Help with waitlists

september

I got waitlisted at UChicago and NYU, but also got waitlisted at UCLA and USC Gould. I have a 167 and 3.89 GPA. I also waitlisted at some other schools in between the ones listed, and rejected by a couple. What does this mean?

Princess

Hey! Honestly, I always think that a waitlist is better than being rejected right away. Maybe you could send a LOCI and just reach out to the school a bit. Those are amazing schools and maybe they thought you would not commit, so they waitlisted you. Honestly, we can't be 100% sure what is happening, but what you can do is send LOCI and updated info. If you've been doing some volunteering, changes with jobs, or something that may be helpful to convince them to make a decision. Good luck

FixedDice

As far as I can tell, those schools are intrigued by your application, albeit not to the point they accepted you outright (or there is something in your applications that made those schools hesitate). Barring any C&F issues or any other red flags, I would think a higher LSAT score will significantly raise your chances (and scholarships) next cycle; your GPA is great, and some of the best programs are clearly interested in you. If you really, really do not want to or cannot wait another year, you probably want to draft some LOCIs.

I noticed that you didn't mention any acceptances. Hope you have at least one alternative to rely on.

Alex

It’s hard to say what it means without more details about your app beyond numbers. You have good numbers but your LSAT is below median at NYU/uChi so a waitlist outcome for those schools would seem to be the norm.

But it does mean you should probably write some killer LOCIs (letters of continued interest) to give yourself a good shot at getting off the waitlists. There’s some good info both on here and other sites on how you’ll want to write these and when to send them.

Good luck!

september

Thanks everyone! I will write up some LOCIs, and hope for the best! I was just worried about my chances since I got waitlisted across the spectrum - which was unexpected given my numbers.