Get Going Workshops

by Joanne Levy-Prewitt

College Waiting Lists A Humbling Experience For Students

Have you ever gone to a crowded restaurant without a reservation and put your name on a wait list? It's assumed that if you wait long enough, you will eventually get a table. There is no such guarantee with college admissions. Seniors who apply to colleges that use a wait list might be in for a big shock this year: The growing number of applications to popular colleges is forcing them to put more of their applicants on a wait list.

Colleges are doing this with growing frequency because while the number of applicants rises each year, the available spots for freshmen does not. Colleges work hard to predict who, of the accepted applicants, will enroll, but that formula changes each year. Schools need to fill classrooms (and beds in the dorms) and the worst thing that can happen is to come up short. Therefore, they put some of the qualified applicants on a wait list as a sort of insurance policy against under-enrollment. It's usually private colleges that have wait lists, but some public colleges have them, too.

As with other admissions policies and practices, wait listing can seem like cruel and unusual punishment to high school seniors. Who can blame them? They've taken the standardized tests, completed the applications, written the essays, and followed the rules. They have every right to expect a definitive response from a college. Instead, they get a letter saying "Maybe."

Colleges will try to soften the blow by telling students that they love them, but they just didn't have room for all the great applicants. This hardly consoles high school students; anyone who has taken college prep coursework and aced the SATs knows how to infer, and the fact is, there are other students who did not get wait list letters; they got admissions letters. No matter how carefully the letter is worded, that sentiment stings.

Spots at colleges become available if admitted students do not attend. Unlike wait lists at restaurants, students are not placed on a first-come, first-served list. Therefore, when, and if, spots become available, students are not admitted in a predictable fashion. Students who are placed on a wait list should call the admissions office to determine the number of students on the list, and to see how many were admitted in previous years.

However, the amount of students accepted from wait lists can change drastically from year to year, and one year doesn't always inform the next. Colleges are receiving record numbers of applicants each year. The birth rate will level off next year, but the number of applicants might not necessarily decrease, and that makes it tricky for colleges to predict their "yield" or number of accepted students who actually attend.

So what should you do if you get a letter that says, "You're great, but not great enough?" That depends. If you want to take a chance that you'll get accepted from the list, be sure to notify the college of your intention to persevere. If you really love the school and it is your first-choice college, go ahead and respond with enthusiasm. Some students will want to do more -- periodic phone calls, another letter of recommendation, new information about awards or honors, or new transcripts (especially with increases in GPA). More than that is unnecessary.

However, if you feel that your odds of getting in from the wait list are slim, the best thing you can do is move on. Re-evaluate your options, revisit the colleges that accepted you unconditionally, and, when you make your final decision, buy a sweatshirt and wear it proudly.

COPYRIGHT 2008 JOANNE LEVY-PREWITT