January 10, 2025 • 18 mins
The college admissions process is fraught with uncertainty, particularly for students who find themselves placed on the waitlist. Teege Mettille provides essential insights and strategies for students and families to navigate this complex situation effectively.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
Hello and welcome to the East Coast College
Admissions Podcast.
I'm your host, cleopatra, andI'm so excited about this
episode.
The college admissions processis full of twists and turns and,
for many students, landing onthe waitlist is one of the most
confusing and stressful parts ofthe journey.
But what if I told you thereare strategies to improve your
chances of getting off thewaitlist while staying true to
(00:35):
ethical and innovativeadmissions practices.
Today, we are joined by TeejMittal, an admissions expert and
author of the AdmissionsCounselor Malik's, a
thought-provoking guide toaddressing systematic issues in
admissions.
Teej has worked extensivelywith admissions teams to improve
processes, including waitliststrategies, and is here to share
(00:56):
his insights with us.
Teej, welcome to the podcast.
I'm so excited to have you here.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Well, thank you so much, Kloopatra.
I am thrilled to be here and toyour audience.
Thank you for taking time tolisten to our conversation today
.
I am looking forward to it.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
Looking forward to it as well.
Teej, before we dive intotoday's topic, can you tell us a
little bit about yourbackground and what inspired you
to write?
The admissions counselor Malik.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
Sure, absolutely so.
My background is almostentirely college admissions.
Professionally I started as anadmissions counselor and kind of
worked my way up.
I became assistant director,associate director, then a
director, dean, vice presidentof enrollment, etc.
At a number of institutions allsmall private liberal arts
institutions where I saw a widerange of selectivity approaches
(01:45):
and admissions strategies.
So that's my background.
What inspired me to write thebook the Admissions Counselor
Malaise and I think it can touchback to weightless strategies
rather well is the collegeadmissions profession has been
having a pretty significant andserious staff morale.
I call it a crisis for quitesome time and I think the
(02:06):
malaise the admissions counselormalaise reflects a growing
sense from admissions counselorsthat their work is not having
the meaning and value it oncehad, and I propose a series of
strategies on how to help themget that back in the book.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
Your work shares light on many critical issues in
admissions.
I know our listeners studentsand families also admissions
professionals alike will benefitfrom your perspective.
So I wanted to start with thebasics.
For students who may not fullyunderstand the waitlist process,
can you explain what it meansto be waitlisted and what
colleges use waitlists for?
Speaker 2 (02:40):
Yeah, and it can be so distressing for students and
I understand that, and if you'rea student or you're a parent of
a student who's on the waitlist, I just want to express my
sympathies and understanding.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
It's confusing and it's difficult?
Speaker 2 (02:54):
Yeah, because in some ways, students would just
prefer to like just tell me noand let me move on, right?
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Exactly.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
Yeah, and what we do find when colleges put students
on the waitlist is most studentsdo move on.
Even when students are offereda spot on the waitlist at many
institutions, usually they findthat they have fallen in love
with another college in themeantime and they kind of move
on.
So the reason colleges areusing waitlist is they are
trying to ensure that they startthe year with the number of
(03:23):
students that the institutioncan manage and needs.
Right, you want to be carefulnot to over-enroll a class.
If we have too many students,everything from your freshman
seminar class to the line at thecafeteria is longer and not the
student experience we intend.
Okay, there are also, maybehousing issues and in some cases
(03:46):
when I've seen collegesover-enroll, they start putting
student beds in, you know,common areas of the residence
hall to just try and make itwork.
So colleges have a generalsense of how many students that
they admit will end up enrollingthat's called their yield rate
(04:06):
and try and admit enoughstudents to meet their
enrollment targets, but not toomany so as to over-enroll.
But because students are humans, right, they behave like humans
and are sometimes unpredictableand the wait list is the
institutional insurance policyagainst that.
So if they admit, say I'll justuse round numbers If they admit
100 students hoping to enroll50, but only 45 enroll, well,
(04:29):
they can turn to the waitlist totry and find those five
remaining students.
So that's what they're using awaitlist for.
Now, the good sign for a studentwho is on the waitlist is if a
college didn't think you werecapable of doing the work at
that college, they would havedenied you.
So that's the one thing.
It's not that the collegedoesn't think you're admissible.
