Am I right to read this as a waitlist acceptance?

[Anonymous]

DD got this today from a SLAC for which she is on the waitlist:

Dear XXX,

I'm reaching out because you previously shared your interest in remaining on the waiting list at XXX, and I'm delighted to share that we have space in the Class of 2030 to admit a small number of students.

Please let me know if you remain interested by responding to this email by 9:00 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time on Tuesday, May 19.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out.

Sincerely,

XXX
Director of Admission
XXX College

Am I right to read this as an acceptance off the waitlist? It is just phrased a little weirdly.

[Anonymous]

Yes.

[Anonymous]

It sounds like a yield obsessed school, they want to gauage interest before making formal offer. If you want a formal offer call them and state you intend to commit if the offer is in your budget.

[Anonymous]

Yes, I think so. my child got a few of these last year but they were phone calls, not emails.

[Anonymous]

Does your kid want to go there?

[Anonymous]

It's a prompt for your kid to reply yes and likely get a waitlist acceptance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does your kid want to go there?

It took a bit for her to process the news (this school usually takes about 3-4 percent of kids off the waitlist, so it was unexpected), but yes. She responded to the email as requested. I guess we'll see what the follow-up is.

[Anonymous]

Yes- my son was admitted to Duke in August of last year with an email like this. Of course they had “closed” the WL in June and magically reopened it.

[Anonymous]

I hate these offers. my kid got several last year. the kids are trying to take APs, find a roommate, finish high school (which at our school included a 20 page paper and a full week of cumulative exams--so a lot of work until the very end) and then it's like "you have 48 hours to decide on a new school you may or may not have ever visited." And before you say "why did your kid apply to schools they didn't visit?" Well, it wasn't in the budget to fly to a dozen different cities, including many with 5% chance of admission.

[Anonymous]

Great news, OP!

[Anonymous]

It means exactly what it says, no more and no less.

Think about how many people click "yes" for the waitlist when they first get that letter in March. The school is just trying to figure out if you're still interested.

Are you? Reply yes.
Not interested? Withdraw and don't reply.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hate these offers. my kid got several last year. the kids are trying to take APs, find a roommate, finish high school (which at our school included a 20 page paper and a full week of cumulative exams--so a lot of work until the very end) and then it's like "you have 48 hours to decide on a new school you may or may not have ever visited." And before you say "why did your kid apply to schools they didn't visit?" Well, it wasn't in the budget to fly to a dozen different cities, including many with 5% chance of admission.

You'd think that you would only stay on the waitlist for a school you want to attend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hate these offers. my kid got several last year. the kids are trying to take APs, find a roommate, finish high school (which at our school included a 20 page paper and a full week of cumulative exams--so a lot of work until the very end) and then it's like "you have 48 hours to decide on a new school you may or may not have ever visited." And before you say "why did your kid apply to schools they didn't visit?" Well, it wasn't in the budget to fly to a dozen different cities, including many with 5% chance of admission.

Yes, we went to many, many admitted students events last month because she was waitlisted and rejected from her two top choices (this wasn't one of those). She ultimately didn't fall in love with any of the schools but picked the one she thought she liked the best. It would have been nice to have been able to attend this school's admitted student program.

Anyway, she replied affirmatively to the email from the admissions director and I guess we will see what happens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hate these offers. my kid got several last year. the kids are trying to take APs, find a roommate, finish high school (which at our school included a 20 page paper and a full week of cumulative exams--so a lot of work until the very end) and then it's like "you have 48 hours to decide on a new school you may or may not have ever visited." And before you say "why did your kid apply to schools they didn't visit?" Well, it wasn't in the budget to fly to a dozen different cities, including many with 5% chance of admission.

You'd think that you would only stay on the waitlist for a school you want to attend.

Your post makes no sense. My kid may have never visited Brown or Northwestern but if given the waitlist they're going to stay on if the current best option is a top 35 school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hate these offers. my kid got several last year. the kids are trying to take APs, find a roommate, finish high school (which at our school included a 20 page paper and a full week of cumulative exams--so a lot of work until the very end) and then it's like "you have 48 hours to decide on a new school you may or may not have ever visited." And before you say "why did your kid apply to schools they didn't visit?" Well, it wasn't in the budget to fly to a dozen different cities, including many with 5% chance of admission.

+1000

It's 100% yield protection, OP. If she says yes, she'll get an offer. If she says no or doesn't respond, they will go to someone else. Heaven forbid another person actually turn down this school, although obviously, they are dealing with egg on their face because their projected yield didn't work out so well this year. So embarrassing for them.