3. S visited each for a day, attended classes and had one on one time with each department head. At this point they are invested in your child and they will do whatever they can to get you in their school. But in the end it was, as @Calliene and @kategrizz said, a gut feeling. My S said that it was home and where he felt he belonged.
Before we went to visit schools to make our decision, we sent e-mails to the department heads asking very specific detailed questions about their program. We then went to visit and my daughter sat in on classes, had lunch with MT students, and met with each department head. We also had tours of the schools. In the end, one of the schools just felt right to my daughter. She is a sophomore now and very happy with her choice.
If you are a wait listed student, I would definitely attend an accepted student weekend if it is an option. Last year there were 2 wait listed students at CCM’s accepted weekend. It might have seemed a little awkward to them, but I think everyone went out of their way to try and make it comfortable. Both are now happy members of the MT19 class.
Just a heads up to contact the school first if you are on the wait list and want to visit. My S wants to visit his top schools again before making a decision and when he contacted one of the schools about sitting in on classes and attending an accepted students day, he was told he would not be able to attend since he is on the wait list and not accepted yet.