Anonymous
05/18/2026 15:34
Subject: Am I right to read this as a waitlist acceptance?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I worked in admissions in a T10 law school. We didn’t admit anyone from the waitlist without doing this. Usually by phone because we wanted to judge the response. Every once in a while we’d still get skunked because after our offer (which they had accepted) then an even higher ranked school would admit them from their WL. It just the way it works. Now mind you our incoming class sizes were much smaller to manage.
Judge the response? What do you mean? If they didn't sound excited enough, then what?
Hesitates, seems unsure, asks lots of questions about FA, seems to be buying for time, asks for extension, etc. You become a good judge over time. As another PP noted it’s partially about yield but also just that AOs have been grinding all admissions season and just want to be done. So if the next guy on the list is more eager than you or you give off red flags, we’ll go with him.
DP. How long ago was this? I think today people are much more awkward and anxious and more people would act like that. 20 years ago I can picture myself saying "Yep, I'm still interested, thanks." Today I would probably be overthinking: "why are they calling? Is this yield protection? I need to go online and see if others got this call and how they responded." I can't ever imagine myself acting all excited because that's just not my personality.
I agree; I think it's weird to judge someone's interest based on how they react on a cold call, especially a 17-year-old who doesn't have any experience with this sort of thing.
They are literally asking "are you still interested in getting off the waitlist." They aren't judging the kid, they're asking them outright if they want the offer or not.
That's the case of the OP, but this was a side conversation from someone who cold called and did judge based on the reaction (although that was for law school).
I’m that PP. we’d call and say something like “I’m calling from X school. We are looking at potentially having a little bit of availability in our upcoming class and were wondering what your plans were and if you were still interested in attending.”
Based on their response, it was pretty easy to judge eagerness or not. It’s not that complicated. I didn’t mean “judge” as in think less of them. I meant do they actually sound excited or not really. IME, the ones who actually ended up coming accepted on the spot or call back within a couple hours. Those who needed extra time “to think” or whatever weren’t going to come anyway so it was better to just move on to the next person without making the formal offer. We didn’t even run the acceptance letter until we got a firm verbal commit.
So you required a verbal commitment before they could see the costs laid out? And asking about costs would be a sign that you should move on to a more eager person?
Is my takeaway accurate that if money is a factor, we just shouldn’t bother with waitlists?
Anonymous
05/18/2026 15:29
Subject: Am I right to read this as a waitlist acceptance?
It sounds like an opportunity to get admitted off the WL if she responds that she will commit if accepted.
Anonymous
05/18/2026 15:23
Subject: Am I right to read this as a waitlist acceptance?
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.
+1
Anonymous
05/18/2026 15:16
Subject: Am I right to read this as a waitlist acceptance?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I worked in admissions in a T10 law school. We didn’t admit anyone from the waitlist without doing this. Usually by phone because we wanted to judge the response. Every once in a while we’d still get skunked because after our offer (which they had accepted) then an even higher ranked school would admit them from their WL. It just the way it works. Now mind you our incoming class sizes were much smaller to manage.
Judge the response? What do you mean? If they didn't sound excited enough, then what?
Hesitates, seems unsure, asks lots of questions about FA, seems to be buying for time, asks for extension, etc. You become a good judge over time. As another PP noted it’s partially about yield but also just that AOs have been grinding all admissions season and just want to be done. So if the next guy on the list is more eager than you or you give off red flags, we’ll go with him.
DP. How long ago was this? I think today people are much more awkward and anxious and more people would act like that. 20 years ago I can picture myself saying "Yep, I'm still interested, thanks." Today I would probably be overthinking: "why are they calling? Is this yield protection? I need to go online and see if others got this call and how they responded." I can't ever imagine myself acting all excited because that's just not my personality.
I agree; I think it's weird to judge someone's interest based on how they react on a cold call, especially a 17-year-old who doesn't have any experience with this sort of thing.
They are literally asking "are you still interested in getting off the waitlist." They aren't judging the kid, they're asking them outright if they want the offer or not.
That's the case of the OP, but this was a side conversation from someone who cold called and did judge based on the reaction (although that was for law school).
I’m that PP. we’d call and say something like “I’m calling from X school. We are looking at potentially having a little bit of availability in our upcoming class and were wondering what your plans were and if you were still interested in attending.”
Based on their response, it was pretty easy to judge eagerness or not. It’s not that complicated. I didn’t mean “judge” as in think less of them. I meant do they actually sound excited or not really. IME, the ones who actually ended up coming accepted on the spot or call back within a couple hours. Those who needed extra time “to think” or whatever weren’t going to come anyway so it was better to just move on to the next person without making the formal offer. We didn’t even run the acceptance letter until we got a firm verbal commit.
