Please help us waitlisters!

[rabs52]

Hi everyone, this is my first post on this forum, though i've been reading it constantly for the last two weeks. I've been rejected from most of my top choices and wait listed at Columbia a couple of days ago. Columbia has now become my top choice, but I'll have to wait possibly until mid-April, when the final numbers are clear, to find out if i can attend. I noticed that many of the columbia acceptances were also accepted at similar or higher ranked programs (i.e., berkeley, yale, princeton). While I'm sure many of you are still making final decisions, if you are sure that you are not attending Columbia--or, for that matter, any school--please let the admissions people know as soon as possible so that us waitlisters may be able to hear back from them more quickly. I really dont think i can bare the agony of waiting until April to know where I'm going to school. Thanks!

[Yes]

Hi everyone, this is my first post on this forum, though i've been reading it constantly for the last two weeks. I've been rejected from most of my top choices and wait listed at Columbia a couple of days ago. Columbia has now become my top choice, but I'll have to wait possibly until mid-April, when the final numbers are clear, to find out if i can attend. I noticed that many of the columbia acceptances were also accepted at similar or higher ranked programs (i.e., berkeley, yale, princeton). While I'm sure many of you are still making final decisions, if you are sure that you are not attending Columbia--or, for that matter, any school--please let the admissions people know as soon as possible so that us waitlisters may be able to hear back from them more quickly. I really dont think i can bare the agony of waiting until April to know where I'm going to school. Thanks!

Hello, welcome to the forum... Columbia so far is not my top choice, so it's likely that I will turn down my offer very soon. I am still in the process of making a decision though, and since I havent been able to visit any schools in advance (I am European) a lot will depend on the impression I get during the recruiting events. What subfield are you in? I'm IR.

[Concentration]

Good idea for a thread. Let me also make a plug for UNC admits. As you may or may not know, UNC maintains a rigorous wait-list that has been relied on sometimes extensively. That is, they do not "go back to the pool" like other schools in the unlikely event they fail to yield enough admitted students. Rather, they immediately e-mail admit the next person on the wait-list. Therefore, if you don't plan on attending, please do notify (as an aside, anyone know when is their visiting weekend?).

[anxiousmike]

Oh what the heck I'll jump in on this. If you have been admitted to WUSTL but do not plan on attending, I would be forever grateful if you would let them know of your decision sometime in Feb/March! Hopefully sooner rather than later, but I don't want to be too pushy to those lucky enough to have been accepted.

[APGradApplicant]

Right, and for all you Rochester admits who don't think you want to live in upstate NY...let them know! Haha, kidding. I know that whatever happens happens. It's out of my hands now and into God's.

[fromark17]

Good idea for a thread. Let me also make a plug for UNC admits. As you may or may not know, UNC maintains a rigorous wait-list that has been relied on sometimes extensively. That is, they do not "go back to the pool" like other schools in the unlikely event they fail to yield enough admitted students. Rather, they immediately e-mail admit the next person on the wait-list. Therefore, if you don't plan on attending, please do notify (as an aside, anyone know when is their visiting weekend?).

Their visitation weekend is March 18-20.

[mn06556]

I may be up the creek on this one, but if you're not planning on attending Princeton, please notify them soon.

[Yes]

I may be up the creek on this one, but if you're not planning on attending Princeton, please notify them soon.

I know that a few people on the forum that are holding Princeton offers are thinking about turning them down.. so there might be hope. As I said above, I will decide as soon as humanly possible to end the agony of those on the waitlists.

[Mearsheimer's Minion]

I hate to be a pessimist (as a minion of John Mearsheimer, it is clearly not in my nature), but a lot of the waitlists are built with the knowledge that a good percentage of the admits are going to decline admission. That is, even if I rejected all the schools I don't plan on going to right now, a spot will not open up at a tier two school--the tier two school already expected me to decline. Very, very few people on a waitlist ever get in.

[anxiousmike]

I hate to be a pessimist (as a minion of John Mearsheimer, it is clearly not in my nature), but a lot of the waitlists are built with the knowledge that a good percentage of the admits are going to decline admission. That is, even if I rejected all the schools I don't plan on going to right now, a spot will not open up at a tier two school--the tier two school already expected me to decline. Very, very few people on a waitlist ever get in.

Don't give me any of your reason and logic! I'm clinging to the longshot now!

[SuddenlyParanoid]

I'll post as soon as I'm sure about Columbia and Rochester. Good luck everyone!

[APGradApplicant]

On 2/23/2010 at 9:55 PM, Rossiya said:

I will add to this thread by saying:

1. If you were accepted at UChicago and do not plan to attend, please let them know as soon as possible!

2. I don't agree that schools must have lower-than-expected yield rates in order to take people off of the waitlist. If a school is committed to funding every student who accepts his/her offer, the school cannot accept more people than it can fund. Particularly in this economic climate, this means that schools will be admitting essentially the number of students who comprise a cohort and then turn to the waitlist as soon as someone declines the offer. Consequently, this could be a very good year to be on a waitlist.

I really don't think that's correct (and this is coming from someone who's on a wait list at a great school right now, so believe me when I say I wish it was). Schools absolutely do not accept the number of people that compose a cohort- ever. All the professors I've talked to at WashU, many of whom have been in this business for a long time, have told me that programs will admit a certain number based on projected yield rates. For HYP and those top UC schools, they usually anticipate a pretty high yield (somewhere in the upper 60's or low 70's), so it definitely doesn't hurt to be on the wait list there. But you're most definitely mistaken if you think that a wait list works in such a way that the first person to decline an acceptance means that whomever is first on the wait list is in.

