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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]The time to respond to a waitlist offer can be as short as 2 days. If a kid is on a waitlist at this point in May, they should know without a doubt that they would take the spot. [/quote]The advice to treat waitlist offers as rejections establishes an unrealistic standard. This approach might work if your acceptance is strictly based on school ranking, as many candidates on multiple waitlists do seem to be doing. However, the real issue comes down to your willingness to risk a deposit.
Waitlists and short commitment windows are designed to benefit schools, not students. I see no problem with accepting a waitlist offer and paying a deposit while keeping options open. Schools have every incentive to leverage their position when students are eager for admission. Should you remain committed to two schools until August? No. Is there anything wrong with paying a deposit to extend your decision timeline by a week? Not at all. You aren't taking someone else's spot—you're simply requiring the school to maintain their waitlist longer.

My child recently received a waitlist offer, and fortunately, we were given adequate time to visit and make what we hope is a thoughtful decision. Since this school rarely uses its waitlist, the offer came as a surprise. Even with the extra time, we're still disadvantaged by missing admitted students' day and campus visits while students were present. Some might suggest we should have visited during the application process, but our time and resources were limited.[/quote]

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