Etiquette Tips - Offer of Admission

The guidelines below outline the next steps after receiving the schools’ decisions:

1. After the decision is made, inform the school of your choice by sending back the required paperwork/contract and required deposit by the deadline.  If the school asks for a reply postcard to indicate your intentions prior to the deadline, send it in right away if you are 100% sure your decision is firm.  This demonstrates interest and is helpful to schools when responding to call from wait-list candidates.
2. It is highly unethical for any family to accept an offer of admission to more than one school. This is called “double depositing”. Families who make commitments to and who hold confirmed places at more than one school concurrently compromise their own integrity and risk being denied admission to both schools.
3. Next inform any other schools who have offered placement.  It is very important that you do this as soon as possible (so that they can offer that place they were holding for your child to a student on their wait list immediately) and no later than the deadline. A postcard, phone call, note or e-mail is fine…just let them know.

What is a wait-pool or wait-list?

• The wait-pool or wait-list is the schools enrollment cushion or safety net.
• Schools offer placement to wait-list candidates if it is determined that first round offerings have not generated full enrollment. Some schools go to the wait-pool or wait-list every year and other schools rarely go to their wait-list.  Sometimes students are taken from the wait-pool right away and other times it can go on into the summer or even up to the start of the school year.
• Most wait-pools or wait-lists are not ranked.  Many schools reevaluate after the deadline and see how the enrolled class needs to be balanced. Each school conducts business differently.  Call the individual admission office for details.

If a child is placed on the wait list at his/her first choice school what should you do?

1. Send a postcard or note immediately indicating continued strong interest in enrollment.  Phone the school to verify that this correspondence was received.  Do not delay.
2. Accept an offer from the second choice school and return the appropriate paperwork and deposit by the deadline to insure your child has a guaranteed space somewhere.
3. If admission from the first choice school is subsequently offered and accepted, notify the second choice school immediately to cancel the contract.  Do not expect a deposit refund from that school but make an inquiry.