Wait listing is NOT the end!

[readingredhead]

Last year I applied to six of the top ten English PhD programs in the US, was rejected by two and wait-listed by the remaining four. And I really wish that someone could have told me then what I am here to tell presently wait-listed applicants now: there IS hope. Maybe not a lot. And maybe not for everyone. But I wound up getting into my first-choice program off of the wait-list. It can be done.

Being on a wait list is one of the worst kinds of limbo. You can't just make the accepted students in your field decide to go somewhere else! But from my experience at least, there are things you CAN do:

-- Don't take it personally. This is obviously the hardest thing but one of the most important. If you've been wait-listed it means that the department believes that you are qualified and they would like you as a colleague, there are just 2-3 other people who study vaguely the same thing as you who come across better on paper (or who unknowingly have played to the strange personal tics of people on the admissions committee!). If you get in off the wait-list, no one will be able to tell that you were wait-listed just based on your performance in the program. Being wait-listed doesn't mean you're not smart and doesn't mean that you're not capable. It just means you're wait-listed.

-- Most email notifications of wait-listing ask you to respond and notify the DGS if you would like to be kept on the wait-list. Respond promptly and respectfully and concisely that you would. If the notification email hasn't invited you to attend potential visiting days and you really want to know, it might be appropriate to ask (though this isn't something I've done).

-- Even if you're not invited to the official visiting day, try to visit the campuses where you've been wait-listed and talk with professors in your field. It is a lot easier to offer admission to a friendly face than to a faceless name. If you can't afford to visit, then email with the professors in your field so that they know who you are. If possible, email with other graduate students in the program, even if they're not in your field, just to get a sense for what the department is like. You never know when professors will ask graduate students for their impressions of wait-listed candidates.

-- When you talk with profs/grad students, be concise (don't waste their time), be sincere (don't tailor your description of your interests to suit theirs, though do focus on the areas where your interests and theirs overlap!), be confident (you are just as good as everyone else who got in!), and don't be afraid to ask questions about the school and the program. You may find out important things if you just ask questions! I care a lot about teaching, so one of my questions to every professor and grad student I met was, "What are the teaching opportunities like for graduate students?" At one university, a professor answered me by laughing and saying, "How cute, you still think of them as opportunities. Frankly they're mostly a waste of time, and you should avoid them if you can afford to." Obviously this program immediately plummeted in my rankings!

-- If you try to set up appointments with professors who don't respond, or if they just don't answer your emails, see if anyone at your university knows those professors and would be willing to intercede on your behalf. I once emailed a superstar prof in a department where I was wait-listed, asking if I could meet with her and/or sit in on a class when I came to visit; I didn't get a response for two weeks. I mentioned this to one of my professors in a completely different field, it turned out she had worked with this other prof in a previous job, she emailed the prof and I got a response to my email the next day asking when it would be most convenient for me to meet!

That's all I've got for now, but I'm sure there are other people on the boards who can relate what they've done when wait-listed or what they are planning to do. To all of you hanging in limbo, my sincerest wishes of good luck!

[Grunty DaGnome]

I'm hoping to get wait listed at any of the schools extending offers to Tripp Willis

[wikichic]

As someone who is currently wait listed at their top choice program- I can't tell you how much I appreciate this advice. Thanks so much!

[gr1277]

Does anyone know the approximate number of applicants a school would waitlist? Is it comparable to the number they accept straight out, you think? Also, how encouraging have your waitlist letters been? The last sentence in my email about being on the "alternate list" was "Your chances are quite good!!"

[readingredhead]

Only one of my four waitlist emails said what my chances were (they told me I was #1 on the waitlist in my field). I later found out, by talking to a professor when I visited, that there had been 3 students accepted in that field. In the end, none of them ended up accepting their offers and I'm the only 18th c specialist in my cohort!

I don't know what protocol is for asking where you are on the waitlist or the size of the waitlist, but I think that especially as it gets down to the last days it's acceptable to ask a school about your chances, so that you'll know whether to wait or to just accept another offer.

[wikichic]

I got the "Your chances are still really good for getting in." I guess that means i'm closer to the top of their wait list, but who knows. What if they have a freakish year with over accepts? That's what I find most frightening!