Anonymous
05/18/2026 15:11
Subject: Am I right to read this as a waitlist acceptance?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I worked in admissions in a T10 law school. We didn’t admit anyone from the waitlist without doing this. Usually by phone because we wanted to judge the response. Every once in a while we’d still get skunked because after our offer (which they had accepted) then an even higher ranked school would admit them from their WL. It just the way it works. Now mind you our incoming class sizes were much smaller to manage.
Judge the response? What do you mean? If they didn't sound excited enough, then what?
Hesitates, seems unsure, asks lots of questions about FA, seems to be buying for time, asks for extension, etc. You become a good judge over time. As another PP noted it’s partially about yield but also just that AOs have been grinding all admissions season and just want to be done. So if the next guy on the list is more eager than you or you give off red flags, we’ll go with him.
DP. How long ago was this? I think today people are much more awkward and anxious and more people would act like that. 20 years ago I can picture myself saying "Yep, I'm still interested, thanks." Today I would probably be overthinking: "why are they calling? Is this yield protection? I need to go online and see if others got this call and how they responded." I can't ever imagine myself acting all excited because that's just not my personality.
I agree; I think it's weird to judge someone's interest based on how they react on a cold call, especially a 17-year-old who doesn't have any experience with this sort of thing.
They are literally asking "are you still interested in getting off the waitlist." They aren't judging the kid, they're asking them outright if they want the offer or not.
That's the case of the OP, but this was a side conversation from someone who cold called and did judge based on the reaction (although that was for law school).
Anonymous
05/18/2026 14:57
Subject: Am I right to read this as a waitlist acceptance?
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.
Then decline, or preemptively remove yourself form the waitlist. But don't complaint about an email that many people would be thrilled to get. That makes you an ass.
Anonymous
05/18/2026 14:51
Subject: Am I right to read this as a waitlist acceptance?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I worked in admissions in a T10 law school. We didn’t admit anyone from the waitlist without doing this. Usually by phone because we wanted to judge the response. Every once in a while we’d still get skunked because after our offer (which they had accepted) then an even higher ranked school would admit them from their WL. It just the way it works. Now mind you our incoming class sizes were much smaller to manage.
Judge the response? What do you mean? If they didn't sound excited enough, then what?
Hesitates, seems unsure, asks lots of questions about FA, seems to be buying for time, asks for extension, etc. You become a good judge over time. As another PP noted it’s partially about yield but also just that AOs have been grinding all admissions season and just want to be done. So if the next guy on the list is more eager than you or you give off red flags, we’ll go with him.
DP. How long ago was this? I think today people are much more awkward and anxious and more people would act like that. 20 years ago I can picture myself saying "Yep, I'm still interested, thanks." Today I would probably be overthinking: "why are they calling? Is this yield protection? I need to go online and see if others got this call and how they responded." I can't ever imagine myself acting all excited because that's just not my personality.
I agree; I think it's weird to judge someone's interest based on how they react on a cold call, especially a 17-year-old who doesn't have any experience with this sort of thing.
They are literally asking "are you still interested in getting off the waitlist." They aren't judging the kid, they're asking them outright if they want the offer or not.
Anonymous
05/18/2026 14:48
Subject: Am I right to read this as a waitlist acceptance?
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.
+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.
Yield protection is when you waitlist the top students, not when you gauge interest of people on the waitlist.
Anonymous
05/18/2026 14:42
Subject: Am I right to read this as a waitlist acceptance?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I worked in admissions in a T10 law school. We didn’t admit anyone from the waitlist without doing this. Usually by phone because we wanted to judge the response. Every once in a while we’d still get skunked because after our offer (which they had accepted) then an even higher ranked school would admit them from their WL. It just the way it works. Now mind you our incoming class sizes were much smaller to manage.
Judge the response? What do you mean? If they didn't sound excited enough, then what?
Hesitates, seems unsure, asks lots of questions about FA, seems to be buying for time, asks for extension, etc. You become a good judge over time. As another PP noted it’s partially about yield but also just that AOs have been grinding all admissions season and just want to be done. So if the next guy on the list is more eager than you or you give off red flags, we’ll go with him.
DP. How long ago was this? I think today people are much more awkward and anxious and more people would act like that. 20 years ago I can picture myself saying "Yep, I'm still interested, thanks." Today I would probably be overthinking: "why are they calling? Is this yield protection? I need to go online and see if others got this call and how they responded." I can't ever imagine myself acting all excited because that's just not my personality.
