Ramp it up! Kick your grades into high gear, and get prepped for another standardized test, depending on what the school has told you it wants to see. After all, your grades might be fine for admission, but the SAT or ACT just isn’t impressing admissions, and the reverse could also be true.
If you are deferred or waitlisted at the college of your choice, you must continue to demonstrate interest in that school. If you are deferred that means you will be considered in a later admission round. In the meantime, you should submit any evidence of academic, extracurricular or personal success that may not have been submitted with your original application. You should also contact the admission office and thank them for informing you that you have been deferred and for considering your application a second time.
Be realistic. The odds of getting accepted from a waitlist or deferral are not high for most colleges. So please, please fall in love with a a college that accepted you. You will have so many great choices. If you do really want to try to get into the waitlisted or deferred college, you can follow my tips—update college of your interest, ask a senior year teacher to send in a letter of recommendation, ask your counselor to call, go visit the campus again, and send in any great paper or project you completed. If you do these things, then you can never regret if you do or don’t ultimately get accepted. Every student I know finds happiness at a college that really wants him or her.
If you’ve been waitlisted at a school that you know you don’t want to go to, don’t waste any time informing that school because you could get a spot that someone else really wants. If you want to stay on the wait list, reach out to the admissions officer assigned to your area and convey your enthusiasm that this is your first choice. Don’t be afraid to ask the admissions officer for advice, but don’t pester, and definitely don’t have your parents call for you. In the meantime, keep your grades up and send any accomplishments that are significant. This should be something truly substantial, not just another letter of recommendation.
First, don’t let it get you down. Being wait-listed usually means that you met all of the college’s admission criteria and were an excellent candidate, but they just didn’t have the space to admit you. But since you can’t know the reasons you were put on the wait-list, it’s not worth wasting energy trying to figure it out.
The best way to handle this situation is to move forward with applying or evaluating your second and third choices. All students should have several “foundation” schools where they are at or above the mean 50% of students who were accepted to last year’s class, several “expected schools” where they fall in the mid range of accepted students and several “dream schools” where they sit slightly below the mean 50% of accepted students. When choosing a balanced list students should be comfortable attending any of the schools because that is where they very well may end up. If you wind up getting selected for your wait listed school so much the better but if not you may just fall in love with your second or third choice and realize it was the best for you all along! Francine Schwartz M.A., LPC, NCC Founder and President Pathfinder Counseling LLC
The best to handle a waitlist or deferral is to consider it a maybe. You have to let them know you are still interested. Following up with a school with new awards, new accomplishments, or a new grades can be really helpful.
Don’t get discouraged. It’s important to have a back up plan.
If you are deferred or wait-listed by a school and it is still your top choice there are a few things you can do which might affect your acceptance. Firstly, if your application was early decision, you still have some time to bring your grades up, and you can certainly have your updated transcript sent to the school. Additionally, you should write a letter (coming from you, and not your parents) to the admissions office stating that that school is still your top choice, and if accepted you would attend. You can also use this letter as an opportunity to update the school on what you have been up to for the last couple of months and any accomplishments you have made both in and out of school.
Be proactive! Although it is common knowledge that not many people get in after being deferred or waitlisted, it is not impossible. First you should have your high school counselor call and see if they can get any info s to why this was the decision that was made. They should also advocate for you throughout this process, sending updated grades and other accolades or updates from teachers as applicable. They need to be making these calls! Students should also write an update letter – deferral or waitlist letter – this letter should provide any/all updates since the time you applied in terms of academic, extracurriculars, awards/honors, anything that will ADD to your file. If you can get to campus again to show your continued interest that is also a plus!
Waitlists and deferrals are very different. A deferral says the school needs more time before making a decision. It wants to what its whole applicant pool looks like and it may also want to see another round of grades from the applicant. The waitlist on the other hand may, in fact be a final decision, for if the school’s yield is strong, it may not need to go the waitlist and even when it does the choices it makes are usually based on the needs they must fill in the incoming class. However, in both cases applicants can continue to send updates about any new achievement, new scores, etc. It can never hurt so long as the updates are substantive and respectful. The commitment and desire will be noted and could pay off, but the ball is in the school’s court.
The best way is to first of all not feel that something is lacking in you, know that you did not get the “no thanks letter”.
The best way to handle this situation is to move forward with applying or evaluating your second and third choices. All students should have several “foundation” schools where they are at or above the mean 50% of students who were accepted to last year’s class, several “expected schools” where they fall in the mid range of accepted students and several “dream schools” where they sit slightly below the mean 50% of accepted students. When choosing a balanced list students should be comfortable attending any of the schools because that is where they very well may end up. If you wind up getting selected for your wait listed school so much the better but if not you may just fall in love with your second or third choice and realize it was the best for you all along!
