how do waitlists work?

[lola]

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ok... so i'm too lazy to do a search. (the search function is working again for anyone who hasn't discovered that!)

how do waitlists work exactly? if you are put on one will you only hear after may 15th, or is there a possibility of hearing before that if lots of people decline their acceptances? just curious...

 

[VienneseWaltz]

It depends on the school. At U of C, I know you can get out of the alternate pool as early as February, but most people don't until June. If declined acceptances cause class size to dip below max after all the interviews are done, I think they start pulling from the waitlist ASAP. Because a lot of people with multiple acceptances won't decide until they get their financial aid packages (or Case Western, for example, doesn't announce scholarship decisions until early May), there's not a lot of movement until after the May 15 deadline. Someone correct me if I'm confused.

 

[Polar girl]

VienneseWaltz is right--it totally depends on the school. For some schools, if you go on the waitlist, you have no chance of getting off until after May 15th--they fill up spots by giving out more acceptances until then. Other schools give out acceptances through a certain date and then after that date people come off the waitlist to fill spots that open.

If you have a particular school in mind, someone here might know its policy.

 

[Poddes]

Does anybody know anything about how the Wake Forest and Tulane waitlists work?

 

[aquaboy]

From personal experience the Tulane waitlist doesn't work unless you show a ton of interest. They waitlist so many people it should be illegal!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Adcadet]

I seem to remember Wake Forest as a school that waitlists a lot of people too - from their top interview group, people either get accepted or waitlisted. But about half the people waitlisted do eventually get offered an acceptance (or maybe this is just of the top interview group). As is the case with every other part of the application process (from what I've seen), showing interest in Wake is probably very helpful during the waitlist phase.

 

[surfdevl02]

Hey Lola, have you heard from Georgetown yet??

 

[lola]

surfdevl02,
i pmed you.

 

[Soda pop]

How about GW?