About the waitlist

How likely is it that I will be accepted into the course from the waitlist?

Typically, the WFAC accepts four to six people from the waitlist, due to cancellations. (Because WFAC volunteers who have course reservations must confirm their interest eight weeks before the course, there is increased waitlist activity at this time.)

How does the WFAC let me know that there is an opening for me? Do I have to do anything?

Depending on how close to the course date it is, we email you first and call you or just call you if it is close to the course date. Depending how far in advance of the course it is, you have 12 to 48 hours to get back in touch and accept the offered spot in the course. If you will be out of touch by phone and email for longer than the above period, let us know.

Please be sure to let the WFAC know if your email address or primary phone number changes.

Can I cancel and get my money back?

From the time you accept the offer of a place in the upcoming WFAC, you have 24 hours to change your mind and cancel without penalty. Once this 24-hour grace period has expired, you are subject to the same cancellation rules as other enrolled students. These are listed in the schedule.

What information will I receive from the WFAC while I am on the waitlist?

You will receive the first course mailing at the same time as the enrolled students do, which is at least two months before the course. Your will receive the second mailing and the course notes only when you have been accepted.

I do not want to be accepted if less than one week remains before the course.

How do I let the WFAC know this?

For practical reasons, the WFAC stops accepting students from the waitlist 4-5 days before the course date. If you are on the waitlist, unless we have contacted you for discussion by this date, you will not be accepted into the course for which you are waitlisted.

My friend or spouse and I are both on the waitlist; we want to take the WFAC only if we can do so together.

How can we express this preference?

Course openings due to cancellations almost always occur one at a time and they are filled within a few days. If you and your friend or spouse wait for two simultaneous openings, your chances of getting in are very small (essentially zero). We recommend the following strategy for couples or pairs of friends who are waitlisted:

If offered a spot in the course more than four weeks before the course date:

1. Accept immediately.

2. Mark the deadline for full refund cancellation (four weeks prior to the course) on your calendar.

Assuming you and your friend or spouse have consecutive waitlist positions, such as third and fourth, he or she is next in line and, with a little luck, will be accepted before the four-week deadline.

If, at four weeks before the course, your friend or spouse has not been accepted, you must play it safe or gamble:

I was on the waitlist for the WFAC and did not get in.

May I roll my application over to the next course?

Yes, but the WFAC must cash your check (if you paid by check) immediately so that it does not go out of date. In exchange, we will credit you for the price of the earlier course for which you were waitlisted. If you roll over to the next course, we will waive any fee increase and give you a $20 discount.

I was on the waitlist for a WFAC and did not get in.

When will I get my refund?

The WFAC usually reviews all waitlist applications within one week after the end of the course.  You will have the option of rolling your enrollment over to the next course or having your fee refunded. If you choose the refund, we will shred your check and will send an email confirming the destruction of your check. Expect to receive this within ten days after the course.

I am on the waitlist.
It is now one week before the course and I have not been accepted.
I would like to be there the morning of the course to see whether any enrolled students fail to register.
If someone fails to show up, I would like to take the course in their place.
If the course is full, I will turn around and go home without any hard feelings.

Is this OK?

No. The deadline for any (even partial) refunds on cancellation is two weeks before the deadline. Therefore, two weeks before the course, everyone who is enrolled has bought a seat in the course. They can show up at the start of the course, they can show up late, or they can fail to show up at all, if they choose. Regardless, they own their seat for the duration of the course and the WFAC does not give it away or sell it to someone else.

I have just been offered a spot in the WFAC, which is 2 weeks away.
I have a very busy schedule for the next two weeks.

Should I take this into account in my decision to accept the offered seat in the WFAC?

Yes. If you accept this spot in the course, you will receive, within a few days, 150 pages of course notes, a pre-test, and a list of materials to bring to the course. The pre-test is due to be submitted by the Thursday prior to the course. Our students spend four to five hours reviewing the notes and completing the pre-test. If you have too little time in your schedule to read the notes, complete the pre-test, and assemble the necessary items, it would be better to postpone until the following WFAC.