Getting Waitlisted at an Ivy League

[ZeeMore21]

I recently was notified by an ivy league school that I was waitlisted for their English Phd program, but they refused to tell me what position I was on the list. I honestly don't think, however, that anyone who got accepted into an ivy league school would ever give up their spot! Does anyone know of anyone who was waitlisted at an ivy league and actually got in? I definitely know that I would not wait to the last possible moment to hear from this school. I have heard of people passing up offers from schools in hopes of making it off of the waiting list of their dream school...but also being denied by the dream school at the end and left with no schools.

[fuzzylogician]

Well, if they didn't accept anyone off the waitlist, why would they bother maintaining one in the first place? I'm sure there are people out there who got accepted to ivy league schools off the waitlist.

[Beardedman]

fuzzylogician is right. They have a waiting list for a reason. On the other hand, you've been accepted by some good schools, if they're a good fit, just go with that and don't worry about it.

[wannabee]

I honestly don't think, however, that anyone who got accepted into an ivy league school would ever give up their spot!

I am not in English but this happens quite frequently in political science. A student applying to one highly ranked program often applies to a number of schools in the "top 10", and several of these could be ivies. They are often accepted at more than one and then must make a choice.

So don't count on it, but don't give up hope either....

[surprisecake]

Anyone admitted to an ivy league school has most probably applied and been admitted to the other ivy's too... and they can't go to all of them, right?

[wanderlust07]

Whether or not a school in English can admit you off of their waitlist may well depend on your subfield (and whether someone in it gives up his/her spot)--this means the waitlist might not be ranked if the school is looking for a loose grouping of subfields or wants to strengthen one in particular this year.

I also feel obliged to point out that -- aside from wannabe's excellent point that many of these students are likely to have more than one appealing offer -- these students are unlikely to be making this decision based on something like "Ivy" vs. "not Ivy" which really says a lot less in English than an institution's reputation, placement record, research resources or publishing history, etc. in any given subfield. If another school is a better fit -- ivy or not -- a student will withdraw the application, leaving you a spot.

If your schools all share the April 15th deadline, you'll know if you have a spot by the decision deadline anyway...