spk_0:   0:00
if you fell down yesterday. Stand up. Today, H G Wells. Hello and welcome to the Dominate Test Prep podcast. I am Bread Ethridge, your host. And in this episode, we're going to talk about the dreaded wait list or is it dreaded? Are there things you can do to get off the wait list? And it is a timely episodes. All just kind of leave you in suspense. By the end of this conversation, I think you'll have a different perspective on the wait list. And it is weightless season, right? So I actually had a different episode all cued up and ready to go to release to you guys this week. But I've been getting a lot of questions from students about what should they do? I've been wait listed, like what can I do? What should I do? And and to be truthful, I'm not necessarily the expert on that. My expertise is the G Matt in the G. R e and the S A. T. And helping you guys prepare for your standardized tests. So what I have done is I have invited a friend and colleague Hillary Shoebox to help shed some light on this important topic. Hillary, I'll introduce you a little bit more thoroughly here, but just tell everybody a quick Hello.

spk_1:   1:07
Hello. Thank you for having me Bread. Yeah, Talk with you.

spk_0:   1:12
It is very timely. So some of you guys listening have been recently. Wait listed. Some

spk_1:   1:17
of

spk_0:   1:17
you may have been sitting on the wait list for a while. Now, if you applied round one, others of you may be listening to this and you're still trying to apply kind of third round. You're trying to scramble to finish up your applications, and that's totally okay. You can kind of file this information away in case you ever kind of need it. Others of you may be listening to this out of season, right? I mean, this episode's gonna be available in the future. And so again, wherever you are in the process, I think we're gonna talk about some very practical, some tangible things you can do to improve your chances of getting off the wait list. So, like I said, help shed some light on this topic. I have invited my friend Hillary Shoebox. Hillary is the president and founder of Shine MBA admissions consulting. She and is an admissions consultant, meaning her job is to help people like you navigate the application process, get accepted to the top schools. She's a member of an organization called a Gag, which is a fancy acronym that I'm not even going to say We're trying to explain, but that's actually how she and I met. So we met years ago. Actually, we met. I think she's the one who told me about a gag, but we met a Duke. Ah, Duke Watch party. I think she is a fellow Duke alum for undergrad. She got her MBA from Harvard Business School, but but she went to Duke Underground. We were watching Duke basketball games together when we were both living in Denver and really connected, because obviously, what she does and what I do really, really go well together. And so we did lots of events together when we lived in Denver, and she has since moved off to California. I am now on the East Coast, is a lot of you guys know, but we have stayed in touch and she's provided a lot of value to you guys over the years on Webinars and so forth, and I wanted to have her onto the podcast. Is, is our first appearance on the Dominate test prep podcast to talk about really a topic that is near and dear to her heart. That's kind of right in her wheelhouse. She has 20 plus years of marketing and brand management experience for companies such as Kraft, and you'll ever So she's a great resource, and I can't wait for you guys to hear from her and learn from her. And frankly, I'm excited to hear kind of some well, what she has to share about what we can do to help get off the wait list if we're on the wait list and just how we need to think about the wait list. So with all of that said, Welcome again, Hillary, and I'll actually just kind of throw it to you.

spk_1:   3:25
Actually, let me ask

spk_0:   3:26
you this just just kind of real quick. You're kind of near the end of your busy season. Do you have any fun vacations kind of coming up now that things are winding down for the application process?

spk_1:   3:37
Well, I actually I'm busy into my ski season now, so I've just returned from the Rockies and I'm headed off to Mammoth this weekend to ski on the West Coast. So, yeah, this is how I like to celebrate the completion of happened.

spk_0:   3:53
That's awesome. I actually just took my my kids skiing in western North Carolina, which is a totally different experience from when I skied in the Rockies in Colorado. But, hey, that's a manmade snow, and we made it from the top of the mountain of the bottom. So my kids are learning and it's great. But someday all I'll be living the dream again, skiing the texture types of places that you are for your vacation. So congratulations on kind of a well deserved break. And yet I know it's not a complete break because I know you're still working with a lot of your clients on things like weightless strategies and so forth. So let's talk about this and let's start by defining some terms, what is the wait list and how do you end up on a wait list?

