You applied to several boarding schools. But your first choice didn't accept you. Instead, it waitlisted you. What exactly does this mean? And why do schools waitlist applicants? What do you do now?
I can tell you from my first-hand experience that you wonder what you did wrong. Did you make a poor impression at the interview? Were your scores not good enough? The questions are never-ending. As a father whose two daughters both went to boarding schools, I remember well all the second-guessing. So, I am writing this essay from the candidate's point of view and yours. Please share it with your child who has been waitlisted by one or more of the boarding schools she applied to.
What does waitlisting mean?
Most schools typically offer more applicants places than they have for the theory and experience that they will receive enough acceptances to fill all their seats. Calculating the actual yield from the acceptances they have sent out is something experienced admissions officers know how to do almost instinctively. For example, let's say the school has places for 100 students. It could send acceptance letters to 100 applicants. But what happens if only 75 of those families accept the places offered? Having 25 empty seats will wreak havoc with any private school's finances.
That's where the waitlisting comes in. The admissions officers know that if they offer a certain number of applicants over the actual number of places they have available, they will receive the necessary
