Stuck in Limbo

        As many seniors eagerly wait to hear back from their colleges of choice the hopeful outcome is either a fulfilling "Congratulations!" or a dreaded rejection. Instead, however, a number of students this year will have received a rather neutral message -- finding out they have been waitlisted. It isn't an outright no, but it surely isn't a yes either. So what does it mean? This response from colleges seems to be becoming more and more popular each year, and has left numerous high schools seniors in a sort of "limbo" stage in the admissions process.

     According to a Tribune article regarding the growth of college waitlists, the purpose of this separate group is due to the fact that, "It has become increasingly difficult for admissions officers to predict who actually will show up in the fall, so schools have countered with an insurance policy: a larger reserve pool to manage their enrollment". What is very interesting about this phenomenon is how rapidly it has grown in the last 10 years. The University of Chicago waitlist for example, according to the school newspaper The Chicago Maroon, grew from 500 names in 2003 to an astonishing 3,000 in 2012. Similarly, at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois the waitlist has grown by 1,300 names in the last six years. The biggest concern is not necessarily the rapid growth of these waitlists, but rather the false hope that some students get from them. 

     

      Bonnie Miller, Tribune reporter and author of the article, found that at Vanderbilt University only 9.4% of students on the waitlist were accepted this year, and that number has remained constant for several years now. Additionally, at Northwestern, according to school officials, only 21 out of 3,204 students were accepted from their waitlist in 2010, and none in 2011. These numbers paint a realistic picture of how many students actually get accepted from these "insurance" applicant pools.

      

        Even more interesting is the type of applicants that are placed on these waitlists. In an interview with James Conroy, head of the college counseling department at New Trier High School, I was told that "99% of the waitlist kids will be from New Trier type zip codes". This overwhelming number is due to the fact that when it comes time for the school to select students from the waitlist, they will not have a lot of money to give in financial aid. Therefore, they need students who will not require much financial assistance. An additional function of waitlists deals with schools wanting to satisfy big donors and legacies. They feel that by not outright denying an applicant, they are essentially easing the pain on the rejection yet to come.

What do you think of the waitlist system? Is it fair?