spk_1:   4:31
Great question. Well, the waitlist is a school's way of saying to a candidate we really liked what we read in your application. We liked your profile weakened, really potentially. See you fitting into our class. Um, and perhaps in many cases, for many schools that you've already completed the interview. You've already been invited to interview when they've gotten a chance to meet you. And now they said lessons. Admittedly, you're not on our A list, or we would have accepted you, but we liked what we saw. Hang tight. We'd like to consider you if more spots become available in the class.

spk_0:   5:06
Okay, so it actually sounds like you just totally framed it in a positive light. They want you, but they haven't actually accepted you. So, you know, I used I used the word dreaded in my introduction Is the wait list something to be dreaded, or is it actually a good sign?

spk_1:   5:21
Well, it's a great sign. I mean, it definitely you would not be on the wait list if they did not like what they saw. And they have read your application. Of course, at this point and again, in many cases, they've interviewed you. Some schools will wait list a candidate without having yet invited them to interview. But in many cases, it's kind of the final step. And so, yeah, I mean, I know what I'm naturally very optimistic. My company is called Shine. I try to take the positive spin on things in life, and, um, I mean, yeah, I view it is good news. It's not the ideal news that each candidate's hoping for, which is a definitive acceptance. But you're still in the running, and that is much better than you know, having been told. No. So you're you're you still have a chance on. There are genuinely people that get in off the wait lists every year. It just depends on the year on the school, and we could talk about that

spk_0:   6:17
and we will talk a lot about that. Will spend most of the time talking aboutthe waitlist itself and strategies for what students should do. But let's try to understand kind of class size, ideal class size because I imagine the wait list is tied very closely to the ideal class size, right? How how do schools set what their ideal class size is, and is it the same from year to year?

spk_1:   6:39
Well, there s so each school has its own class size, their schools that, you know, like Harvard, that are around 900 students in the class, and there are schools that are roughly 1/3 of that size. It's not less so in terms of the number of people wait listed. It's, you know, it's very often proportional to the class size. If you have a larger school year, you know, largely see an absolute number of people on the wait list of may exceed that of a smaller class size school. But, um, it's, you know, it's very often based on the calculation that the school uses to determine their yields. Schools like I won't even name schools that are at the very top of the rankings and the, um, and are considered among the most prestigious are a bit more confident than other schools that if somebody's accepted, they would be likely to attend. So they may be inclined to have a smaller waitlist than a school that is perhaps less prestigious. That knows that, you know, if they accept a number of candidates on that candidate gets into perhaps their first choice school, they may not attend, so you'll you'll be likely to find schools that are a little bit more uncertain about their yields. Thio take more people on their way lists.

spk_0:   7:57
I will go ahead, mention a school because the podcast episode that I I said I had all cued up and ready to go, which you guys will have to wait for for next time is an interview with an admissions officer at Duke. Few qua and she actually said, flat out, they accept about 10% of their class off the wait list. So I don't know if you're listening to this, and you think that's a big number of small number, but that's actually a fairly large in my mind. Percentage of the admitted class are students who were initially placed on the wait list. So right there, I think that that gives you some hope. Does. Is it kind of like a first come first serve basis for who gets off the wait list first? So they admitted they admitted Sally Jane and Sally Jane decides to go to a different school or get sick or decides not to go to business school. And so she's, she tells the school. No, I am not coming. Do they literally go to the first person on the wait list and like, how do you become the first person, I guess a different way to ask that question is, are you more or less likely to be? Wait listed if you apply round one versus round to around three. How does that work?

spk_1:   9:03
So the so first in terms of the rounds. If you're applying Round three, you're less likely to see a waitlist offer versus just being rejected at that point. If you're not one of their top choices because most of the class has already been filled up on, the schools are trying to wrap up their final decisions as the school year is creeping closer and closer. So you know, if you're getting your answer first in March or April, you know it's more likely that you'll get a definitive decision from around three application. But Round one Round two is certainly fair game for waitlist offers, and especially Round one because the waitlist means in, you know, in many respects states, they liked what they saw, but they're waiting for some other information, either, um, they're waiting to see how the class stacks up and where you could potentially fit into it or a very individual sounds. They may be waiting for the Canada to consider stepping up that, um that individuals profile, be it taking us there. Gee, Matt again, or some other factor that might have held them back. So they're they're waiting. And if you are applying round one, they do have plenty of time to put a candidate on the wait list, see how the round two applicant pool shapes out and then make decisions on those round one wait listers. So one might argue that Round one might even see more wait listed candidates than round two, but they're both pretty sizable waitlist sources for the schools to consider.

