Back to the Waitlists

There was an uptick in students getting off waitlists this week at some highly selective colleges. Sometimes, it’s all about patience. Just ask the Golden State Warriors, who clinched their first NBA title in 40 years last night.

Students who’ve been in waitlist limbo, know that some highly selective colleges have been returning their attention to the waitlists in recent days. While a number of students who first came to us as clients after being placed on waitlists found success within a couple of days or weeks of first being waitlisted, some more who’ve remained in limbo earned admission off those dreaded lists this past week. So for those folks who erroneously suggest that being waitlisted might as well be a rejection (we were even featured in an article this year in which the title of the piece falsely asserted as much), know that you could not be more wrong.

There is a right way and a wrong way to approach being waitlisted. Doing nothing is the wrong way. Sending in tons of material that boasts of your accomplishments is the wrong way. Sending in locks of your hair from your first haircut as well as a picture of you eating your first chocolate cake at your third birthday…also the wrong way. Duh. Sending in a powerful, compelling Letter of Enthusiasm that conveys who you are, what you stand for, what you can bring to the university that has waitlisted you, and what you can take from this university…now that’s the correct way to approach waitlist limbo. JFK would agree. But so few students approach the waitlist correctly. So many students, in their rush to get off these lists, send in anything and everything they can think of. They throw everything at the proverbial board to see what sticks. But rarely does any of that nonsense stick. And for those who sit back and relax to see what happens, sit back and relax all the way to that board falling down on your foot. Ouch.

For those of our students who’ve been waiting patiently and just learned that they’ve earned admission in the last few days, we congratulate you! Sometimes the best things in life take…patience. But it’s even sweeter in the end. Just ask the Golden State Warriors, who earned their first championship in 40 years last night thanks to the play of Andre Iguodala, Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Clay Thompson, and a superbly balanced Warriors squad. “Strength in numbers.”