I thought it would be interesting to talk about the word of the year in college acceptances - the Waitlist.
This isn’t to bash others who have been accepted or whine and cry (well maybe a little crying is allowed) but maybe give your experience: how many waitlists, did you get on the waitlist, have you received your decision, positives from being on a waitlist, what you would have done differently.
For us we received our first wait-list today. My D really tried to apply only to schools that she felt were safeties or matches (no real reaches) so it was a bit of a bummer. She hasn’t decided if she will get on the waitlist but I did share with her a good article on what to do when getting on a waitlist.
The gist of the article was:
- Accept spot on waitlist immediately but read admission letter carefully.
- Check whether college is open to receiving additional info but only update with important things not fluff.
- If college is open write a Letter of Continued Interest
- Let LOCI sit a few days before sending.
- Open and reply to all emails from the school
- Reach out to AO for your area if they allow
- Phone conversations with AO can be a good way to put a voice to you as an applicant.
So what has been your experience?
Signed,
Winsome Waitlister --waiting patiently with bated breath–in Wisconsin (well we really aren’t from Wisconsin but it has a nice ring to it)
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My son got on the WUSTL waitlist, did what was asked and eventually got a letter (maybe in July) that he wasn’t chosen. This was 2019.
My daughter was offered WL by Emory (went on) and W&M (declined her spot). She did not get off Emory. This was 2021.
I think the schools do a good job of letting you know - sign up - but look elsewhere (in a nice way) - and I think that’s good advice.
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My oldest was on a waitlist for U Penn. Eventually they declined her. She had already put down her deposit at USC but I really think she would have taken U Penn had it come in. I almost wish they had just declined in the first place.
I think my current D24 will decline her waitlist. She doesn’t feel like there is any point and she is probably right 
I am wondering whether the chance of getting accepted off a waitlist is greater for graduate programs and particularly for doctorates.
I am thinking that overbooking might be common for bachelor’s degree programs. However, for a PhD or DVM or MD program if they have very few positions (eg, some PhD programs may have a single digit number of acceptances each year), they might not be able to overbook.
A number of years ago one daughter was accepted off a waitlist for a DVM program. My recollection is that she had just decided to go somewhere else (to her #1 choice) and therefore turned it down quickly figuring that another student was likely to get good news that mattered to them.
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I do not know whether this will offer any encouragement for other students who have been waitlisted this year for undergraduate programs.
However, my daughter was just accepted off a waitlist for a PhD position. She got a “are you still interested” email last week, replied quickly (bullet item #5 from the list above is important), and just got her acceptance today. This is for a very good program for what she wants to study (I won’t say which one given the small size of the program and the second word in this web site’s name).
We are still a bit in shock, but excited.
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Congrats to her! So exciting 
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D24 got 2 waitlist offers. She declined one, and went on the other but I’ve heard nary a peep about it since.
She seems happy with her committed school, but she would probably talk to/visit the other school in the unlikely event she got off the waitlist. It has some unique characteristics that she probably hasn’t fully mulled over since it never hit the category of “real option”. Or maybe she would just say nah, especially if it drags on past mid-May.
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