What it Means to Be Waitlisted by a College

When Opening A Letter From A College, One Of The Last Things A Student Expects To Receive Is A Waitlisted Application...

When you are placed on a waitlist, there can be a lot of unresolved questions and hurt feelings. However, it’s important that you remember the purpose of a college waitlist, and what you can do to take more control of your applications fate on your end.

What You’ll Find In This Article

• What Does It Mean To Be Waitlisted by a College?
• Why Being Waitlisted Isn’t the End of the World
• How to Handle Being Waitlisted By Your Dream College
• Waitlisted College Applications Are Just Another Hurdle

What Does It Mean To Be Waitlisted By A College?

For many students, navigating the various college admission decisions can be confusing initially, and one of the most confusing decisions is when your application is waitlisted. A waitlisted college application meets the requirements for admissions, but the college has already filled all their available slots. Through the admissions process, as admitted students choose not to enroll or give up their slots, the college will turn to their waitlist to fill out the class.

The concept of admissions waitlists seem simple, but in practice these lists are complex. With the rise of online applications, it’s easier than ever for students to apply to multiple colleges. Naturally, students can only attend one college, even if they’re admitted to several. To account for the fact that students have more choices than ever, college admissions offices have been increasing the size of their waitlists. This way, the college is covered even if large numbers of admitted students choose to enroll elsewhere.

Unfortunately, this has led to waitlists too large for the class sizes they’re designed to support. So while waitlists are getting longer, the number of students being admitted from waitlists is not rising at the same rate.

While being admitted through your waitlisted college application is possible, it’s important to be aware of all the factors that go into your chances before you move on to planning your next steps.

Why Being Waitlisted Isn't The End Of The World

While sending out your applications, your mind will often run through the possible responses, both good and bad. “What if I’m rejected?” “How soon is too soon to respond to an acceptance letter? I don’t want to look overeager…”

However, the possibility of being waitlisted may not even cross your mind. If you’re not expecting colleges to even use waitlists, let alone put your application on one, it can come as a major shock.

Let’s be honest for a moment; it’s completely normal to be upset, angry, or even confused by any college admission decision other than an acceptance letter. You’ve poured your heart and hard work into your application, essays, and supplemental materials. Even students with acceptances to several Ivy League colleges may be left with a nagging ‘Why?’ when confronted with a single waitlisted application.

Even if you think you’re handling your waitlisted application well or that it isn’t even a big deal to begin with, it helps to take a step back from the college process for a moment to breathe. Recall that earlier we mentioned ballooning waitlist sizes, and know that you’re certainly not alone. Reach out to your family, peers, and counselors for support and encouragement before you start worrying about your next move.

How To Handle Being Waitlisted By Your Dream College

You’ve received a waitlist decision from your dream college, and needless to say you’re wondering what your next steps are. While there isn’t much under your control during this process, there are steps you can take to plan ahead for the rest of your college admissions journey and do what you can to boost your chances of admission to your dream college.

MAKE A CHOICE

When you receive word that your application has been waitlisted, you have a choice to make: will you accept the waitlist position or decline the spot? This is not a choice that you should make lightly or quickly, even if you’re disappointed to be on the waitlist in the first place.

Accepting your position on the waitlist allows you to keep your spot and be considered as admitted students withdraw or fail to enroll. Because this was your dream college, you’ll likely want to accept the position to keep your chances alive.

However, if you’ve been accepted to other colleges at the top of your list, you may want to decline the waitlist spot. Not only is this a courtesy to your peers on the waitlist who may not have been accepted elsewhere yet, but it will also allow you to shift your focus toward other colleges.

DEVELOP A PLAN

Always check with the college’s admissions office for their rules about waitlisted applications before you start developing your plan. While some colleges may ask that waitlisted students stop sending new application material, other colleges may be happy to hear from you.

Your plan from here should feature two parts: your plan for the waitlisted application, and your overall college plan. As you think about your next steps, consider the following questions:

• How will you handle it if you eventually receive a rejection from your dream college?
• What schools have you been accepted to so far? Out of those, which school are you likely to attend?
• Would a gap year help you reach your academic goals?
• Is there a possibility of transferring to your dream school from a different college?
• What steps can you take to increase your chances of being admitted from the waitlist?

STAY IN TOUCH

If you’ve decided to accept your position on the waitlist, it’s time for you to start doing what you can on your end to improve your chances. Colleges, especially those with holistic admission processes, consider your level of interest at least somewhat during the admissions process. Even if they don’t officially consider student contact in their admissions decisions, colleges do take note of sustained interest.

Your first step should be to email the admissions office to thank them for their consideration and reaffirm your interest in attending. After this, schedule another tour of the school when you feel you’re ready. Continue to interact with the college at fairs, conventions, and other outreach events. While you don’t want to spam the admissions office in an attempt to keep your name on the top of their minds (and some schools outright warn waitlisted students not to pester them about their application), you do want to take advantage of every opportunity to stay in touch with your dream college.

SUBMIT NEW SCORES

If your dream college allows students on the waitlist to submit new ACT or SAT scores, you should consider retaking these tests to improve your chances. However, at this point you may not have the time to study to raise your score by large amounts. Make a study plan for the time you have and learn test-taking strategies that can help you increase your score if you do choose to retake the tests.

WORK WITH YOUR COUNSELOR

Now more than ever is the time to lean on your college counselor for support and guidance. As you work on developing a plan for your next step in higher education, your counselor will be able to offer you valuable insight and help you keep your goals front and center. Often, your counselor will direct you toward the areas of the college application process you can control: your grades, essays, and test scores.

Do what you can to improve your grades, but now is not the time to lose sleep over Bs and Cs. If your grades are lackluster this far into your senior year, your time is much better spent talking with your college counselor about how you can best set yourself up for success in college. Whether that means learning how to study for tests without procrastinating or how to reach out for help when you’re struggling, you need to nail down the cause of your bad grades before they follow you into college; wherever that may be.

Waitlisted College Applications Are Just Another Hurdle

Having your college application waitlisted is a difficult challenge for anyone. After spending hours researching a college and working on your application, it can be crushing to receive no immediate decision on admission. If you have your heart set on this college, there is only so much you can do to improve your chances before you have to simply wait to hear a final decision.

However, always remember the other colleges that you’ve applied to, especially those that have accepted you. While one college may have placed you on their waitlist, you may be able to turn your focus toward your other applications and improve your chances there.

Fortunately, our WeAdmit counselors are experienced with helping students throughout the entire college application process. We’ll help you create a plan to get through the ups and downs of your application experience, and we’ll teach you the strategies and tried-and-true techniques that will help you make your applications shine.

Being Waitlisted Is Difficult, But It Doesn’t Have To Derail Your College Future!