General Is it a good idea to drive and meet with the dean if you are waitlisted?

[WedgeDawg]

My friend said he personally drove to each of the schools that he was waitlisted at and asked to meet with the dean of admissions to state his case. He simply called asked when was a good time to stop by the office and wanted to go there to state his interest. I am just wondering if this is a good idea for me to do with two of the schools I am waitlisted at either now or later. He did it in April and May and was accepted in June. Albeit this was over 10 years ago.

The risk/benefit ratio of this maneuver is strongly slanted towards the side of risk.

Driving and asking to meet with the dean (someone who is already going to be extremely busy, especially around this time of year) would likely make you come off as strange or even desperate. It also would not accomplish anything that a simple email or even (I don't recommend this but it's better than going in person) a phone call could not. The most effective way to navigate the waitlist game is to continue to display interest via frequent but not too frequent updates that highlight 1) why you think you'd be a good match for the school and 2) what you've been doing with your time since your applications were sent out. Are the examples of more drastic measures such as this working in recent years? Probably, but the chance that you get dropped to the bottom of whatever waitlists you were on because of how your actions were perceived is likely to be much greater.

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