Waiting Out The Waitlist

As the US Universities and Colleges admission cycle comes to an end, we are sure that ‘Congratulations’ is the order of the day! We do hope that you have choices before you and you will be spending the next month virtually exploring your colleges, connecting with Admission officers, attending webinars before you make your final decision.

Some of you may have been ‘Waitlisted’ and this is the time to initiate your strategy to navigate this opportunity.

What does a ‘Waitlist’ decision imply?

It implies that the college has kept your application under consideration to be fulfilled once their admitted students have confirmed their acceptances by paying their deposits. As students apply to multiple colleges and may have acceptances from more than one-their confirmation to a particular college would release seats from the others. This is where colleges use their pool of ‘waitlisted’ candidates.

Your conversion to an ‘acceptance’ is entirely dependent on the college’s discretion. Some colleges do have a ranked waitlist and they may inform you of the same; others fill in their classrooms according to ‘gaps’ in their class composition which may include balancing variables like academic proclivity, diversity, gender and  extracurricular skills. 

Navigating the ‘Waitlist’ options.

Colleges may ask you whether you would like to be considered to remain on the Waitlist and you would have a deadline to accept or reject. Weigh your options carefully-if you are happy with your acceptances, you should forego the ‘Waitlist’ option and pay your admission deposit on the college of your choice. 

However, if you choose to consider your Waitlist opportunities, these are the things you need to keep in mind:

• Accept your ‘Waitlist’-inform your college as per the protocols advised by them. If there are no set processes, inform them by email
• Express your interest in the college- build a compelling argument for your case while sharing any important updates. If the Waitlisted College is your first choice-do tell them
• Do not bombard them with multiple mails, additional letters of recommendations or have alumni call them on your behalf. This will have an adverse effect
• Do understand that there are no time frames for a decision on the Waitlist and greatly differs from college to college
• It is advisable to pay a deposit on one of your acceptances and reserve your seat. Understand, deposits are non-refundable
• If you do get the Waitlist College of your choice, do not forget to rescind your previous acceptance and release the seat

The Waitlist Letter

1. The letter should be polite and positive. Avoid clichés and dramatic statements.
2. Indicate your interest (first choice) right in the beginning.
3. Update all your achievements of the past 3 months i.e. since you sent out your application.
4. Do not repeat previously stated information.
5. In 3 Words-Short, Sweet and Specific.

Below is a sample letter. Based on the terms used by the college, your submission could also be in the format of an essay/statement.