A few years ago my niece was WL at Duke so deposited at another school. In midMay her regional rep called and asked if she was stilll interested and if she would accept if offered admission. It was her #1, so she received an email and had an offer. She accepted.

The waitlist is a schools way of saying "You'd probably do just fine here, but we just don't have enough beds in the freshman dorms. " Most schools understand their yields quite well, so they often don't even go to the waitlist. The schools also have waitlists of 1000+ to give themselves options. A waitlist spot is the equivalent of a rejection, plus a compliment and a lottery ticket.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The worst feeling is a defer and then waitlist.

I saw that in Case Western CC page today. Kids with top stats. Then kids with lower stats applying RD with acceptance. Those kids are seriously turned off. My DD made it EA but their FA sucks.

Case admits up to 1/3 of its class from WL. They will ask you weekly if you want the spot, give your FA option too. It is a nice way of increasing their yield. They say it is because they guarantee housing.

Privates are usually very careful about over-enrollment because of housing limitations. They will use the waitlist.

Anonymous wrote:My DS was WL at an elite school. I was actually surprised by this as he was well qualified for that school. In April he received a National award in his area. He wrote that in required WL letter. They called us the next day and offered admission. But DS wouldn’t take it. I forgot we were dealing with a teenager here— feeling we’re hurt. Announcements had been made. He declined and nothing would change his mind.

Years ago I was waitlisted by my top choice NESCAC school and won a big award that I shared with the school. They offered me a spot very soon after and I jumped on it. It was the best decision for me and I loved my time there. I also met my husband and so many great friends. Just wanted to share the other side as well because sometimes you get off the list and decide to take the second chance and it works out great too.

I was ready to attend another school but I'm glad I was still open to my first choice because I can't imagine my life any other way. In the end, there are so many great opportunities so I think students need to keep an open mind and weigh everything. Good luck OP!

My DS was WL at an elite school. I was actually surprised by this as he was well qualified for that school. In April he received a National award in his area. He wrote that in required WL letter. They called us the next day and offered admission. But DS wouldn’t take it. I forgot we were dealing with a teenager here— feeling we’re hurt. Announcements had been made. He declined and nothing would change his mind.

Anonymous wrote:The worst feeling is a defer and then waitlist.

I saw that in Case Western CC page today. Kids with top stats. Then kids with lower stats applying RD with acceptance. Those kids are seriously turned off. My DD made it EA but their FA sucks.

Case admits up to 1/3 of its class from WL. They will ask you weekly if you want the spot, give your FA option too. It is a nice way of increasing their yield. They say it is because they guarantee housing.

To the parent who asked: being wait listed is one possible admission outcome. You can learn you were admitted, rejected or waitlisted. They expect you to contact them and state whether you want to be on the wait list (after they offer this option to you).

The vast majority of waitlisted kids don't get in. The ones that do are usually notified AFTER the deadline for them accepting an offer from (and paying the deposit at) another school. It can be quite late in the process (like late summer). It's emotionally hard on the child who wanted the WL school. Dampens their excitement about, and commitment to, the school they accepted.

I think it is a way to jerk kids around. Mine was waitlisted at Franklin & Marshall. After the deadline for accepting another school, they called and dangled the likelihood of admission, but would not make that definite until he would commit to accepting. That approach helps their stats, but is not exactly scrupulous. I was proud of my child for telling them he was no longer interested.

My DC received 2 admits, 3 WLs over the weekend.

2 WLs are obvious to turn down, as they weren't as high on their list as the admits. Turning down the 3rd would be a no-brainer to me, but not DC.

Personally, I HATE WLs. Just prolongs the pain of rejection since most schools have a few hundred on the WL for fewer than 10 slots.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I read somewhere that you should probably just say no to the waitlist, it causes too much stress and ultimately false hope.

I'm new to this and not sure I understand this process. At what point do you "say no to waitlist"? Do they actually ask you? What would be the downside of being on a waitlist as opposed to being rejected?

Just an anecdote - A couple of years ago a school where my DS was on the waitlist emailed in early May to reconfirm that DS wanted to stay on the WL. DS replied, no, take me off, I'm going somewhere else. Then someone from the WL school called him to say, are you sure, because we were going to offer you a spot. DS told them, yeah, I'm sure.

Anonymous wrote:The worst feeling is a defer and then waitlist.

I saw that in Case Western CC page today. Kids with top stats. Then kids with lower stats applying RD with acceptance. Those kids are seriously turned off. My DD made it EA but their FA sucks.

CWRU considers demonstrated interest. Many of those high stats kids didn’t visit or considered Case as their safety.

Anonymous wrote:I read somewhere that you should probably just say no to the waitlist, it causes too much stress and ultimately false hope.

I'm new to this and not sure I understand this process. At what point do you "say no to waitlist"? Do they actually ask you? What would be the downside of being on a waitlist as opposed to being rejected?

Anonymous wrote:The worst feeling is a defer and then waitlist.

I saw that in Case Western CC page today. Kids with top stats. Then kids with lower stats applying RD with acceptance. Those kids are seriously turned off. My DD made it EA but their FA sucks.

How did Case Western's aid compare with what the cost estimator tool predicted?

The worst feeling is a defer and then waitlist.

I saw that in Case Western CC page today. Kids with top stats. Then kids with lower stats applying RD with acceptance. Those kids are seriously turned off. My DD made it EA but their FA sucks.

contacted admissions director