Along with those letters of acceptance and rejection comes that dreaded letter, known as the waitlist. But in this crazy year of college admissions that letter may indeed be good news. Here’s why.
Colleges manage their enrollment through something known as “yield management.” Using a combination of mathematic predictions and guesswork, they admit a certain number of high school seniors knowing that only a certain percentage will actually show up on campus in the fall. Generally, college admissions offices get pretty good at predicting what that “yield” will be. And then, every once in a while – like this year – the economy goes kappooey, and all those predictions are up for grabs.
So this year, most colleges admit that their traditional predictors for yield may go out the window. Their best defense against this uncertainty can take one of two paths: either they can gamble, and accept a bigger class – and hope that too many don’t choose to matriculate (they certainly don’t want to be turning double rooms into triples). Or they can play it safe and put a larger number of students on the waitlist (so they can pick and choose and avoid empty beds – their worst scenario in this economy) .
I’m initially shocked this year to hear some larger schools are placing more than 1,000 students on their waitlist. But as I think about it, it is perhaps their best, and only strategy. Think of the waitlist as a domino game. Even Harvard, Princeton and Yale are hedging their bets and admitting kids off their waitlists. (Harvard admitted 200 last year!) So this year, if each of the “big three” go 200 deep in their waitlist, that means they pull 600 students away from the next tier, that might include Brown, Cornell, Penn, Vassar or Wesleyan. In turn, those schools then need to replace their lost 600 with 600 more from say Bates, Connecticut College, Hamilton etc. and so on and so on.
Some colleges actually build the waitlist into their admission strategies. They know that someone admitted off the waitlist is, almost always, a guaranteed matriculant. From a forecasting perspective, it is a better predictor than a gambled admit to a student using that school as a safety. Using the waitlist is also a way for many schools to influence their U.S. News ranking. A school’s ranking is affected by its yield numbers. Consequently, a careful managing of their early decision and waitlist numbers can effectively enhance that ranking.
So what does that mean for you? Patience in the waitlist process is a great virtue!
Specifically, what should you do? First of all, let the school where you are waitlisted know you are interested. Read each school’s materials – some, like George Washington in DC, want to hear within 48 hours, so don’t delay. Write a letter, make a call, send a e-mail – they don’t need another letter of recommendation – they just want to know you are interested.
Second, if you applied for financial aid hoping to receive something, but really don’t need it, let the college know. Full-pay candidates rise quickly to the top of the waitlist as most schools have exhausted their financial aid budgets. In addition,, colleges typically don’t award financial aid to those students they take off the waitlist. Even those schools with significant endowments may look more favorably at the “full payer” coming off the waitlist. So let that college know you are no longer a candidate for aid.
Many colleges will test the waters for those on the waitlist. Some may call the high school college counselor to gauge interest, but frequently they will call the applicant directly. Often they may give a student less than 24 hours to accept! So be prepared to make a quick decision. That means visiting (or re-visiting) those schools in April – preferably before you get that phone call! (And let them know you’ve visited too! It will certainly help them know your level of interest if they go to their waitlist.) But do not make an excuse that you need to visit one more time before you decide; the college will move on to the next student on their waitlist.
Unfortunately for those of you with multiple waitlists, you can’t control the order in which the colleges contact you. Though most schools will wait until after May 1 — when they’ve received commitments and deposits — some colleges may call early, while others wait.
Let’s assume you’ve been accepted by College “C” and waitlisted at “A” and “B”. The first question is whether you should send in your (non-refundable) deposit to “C” by the May 1st deadline. The answer is yes – if you think you could be happy at School “C”. (If you don’t think you’d be happy there, you probably shouldn’t have applied there, even if it was your safety.)
If School A is your top waitlist choice and School B calls first, you may have to say yes to “B”. Send “B” your deposit, even though it is non-refundable. (You can probably write it off on your taxes.) Then wait for School A to call – if they call. But remember, there is no guarantee that schools will go to their waitlist; or how deeply they will go. If you have the money to lose on non-refundable deposits, you can use the waitlist as the colleges do – to hedge one’s bets. But it is an expensive gamble and clearly not right for everyone. And it is certainly not “fair.” But that’s how the system works – or can be gamed.
So, if you get that waitlist letter, pout and be angry — for a day. And then write that beautiful note to say you are honored (not disappointed) to be on their waitlist. (And yes, you can write that lovely note to more than one college where you were waitlisted. But make sure you enclose the right letter in the right envelope; we’ve heard about more than one careless senior – or parent – who blew it!). Include all the good stuff you are still doing; show them that you continue to work hard; and that you are and will continue to be successful in school. Finally, don’t let any family member place an angry call. Colleges like to take happy, productive students off the waitlist, not angry, bitter ones.