NP. I got a call like this 20 years ago and I doubt I was that excited, but I just said yes. I'm not sure why a 17 year old would care about yield protection. Either you want to go to the school offering you a spot or you don't.
Anonymous
05/18/2026 14:39
Subject: Am I right to read this as a waitlist acceptance?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I worked in admissions in a T10 law school. We didn’t admit anyone from the waitlist without doing this. Usually by phone because we wanted to judge the response. Every once in a while we’d still get skunked because after our offer (which they had accepted) then an even higher ranked school would admit them from their WL. It just the way it works. Now mind you our incoming class sizes were much smaller to manage.
Judge the response? What do you mean? If they didn't sound excited enough, then what?
Hesitates, seems unsure, asks lots of questions about FA, seems to be buying for time, asks for extension, etc. You become a good judge over time. As another PP noted it’s partially about yield but also just that AOs have been grinding all admissions season and just want to be done. So if the next guy on the list is more eager than you or you give off red flags, we’ll go with him.
DP. How long ago was this? I think today people are much more awkward and anxious and more people would act like that. 20 years ago I can picture myself saying "Yep, I'm still interested, thanks." Today I would probably be overthinking: "why are they calling? Is this yield protection? I need to go online and see if others got this call and how they responded." I can't ever imagine myself acting all excited because that's just not my personality.
I agree; I think it's weird to judge someone's interest based on how they react on a cold call, especially a 17-year-old who doesn't have any experience with this sort of thing.
Anonymous
05/18/2026 14:38
Subject: Am I right to read this as a waitlist acceptance?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:This is OP. I was starting to doubt myself and worry that I had gotten DD's hopes up, so I messaged the admissions director for confirmation and she said DD will get an offer tomorrow. So yay!
This admissions process has been so painful ...
Can you share what school this is? Curious which schools have movement as my DD is on a bunch of waitlists.
Rather than “out” the OP, check the Collection Confidential waitlist thread that is updated constantly. The stick at the top lists all schools with the first day(s) of waitlist movement.
https://talk.collegeconfidential.com/t/2026-college-waitlist-post-verified-waitlist-movement-here-school-and-date-please/3702287/79
Anonymous
05/18/2026 14:37
Subject: Am I right to read this as a waitlist acceptance?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:This is OP. I was starting to doubt myself and worry that I had gotten DD's hopes up, so I messaged the admissions director for confirmation and she said DD will get an offer tomorrow. So yay!
This admissions process has been so painful ...
Can you share what school this is? Curious which schools have movement as my DD is on a bunch of waitlists.
I will when it's official. I feel weird doing it before that.
Anonymous
05/18/2026 14:34
Subject: Am I right to read this as a waitlist acceptance?
Anonymous wrote:This is OP. I was starting to doubt myself and worry that I had gotten DD's hopes up, so I messaged the admissions director for confirmation and she said DD will get an offer tomorrow. So yay!
This admissions process has been so painful ...
Can you share what school this is? Curious which schools have movement as my DD is on a bunch of waitlists.
Anonymous
05/18/2026 14:33
Subject: Am I right to read this as a waitlist acceptance?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I worked in admissions in a T10 law school. We didn’t admit anyone from the waitlist without doing this. Usually by phone because we wanted to judge the response. Every once in a while we’d still get skunked because after our offer (which they had accepted) then an even higher ranked school would admit them from their WL. It just the way it works. Now mind you our incoming class sizes were much smaller to manage.
Judge the response? What do you mean? If they didn't sound excited enough, then what?
Hesitates, seems unsure, asks lots of questions about FA, seems to be buying for time, asks for extension, etc. You become a good judge over time. As another PP noted it’s partially about yield but also just that AOs have been grinding all admissions season and just want to be done. So if the next guy on the list is more eager than you or you give off red flags, we’ll go with him.
DP. How long ago was this? I think today people are much more awkward and anxious and more people would act like that. 20 years ago I can picture myself saying "Yep, I'm still interested, thanks." Today I would probably be overthinking: "why are they calling? Is this yield protection? I need to go online and see if others got this call and how they responded." I can't ever imagine myself acting all excited because that's just not my personality.
Anonymous
05/18/2026 14:28
Subject: Am I right to read this as a waitlist acceptance?
Anonymous wrote:Do waitlist admits count for the yield stats?
Yes. And assuming you are assured of a yes, then it adds a 1 to the numerator (offer accepted) and a 1 to the denominator (offer extended.) It’s great for yield.