Month: March 2021

The Waitlist. Why?!

Listen to “The Waitlist…Why?! – Rick Clark” on Spreaker.

The only thing more annoying than a four-year old incessantly asking you why is a twelve-year-old, impersonating a four-year old asking you why. Plus, they are faster, and not as easily distracted by a lollipop or cartoon.

However, lately our ten-year old has come up with some pretty solid queries about how things work.

Why are some metals not magnetic?

Why do Americans say, “soccer” instead of “football?”

Not liking my first answer, she patiently rephrased, “Why did Americans decide to name another sport “football?”   

If you’ve received a waitlist offer recently, you are probably also asking, “why?” And while Google was quite helpful on “Why California became a state before Oregon,” you’ll find some disconcerting and completely inaccurate information about college waitlists on the interwebs.

Waitlisted? Here is what you need to know:

Why do they exist?

Colleges use historical trends and statistical models to predict “yield,” i.e., the number or percentage of students that accept an offer of admission and choose to enroll. Currently, the average yield for four-year colleges is around 35%.

Yield varies based on a variety of factors. For example, a student’s major, distance from campus, and financial aid package all contribute to their likelihood of committing. But, for the purposes of simplicity, if a school is looking to enroll 1,000 students, and their expected yield is 33%, they’ll need to admit approximately 3,000 students.

As you can imagine, this year yield is more fragile and unpredictable than ever. The pandemic has thrown all kinds of curveballs into the equation, including issues around finances, health, willingness to travel great distances from home, and so on.

Ultimately, however, chancellors, presidents and boards of directors/trustees do not care about variables. Every university has an enrollment goal they are expected to meet, and the admissions and enrollment teams are charged with bringing in that class–both in overall size and particular composition.

If yield drops (as it has most places in recent years), the college needs to be able to make additional offers to hit stated targets. Voila- The Waitlist!

How do waitlists work?

A waitlist for a college is not the same as a line outside of a concert or restaurant (use your way back machine to visualize this reference). In other words, schools do not assign numbers or rank to the students on their waitlist. Instead, they watch their deposits closely beginning in April and compare those numbers with their goals. If they see that their geographic, gender, academic, or other demographic targets are “soft” (i.e. not coming in at the level they are looking for), they may go to their waitlist before their deposit deadline. Otherwise, they will wait until after their deposit deadline, assess the gap between their targets and their current number of deposits, and then begin making offers to “shape” their class.

Here is an example. Good College, located in Bonne, is trying to grow their Economics program. They have 560 students on their waitlist. After their deposit deadline, they see they still need 20 deposits to hit their overall class target. They also notice that students depositing for Economics are at the same level as the year before. So, guess who is getting the first wave of waitlist offers?

Waitlist activity is influenced not only by the demographics and composition of the incoming students, but also on who is graduating and which current students they expect to return. In other words, if the university always wants to be able to say they have at least one student from each of the 50 states, and their one Nebraskan is a senior… “Welcome to Good, Mr. Bien from Kearney, NE.”

How they don’t work.

  • Each year, a few admitted students will inform us they are going to choose another college, but they want to “give their spot” to a friend on the waitlist. That’s good looking out, and kind to offer. Not how it works, but good looking out. 
  • Showing up to “demonstrate interest” is not a thing. Even in non-pandemic times, coming to the admission office to say, “Hey!” Or “Hey, I’m on the waitlist and… I’d like to come off.” Or “Hey, I’m on the waitlist and… I’d like to come off… and I really like your shirt.” NOPE. None of that is necessary, and none of that will work. See Admission 101 advice below.

What can you do if you are waitlisted?

