How to Handle Being Waitlisted

[a little-stitious]

How have you all responded to emails informing you that you've been placed on a waitlist? This is my first experience with being waitlisted so I'm not sure how to respond/what the proper etiquette is. I would really like to know what my position on the waitlist is (if it is ranked at all) so that I can know what chance I stand of making it off the list, but is asking about the ranking of a waitlist frowned upon? And would letting them know that I have other offers to respond to be a good idea, or something I should avoid? 

The program I was waitlisted at was my top choice, but I'm now struggling with thoughts that perhaps I should attend one of the institutions that I have already been accepted to since they were more interested in me. I'm already having a tough time deciding between the two that I do have acceptances from. The thought of possibly having to wait until the day of the deadline to hear whether or not I made it off the list sounds torturous. Any advice on this situation would be appreciated. Fellow waitlist angst is also welcome here!

[LAG6]

9 minutes ago, a little-stitious said:

How have you all responded to emails informing you that you've been placed on a waitlist? This is my first experience with being waitlisted so I'm not sure how to respond/what the proper etiquette is. I would really like to know what my position on the waitlist is (if it is ranked at all) so that I can know what chance I stand of making it off the list, but is asking about the ranking of a waitlist frowned upon? And would letting them know that I have other offers to respond to be a good idea, or something I should avoid? 

The program I was waitlisted at was my top choice, but I'm now struggling with thoughts that perhaps I should attend one of the institutions that I have already been accepted to since they were more interested in me. I'm already having a tough time deciding between the two that I do have acceptances from. The thought of possibly having to wait until the day of the deadline to hear whether or not I made it off the list sounds torturous. Any advice on this situation would be appreciated. Fellow waitlist angst is also welcome here!

When I replied to my Rutgers waitlist notification, I [a] told them that I had another offer and b] asked them to let me know about a time frame when it comes to hearing back, not asking about my ranking. They said that they sometimes "go deep into the waitlist" so I'm inferring that I'm ranked low on the waitlist. Which, you know, is fun. 

Edited February 21, 2017 by LAG6

[sociologicalpizza]

11 minutes ago, a little-stitious said:

How have you all responded to emails informing you that you've been placed on a waitlist? This is my first experience with being waitlisted so I'm not sure how to respond/what the proper etiquette is. I would really like to know what my position on the waitlist is (if it is ranked at all) so that I can know what chance I stand of making it off the list, but is asking about the ranking of a waitlist frowned upon? And would letting them know that I have other offers to respond to be a good idea, or something I should avoid? 

The program I was waitlisted at was my top choice, but I'm now struggling with thoughts that perhaps I should attend one of the institutions that I have already been accepted to since they were more interested in me. I'm already having a tough time deciding between the two that I do have acceptances from. The thought of possibly having to wait until the day of the deadline to hear whether or not I made it off the list sounds torturous. Any advice on this situation would be appreciated. Fellow waitlist angst is also welcome here!

I just responded to my waitlist notification saying that I did have another offer but the school I was waitlisted at was my first choice, and if they need anything else from me over the next few weeks/months to let me know. They didn't respond [I'm on a computer but if I were on my phone this is where I would add the emoji that has the little yellow cone with the confetti coming out of it].

[WorldPeaceMaker2010]

My waitlist is also my first choice. I emailed back saying I'm still really intrested in the dept. and that I hope to come off of the list in the future.They responded back with a friendly email saying they'll basically keep me in the loop.  They don't rank their waitlist there so no need to ask. 

[Aucitronvert]

I waited a couple of weeks to hear back from other schools, then e-mailed the grad chair to ask a) if they ranked their waitlist, b ) if so, where was I on the list? c) or do they determine waitlist preference by faculty availability and research interest? and d) when should I expect to hear back based on when acceptances are due (April 15th)? They were really cool about it. 

[a little-stitious]

Thanks everybody for your answers! 

[joiebee]

What is the best way to find out the deadline for acceptances? They said they would let me know the status if it were to change, and invited me to an open house as well as emphasized if it were any other year I would of easily been accepted but due to funding cuts I had been placed on a waitlist.  I will attend the open house and reach out to faculty I have yet to meet, though I have taken courses through the program in previous years, which is why I am a at such a loss as to what to do/how best to approach optimizing my chances of acceptance. My work was recently published in another journal, I was thinking of informing them, given that I used their institution as my affiliation for I was taking a course at the time of submission, but that seems unnecessary and indirect. Any thoughts?

