Study in the US

What to do if you have been waitlisted by the University of your choice?

The admission process at the US Universities is drawing to a close, and many students have found themselves on the waitlist. If you are on the waitlist it means that your application has neither been accepted nor denied. Waitlisted applicants will get to know the final status of their application only by June or July.

Most Universities receive a lot more applicants than they can accommodate. So Universities follow a rolling admissions policy. They constantly evaluate their applicant pool – waitlisted applicants are evaluated along with incoming applicants. While some students on the waitlist do get admitted eventually, everybody may not be that lucky. So be prepared to meet such an eventuality with a back up plan. If you have a confirmed seat at another school, consider accepting that offer.<.p>

How do you improve your chances of getting off the waitlist?

Being on the waitlist doesn’t mean that your application is incomplete. So, do you need to send in additional materials? You may if you have some additional letters of recommendations, essays, or any other information you have not already shared with the admissions office. Some Universities like Carnegie Mellon advise this practice. Think of all the activities you participated in since you last applied to the university. Is there any achievement that will make your application stronger? If so, you should consider sending this information to the Universities. But avoid the practice of sending an essay or a recommendation letter just for the sake of it. Most admission officials are adept at spotting the ‘fake’ list of activities or recommendation letters.

Waitlisted students are normally assigned a waitlist manager. You need to contact that person if you wish to remain under consideration for admission. If you have any changes in your application, for example, new GMAT scores or clarification of goals, you can inform the waitlist manager. If they need further information, the universities will contact applicants through their waitlist managers.

Some Universities like Stanford discourage the practice of sending in additional material. They, however, have allowed students the option of notifying the University any new awards or accomplishments they received in the meantime through an online forum.

Another practice that must be strictly avoided is making numerous calls, sending emails or stalking the admission officers asking about the status of your admission. It is quite natural for you to feel anxious and you really want to know whether you have been accepted, but wait until the university contacts you.

What if you have received admission offers from other schools?

Some students who have been waitlisted by the university of their choice do receive admission offers from other universities. In that case you should consider accepting the offer if you are happy about it. Remember that it is not always easy to get into the most prestigious schools. Inform the waitlist manager that you no longer want to be considered for admission. By asking to be removed from a waitlist, you will give another student an opportunity to be on the list.

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