  1. Accept your spot on the list. At most schools the waitlist decision is actually an offer, rather than an automatic spot on the list. Typically, you need to take action of some kind to claim your waitlist spot. You also may need to complete a supplementary short answer question, send mid-semester grades, or submit another recommendation letter/ interview. All colleges vary in how they work their waitlist, but Admission 101 = read what they send and do what it says. 
  1. Deposit elsewhere. The college that has offered you a spot on their waitlist should be instructing you to take this step, as it is absolutely critical. Because many admitted students wait until the week prior to the deposit deadline to commit, the majority of waitlist activity occurs in May, June, and July. That means you need to put your money down at another school in order to secure your spot. Just like the college, you are hedging your bets.
    I hate to go all Effie Trinket on you here, but just in case no one else says it… the waitlist odds are not in your favor. “But I thought you just said…” I know, I know. I’m not saying it’s impossible, but it is a numbers game, and this year you’ve got plenty of company on the waitlist. Your job is to get excited about a school that did admit you and secure your space in their class.

3. Don’t stalk the admission office. Claim your spot, send in what they ask for, and wait. That’s it! If you really feel compelled to send an email to an admission counselor that you’ve met or corresponded with previously, that could be your one other action item. If you do that, it’s a one and done deal. We have seen students send a painted shoe with a message on the bottom reading: “just trying to get my foot in the door.” Memorable, but ultimately ineffective. Admission offices regularly receive chocolates, cookies, and treats along with poems or notes. It is safe to say that a couple hundred grams of sugar and a few couplets are not going to outweigh institutional priorities. There is a distinct line between expressing interest and stalking. Stay in your lane.

4. Finish Well. This is not the “scared straight” message about keeping your grades up, not being a jerk to your sister, or posting mean things online. If you have not heard all of that by now, we have an entirely different set of issues. Instead, my hope is you will not let being on a waitlist keep you from enjoying the last part of your senior year. It’s already been challenging enough with Covid-19, so don’t make it any more stressful or difficult for yourself. Spend time with your friends and family and do the things you love.

For the Record

Whether you are an admissions dean, a student, a school counselor, or a parent, we can all agree on this- The Waitlist Sucks. It’s like the brain freeze of admissions land; it’s the seventh layer of admission purgatory; it’s our collective Newman! Why? Why! Why?!

NEEDED- New College Admissions Map

Listen to “JUNIORS: Create a New College Admissions Map – Rick Clark” on Spreaker.

I have traveled extensively throughout the United States and overseas. At last count, 45 states, five continents, and 138 of Georgia’s 159 counties. Beyond that I have always loved looking at maps, studying American history, and can generally hold my own at Tuesday Night Trivia when geography questions come up.  

However, a few years ago I visited Minneapolis for the first time. I flew in late and woke up early to run through the city before the day got rolling. At the hotel’s front desk, I asked for a recommendation on a good route to get a sense of the area. “Oh. Of course. I’d recommend the ‘Bridge Run.’ It’s about six miles and crosses the river four times. I think you’ll love it.”  

I honestly pray the hotel did not have a camera on the front desk that morning to capture the next part of our exchange.  

“Oh, great. What river is it?”

Honestly, I thought she was going to rattle off some obscure name that I may have vaguely heard mentioned or seen once randomly on a map. 

She paused and I noticed her eyebrows raise slightly as she breathed in deeply.  And then, with a slight bit of pity in her voice, she said slowly… “The Mississippi.” 

Now I am pretty sure I held it together in the moment, but it was all I could do to bottle up the simultaneous combination of embarrassment and shock that ran through me.

“Perfect,” I stammered and headed quickly for the door.  

Arguably our nation’s most famous river, I’d crossed the Mississippi many times— I even swam in it once–granted a few thousand miles south. How could I not realize this is the state where it starts?  

The run across the bridges at sunrise that day was breathtaking. By the third crossing I had transitioned from being flummoxed and embarrassed to laughing about it. I texted my wife (who lived there for five years) a picture from the middle of one of the bridges: “Mississippi River runs through Minneapolis…who knew?!” Five minutes later she replied, “Everyone but you, apparently.” Ouch. Insult to injury.  

I am guessing you can think of a similar situation or revelation–something you read, heard, or learned that changed your view, challenged your assumptions, or expanded your understanding of someone or something (If you can’t, start reading more and hanging around different people).  

