In the life of a high school senior, it doesn’t get much more nerve wracking than the month of April. This is the time of year when high school seniors finally receive the news on which colleges have accepted or rejected them and they only have less than a month until May 1^st, National Candidates Reply Date. Fat envelopes are good, thin ones are bad, but there are also the half-good/half-bad envelopes saying you are in the admissions purgatory known as the waiting list.

Edward B. Fiske, author of the #1 bestselling Fiske Guide to Colleges states, “Colleges use waitlists because they are not sure how many of the applicants receiving fat envelopes will actually enroll. Waitlists are their safety valves.”

Fiske advises high school seniors who find themselves on the waitlist of the school of their choice to send a deposit to your first choice among colleges that did accept you to ensure you have a place to go. If you prefer to go to a school where you are on the waitlist, go on the offensive:

Top 5 Ways to Get Off the Wait List and Get Accepted to the College of Your Choice:

1. Send a letter ASAP to the admissions director emphasizing your unyielding desire to attend. State specifically why you think the match is a good one and highlight new information.
2. Call to see if you can arrange a campus interview. “Students who have been offered regular admission waitlist status are well advised to pay a visit by mid-April, perhaps with a set of recent grades in hand,” says Peter Van Buskirk, former Dean of Admissions at Franklin and Marshall.
3. Send examples of impressive work. This is particularly relevant if you have an area of special talent or if you have produced new work of which you are especially proud.
4. Ask a current teacher to write a recommendation highlighting your recent achievements. Ask teachers who wrote letters for you previously to send updates.
5. Ask your guidance counselor to write or call and see that the admissions office is kept up to date with your grades and other achievements.

These are great tips for any college-bound teen who finds themselves on the wait list. My motto for this: it ain’t over till it’s over! In the future, I will be reviewing the Fiske Guide to Getting Into College.