It's just that, for whateverreason usually related to
(04:51):
institutional priorities theyweren't able to offer you a spot
yet.
But they may soon.
Did that answer your question,cleopatra?
Speaker 1 (04:59):
Yeah, it does, you know.
It's helpful to understand thelogic behind it.
So now for students andfamilies, the waitlist can feel
like a limbo.
What should they keep in mind,emotionally and practically,
when they receive a waitlistnotification?
Speaker 2 (05:14):
Right?
Well, the first thing to noteand it's tricky right is
students have to determine ordecide, or come to a conclusion
how much they want to remain inlimbo If they are waitlisted at
the college of their dreams andthat college of their dreams is
financially viable for them.
I always say don't forget thataspect.
(05:34):
They may choose to want to hangin there and hold out hope, and
then we'll discuss somestrategies on how to maximize
your chances there.
Yes, but if it's not thecollege of their dreams and they
got admitted to another collegethat they'd be just as excited
to attend.
Usually, most families, moststudents will, even if they
don't formally kind of withdrawfrom the process, will
(05:55):
emotionally check out and moveon to, you know, the college
you're going to end up enrollingat.
Speaker 1 (06:01):
So why don't we talk strategy?
What can students do to improvetheir chances of being moved
off the way list, especially asselective East Coast colleges?
Speaker 2 (06:10):
Correct, correct.
Yes, and I'm aware of the nicheof this podcast with East Coast
Admissions.
So the way to improve it rightis, what you want to do is find
a way to get an admissionscounselor advocating for you,
and in that way it can feeltricky because in part, you know
(06:30):
that's out of your hands.
You don't.
You don't control theadmissions counselor.
So you want to reach out andone be sure to clearly
demonstrate that you remaininterested despite being on the
wait list.
And that's going to come notjust from accepting your
position on the wait list Moststudents will accept the
position on the wait list butit's going to come from
(06:50):
continuing to provide additionalmaterials and information to
the college to kind of bolsteryour application as a student
for that institution.
Now, it is possible to overdothis, right.
So you don't want to be callingevery day or even every week,
right, but having a conversationwith the counselor asking if
(07:12):
there's anything in specific atthat institution that they turn
to when removing students fromthe waitlist or elevating them
to admit status is a good idea,and then following through with
that right.
So if they say you know, well,we really wanted to see your
final grades after you graduatehigh school, or you know, maybe
it's an art portfolio or justsome writing samples, you know,
(07:36):
whatever, if the college is opento getting some of that
information, go ahead andprovide it for the college.
That will matter a lot.
When colleges are pullingstudents from the waitlist or
admitting students from thewaitlist, I should say they
usually are not pulling 250students from the waitlist,
right, if that's the case, theybadly miscalculated, which can
(07:57):
happen.
But what is more often the caseis the scenario I said they
need to find a discrete numberof students.
So internally, their admissionsoffice is going to discuss all
the students on the wait list.
Who should we consider movingup?
And one of the key questions isare they going to accept their
position from?
Are they going to accept theoffer of admission?
(08:18):
Is are they going to accepttheir position from?
Are they going to accept theoffer of admission?
Because one of the things toremember is you won't have
necessarily months to decide ifyou're going to accept the spot
on the wait list.
You might hear on a Monday,they might give you a week.
Sometimes that's even agenerous timeframe right, they
might give you two days, and soone of the questions that
they're going to be trying tosort out because they want to
fill their class and move on isif we admit the student from the
(08:40):
waitlist, will they accepttheir spot and will that have
filled one of the seats oncampus?
So that's why providing thematerials demonstrating the
interest, making sure thecounselor knows that you are
engaged and would accept ifoffered a position, will help a
lot except if offered a position, will help a lot.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
So those are great tips, but then there are a lot
of conflicting advice onlineabout additional materials like
recommendation letters, updatedessays.
Do you think those help at all?
Speaker 2 (09:14):
It's tricky right and there's conflicting advice
because different institutionshandle things differently, and
so that's part of it.
It's why one of the firstthings I said was call the
admissions counselor at thatinstitution and ask if there's
anything in particular they lookat and if there is be sure to
provide that Adding additionalmaterials to your application.
Again, as long as it's not donein a way that is going
(09:39):
overboard or kind of in a waythat feels harassing to the
admissions counselor, right,like you shouldn't be calling
every week as long as it's notgoing overboard isn't going to
hurt you.
