How to Get Off a College Waitlist
by Daniela Reichelstein
So, like many other college applicants, you’ve found yourself in limbo, wait-listed at your first-choice school. How do you get off a college waitlist? Be sure to promptly respond to that school’s waitlist invitation so you formally accept a spot on the waitlist. Next, consider taking the additional concrete steps outlined below that will increase your shot at getting off the waitlist and gaining admission to your dream school. Note that being deferred is different than being wait-listed. Read this blog post for more information on what to do if you are deferred.
The Implications of Being Wait-Listed
Ending up on a college’s waitlist means you’re a competitive candidate, but that at the end of the day, certain considerations prevented you from being accepted to that college. Indeed, a multitude of factors, many out of your control, could have swayed the college’s decision not to accept you right off the bat. Each school, in attempting to admit a well-rounded class, considers a plethora of factors such as candidates’ academic profile, depth of extra-curriculars, diversity, personal qualities and lived experiences.
Unfortunately, being wait-listed has become increasingly common because of a recent surge in the overall number of U.S. college applications, especially applications at “reach” schools. This phenomenon is a product of many schools adopting test-optional policies during the years 2020-2023 due to COVID. A 2021 survey found that about 20% of high school seniors ended up on at least one waitlist that year. To complicate things further, the odds of predicting whether you’ll make it off the waitlist are incredibly slim. Historically, the waitlist acceptance rate at a particular school has varied sporadically from year to year. There are no major discernable patterns in waitlist acceptance rates, other than generally low acceptance rates at top tier schools and liberal arts colleges. According to NACAC, approximately 20% of students, on average, are ultimately accepted from waitlists. However, that figure is much lower for the most selective schools, usually hovering around 7%. Occasionally, a school will yield more students than anticipated in a given year, meaning that no one from the waitlist is admitted.
While it’s futile to try and predict your chances of getting off a waitlist, it’s important not to just sit on your hands. An admissions office may reevaluate your wait-listed application if fewer admitted students accept the college’s offer than expected. In other words, if a college has overestimated its yield (the number of admitted students who accept their admission offers), it will typically dip into its waitlist in order to reach its regular class size. This means that come National College Decision Day on May 1st, admissions officers might start conferring about wait-listed applicants. Therefore, you should take the below actions well before the May 1st deadline.
Send a Letter of Continued Interest and Supporting Materials
While there are numerous factors, many out of your hands, that will impact your ability to be admitted from a waitlist, expressing interest in the school is one factor that’s fully in your control. Each admissions cycle, colleges vigorously attempt to protect their yield rates by extending offers of admission to candidates who seem likely to accept such offers. Consequently, it’s recommended that a wait-listed student prepare a Letter of Continued Interest (LOCI) to be sent to the admissions offices of the schools where they are wait-listed. Alternatively, an email or a phone call to a student’s regional admissions representative, while more informal, could also do the trick.
Convey Your Continued Interest & Explain Why the School is a Great Fit for You
In your LOCI letter, make one last attempt to convey your continued interest in attending this school and the reasons you believe the college represents a great fit for you. Provide two to three brief but compelling reasons that explain why you think this school is an exceptional match for you. Additionally, if you intend to enroll if you’re admitted, be sure to include this information in your communication. A college’s admissions office will be far more likely to admit a student if it’s confident the student will enroll.
If your interest in the school has deepened since you submitted your application, provide comprehensive reasons for this circumstance. Specifically, if you visited the college’s campus, include vivid details about what you observed and enjoyed during your visit. Conversely, if you have not visited campus yet, consider doing so and scheduling a meeting with your admissions representative to make a good impression and put a face to your application.
If the school you’re wait-listed at offers alumni interviews, then schedule one if you haven’t already. Participating in an alumni interview will not only illuminate your interest in the school, but will also provide admissions with more, compelling information about you.
Communicate Any Significant Developments Since You Submitted Your Application
In your letter or email to the admissions office, include a few details about any remarkable new developments or accomplishments since you submitted your application. However, double check that the information you’re imparting isn’t already echoed in your application – the last thing you want to do is to furnish admissions with redundant information.
Think carefully about any new recognitions or awards you’ve received or impactful extracurricular activities that you’ve partaken in. For example, you could write about a debate competition that you won, research that you got published or a unique initiative that you started or significantly expanded since your application. Then, ensure that you explain how this award or activity exhibits your commitment to and passion for a related academic field or social issue. Ideally, you would have already expressed your enthusiasm for this particular subject in your original application. In other words, as you draft this new communication to admissions, try to enhance or deepen the compelling narrative that you created about yourself in your Personal Statement and supplemental essays.
Provide Evidence of Any New Developments or Accomplishments
You should send the admissions office documented evidence of any new developments or accomplishments. List any additional documentation that you’ll be providing in your letter of continued interest and let the office know when these materials are expected to arrive. That way, the college will wait to receive these materials before conducting an in-depth review of your file. Ideally, strive to send these documents to the admissions office in one package or email to avoid inundating the office with too many separate communications.
Consider providing the following additional documentation if you believe it will boost your application:
· Most recent grades: Instruct your high school registrar to send your official second semester, senior year quarterly grade report. If you’re still on the waitlist past your final high school report, then have your official final report sent too if you earned good grades.
