The Waitlist Scam

Hope springs eternal among college applicants. That’s why there are waitlists. And colleges are unapologetic about using the hopes of waitlisted students to further their objectives, which largely center on filling freshman classes with the best and brightest high school students.

In the hands of the average admissions office, the waitlist is little more than a tool used to shape a freshman class profile that is balanced between males and females, is geographically and racially diverse, meets legislated instate requirements, fills the needs of obscure departments or sports teams, and still covers some part of the college operating budget.

Schools that advertise “needs blind” admissions sometimes quietly convert to “needs aware” when it comes to plucking a few lucky students from the list. Consequently, most bets are off for financial aid if you come through the waitlist.

There’s usually no ranking, no money, and really little hope. And sometimes, the list is hardly more than a PR scam to keep upset parents, alums, and other interested parties at arm’s length.

Waitlisted is an uncomfortable place to be. If you’ve been accepted or rejected, at least your status is clear. But waitlisted is fuzzy. And if you really care about the specific college or university, the offer of a position on a college waitlist amounts to a very insecure lifeline.

Here are the facts. Most students never get off the list—very few waitlisted students are eventually invited to the dance. In some cases, especially at more selective colleges, no students get off the list. Check out these local statistics from last year:

College	Waitlist Offers	Accepted Waitlist	Admission Offers	Percent Admitted
American University	1138	201	0	0
George Mason University	1032	531	103	19
George Washington	2427	653	136	21
Goucher College	261	192	23	12
James Madison University	2867	1341	498	37
Towson University	2360	--	376	--
U of Richmond	2161	827	11	1
UMBC	246	246	112	45
UVa	4522	3883	420	11
VCU	1001	--	34	--
Washington & Lee	1870	543	97	18
William & Mary	2748	1273	17	1

And the numbers vary significantly by year depending on how accurately the admissions office pegged its “yield” or how desperate the need to control the composition of the freshman class. For example, last year UVa took 498 students or 9 percent of all those offered waitlist opportunities (11 percent of the actual waitlist). The year before, UVa took 60 students or 2 percent of everyone offered the waitlist. Talk about hedging your bets—UVa offered 4522 students positions on the waitlist or almost 40 percent more than the entire incoming freshman class which totaled 3239.

Being waitlisted can be more frustrating than simply being rejected. A candidate who is denied admission to his or her first choice school is free to accept other offers. S/he can move on with his or her life. But a waitlisted candidate who really wants to attend a particular school is stuck in limbo.

Sure there are steps you can take to try to get off the list, but there is an emotional cost which must be weighed against the slim possibility of winning the waitlist lottery. Is it worth it? Maybe, but not usually.