Gonzaga waitlist movement?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teacher recommendations are important in Gonzaga’s admissions process as well. We know a legacy kid that was waitlisted (read: rejected) because he started to get into trouble in 8th grade. The teacher recs for this kid just weren’t there and no K-8 feeder school is going to risk its future applicant pool for a kid like that. So parents whose kids who are wondering what happened, maybe consider that.

As for getting off the waitlist, no boy is going to just get off the waitlist unless he’s expressed an intense desire to do so. I would have him handwrite a letter and deliver it in person to the Director of Admissions. Then have the principal of the school reach out to Gonzaga and have a teacher write another recommendation for him. In other words, gently pull out all the stops - but only if Gonzaga is really and truly your son’s first choice.

I posted above about my DS getting off the waitlist a couple of years ago. I would second getting another recommendation. One of his teachers wrote a letter without us asking. She felt he was a great candidate and saw how upset he was that he didn't get in.

OP here. Super advice on all counts, and I appreciate the different perspectives. Thanks so much to you both.

[Anonymous]

To the OP: I would second the advice of other posters to have your son send a note to the AD stressing that GZ is his first choice, and to ask his current principal or teacher to send an additional recommendation. And if ultimately he doesn’t get in, please know he is far from alone, and he is likely to do very well wherever he goes. The admissions scene is incredibly competitive in the DC area - having grown up in blue collar Pittsburgh attending a public school like everyone else I knew, it felt odd going through this high school application process with my oldest this year. FWIW, he applied to GZ as well and was rejected outright despite straight As, 99% HSPT, strong teacher recs, and several high school level math/science courses already behind him through several years’ participation in John Hopkins Center for Talented Youth program. He’s not a legacy, not athletic at all, and personality-wise more shy and reserved, so perhaps he wouldn’t have been the best fit in GZ’s more type A student environment, and I can imagine that came through to the admissions committee in his application. As others have mentioned, there is so much more than grades/scores that go into these decisions. Our son was ultimately accepted at other schools and will attend one that is a better fit for him (and that we were grateful to receive significant merit aid from). My point is that while he was disappointed to get a rejection, things worked out the way they were meant to. Here’s hoping your son makes it in off the waitlist, but even if he doesn’t, he sounds like a bright kid who will have a bright future no matter where he lands.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To the OP: I would second the advice of other posters to have your son send a note to the AD stressing that GZ is his first choice, and to ask his current principal or teacher to send an additional recommendation. And if ultimately he doesn’t get in, please know he is far from alone, and he is likely to do very well wherever he goes. The admissions scene is incredibly competitive in the DC area - having grown up in blue collar Pittsburgh attending a public school like everyone else I knew, it felt odd going through this high school application process with my oldest this year. FWIW, he applied to GZ as well and was rejected outright despite straight As, 99% HSPT, strong teacher recs, and several high school level math/science courses already behind him through several years’ participation in John Hopkins Center for Talented Youth program. He’s not a legacy, not athletic at all, and personality-wise more shy and reserved, so perhaps he wouldn’t have been the best fit in GZ’s more type A student environment, and I can imagine that came through to the admissions committee in his application. As others have mentioned, there is so much more than grades/scores that go into these decisions. Our son was ultimately accepted at other schools and will attend one that is a better fit for him (and that we were grateful to receive significant merit aid from). My point is that while he was disappointed to get a rejection, things worked out the way they were meant to. Here’s hoping your son makes it in off the waitlist, but even if he doesn’t, he sounds like a bright kid who will have a bright future no matter where he lands.

OP again: thank you for your kind message. I very much appreciate it.