spk_0:   10:45
All right, so let's get into the nitty gritty of a little bit. I mean, you talked about how applying round one, the schools have certainly more time to figure out how the how the class shakes out and so forth. I get that. But from the candidates perspective, that's a lot of time to be waiting around. And I guess kind of inherent in the word wait list. Is that word? Wait, is an applicant who was put on the wait list like, should they literally just wait? Is it a passive waiting? Is an active waiting so kind of a roundabout way of asking the question. Now, what are some strategies? What should somebody do if they find out they have been wait listed?

spk_1:   11:20
Okay, well, the first thing is just to take a step back and figure out what's going to be best for that person in terms of preparing for the coming fall. So right now, if let's say they applied toe one school in that school, wait listed them. Well, then you're going to be focused about you're gonna be focused on getting off the wait list for that one school and perhaps making a Plan B. If school doesn't work out. If the candidate was accepted to other schools, then the first thing to do is to choose among the schools that have given them a definitive offer and put down a deposit. You have to assume that the weightless may not work out, and it is really important to secure a spot in your perhaps second choice program. So, yes, that often means putting down a deposit and maybe losing that deposit. If good news, you get off your wait list and no longer attend that first full. But it's really important to um, you know, make an alternative plan. And then if you really are focused on getting off the wait list for perhaps your first choice school, then there is a game plan that I strongly recommend following so that you're not just being a passive wait was to Canada, because schools at this point are very focused on trying to accept candidates that they believe will attend. There's a lot of pressure on admissions officers to manage their yields. So Wednesday give a wait listed candidate on offer. There really are hoping that that person is going to say yes. So on a side note, some schools will actually take to the practice of calling Ah, wait listed candidate, you know, the day or two before offering them acceptance and checking to see if they're still interested or if they have made other plans. And then if the person says yes, yes, you know, it's still very much want to come. Then this global offered him a spot.

spk_0:   13:19
So you said you basically want to proceed as if essentially, assuming you're not gonna get off the wait list. So choose from, among other schools, etcetera, etcetera is ever the case that another school will ask you for a definitive Yes, no answer. And now you have to decide on my gosh. Should I like, I really would rather go to this dream school. If I get off the wait list, I would go there. Do you ever find yourself in a situation where you have to potentially choose definitively a second choice, Andi, essentially give up the hope of getting off the wait list.

spk_1:   13:50
No, it unless you're applying to a school that has a binding application process which, like, for example, Columbia has an early round that you are saying to Colombia if I apply in this early round, I'm committing to attending this school. So you it doesn't mean that's the only school you're allowed to apply to. But if you apply early to Colombia and then you are weightless to that Warton on dhe rejected unaccepted to other schools. You by applying early to Columbia, you are not allowed to accept an offer from another school because you've you've applied in their binding round. So even though you might have been wait listed at Morton's, you now have to withdraw from Wharton. Um, if you were doing the ethical thing on following you know, the honor code that you have signed on to. So those are the That's the only circumstance that you could be quote unquote forced thio Rescind your candidacy at another program. Otherwise, really, the only consequence is a financial one, because you're there's going to be a point where the schools you're accepted thio are going to want you to commit by putting down your deposit and, you know, proceeding forward with their the beginnings of their matriculation process. But nobody can physically force you to show up at the school in the fall. If you know your your first choice school the day before, except you. You know you'll lose your deposit and you know, there's a There's a gracious way to let the school know that you've changed your plans, but ultimately you can't attend the wait list in school, even at the last minute.

spk_0:   15:30
Perfect. Okay, so you've been wait listed at a school that you still want to go to. You hope you can get off the wait list in a favorable way. What should you do?

