Getting In From a Waiting List

Today we’re answering the question: What if you’re admitted to a college off their waitlist?

When colleges accept students, there may be more applicants they like than they can fit into their college. So what they do is they accept some students, and then other students get offered a spot on their waiting list. A college’s hope is that of the students they accepted, enough of them will commit to fill the incoming freshman class.

But if after May 1st—the national decision deadline—they have not gotten enough of those students to fill the class for the number of students they wanted, then, and only then, they may turn to their waitlist to get those last few students to fill those spots.

So if you’re offered a spot off a college’s waitlist, it will almost certainly be after May 1st, sometimes into June even. But you can’t wait until then to commit to a college. You have to make sure that you have an option locked in by May 1st. April 28th is also a really great day to make a deposit so that you’re not running into websites crashing on the very last day with everybody on it at once.

Be prepared to commit to a school. Buy the t-shirt, get the bumper sticker. But then, if a college offers you a spot off their waitlist later, you have a choice to make. And that is: do you love the one you’re with and say, “Sorry Other College, you had your chance and you blew it. I’m with this college now”? Or do you say, “Gee, you know, thanks for the offer, thanks for the t-shirt, but you can keep my non-refundable deposit. I am actually going to accept a spot off this other college’s waitlist.”

So those are options you have, and they can be difficult choices to make. But weigh all of your options. Don’t put all your eggs into one basket. Assume you’re not going to get an offer off a waitlist, and if you do, count it as a small miracle.

And if you have questions, call us at 732-556-8220. We are here to help.