Waiting isn’t easy and it certainly can be nerve-racking when it comes to your college results. At this point in the process we always have a few students that aren’t accepted or denied, but are waitlisted at one of their top choice colleges.  If you happen to be in this situation, we offer the following tips:

• In most situations, you will need to put a deposit down at another college.  The universal deposit date is May 1st.  At that time colleges will know how many students are enrolling in the fall which will determine whether or not they need to rely on the waitlist to fill the freshmen class.  Don’t lose your spot at another college because you are waiting for your name to come off the waitlist.  If you happen to get offered a spot off the waitlist, that will likely happen after May 1st.  So, go ahead and put your deposit down at another college.  

• Keep in mind that your deposit is non-refundable so if you are accepted from the waitlist you will lose your deposit at the college you initially selected.

• When you were first informed of your waitlist status, you had the opportunity to remain on or withdraw from the waitlist.  If you have already moved on and are no longer interested in attending, please take your name off the waitlist.

• It is smart to put together a letter or email to your admissions representative to provide them with any updates academically or extracurricularly. This may nudge them to offer you a spot if they need to use the waitlist to fill the freshmen class.

• Finally, by the time colleges are pulling students from the waitlist, the financial aid budget has been exhausted.  So, if you are looking for need-based or non-need-based aid, you will not likely receive much, if any, financial award coming off the waitlist.