honest opinion: how optimistic should i be about the waitlist?

[bigwilliel]

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hey guys,

i was interviewed at Nova on January 11th, i called them last Friday and they told me I was waitlisted although I haven't received anything official yet. At first I was really down, but the lady assured me that it was very different from an alternate list (can somebody explain?). I suppose every school is different, but from what she said, they were just waiting for deposits for the January 15th deadline and from that they'd know how many spots would be open. Thanks a lot!

 

[toothfairy85]

This is my perception of things... I may be wrong though, as I read a lot of threads that say a waitlist and an alternate list are the same thing. In my opinion, a waitlist is a list of applicants that have been interviewed but did not get an acceptance first round. It seems to me a waitlist would be one that applicants are on if they are to be considered for an acceptance as people who were accepted decide to not accept the offer. As this happens, the class is obviously not full, and those who have been interviewed and placed on the waitlist are sent letters.

An alternate list on the other hand (in my mind) is the list that is created after all spots for the respective class have been filled and all deposits for those spots have been received. When a student decides to withdraw their acceptance (maybe they got accepted to their top choice) then people off of the alternate list are sent acceptance letters.

It seems to me that waitlists are lists of applicants that are offered acceptances before the class is filled (i.e. between Dec. 1st and March 1st or thereabouts) and alternate lists are lists of applicants that are granted acceptance when someone late in the game decides to withdraw their acceptance (i.e. sometime around May or June). Obvisouly all schools are different, and so these lists may mean the same thing at some schools, and may mean different things at others.

On the TMDSAS thread, someone posted about Baylor having already filled their class from first round acceptances and that they will be forming an alternate list in March. Based on this, a waitlist at Baylor would be those applicants who were not accepted first round and would have been sent letters had Baylor not filled their class from December acceptances.

In regards to your post, I think the waitlist at Nova might be referring to what I mentioned. I would definitely keep a positive outlook. As they finally tally up the deposits received from December acceptances, they will start sending acceptances from the waitlist accordingly. GOOD LUCK!

 

[bigwilliel]

^thanks a lot for the encouraging words and taking the time to respond...much appreicated! 😀

 

[Whahoo]

Thanks for the info Toothfairy85!!! I was wondering than would the people who are still on the waitlist when the class fills up be up on the alternate list after that? What are the usual chances for those who are waitlisted? I am waitlisted for NYU so I am eager to know. Although fortunately I got into another school, I am hoping to have choices. Do you know anything specific about NYU waitlist? Is there anything applicants can do to help their case or even speed things up? Thanks alot & Good luck!

 

[jackbauer!]

waitlisted and being an "alternate" are the same thing (UF sent me a letter stating that i was an "alternate" candidate, while on AADSAS they said i was waitlisted...proof that schools use these terms interchangebly). it means one of 2 things, that...

(1) They want to interview other applicants to see if they are better than you, if they don't find enough "better" applicants to fill the class then they will refer to the alternate/wait list for candidates, or

(2) They have found enough people to fill the class and you will be called upon if these people do not accept the offer or decide to attend another school after making the deposit.

the bottom line is, schools want to make sure they have plenty of people to fill to turn to to fill their class in the event that a spot (or spots) open up.

however, your chances of getting pulled of an alternate/wait list are much much much higher at a private school than a public school.. a buddy of mine was pulled off NOVA's wait/alternate list last year ...so there is hope!

just my observation,
jb!🙂

 

[sumluck]

my friend was put on the waitlist at Indiana this year, and about three weeks later he got an acceptance to Indiana. I guess it just depends on the school. I'm sure each one is a little different in how they deal with creating and pulling from alternate/waitlist (which i tend to think are the same thing). Just keep your head up and hope for the best. Nova sent out a lot of early acceptances, so there is a strong possibility that some who received acceptances at Nova also received acceptances at their first choice, if Nova wasn't their first choice to begin with.