Senior Year

March

There are four types of decisions from the Admissions Office: (1) acceptance, (2) rejection, (3) wait list, (4) provisional. Acceptance and rejection are self-explanatory. Wait lists and provisional acceptances deserve some attention.

Wait Lists

All selective and highly selective colleges admit more students than they have room for. They do this because they know that many of the students they admit won't actually enroll. Guessing how many students actually will enroll is a very inexact science. To protect themselves, most colleges have wait lists. An applicant who is "wait-listed" is one who may be admitted if enough students decide to go somewhere else.

Provisional Acceptances

Sometimes a college will provisionally accept a student, meaning that the student can attend the college if he or she accomplishes whatever is outlined in the provisional acceptance letter. For example, a college may be uncertain that you are ready for college-level work, so they may ask you to submit your final grades and take two summer school classes at the college before you are permitted to attend. If you pass both classes, then you can enroll in college-level classes in the fall semester. If you receive a provisional acceptance, the provisions will clearly be outlined in the letter.