3 College Wait List Mistakes to Avoid
After years of planning and months of preparation, some students find themselves put on the waitlist at their top-choice college. If this happens to you, you are likely wondering what to do now and how to proceed.
1. Remain calm: Weekly requests to the school for an update will not help your case. Try to remember that being placed on the waitlist is not the same as receiving a rejection letter. You may still be accepted, though it may take time to determine where you stand.
The reality of the modern college admissions process is that schools are waiting on students, too. As accepted students notify colleges of their decisions to accept or decline enrollment, spots open up for wait-listed students.
One possible option is to ask the admissions department about the size of the waitlist pool. You may not learn where in particular your application sits, but you will gain a better sense of the odds you face.
[Know what to do if you're rejected from your dream college.]
2. Review your options: Take this time to re-evaluate your priorities and possibilities. Consider the following scenarios. First, think about what you'd do if you were accepted to one or more schools, but wait-listed at your top choice. How wide is the gulf between the college that wait-listed you and the school or schools that offered you admission?
If it is the case where the two schools are a very close first and second, consider accepting one of your admissions offers. After all, you do not want to miss an excellent opportunity while waiting for an offer that may never materialize.
There is something to be said, too, for the peace of mind that comes with knowing where you will attend college in the fall. Instead of making last-minute arrangements in the case of a late admittance, you can focus on securing housing, researching your financial aid options and planning your freshman classes.
The second possible scenario is that you were accepted to one or more schools, but wait-listed at your long-shot dream college.
[Get more advice on what to do after being wait-listed.]
Consider submitting a deposit to the best school that sent you an acceptance letter. You can wait until the deadline to do so, but do not assume that you will eventually make it off the waitlist. Yes, waitlist acceptance percentages vary, but they are far from guaranteed.
If you do make a deposit and are admitted to your dream school at the last minute, you can still accept -- but be prepared to forfeit your down payment. Compared to the overall cost of attending college, the deposit is likely to be fairly modest. Think of it as an insurance policy -- in the event that your top choice never contacts you, you will still have an option come autumn.
3. Avoid the sunk cost fallacy: Perhaps you applied only to highly competitive schools, and you were wait-listed at one or more of your choices and accepted outright at none.
Remember not to panic, and try to keep the sunk cost fallacy in mind. In brief, this is the idea that most people have a tendency to think, "I have invested so much in this path that I cannot afford to quit."
In reality, this thinking can harm us, as it leads us to devote more and more resources to a losing proposition. Yes, one of your waitlist colleges might contact you, and you can take steps to improve your odds of this happening. But you should also plan for the possibility that the reverse could be true.
[Read student advice on making the right college choice.]
Decide if you could accept a year of living at home. Think about if you are willing to work full time while refreshing your applications, rewriting your essays and studying to boost your exam scores.
Delaying college for a year is not the end of the world, and it may even increase your chances of acceptance if you spend that year productively. Better still, the work or internship experience you gain could provide you with significant insight into your career and degree decisions.
If you are not interested in a gap year, you can still submit a last-minute application to schools with late deadlines or a more liberal admittance policy. You do not have to stay at one school for all four years of college, and you may be able to transfer to your top-choice school once you have been able to demonstrate your commitment and readiness.
Regardless of which path you choose, a waitlist decision is just a temporary stop in your journey. Your future still depends on you and the choices you make.
Brian Witte is a professional SAT tutor with Varsity Tutors. He earned his Bachelor of Science from the University of Washington and holds a Ph.D. from Ohio State University.