spk_1:   15:39
Okay, well, the first thing is to read very carefully the instructions that you were given from the school. Some schools are really willing and encourage their candidates. Thio. You submit information that might help the school, you know, reconsider their candidacy. So some schools want updates and we'll talk about what that means. You know what updates mean? But other schools say, Please, please do not contact us. We're waiting. We're thinking we're waiting. We have everything we need. If we need additional information, we will let you know. And so in that case, it is really important, too. Listen to his instructions on and just be patient. So once you read them, once you read the clear instructions from school, then it's very likely that they will have asked you to confirm your intention of staying on the wait list at this time. So if that's a check box, check the box. If it's ah, that's something they want you to submit in writing to them. Write them a brief but enthusiastic note, letting them know that yes, you wish to attend the school is your first choice. Make it sound like you are absolutely ah, likely person to attend the school. If accepted so again, they can have that reassurance that you would help their yield should they choose to offer you a spot off the wait list. So that's the first thing I would do after, um, you know, being given that prompt. And I would aim to do that within the first week just so that they know you really are interested.

spk_0:   17:13
So So you're submitting a letter. You're telling them that, Yes. You want to go? That you would accept. If you end up getting a favorable response to the wait list. What else do you include?

spk_1:   17:25
In the first week? I would just concisely follow the instructions and make sure that you secure your spot on the witness based on the the prompt that they have given you. So again. For some schools, it's just a check box. But just make sure you do confirm your intention of remaining on the wait list. Um, again, if they'd give you a spot to write them a brief note, you should do that. But again, keep it concise. Now the next step is to take a step back and reflect schools really values candidate to come, um, assess themselves effectively. And in many cases, a candidate probably has a sense of why they might have been put on the wait list. They may have known that they applied with a G, Matt or Jerry's, for that was a little bit below the class profile, or perhaps below their potential community didn't fully prepare, and they knew they could have done better. Or they were rushed in submitting their essays. Or, um, you know some aspect of the application. So whether it's an aspect of your profile being a test score or your leadership experience or even just professional experience, perhaps you're significantly younger than the class or even significantly older the class. And maybe you should have considered applying to an executive program whatever assessment you need to do. You marry that with your understanding of the school's criteria for admission. So be it. The values that they, you know, that they hold dear or the qualities that they're looking for in a candidate. And determine for yourself where the shortfall might be on DDE. If there is an opportunity to improve upon those areas, now is the time to do it. So what I do with my clients that I'm working with to help them determine weightless strategies Will will do an assessment of their profile. Um, if we work together, certainly they're up. Okay. She was beautiful. Clearly, the essays were fantastic, but yet somehow they've made around to the wait list. So now we say, Well, look, you know, it's time to retake that. Gee, Matt, I know you've taken it twice, and you didn't want to take it again, But now it's clear that this is gonna be a n'importe factor for your chances. I'm getting in. Um, or maybe they're, you know, they're looking to switch careers on, and they haven't yet taken steps to prepare themselves for the career change. And so one thing they could do is that involved with an association or local organization in their city, that is, You know, let's call it let's say it's real estate development. You know they can get involved with the young professionals Real Estate Association off their city and start let's start cleaning events or attending conferences just anything to demonstrate to the admissions committee that they really are passionate about their career bowls anyway. So I can go on and on giving examples, but the point is, consider your profile consider your future bowls. Consider how you fit with the school and make an action plan of how you might send the coming months strengthening your profile on your candidacy for the school.

spk_0:   20:43
Okay, so this all makes sense now if somebody is retaking the G mad or g r e or even s A T. Because I think a lot of what you're talking about you're talking about in the context of graduate or business school. But if you're listening to this and you're applying to college, same type thing you could be wait listed applying to college a lot of these same things and strategies apply. So if you re take the G man G R E s a T, you can obviously just send them your new score whenever you take it. What about expressing some of these other things that you're doing to bolster your application? What's the best way to communicate that, then with the admissions committee?

spk_1:   21:15
Okay. So assuming that the admissions committee is open to hearing updates and communications from wait listed candidates, then I recommend roughly once a month sending an email or in some cases, the school will provide a form field that they want you to submit any updates through. So again, follow instructions. But Senate email if you If you don't know who to email, it could be a wait list coordinator that you may have been assigned to. It could be a member of the admissions committee that you may have met along the way in your application process or the person you consider the appropriate decision maker or the general email. Adjust for the admissions committee and in this email, I would include everything from number one, your passion for attending the program and your continued interest in attending. If accepted again, yield is really important. So you want the school to feel that you would be absolutely honored to attend no matter what. And if you are accepted, you would affect attempt number two. You would include the updates that we just discussed. And if it's something that you were going to be doing in the very near future, like taking a course like a finance course to strengthen your quantitative skills or, you know, again some involvement in a career related endeavor, you can give them the future dates and then promise them to submit an update or a transcript when that has been completed. So again you can tell them what you plan to dio. And then the third thing, which is also really important, is to show that you have continued to remain in engaged in the program on demonstrate your interest and commitment to the school by staying in touch with students, alumni continuing to engage visiting the school if you haven't done so already attending admissions events if you haven't done so already and just learning as much as you can and reinforcing the fits with that program on door goals.

