Advice Column: How Do I Navigate The Waitlist?

Hello readers – thanks for your many questions about navigating the wait list. Today we will offer general guidelines about how to interact with the schools, along with answers to some specific (and common) questions.

“How do I navigate the waitlist?”  

Karen:  First, as with all aspects of the application process, it’s important to follow the rules that are set out by the school. Be sure to opt into the waitlist, for instance, if that’s required. Pay attention to dates, and also check your portal and/waitlist letter for additional instructions.

Amy:  Gather your patience and optimism. Anything can happen in the time ahead. Start with the facts and what you may be able to control. After receiving a waitlist decision take some time to think about if you even want to wait. You may already have other offers, you may decide to continue working, or even decide the waiting is no good for your overall well-being. If you decide to wait, follow the lead of the admissions committee. You may need to officially accept this offer before you receive additional feedback/guidance. 

Karen: Regrading that feedback, it’s really critical to follow the procedures that are outlined by the school. For instance, if the school tells you not to send more letters of recommendation, and not to visit or update them unless there is a material change in your candidacy, please believe them. It won’t help your candidacy, and it might hurt your chances.

Karen: Along these lines, take this opportunity to look critically at your application. Are there tangible areas in which you can improve? Are you willing to take those steps, like potentially retaking an exam? Speaking of which, we received several questions about testing. For instance, “As a waitlisted student, who has been asked to improve GMAT score in the application feedback from the school, can you switch to GRE?” Also, “as a waitlisted student who had been asked to retake GMAT/GRE, how long do you have to submit your new scores so that your application is reviewed in the subsequent round?”

Amy: On testing, I have recommended that a candidate retake their GMAT or GRE and I have also suggested switching tests. The heart of this recommendation is the committee asking you to present a more competitive test score. This may be the type of individual feedback a school can share with you while on the waitlist. Regarding timing, factor in some time to schedule and prepare to retake the recommended test. Once you have a new test score to share, update your admissions portal or admissions officer (or both!). An action taken or update shared with the committee may not result in any immediate change, but you may feel a greater satisfaction knowing you did everything possible. 

Karen: Some schools will offer you waitlist feedback, which is a gift. If you are able to hear directly from the admissions committee about your candidacy, definitely take advantage of this option. 

Amy: And feedback can take many forms. An admissions committee may provide feedback with specific action to take or the committee may offer the option to wait with no recommended action. Many schools receive more qualified applications than they can immediately offer admission. Your waitlist offer means you would absolutely contribute to the incoming class and there may be a metric where you could be more competitive compared to the larger applicant pool. Depending upon the volume and quality of the applicant pool in a given round, the committee recognizes your potential but cannot make an offer at the exact moment in time.  

Karen: People frequently wonder how long they will stay on the waitlist, and what their odds are. As a waitlisted candidate, you should decide how long you are willing to wait. Potentially, schools might still admit students into the summer months. 

Amy: Do not despair when you hear the answer, “it depends…..”. The admissions committee is also waiting. We are waiting for candidates to officially enroll, waiting for Round 3 decisions to be finalized, waiting to see if candidates have shared updates to their applications, and waiting to see if there are additional seats in the class to offer. Time will pass, but you can empower yourself by looking inward to determine your timeline. In my experience, we have admitted candidates in subsequent decision rounds, and through May, June, and July. It is also possible the waitlist could close earlier than expected, waiting would no longer be an option, and the conversation with the school may turn toward reapplication strategies for a future year. 

Karen: It’s legitimately impossible to estimate your odds of admission, since the class composition is in flux at this point in the cycle. After the deposit deadlines, schools will take another look at their enrollment, and then consider how waitlisted candidates might round out the class profile and contribute to the community.

Amy: I agree. The waitlist is a season unto itself. When official rounds close in an admissions cycle, the class begins to take shape, but it is not static. While a candidate may have officially enrolled, life can present challenges and choices that take them down a different path. I have worked with students who initially enrolled and then cancelled in the months prior to the start of term because they chose another school, a personal situation interrupted their plans and they requested a deferral, or they decided to take a professional opportunity and reapply in a future cycle. These are the types of choices that may open a seat for a waitlisted candidate to be offered admission.

Karen: Bottom line, you wouldn’t be on the waitlist if there wasn’t a chance of admission. The Committee sees potential in your application. As Amy said, there is reason to be optimistic!

Are you looking for the real answers to your burning admissions questions to be featured in a future blog? Ask away, no topic is off limits!

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Karen has more than 15 years of experience evaluating candidates for admission to Dartmouth College and to the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. Since founding North Star Admissions Consulting in 2012, she has helped applicants gain admission to the nation’s top schools, including Stanford, Harvard, Yale, Wharton, MIT, Tuck, Columbia, Kellogg, Booth, Haas, Duke, Johnson, Ross, NYU, UNC, UCLA, Georgetown and more. Clients have been awarded more than $70 million dollars in scholarships, and more than 98% have gotten into one of their top choice schools. about an MBA application scholarship – applications due May 1st.

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