Wait-listed

By now students have received their acceptance letters and unfortunately their rejection letters as well. Of course the letter of rejection hurts and it is hard to feel that your dream school did not want you, or maybe you knew it was really a reach. It may be true that the dream school was not the best fit but the reality of college admissions is that it is sometimes a really unpredictable process. Colleges have many things to account for when picking their incoming freshman class, all of which may or may not be a reflection of a students qualifications.

What can be more of a roller coaster, is being put on the "wait-list"! This can be the most unsettling of all the situations. How often a student makes it off a wait-list and into the incoming freshman class will vary from school to school and year to year. This is something a student cannot count on and the fact is, it could be very unlikely to happen. Your first thing to do should be to evaluate the schools you did get into, revisit them on an accepted students day, decide which of these schools you will attend and send in your deposit for the fall. Do not wait to hear from the wait-list colleges before deciding, as most schools will not pull from their wait-list until after May 1. If you really truly feel strongly about a school where you were wait-listed, there are a few things you can do. Go online and find the name of the admissions representative that you would be working with. Send an email directly to them explaining how much you are still interested in attending their school. Ask what is the chance of getting off the wait-list. Show continued interest and submit any new information or awards received after the initial college application was sent out. Ask your high school counselor about other

options. Let them know that their college is your first choice. Most of all keep everything in perspective. Good luck, enjoy and prosper at whatever school you may attend.