I know a person from my school who got into his first choice school with very good aid and has already committed there but has also accepted his spot on the waitlist of other colleges to see if he would get in. So I just wanted to say that if you’ve already made your decision and committed to a school, please decline any waitlist offers you may have received from other colleges.
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Just to be clear, you likely will have to accept an offer and pay a nonrefundable deposit even if you want to take your chances with a waitlist.
But I take it the point is if you wouldn’t actually consider a waitlist offer, and instead you are just going on the waitlist to see what happens, that isn’t cool and you should not do that.
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Disagree - someone paid an app fee and if they are offered a WL spot, they have every right to accept.
Every WL student (if the WL goes beyond May 1 or whatever the school’s deadline is this year), should have accepted a spot elsewhere.
If someone wants to see if they get into Harvard - then guess what - that’s their right. And like many who get offered admission off a WL, they’ll likely turn down the spot. I can’t imagine WL have high yields - because many kids will have moved on to #2, found a roomie, and fell in love.
Yes, some people are selfish. They paid and it’s their right. But guess what, if they have no intention of accepting a WL offer, the next person up will then get the offer.
If someone chooses to accept a spot, I say good for them - and I really wouldn’t give it too much thought.
And even in this instance noted by OP - you truly don’t know what this person you are referencing would do should they get offered a spot at a WL school.
There are things to worry about in life …but in my opinion, this isn’t one that should cause concern.
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That’s how the system works…you have to commit somewhere before the enrollment deadline and most waitlist action happens after enrollment deadline. If they would attend the waitlist school if offered a spot (so would drop their current enrollment), that’s how things work and that is ok.
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Students should commit to their top choice amongst acceptances. BUT it is totally right to accept a spot on the waitlist for any college(s) you would prefer to attend.
No one should feel guilty about accepting a spot on a waitlist.
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Luckily things WILL sort themselves out. It just will take a few more weeks. Nobody can attend more than one school.
I personally think there are distinctions between what you have a right to do and what you should do, and then distinctions between what you ethically should do and what it would just be nice for you to do, and so on.
To me, staying on a WL just to see if you can add another offer to your trophy case, meaning when you have no intention of actually considering it, is not nice. You certainly have the right to do it, and I would hesitate to say it is necessarily unethical. But I think out of respect for the college which is trying to actually complete its class, and out of respect for the other applicants who would actually take such an offer if timely received, it would at least be nice to step out of the way and let them find each other as quickly and efficiently as possible.
By the way, I do think it could be minorly unethical depending on exactly what consequences might happen. That is hard to predict but some colleges do reach the point where they actually under-enroll because they don’t have enough applicants left willing to accept a waitlist offer by the time they make the offer. And in those cases there might have been a match to be made that was never made because of the timing.
This is all very subtle and contingent which is why I would not go so far as to say this is blatantly unethical behavior. But I think it falls into that common sort of area where being nice at least might also have better consequences too, which is another good reason to be nice when possible.
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I’m not disagreeing with you - but people have a right - and they can exercise those rights.
My last had two WL situations. She stayed on one but not the other. Her choice. If she had done zero or two, also her choice - and never wrong.
It all works itself out.
I don’t see anything ethical for someone choosing to stay on a WL (of course, unless they had an ED acceptance - but that’s a different situation - i.e. not unenrolling everywhere).
So we can agree to disagree - but in the end, people will do what they’ll do - and somehow it has a way of working itself out.
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S24 got waitlisted to UCD and accepted the spot already. We are currently touring some of the accepted schools over spring break. In the next few weeks, he will commit to one of them, maybe UW, tOSU, SDSU…If he come off UCD’s waitlist down the road, he will pick between school he committed and UCD. Not sure what is wrong with this practice.
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But OP said his friend already committed to his number 1 school. If you have no intention of taking the waitlist school, why stay on the waitlist??
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Extension to that. S24 will be declining offers from schools he already ruled out as soon as he wakes up. I told him there is no need to hold a spot at a school he won’t go.
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Because A)No one really knows what a peer is thinking, regardless what they say and B)The friend could change their mind if they were offered a spot.
If the friend were offered a spot and didn’t take it, the school would just move on to the next waitlist student with the desired profile.
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Because maybe this student will change their mind. I have no issue with keeping options open.
I do think declining schools you KNOW you won’t be attending is a good idea. This could actually help some student on a waitlist if the school finds they need to draw from the WL to fill their incoming class.
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Yeah, I would not try to argue people into a specific result. I don’t see the harm in discussing things conditionally, like you could discuss how IF you are sure you wouldn’t accept a waitlist offer, THEN it would be nice to give up your waitlist spot, that sort of thing. But if the person says they are not sure what they would do if given a waitlist offer by a certain college–end of conversation, because how could you ever really argue with that?
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It is a good idea, and my kid did this (as soon as he knew for sure that he wouldn’t be attending each school)
But on the other hand, kids shouldn’t be shamed for hanging on to a WL spot at a coveted school, even if they tell their friends that it is “just to see if they got in.” They do have a right to see the process through to the end. And maybe that student is privately thinking that if they DO get in, they might change their mind and go there.
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Absolutely.
And I note the OP kept that story anonymous, and the conclusion was just directed at suggesting a different course of action to other people. We obviously don’t know what else might have happened, but if the OP avoided pointless conflict with this person and yet still wanted to express a view here to others about the situation, I think all that is fine.
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It’s a nice idea but not really needed. Schools will just move on to the next person already pre picked and keep doing that till they fill their class. It’s also the institutional needs of the school which no one knows what they need. As stated it all seems to work itself out. Being on the wait list for most schools is a rare lottery event. No one should in the remotist way count on it. If it’s a grand surprise then great. Then you have a choice. I find it sad. Get excited about your options you have and move on. This puts so much undo expectations on the students. Again, if after you deposit and your accepted only then, you will have a choice.
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You might not stay on or join a WL - and that’s great too.
But why would they remain? Because the want to - and that’s reason enough.
The person OP is describing has chosen to remain - if it’s true they have no intention of changing and OP doesn’t know what’s truly on the mind of the person described…I mean, what if they WL school offered a financial bonanza?
Nonetheless, what ever they are thinking - they have that right - and if they are offered, they will simply not accept or let the time period to accept lapse.
That’s their right - whether anyone agrees with it or not.
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It’s actually not that big of a problem. If someone accepts their spot and they eventually get unwaitlisted, they will still decline their spot. Then the college will move on to other people on the waitlist and the cycle will continue. So basically the outcome is the same regardless of if you take your spot or not.
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This is a bad reason to stay on a WL. But if you follow this to the next step, this person gets an offer, declines it, and then the school is onto another WL applicant. The school is the loser, not other people’s on the WL.
Personally. I think as an applicant, you should decline all WL offers that you would not accept if offered. If you committed to your #3 school, stay on the WL for #1 and #2. Hearing from #6, having to respond, and give it mind share is just kind of a mess for everyone
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