thank you
this here tag will soon become a hopefully helpful humble post with some locis, email correspondences, and other info from my lucky waitlist experience fwiw. i'm just riding the coattails of tls's waitlist darling here by adding to her already awesome thread. and if i/we find a better home for this info, i'll transplant it there instead. for now, thought this was the best idea.
stay tuned...
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Originally from the Hastings's WL Thread:
posters and lurkers-
i just wanted to say thank you all for sticking with me through the course of this thread and my wait. and thank you too for the nice words since my shocking acceptance yesterday. i figured i'd post a little bit about my #s and cycle: not bc i'm a narcissist, but (a) some of you have asked for this anyways, and (b) this may be helpful for any future hastings waitlistees browsing tls in the time to come. i just want this thread to be of good content and quality, so i hope this is somehow a helpful contribution for in the future. and i will keep posting here until the bitter end, bc that's exactly what i planned to do with this thread.
so!
lsat 160, gpa 3.63.
yes, those are quite low for hastings. predictors had me at <25% chance of admission, or a "weak consider" at best.
no, i didn't apply leop. perhaps i should've, since objectively my numbers aren't so hot and are barely even competitive for hastings.
however, i do have softs (by which i primarily mean a decent resume with some fairly well-developed/demonstrated interests/experiences) that i think subjectively help my app out a bit more than numbers alone.
i applied in october. not ed (which i seriously should have, and i recommend - ESP if your numbers are lower or higher than the median and hastings is your 1st choice).
in march, i decided to send a pre-decision loci. conventional wisdom says that's not always a good choice, but i had updates i figured i'd provide and since it had been over 5 months, i just wanted to reaffirm my interest.
wl'd in april. mentally recharged for another long round of brutally long waiting and wondering.
sent another loci again in june after i learned (through tls - a million thanks to all of you for your updates!) they'd finally gone to the wl, in which i basically said i'd wait faithfully until the first day of classes. i'm totally open to sharing my locis upon request via pm if anyone would like to see one or both. later i may tweek some things around and post them for anyone, but right now i'll keep them private.
having sort of been on the other end of this process for my job last year, i think i realized the most important thing a waitlistee can do is (a) make a good impression, (b) demonstrate sincere interest, and (c) keep their name fresh in the adcoms' minds. i probably had... 5-6 correspondences with the admission office throughout my cycle. but i aimmed for quality, not quantity: i never firebombed their office with reminders that i was still interested, though i didn't hesitate to show that i was VERY interested at the risk of seeming desperate. i didn't care if they thought that. shoot, they should probably know that anyways and here's a little tip for anyone looking for a reason to contact the office: call to confirm receipt of anything you send a week and a 1/2 or two weeks after. but that's only if you're desperate
i also was never intimidated to ask for opinions or information. i asked tls about my chances, reached out to current students and faculty to learn as much as i could about the school, and spoke with as many people from admissions as i could. i just had to approach this process actively, otherwise, i'd always wonder "what if?" if things had turned out differently.
that may be all i can think of for now. for those following the thread right now, i can tell you i was a bit disheartened to see everyone else receiving these "wl enquiry" emails and i was left out; the last scrawny kid left standing for dodgeball teams when i did receive the email recently, it gave me some hope i still had a chance, but i figured everyone else who had received the email before me was much better off than i was. i was honestly shocked to receive a call and seat the very next day.
oh, and one last thing! there are people from last cycle who were let in mere days before orientation. that's three weeks away, and a beacon of hope for anyone loosing it right now. i'm still wishing everyone the best and good luck.
and since this is so long, i just want to say again, i swear i'm not a narcissist, i just want to share useful and detailed info
<3
since i'm sharing my thoughts here and i just sent a pm with the following that imho, could be helpful regarding how waitlistees proceed at this point towards the end of the cycle, i'll add a bit more. but please note, this is only my opinion.
at my last job i worked at a grad school, with regular student admissions and then a special application and admission process for the program i worked on... my boss was the dean, who shared thoughts and opinions with me constantly of how applicants handled their correspondences with our office. people can walk into an office to speak with an adcom, and leave having just walked their way right off a wl. i know that sounds horrible, but i don't mean to scare anyone! i just feel i learned a lot and gained this valuable insight into how all these emails we send and phone calls we make are received on the other end. and i want to share it if anyone thinks this is helpful or applicable.
i probably wouldn't drop in unannounced in person at this point, as i've learned that's not always the best route.
emails are nice bc they leave a paper trail so they can be viewed multiple times, the recipient can get to it when s/he has the time, and they're quite convenient.
phone calls put a voice to a name, convey tone, and leave a more well-rounded impression of an applicant... but alone they can also be forgotten more easily and a bit imposing if the person you're speaking with is running out, multi-tasking, whatever.
you can always email to ask if you may speak with someone on the phone about your standing or any other questions you have: i think that's a great route and one i took in my cycle when i was at an earlier crossroads.
if you're sending anything (like an loci at this point?), mail it asap, and just give them an email heads-up it's on its way and/or confirm receipt via email. don't expect the office to print your materials for you, and try not to send emails with attachments. that is of course, unless they specify otherwise.
again, this is all only my opinion. i'm only a 0l. it's not foulproof or based on years and years of experience with these things. and please, the last thing i want is to sound like i think i'm a know-it-all! other approaches will work stellar for some people too, and should be shared also.
ihth
i'll revise one of my loci's and post below, then add/edit more as i go.
