Successful methods to get off wait-lists? Forum

[Nulli Secundus]

Depends on whether the school has a rooftop suitable for setting up a high powered sniper rifle overlooking the place the admitted students gather for ASW.

Lulz.

[Roxybsr]

I called a Law School Admission office before being waitlisted to see when they were going to send out decisions. They informed me to call back in a week. I did and again they stated that they were behind. A week later they finally released decisions and I was placed on the waitlist. I emailed one person in the admissions office but have not received a response. Do you think it will be to much to send an "I'm still interested and will attend if accepted" email to the general admission office and Dean of admissions?

[metallaura]

I called a Law School Admission office before being waitlisted to see when they were going to send out decisions. They informed me to call back in a week. I did and again they stated that they were behind. A week later they finally released decisions and I was placed on the waitlist. I emailed one person in the admissions office but have not received a response. Do you think it will be to much to send an "I'm still interested and will attend if accepted" email to the general admission office and Dean of admissions?

No, send a formal letter of continued interest.

[expat17]

not sure if this is the right thread to tack this on to, but I am waitlisted at school A and otherwise attending school B.

school B has a deposit deadline on Friday. school A hasn't responded about the use of their waitlist yet.

do you think it's ok to call school A and ask them whether they might be using the waitilist (and specifically me) in light of the otherwise upcoming deposit deadline I have?

any thoughts appreciated.

[xxinfinity]

i actually was lucky to get off the waitlist at my dream school - ironically just a week after i put in a deposit at a school i didn't want to go to

that said - it's better to put ur deposit somewhere rather than waiting and hoping - u want somewhere to go this fall

[expat17]

thanks for the advice.

i guess my question is more or less whether i should call school A to tell them about this upcoming deposit deadline, to see if they might have any info to share with me about my waitlist standing.

i am definitely depositing at school B - there's no question about that. i simply was wondering if anyone thought a call to the admissions office at school A (where i'm wailisted) might be able to save me $500 ....

[bigjinjapan]

One thing that I found to be effective is to have a specific person to contact at the schools where you're WLed. If you got an email from Dean X (and it's their personal email, not 'admissions@lawschool.edu'), email them back personally and frankly about your situation, and keep in contact with them. This way you know your LOCI's are being read by somebody who matters and not simply getting filed by the receptionist (though I additionally sent more formal LOCI to the main admissions email). I know that this won't fly at every school, but where you're able to do so I think it's a good idea.

Also, RE: deposits: unless it's a school you definitely don't want to go to, I think it's worth potentially losing money to have that spot held for you. Hope, but NEVER count on getting on off a WL. It's also worth definitely losing that money if you later get into a school you'd rather go to. $500<3 years of second-guessing yourself.

/2 bits

[expat17]

thanks for the response, it is much appreciated.

my question is more geared towards calling the admissions office at my waitlist though and informing them of the upcoming deposit deadline at the other school.

i am depositing regardless - i don't need to be convinced for that.

i simply wonder whether calling the waitlist school with this upcoming deadline will:

a) possibly help me solicit information about my standing on the waitlist;
b) lead to a closer look at my file or even earlier notice of an offer that they maybe were planning to do anyways;
c) come off as too eager and very annoying;
d) be taken as some sort of threat or ultimatum, getting me and my file blacklisted for good;
or, e) all (or none) of the above.

any two cents on this method of figuring out WL issues?

[expat17]

thanks for the response, it is much appreciated.

my question is more geared towards calling the admissions office at my waitlist though and informing them of the upcoming deposit deadline at the other school.

i am depositing regardless - i don't need to be convinced for that.

i simply wonder whether calling the waitlist school with this upcoming deadline will:

a) possibly help me solicit information about my standing on the waitlist;
b) lead to a closer look at my file or even earlier notice of an offer that they maybe were planning to do anyways;
c) come off as too eager and very annoying;
d) be taken as some sort of threat or ultimatum, getting me and my file blacklisted for good;
or, e) all (or none) of the above.

any two cents on this method of figuring out WL issues?

also - has anyone used this method successfully?

[estrangedstudent]

I have a question about the "calling part". When you call do you drop your name or do calls not even matter because you are talking to a secretary?

[expat17]

I have a question about the "calling part". When you call do you drop your name or do calls not even matter because you are talking to a secretary?

hmm, good question. +1.

although in this case, with an upcoming deadline for another school and trying to get more info on my file, i would guess i would have to give some info ....

[ottersb]

@ Expat17 - I don't believe that you will be successful in uncovering any information that is otherwise not readily available to all applicants; nor do I believe that you will sway their decision in your favor. However, I am in a similar situation and decided to ask for an extension on the deposit deadline. In my scenario, school B extended my deposit deadline from the 6th of June until the 15th of June.
Furthermore, it probably wouldn't hurt to shoot a LOCI (even if you have already done so) to your school A to let them know that you are patiently awaiting an opportunity to say YES to them. Other than that, there is not much else you can do. Eventually, you will have to put down a deposit at your B school to hold your place, but giving yourself a little breathing room by getting an extension may save you some cash in the meantime.

[iamnooneelse]

thanks for the response, it is much appreciated.

my question is more geared towards calling the admissions office at my waitlist though and informing them of the upcoming deposit deadline at the other school.

i am depositing regardless - i don't need to be convinced for that.

i simply wonder whether calling the waitlist school with this upcoming deadline will:

a) possibly help me solicit information about my standing on the waitlist;
b) lead to a closer look at my file or even earlier notice of an offer that they maybe were planning to do anyways;
c) come off as too eager and very annoying;
d) be taken as some sort of threat or ultimatum, getting me and my file blacklisted for good;
or, e) all (or none) of the above.

any two cents on this method of figuring out WL issues?