Definitely follow the directions spelled out in the waitlist letter. If you are still interested, please let the college know that. If you are not, let them know that as well. If you have any increase in your grades, test scores, extracurricular performance, honors/awards, be sure to forward those to the college for consideration. Also if you have one more letter of recommendation, that says something differently than your other ones, send that in as well. If it says the same things as your other ones, I wouldn’t send it. Also, start opening up your perspective to other possibilities than this one school. Start seriously looking at the other schools that you did get accepted into!
A deferral or a wait list notification is now a long shot option. It is best to emotionally de-invest and move on to Plan B.
Re-evaluate your choices. Given responses from other colleges, should this deferred or wait-listed college remain on your list? If not, reply to the college with a brief note of thanks, declining the offer. If you do want to keep the college on your list, reply with a brief statement describing why this college is your top choice (or among your top choices). Give any new (new, not rehashed!) information that is important since the filing of your application and thank the review committee for their continued consideration.
Wait list is certainly better than the deny letter. The wait list is to be used by schools to let student know that they are admissible to the school but there isn’t enough room or spots in the class to admit all those students who applied and were academically admissible. So the good news is that they think you could handle the academic challenges there. The bad news is that MANY well qualified students applied and that is what is keeping you out at the moment.
What should you do if you receive a “Waitlist Letter?”
First, contact the admissions office to see if you can learn where your application fell short. Address those issues in a letter, expressing your continued interest in the institution. If they offer interviews and you didn’t have one yet, by all means try to schedule an appointment. Quite possibly it is your transcript that is a concern; all the more reason to not slack off senior year and definitely send along your grades as soon as they are available. Whatever you do, don’t badger the admissions office, don’t stalk them on facebook, remind yourself that everything happens for a reason and this is why you applied to other schools. Good luck!
Even though it hurts not to be admitted to a school you like, remember that they deferred or wait listed you because they felt you would be a good addition to their community, if only they had room! If this is a school you truly want to attend, let them know it! Send a letter emphasizing your continued strong interest, and if you absolutely intend to show up in August if they admit you, tell them that, too. Meanwhile, keep your grades up, and if you suspect that test scores were part of the reason you didn’t get in at first, consider re-taking them to give yourself a chance to look a bit more competitive. Finally, be patient. Wait lists can linger into the summer, and sometimes the students who are still hanging on at the end (most eventually drop off and commit emotionally to other schools) are ones who end up with a place when the school needs to fill the last few places in their class.
Being waitlisted or deferred does not mean that you will not eventually be admitted to the college/university which has delayed your admission. I have worked with students who were, in fact, admitted to universities off of waitlists. I would say, however, that you should consider your chances of being admitted as being somewhat diminished. Your potential admission will hinge on your place on the waitlist, as well as on the number of admitted students who DON’T accept the institution’s offer of admission. Those non-acceptances will determine how many students the institution will be able to admit off of the waitlist.
Being waitlisted or deferred does not mean that you will not eventually be admitted to the college/university which has delayed your admission. I have worked with students who were, in fact, admitted to universities off of waitlists. I would say, however, that you should consider your chances of being admitted as being somewhat diminished. Your potential admission will hinge on your place on the waitlist, as well as on the number of admitted students who DON’T accept the institution’s initial offers of admission. Those non-acceptances will determine how many students the institution will be able to admit off of the waitlist.
Rather than go off half cocked, talk to a professional & get some free advice. If the school is that important, perhaps hiring someone to appeal on your behalf would be worth it. But remember, they prepare the letter – you sign it!
Continue to show interest( if you are) and focus on some schools that accepted you.
If you were not accepted to your first choice college, the best thing to do is realize that you are not alone. In fact, many successful people have endured disappointment during their lifetimes. The people who pick themselves up after falling ultimately realize success.
Let the admissions rep with whom you already have a nice cordial relationship with know that you are disappointed, but still hopeful. Ask them if they have any suggestions on how you can better your chances. Perhaps you have won an award, made an honor roll, performed in a play since you applied? Add those activities to your application by sending the information to your admission rep so they can add it to your file. Write another essay explaining how you would benefit the college by being accepted. Do what you can do, then just cross your fingers. And if you do not clear or get in, don’t worry about it. Happily go to your next favorite college. They will be happy to have you.
