Waitlists are morally the worst mistake of the college process
Waitlists are genuinely worse than outright rejection, and I wish more people talked about it. I know that the point of one is to objectively determine the yield of the school, and balance institutional needs, but the amount of mental exhaustion it places on the student should be deemed objectively criminal.
In theory, a waitlist is supposed to mean hope, but in practice, the odds of getting off one are close to zero, and none of it has anything to do with how badly you actually want the school. If a school knows they’re only realistically pulling 5-10 students off a waitlist, why are 800 people on it? It’s not really a courtesy at that point. I got waitlisted at 5 LACs, have visited every single one, stayed in touch with admissions officers, sent letters of continued interest, and made it crystal clear that each school was a top choice and that I would commit immediately if accepted. I did actually mean every word of it, but I haven’t heard back from a single one.
The worst part is that there’s genuinely nothing you can do to improve your chances once you’re on one. And people are kind of lying to you when they say that you can. It’s entirely about the school’s yield, and once their enrolled class hits the numbers they need, the list never moves. You have zero control over the gaps that the school may present that year, which is what makes the waitlist so much more demoralizing than a straight rejection.
I truly think that these schools need to reevaluate how’d they’ve let students become attached to false hope. At some point you just have to cut your losses. I’m heading to a school I’m genuinely not happy about, paying close to sticker price for it. It’s embarrassing to admit, but it’s the reality a lot of us are facing after this cycle.