There are 3 decisions you can hear in this admissions season:
- Admitted
- Denied
- Waitlisted
The first two responses let you know where you stand right away. “Waitlisted” is a bit fuzzier because the applicant is left in limbo. Especially when it’s your spring of the senior year and your classmates are talking about where they are going next year, the waitlisted applicant can feel caught in an awkward place. The applicant can decide to be removed from the waitlist. However, if they decide to stay on the waitlist, then there will be the urge to “do something.”
As students are wringing their hands to figure out the ins-and-outs of the waitlist, these suggestions featured in the Washington Post may be helpful:
1. Tell your parents to butt out. If they get involved in communicating with the college you desire, you are sunk. Once you tell them what you plan to do in steps two, three and four, they will probably calm down and go do the dishes or some other useful chore. That’s what I did when I became too excited during my own children’s college journeys.
2. Get out a plain sheet of paper and write a letter. It is best to do this in longhand, but if that freaks you out, typing on the computer and printing it out is fine. Just make sure you send it to the college snail mail. E-mail is too informal for this appeal. (Click this article on the importance of handwriting in the college admissions process.)
3. In the letter, make two points, each with three parts. Tell the college of three very specific opportunities it offers that fit with your interests and dreams and plans for the future. Then tell the college of three very specific qualities that you possess that fit with the college’s traditions and values, and why you will be a good asset if they let you in.
4. Somewhere in this letter, say something that is gently self-deprecating. If you are telling them how much you could help their championship debating team, and how much their skills would add to your own in your favorite activity, you could say something like: “I admit I have a tendency to go over the time limit, leading my teammates to call me ‘Just One More Second Jones,’ but that’s better than running out of ideas too soon, right?”
via How to get off that college wait list – Class Struggle – The Washington Post.
What are you doing to get off the waiting list?
