<p>Question: I have heard the term “Courtesy Waitlist.” What does this mean and how do I know if I am on one?Although admission folks may insist otherwise, some colleges practice what is know as “Courtesy Waitlisting.” This is when students who ordinarily would be rejected outright are, instead, added to the waitlist for a variety […]</p>
<p>Yes, a physical disability could put a student on a courtesy waitlist. Whatever the reason admission officials may have for denying an applicant, they certainly don’t want it to seem as if a physical handicap is behind the rejection. Thus a waitlist solves that problem. Or, instead, the student may not be academically strong enough to be accepted, but the admission committee was impressed by how well this student overcame obstacles so the waitlist status is a sort of a friendly pat on the head in lieu of a brasher rejection. </p>
<p>Note, however, that “Courtesy Waitlisting” isn’t always a clear-cut status. You’re not going to spot a little asterisk or a tiny “c” next to the candidate’s name. Often, there can be a lot of gray area.</p>
<p>For instance, when any applicant has surmounted a big barrier (not just physical challenges but also family problems, poverty, etc.), kind-hearted souls on admission committees can have a tendency to rate this student higher than they would have had the student come from more typical circumstances. Thus a student who probably should have been denied will end up with a high enough rating to land on the waitlist instead.</p>
<p>No one is officially calling this a “Courtesy.” But … when it comes time to take students off the waitlist and accept them into the class, and this student’s application is again scrutinized carefully, it is unlikely that he or she will be chosen since the admission folks may fear they may just be setting the stage for failure.</p>
<p>But in such cases, there are definitely blurry lines that separate a “courtesy” waitlist from your basic garden-variety waitlist.</p>
<p>I know no one will probably be able to answer this, but I’m kind of going crazy over this now: Do you think I was courtesy waitlisted at Lafayette?</p>
<p>I have a 3.55 GPA and 1940 SAT, with 4 years varsity fencing and a lot of band and language related ECs.</p>
<p>Also, my family went through a major crisis during my Junior year, which ended up hurting some of my grades second semester. This was explained in a letter by my Guidance Counselor. Other than this one crisis I have no other issues, I am not a URM or financially troubled. My family is an upper-middle class Caucasian family from NJ. </p>
<p>I understand that this is something that no one will be able to tell me for sure, but does anyone have any ideas? I really expected to be denied and now that I’ve heard about the courtesy waitlist, I can’t help but feel that was what happened. </p>
<p>For what it’s worth I was also waitlisted at BU, Muhlenberg, and Franklin and Marshall and (so far) accepted at Penn State and Drew. I was denied at Brandeis and Vassar (which was EDII) and I am still waiting to hear from Ithaca and Connecticut College.</p>
<p>Doesn’t sound like a courtesy by Lafayette to me, although the specifics of the family crisis might be telling. You can send me a Private Message if you want to explain it but not on a public forum.</p>
<p>Do you guys think I got courtesy waitlisted at Stanford or do I really have a chance of getting off the wl?</p>
<p>3.0 unweighted gpa, almost top 20% at crappy public school in SC
750 math 760 reading 710 writing
sob story essay about hardships of being gay in high school
black, 1st gen
almost no ECs</p>
<p>My introduction to the courtesy waitlist was kind of funny. Oldest daughter was top of class, student of the year type, and very much “pushed” by counselor and teachers, and she was waitlisted at Harvard. A minority student who was a good student but with nowhere near the rank, scores or grades in AP classes announced on April 2 that she had gotten into Harvard. When I told someone who knew a lot about admissions that my daughter had been waitlisted and how bothered she was that the other student got in instead of her, the person explained to me that my daughter had probably been courtesy waitlisted and that this often happened when a much lower ranked student was admitted instead of the “super star.” Oh, okay, I had never heard of that. Months later I learned from the guidance counselor (inadvertently) that the second student had not only not gotten into Harvard, she had never even applied!!! Through that experience I learned one example of when a school might courtesy waitlist, and my daughter learned not to believe everything someone tells her.</p>
<p>Detreacy–With those strong SAT’s despite being in a “crappy” high school, I suspect that admission officials think you could do the work, if admitted. Doesn’t sound like a courtesy to me.</p>
<p>Keep in mind, of course, that it’s irresponsible to comment on most anyone’s admissions verdicts without seeing the full application. So a big disclaimer goes with my assessment.</p>
