Final Steps

• Stay calm. Remember, a notice of deferral is not a rejection and can  be a great opportunity to let the college know some additional  information about you. Tell the school that they are still your top  choice, if they truly are, and explain why that is true.

• Update your application with any new material you feel would be  helpful. For example: an additional letter of recommendation, honors or  recognition, continued rise in grades from first to second semester,  etc.), new accomplishments or awards in activities and competitions  since you first submitted your application.

• Be sure to send your first semester senior year grades.

• Consider contacting, or having your counselor contact, the school to  see if it would be helpful to provide any specific information or  explanations about you based on their initial reading of your  application.

• Keep good perspective on the admissions process. If you have a  balanced list of schools where you have applied, you will have a  wonderful choice of campuses no matter what happens to the deferral  decision.

While disappointing, applicants should not be too disheartened by receiving a deferral letter. The relative rates of admission for Early and Regular Decision vary greatly from school to school and most competitive schools fill the majority of admission spots from the pool of Regular Decision applicants.

Many Early Decision or Early Action spots are filled by students with  some particular talent or quality that the school is seeking (athletes, musicians, diversity, etc). Schools will admit some students that have  been deferred, so the waiting game continues until Regular Decision notifications are sent out in late March.

To learn more about how many Early Action and Early Decision applicants  are taken by the colleges you have applied to, contact the school  directly or view the Common Data Set for more information.

Who Gets Waitlisted

There are various reasons why students are waitlisted

• More  students are applying to more colleges, it has become harder for  colleges to predict which admitted students will enroll. Consequently,  colleges are waitlisting more students as a form of insurance. 

• Students may be waitlisted because they have not shown enough demonstrated interest in the school. They may calculate that the student is not interested enough to enroll if the college admits the  student.

• Sometimes overqualified students are waitlisted because the college assumes the student has applied to many of the very competitive schools and will not choose them over one of these other schools instead. A high acceptance rate makes the college  look less exclusive or desirable and can hurt its ranking and prestige.  Colleges like to show a low acceptance rate of students who receive an  offer of admittance and a high yield of admitting those who do receive  an offer.

• Colleges have to hedge their financial aid  budgets. They can only accept as many students with financial need as  their budget allows. When a college offers an early action or early  decision plan, many admission offers have already been made by November.  So when regular decisions are made in March, a waitlist can serve as a way to play it safe until the college has acceptances in hand and knows how much financial aid money is left.

Ranked Waitlists

Some schools rank their waitlists. Students should check with the  college’s admissions office to find out whether it ranks their list or  not. If students can find out where they are ranked on the list they can  better gauge their odds of admission. However, many schools do not rank their waitlists. Rather, they use the waitlist as a means of replacing a student who declines admission with a student who is similarly  situated, e.g. to fill an orchestra spot, to replace someone on a sports  team, to admit another student within a particular major, etc.

First Decisions: TAKE ACTION

• The first thing waitlisted students should do is accept an offer from one of the colleges or universities that did accept them and pay the  enrollment deposit to that school by May 1. The student must then decide  whether or not to accept a place on the waitlist of the other school. 

• Students are advised to only accept a place on the waitlist if the student intends to enroll at the college if admitted.  If the student decides to accept a place on the list, the student  should follow the college’s instructions for accepting the waitlist  invitation.  It is important to keep in mind that colleges may have very little financial aid left for students admitted from their waitlist.

Strategies for Getting off the Waitlist

Most students will not get off the waitlist, but there are ways to improve the odds. Most importantly, a waitlisted student needs to be proactive; the student  should be eager and creative without appearing distraught or desperate.

• The student should mail an eloquent “letter of enthusiasm” to  their assigned college admissions officer. If appropriate, this letter should state

•  that the college is the student’s first choice and that the student will definitely enroll if admitted. 

• state why the college and the student are a great fit, identifying specific academic programs or activities. 

• The letter should point out what the student will contribute to the campus community. 

• If the student  is able to pay for the college without financial aid, this is the time  to let it be known with wording such as, “My parents have been saving  and investing for years so that I could attend my dream school- Your  College Name. My enrollment is not contingent upon receiving financial  aid.”  

• Some sources also suggest having the school counselor contact the  college’s regional admissions officer on the student’s behalf. 

• It may  also be a good time to send an extra letter of recommendation if it will add a perspective they have not already heard. It could be from a  different teacher, or anyone else who knows the student well and can speak of their recent accomplishments, character, academic  abilities, or special talent.

