Click here to go to the NEW College Discussion Forum

I was waitlisted at all three schools! This is cruel and unusual punishment. I waited so long for some finality (after being deferred H EA), and now I get this.

What does this mean? Am I just a polite rejection? Or is there still hope?

By Peepilis (Peepilis) on Thursday, April 01, 2004 - 08:22 pm: Edit

If you follow up with all three schools and act enthusiastic with them, you'll have a decent chance at making it into one of them. But the only thing that will suck is how much of an inconvience it will be seeing as how you must deposit with another school. Get yourself used to the idea of going to the school you deposit at, and then you might get a nice surprise. Good Luck! I was waitlisted at WUSTL and Duke myself.

By Steffie1212002 (Steffie1212002) on Thursday, April 01, 2004 - 09:03 pm: Edit

Are you sure I have a chance? I heard most schools just drop their waitlists. It sucks to have come so far and just come up a tad short.

By Icansmile4u (Icansmile4u) on Thursday, April 01, 2004 - 09:14 pm: Edit

That's very weird situation. Aren't you the one with Stanford Starwars essay to your roommate? The chance is very little honestly speaking as far as I heard from my peers. But, when you have nothing to lose to stay on the waitlist, why not go for it? Who knows! life is full of surprises

By Icansmile4u (Icansmile4u) on Thursday, April 01, 2004 - 09:14 pm: Edit

That's very weird situation. Aren't you the one with Stanford Starwars essay to your roommate? The chance is very little honestly speaking as far as I heard from my peers. But, when you have nothing to lose to stay on the waitlist, why not go for it? Who knows! life is full of surprises

By Collegeparent (Collegeparent) on Thursday, April 01, 2004 - 09:35 pm: Edit

Where were you accepted?

By Steffie1212002 (Steffie1212002) on Thursday, April 01, 2004 - 10:39 pm: Edit

I was accepted to all the UCs, but I had my heart sent on the HYPS.

And yes, I had the Star Wars Stanford essay -- though I changed it after everyone on CC thought I was a freak. :D

By Alex614 (Alex614) on Thursday, April 01, 2004 - 10:45 pm: Edit

I was waitlisted at Harvard, and Yale. It completely broke my heart, since I had already gotten a likely letter from them. I don't understand why they would tell me that I would probably get in, and then waitlist me. Are they Sadistic??? Should I bother waiting on the list, or should I just enroll at MIT?

By Jamesj242003 (Jamesj242003) on Thursday, April 01, 2004 - 11:46 pm: Edit

Alex614

I would advise that you stay on the waitlist as suggested by icansmile 4u. As stated, you have nothing to lose.

Meanwhile, you may want to send your deposit into MIT to hold your spot. H and Y will not remove you and/or others from the waitlist until they get a head count on how many students are truly enrolling. During the interim, I would suggest some level of verbal and written communication (but not excessive) to the schools to indicate your continuing strong desire to attend if removed from the waitlist. Realize, the chances of being removed from the waitlist are quite slim, but a slim chance is better than none at all. Furthermore, if accepted, you'll have to withdraw from MIT and lose your deposit. Whatever the outcome, MIT is a great school and you/your parents should be very proud for such an accomplishment. Good luck.

By Alex614 (Alex614) on Thursday, April 01, 2004 - 11:52 pm: Edit

Thanks for the advice. I know MIT is a very good school, but it scares me. It has the highest suicide rate.

By Collegeparent (Collegeparent) on Friday, April 02, 2004 - 12:41 am: Edit

Alex -- you'd probably enjoy MIT -- and as for the suicide rate, there are a couple of other schools ahead of MIT, namely Cornell and NYU. If you think the pressure at MIT is going to get to you, then choose a less stressful environment (and Harvard and Yale won't be it) -- where else did you get in?

By Steffie1212002 (Steffie1212002) on Friday, April 02, 2004 - 12:58 am: Edit

Wow, thanks for jacking my thread.

