I was waitlisted for Harvard and Georgetown, and I’m seeking any good ideas to get off this list and into one of these colleges. Thanks!
Unfortunately, college wait lists are tricky things.
Most colleges admit more students than their target class size, because they know that a certain percentage of students will turn them down. Obviously this percentage is lower for schools like Harvard and Georgetown than for smaller, less well-known schools. Some schools hardly ever admit people off their wait lists, if they get a higher than expected acceptance rate.
The only thing you can really do is to make sure the school knows you are still highly interested in coming to the school. Send a note to the admissions officer for your region and the wait-list contact person and express your interest in their school and let them know that you will most likely attend their school if admitted off the wait list. You can also have a college counselor write a note, or if you have a family connection to the school, they can write the note, but make sure not to overdo it! You don’t want them to think you’re too pushy.
A handwritten note is always best, although email is often quicker. Maybe send both? Or you can send a handwritten note Priority mail or FedEx.
In the meantime, take a closer look at the schools you were admitted to and make a decision as to your “Second First Choice,” so that if you need to put a deposit in there, you won’t get caught off guard. Also, make sure to be timely with returning your “reject” cards to the schools you know you’re definitely not going to. That way, people in your position elsewhere have greater chances of getting in (Tell your friends and classmates to do this too!! If everybody did, life would be so much easier).
Many people hold out hope of getting off the wait list until the very end of the summer, but I think you should set a deadline for yourself, and then mentally prepare yourself to go to another school.
Best of luck!
Unfortunately, college wait lists are tricky things.
Most colleges admit more students than their target class size, because they know that a certain percentage of students will turn them down. Obviously this percentage is lower for schools like Harvard and Georgetown than for smaller, less well-known schools. Some schools hardly ever admit people off their wait lists, if they get a higher than expected acceptance rate.
The only thing you can really do is to make sure the school knows you are still highly interested in coming to the school. Send a note to the admissions officer for your region and the wait-list contact person and express your interest in their school and let them know that you will most likely attend their school if admitted off the wait list. You can also have a college counselor write a note, or if you have a family connection to the school, they can write the note, but make sure not to overdo it! You don’t want them to think you’re too pushy.
A handwritten note is always best, although email is often quicker. Maybe send both? Or you can send a handwritten note Priority mail or FedEx.
In the meantime, take a closer look at the schools you were admitted to and make a decision as to your "Second First Choice," so that if you need to put a deposit in there, you won’t get caught off guard. Also, make sure to be timely with returning your "reject" cards to the schools you know you’re definitely not going to. That way, people in your position elsewhere have greater chances of getting in (Tell your friends and classmates to do this too!! If everybody did, life would be so much easier).
Many people hold out hope of getting off the wait list until the very end of the summer, but I think you should set a deadline for yourself, and then mentally prepare yourself to go to another school.
Best of luck!
I feel lucky that I wasnt waitlisted.
but I feel horrible, because I didnt apply to the schools that I wanted to possibly go to [Cornell, Columbia, NYU, BU]
instead, I settled with University of Florida.
but I’m thinking of transfering or doing grad in Columbia.
either way, I guess you should resend ur transcripts if your gpa’s gone up, and resend ur SAT’s if you’ve done better.
or convince ppl who got in to not go :]