<p>This happens a lot with legacy applicants. If a student is clearly not qualified but the school doesn’t want to insult the alumni parents by rejecting him, then they will simply waitlist them. This can sometimes lead to a big donation to get off the waitlist.</p>
<p>Uh-oh. I fear I’ve created a monster. Most waiting lists are way too long, but very, very few students on them are there due to courtesy. My “Ask the Dean” response may have caused unnecessary worry among waitlisted CC members who now all think that they are not true waitlistees. </p>
<p>Courtesy waitlisting is most commonly used for the offspring of alums or anyone with strong ties to the college. The vast majority of WL’ed students are not there for this reason.</p>
<p>And, yes, sometimes those who were initially put on a WL as a “courtesy” eventually do end up in the class … usually due to the clout of the connected individual who got them on the list in the first place.</p>
<p>Well, for me, the courtesy waitlist offer happened when I applied to Upenn Wharton MBA program two years ago. No one told me that it was indeed a courtesy call, but in hindsight, I know (dont ask me how or why) for certain that it was a genuine courtesy call by Upenn.</p>
<p>Coming from disadvantaged backgrounds (First generation college graduate, death of mother, subsequent bankruptcy, wellfare, medicare, 30+ hours of part time job to finance my college education, 9/11 attacks resulting in sudden mass layoffs, and struggling to finally accept my calling), I talked about various obstacles, challenges, and adversities that have allowed me to grow and mature to see a much bigger picture in life.</p>
<p>I had a very average undergraduate GPA (3.4) somewhat compensated by a just-above-average GMAT score (710, 95 percentile.)</p>
<p>Unlike other superstar MBA applicants with less than two or three years of WE and the MBA industry’s penchant to select younger candidates, I was in my 30’s with less than stellar resume, chopped and fragrmented work experience, but filled with passion and heart to found my own company.</p>
<p>In the end, I was invited to interview on the last day of the interview notification day (Wharton only selected 30% for the interview, from which they would choose only half for final admission offers = 15% overall acceptance rate), and I was subsequently put on the long summer waitlist that went on all the way until the end of June.</p>
<p>I am really not sure the intricate admission process at the undergraduate level, but I know for sure I was a receiptient of such generous courtesy call.</p>
<p>First - courtesy waitlist “might” occur most often for rich donors whose kids can’t do the work.</p>
<p>IT is likely not going to occur because someone is handicapped. You either qualify or you don’t.</p>
<p>IT IS NOT because a lower ranked kid got in (because it doesn’t alleviate the potential complaint).</p>
<p>That “my kid has better metrics than ‘that’ kid” argument is getting tired and old. It marginalizes a good kid who may have many other assets you don’t see because the apps are confidential. You don’t see the recommendations - you may not see ec’s that occur out of your view. You don’t see the mix of students admitted or how many “white” kids with lower metrics may have also been offered a spot instead of the waitlisted “perfect” applicant.</p>
<p>I can tell you that interviewing and ranking pre-Frosh is really, really hard. A perfectly good student with a crummy attitude, a pushy parent, or a host of other things, may rank them lower than a student who doesn’t look as good on paper but has a great attitude and a lot of other assets.</p>
<p>I’ve seen students with straight A’s and perfect SAT scores get left on the sidelines because they didn’t demonstrate any passion, hadn’t overcome any adversity, had ec’s that looked identical to thousands of other students, or were arrogant and/or crashed and burned during an interview. But have seen a students (mostly white) with lower scores and a 3.0 get the nod because he or she struggled, came from a disadvantaged (read rural) background, had an amazing essay, had an unusual hobby - or - in general offered something unique to the student body that the rejected student would not.</p>
<p>So if the only thing a person has to stand on is some “imagined slight” or some imagined “courtesy waitlist” then so be it.</p>
<p>But do try to give those of us on the interview side some credit. It doesn’t mean you or your child is not a great candidate. It does mean that attending a specific college is a privilege and not a right. It does mean that if you are waitlisted you fared better than 90% of the qualified who were told “no.” And even those students - in a different pool - might have gotten a different outcome.</p>
<p>The speculation might be fun - but it drives those of us in the middle of it, crazy.</p>
<p>A courtesy waitlist is one where a student is put on the wait list even though the university has no intention of ever accepting the student. This is often done by universities that would rather not offend a school they have a good relationship with by outright rejecting a student. Understandably, universities will never confirm the practice.</p>
:-)</p>