College Wait List

In making admissions decisions, colleges generally have three options. They can accept a student, deny the student or put the student on a wait list. If a student is placed on a wait list the college is telling the student that they are not admitted but if not enough students who have been accepted decide to attend, then the student on the wait list may be accepted. In the past, the wait list was generally very limited and used for strong students who the college felt were strong students but not quite as strong as those students who were admitted. Recently, however, colleges have been putting more and more students on a wait list thus in effect putting the students in limbo. The colleges have been doing this in large part because the increase in applications has made it more difficult for the colleges to know which of the students they admit will actually attend the college. By having a large wait list, the college has more options available if too many of the students they admit decide not to attend. So what do you do if you are one of the students placed on the wait list for a college you wish to attend?

First, before deciding what to do with the wait list, review the colleges that have accepted you and decide which would be the best choice for you. Even if you decide to have your name put on the wait list there are no guarantees and you need to make sure you have confirmed attendance at one of the colleges that have accepted you.

Second, review your options before deciding on whether to put you name on a wait list. It may be that your best choice is one of the colleges that accepted you. In that case, don’t worry about getting on a wait list. If you decide that you would like to consider the option of attending the college that put you on the wait list, then go ahead and notify the college that you wish to be on the wait list.

Third, if you put your name on the wait list, how do you improve your chances of acceptance? If there have been any improvements in your grades or any new honors be sure to inform the wait list college of this new information. If the wait list college is your first choice college if accepted, let the college know that fact. If a college accepts students off the wait list, they prefer to accept students who are likely to accept their offers. Students will sometimes want to visit the college again to show their interest in attending the college. Usually, this is a waste of time unless the college requests to interview you or has some other reason to come to campus.

What do you do if placed on multiple wait lists? You certainly can put your name on multiple wait lists. The problem with accepting multiple wait lists is the issue of telling a college that they are your first choice if accepted off the wait list. While many students will tell multiple colleges that they are the first choice if accepted, this really is not ethical. It is better to decide what your first choice college is and accept the wait list for that college. If you want to accept another college’s wait list, do so but don’t tell them they are also your first choice if accepted.

The bottom line to wait lists is to accept the reality that most colleges have many more students offered a wait list position than they would ever have the opportunity to accept. For example, last year Amherst College offered wait list spots to 1261 students of which 565 accepted a spot on the wait list. Only 2 of those students were admitted off the wait list. Some colleges have more students accepted off the wait list and some colleges don’t accept any off the wait list. If you want to know about the college you are considering, ask the college how many people were offered a position on the wait list and how many were accepted off last year’s wait list. That should give you some estimate of how competitive the wait list is at that college.

Top College Fears and How to Conquer Them - Part 1

As though you don’t have enough to worry about: school, looks, friends, money. Now there’s college!

Here’s what I’d tell you if you came to me with these common college worries:

I have only have a B average. I’m scared I won’t get into a good college.

The fact is, thousands of really good colleges welcome B students. This may be hard to believe, but according to Clifford Adelman, senior research analyst for the US Dept of Education, “Four of five college seats are non-selective. Any warm body who just takes the admission test can get in.” Seek out the good professors, get involved in extracurriculars, and develop one-on-one relationships with great professors and students who bring out the best in you--you’ll be fine. Really.

I have a C average!

There are good colleges that specialize in C students. And plenty of C students have gone on achieve great things. But, assuming you’ve been trying reasonably hard at school and still have a 2.5 or lower GPA in academic subjects, maybe you should consider a path to success other than college. Ever think about an apprenticeship, for example, to become a surveyor or a costume designer? For info on your state’s apprenticeships, go to www.nastad.net and click on “links.” If the apprenticeship information isn’t there, just google that site using the term “apprenticeships.” That’s just one option. See my post about what to do right after high school for more…

I'm freaked out about the SAT (or ACT).

Your school grades count much more than the SAT or ACT. And remember that four of five college seats are open to virtually anyone. If, however, your SAT score is less than 900 or ACT is 17 or less, I must tell you that fewer than 25% of students with your test score ever make it to college graduation. You might consider the options above.

How should you prepare for the SAT or ACT? College Board research indicates that taking a prep course adds only, on average, 25 to 32 points. Retaking it is unlikely to affect which college you end up attending, let alone improve your life. My advice: For a few weeks before the test, spend 20 minutes a night with the Inside the SAT/ACT CD and then, unless you totally freak during the test, live with your score.

DID YOU KNOW?

Princeton economist Alan Krueger and Carnegie Foundation researcher Stacy Dale compared the earnings of Ivy-admitted students who chose, usually for financial reasons, to attend less prestigious colleges versus those who actually attended Ivies. Both group’s income, 20 years later, turned out to be equal.

On reflection, this isn’t surprising. Yes, a designer label on a diploma is a plus in the job market, but Ivy-caliber students may get an at least equal advantage if they attend a less prestigious college because there, they are more likely to get top grades, personal attention, leadership opportunities, and superb letters of recommendation.