This is the time of year when high school seniors are dealing with letters from admissions offices. The ‘fat envelope’ signifies the offer of a place and is a cause for celebration. The ’skinny envelope’ usually means the college is not offering you a place. You have to deal with the rejection and move on. Usually, but not always. There’s actually a third type of letter, a ’skinny envelope’ that lets you know you are on a “wait-list” - neither accepted nor rejected.

Colleges issue wait-list letters to prospective students who they would very much like to have if space permits. They are a strategic reserve of applicants who will be offered a place if another accepted student turns down a place. A place might open up or it might not. There’s no guarantees.

So what to do? What’s the best course of action to negotiate with a college that puts you on their Wait List?

Some very sensible advice was posted in the official Colby College admissions blog by admissions staffer Dory Streett. She advises that you have a number of clear steps you can take to maximize your chances of turning the wait-list letter into a fat envelope:

First. You need to decide if you still want to go to this college. If you’ve been accepted elsewhere, let the wait-listing college know. This creates good karma by opening up the list for students who do aspire to go.

Second. If you really do want to go to this college, be sure and let them know that.

Third, “take another look at your options – literally. Visit the campuses where you’ve been accepted, attend a class if you can, eat in the dining hall, talk to students. If you change your mind about Colby’s wait list, you can let us know at any point.”

Finally, if the wait-list turns into an acceptance, realize you’ll be as successful as all the other undergraduates who enroll in the Fall. There’s no stigma attached to being on their wait-list. A place at college is a place at college.