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Not sure this is the appropriate forum for this, but the question verges on several aspects of the admissions process.

I have been admitted to Vanderbilt with some substantial scholarship money (>1/2 of tuition). I have been waitlisted (or some variant thereof) at GULC, Cornell, and Northwestern and rejected from all higher ranked schools. I have done everything in my power to get off these waitlists. Even if I were admitted at one of those three, it is highly unlikely that I will receive and merit- or need-based aid. I am planning on attending Vanderbilt.

For a variety of reasons (employment placement, market access, school culture, etc.), I believe that I may want to play the transfer game after my first year. (I understand that it is a bad idea to attend a school with plans to transfer at the outset, but the point is moot here. Vanderbilt, I believe, is a school worth attending at the cost I will incur, regardless of my prospects for admission somewhere better down the road.)

My question: will affirmative withdrawal of my applications to the schools where I am waitlisted help my future chances of admission there, hurt them, or make no difference? My thinking is that, from and adcom's perspective, a withdrawal looks stronger in retrospect than a rejection or riding out the waitlist. I could see how some adcoms might perceive it as a lack of commitment.

Thoughts?

If you're set on going to Vandy, I would go ahead and withdraw. Send them a short, polite email.

I doubt it'll come up if you apply as a transfer. Even if it does, it'll be nothing compared to your grades.

Also, you might decide that transferring isn't a great idea by the time you get to it.

Congrats on the scholarship.

ntnwiminthzn wrote:I have done everything in my power to get off these waitlists.

You can try one last attempt: email those WL schools and tell them you are about to accept Vandy with your scholly package, and ask them if they are willing to let you off the WL. If they won't, then politely withdraw from the WL.

Jchance wrote:

ntnwiminthzn wrote:I have done everything in my power to get off these waitlists.

You can try one last attempt: email those WL schools and tell them you are about to accept Vandy with your scholly package, and ask them if they are willing to let you off the WL. If they won't, then politely withdraw from the WL.

+1. As an aside, I think Vandy with >50% scholarship is better than Cornell, GULC, or NU at sticker by a wide margin, unless you're dead set against working in the south.

As far as I know (and I could be wrong) there is no harm in staying on a waitlist. Why withdraw? Even if its an outside chance that you get in at any of these schools (with or without money) its not going to hurt you to stay on the WL.

Also, I believe if you transfer you have to pay sticker, so if you're ok with doing that years 2-3 (and accounting for the first year with the big Vandy scholly) it wouldn't be much different than starting at NU/Cornell/Gtown with a small scholly for all three years.

Thank you all for your advice and congratulations. I am going to give it one last go, as Jchance and TheSpanishMain suggest. Wish me luck!

furrrman wrote:As far as I know (and I could be wrong) there is no harm in staying on a waitlist. Why withdraw? Even if its an outside chance that you get in at any of these schools (with or without money) its not going to hurt you to stay on the WL.

+1. You can accept Vandy, get apt and everything, while still sending LOCI. Come mid-Aug/first week of school at Vandy, u get off the wait list, u can still withdraw Vandy and attend ur WL school, as long as you withdraw before deadline to get 100% tuition back.