Hopeful students’ purgatory: the dreaded college wait list

Students headed to college this coming fall have plunked down several hundred dollars — or at least their parents have — to hold a spot in a college that has accepted them for the fall semester.

Some of that money is going to be forfeited.

That’s because many students apply to multiple col- leges and get accepted by one or more, but some students also get put on the dreaded wait list by their dream college, whether that is the University of Georgia or Harvard.

The wait-list acceptance letter from the school tells students you qualify to come here, and we’ll be glad to accept you. Kind of. You’ll get in, but only if the right number of people we’ve already accepted decide to go somewhere else, which could open up a seat for you.

So the incoming freshmen promise their B-list college

that they’ll show up come fall, but pin thin hopes on making it through the wait list and going to a school they perceive to be better in academics, sports, pres- tige, exclusiveness or some ephemeral measurement.

Pamela Donnelly, the CEO of the GATE College System, a company that helps teen- agers prepare for and compete to get into the best college they can, compares wait lists to purgatory, the Catholic concept of that after- death state of waiting and being purified before being sent off to a final destination.

“You’re hoping to get into heaven, but it might be a long wait. It’s a nerve-rack- ing time.”

And it is also a dangerous time. There are prices that wait-listed students might pay in financial aid or hous- ing by being wait-listed.

Donnelly has some advice for the wait-listed.

“The first thing you need to understand ... the odds are not in your favor,” she said.

The listed better school, acceptance students and the more lower is rate exclusive low, the for chances and wait- the the you’ll Also, get know a call-back. that wait-listed students get put at the very

back of the line for housing availability and for financial

aid from the school. They may be all out of money by

the time you get a call-up. “If finances are import, it may be preferable to look at schools where you were already accepted,” Donnelly said.

There are things you can do while you are waiting to help you make a decision.

“If you are higher on your (wait-listed) ranking, you have a greater chance of being accepted,” she said. So if students don’t know where they rank, it could be OK to call the school and ask if the wait-list is ranked and then ask where they rank on the list. Show some maturity during the call. Tell them you are trying to make an informed decision about your future, and that you know the college is also trying to do the same thing, so it could help both par- ties if they share the info. And then be polite, if you decide to move on. Let the college know as soon as possible that it can take you off the wait list. There are a couple of other things you could do to help your chances, if you remain on the wait list. Donnelly says if you never got the chance to do an interview with an admissions officer, call proactively and let them know you never got to interview. “I would love to make a trip there. Will someone be in the office on ...” and give them a few days range for an interview. Donnelly, who has writ- ten books on the subject, also recommends getting another letter of recommen- dation from a prominent politician, businessman or notable person in the community. “Not just your English teacher,” she says.