Hanna Renaldi's Blog: PhD Waitlist: Is There Anything You Can Do?

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Anyone who’s been on one can tell you that the waitlist can be a frustrating place to be! On the other hand, the fact that the committee has waitlisted you shows that you’re very close to the top of their rankings. If you’ve been waitlisted by a PhD program, what should you know, and what can you do?

The short answer is: not very much, other than be patient. But there are some important things to consider and be aware of.

Do you want to stay on a PhD waitlist?

First, consider whether you want to stay on the waitlist. Do you have other offers? Is this your top choice school? Is it the only school you were waitlisted at (with rejections everywhere else)? If you definitely want to stay on the waitlist, look carefully at the correspondence you received from the program and see whether there’s anything you need to do or to let them know: do you need to confirm you want to remain on the waitlist? If so, you can take that as an opportunity to briefly affirm your interest in their program. Most PhD programs aren’t interested in having a lot of contact from you, and you don’t want to turn them off—so don’t send them unsolicited materials. (Conversely, if they ask for updates, by all means supply them!)