Waitlisted?? Do the Next Right Thing!!!

March 31, 2021

This has certainly been a CRAZY year and we are now seeing the same in the outcome of College admissions decisions (or in this case, a LACK of decisions)!  The college admissions cycle is a direct reflection of the new ‘rules’ that were put in place for applicants.  Standardized test scores became optional and students were unable to visit colleges.  This resulted in a tremendous SURGE in applications for many institutions.  As admissions officers process the overwhelming number of applications, they are often left wondering if a student is truly INTERESTED IN THEM.   

So, if you find yourself on a waitlist, or maybe several, what’s next?  In college admissions, ethical behavior has never been more important!  First, figure out where you REALLY want to be, then write the letter of continued interest, provide application updates, and confirm your intent to enroll once accepted.

Conversely, if you are NOT interested in attending any college where you’ve been waitlisted, take the important step of letting them know that you will NOT be attending.  You just might be opening up a spot for another person, and hopefully, someone is doing the same for you at YOUR dream college.  If you’re struggling with your decision, Collegemind is happy to help you navigate this next step.  Reach out for a complimentary 30 minute consultation. 

My IECA colleagues David Thomas and Evan Forster, of Forster-Thomas Educational Consulting, shared the following article.  It  highlights the importance of questioning yourself and being authentic in your next steps,  as you evaluate your opportunities and communicate your intent to any college that may have placed you on the WAITLIST.   It’s definitely food for thought, and worth the read. 

How to Get Off the College Waitlist—If That’s What You Really Want

One reason that students are waitlisted is because the university is not convinced you’ll accept the offer back. And in many cases, the colleges are right.

I just received a call from a student with fantastic news: She was just accepted to UC Berkeley. Cal was ranked much higher on her list than Notre Dame, where she had been waitlisted just a week earlier. “Next step: Pull yourself off of the waitlist at Notre Dame!” I said.

“No, no,” she responded. “I need to get off the Notre Dame waitlist. I need it in my back pocket, just in case.”

I might understand this attitude if she had a clear admit to Notre Dame. After all, because of Covid, this high school senior had never visited either campus, and each represented two very different kinds of student lifestyle and learning environment. But she was waitlisted at Notre Dame.

“So, Notre Dame got it right,” I said. “Notre Dame correctly assumed that you would get into a college that you preferred over them.”

At so many colleges and universities right now, the waitlist status is its way of saying, “We’d love to have you, but we aren’t certain that you’re really going to come here.” Waitlisting you puts the ball back in your court: How hard are you going to lobby? Are you going to be persuasive when you tell the college or university that you will accept the offer back?

Let’s be clearer: You have the task of convincing a school you want “in your back pocket” that you’ll accept the offer if it’s given to you. That’s not easy. I would argue that it’s not ethical, either. The sooner you withdraw from a school you won’t attend, the easier you’re making it for everyone else who actually wants that school as their first choice. This is even true if you are waitlisted. In this particular student’s case, I am sure Notre Dame would love to accept her if they were convinced she would attend. Pulling herself off the waitlist gives another waitlisted student a chance.

Why does my student want Notre Dame in her back pocket? Because she’s what I call a “trophy hunter”: a student interested in bragging rights of all the schools she got in. This is a metaphorical remix of the same song she had decried in an essay: boys who only date girls for the boast.

Universities know all about trophy hunters. Nobody wants to be the University of Maybe-I’ll-Go. No college wants to be a notch on your belt. The only way you’re going to get off that waitlist is to convince them you will attend.

But if you are absolutely determined to widen your options, you have to make up “a story.” A story is a work of fiction—like your desire to attend a certain university that you really just want in your back pocket. If you are creative enough to write such a compelling letter of intent, and you are willing to screw over all the people on the waitlist who really do want to attend…then maybe you want to go to that university more than you are currently willing to admit.

Or maybe you’re just not living your values. That’s the approach I took with this student. She believes deeply (or so she said) in equity and inclusion, in making the world a better place, in creating a planet where people don’t lead with self-interest but with social enhancement. I asked her to remember what she wrote about in her essays and talked about in her interviews.

Thank God a lightbulb went on over my student’s head and she returned back to being that bright, highly capable, honest and fair student I know her to be. She pulled herself from the Notre Dame waitlist.

Live your values and be honest with your intentions. It’s the right thing to do.