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I have FOUR WAITLISTS! As of today, i am waitlisted at Emory, Rochester, Washington and UMichigan. I have only been accepted to UW Madison and am not completely comfortable with attending there. I am still waiting for Boston U and UPenn. My number one choice is Washington. I am devestated and desperate. What should I do?

By Militarygrade (Militarygrade) on Friday, March 28, 2003 - 12:55 am: Edit

You can either get a job at MacDonald's, or go to UW Madison.

Be happy you got in somewhere! Jeeze...you act like your life is over! Just get in the top 5% of your class at UW and getting into a strong graduate school will be a breeze.

By Cara811888 (Cara811888) on Friday, March 28, 2003 - 04:23 am: Edit

yep atleast u got somewhere, better than getting nowhere dont u think? Then u can freak out ..Just hope for the best for the other unis, and maybe send a letter or something.

By Wisconsinguy (Wisconsinguy) on Friday, March 28, 2003 - 07:19 am: Edit

If the other two waitlist or reject you, send in your deposit to Madison (actually, it should already be in). Then beg Washington, let them know you really want to attend. If they end up accepting you, go there. If they don't, have fun at Madison.

By Momx3 (Momx3) on Friday, March 28, 2003 - 07:52 am: Edit

Waitlists can be so stressful. Look towards the admits that you have yet continue to bolster your apps. at those waitlisted schools. Send in new grades and information, write a note to the admissions officer stating that it is still your number one choice and send it by express mail. That way you know someone from admissions will actually have to handle it. If nothing else you get name recognition as some colleges do not rank waitlists the selection from those lists can be haphazard.Good luck and don't forget you can always transfer.

By Dferraro (Dferraro) on Friday, March 28, 2003 - 01:26 pm: Edit

You know you say "waitlisted everywhere" in your subject post but you got into UW madison...

if i were a kid who really liked UW madison and really tried hard to get in there and got REJECTED...i'd pretty much want to punch you very hard in the face right now.

By Asdf (Asdf) on Friday, March 28, 2003 - 01:56 pm: Edit

Madison is the bomb ••••! If you don't get into the other schools, you'll have a fine education there.

By Thedad (Thedad) on Friday, March 28, 2003 - 03:47 pm: Edit

Put in your deposit to UW Madison, tell Washington you're really interested and hope your spring off the waitlist.

Madison is a fine school and there's no sense in auditioning for the role of Eeyore over this.

What Dferraro said. What Asdf said. What Militarygrade said. What Momx3 said.

Sheesh. If this is the worse adversity you ever have to deal with in your life, you will be extremely fortunate.

By Asdf (Asdf) on Saturday, March 29, 2003 - 02:47 pm: Edit

How will calling the school help you get off of the waitlist?

By Lhs12213 (Lhs12213) on Sunday, March 30, 2003 - 01:11 am: Edit

Go to UW - It's as good or better than everywhere else you applied and I'm not telling you because I'm another wisconsin kid. A good offer is a good offer, don't fret about where you didn't get in because the truth is, you did get into a great school. Good luck with your decision.

By Thedad (Thedad) on Sunday, March 30, 2003 - 10:53 am: Edit

Calling the school, impressing on your admissions officer with your degree of enthusiasm and commitment may help...anecdotally, I have seen it so. If they have to pick a few out of the waitlisted pile, you have better odds if they know you really really really want to be there, or so the theory goes.

Waitlists are *not* a matter of there being a list of 1 through N and then they work their way down from the top.

By Impact (Impact) on Sunday, March 30, 2003 - 03:40 pm: Edit

I have two words for you: deferral reversal..Waitlists are far from rejections, so hope for the best and try to have good friends/professors/coaches/ teachers call the school to tell them you deserve to get in..WashU is your first choice, so show them your enthusiasm and zeal for their school..If you have a specific talent or award recently won, then send it. BUT BEFORE ALL OF THIS, send an emotional letter to them with all of these feelings and then proceed to do what I told you above..Good Luck!