· Improved standardized test scores: If you already submitted an SAT or an ACT score, consider retaking the test if you believe you can score significantly higher. Then have your higher score reports officially sent to the school.
· Teacher recommendation: If you’re currently excelling in a course but didn’t already ask the teacher of that course for a letter of recommendation, consider doing so now. This letter should emphasize your academic aptitude and articulate why you believe you would thrive at the college where you are wait-listed.
· Counselor recommendation: Because your counselor will be the one who sends your mid-year grade report, you could also ask for another updated recommendation acknowledging your waitlist situation and reiterating your exceptional qualities and interest in the school. Your counselor could also share his or her perspective on any new awards you earned or your recent involvement in notable extracurriculars.
· Mentor or supervisor recommendation: If you’ve engaged in a significant new extracurricular activity since your application, you could ask your mentor or supervisor for a recommendation. For example, your mentor could have overseen a volunteer endeavor, a research project or your leadership on a sports team. In any case, ensure that your mentor knows you well and will be able to attest to this new work or accomplishment since you submitted your college application.
· Alumni recommendation: If you have a relationship with an alumna or alumnus of the school where you are wait-listed, consider requesting a letter of recommendation. Only do so if that individual knows you well and has the ability to describe all of the positive traits you will contribute to the school.
Be Mindful of the Following Etiquette in Your Communications
Whatever your mode of communication with the admissions office, your communications should adhere to a certain etiquette. First and foremost, read and follow any directions from the college where you are wait-listed. For example, if that school specifically asks you not to send any additional letters of recommendation, then don’t do it!
Similarly, don’t pester admissions officers – they are already likely overwhelmed at this time of year, and being a pest will only make you appear more desperate, ultimately harming your chances of being admitted. Only write one letter or email of continued interest. If possible, try to include any additional materials, such as letters of recommendation and transcripts, in that single communication. Similarly, don’t send anything that’s extremely long. Admissions officers won’t appreciate having to leaf through voluminous materials that are practically the length of your initial application. Carefully select the most important points that you want to convey and then get to the point.
Finally, scrutinize the tone of your writing – avoid coming across as angry, anxious, arrogant, bitter or depressed. Instead, just be the authentic self that you portrayed in your application, while continuing to emphasize your ability to contribute to the school’s campus by means of your intellect, engagement and desire to make an impact in the world.
Other Considerations for Wait-Listed Students
While you’re in waitlist limbo, there are a few more critical considerations for you to track apart from submitting a continued letter of interest and supporting materials.
Keep Your Grades High
As some of your classmates become plagued with senioritis, remind yourself that continued achievement counts. The college where you are wait-listed will be monitoring wait-listed candidates and pinpointing reasons to admit them. Remember that your second semester grades and other extracurricular accomplishments will directly impact a college’s decision to accept you from the waitlist.
Accept Your Best Offer of Admission – Send Enrollment Deposit
Come May 1st, you will also want to submit a deposit to your top-choice school that you’ve actually been admitted to so that you’re set to attend college in the fall. If you’re accepted off the waitlist at the school you’d rather attend, you will have to forfeit that deposit (keep in mind that deposits are usually a few hundred dollars.) Also, notify the school where you submitted your deposit that you won’t be attending after all.
Be Ready for an Offer – Research Your Needs
Finally, be ready to make a rapid decision in the event you’re admitted off the waitlist. Colleges often require students who are accepted off the waitlist to notify them within 24 to 72 hours whether they’ll enroll or not. Therefore, it’s crucial to do your homework ahead of time and investigate the availability of any limited resources at the college where you are wait-listed. For example, if you’re concerned about financial aid, determine whether the school will still have financial aid available for you if you’re admitted. Next, determine whether student housing will still be a possibility for you, or if you’ll have to secure your own accommodations.
Nourish a Positive Mental Attitude
Living in a state of uncertainty can be taxing on your mental health, so it’s important to take care of yourself during this stressful time. Try to be patient – waitlist admissions often run well into the summer as those offered admission off the wait-list decline, and admissions offices go through another round of accepting wait-listed students. Yet, most schools do try to let applicants know whether they’ve been accepted off the waitlist before June 30th.
Actively manage your expectations. As frustrating as it may seem, keep in mind that many schools, especially elite universities and liberal arts colleges, have low waitlist acceptance rates – typically lower than standard admission rounds. Additionally, remember that it’s incredibly tough to predict whether you’ll get off the waitlist because waitlist acceptance rates vary dramatically from year to year and from school to school. Plus, many factors that determine whether you’ll be admitted are simply out of your control. Therefore, don’t count on miraculously getting off the waitlist. Do what you can by demonstrating your continued interest in a school, and then sit back, relax and buckle your seatbelt.
Remind yourself throughout this process that you have options. If you ultimately don’t make it off the dreaded waitlist at your dream school, tell yourself that you can always attempt to transfer to that school after 1-2 years if you’re not satisfied with the college you attend. You might also consider taking a gap year, filled with exceptional experiences and learning, then reapply to these and other schools in the fall. Read this to learn more about how to plan a gap year.
Most importantly, try to get excited about the college you have accepted admission to. Stay present by thoroughly researching the school’s academic programs, experiential learning opportunities and student organizations—and by connecting with potential future classmates. It’s highly likely that you’ll enjoy your college experience, regardless of which school you ultimately attend.