Being college waitlisted is not as bad as seniors believe

By Catherine Brown, Photo & Business Editor

These past few months, seniors around the world, including myself, have gone through the college application process. From writing college applications to hearing from admissions officers, the process can be stressful and overwhelming. During this time I have learned a few things I wish I had known prior to applying.

Before I even wrote my first college essay, there was really only one thing on my mind: it did not matter whether or not I was rejected or accepted to a school as long as I was not waitlisted. To many seniors, it seems the college waitlist is the worst thing that can happen to their application. Seniors would rather get rejected than told “the spot is yours if someone better doesn’t want it.”

I have had numerous conversations with friends about how they got waitlisted and felt awful about it. I’m not really sure where I got this mentality from, yet it seems to be quite common.

It was not until recently when I was waitlisted from four schools that I realized the college waitlist is not that bad. I think the waitlist could be seen as a “bad” thing if it comes from a school you thought was a safety school. But personally, I got waitlisted from two of my reach schools and it is something I have become very proud of.

Although many seniors have feelings of anxiety around the waitlist, this is your reminder that it is not that bad. The more schools you apply to, the more likely it is that you will get into at least a few. The college waitlist should not be something we automatically think is bad. It is really a school-by-school basis and if you are waitlisted, you still have a chance to get in.

My advice to anyone who is scared of being waitlisted is to apply to as many schools as you can. If you get waitlisted, it is easy to be hard on yourself. But the truth is that many students get waitlisted, not because they are not good enough, but because the school simply does not have enough room. Getting waitlisted is an accomplishment, so instead of beating yourself up about it, be proud you get a second chance to get into what could be your future school.