I hope you’re right. Congrats to your daughter’s bff! That’s amazing.
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My son last night mentioned that he’s tired of this dragging out and just going with his current 2nd choice and not looking back. We’ve already paid the deposit there and signed the housing contract, which is refundable until 5/15. I told him that he’s waited this long, so without any regrets, he should wait until at least 5/14 (we can eat the deposit). I’m assuming he won’t hear by then, but I get it, this process has been long not just for UW-Madison but with every school.
Honestly, UW-Madison was one of my and my wife’s least favorite campus visits on a dreary Friday in late February. However, the admissions folks were amazingly friendly and the tour was very well run, but her and I didn’t like the urban campus mix. That being said, he loved it and it’s his decision, so now I’m telling him to hold on a little longer…
Refresh my memory, are there any drawbacks/limitations from getting in off of the waitlist? He’s looking at CS, so L&S. I’m hoping my DD32 will be less stressful…
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I totally get it. My son applied in late October and he’s still waiting to hear from two of his six colleges. The only exception was Iowa State (sent him an acceptance within 60 seconds back in August). My college experiences were at very traditional campuses so Madison is also not what I’m used to. My son just loves the lake setting and something about the people and the vibe. We also know a lot of alums who gush about their experience.
I think the only downsides to getting off the waitlist are last in line for housing and there may not be much, if any, merit aid left (I’ve been told Wisconsin doesn’t give out a lot of merit aid anyway).
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Actually, we loved the lake area and residence hall part of campus, despite the mile hike from Memorial Union to Bradley/Dejope Hall tours in the snow 
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I was thinking there’d be no merit from anyone getting off of the waitlist, but that’s only my assumption without any facts/data… So housing selection is based on when you commit and sign the housing contract that I’m assuming most EA and RD have had a leg up on?
I know you’re a data person, but I’ve also tried to track his top schools four-year tuition and housing/food increases from 2021/22-2024/25 COA data to try to possibly forecast. Wisconsin was +8.9% for just tuition and +9.8% for tuition/housing/food, whereas his other school was +11.5% tuition and +24.2% tuition/housing/food. Of course those numbers can fluctuate depending on what meal plan you select and type of housing (with or without AC, etc…).
Wisconsin has a housing lottery so early admits don’t get a benefit. The problem is the deadline is May 15. Maybe they hold assignments for early waitlist admits? I figure I’ll ask later if my son gets in.
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Nice!!! Other visits we took during that stretch had a little more student activity and energy on their campuses, probably due to being sunny and drier… But I’ve seen sunny pics of UW-Madison on the lake and they look great!!!
Congratulations to your daughter’s friend !! 
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Did anyone know anybody got off the waitlist this year so far ? UW Madison says Wait list decisions are made after May 1, but I did not see anyone.
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I haven’t seen any signs of waitlist movement for Wisconsin on College Confidential.
I spoke to someone in Wisconsin admissions about a month ago and they gave the distinct impression that the May 1 was boilerplate language that someone forgot to change for this crazy FAFSA year. My theory is they didn’t later update it because the language is technically true even if (maybe) it should have been updated to read “after May 15”.
Last year the first wave of WL decisions came out four days before the May 1 decision day. We have no idea if that’s typical because the two prior years they took almost no one off the waitlist.
We’re trying to be patient and hoping for low yield among admitted students!
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Was Student Eforms and Student Employment always listed on the Applicant Homepage? Or am I imagining that that is new. I apologize for
bringing up portal astrology.
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Yep, they have both always been there. 
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Thank you 
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I would love some portal astrology! I wish the waitlist would move!
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Make sense, thanks
Sorry if I missed this already but…if UW-M were to make an offer off of the waitlist, how is the student notified. Is it just a simple email? Anything else?
Based on last year’s thread, they send an email. I assume they also update the student’s portal, but I didn’t see anyone reference the portal. Here’s the timeline from last year (based on a May 1 decision date):
April 25: students on the waitlist received an email asking about continued interest in the waitlist. Single question with yes/no option.
April 27: around late afternoon to early evening EST, admissions offers started to go out by email. Student had one week (until May 4 at 11:59) to accept the offer.
May 5: Between 6-8:00 p.m. EST, the next wave of offers was released. Some students who received offers also got an email about financial aid. Some received the financial aid email before their offer, some received it after the offer.
It appears that students posting on CC who were offered a spot off the waitlist last year were ALL out-of-state. My guess is the yield for in-state is much higher and they had fewer in-state spots to fill.
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Last year my OOS son was alerted by a text message on a Friday (May 19) afternoon from UW–Madison saying he had been admitted off the waitlist and was given one week to decide. The portal might have changed before the text was sent but we didn’t know because he wasn’t checking it every day having paid the deposit and signed a housing contract elsewhere. In fact we have forgotten about UW–Madison thinking waitlist = rejection because that’s what it essentially was before last year. He decided to switch and is nearing the end of his freshman year loving his time there.
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Thanks for putting all the info together in one spot. Very helpful to see a time-line! I wish fafsa wasn’t so messed up this year making everything so delayed. The waiting process is already painfully slow and stressful enough! Can I ask if your son is in state or OOS?
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He’s OOS, Midwest, Engineering
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