Your Wait Listed - Now What!

Many private colleges are putting more students on waiting lists this year than they typically do. Some advice for wait-listed students:

• Decide if you want to stay on the wait list.

If you do, contact the school and tell them you are still interested. Ask where you place on the wait list.

• Make plans to go to college somewhere else.

Consider the wait-listed school your backup plan – even if it's your top choice. Enroll at a school you've been accepted to and put down the necessary deposit by May 1.

"A waiting list essentially means, 'No, but maybe if a whole bunch of other people do something else we'll get back to you.' To me that's a no," said Barmak Nassirian, associate executive director of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers.

• Realize that it could cost you.

Schools don't know until after May 1 if they will take any students from the wait list. If you get in from the wait list, you will lose your deposit at any other school you enrolled in. And most schools don't give financial aid to students on the wait list.

• Stay in touch.

Write to the admissions office of your wait-list school and tell them new information about yourself. Don't rehash information already included in your application. Do mention any awards, publications or other accomplishments you've earned since applying.

"Do not be a pest by any means, but keep in contact with them and let them know of your continued interest," said Mira Loma High School counselor Joan Adams.

• Call in the troops.

Consider sending an additional letter of recommendation or asking your high school counselor to call the college on your behalf. You can also ask the school if you can have a second interview.

• Chill out.

Maybe the school that wait-listed you isn't the best one for you anyway. Spend the next month thinking about what life could be like at the schools that accepted you.

– Laurel Rosenhall