I received no acceptances but I received several waitlists, one of them being Exeter. Now, Exeterâs the one I want to go to most - my best friend of 3 years got in; he lives in California and weâve never went to school together but we want to, and weâve been hoping on getting me off the waitlist. Regarding the Exeter waitlist in particular, we have two questions.
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This year, Exeter has climbed to no. 1 in the Niche rankings. The admissions officer at Exeter told my family that last year on April 10th, they took 35 students off the waitlist; but with their newfound prestige, one of my concerns is that Exeterâs yield rate self-estimate would go up significantly and they might enroll many more students, resulting in overenrollment or a much smaller need for the waitlist than the 35 students last year. Do you think their new ranking would impact this at all?
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My friend has been suggesting that he send an email to Exeter vouching for me, telling them he would like to go to school with me, etc.; do you think this would do anything? I wouldnât want to burden him with work he doesnât have to do.
Weâve been staying optimistic through these times and would appreciate any feedback!
All the top schools switch rank placements and there are many different list. Niche is just one (with many flaws), but good to get a sense of the schools placement as you need to use something. Why do I say this. Exeter has always been a top caliber school and continues to be one along with a good handful of others.
I caution that just because school is good for one student does not mean that is an ideal fit for another, even BFF. Also I do not think a student in a sea of students would have much clout when even very hooked families cannot get their students off the waitlists. I suggest you read the threads explaining how schools use the waitlist.
Do you have a good back up plan incase the wait list does not pan out as only a small number get off the waitlist and it can happen anytime from April 10 till start of school. You can also try to take forward what you learned and try again next year.
A waitlist is no reflection of how amazing you are. Good luck!
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âClimbedâ would be an overstatement; Exeter has consistently been a top ranked school. Its prestige is the opposite of newfound. Movement on the waitlist will be no more than previous years.
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No. No, no, and no. Your friendâs heart may be in the right place, but an email from a newly accepted student on behalf of someone on the waitlist is unlikely to have a positive effect.
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Thank you everyone for your feedback!
It is good to know that they accepted 35 from WL. In FAQ they mentioned accepting anywhere between 0-15. FAQ sounds dated. Would love to hear from others in case they have heard of other numbers.
Waitlisted at Milton and Thayer, not sure how often either of them accept from the waitlist.
Requesting FA, Vietnamese girl, 8th grader applying for freshman year, day school
I plan on writing an LOCI once I start track in the spring
Milton is my top choice but Iâm honestly desperate, so getting off either waitlist works lol
I appreciate any advice or information I should know about these schools and their waitlists, thanks in advance 
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Do people think itâs typical that there has been no return communication from AOs since M10 wait-list decisions? Some schools had you confirm wait-list online, so there hasnât been any reason to hear from them I suppose. But one school requested that you email them to confirm wait list. My daughter didnât receive any reply (ie just acknowledging receipt even). I am sure theyâre are busy with revisits end yield.
We received an email thanking us for confirming her spot on the waitlist.
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I cannot imagine that enough admitted students decline spots prior to revisits for AOâs to even have to think about WL until then.
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Absolutely typical.
If you accepted a spot on a waitlist then it possible that youâd receive an auto response confirming that.
However, most BS are just getting back into the swing of things after spring break. I only know of one school that has had one revisit day, all the rest are coming up in the next week or two. Itâs a busy time for schools and admission staff as they are trying to get their offered candidates to matriculate at their school.
If an applicant has a few options, itâs typical to go to a the revisit days of the top choices and then make a decision. Even then, schools have already accounted for a percentage of applicants to choose elsewhere (their yield).
Do not expect to hear from your WL schools until much closer to A10 unless itâs to say âwe donât anticipate going to our waitlist this yearâ.
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Ye, I understand why they are busy now. So should she just assume her email response confirming wait list was received? She emailed AO who interviewed because the decision letter just wrote email âusâ with your answer of staying on wait list before x date, no email address instructions. We also recently emailed general admissions in case AO is super busy. Weâre of course not holding out hope or wl moving yet and actually not thinking it will move at all for us. Just seems she should have received at least an auto or form type response confirming receipt of a requested answer. I was curious about others experience.
Thanks
Looking back at emails from last yearâs application session, it was about as typical to receive a wait list confirmation as it was to not receive one. Even in the cases where a confirmation wasnât sent, we did get an email between April 9 and April 14 saying that the school was fully enrolled and the wait-list was now closed. In some of those cases, there was an offer to stay on a smaller wait-list for the summer, just in case a spot opened up. If you sent an email or answered through the schoolâs portal, assume that they got your response.
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My DD was waitlisted by her top choice. She reached out to the AD and asst AD (with whom she interviewed) on M10 and received a nice note back. We assumed we would hear nothing before A10 or perhaps, nothing at all.
Tonight we received a note from the Asst AD telling us that they had some movement on the wait list and asking If they were still, my DDâs top choice. She reiterated what a strong candidate my daughter was, and that it was difficult to place her on the waitlist. We responded and said that we were still very interested in her attending, although she had committed already to her current prep school (day school) But that we could terminate the contract before May 11 if she received an offer. She thanked us for our reply, and said She would be in touch soon. There was no offer, but iâm taking this correspondence as a good sign.
Has anyone else had this experience and if so, did you actually receive an offer subsequent to the AO communication?
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This isnât unusual when a school expects, based on where it is early in the process (acceptances, revisit sign-ups, declines, etc) that it will need the WL to fill out the class. Itâs good work by the admissions office to prepare.
Remember that lots of people just automatically accept the WL position when they get their initial decisions but as the month plays out, they lose interest in many or all of their WL schools, so the school needs to ascertain which of the folks who clicked âyes, I want to be on the WLâ really do.
Itâs a sign that if the school does have a bed to fill, they might reach out if you fill the right bucket. Itâs also a sign that while itâs still early, this school may indeed have a few beds. In a perfect world, schools âfinishâ the class from the WL â much better than over-enrolling!
To answer your question, it may not come to anything, but it may lead to good news. Your response, btw, that you would take the spot and your decision date, is perfect from their end.
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Thanks so much for the feedback! Itâs very helpful!
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Iâd see it as a good sign, but not a definitive one. I think you know that! 
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I guess it was a good sign! we received an offer today!
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from which school???