It's just going to demonstrateI'm here, I'm interested, and if
you needed to see somethingelse from me, here it is.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
Okay, okay, yeah.
So your take on that is that inas much as it really doesn't
make that much of an impact,because schools have a
percentage that they pull offevery year, but then it doesn't
hit your chances as well.
Is that what you're trying totell the audience?
Speaker 2 (10:15):
I know I would.
I would change a few thingsthere.
I don't think school collegesdon't have a set number of
students.
They admit from the wait list.
Every year they admit theirclass.
They wait and see how manystudents that were admitted end
up enrolling.
And if they still need or havespace for more students, then
they turn to the waitlist, andusually very discreet, targeted
(10:35):
ways.
Right Again, it could be assimple as we need to find 24
more students and we need tofind them quickly.
Right, Because usually this ishappening after May 1, when most
students have made theircollege decision, including you
who's on the wait list?
Right, including the studentson the wait list have enrolled
somewhere in the college.
(10:56):
If they came up a little shortand they want to fill the spots,
we'll turn to the wait listagain in very targeted ways.
Speaker 1 (11:02):
We'll turn to the waitlist again in very targeted
ways.
So, Teej, one of the thingsyou've written about is the
importance of ethical practicesin admissions.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (11:16):
So how can admissions ?
Speaker 2 (11:17):
teams improve their waitlist processes whilst
maintaining the fairness andtransparency.
Yes, I have a.
You know my book is loaded witha lot of tough love for the
admissions profession, because Ithink there's a number of
things that we do that arefocused on what we as
institutions need, not on whatstudents need, and I think we've
gone too far in one directionon that, and one of one of the
ways that I think we've gone toofar in that is related to the
(11:38):
waitlist.
I think colleges over index howlikely it is for a student to be
admitted off of the waitlist.
I think colleges over index howlikely it is for a student to
be admitted off of the waitlist.
They give students more hopethan is likely to be the case,
and the reason they're doingthat is because they want to be
sure that if they need to admitstudents from the waitlist,
(11:59):
there's going to be enough stillthere waiting.
I think colleges should beexpected in the waitlist letter
to say in the last three years,five years, whatever, here's how
many students we've admittedfrom the waitlist, and that will
help families and studentsdecide do I need to keep holding
out hope here or do I reallyneed to think of this as
virtually a deny letter and moveon to other options.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
Okay, so I imagine that clearer communication would
also help reduce the stress anduncertainty that so many
students feel during thisprocess, because a lot of them
really don't know what'shappening and how's that going
to end.
Some people end up not hearingfrom any college at all, and
that can really be burdensome.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
Yes, clear communication all around.
I think you know one of thethings, one of the ways that
helps colleges enroll theirclass is there is a perception
of scarcity that I that I thinkis not usually correct now.
With some of the very selectiveinstitutions it is.
But most students get admittedto most of their colleges
because most colleges admit mostof their applicants Right.
(13:00):
So students, I think, don'thave to be concerned about not
getting admitted anywhere.
Where most of the heartacheusually comes from is when
students really want to beadmitted to one specific place
or a specific type ofinstitution, and the more
selective that institution, themore stress that goes on to the
student, the student.
If colleges I think collegeswhen they review an applicant,
(13:25):
you know, I think especially ofthe very, very highly selective
colleges that are admitting lessthan 10% of their students, I
think the majority of theirapplicants they can know when
they read it that we're nevergoing to admit the students and
I think they should tell thestudent right away, right.
The sooner we can get thestudents moving on and exploring
what is going to be the bestavailable option for them, the
better it is for the student.
Speaker 1 (13:46):
I agree.
I agree, teej.
This has been an incredible,insightful conversation, but
before we wrap up, what are yourtop three pieces of advice for
students navigating the waitlistprocess?
Speaker 2 (13:59):
Yes, navigating the waitlist process.
First piece of advice do a gutcheck and determine if you still
want to be holding out hope forthis institution.
If the answer is no, then moveon.
Find your next college.
I'm sure there's a great optionfor you and then you're fine,
and then you've got nothing tostress about If it is the
college you want to keep holdingout for.
The next bit of advice isfollow up, intentionally and
(14:22):
professionally, with theadmissions counselor,
demonstrating your interest andasking if there's any
information they need or wouldwant or would accept from you to
bolster your application whenthey go through the waitlist
process.
