Do people actually get off waitlists?

[HooHooHooHoosiers]

So the schools that I have heard back from so far have all been waitlists. Does anyone know if it’s actually possible to get into a grad program from a waitlist?! Obviously every school is different, but it is just very stressful knowing you may not get in. The schools I have replied to basically said they won’t give out any information about ranking/how many people were waitlisted. Anyone else in this same boat? Have any positive thoughts?! 

[SLP2BNY]

I am a first year graduate student and I know of many many people who got in off wait lists, in fact I think more than half of my class was put on the waitlist at first! Most people apply to around 5-8 schools, so everyone that gets accepted first round has until April 15th to decide, and then they have to turn down all the other offers at the other schools they applied to which opens many more spots after April 15th. So usually they send out a lot more acceptances after April 15th, and then then they keep sending out more and more acceptances until all the spots are filled. I know a girl who got waitlisted at all 5 schools she applied to, and ended up getting into all 5 after April 15th. I've heard of people getting off the waitlist as late as July. Good luck! 

[samman1994]

While I'm not in SPL, I was waitlisted for one of my schools, and did receive an acceptance letter ~2 weeks after my waitlist email. In my instance, one of the faculty members at the school personally arranged some funds for me and got me accepted. The acceptance later basically said if I did accept, I would have to work in his lab due to this. 

[snoves]

Totally! One of my friends actually got accepted a few weeks after April 15th (after been waitlisted and rejected everywhere), and even received a grant! Every school, like you said, is different though. Some end up accepting many people off the waitlist and some only maybe one or two, but I wouldn't give up yet!

[GeeLee]

I’m on the same boat.. but being waitlisted is a lot better than being rejected!! There is still hope!  

[HooHooHooHoosiers]

Well this makes me feel a little bit better! I think the waiting and uncertainty are what is killing me! I feel like I have been literally checking the results page/my email like 100 times a day since the end of February haha 

[ObsessLP]

I would imagine quite a few people get in off the waitlist. Like @snoves said, it probably depends on the school and how many offers they sent out in the first place, but I've noticed that many admitted students in the programs I have gotten into are planning on declining offers. So many people apply to 10+ schools, so I'd be optimistic about getting bumped up. Good luck!

[haneyjcdis18]

I was friends with a lot of the applicants from my undergrad last year. I'd say 11-12 of them where waitlisted at all of their schools and only 1 of them ended up not being accepted into a program. I've also only heard waitlist and no's, so i can relate! Good luck, and try to breath. April 15th will be here soon enough.

[Southwestspeechie]

Does anyone know about the University of Arizona's wait list? When I sent an e-mail they said they couldn't provide more information, which I understand. They also said they did not have a wait list last year, but I saw on the results page that at least 1-2 people reported getting accepted off the wait list last year. Good luck to all of my fellow wait list people  

[HooHooHooHoosiers]

@haneyjcdis18 Good luck to you! Only a month away!

[HooHooHooHoosiers]

Received yet another waitlist decision today! Two more schools to hear from but wouldn't be shocked if those are also waitlists. 

[azure]

1 hour ago, HooHooHooHoosiers said:

Received yet another waitlist decision today! Two more schools to hear from but wouldn't be shocked if those are also waitlists. 

What schools were you waitlisted at?

[HooHooHooHoosiers]

49 minutes ago, azure said:

What schools were you waitlisted at?

I have been waitlisted at UW-River Falls, TWU, WSU and Maryville. I was rejected from FSU and am waiting to hear back from 2 other schools. My GPA is on the lower end, but I have 3 1/2 years of experience in the field.

[AlwaysaFalcon]

Like @SLP2BNY said its absolutely right! I was one of those people that got accepted off the waitlist at the end of July!!! By then I made a decision to attend another school but still it can happen!

[SLPingUp]

Currently In the same boat, except the school I got waitlisted from ranked the number I am on the waitlist. I’m not sure how many were waitlisted, but I was ranked as number 5 on the waiting list.

Should I still feel hopeful of getting in? I’m feeling really doubtful at the moment, even though #5 is pretty high up there. 

[HooHooHooHoosiers]

@gianinainabottle Personally I think you probably have a good chance if you’re number five! You never know how many they’ll take but I would for sure be hopeful with that! 

[SLPingUp]

17 hours ago, HooHooHooHoosiers said:

@gianinainabottle Personally I think you probably have a good chance if you’re number five! You never know how many they’ll take but I would for sure be hopeful with that! 

Thank you so much! I needed to hear something positive. It’s been nothing but bad news the past few weeks  

I’m trying to be hopeful, obviously. But for the past few years they’ve only taken 1-2 people off the waiting list, and I’m not sure how far down the rankings they’ve gotten. 

[ACaffeinatedWandress]

They do all the damn time. I knew so many people at my undergrad (top public school in usa) who were waitlisted and got in anyway. Most of us gave applied to multiple schools, and get more than one acceptance.

I am waitlisted at one school because their admins fucked up processing my application (if it is so hard for you to track your own website and CSDCAS application at the same time, make it one single thing). I sent them screen shots of their mistake, asked for clarification, they stopped contacting me, and put me o  their waitlist two days later. 

I was since accepted into a much better program. I pity the fecklesd and arrogant admins at the other place if they take me off the waitlist, lol.

[ACaffeinatedWandress]

If you are number 5, you are fine.

[jnbfutureslp]

I have heard of lot's of people getting in off waitlists so don't lose hope! Just think about how many programs people apply to and they can't go to every single one they're accepted to, so they need the people on the waitlists to fill all the seats! I think some schools utilize their waitlists more too. 

[HooHooHooHoosiers]

Waitlist queen over here. I’m on six waitlists! Hoping to get in at least one; top choices would be TWU (Texas womans) or WSU (Washington state). Anyone have any info about these? Know how many got in from the waitlist last year? 

[snoves]

43 minutes ago, HooHooHooHoosiers said:

Waitlist queen over here. I’m on six waitlists! Hoping to get in at least one; top choices would be TWU (Texas womans) or WSU (Washington state). Anyone have any info about these? Know how many got in from the waitlist last year? 

I have heard that WSU accepts the top 25 and waitlists the next 25. I would expect that quite a few people get off the waitlist that way! I'm not sure if I'm attending yet (probably will if I don't get accepted to any California schools) but if i end up declining I hope you get a chance!

[HooHooHooHoosiers]

19 minutes ago, snoves said:

I have heard that WSU accepts the top 25 and waitlists the next 25. I would expect that quite a few people get off the waitlist that way! I'm not sure if I'm attending yet (probably will if I don't get accepted to any California schools) but if i end up declining I hope you get a chance!

Well 25 doesn’t seem too bad! Good luck with your other schools! 

[helenaaa]

I'm on three waitlists so far and none of them provide any information about ranking on the waitlist. Still waiting to hear back from three schools but already losing hope. 

[20SLP20]

Hi, I feel your pain. I'm also on a couple waitlists. One is my first choice school, and the program secretary said some years they go through the entire waitlist, while some years they don't use it at all. I'm really hoping to get in to the first choice school because the school I was accepted to is 8 hours away, out of state, and would be significantly more expensive. I would ask each program if there's anything you can do to improve your spot on the waitlist. The secretary I talked to said I couldn't do anything but wait and see, but I think they like to hear if you're still interested. I hope people who know they aren't interested in a school decline asap so people like you and I can get in! Hope you hear good news soon.