But then you got waitlisted by your first-choice school—robbed of the peace of mind you desperately craved after months of admissions anxiety and plunged into an extended no-man's land of having no idea where you'll be next year. It's an emotionally rocky time, and you're left with some major questions: What does waitlisting mean? What are the chances of getting accepted? What should you do in the event that you don't? We'll start off with first things first.

How Does the Waitlist Work?
After years of admitting incoming classes of students, colleges have developed formulas to estimate how many accepted students will end up attending their schools. If they accept 500 students, say, they might know from previous experience that approximately 250 will commit to coming. The waitlist is the school's cushion in the event that fewer than this estimated quantity of students says yes. It's the college's guarantee that they won't have unfilled dorm rooms or (heaven forbid) a shortage of tuition payments.

Not all colleges treat the waitlist the same way. At the most highly selective schools, it often serves as a sort of diplomatic gesture—a way of saying, "We liked you and we're glad you're applied, but it probably won't be happening." At other schools, the prospects are a bit more optimistic. According to a 2002 study by the National Association of College Admissions Counselors (NACAC), the average student's chance of being accepted off the waitlist is roughly one in five.

The letter that you received about your standing should provide a history that describes the number of students on the waitlist in the past, and the percentage of those who were offered admission. This will give you a sense of the statistics you're up against.

A Waitlist State of Mind
A spot on the waitlist at your top-choice school guarantees inner conflict. The optimist in you will continue to fantasize about the possibility of getting into your dream school, while the realist in you will recognize that the chances are slim, and that you should start preparing yourself for rejection. Much as we hate to say it, we encourage you to side with the realist. It will be much more helpful to interpret your spot on the waitlist as an eventual rejection and plan a solid back-up plan, leaving room to transfer to your top-choice school at a later date, rather than to pitch your tent in lala-land and wait for the axe to fall.

No matter how attached you are to your first-choice school (and we know: you're really attached), your best bet will be to commit, if only temporarily, to your second choice, assuming its deadline for sending in a deposit approaches before your first-choice's deadline for issuing the final verdict on your status (as it almost always will). Go ahead and send a deposit to enroll in your second-choice school with the understanding—and the hope—that you won't get this deposit back if you are accepted off the waitlist at your preferred school.

(Temporarily) Accepting Second Best
Depending on how single-minded you are feeling about your first-choice school, you might feel tempted, in the event of impending rejection, to put off enrolling in a second-choice school, take a year off from the academy altogether, and apply again next year with the hope of getting in. We caution against this route! College advisors everywhere agree that it is easier to transfer to the school of your choice from a less prestigious school than to start again from scratch (even if you spend your year off doing something productive and character-building like Outward Bound).

Your best option in the event that you get rejected off of the waitlist is to attend your second-choice school for one or two years and work your butt off. Take challenging courses that reflect your academic interests, and (duh) get the best grades you can. Admissions officers at other schools will view your impressive performance as an indication that you are ready for a more challenging experience, and they might well weigh your undergraduate grades more heavily than they did your high-school grades.

If attending your second-choice school continues to be simply unfathomable, there might be more going on than mere academic preference. It's possible that you are craving a break from school for reasons stemming beyond the waitlist. In this case, explore your options for taking a year off. While your time off won't necessarily (though it can) improve your chances of getting into college, it can be beneficial for a world of other reasons.

Wooing Yourself Off the Waitlist
Students commonly wonder if there's anything to do to convince the admissions committee that they deserve to be liberated from the waitlist. While colleges might discourage contact after their letters of notification have been sent out, you can nonetheless embark on a plan of subtle and dignified self-marketing. Your first step is to find a real, live person in the admissions office who is willing to communicate with you by email or phone—either someone onsite at the college or a regional representative from your area of the country. Then: Establish contact. Inform your new admissions friend about your recent accomplishments and your continued dedication to your first-choice school. Convey enthusiasm without getting braggy.

Make sure that you work harder than ever as you close out your senior year, and keep the admissions office apprised of any honors that you might receive. Finally, ask someone who knows you well (a friend, teacher, or a supervisor, for example) to write an additional recommendation that conveys the qualities that make you stand out from the crowd.

The good news is, whether you end up at your first-choice school, second-choice school, or on a break from school altogether, everything will be okay. You'll find people you relate to, interests to pursue, and academic opportunities to seize wherever you are. While everything else might feel unstable, this much is certain.