[natofone]

AP is correct. (source: The DGS at the school that waitlisted me)

[Bobb Cobb]

AP is correct. (source: The DGS at the school that waitlisted me)

I can confirm this as well. It often takes 3-5 declines and sometimes more for departments to turn the waitlists. Even then there are other things considered like subfield, fit, etc. Some departments will call it a hold list and then reevaluate those applicants once they know they need more people to round out a cohort. This system does not work like it does in law or medical schools where there is a specific order and exact number of applicants involved.

[Yes]

Apart from the programmes I have already withdrawn from I am *pretty* sure I will decline Columbia and Stanford as well very soon. Hope this will help those on the waitlists. Good look everyone!

[SuddenlyParanoid]

I have turned down OSU, Duke, WashU, and UCSD. I will post here as soon as I make future decisions. Best wishes to everyone!

[curufinwe]

I have a friend who will turn down Pittsburgh once he receives info about the stipend amount WUSTL will be paying (and provided that it is an appropriate amount for living).

[Concentration]

the person who got off the waitlist at UChicago last year started a thread called "waitlisted!", in which he/she talked about why UChicago's waitlist is a one-for-one (one person declines, one person gets off the waitlist) affair. his/her logic seems eminently reasonable.

Some schools will in fact do it this way (which is what I tried to say in less-than-clear language above). Varies by institution.

[Concentration]

"Bump".

[kaykaykay]

I think it can happen both ways, depending on the size of the department(?) and funding possibilities. I got off from a waitlist this week and based on the wording of their initial waitlist letter they may have had a one drop one enter policy. In another school where I got in they told me that they took a huge group of people and they expect approximately 30% to accept. They do not fund everybody so i guess they will not be in trouble even if everyone accepts. (I doubt they have a waitlist but who knows?)

[APGradApplicant]

I have to say I'm going more crazy now waiting to hear from my one wait list school (or at least the one whose wait list I stayed on, haha!) than I was waiting to hear during the normal cycle of February and early March. It was a lot easier then when there were a bunch of you guys on gradcafe to have for moral support. Now I feel like I'm the only one here whose future plans are contingent upon what happens with the wait list cycle.

Anybody else in the same boat? Would be great to know that I'm not the only one tearing my hair out waiting for the second full week of April! Anyways, glad I got to vent

[Concentration]

I have to say I'm going more crazy now waiting to hear from my one wait list school (or at least the one whose wait list I stayed on, haha!) than I was waiting to hear during the normal cycle of February and early March. It was a lot easier then when there were a bunch of you guys on gradcafe to have for moral support. Now I feel like I'm the only one here whose future plans are contingent upon what happens with the wait list cycle.

Anybody else in the same boat? Would be great to know that I'm not the only one tearing my hair out waiting for the second full week of April! Anyways, glad I got to vent

Me. My plans hinge on the decisions of a couple of people. It's been unpleasant. I fear they have a.) forgotten about their admission and will be reminded on 4/15, and then accept, or b.) are also waiting on wait-lists and will accept once they know their own outcome (which seems to be your scenario, APGradApplicant).

I keep thinking every week will bring closure, but I am resolved that my status will not be known until 4/15 deep in the the night following a midnight council of faculty.

[rabs52]

I'm in same boat. Still waiting for Columbia to tell me one way or the other and I'm worried April 15 will come and go and I still wouldn't have heard anything. They dont seem to be very good at notifying people in timely manner.

[someoneoutthere]

I'm in same boat. Still waiting for Columbia to tell me one way or the other and I'm worried April 15 will come and go and I still wouldn't have heard anything. They dont seem to be very good at notifying people in timely manner.

I feel ya, though I am sure that by April 15th or 16th you will hear from them. I am waiting to hear from two schools and it's quite maddening! But I understand that they are also at the mercy of people who might be sitting on acceptances and haven't yet declined, even though they eventually will. I'm sure it's frustrating for them as well!

I do have a question, though: Let's say a school receives notification from an admitted student that he/she has declined his/her offer on April 15th at 4:30pm. It seems ridiculous for the school to then have to decide who to take off the waitlist, email that person, and get a response back by 5:00pm. Moreover, waitlisted people who have acceptances elsewhere have to commit to a place by 5:00pm on the 15th, right? So what happens if you commit to a place but then get off the waitlist somewhere after you've already committed? Can you withdraw your acceptance of that offer without incurring penalties?

[Concentration]

I feel ya, though I am sure that by April 15th or 16th you will hear from them. I am waiting to hear from two schools and it's quite maddening! But I understand that they are also at the mercy of people who might be sitting on acceptances and haven't yet declined, even though they eventually will. I'm sure it's frustrating for them as well!

I do have a question, though: Let's say a school receives notification from an admitted student that he/she has declined his/her offer on April 15th at 4:30pm. It seems ridiculous for the school to then have to decide who to take off the waitlist, email that person, and get a response back by 5:00pm. Moreover, waitlisted people who have acceptances elsewhere have to commit to a place by 5:00pm on the 15th, right? So what happens if you commit to a place but then get off the waitlist somewhere after you've already committed? Can you withdraw your acceptance of that offer without incurring penalties?

As I understand matters, you can withdraw an acceptance before April 15th. After the 15th it's iffy, but frankly, if you don't want to be at a school, I'm sure they would release you from any commitment to attend -- a good program probably doesn't want people there who don't want to be there.

I'm not so sure about the timing thing -- it might be worthwhile to inquire at your schools whether students have until end of the business day or until the end of the 15th, full-stop (hence my half-serious joke about a nocturnal council). In some cases, I've heard of programs giving their admits extra days/extensions to decide, though at places with active wait-lists I think that practice is less likely to occur.

Edited April 1, 2010 by Concentration