Accepted a US or Canadian Offer? How to do it.. the right way (and not get bummed out by waitlists)!

Accepted a US or Canadian Offer?

Students who are committing to a university in the US or Canada should have accepted their offer in writing and paid a deposit by May 1st (US) or relevant deadline (Canada) to the university to secure their place, and then should have emailed and withdrawn from any other universities they were accepted to. You can withdraw from the portals and if you have not yet done this, please do so now. 

If there is no way to withdraw on the portal, write an email. A simple polite email is all that is necessary, and it is fine to share which college or university has been chosen in your message if you want, e.g.  “Dear University X,  Thank you for your offer of admission.  Although it was a difficult decision, I am writing to inform you that I have elected to attend elsewhere.  I appreciate your kind consideration of my application.   Best regards, Happy Student” 

Waitlisted?

If you are waitlisted at a US university, follow our previous advice on next steps and continue to show interest until the university closes its waitlist (the process is outlined below). The chances of waitlists moving diminish with time, so it makes sense to plan to enrol in the university where you have deposited. Remember, it's not where you go that counts but what you do when you get there. 

Waitlisted at a US University? Please Read this Carefully

What is a Waitlist?

Colleges and universities in the U.S. offer students a spot on their waitlist so that they have a pool of additional students to admit if they have spaces available. The university will wait to see how many admitted students say YES to their offer by placing a deposit by May 1st. If they don’t have enough students who have deposited, they turn to the waitlist to fill the last few remaining spaces.

Stay ON or Off the Waitlist? 

OFF

If you are happy with your other university options and don’t want to be on a college’s waitlist, it is best to respond right away and say “No Thanks.” This is a courtesy and lets the college know who is interested and who is not. This frees up seats on the waitlist for seriously interested students, some of which could be your classmates, so do the right thing and respond accordingly.

ON

If you do want to pursue the waitlist at a university, follow these steps:

1.  Respond to whatever directive the waitlisted uni has given you. You are not officially on a waitlist until you respond to the university. This can be responding to an email or checking a box on their online portal, etc. There is usually a time limit placed on this that states you must reply by a certain date to be on the waitlist.

2. It is important that you are in contact with your Independent Education Consultant (IEC) at Learning Pathways in this process and that we are “in the loop” with your efforts. Please CC your IEC on all emails to the university and check in with us about your status. 

3.  If you are considering writing a letter of continued interest: 

• Write only if the college/university permits additional materials.

• Keep it short, personal, and genuine—a few paragraphs is ideal and no more than one page.

• Focus on new, meaningful updates, and avoid reiterating information already included in your application. 

• Show significant and authentic interest, highlight why you’re a great fit, and thank the admissions committee. 

• Ensure the tone is polite and humble, not over-the-top or boastful. Use clear and concise language free of grammatical errors. 

• It can be sent as an email or as an attached letter uploaded to their portal, depending on the university’s preference 

4.  Send an updated final unofficial transcript.

5.   A few colleges will make offers to students on the waitlist in late April however, most will wait until after May 1. Waitlist offers can come as late as June or July.  You should, therefore, plan to place a deposit at one of your colleges by May 1st, and be excited about the university where you have deposited. 

Reminder: You may only deposit at ONE school. If you are admitted to your waitlisted school, you then need to withdraw your application from your deposited school before you can deposit at your waitlisted school. Depositing at two schools is called “DOUBLE DEPOSITING” and is considered a violation.

Waitlist movement?

Waitlists are hard to predict. They vary from year to year, and even the college cannot predict how many students they might take from the waitlist unless they see how many students say “yes”. Last year, some colleges only took a handful of students off their waitlist, while others took 20 or more. Most colleges do not rank their waitlist. If they make offers from their waitlist, we cannot predict who they are likely to admit. All the more reason for you to get excited about the school where you place your first deposit.