In many ways, my experience in Minnesota is illustrative of the limited and misinformed perspective most people have on both college and college admission. They have some exposure but lack the full picture. They rely on personal experience and are so heavily influenced by social media or what they hear and observe in their small circle, that their view is understandably narrow–a condition, whether it be in politics, public health, or another issue in society, that inevitably leads to poor decision-making and unnecessary anxiety.  

Mind the Map

If you are a junior in high school, your job this spring is to work diligently to see a bigger, more accurate landscape of higher education, broaden your understanding of the amazing choices and options you have, and commit to navigating a unique path through your college admission experience.  

Since traveling is limited right now in the pandemic, here are a few ways to get a sense of the landscape and ensure the “map” you are using is accurate: 

1- Determine Your Starting Point 

  • Write down the names of the first seven colleges or universities that pop into your head.  
  • Now circle the schools that are in your home state; the colleges that a parent, sibling, or other family member attended; the schools that are nationally known in your favorite sport; and any that rhyme with Stanvard. 

Are more than 50% circled?  If so, welcome to Minneapolis!  Hopefully, you see this as an opportunity to expand your horizons!   

 2- Survey Your Surroundings– find out where some people you know (or know of) went to college. 

The CEO of your favorite national/international brand. 

Your principal/ school head. 

Your town/city’s mayor. 

Two or three of your neighbors or parents’ friends. 

Your favorite science or math teacher. 

Your favorite history, foreign language, or English teacher.  

Your favorite athletes. 

The owner of your favorite local business. 

Your favorite actor or musician.  

A state or federal legislator you respect.  

A famous person from your city or state. 

What did you learn? 

What surprised you? 

Is there a college or university on the list you had not heard of before? 

3- Drop a Pin

Patrick Winter, Associate Vice Chancellor of Academic Services and Enrollment at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln has a theory that if you were to throw a dart at a map of the United States, or enter coordinates into Google Earth and drop a pin online somewhere in this country, you would find a college within 100 miles where you could get in, meet a friend for life, engage with a professor who would support and encourage you, pick a major you would enjoy, and plug into a campus community where you could build a network and thrive during your undergraduate years and beyond. 

  • Give it a shot! (Just promise to be careful if you choose to blindfold yourself and throw darts.)  
  • After a selecting a random location, drop a pin on your house’s location, and draw that same circle within 100 miles.  

What are your options?  

What if we expanded that to your entire state?  

Any state that borders your state?  

Go online and search for the alumni magazine and student newspapers from some of those colleges you have discovered, or check out their social media accounts. These are great resources as you are researching, preparing to visit (virtually or in person), and ultimately before making a final college choice. In these publications, you will read countless success stories, relationships that started on campus, and interesting, caring faculty and staff who make that school an absolutely incredible environment to learn, grow, and explore. They’ll prove in both statistics and stories of students and graduates that the path to success and happiness goes through hundreds of campuses, rather than the ten or twenty most media cover ad nauseum. 

4- Black Out 

Give a parent or younger sibling a Sharpie and tell them to rip the cover off brochures that come to your house in the next month. Then ask them to use a Sharpie to black out the name of the college everywhere it appears.  

How does not knowing the name of a college change your perspective or opinions? 

How do the questions you ask change when you review colleges this way?  

5- Stay Grounded and Take Flight 

Watch and listen closely to the seniors this spring. You are going to see them deliberate over decisions that involve finances, distance from home, opinions of others, and a variety of other factors. Those who applied to a variety of schools in terms of selectivity and cost are going to have options. Ask the seniors you are close to what advice they would have based on their experience. And  pay attention to what they are saying this fall as they head off to school – and as you are applying to schools too. Notice how stories and perspectives change. Their “dream school” or “top choice” from last fall or this spring is often not the same one they end up attending and loving.   

—

Like college itself, the college admission experience is all about learning, expanding, researching, and being open to new ideas and possibilities. That takes paying attention, reflection, intention, and sometimes tension. Focus this spring on acknowledging what you don’t know and commit to listening, learning, and exploring. Enjoy the journey!