[faculty]

5 hours ago, joiebee said:

What is the best way to find out the deadline for acceptances? 

The universal deadline is April 15th. Schools would like to know much earlier, especially if you're going to turn them down, so that they can make decisions about people on the waitlist. It can be hard to turn schools down if you have connected with faculty or students or saw yourself there at some point, but the best way to not burn bridges is to not string people along. Cut some of the schools who are out of the running early to help others who might have that as their first choice but who are on the waitlist.

Speaking of being on the waitlist, don't let it dissuade you from attending your top school if you're invited. I've talked about this before on this forum, but some of the top students in my grad program were from the waitlist and went on to do really well on the market and in the field. The initially waitlisted students have also been impressive in the department where I'm a faculty member. The admission process is not an exact science and schools often can't admit everyone who they believe would be a good student because of limits on funding/cohort size. Don't infer that a waitlisted position (or a rejection) means that you're somehow less worthy than someone else. Once school starts in the fall, you'll be in the same position as everyone else in your cohort.

[Aucitronvert]

I'm curious to hear about people's experiences reaching out to their POI while waitlisted. I haven't done this yet, because there seem to be no pros in my current situation, but do wonder how it may affect my chances of being taken off the waitlist assuming anyone declined their offer (the waitlist I'm speaking of is not ranked).

[LAG6]

3 hours ago, Aucitronvert said:

I'm curious to hear about people's experiences reaching out to their POI while waitlisted. I haven't done this yet, because there seem to be no pros in my current situation, but do wonder how it may affect my chances of being taken off the waitlist assuming anyone declined their offer (the waitlist I'm speaking of is not ranked).

I would say that if your POI has anything to do with the waitlist decisions - such as if they interviewed you and would have given their feedback to the committee - it might be a good idea to reach out and mention that this school is still a priority for you, so they know you're still interested. However, I personally wouldn't do that without having something else to say or discuss with your POI, such as an upcoming campus visit, so it doesn't just come across as sucking up.

[Aucitronvert]

2 hours ago, LAG6 said:

I would say that if your POI has anything to do with the waitlist decisions - such as if they interviewed you and would have given their feedback to the committee - it might be a good idea to reach out and mention that this school is still a priority for you, so they know you're still interested. However, I personally wouldn't do that without having something else to say or discuss with your POI, such as an upcoming campus visit, so it doesn't just come across as sucking up.

My gut says not to reach out because of how it will come across, and as you say, there has been no mention of campus visits and my POI and I have only spoken briefly via email once. Thanks for your advice!

[joiebee]

@faculty Thank you for your thoughtful response- I found it to be uplifting, informative and provided much-needed perspective. Thank you.

[a little-stitious]

On 2/26/2017 at 8:41 AM, faculty said:

The universal deadline is April 15th. Schools would like to know much earlier, especially if you're going to turn them down, so that they can make decisions about people on the waitlist. It can be hard to turn schools down if you have connected with faculty or students or saw yourself there at some point, but the best way to not burn bridges is to not string people along. Cut some of the schools who are out of the running early to help others who might have that as their first choice but who are on the waitlist.

Speaking of being on the waitlist, don't let it dissuade you from attending your top school if you're invited. I've talked about this before on this forum, but some of the top students in my grad program were from the waitlist and went on to do really well on the market and in the field. The initially waitlisted students have also been impressive in the department where I'm a faculty member. The admission process is not an exact science and schools often can't admit everyone who they believe would be a good student because of limits on funding/cohort size. Don't infer that a waitlisted position (or a rejection) means that you're somehow less worthy than someone else. Once school starts in the fall, you'll be in the same position as everyone else in your cohort.

Thank you for addressing that. As I had mentioned, that's something I have been struggling with - not letting the fact that I am on a waitlist negatively influence my feelings for the program. Your insight on the process helps alleviate my self-doubt. 

[joiebee]

I was telling a friend about my work and the good news of receiving the proofs of the recent publication in a journal and she was shocked that I was not informing the committee of admissions-- again I am unsure if that is protocol to update them? I do not know if I should or not. The only reason I was thinking it was appropriate was because I put their institution as my affiliation as I was taking a class there at the time of submission. Hmmmm, I would not even know what to write in the email-- should I send them a copy of the work? Thoughts? Thanks again for all the support and advice!