spk_0:   23:27
When you submit this additional information, do you always hear back at least sort of an acknowledgment? Okay, I have received this information. Or sometimes is the radio silence.

spk_1:   23:37
It's a spit, absolutely school by school. I would not, as with anything expect that you're necessarily going to receive confirmation. It doesn't mean that they didn't receive it. Andi, you should consider it like you handle it as you would with the job interview. No, you wouldn't want us continually badger the people that you were trying to impress, so assume that the message has been received. However, if you did send it by email, and there wasn't an automated message of any kind. And for some reason you have a genuine reason to be concerned. It's certainly appropriate. Thio call the main number of the admissions office and just confirmed that the message was sent. But again, it's no use your judgment. You'd never want to seem overly needy. And technology nowadays is pretty trustworthy. So just continue to toe present yourself is a confidence.

spk_0:   24:31
You said not to badger them. You suggested maybe once a month, but does the frequency with which somebody should reach out and provide this additional value. You're addressing your weaknesses. You have the stuff you want to tell them. Does the frequency change? If you had been wait listed after Round one, where you have a lot of time before the final decision versus round two or three, where maybe you actually don't have very much time to get them that information.

spk_1:   24:56
That's a great question because, um, you've introduced important point, which is you only want to reach out to them with information that adds value to what they already know about you. So you're not meant Thio send them information that you've already covered in your application, and you've already explained in your essays on this isn't a chance to, um, right five new essays on the reasons why you should be accepted and why your career bulls are a great fit for you. So when you start running out of things that are valuable to say, it's a time for you to consider a new strategy. You know? What else can you d'oh? Or perhaps just to ease back a little bit and just stay on their radars? I worked with somebody last year who was wait listed around one from his dream school, and he got that information in mid December and he didn't get off the wait list until the end of July. Andi, he did everything from fly out to the school, which he hadn't yet done, too. I mean, taking a course to, you know, everything that we've discussed. You had an additional person who attended the school three years earlier, right on a supplemental letter of support for him. And so we had a very, um, off strategically formulated game plan of how he was going to spend the coming months on what he was going to update them on on dhe. Um, we did wind up having him. Is that just a little bit when he had less and less to say. But it was important for them to know that he was still planning to attend the program if there was any opportunity. So from it, one way that schools have indicated that wait list in Canada has lost favor with them is when they stayed out and the school begins to assume that they've made other plans to attend a different programs.

spk_0:   26:59
Let me go back to something you said a little bit earlier. You suggested that a lot of times when you find out you've been wait list and you have a sense of why you know that maybe you were weak in X, y or Z area in your application, and you can go back and try to shore that up. Try to address those weaknesses which had somebody do. If they are not sure. Oh, I'm wait listed, like Why? What do I do? What do I need to address? What what are avenue somebody can pursue to try to figure that out

spk_1:   27:26
first, I would strongly encourage that person to take a close look at the criteria for admission of the school and the class profile and see if they are perhaps missing an issue with regard to fit, because sometimes it really does come down to that. But if they really can't tell, then it may also come down to some factors that are just a bit out of their control. Like perhaps there, ah, member of a really highly represented group. We had a demographic group or a professional group, and sometimes there's not a really clear explanation. And, um, it just sometimes comes down to who your competition is. And so the key is just to stand out, I continuing to show your growth on your interest and, you know, being that somewhat squeaky wheel that catches their attention over other candidates on If you truly, truly after those efforts cannot figure out what on earth you could do to improve your chances of getting off the wait list, then, hey, there is ah, whole group of admissions consultants like myself that could lend a fresh set of eyes to application on, maybe identify some clear areas that you could focus on. Two improves

spk_0:   28:45
all right. So, Hillary, this have been fantastic. I think you have shared some really awesome, really tangible on practical things that people can do and should d'oh in the event, of course, that they are allowed to communicate with the admissions office to provide this additional value and address their weaknesses. So So thank you for all of this is we kind of transition and start to wrap up a little bit? Let me ask you, what should somebody do if they finally get the notification that yea, they have been accepted off the wait list and have been admitted What? Our next steps?