• The student should update the college with any recent  accomplishments, e.g. took the SAT/ACT again and scored higher, won an  academic competition, founded a new club, nominated for a special honor,  raised a grade in a class, etc.

• The student should study hard to maintain strong grades and stay involved in high school and community activities.

• The student should continue to periodically (every two weeks)  touch base with the admissions officer, indicating continued interest  and enthusiasm. Some students continue to communicate with colleges even  after the official date for consideration is closed.

• If the student is still on the waitlist after graduation, the  student should update the college with a final transcript and any new AP  and IB test scores.

What Students Should NOT Do

• Do not ask alumni of the school to make calls on their behalf.

• Do not let their parents interfere. The student needs to be the point of contact.

• Do not tell the admissions officer stories such as how they have attended every football game with their family since preschool and simply can’t imagine attending any other school. Keep the reasons for  wanting to attend related to special programs and academic opportunities.

• Do not pester the admissions office—don’t call/email them over and over again, don’t show up at the admissions office. Keep the communication on task as described above.

Final Waitlist Thoughts

If accepted off the waitlist, be ready to make a decision very quickly. Typically the offer will be made via a phone call and the timeframe to respond will be very short; 24-48 hours is common.

If a student changes their mind, and no longer wants to be on the waitlist, the student should immediately contact the admissions representative for their region and ask to be removed from the list and/or do so via the student’s online portal with that college.

In the End Be prepared not to be accepted. Be prepared to attend elsewhere. Move forward. There is more than one good fit. The student can find happiness  elsewhere!

Students should look at the overall picture of each school. Do they have strong alumni networks? What kind of monetary resources does each school have to devote to its students? How easy will it be for the student to get personal attention at each school? What are the availability of internships and research opportunities? Some schools have entire offices devoted to helping students with internships either during the school year or in the summer. What percentage of students participate in internships and/or research? What are the location implications of each school? What are the size implications and campus type of each school? What sort of career placement services does each school offer? Students should also factor in any other considerations that matter to them such as school spirit, housing options, or distance from home. If a student is having trouble choosing between schools, he or she should consider visiting or revisiting a school during an admitted students weekend, which are frequently held in April. 

Students should examine and compare the quality of the department in which they wish to major at each school. This can be done by examining the department’s web page, visiting and possibly phoning or emailing professors with specific questions. The student should look at four things:

• Compare the scope of the departments. Look through the course catalogue to see what classes are offered and how frequently. Do the departments tend to be traditional or alternative? Is the department focused on certain areas of the major?

• Compare the professors. Look at the professors’ personal websites and examine their curriculum vitae’s (resume) on the college website. Where were they educated and what have they done or published since then. What areas do they focus on in their teaching, research and publications.

• Compare the “life of the departments.” Does the department support the students beyond offering classes? Is there a department colloquium, a review, a symposium? Is there some information suggesting what students should be doing over the summer? Does the department arrange internships for the students? Is there a sense of camaraderie? The student can tell a lot of this by carefully reviewing the department website. Is there more to the department than just going to class?

• Compare the departments’ values about graduate versus undergraduate students. If the school has graduate students, is the focus on them or does energy go to the undergraduates too? Do the undergraduates have research and publication opportunities?

If applicable, look at the quality of each school’s pre-professional advising program. Does the college have counselors to help guide pre-law, pre-med, pre-vet, pre-business, etc.....students through their undergraduate years with advice on course selection, standardized test (LSAT, MCAT..) preparation, the professional school application process, internships, recommendations, summer programs, professional school admissions fairs...? What does the pre-professional advising department say they are going to do for students? Are the advisors certified in their respective areas? What programs, services, and personal support are offered? What is each college’s success rate at getting students admitted to law school , medical school...? Do note that professional school admission rates have been manipulated by some colleges.

Students should carefully compare the financial aid packages offered by each college. Do the packages differ in amount, in percentage of grants versus loans versus work study? Do the packages include merit scholarships? If one college’s financial aid offer is more generous, the student should graciously contact the financial aid offices at the other schools to see if they will match the more generous offer. The student should also let all of the colleges know of any significant changes in the family’s finances, such as a parent’s job loss, that have occurred since the student applied for financial aid. 

Many factors play into the choice of which school to accept and attend. Students should compare the quality of the college experience at each school beyond just name, size, and location. The student should send in his or her acceptance and admissions deposit by the college’s deadline. However, some honors and sports programs will require an earlier commitment for you to secure your place. If the student is accepting a place on a college’s waitlist, he or she must also accept an admission offer from one of his or her other colleges.