The best way to handle it is to relax and think of what can be done from this point forward. There is no point in looking back and regretting something you didn’t do, could have done better or forgot to do. Those things are in the past now and you need to move forward. If you still would really like to go to the school you got deferred or waitlisted to, then make sure the college knows that their school is on the top of your list. Deferred is a bit different then waitlisted because at least you have “another shot” as you get re-evaluated with the regular decision students. Waitlisted means that you have maybe been deferred already and you did not get in regular decision. Once deferred, you should ask them what you can do to enhance your application. Most of the time it’s getting a new SAT/ACT score, writing another essay or submitting another letter of recommendation. If waitlisted, you first need to make sure your name stays on the waitlist. You need to write back to them and tell them that you would like to stay on the waitlist. Over half a waitlist sometimes will go away because those students don’t ask to stay on it. Then it is just a matter of waiting to see when you may get a response from them that you have been accepted off the waitlist. Sending them an additional letter and final grades (if they were good) may help but make sure you remind them once a week that you want to stay on it.
While you are waiting for news, f you receive any substantial awards or there is a major improvement in your classwork or other interesting new circumstance, you can request that your guidance counselor contacts the admissions officer responsible for your geographic area. If you are wait listed, you should contact the admissions officer with a polite and enthusiastic note explaining why you believe that particular school is a good match for you and showing how you would positively impact the campus.
When things don’t go as planned, make a new plan. Use the set-back as a time to re-evaluate your goals and find alternate paths for achieving them. If you are prepared to attend the “bad news” school under any circumstances, take steps to express sincere interest in enrolling if space becomes available. Next, take action and apply to additional schools, revisit, or take whatever steps necessary to become comfortable with Plan B.
you may update your resume and send over your most current transcript send letter to express your interests
If you get waitlisted or deferred, try to move on with your life! Sure — you can let the school know that you are still interested (if you are), but other than that — try to look at your other options rather than dwelling on your waitlist or deferred status.
This is a huge area in my region of the country where so many high caliber students are deferred and waitlisted. I try to prepare students and families for this possibility upfront. When a student really wants to attend a school, and this happens, he or she should carefully compose a letter to the director of admissions and rep expressing interest in the college and a very strong desire to attend if admitted. During the deferral or waitlist period, the student should continue to be diligent with studies and activities about which he or she is passionate, communicating significant developments with the admissions office. At the same time, the student has to be careful not to overwhelm the rep with submissions or information. Numbers will show that it can be very hard to be accepted once deferred or waitlisted, so the student should have a ready backup plan and not take any rejection personally.
Showing continued interest in the school is crucial if you are hoping to be admitted from the waitlist or if you have been deferred. If visiting the campus, remember to sign in with the Admissions Office. Write a letter to the Admissions Office or the Admissions Counselor you have been assigned to expressing your excitement of being waitlisted or deferred and your continued interest in the school. If it is your number choice, make sure to state that if accepted you will definitely attend. Placing a call to the Admissions Office is also acceptable. However, you don’t want to be a pest. In the letter you should state your updated academic and extracurricular information including any new test scores. Remember to say why that college is a good fit for you. If you have updated official records, you can include them. Sending in one additional recommendation from a senior class teacher would be acceptable. It is best to keep the letter to one page. I would continue to make contact about once a month stating your continued interest in the college. Remember though, admittance from a waitlist or after being deferred is never guaranteed and so it is imperative to deposit at a school you have already been accepted at to guarantee that you have a spot in the freshman class.
If you receive word from a college that you have been waitlisted or deferred, you should continue to correspond with the school to show your genuine interest in attending. In addition to emailing admissions explaining your continued desire to attend and to update the school on your academic/extracurricular progress, you should also pick up the phone and contact admissions personally. If an interview is offered by local alumni or by admissions themselves, plan on scheduling time to sit down and articulate all that you could contribute to the college campus while completing your undergraduate studies. Many students take a WL or DF as a rejection and could not be more inaccurate about either status. Keep in mind, the admissions team would love to accept all students who want to attend their prestigious institution however, that is not a reality. Think of it this way, a rejection letter is the end of the road while a WL or DF letter is a continued journey towards a possible acceptance. Be sure to continue to show genuine interest in the school and continue to do well in your academic studies and extracurricular activities.
If you’ve been waitlisted or deferred, remember two words. Don’t Panic. Think of this situation as finding yourself in deep water. If you flail around out of fear, you’re more likely to drown. Keep moving. Pick a direction and move forward. Apply to more or different schools, for example, or tour the schools at which you have been accepted and decide among them. Remember that sometimes unexpected things can turn out to be amazing. Most people can be happy most places, just as most unhappy people will be unhappy anywhere.
A waitlist is an actual list and you might be towards the top or towards the bottom. You are well within your rights to call and ask what your status is and to politely withdraw yourself from consideration if you feel you are too far down to have a real chance of getting accepted. If you want to remain on the waitlist, contact the school to let them know you’re still interested.
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