Dear Seniors-

By now, you have probably heard from most, if not all, of your colleges, and many of you have likely received a waitlist offer or two. What are waitlists? What do they mean? What can I expect from such offers? These and other questions are probably running through your head, which is perfectly understandable.  We hope that this post helps you to better understand what a waitlist offer is, what it might mean, and how best to manage it relative to your offers of admission.

What Is a Waitlist, Anyway?   

Think of a waitlist offer as being quite straightforward—the college sees you as an admissible, fully-qualified candidate.  It is an endorsement of your qualifications and your competitiveness in their applicant pool.  It is also, from an enrollment management perspective, an effective way for colleges to ensure that they have enough available students to fill their first-year class should the need arise.  By using the waitlist, colleges can allow just enough students into school to meet their needs and interests.  For example, if a college needs more students from a certain geographic region, they can use the waitlist to admit more students from that part of the country.  Or if they need to admit, say, more women, they can use the waitlist to do so.  In brief, the waitlist is the college’s way to “fine-tune” and manage their enrollment.

What To Do With a Waitlist Offer?

Generally, when you receive a waitlist offer, the letter from the admission office will clearly explain what you need to do should you want to be on their waitlist.  If you have a strong interest in remaining on a college’s waitlist, then you should follow their instructions for doing so as soon as you can.  If you are only mildly interested in remaining on the waitlist, we would suggest that you do not remain on the waitlist.   As a general rule, you should only stay on a relatively small number of waitlists, and they should only be schools that you would definitely go to over the schools you’ve already been admitted to. 

Being on a Waitlist…Now What?  

In a few weeks, it will be time for you to email a letter to your waitlist schools to provide a brief update and statement of interest.  It could go something like this:

Dear (name of admission rep if you know it or something more general, like Office of Admission)

     My name is John Doe from Memorial High School (NJ) and I am currently on your waitlist.  I write to express my strong interest in attending College X and to provide an update of my senior year progress.

    I finished the third marking period with a 89 average, my best record to date, and this spring I hope to earn a place on the high honor roll.  I am really enjoying my classes and hope to finish out my career at Memorial in grand fashion.  I am also looking forward to playing on the varsity baseball team this spring, where I am team captain.  Away from school, I continue to work part-time at the local grocery store stocking shelves.  Finally, I am looking forward to graduation and the summer, when I will continue to play summer baseball, work part time, and to spend time with friends and family.

   I have been offered admission to three colleges, (A, B, and C) and am currently deciding on which school I will attend.  While these are all fine options, my strong preference would be to attend College X.  I believe that its proximity to my home, its strong art history department, and the opportunity to play on the baseball team suits me really well.   Soon I will make my decision to enroll at either A, B or C, but I remain hopeful that I will have the chance to attend College X. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

XXXXX

What Can I Expect From a Waitlist Offer?  

When it comes to waitlists, every year is a new year…it’s nearly impossible to know before May 1 whether your waitlist school(s) will go to their waitlists.  The best thing to do, after sending in your waitlist letter(s), is to turn your full attention to the school where you have chosen to enroll.  Getting excited about where you will be going to college is always the best strategy.  Put your waitlist school(s) on the back burner, so to speak, and concentrate on your final weeks of high school, as you will never get these days back.

What if I am Offered a Place Off the Waitlist?

This is where things can sometimes get tricky.  For instance, let’s say that you’ve decided to remain on three waitlists…you like all three schools, but you really have your heart set on one of them.  You then receive a phone call from one of your three schools–not your top choice, though–and you are offered a place off the waitlist and all the financial aid you might need.  You’ve given 48 hours to make a decision.  This is where things can get confusing…do you accept the offer or do you choose to wait to see if your favorite school comes through with an offer? 

This scenario happens quite frequently, so it pays to be prepared for this type of eventuality.  In an effort to best manage it, we recommend that you keep your WL schools to a minimum, to only those schools that you would definitely attend if circumstances occurred like we just described.  Ask for advice from your Circle Match advisors is always something you can do should you be confused or unsure of how to move forward.

Best,

The Circle Match Team