I've Been Waitlisted. What Now?

It's that time of year when colleges send out millions of fat and skinny envelopes to anxious prospective students around the world. They tend to begin something like this: "Congratulations! . . ." or, "After careful consideration, we’re sorry to inform you . . ." But what about that third type of letter, the one that is neither acceptance nor rejection? Thousands upon thousands of students find themselves in college admissions limbo after having been placed on waiting lists.

If you've been waitlisted, the admissions folks are telling you that you meet their admissions criteria. That's something to feel good about. Unfortunately, in most cases the news actually isn't good. If you learn more about waitlists, you'll find that the majority of students never get off of them.

photo by bigmick / Flickr