By Lovetheriver (Lovetheriver) on Friday, April 02, 2004 - 01:17 am: Edit

i think you gonna get a lot of attention from the MIT nerds...no offence to anyone

By Eskimo (Eskimo) on Friday, April 02, 2004 - 03:11 am: Edit

The sad fact is that most students on waitlists have virtually no chance to get admitted. I think that the schools should stop deceiving these prospective students.
Last year JHU had about 1700 on its list. The only way they would have had a chance to be admitted would have been if the whole freshman class was beamed up to the Starship Enterprise.
Go to those schools that really want you. Don't consider those that only tease you. You'd just be prolonging the agony.

By Foreignboy (Foreignboy) on Friday, April 02, 2004 - 10:37 am: Edit

Steff, you have the suckiest luck ever. Do follow up with HYS, but don't get your hopes up. If you don't get in, Berkeley is a great school to fall back on.

By Jamesj242003 (Jamesj242003) on Friday, April 02, 2004 - 11:24 am: Edit

Steffie 1212002

No offense intended when I repsponded to Alex614.

You're obviously a very well qualified and capable individual in order to have made it on Harvard's waitlist. No, the waitlist is not a polite rejection. If Harvard simply had more openings in their class, you'd be accepted outright. As I had suggested to Alex614, please initiate some level of verbal and written communications to H indicating your continuing strong desire to attend if removed from the waitlist. Again, the chances of you getting off the waitlist and accepted are very slim, but they do exist. The best of luck to you.

By Emeraldlotus01 (Emeraldlotus01) on Friday, April 02, 2004 - 11:49 am: Edit

I was waitlisted at Harvard and Dartmouth and accepted by Cornell.

Harvard was my top choice, I had applied EA. What should I do now?

By Collegeparent (Collegeparent) on Friday, April 02, 2004 - 12:05 pm: Edit

What are the choices, Emeraldlotus?

By Massdad (Massdad) on Friday, April 02, 2004 - 12:16 pm: Edit

Steffie,

My D was waitlisted at H, S, Penn and Columbia. She has as much chance of attending any of the above as, well, you heard it from others above.

By Emeraldlotus01 (Emeraldlotus01) on Friday, April 02, 2004 - 11:33 pm: Edit

My choices (and decisions, if any) are:

Harvard (waitlisted), Yale (rejected), Brown (rejected), GWU (waitlisted), Princeton (pending), Cornell (accepted), Dartmouth (waitlisted), NYU (accepted), Stony Brook Honors College (accepted), Binghamton (accepted), University of Rochester (accepted).

Harvard to NYU are my top choices overall.

By Collegeparent (Collegeparent) on Saturday, April 03, 2004 - 12:23 am: Edit

Emeraldlotus, it seems that your choice is between the accepted schools since you'll have to put down deposit money while you wait for the WLs. Therefore, I guess you're looking at Cornell and NYU as the top choices, not Harvard. They're two entirely different environments, so it depends on if you want to be in the middle of New York City or New York State. If it were I, it'd be Cornell for all the obvious reasons.

By Steffie1212002 (Steffie1212002) on Saturday, April 03, 2004 - 04:26 pm: Edit

Screw the waitlist...I'm in a Princeton.

After agonizing over my crappy luck with all those waitlists, Princeton has had an intervention for my sanity.

Closure, finally.

Thanks for the helpful comments!

By Emeraldlotus01 (Emeraldlotus01) on Sunday, April 04, 2004 - 07:12 pm: Edit

Wow, Princeton? That's so cool. Congrats!

I got my rejection letter yesterday from Princeton, no surprises there. Sooo, I'm 99.99% sure I'm headed to Cornell. :-)

By Jrpar (Jrpar) on Sunday, April 04, 2004 - 07:53 pm: Edit

I think it is worthwhile keeping in contact with the admissions offices to try to get off the waiting list(s), although I wouldn't set my heart on it working. A high school classmate of mine, a talented cartoonist, was waitlisted at Harvard. He sent a cartoon every few days to Harvard, making his case, and he did get off the waiting list!

By Mzhang23 (Mzhang23) on Sunday, April 04, 2004 - 10:10 pm: Edit

Congrats!

By Papalemming (Papalemming) on Wednesday, April 14, 2004 - 07:56 pm: Edit

Hey I still haven't received the waitlist letter.

Until when can I send the wailist form? Won't it be too late?

Damn international mail. I think I better call tomorrow.