The Annual Waitlist / Waiting Pool Reality Check Thread

[Anonymous]

As we approach decisions, it seems like a good time to revive the annual discussion about waitlists and pools. A few bullets:

• These are pools, not lists. There is not a rank of students. The schools use the pools to fill an under-yielded segment of their desired class. For example, a first chair violin or a starting quarterback will be tapped if they have a need for such a profile.
o You do not have a # on a waiting list, because there is no ranked list.
• Schools are very good at managing yield. They know from years of experience that for every 100 kids that they admit, XX% will enroll. They will also accept more kids than they have slots, knowing that no one has 100% yield. If a spot opens for a student in the waiting pool, it is only because of an anomaly in their predictive analytics and it is rare.
• Per above, someone saying “my kid is turning down a slot, so there is a slot open” is simply an incorrect assumption and provides false hope to those in the pool.
• A great many schools use the “waiting pool” as a soft rejection. Many do not reject anyone and simply offers a slot on the waiting pool to anyone who chooses.
• A very very very very very small percentage of students get off of the list. There are, of course, anecdotal circumstances of kids getting the call, but they are few and far between.
• The timing of a possible waiting pool admit is generally in two buckets: the initial commitment date (2-3 weeks after the acceptances go out) and on the contract binding date, typically June 1. Occasionally, a surprise move happens or someone getting laid off could trigger an opening (maybe more so this year). Again, any movement is rare.
• You should definitely not make plans with the assumption that there is a decent chance that your child will get out of the pool. They almost certainly will not.
• Writing a letter saying “if you let them in, they’ll definitely go” won’t hurt, but will also not really help.

In summary, it’s important to be realistic and not cling to false hope. The schools are guilty of dragging parents along because they feel better dangling the possibility of a waiting pool than doing the right thing, rejecting those who are not admitted. Hope for the best and keep your fingers crossed. People win lotteries and families get off of waiting pools. But, much like a lottery win is not a good retirement strategy, plan on schooling with the assumption that your kid will not get off the list and move on the plan B.

[Anonymous]

This is good information. Thanks for the reminder.

[Anonymous]

We got off two waiting lists at two big 5 in NW so it’s not impossible….

[Anonymous]

Getting nervous as March 7th approaches - is this the case for K-8's also?

[Anonymous]

It's the same across the board, regardless of grade. I am certain that people will point out that their kids were accepted off the waitlist. It definitely (obviously) happens. But the %, particularly at the 5-10 most competitive schools, is exceptionally low.

It's not meant to scare or discourage, just to be realistic and to not think that a waiting pool notification is a de facto acceptance.

[Anonymous]

My daughter got off the waiting list. That year one of my child was admitted and the other wait listed. I immediately enrolled the one who was admitted (as this was the top choice for the child waitlisted and the admitted child was too young to care). Then, I made sure to tell the school the following things: 1) I wanted to keep the kids together if possible. 2) The school was the waitlisted child's first choice and we would take a slot if one became available. 3) The school was a top choice for our family because it aligned with our values and what I wanted for my children's education (which was an extra bonus because my child loved the school). We got the call on the day contracts were due telling us that they could offer the second child a spot. The child who was waitlisted is doing really well at the school and it ended up being great. Had they not gotten off the waitlist, we likely would have tried a few years later in another entrance year, but glad we didn't have to do that.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for this. First time applicant and I was thinking that the wait lists were numbered. Thanks for explaining how the pools work

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My daughter got off the waiting list. That year one of my child was admitted and the other wait listed. I immediately enrolled the one who was admitted (as this was the top choice for the child waitlisted and the admitted child was too young to care). Then, I made sure to tell the school the following things: 1) I wanted to keep the kids together if possible. 2) The school was the waitlisted child's first choice and we would take a slot if one became available. 3) The school was a top choice for our family because it aligned with our values and what I wanted for my children's education (which was an extra bonus because my child loved the school). We got the call on the day contracts were due telling us that they could offer the second child a spot. The child who was waitlisted is doing really well at the school and it ended up being great. Had they not gotten off the waitlist, we likely would have tried a few years later in another entrance year, but glad we didn't have to do that.

Exciting! Great strategy

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We got off two waiting lists at two big 5 in NW so it’s not impossible….

The OP didn’t say it was impossible. They said it was very unlikely.

I think posters who suggest otherwise based on their own experience are doing anxious people a disservice.

[Anonymous]

Do they put in the decision letter explicitly that the applicant is being added to the waitlist or is it more vague like "try applying at another time"?

[Anonymous]

I actually don't think our school overenrolls expecting people to decline. (Although we have a very high yield so maybe we would if we didn't.)

[Anonymous]

To the previous two posts:

1. I don’t know which school your kids attend but they absolutely over enroll. The only exception would be like a 10 person preschool or something.

2. The emails will specifically say that there were many amazingly qualified applicants of which your child was unquestionably one. Sadly, there were so many well-qualified kids that they were unable to offer admission to all of them. If you’d like, they would be delighted to add you into their waiting pool in case a slot becomes available.

The pattern is always the same…your kid is great, the numbers are what they are, let us know if you want to be on the list.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To the previous two posts:

1. I don’t know which school your kids attend but they absolutely over enroll. The only exception would be like a 10 person preschool or something.

2. The emails will specifically say that there were many amazingly qualified applicants of which your child was unquestionably one. Sadly, there were so many well-qualified kids that they were unable to offer admission to all of them. If you’d like, they would be delighted to add you into their waiting pool in case a slot becomes available.

The pattern is always the same…your kid is great, the numbers are what they are, let us know if you want to be on the list.

So if they tell you to try applying next year, it's safe to assume that it's an outright rejection and not a waitlist situation.

[Anonymous]

To be honest, I’m unaware of people directly being told to apply again the following year (except in the cases of siblings). In the few (very few - like two) cases in which I’ve heard that, both actually got in the following year.

[Anonymous]

I think this year is going to be different with all the instability of the govt workforce and will perhaps have more WL movement as families decide if they can afford private if they lose their jobs.