And then the third bit ofadvice is while you're waiting
to find out if you get admittedfrom the waitlist, do find
yourself another option thatyou're going to be excited about
(14:42):
so that, if you get admittedfrom the waitlist, do find
yourself another option thatyou're going to be excited about
, so that, if you don't getadmitted from the waitlist, you
still are looking forward toyour next step.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
Okay, and for your admissions teams, what's one
thing that they can do right nowto improve their waitlist
processes?
Besides communication, what doyou think they can do to improve
it?
Speaker 2 (15:06):
Oh well, besides communication, that's a
curveball.
I think this is what I wouldsay Waitlist far less students
than you do.
I think we waitlist anyone whocould be admissible, even if we
know we're only likely to pulloff a small number of students.
I think we should drasticallyreduce the number of students we
leave on a wait list.
Speaker 1 (15:24):
Oh wow, Fantastic advice for both students and
professionals.
Teej, thank you so much forjoining us today and sharing
your expertise.
Where can our listeners learnmore about your work and get a
copy?
Speaker 2 (15:38):
of the Admissions Counselor Malaise.
Oh sure, Thank you so much,Chloe Patrick.
Well, the Admissions CounselorMalaise is available exclusively
on Amazon, so you can justsearch for it.
But if you want to hear moreabout my work, I have my own
podcast, the AdmissionsDirectors Lunchcast, where we
really take topics that arespecific to admissions directors
and talk through it from aprofessional lens.
I don't think most of yourlisteners would be into it, but
(15:58):
if there's someone that reallywants to get behind the scenes
in an admissions office, you cancheck that out.
Speaker 1 (16:05):
To everyone listening .
Thank you for tuning into theEast Coast College Admissions
Podcast.
If you are navigating thecollege waitlist process or just
want to understand admissionsbetter, I hope today's episode
gave you the tools and insightsyou need.
If you enjoyed today'sconversation, don't forget to
subscribe, leave a review andshare this episode with someone
who might find it helpful.
For more resources, visit us atwwwe-schoolsadmissionscom.
(16:31):
Until next time, I'm Cleopatra,wishing you clarity and
confidence on your collegeadmissions journey.
Take care.
Hello and welcome to the East Coast College
Admissions Podcast.
I'm your host, cleopatra, andI'm so excited about this
episode.
The college admissions processis full of twists and turns and,
for many students, landing onthe waitlist is one of the most
confusing and stressful parts ofthe journey.
But what if I told you thereare strategies to improve your
chances of getting off thewaitlist while staying true to
(00:35):
ethical and innovativeadmissions practices.
Today, we are joined by TeejMittal, an admissions expert and
author of the AdmissionsCounselor Malik's, a
thought-provoking guide toaddressing systematic issues in
admissions.
Teej has worked extensivelywith admissions teams to improve
processes, including waitliststrategies, and is here to share
(00:56):
his insights with us.
Teej, welcome to the podcast.
I'm so excited to have you here.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Well, thank you so much, Kloopatra.
I am thrilled to be here and toyour audience.
Thank you for taking time tolisten to our conversation today
.
I am looking forward to it.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
Looking forward to it as well.
Teej, before we dive intotoday's topic, can you tell us a
little bit about yourbackground and what inspired you
to write?
The admissions counselor Malik.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
Sure, absolutely so.
My background is almostentirely college admissions.
Professionally I started as anadmissions counselor and kind of
worked my way up.
I became assistant director,associate director, then a
director, dean, vice presidentof enrollment, etc.
At a number of institutions allsmall private liberal arts
institutions where I saw a widerange of selectivity approaches
(01:45):
and admissions strategies.
So that's my background.
What inspired me to write thebook the Admissions Counselor
Malaise and I think it can touchback to weightless strategies
rather well is the collegeadmissions profession has been
having a pretty significant andserious staff morale.
I call it a crisis for quitesome time and I think the
(02:06):
malaise the admissions counselormalaise reflects a growing
sense from admissions counselorsthat their work is not having
the meaning and value it oncehad, and I propose a series of
strategies on how to help themget that back in the book.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
Your work shares light on many critical issues in
admissions.
I know our listeners studentsand families also admissions
professionals alike will benefitfrom your perspective.
