Unless you have only applied to one school, this feels like one of the worst responses to receive from a college. It leaves you wondering what to do next. What would you do if you asked someone to prom, and they said, "Maybe?" Let's look at some statistics to try to evaluate odds, and then put together some action steps.
Receiving a wait list notification means simply that you are not accepted and you are not denied admission. Specifically, the school has put you in line for consideration, and you might be chosen. It does not necessarily mean that the college is waiting on more information from you, although there are a few exceptions with specific schools. Wait lists at the top universities tend to be a smaller percentage of the freshman class size, because most applicants accept the invitation.
Last year, Yale's wait list was 996, Duke University's list numbered 3,382 and Princeton's list was 1,472. Different schools have different philosophies in putting applicants on a waiting list. For instance, Duke granted admission to only 60 on the wait list (about 2%), while Princeton accepted 103 from the list (about 7%). Notre Dame admitted 86 of the 1,153 who accepted a place on the wait list. Wait lists are on the rise. According to the National Association for College Admissions Counseling, in 2010, 48% of colleges used a waitlist; in 2009, the number was 39%, up from 35% the year before.
If you would like to gather info on how a specific school handled admissions last year, including the number of applications it received, accepted, wait-listed, confirmed and accepted, visit The College Board Big Future. In the upper right-hand corner of the main screen, enter the school you are interested in, and on the next screen, click "Applying" on the left-hand side for the statistics you need. These statistics will give you some feel for how the schools to which you applied handle their wait lists. According to the National Association for College Admissions Counseling, nationwide, 28% of students that landed on a wait list were admitted, a decrease from 34% the year before.
So, what can you do if you are really serious about attending the school where you are wait listed? Check with your particular college to verify their contact policy after having been notified on wait list placement. If appropriate, follow through periodically with the school, based on their suggestions or requirements. The idea here is not to inundate them with communication but, if you are allowed to, touch base periodically to let them know you continue to be interested in attending. Develop a solid "Plan B" so you are prepared with a fall-back plan for attending college should your name not be released from the wait list. In the meantime, if you decide to commit to attend another college and you have not received a final decision from your wait list college, you should contact them to notify them of your desire to remove your name from wait list consideration.
Once you've reached the wait list for a college, the odds are against your being admitted. Hopefully you received good counsel as you determined your "best fit" colleges for application, and you are sitting on other acceptance letters. Remember, the school does not make the future - the student does.
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