Waiting on the Wait List

Now that National Deposit Day has come and gone and students have made their decisions, it's time for the wait lists to begin to move. May 1, a.k.a. National Deposit Day is the day by which schools will have (ideally) received enrollment deposits from all the students who intend to attend. Some students who feel they need a little more time to decide may send deposits to more than one school. While everyone knows choosing a school is a big decision, and one that cannot be made hastily, if you send a deposit to more than one school, know that you might be prolonging the wait another student has if that student is on the wait list.

During the next 10 days, schools will begin to tally their acceptances and accompanying deposits. Once they have established how much of the class has been filled, they can move on to the wait list or not use it at all. Let's look at a hypothetical situation; a competitive school with a class size of 1000, accepted half the Class of 2017 through ED and EDII. For the 500 remaining spots, the school accepted 1500 students and assumes a 33% or 1/3 yield based on historical trends and tweaked for a greater (or lesser) number of applicants. If less than 1/3 send a deposit and the target class size has not been met, a college will turn to the wait list. They may choose who gets a phone call (it's a phone call typically) based on whether they need a student from a certain region, someone who has indicated a selected major, a theatre type, or even another male student- there are currently more females seeking admission these days. Some wait list students were offered a spot as a courtesy to legacies or those with other types of connections, and likely will not be offered a place.

If you do get the call, you will probably be given a very small window in which to make your decision. Some schools will give you 24 hours, some that are far from your home town might give you a week to make a quick visit to help you decide, and still others will expect an answer within a few days. While you should never count on a wait list moving in your favor, it is a good idea to consider what you might do if the call should come. Don't call the admissions office to ask if they have moved to the wait list. They have a lot of work to do over the next few weeks finalizing the class and they know you are waiting to hear. If you have communicated with them and let them know you would attend if offered a place, you have done all you can. Just get on with the fun of the end of your senior year and get ready for the next part of your life.