What To Do If You Get Waitlisted At Your Top School

After applying to all of your top colleges, your number one school gets back to you. Just like that, you have entered into the gray zone known as the waitlist. Don’t panic. This is exactly what you need to do if you get waitlisted!

1. Send back your response asap

It’s important that you respond to the letter as quickly as possible. If you aren’t interested anymore, you need to let them know so another student can be bumped up on the list and possibly be accepted.

2. Schedule an interview

Whether you had an interview the first time around or not, you can schedule another one to show just how interested in the school you are. This is a great way to gain a personal contact and have someone who can check on the status of your application.

3. Find out the acceptance rate/rank

It doesn’t hurt to contact the school and figure out where on the list you may be. Waitlists are made after a certain amount of students have been accepted. Sometimes, if there aren’t enough students enrolled in a specific major, they will accept some to help balance out the school’s needs.

4. Write a letter/email to admissions

Just like an interview, writing a letter to admission can help show your interest. This will also allow you to highlight anything that will give you a better chance of getting accepted. If you have been a part of community service, sports, extra curricular activites, or have AP/tests results with high ranks, let them know! Anything helps.

5. Weigh the risk

After you’ve taken these steps, it’s important to weigh the risk of waiting for an acceptance or accepting a spot at another college. Is this school your dream school or can you see yourself somewhere else? It’s important that you make this decision early so you can start enrollment at another potential school.

Whatever you do, just take a breathe and look at all of your options. Being waitlisted isn’t the end of the world and you can ALWAYS apply again next semester!

What was your experience with being waitlisted at your top school!? Share in the comments below!

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