For juniors, and underclassmen who like to think ahead, here is some advice about waitlists:

The post-secondary planning website Naviance has a tool called Scattergram to help you research colleges. It compares your GPA, SAT scores, and ACT scores with those of other students who applied to the schools you’re interested in, while also displaying the fates of those former students.  Below is the Scatterplot for SUNY Geneseo.

Take a careful look at the purple dots on the scatter plot. These dots represent a hidden demographic of college admissions: waitlists. Back when I was looking at schools and trying to decide what schools to apply to as safeties, targets, and reach schools, I relied heavily on these plots. For the underclassmen, if these categories sound unfamiliar, don’t worry. Your guidance counselor will go over them in junior year.  

I paid the most attention to the green dots and checks. I wanted to get in, so I paid attention to the other kids who got in. What scores did they have? What scores did I need to get in? It never occured to me that I would be a purple dot, another kid left in the purgatory of the college admissions process. I didn’t understand how waitlists work, or even what my chances would be of being put on one. I never heard my upperclassmen friends talking about it; they were either accepted or rejected

While I had credentials that fit my target schools, such as test scores, averages, extracurriculars, and an essay of decent quality, I became one of those purple dots. I was waitlisted at three schools, although I admit that one of them was kind of a reach. As it turned out, I applied to college in what would go down in the history books as one of the most difficult admission years to date. To give you an idea of what amount of kids were waitlisted, schools such as Brown and Cornell admitted less students than they placed on the waitlist, according to the Brown Daily Herald and Cornell.edu. While this may not be the case for all schools, the tremendous number of qualified applications is a trend that swept colleges around the nation, contributing to the waitlist dilemma.

So, I was a casualty of the college admissions process. I was in a spot I never even imagined I would end up, didn’t understand, and wanted to get out of.  My next step was to find out how. With my cautionary tale mostly complete, here is what I learned:

How waitlists work: The no-mans-land of college admissions

Waitlists are a method for colleges to fill empty spots in their enrollment after some applicants inevitably go to a different school. Basically, the colleges compile a list of applications that were qualified, but slightly less so in some way than the admitted decisions. Waitlisted students usually must tell the college that waitlisted them whether or not they would like to remain on the waitlist. Students may have anywhere from two weeks to up until May 1st to do this. Prior to May 1st, “decision day”, waitlisted students must also put down a deposit at a different school that they were admitted to. That way, in the more than likely event that the school does not grant the student admission, they will still be able to go to a college. This system means that while most students will know where they are going by May 1st, those on waitlists are still stuck in a limbo of not knowing for certain where they are headed. Waitlist decisions can come anytime from mid-May through July, though this varies by school. The pre-May deposit would be, in all likelihood, non-refundable. There can also be a deadline to respond to whether or not the student is still interested in attending, should (s)he be let off the waitlist.

What to do about waitlists: Some general advice

There is no sure-fire way to be offered admission off of a waitlist, but there are some steps students can take to help their odds. Keep in mind that the best course of action depends on the school and the student.

1. Start with some research. Every school is different. Some rank their waitlists and may even tell students where they stand. Some schools accept supplemental material, such as further essays, letters of recommendation, updated activities resumes, etc. Some may not.
2. Meet with your guidance counselor. Because there are so many variables to the college application process, and waitlisting with it, your guidance counselor can be a great resource to help you come up with your best course of action.
3. Act on it. Colleges like when you show interest in attending, and sending material that improves your application can tip the balance between admittance and rejection.

The Fate of the Waitlisted

While waitlists are one last bit of hope for admittance to dream schools, the reality is that the odds of getting into a school off of a waitlist can be as low as a single-digit percentage, according to the Huffington Post. That being said, by some miracle I was offered admission from my top school. If you find yourself waitlisted at your dream school, hanging in and taking what steps you can to improve your chances might result in admission. As the saying goes, you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.