So I wanted to start with thebasics.
For students who may not fullyunderstand the waitlist process,
can you explain what it meansto be waitlisted and what
colleges use waitlists for?
Speaker 2 (02:40):
Yeah, and it can be so distressing for students and
I understand that, and if you'rea student or you're a parent of
a student who's on the waitlist, I just want to express my
sympathies and understanding.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
It's confusing and it's difficult?
Speaker 2 (02:54):
Yeah, because in some ways, students would just
prefer to like just tell me noand let me move on, right?
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Exactly.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
Yeah, and what we do find when colleges put students
on the waitlist is most studentsdo move on.
Even when students are offereda spot on the waitlist at many
institutions, usually they findthat they have fallen in love
with another college in themeantime and they kind of move
on.
So the reason colleges areusing waitlist is they are
trying to ensure that they startthe year with the number of
(03:23):
students that the institutioncan manage and needs.
Right, you want to be carefulnot to over-enroll a class.
If we have too many students,everything from your freshman
seminar class to the line at thecafeteria is longer and not the
student experience we intend.
Okay, there are also, maybehousing issues and in some cases
(03:46):
when I've seen collegesover-enroll, they start putting
student beds in, you know,common areas of the residence
hall to just try and make itwork.
So colleges have a generalsense of how many students that
they admit will end up enrollingthat's called their yield rate
(04:06):
and try and admit enoughstudents to meet their
enrollment targets, but not toomany so as to over-enroll.
But because students are humans, right, they behave like humans
and are sometimes unpredictableand the wait list is the
institutional insurance policyagainst that.
So if they admit, say I'll justuse round numbers If they admit
100 students hoping to enroll50, but only 45 enroll, well,
(04:29):
they can turn to the waitlist totry and find those five
remaining students.
So that's what they're using awaitlist for.
Now, the good sign for a studentwho is on the waitlist is if a
college didn't think you werecapable of doing the work at
that college, they would havedenied you.
So that's the one thing.
It's not that the collegedoesn't think you're admissible.
It's just that, for whateverreason usually related to
(04:51):
institutional priorities theyweren't able to offer you a spot
yet.
But they may soon.
Did that answer your question,cleopatra?
Speaker 1 (04:59):
Yeah, it does, you know.
It's helpful to understand thelogic behind it.
So now for students andfamilies, the waitlist can feel
like a limbo.
What should they keep in mind,emotionally and practically,
when they receive a waitlistnotification?
Speaker 2 (05:14):
Right?
Well, the first thing to noteand it's tricky right is
students have to determine ordecide, or come to a conclusion
how much they want to remain inlimbo If they are waitlisted at
the college of their dreams andthat college of their dreams is
financially viable for them.
I always say don't forget thataspect.
(05:34):
They may choose to want to hangin there and hold out hope, and
then we'll discuss somestrategies on how to maximize
your chances there.
Yes, but if it's not thecollege of their dreams and they
got admitted to another collegethat they'd be just as excited
to attend.
Usually, most families, moststudents will, even if they
don't formally kind of withdrawfrom the process, will
(05:55):
emotionally check out and moveon to, you know, the college
you're going to end up enrollingat.
Speaker 1 (06:01):
So why don't we talk strategy?
What can students do to improvetheir chances of being moved
off the way list, especially asselective East Coast colleges?
Speaker 2 (06:10):
Correct, correct.
Yes, and I'm aware of the nicheof this podcast with East Coast
Admissions.
So the way to improve it rightis, what you want to do is find
a way to get an admissionscounselor advocating for you,
and in that way it can feeltricky because in part, you know
(06:30):
that's out of your hands.
You don't.
You don't control theadmissions counselor.
So you want to reach out andone be sure to clearly
demonstrate that you remaininterested despite being on the
wait list.
And that's going to come notjust from accepting your
position on the wait list Moststudents will accept the
position on the wait list butit's going to come from
(06:50):
continuing to provide additionalmaterials and information to
the college to kind of bolsteryour application as a student
for that institution.
Now, it is possible to overdothis, right.
So you don't want to be callingevery day or even every week,
right, but having a conversationwith the counselor asking if
(07:12):
there's anything in specific atthat institution that they turn
to when removing students fromthe waitlist or elevating them
to admit status is a good idea,and then following through with
that right.