spk_1:   29:14
Well, after enjoying what is clearly a very well deserved celebration, I would strongly encourage you to reach back out to the schools that you, the other schools that you were communicating with, whether you were on other wait lists for whether you had accepted an offer from another school and told them you were definitely planning to attend and let them off the hook. It's really important for the, you know, for them to be able to move forward and build out their class and extend weightless offers to other candidates who like yourself, may have been, you know, holding on with hope that they have a chance to get into their dream programs. So if you've released a spot, that just creates an opportunity for someone else, So just make sure that all of your schools are updated on your new plans as soon as you can and then enjoy and congratulations.

spk_0:   30:05
Great advice. Now, unfortunately, on the flip side of that, what should somebody do if they find out that they were not accepted off the wait list?

spk_1:   30:13
Yes, as we discussed earlier, they have opportunities to attend other schools that they were excited about, even if that school was their second choice third choice. It's just maybe time to accept that they try their very best on the universe has wanted them to go to this other school. And that's great. And don't look back. And you know if if that Plan B is a career opportunity, that's great, too. There are definitely cases were amazing. Candidates are not accepted, and it's not always a great rhyme or reason. And if you've got an alternative, whether it's another school, whether it's a career opportunity than just move forward with that opportunity and you look ahead to a new chapter. Yes, you are committed to attending program that you were not accepted to be it the one that you were wait listed from, or others that you were rejected from or others that you might not have applied to. Then again, you know, after a period of self assessment, thinking about what you could possibly have done differently, or do in the future to strengthen your profile on your application, then it is absolutely encouraged that you reapply. Um, school's welcome re applicants. It's just really worth considering. It's You should have, perhaps applied to a different range of schools, Maybe given yourself since safer options. And if you're profile was perhaps lacking in certain areas, that would require some time for you to build perhaps leadership skills, perhaps some aspect of your career that's still being developed. Then it may be in your best interests to wait a couple of years before you reapply. I've definitely seen re applicants do well if they take a couple of years in between application rounds, but applying back to back, especially if you've just gotten off the wait list and say June and now you're looking to reapply in September. Your profile isn't going to have changed very much to that one school. So really think about that. They're not looking for you to submit the same application in the same profile back to back there looking for growth. So it's ploy is important to assess your opportunities for growth and to do a better job at impressing that school or finding schools That might just realistically be a better fit for you.

spk_0:   32:41
And that sort of dovetails into my next question. And this may have been a question I should have asked at the very beginning. So I'm gonna ask you to put on your MBA admissions consulting hat for a moment. And let

spk_1:   32:52
me ask

spk_0:   32:52
you this question, you know, how

spk_1:   32:54
can

spk_0:   32:54
somebody avoid getting on the wait list in the first place? So I guess I guess what I'm really asking is, as we kind of wrap this up, what are some tips for people who are applying now? Maybe people trying to hit round three, maybe people just listening to this and they're just beginning to think about applying just some general tips for the listeners about how to ensure that they have an application that is amenable to the admissions officers and helps them avoid getting accepted straightaway and avoiding the wait list altogether.

spk_1:   33:28
The truth is that I think a lot of people build their school's list based on the rankings, and rankings are very helpful. Way to begin thinking about which schools might be right for them, but my stock quote is that its regulars are for entertainment use only. They are a guideline. There are beginning point, but it is really important to pick schools that all right, great fits for you and fit includes everything from culture to class size to the class profile statistics to the career focus areas and so on. And so, of course, if somebody is applying to a school where there quantifiable measures B a G matter. Jerry scored g p a r far below the class profile, and that's an indication that that school might not be a good fit for you. Even if the rest of the school feels like a perfect fit, it's just important that academically you have a competitive shot, and then the the rest of those factors are, ah, huge component of what makes an application strong. So if you're targeting a school that feels right for you, it's the right environment, right culture, The right, um, you know, focus area strength areas, their passions, that with your passions, their values but with your values, those kinds of details for going to resident from your application, and that's what really makes a strong application. So really, make sure you're choosing the right schools, and that is half the battle at getting accepted.

