How To Get Off A College's Wait-List: A Solution

Your child has been placed "on hold" by his or her # 1 choice until the college reviews their entire line of applicants, but you're not feeling comfortable. Yet your student still has a shot at getting in. But how? What do you do now? Wait? Waiting is the mistake all wait-listed students make. They're not pro-active in getting off the wait-list. Guess who notices?

Here's a solution (I'm not guaranteeing this will work, but some of my students have made it work).

First determine how badly you really want to go to this college. Let's assume you'd crawl on broken glass for a mile to attend. Great!...you've got your enthusiasm engine fired up, which is exactly the energy you need to make things happen. It's enthusiasm that's going to get someone's attention in the admissions office. It's what I like to call the Gentle Sledgehammer Approach.

The next thing you do is write down on one sheet of paper the 2 or 3 reasons why you absolutely must attend your #1 choice (example = Professor Pin Head is THE expert in the field I want to study, and I have to study under him!), but more importantly, give 3 reasons how the college will benefit from you being one of their students.

Then call the admissions office to find out when the admissions people are in. Go to the school unannounced (asking for an appointment on the phone will get you nowhere) and ask the receptionist if you can have a 2-minute meeting with an admissions counselor. You'll be asked, "What's this regarding?" Simply respond, "I've been wait-listed and all I need is 2 minutes to see an admissions counselor."

Chances are very good you'll get your meeting. Once you're in the admissions counselor's office, have your sheet of paper ready and start by thanking the person for their time. Introduce yourself and state that you appreciate having 2 minutes of their time to discuss what you wrote down. Chances are good that you'll get more time because admissions people never see a line of wait-listed students outsides their office.

Be prepared to hear the counselor say that you can simply hand over your sheet of paper, that it will be reviewed later, and that you can leave. Respond that you'd be happy to, but then state your case with enthusiasm, which is what the admissions person wants to see and hear! After all, how many opportunities do you think this admissions person gets to see and hear someone like you? Hardly ever!

After you leave, you will leave behind not only a piece of paper, but a powerful and positive impression of YOU. When the admission committee finalizes their applicants from the wait-list, guess who they're going to think of first?

Good luck to you!