Being waitlisted can be a pretty stressful process, especially if it’s for your dream school. It’s neither a guarantee nor a rejection, so the uncertainty can be overwhelming. That’s why we’re here to help! In this article, we’ve put together some tips and information that will help you have the best chance of turning your waitlist notice into an acceptance letter.
Over the past several years, Wake Forest has accepted around 25% of their applicants, with their Early Decision admissions making up around 16% of their total acceptance rate. However, we have no idea what Wake Forest’s recent waitlist data is, as they don’t publish it.
See, it even says “do not publish.” We think that’s annoying and unfair! If you put students into the black box of being waitlisted, you should give them some info on how your school operates. Anyway, even though we don’t know the hard data, we do know what you can do to get off the Wake Forest waitlist and into their incoming freshman class.
First Things First
When you receive your email or letter letting you know that you’ve been accepted onto the waitlist at Wake Forest, they’ll include details on how to accept your spot through their admissions portal. You absolutely must accept your spot on the waitlist if you want the chance to get off it. Once you’ve done that, they will send you information for attending their waitlist webinar so that you can get more information and understand their waitlist process better.
Plan Ahead
While it may feel like a little bit of a betrayal if you’ve dreamed about attending Wake Forest, you need to have a backup plan in case things don’t work out. Go ahead and accept an offer from a college that you would be happy to attend if you don’t make it off of Wake Forest’s waitlist, just in case. No matter what, you’re going to college.
Follow Up
Wake Forest expects you to write a “Letter of Continued Interest” to the admissions representative for your area once you’ve accepted your spot on the waitlist. This is really important because it’s kind of your final attempt at a first impression, and if you don’t write this letter, then you absolutely will not be getting off the waitlist. This might feel a bit intimidating, so we’ve put together a basic idea for how it could look.
The overall tone of the letter should be professional like you’re writing to a future boss. You also want to make sure your letter is confident and self-assured – begging won’t come across well.
Opening: Again, you want to keep this letter professional, so a simple “Dear [Admissions Representative]:” is a good start. If you haven’t already had direct contact with your regional rep, make sure to use this website to figure out which admissions representative is in charge of managing your area.
Reinforce Interest: This is where you will want to re-introduce yourself to the admissions representative. Make sure that you stress that if you’re accepted from the waitlist, you’ll definitely be attending Wake Forest. Admissions counselors don’t like wishy-washy statements, they want commitment.
Body: This portion of the letter will be your chance to update Wake Forest on anything you’ve been doing since you applied. Not everything is update-letter-worthy, so we recommend sticking to academic and personal achievements, like winning awards, completing research, securing a new internship, etc. You can also connect the things you’ve done since applying to specific things at Wake Forest that you want to do. New editor of the school paper and you want to write for the Wake Forest paper too?? Perfect.
Closing: With the same professional tone you started with, round everything out by thanking the admissions representative for their time and remind them once more that you’ll be attending the school if you’re accepted. End with something business-y like “Sincerely” or “Respectfully.”
Plan for the Future
Don’t let senioritis get you down – you need to stay on top of your academics. Wake Forest doesn’t even start to look at their waitlisted students until early May, so they’ll probably request that you send updated grades through your school counselor. So, stay smart and responsible about your test scores and finals to make sure that you give yourself the best chance of being accepted. Also, make sure you have your backup college ready to go, just in case.
Getting off the waitlist can be overwhelming. Let us help. Send us an email today.