Of course…. this is not what anyone wants or even expects. Most Brave Supplicants who have pending apps waiting for an answer are expecting them to turn into an admit. And we hope that’s what happens!!
However, given the uncertainties of this year, and as we’ve been cautioning for some time now, it’s likely that a lot of applicants will end up in a limbo state instead of getting a definitive yes-or-no answer in the next week.
You’d think that getting a “Well maybe” answer, especially from certainly highly competitive schools, would feel like a good thing. After all, the game is not over yet! However, for many applicants, learning that the school placed them on the waitlist can actually be more anxiety-inducing or even depressing than if they’d been rejected. It’s not that being rejected is easier; it’s just that being rejected is final, and the human brain can kind of accept that a little better, it seems (at least, after the shock, disbelief, and abject disappointment wear off… because those emotions are likely to hit first and have to be processed).
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We’re hoping today’s post ends up not being useful at all, for any of you — because you sail straight in with an admit instead of having to muddle through more complications and challenge.
If the winds don’t blow at your back quite hard enough to land you a spot in the class right away, don’t despair. Lots and lots of good applicants end up getting in off of schools’ waitlists.
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