So if they say you know, well,we really wanted to see your
final grades after you graduatehigh school, or you know, maybe
it's an art portfolio or justsome writing samples, you know,
(07:36):
whatever, if the college is opento getting some of that
information, go ahead andprovide it for the college.
That will matter a lot.
When colleges are pullingstudents from the waitlist or
admitting students from thewaitlist, I should say they
usually are not pulling 250students from the waitlist,
right, if that's the case, theybadly miscalculated, which can
(07:57):
happen.
But what is more often the caseis the scenario I said they
need to find a discrete numberof students.
So internally, their admissionsoffice is going to discuss all
the students on the wait list.
Who should we consider movingup?
And one of the key questions isare they going to accept their
position from?
Are they going to accept theoffer of admission?
(08:18):
Is are they going to accepttheir position from?
Are they going to accept theoffer of admission?
Because one of the things toremember is you won't have
necessarily months to decide ifyou're going to accept the spot
on the wait list.
You might hear on a Monday,they might give you a week.
Sometimes that's even agenerous timeframe right, they
might give you two days, and soone of the questions that
they're going to be trying tosort out because they want to
fill their class and move on isif we admit the student from the
(08:40):
waitlist, will they accepttheir spot and will that have
filled one of the seats oncampus?
So that's why providing thematerials demonstrating the
interest, making sure thecounselor knows that you are
engaged and would accept ifoffered a position, will help a
lot except if offered a position, will help a lot.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
So those are great tips, but then there are a lot
of conflicting advice onlineabout additional materials like
recommendation letters, updatedessays.
Do you think those help at all?
Speaker 2 (09:14):
It's tricky right and there's conflicting advice
because different institutionshandle things differently, and
so that's part of it.
It's why one of the firstthings I said was call the
admissions counselor at thatinstitution and ask if there's
anything in particular they lookat and if there is be sure to
provide that Adding additionalmaterials to your application.
Again, as long as it's not donein a way that is going
(09:39):
overboard or kind of in a waythat feels harassing to the
admissions counselor, right,like you shouldn't be calling
every week as long as it's notgoing overboard isn't going to
hurt you.
It's just going to demonstrateI'm here, I'm interested, and if
you needed to see somethingelse from me, here it is.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
Okay, okay, yeah.
So your take on that is that inas much as it really doesn't
make that much of an impact,because schools have a
percentage that they pull offevery year, but then it doesn't
hit your chances as well.
Is that what you're trying totell the audience?
Speaker 2 (10:15):
I know I would.
I would change a few thingsthere.
I don't think school collegesdon't have a set number of
students.
They admit from the wait list.
Every year they admit theirclass.
They wait and see how manystudents that were admitted end
up enrolling.
And if they still need or havespace for more students, then
they turn to the waitlist, andusually very discreet, targeted
(10:35):
ways.
Right Again, it could be assimple as we need to find 24
more students and we need tofind them quickly.
Right, Because usually this ishappening after May 1, when most
students have made theircollege decision, including you
who's on the wait list?
Right, including the studentson the wait list have enrolled
somewhere in the college.
(10:56):
If they came up a little shortand they want to fill the spots,
we'll turn to the wait listagain in very targeted ways.
Speaker 1 (11:02):
We'll turn to the waitlist again in very targeted
ways.
So, Teej, one of the thingsyou've written about is the
importance of ethical practicesin admissions.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (11:16):
So how can admissions ?
Speaker 2 (11:17):
teams improve their waitlist processes whilst
maintaining the fairness andtransparency.
Yes, I have a.
You know my book is loaded witha lot of tough love for the
admissions profession, because Ithink there's a number of
things that we do that arefocused on what we as
institutions need, not on whatstudents need, and I think we've
gone too far in one directionon that, and one of one of the
ways that I think we've gone toofar in that is related to the
(11:38):
waitlist.
I think colleges over index howlikely it is for a student to be
admitted off of the waitlist.
I think colleges over index howlikely it is for a student to
be admitted off of the waitlist.
They give students more hopethan is likely to be the case,
and the reason they're doingthat is because they want to be
sure that if they need to admitstudents from the waitlist,
(11:59):
there's going to be enough stillthere waiting.