Better off asking for a deposit extension from your offer school than trying to rush your waitlist school. Assuming they have a large pool to pick from, they honestly might not even care if you have a deadline coming up. If that's your deal-breaker and they're not currently in a position to offer you admission, they can take a person of equal, lesser, or greater merit off the waitlist. Instead I would continue to write heartfelt, passionate LOCIs with no mention of your other deadlines.

Disclaimer: I'm no dean of admissions. I'm just a 0L. But I could easily see things going down this way from their perspective and it's better safe than sorry.

[sknight323]

When I got waitlisted at a school ( was very surprised I got waitlisted, I think it was because I applied late) I sent an e-mail to the member of the adcom whose name was on the decision letter. I stated that the school was still my first choice, yadda yadda yadda. Kept it pretty short. Shortly before the second seat deposit was due the gentleman e-mailed me back (replying to my original e-mail) saying he was taking me off the waitlist before the decision was e-mailed out by the schools system and said he hoped I was still interested. So that worked pretty well.

[bigjinjapan]

It's unrealistic to think that giving a school the equivalent of an ultimatum is going to result on getting picked off the WL any sooner. At the same time, I think it is a good idea to let them know your situation, but in the most neutral possible terms. My gut feeling is that you never want to sound pushy. Best case scenario, they flag your file to be considered with an earlier batch of applicants for whatever spaces do become available.

[xxinfinity]

hey since I started this thread - thought I'd give an update

I actually got into my top choice from my waitlist - I was surprised to get waitlisted because of my numbers. What did I do to get off the waitlist? NOTHING

W/ that said - it really depends on each school what you should do - this particular school basically told me nothing I do will change my spot - and I was at a law school forum where deans said that sometimes it actually goes against you if you send letters, etc. like they get annoyed.

So be very careful to pay attention to the correspondence they send - make sure there's explicit statements encouraging you to send materials to them.

I would also advise mailing because it takes more effort over email - unless they specifically tell you to email, which one school did. Also be patient and make sure to put your deposit in somewhere so you have a place to go this fall (there's always the possibility of transferring

good luck everyone!!!

[bigjinjapan]

I think there are situations where you would be picked off the WL regardless of whether you did anything or not, but since you don't know I'd say it's better to err on the side of caution. My two cases are pretty illustrative: I got into one school where I hadn't even sent in the WL form, let alone any LOCIs. But the other came after a couple months of dialogue with one of the deans, which led to a phone interview followed shortly by an acceptance email. In the long run, even if you don't get in you'll probably feel better knowing you tried than if you're left wondering 'what if I'd sent in one more letter?'

[chenalex]

At this point, is it more productive to send in another LOR or another LOCI? I sent in one of each a month ago when I was placed on the WL.

[071816]

Seems to me like waitlists are just as much a numbers game as initial admissions. Basically to get in off of a waitlist you either have to have very strong numbers for that school, be a URM, have some sort of connection, or some combination of these three. People get in off of waitlists other ways, but it seems rare.

Obviously it can't hurt to show an appropriate amount of interest in the school after being WL'd, but who knows how much of an effect that actually has.

[dumbledore]

Seems to me like waitlists are just as much a numbers game as initial admissions. Basically to get in off of a waitlist you either have to have very strong numbers for that school, be a URM, have some sort of connection, or some combination of these three. People get in off of waitlists other ways, but it seems rare.

Obviously it can't hurt to show an appropriate amount of interest in the school after being WL'd, but who knows how much of an effect that actually has.

Most law schools try to fill their class with different "types" of students (i.e. scientists, a certain # from a particular region, race, religion, class, etc.) to create a diverse student body. I think the best chance for most WL'd students with numbers below the medians is if they fit a similar profile of an admitted student that withdraws, and if the admissions committee feels strongly that they need that particular "type" of student in their class.

It makes sense that the WL would be a numbers game since most everything about law school admissions is numbers-based. I think splitters have a good chance of being removed from the WL because they have a high LSAT or GPA score that the admissions committee desires to fulfill their numbers goals in those particular areas.

I don't think an LOCI helps very much, but I suspect that not writing one could hurt a WL'd candidate--schools want to be sure that when they make you an offer you'll accept it.

[cinephile]

This could just be a coincidence, but I got off a WL within a week of having my employer send an additional letter of recommendation (previous refs were academic). Whatever helped, I'm happy about it.

[Temple11]

I was admitted off of a waitlist this past Thursday. I didn't really do anything extra to persuade them to admit me, so I think the LOCI thing depends on the school and the applicant. I'm a URM so they just may have needed to satisfy the class diversity they were looking for.

[law4vus]

This could just be a coincidence, but I got off a WL within a week of having my employer send an additional letter of recommendation (previous refs were academic). Whatever helped, I'm happy about it.

I also had dropped off a LOR in person (and the admissions officer read it on the spot) from an employer who was an alum of the school. I'm hoping I have the same good fortune you do.

[planQ]

On topic though, I've heard that visiting the campus is also a good thing, particularly if you can meet the adcomm people and allow them to put a (charming) face to a name. Other than that, there aren't really any secrets. You need to really be competitive to begin with or have something incredible to add to your resume (make sure to send updated transcripts to LSAC as well). If you're competitive with their numbers, all you can do is make yourself known as interested and excited. Even then you'll have to hope lots of other people withdraw since they usually over enroll a fair bit.

I did this, I visited and was able to meet with a few adcoms, then I sent letters of thanks to each adcom I met with. I also tried to work in some humor to my interactions with adcoms, nothing crazy just a little moment of humor in each letter. I also wrote fairly frequently (1-2 times a month) and called every once in a while.

This just keeps them knowing you are exist. I also can't state how important I think committing to a school you really want is. YP is important especially in the waitlist, when they have far fewer offers they can make.