spk_0:   34:59
We will definitely have you back on the dominant test prep podcast at some point the future to talk about some more of that kind of flush out. Some of that go deeper into other aspects of the application. But I think this wisdom and insight into the waitlist process has been incredibly helpful in lightning. I am sure for the listeners any just final thoughts, either aboutthe weightless process or otherwise, that you might want to share with people as they are fine tuning their applications and navigating the admissions process.

spk_1:   35:29
Yes, I just want to mention that there seems to be a bit of a trend schools really relying on they're weightless. Help them navigate Yield and I I noticed it amongst my clients this past year or so. And, um, the data has shown that this past summer was a bit tough for many schools in terms of drop off, meaning a number of applicants that they had accepted on Dhe, who they were expecting to matriculate, ended up pulling out. And again that could have been from a career opportunity. It could have been from getting into another school or making whatever other plan. But I know that school's did lose a number of their intended class members the summer, and I think that's scared a number of them. And so I think we can expect to see weightless numbers grow of it in this coming year. So just be prepared that this year, if you're going to be applying, you may see a waitlist offer. And if that is the case again, just consider it good news. You're still in contention, and that's the way you should receive the news. I know that you've said and done the right things, and you've impressed people there, and now the key is to stand out amongst the group of folks that you are on the wait list,

spk_0:   36:46
which you have just shared with everybody how to do so. I'd very much appreciate your time today. Thank you so much. If somebody wants to reach out to you, maybe somebody would like to work with you for shoring up. Whether they're weightless strategy or just other aspects of the application. How can they reach out to you?

spk_1:   37:04
Sure, My email address is Hillary. It's H Y L L A r y at shine admissions dot com and that's S H I n e admissions dot com. Or you could just go to China admissions dot com. And, yes, I've actually had a really, really good luck with helping clients over the past several years. Get off of there, weightless. And so I feel really comfortable with our strategy is and would be very happy to advise anybody in that position. So don't give up hope.

spk_0:   37:36
Fantastic. And I would echo that she has taken great care of a number of my clients that I have referred to her as well. So I encourage you to reach out if you have questions and I will post that information as well in the show notes below. So check that out and thank you again, Hillary for your time.

spk_1:   37:55
Thank you so much. It's been a pleasure. Go Blue Devils,

spk_0:   38:02
another huge thank you to Hillary for sharing her insight and expertise. And I hope you found my conversation with her as enjoyable and as enlightening as I did. Your action item for this episode stems from one of the things she talked about. And so if you find yourself on the wait list or even if not, I think this action item will apply for you as well. But she talked about doing that self reflection, that self analysis to try to figure out where, maybe your application wasn't up to par with the profile off the schools that you are wait listed on, so that involves taking some time. Go outside, sit under a tree, take a long walk in nature, like whatever you need to do to really think about where you might be able to provide more value, where you might be able to show that you are a good applicant, a good candidate for their class, do that self reflection and perhaps go to their website or other sources to figure out what that close that class profile looks like so presumably you already had an idea of that before you applied. But if you haven't done that part yet, go back and seek out what, like, what are some of the other aspects of the accepted candidates of the accepted students at these schools? And kind of what can you do to be in line with them? So a lot of times that information is available on the school's website. You can go to third party Web sites like poets and quants. I know often publishes student profiles, class profiles from some of the top schools, so a quick Google search may yield what you're looking for. And, of course, you can always reach out to an admissions consultant like Hillary, but that your action item do that deep dive. So you figure out what additional information you need to provide during that weightless process like Hillary talked about. So there you go, another episode of the Dominate Test prep podcast in the books. Thank you, as always, for listening for supporting us. Go ahead and click that subscribe button if you haven't already. If you haven't written a review yet, would love a review. Hopefully, you enjoyed this episode share with your friends shared with anybody who may be interested not only in weight loss, weightless strategies like we talked about here, but any of the other topics that we talk about here on the Dominate test prep podcast to help you dominate your exam. So with that, I am Bread Ethridge signing off. And I will talk with you again next time on the Dominate test Prep podcast. Take care, everyone.