I think colleges should beexpected in the waitlist letter
to say in the last three years,five years, whatever, here's how
many students we've admittedfrom the waitlist, and that will
help families and studentsdecide do I need to keep holding
out hope here or do I reallyneed to think of this as
virtually a deny letter and moveon to other options.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
Okay, so I imagine that clearer communication would
also help reduce the stress anduncertainty that so many
students feel during thisprocess, because a lot of them
really don't know what'shappening and how's that going
to end.
Some people end up not hearingfrom any college at all, and
that can really be burdensome.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
Yes, clear communication all around.
I think you know one of thethings, one of the ways that
helps colleges enroll theirclass is there is a perception
of scarcity that I that I thinkis not usually correct now.
With some of the very selectiveinstitutions it is.
But most students get admittedto most of their colleges
because most colleges admit mostof their applicants Right.
(13:00):
So students, I think, don'thave to be concerned about not
getting admitted anywhere.
Where most of the heartacheusually comes from is when
students really want to beadmitted to one specific place
or a specific type ofinstitution, and the more
selective that institution, themore stress that goes on to the
student, the student.
If colleges I think collegeswhen they review an applicant,
(13:25):
you know, I think especially ofthe very, very highly selective
colleges that are admitting lessthan 10% of their students, I
think the majority of theirapplicants they can know when
they read it that we're nevergoing to admit the students and
I think they should tell thestudent right away, right.
The sooner we can get thestudents moving on and exploring
what is going to be the bestavailable option for them, the
better it is for the student.
Speaker 1 (13:46):
I agree.
I agree, teej.
This has been an incredible,insightful conversation, but
before we wrap up, what are yourtop three pieces of advice for
students navigating the waitlistprocess?
Speaker 2 (13:59):
Yes, navigating the waitlist process.
First piece of advice do a gutcheck and determine if you still
want to be holding out hope forthis institution.
If the answer is no, then moveon.
Find your next college.
I'm sure there's a great optionfor you and then you're fine,
and then you've got nothing tostress about If it is the
college you want to keep holdingout for.
The next bit of advice isfollow up, intentionally and
(14:22):
professionally, with theadmissions counselor,
demonstrating your interest andasking if there's any
information they need or wouldwant or would accept from you to
bolster your application whenthey go through the waitlist
process.
And then the third bit ofadvice is while you're waiting
to find out if you get admittedfrom the waitlist, do find
yourself another option thatyou're going to be excited about
(14:42):
so that, if you get admittedfrom the waitlist, do find
yourself another option thatyou're going to be excited about
, so that, if you don't getadmitted from the waitlist, you
still are looking forward toyour next step.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
Okay, and for your admissions teams, what's one
thing that they can do right nowto improve their waitlist
processes?
Besides communication, what doyou think they can do to improve
it?
Speaker 2 (15:06):
Oh well, besides communication, that's a
curveball.
I think this is what I wouldsay Waitlist far less students
than you do.
I think we waitlist anyone whocould be admissible, even if we
know we're only likely to pulloff a small number of students.
I think we should drasticallyreduce the number of students we
leave on a wait list.
Speaker 1 (15:24):
Oh wow, Fantastic advice for both students and
professionals.
Teej, thank you so much forjoining us today and sharing
your expertise.
Where can our listeners learnmore about your work and get a
copy?
Speaker 2 (15:38):
of the Admissions Counselor Malaise.
Oh sure, Thank you so much,Chloe Patrick.
Well, the Admissions CounselorMalaise is available exclusively
on Amazon, so you can justsearch for it.
But if you want to hear moreabout my work, I have my own
podcast, the AdmissionsDirectors Lunchcast, where we
really take topics that arespecific to admissions directors
and talk through it from aprofessional lens.
I don't think most of yourlisteners would be into it, but
(15:58):
if there's someone that reallywants to get behind the scenes
in an admissions office, you cancheck that out.
Speaker 1 (16:05):
To everyone listening .
Thank you for tuning into theEast Coast College Admissions
Podcast.
If you are navigating thecollege waitlist process or just
want to understand admissionsbetter, I hope today's episode
gave you the tools and insightsyou need.
If you enjoyed today'sconversation, don't forget to
subscribe, leave a review andshare this episode with someone
who might find it helpful.
For more resources, visit us atwwwe-schoolsadmissionscom.
(16:31):
Until next time, I'm Cleopatra,wishing you clarity and
confidence on your collegeadmissions journey.
Take care.
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