Waitlisted - Answer?

[logaritym]

10 days ago I got waitlisted by one of my top choices. I was very curious what are my chances for acceptance, but decided not to bother the department. However, I saw some suggestions here that it is actually better to get in touch with the university in such case. What should I write exactly? Is it too late to do it? I don't want to sound like a whiner, but want to show that I'm interested. I saw some statistics for undergraduates and found out that the chances to get off a waitlist there are very slim (<10%), but is this the case with the graduates too?

Also, I haven't heared any news from 5 universities, which have already sent a bunch of responses to other applicants. I've read some controversial opinions on this issue - some people say that I should just wait for the rejection letter, others say that "no answer" means "waitlisted" or that some applications haven't been evaluated yet. So is it acceptable to ask why my decisions are delayed so much? I started again gnawing my nails and eating a lot of sh*t foods and really need to get some answers soon. One potential problem is that the universities are considered to be TOPs and I guess that if I become impertinent, I may blow up all my chances left.

Thank you in advance!

Edited February 21, 2011 by logaritym

[LJK]

10 days ago I got waitlisted by one of my top choices. I was very curious what are my chances for acceptance, but decided not to bother the department. However, I saw some suggestions here that it is actually better to get in touch with the university in such case. What should I write exactly? Is it too late to do it? I don't want to sound like a whiner, but want to show that I'm interested. I saw some statistics for undergraduates and found out that the chances to get off a waitlist there are very slim (<10%), but is this the case with the graduates too?

Also, I haven't heared any news from 5 universities, which have already sent a bunch of responses to other applicants. I've read some controversial opinions on this issue - some people say that I should just wait for the rejection letter, others say that "no answer" means "waitlisted" or that some applications haven't been evaluated yet. So is it acceptable to ask why my decisions are delayed so much? I started again gnawing my nails and eating a lot of sh*t foods and really need to get some answers soon. One potential problem is that the universities are considered to be TOPs and I guess that if I become impertinent, I may blow up all my chances left.

Thank you in advance!

I would send an email to your POI if you have been in contact, or to the grad coordinator/graduate director, whoever notified you of waitlist status, expressing your firm interest in the program and inquiring about the waitlist timeline. I would think that letting them know that you are really really interested would give you more of a chance than others who potentially have other offers that they are equally or more excited about and are likely to choose before this school gets back to them about the waitlist. Schools want to accept people who will come there.

Undergrad admissions and graduate admissions are completely unrelated. They are conducted by different people and have different criteria. I wouldn't use the statistics of one to guess the behavior of the other.

I would say not hearing means that either a decision hasn't been made or that they are sitting on their decision for some reason. If you decide to inquire, I would phrase it as inquiring about the status of your application, rather than asking why it is delayed. Delayed sounds negative and subtly accusatory to me and you want to present professional and pleasant to the program.

[newms]

I agree with LJK. You could also ask the grad coordinator/grad director if they are using a ranked wait-list and where you lie on it. You could also ask how many people they typically admit off the wait-list. If they have this information available, it would give you a better idea of your chances of ultimately getting in. Best of luck!

[logaritym]

Thank you guys, I already received an answer from the department. It seems that the chances are not as bad as I thought, but now I'll have to keep my fingers crossed until April.

Best of luck for you too