College Crunch

A fairly large percentage of people that apply for College will end up on a waiting list. There are just far too many students and not enough spots in the popular degree choices, but you do have some options when you get the notice that you are on a waiting list. It is not the end of the road, and you shouldn’t just sit around and wait to hear if you’ve been given a spot or not.

Investigate Options

Some schools will allow you to get in by being more flexible in your course selection. If it is only one or two classes that are full, you can see about doing those courses in the winter semester or even over the summer. This can sometimes allow them to change you from waiting to approved.

You can also look at part-time study opportunities. Sometimes, the two or three required degree courses are full, but other courses relating to the degree aren’t, and this can allow you to be a part-time student for your first year. This is especially smart for those that find they’ve gone from wait listed to “sorry, there wasn’t a spot for you this year”.

Contact the School

Having more information is one of the smartest things you can do. Calling the school to sit down and talk to an academic advisor might not only help your odds, but if you press hard enough, you can get some information regarding where you sit in the waiting list, and hence your odds of getting in. There is no point wasting effort if it is an impossibility. Find out what percentage of waitlisted get in, and find out approximately where you sit on their wait list.

If they try to tell you that positioning on the list doesn’t equal positioning for attaining a seat in the course, then ask them how you can find your approximate positioning on the list. There is always someone who has an idea regarding the odds of you getting in if you are on a waiting list.

Keep in Touch with the School

One of the worst things you can do, if you’ve found out you have higher than fifty/fifty odds of getting in is to go home and wait for the school to contact you. When my wife was on a waiting list, it was only a week before school started when she contacted them again, and much to her surprise they said “hadn’t you already heard from us?”

Sometimes the information regarding status changes might not reach you, and so you’ll want to make sure to contact them fairly consistently to check on your status. The last thing you want is to be approved, and not be able to attend because you found out too late.

Organize Financing

I know this might seem a little odd, but if you can prove to them that you are fully ready to attend, they might just be a little more likely to find that seat for you. One of the things you can do is to organize funding. Schools are businesses and so guaranteed money coming in can sway their opinions and options.

Turned Down?

If you find out that they weren’t able to find a seat for you, and you are left without the ability to attend College, don’t let that get you down. Find out from the school what measures you could take to be better positioned for the next year. If you were placed on the waiting list because of your high school marks, it might be worth re-taking that credit for a higher mark, so that it isn’t an issue next year. Some schools just have years where the grade barrier is just really high, and you might not need to do anything to get in next year.

Stay positive, and continually consider your options, and communicate. If you want something bad enough, there is usually a way to make it work, but if you are lazy or complacent in making what you want happen, then it never will.