While wait lists in the college admission process have been around for a long time, the number of students finding themselves with a wait list offer has increased fairly dramatically over the last 5 years. We discuss the reasons behind these trends, the vague nature of wait list offers, and the difficulty in determining any likely movement on a college wait list based on prior years history.

In our tips section we offer some considerations around taking a wait list offer. This includes making a decision around your second choice college if you choose to accept a spot on another school’s wait list. You will need to pay close attention to communications from both schools as you also begin to engage with the school where you have deposited. We highly recommend beginning at once to get engaged with your second choice school’s community - attend orientation, sign up for your housing and join the new student social media groups. 

If you decide to stay on a wait list, you will need to be ready to accept an offer, including the financial aid package if there is one, usually within less than 72 hours.

Time Stamps:

00:48 What Are We Learning This Week?  Inspired by the Olympics, Whitney has joined her local curling club and draws a metaphor around the college search process.

03:35  Big Picture: We begin with a discussion of the growth in wait list use by colleges in the admissions process over the last 5 years. 

09:48 “Stump the IEC (Independent Educational Consultant)”  It’s mascot madness time. Can Katelyn guess which college has an inanimate object as their mascot?

13:02  Tips and Strategies include making a decision around your second choice college if you choose to accept a spot on another school’s wait list and making sure you are monitoring communications from both schools.

More Than A Transcript © is a production of Whitney Bruce College Consulting and College Options, LLC. It is supported by Susan Lanigan and Katie Bruce, with artwork by Heidi Rehbock and original music by Will Morrow.

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Thanks for listening!