Waitlisted?

Slightly off from our normal topics, but since early decision announcements are coming out now it's top-of-mind for a lot of folks: What can you do if you're waitlisted?

Really, not much.

Most schools use an early-decision waitlist as a tool to hedge with--if someone's good, but not so good that they'd automatically get in no matter what (which is most applicants), they go onto the waitlist. From the school's

perspective, it's a can't lose--if an even better crop of applicants come in during regular decision, they can go with the new applicants. If their regular decision applicants are weaker (or if there just aren't as many as they'd expected), they can let you in off the waitlist--and given that you applied early decision (meaning this is your top school), they know you'll still probably accept if you get admitted during the regular period.

Hence: Waitlist as many applicants as possible. The school can't really lose.

Of course, it sucks for you if you're one of the vast majority that are waitlisted at your top school. So what can you do?

You have a couple of options, although none are great or guaranteed to help:

• Wait and pray. The easiest (and default) option is just do nothing--wait it out, let the process do whatever the process is going to do, and see what happens. This has the benefit of not backfiring--you don't have to worry about being "that" applicant who annoys the admissions department so much that they reject you for being annoying. But it also doesn't help--unless maybe you can appeal to a higher spiritual power...

If you're not feeling terribly religious--or just aren't the type to sit on your hands and wait--there are more active options you can pursue. Just bear in mind that any of these can backfire, so tread carefully...

• Call in favors. Do you know any current students? Is one of your favorite teachers an alumni of the school that waitlisted you? Is a family friend the head of the local alumni club? If you have a good enough relationship with them for it to not be extremely awkward, seek out their help. An email or call from a current student or alumni on your behalf can help move you forward on the list--just make sure that they know you well enough to be able to offer a legitimate recommendation (rather than a "my golfing buddy's kid is applying, and I hear he's smart...", which won't do much good.) Getting moved in off the waitlist can be a matter of being marginally better than the rest of the waitlist pack--and having multiple people speak up to recommend you can be enough to move you to the front of the pack.

(By the way, how do you approach them? Easy--tell them that you were waitlisted, tell them that it's still your top school, and ask their advice on what you should do--if they feel comfortable contacting the admissions office on your behalf, they'll probably volunteer. If not, you can ask directly, just don't be pushy about it--not everyone feels comfortable lobbying their alma mater on someone's behalf.)

• Contact your interviewer. Don't know a current trustee for your school? Try contacting your interviewer. If your interview went well, you probably developed enough of a rapport to be able to email your interviewer. Just shoot them an email, tell them you were waitlisted, explain that their school is still your top choice and again, ask their advice. If they felt strongly about your application, they'll be able to contact the admissions office to reiterate your strength as an applicant--or, they might have other advice on what you can do to strengthen your application. Regardless, letting them know your status can't hurt.
  

• Send in updates. Depending on the school, they may already require you to send in a mid-year update if you're waitlisted. If not, think about doing so anyway--just make sure to keep it short. A quick hand-written note with a one-page bullet-point update on your activities, accomplishments, grades, etc from fall semester can't hurt. You accomplish two tasks: You've given the admissions office more evidence for why you're a good applicant for admissions and you've reiterated your commitment to the school. Again, getting in off the waitlist can come down to very marginal issues--and if you've taken the time to send in a hand-written note and update the school on your activities, it may push you ahead of other applicants who didn't bother to do so.

Are any of these suggested guaranteed to get you in during the regular admissions round? Not really. But, unless you make yourself obnoxious (don't call the admissions office, don't send brownies....), putting a little extra effort in might make just enough of a difference to move you to the front of the list. Good luck! ----CJ