Now that many seniors have received news from their schools, there is still a small percentage that have been left behind. By putting teens in a waitlist-limbo, colleges have added another level of stress on these students.
As the May 1st National Decision Day nears, many of these students are wondering if whether or not they should even attempt at getting into these schools.
According to the Washington Post, in 2014, Dartmouth College admitted 0 out of the 1,133 students they put on waitlist.
Although there is some form of honor that comes with being waitlisting to a top Ivy school such as Dartmouth, that hope is soon after crushed for a large percentage of teens.
This is because colleges are using waitlisting as a way to nicely reject students with potential from their schools.
The glimmer of hope given to these students is unfair as it can lead to bad decisions and crushed dreams.
The National Decision Day is May 1st but students hear the news from their waitlisted school during the summer, meaning that if they chose to gamble and don’t put a deposit down for a safety school, they will be left without a college to go to.
As for the ones who do put a deposit down, they are left with losing over a $100 in deposit money.
In addition, many students who are taken off of waitlist end up not getting a lot of scholarship money as the colleges have already given priority to the students who have already been admitted.
If you are waitlisted, there are some steps you can take to increase your chances of approval.
First and foremost, make sure to put down a deposit for a safety school. If you were interviewed prior to the acceptance letter, contact your interviewer as they can help you get off waitlist. If not, contact your regional counselor and maintain a relationship with them as they can also be very beneficial.
Most importantly, don’t lose hope. Although this remains to be an unfair way to keep students wondering, there is still a chance.