I don't think DGSs and POIs are in the business of giving you false hope though (at least, I hope not!). I'm willing to wait till April 15 if I have to...but still, readingredhead is right- what a terrible limbo to be in!

[wikichic]

How long did you have to wait before you heard that you were taken off the waiting list, readingredhead, if you don't mind sharing?

[wildviolet]

Thank you so much for sharing your experiences, readingredhead! It made me feel 10x better.

I'm currently on one wait list, been accepted to one school, and waiting to hear from two schools. You're right--in limbo and not a good feeling!

[TripWillis]

I'm hoping to get wait listed at any of the schools extending offers to Tripp Willis

Ha! Funny.

[readingredhead]

Another thing that just came to mind: if you are waitlisted for your top choice, and it doesn't look like you'll necessarily get in, it's worthwhile to ask any POI what they think your chances are for getting in during the next admissions cycle. I'm incredibly thankful I didn't have to go through with that, but when I first met with the professor who's now my advisor, she encouraged me to reapply to this program if I didn't get in off the waitlist, and pretty much guaranteed that I would not be rejected a second time around.

And wikichic, I actually did not find out until the week leading up to April 15. I was contacted via email on the 10th by the DGS at the university I presently attend; she told me that it looked very likely that they would have a spot for me if I still wanted it but asked me to confirm that I was still interested, since if I wasn't they would want to notify the people lower down on the list as quickly as possible. I wrote back and told her honestly that this school was absolutely my first choice and I was willing to wait. The afternoon of the 14th, I received my offer email, and I wrote back immediately accepting their offer. Later that night I actually got an email from my #2 school asking if I was still interested in remaining on their waitlist; this email suggested there might have been a spot for me if I wanted it. I responded immediately saying that I'd already accepted another offer. And then one school had the audacity to email me on the 19th saying that they were sorry if I had made up my mind already but they were obviously the best school ever and there were ways to get out of commitments I had previously made elsewhere, since a spot had miraculously opened up! (They were at the bottom of my list, and I never felt quite so good as when I got to email them back saying "as if!" I mean, not in so many words...but still.)

[wikichic]

Wow- April 14th?! It's crazy how so many people wait until the very last minute to make decisions. I know if I get accepted to this program, I will immediately notify my other schools and bow out quickly. I will definitely take your advice and contact the POI if I don't get in off the wait list. Thanks so much for your help! You've given me hope

[Grunty DaGnome]

Wow- April 14th?! It's crazy how so many people wait until the very last minute to make decisions. I know if I get accepted to this program, I will immediately notify my other schools and bow out quickly. I will definitely take your advice and contact the POI if I don't get in off the wait list. Thanks so much for your help! You've given me hope

Yeah, many people who get accepted to one get accepted to several. And while you think you know what your first, second, third choice would be, it's too big a decision not to go visit, talk to other grad students, meet potential advisors. I wouldn't expect anyone to accept before they did all this and before all their outstanding applications were officially accepted or rejected. Not to mention, the person admitted to your dream program, might be waitlisted at their dream program, so they are waiting on other people's decision before they can make theirs and you can make yours.

[Stately Plump]

It is definitely encouraging to hear success stories from people getting in off the wait list! There's hope for us yet!

One of my professors now, who got his Ph.D. from Maryland, was contacted in JUNE! They called him and told him to come on down (though this was in the late 80s/early 90s).

[TripWillis]

Yeah, many people who get accepted to one get accepted to several. And while you think you know what your first, second, third choice would be, it's too big a decision not to go visit, talk to other grad students, meet potential advisors. I wouldn't expect anyone to accept before they did all this and before all their outstanding applications were officially accepted or rejected. Not to mention, the person admitted to your dream program, might be waitlisted at their dream program, so they are waiting on other people's decision before they can make theirs and you can make yours.

Yeah I'm starting to get freaked about this! Was not expecting this at all -- thought I would MAYBE get into one and then be glad to go there.

[Grunty DaGnome]

Yeah I'm starting to get freaked about this! Was not expecting this at all -- thought I would MAYBE get into one and then be glad to go there.

Don't stress, enjoy it! Think of it as a good excuse to visit places and meet people. I would visit a place even if I were 99% sure I wasn't going to attend, just to meet the professors in person. They're in your field, you'll never know when you'll see them again.

