Indian girl with fist in air, smiling in excitement, looking at opened mail

How to Escape Your Dream College's Waitlist

Been waitlisted at your dream school? Learn how to do waitlist research, keep your extracurricular activities up, and market yourself to sway your chances.

The stakes feel high when your #1 choice college writes to say you’ve been waitlisted. But don’t get caught up in whether you should be happy you’re not rejected or sad you’re not accepted. Instead, focus your thoughts on something productive: a plan.First, there are a few important things to know. Only about 5%–10% of students are admitted off the waitlist for any given school (even less for highly selective colleges). Second, waitlisted students are not told whether they’ve been admitted (or not) until after the May 1 deadline. This means that you will have to choose the best fit from among your acceptances.

Before making your stand to be admitted off the waitlist, pause for a moment and consider how much you actually want to attend this college. You should really only ask to remain on the waitlist if you are certain you will attend upon acceptance. If your acceptances from other colleges take priority or are equally desirable, it’s best to refuse that waitlist offer. However, if this is, in fact, your dream college, do immediately notify the admission office that you would like to stay on the waitlist and prepare your best persuasion tactics. You’ve met the basic admission requirements of your dream school having been waitlisted, so now it’s time for the final push.

Do your research

Find out if being waitlisted has any disadvantages. Due to a later acceptance, you might find fewer housing, parking, and financial aid opportunities. It’s important to understand what these difficulties are ahead of time so that alternative options can be found, such as considering another college you've been accepted to that is comparable to your dream school. Also call the admission office and ask if the waitlist is ranked. If it is, find out where you rank—the higher you are on the waitlist, the greater your chance of acceptance.

Related: 5 Things to Research Again Before Choosing a College

Maintain your academics and activities

Resist the temptation of slipping into senioritis and maintain good grades to impress your dream college with your dedication to academics. Colleges may use your final grades as their deciding factor for acceptance, so keep up the good work and, even better, show improvement if you can. Also, be sure to invest in your extracurriculars/ Are you head of a club or interested in becoming one? Want to enter a competition? Go for it. Colleges are interested in students who will contribute to their campus community, not just do well academically. Showing leadership and commitment to your high school and local community can help you gain an edge in the eye of the admission office.

Find ways to further market yourself

Don’t just send your request to stay on the waitlist and relax. This is where those persuasion tactics come in. Write a letter to the admission office and explain why you think their school is the perfect fit and how you can contribute to their college community. Above all, emphasize your desire to attend and make sure to let them know you will be attending if accepted. Also, take the opportunity to inform them about any new accomplishments, honors, stellar grades, or anything else to demonstrate you go the extra mile.

Going the extra mile might look like one final letter of recommendation, which some schools allow. Find a teacher, mentor, or counselor who is willing to write one for you explaining why you would be a good fit for the school. If you haven’t been interviewed, request to be, and if you did an interview, go for round two. It’s important to put a face to the application, and there’s no better way to do that than to sit before the dean of admission and put forth your best self. I know of one young lady who even made a pop-up book of the college’s campus from a brochure and taped a photo of herself, so when they opened the physical mail it said, “I’ve been picturing myself at your university!” Get creative, and compete if you really want this.

Related: How to Ace Your College Interview

If you follow all of these tips, know that you’ve done your best. Prepare for the fall semester, and meanwhile, keep your fingers crossed for your dream school’s last-minute decision. However, a word of caution: Do not harass the admission officers with multiple emails or phone calls. This could easily provoke a rejection.

If you are accepted off the waitlist, celebrate the end of college admission purgatory! Inform your previous school that you will not be attending and your dream school that you will be attending. You deserve to look ahead to your first freshman classes and the educational enlightenment your dream college has in store for you. By the time you get there, you’ll have earned it.

For more advice on improving your chances of getting into your dream college, check out our College Admission—Improve Your Chances section.

Like what you’re reading?

Join the CollegeXpress community! Create a free account and we’ll notify you about new articles, scholarship deadlines, and more.

Join Now

Tags:

About Pamela Donnelly

Pamela Donnelly

Pamela Donnelly is a #1 bestselling author (SWAT Team Tactics for Getting Your Teen Into College), speaker, and educational expert working as an independent admission consultant. As Time magazine's go-to college admission expert, she has appeared on regional and national television.

Donnelly is a frequent speaker at live events throughout the greater Los Angeles region and a passionate advocate for education reform. She graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Columbia University with degrees in Literature/Writing and Secondary Education. A professional educator for more than 20 years and a former on-camera talent under contract to ABC-TV, she is the academic expert trusted by some of the most discerning and notable parents in Los Angeles.

 

Join our community of
over 5 million students!

CollegeXpress has everything you need to simplify your college search, get connected to schools, and find your perfect fit.

Join CollegeXpress

College Quick Connect

Swipe right to request information.
Swipe left if you're not interested.

Manhattanville University

Purchase, NY


Maliha

Maliha

High School Class of 2019

My college search began at CollegeXpress. Due to this helpful tool, I was able to gather a lot of information to guide my college planning decisions. Through CollegeXpress, I was also able to apply to several scholarships to help pay for my tuition. I would definitely recommend this website to anyone who wants to explore colleges and get more information from admission experts, counselors, and real students.

Kory Gilbertson

Kory Gilbertson

High School Class of 2022

CollegeXpress has helped me explore my views on college in that "why do I wanna go to a certain school" way. It’s helped me explore the best fits in all of these outstanding choices. All these college admission counselors can access my accolades showing them how I could help their college. This source of information helps me show these admission directors who I am and what I'm interested in. Thanks to this platform, my experience for education will be better than most, and I'm so grateful for all that it has provided for me.

Rhiannon Teeter

Rhiannon Teeter

$2,000 Community Service Scholarship Winner, 2012

I have spent a lot of time aggressively searching for scholarships. It was a long and frustrating process until I found the CollegeXpress network. This site made my search so much easier. With the simple check of a few boxes, the site sorted out scholarships I was eligible for and led me directly to the correct websites. Winning this scholarship has definitely given me and my family some financial relief, and CollegeXpress has allowed me to improve my chances of winning further financial aid. Thank you so much!

Rose Kearsley

Rose Kearsley

High School Class of 2021

CollegeXpress has seriously helped me out a lot, especially when it comes to scholarships and studying for tests like the ACT. I also really love the financial help. It’s a little harder to pay because I live with a family of eight, so any help is appreciated. Thanks for this opportunity!

Anthony Vidal

Anthony Vidal

High School Class of 2023

CollegeXpress has helped me in a series of different ways when it comes to finding scholarships and learning information about different universities. I actually found my dream university through CollegeXpress and am working on getting there.