Edited February 11, 2012 by Grunty DaGnome

[wikichic]

Yeah, many people who get accepted to one get accepted to several. And while you think you know what your first, second, third choice would be, it's too big a decision not to go visit, talk to other grad students, meet potential advisors. I wouldn't expect anyone to accept before they did all this and before all their outstanding applications were officially accepted or rejected. Not to mention, the person admitted to your dream program, might be waitlisted at their dream program, so they are waiting on other people's decision before they can make theirs and you can make yours.

I agree with you, and you said it very well. I would never encourage anyone to outright accept an offer this early in the game, even if it is from a school that you believe is your top choice. It doesn't mean that if you have offers from schools you have no intention of attending that you can't reject those offers quickly (that is to say, if you've already got other offers from programs you are strongly considering). I have friends who have already been accepted to four or more programs, and they still have many schools left to hear from. I see no reason why they couldn't reject offers from the schools they consider to be their backup programs quickly, especially if they have no intention of attending.

Most schools notify by early March (at least) and most prospective students weekends are not long after. Taking all that into consideration, most people should be able to make an educated decision by at least the last week in March and first week in April. There will be those stuck waiting (like me!), inevitably holding offers until they get the final word about their position on the wait list. If I get two offers of admission (in addition to the wait list), I will reject the program I know I don't want to attend so the process can get moving. But that's just my personal opinion- I'm not saying it's for everyone.

But you have to admit, April 14th is really fairly late in the game, and April 19th?! Even more so. How do they expect you to accept an offer after the deadline has passed? It must've felt like a sense of redemption to give them that "as if!" response, readingredhead.

I certainly don't mind waiting, but it is a frustrating process nevertheless. Academics are notoriously slow at making decisions, and in this case- I think it is more than justifiable to take the time needed to make the appropriate decision.

Edited February 11, 2012 by wikichic

[collikl]

I just want to pop in and say that this discussion has been so helpful and encouraging! I'm wait listed at my top choice presently so it's nice to hear about other people's experiences.

[coffeeplease]

*bump*

I'm now waitlisted at 3 schools, so this thread has been encouraging.

[anxious_aspirant]

Echoing the thanks. The schools themselves seem to speak very positively about waitlisting, too. Anyone else for whom the wait list worked out, let us know! It eases the stress a bit every time I hear about one...

[Germaine123]

Really encouraging thread, thanks readingredhead (and others)!

[flower303]

Wow did I need to hear this right about now! Thank you so much.

[Stately Plump]

Figured I'd bump this, as I was just wait-listed, and I think a few others were as well

Good luck to everyone!

[TripWillis]

*bump*

Just got my first waitlist at one of my DREAM programs. The e-mail said I'm "close to the top." I wonder if I would be déclassé to ask specifically where...

[RoundandRoundAgain]

I, too, was just waitlisted to one of my dream programs, the joint PhD in English/Women's Studies at Michigan. The email was all about the mixed news and how it would be hard to process. Hilariously enough, I had already put them on my rejection list pretty much as soon as I turned in my application because they only take 2 people and watching the acceptances go out last week just reinforced that. The hard part to process is being waitlisted at all with everything I know about the program. And then it leads to how short of a waitlist does a program have for 2 spots?

[Stately Plump]

Here's some hope for everyone:

Two of the three professors who wrote me a LoR got in off the waiting list. The one, who was also my advisor, actually got accepted into the MA program, without funding. She went anyway, and got a non-department-related GAship. Her first year, she was working 20hours/week in the daycare on campus (I know, I know, horrible). Her second year she was in the registrar's office doing brutal paperwork. While there, however, she impressed the hell out of them. For her third year (which was technically the first year of her PhD), she was fully funded through the department, and she even managed to haggle with them for more money. She went on to win a dissertation-year fellowship, and win an award for the best dissertation written that year.

The two students from her cohort whom the school accepted with full fellowships with no teaching responsibilities? One dropped out after a year (didn't even complete his coursework) and the other was ABD for 5 years before they asked him to leave. Neither completed the program.

Hope! Hope! Hope! +++

Edited February 22, 2012 by Stately Plump