Poll for those on hold or waitlisted at their preferred school...

[You are in at school A, but still waiting for your first choice, school B. School A is in a college town where housing goes fast. Do you...]

You are in at school A, but still waiting for your first choice, school B. School A is in a college town where housing goes fast. Do you...

...go ahead and find a place to live at school A and figure it out later if you get into B?

 20 (54.1%)

...wait until you hear from school B? If you give this answer, you must provide a cutoff date for how long you are willing to wait.

 17 (45.9%)

Total Members Voted: 37

[pete.]

what are everyone's thoughts on this?

[vjm]

Thank you for starting this thread! I have been agonizing about exactly this problem.

My schools are several states apart, my first choice is in the town I currently live in, and I own a home here  . I am on the nonpriority, resident waitlist at my first choice.
Basically, even with an aggressive campaign to be admitted, I have a snowball's chance.

I decided to rent month to month. I am negotiating to live in a condo that I will make an offer on if my first choice does not come through. I will wait until the second week of classes.

Basically, I am assuming School B is it for me, but leaving myself just enough wiggle room if School A comes knocking.

[pete.]

yeah, i have no idea what to do. both schools are across the country and i'm hoping to share with a roommate to cut costs. the fact that there's a tight rental market at the school A makes me feel like it wouldn't be too difficult to unload my lease if i get into B, but still i feel that's kind of a dicey move.

[greenie]

I picked the first option, but I don't really know deep down.  My husband needs to find a job and we need to sell our house so it's all very up in the air at the moment.  I feel like I don't know if I have a deadline - because if my husband finds a job he'll need to take it (but presumably we could stay on the BC WL until he officially starts?), but if he doesn't find a job in DC, then I'll have to go down alone and then I could wait until day of classes... if we manage to sell our house we're basically committed to DC at that point I would have to say.  I think...

A lot depends on my husband too - if we've become settled enough with DC and all and we hear from BC he may just be like "okay enough is enough" and I totally respect that.

Basically it's really fluid.    Everytime I try to pin it down, I just get frustrated I realize I just can't.

[vjm]

Not sure if this will work for anybody, but residence and long term stay hotels are an option. We are really only trying to bridge about a 2-4 week period. It isn't cheap, and you would need to consider what to do about moving your stuff, but it is an option. I found one in my accepted school city for about fifty bucks a night.

[limegreen]

I'm going to start looking for places at School A (I already live here but don't like my apartment complex) but not commit to anything until probably early August.  If I get the call after that, I'll still go to school B.

[mm1405]

Depends on your chances of getting into School B. If its a slim chance but you are hoping, I'd go ahead and make plans for School A. Make them as tenative as possible and only the minimal required plans. I'd also wait it out as long as possible until making those plans - say... July 15th? That gives you a little more than a month to get situation and find a job? Just my thoughts... I still havent been WL or given any decision from my top choice, so I'm just praying I dont get WL!!! I'd rather a reject than a WL!

[greenie]

GW starts August 11th and the Hispanic Student Association is planning some events prior to that (TBA) so August 1st has to be my hardcore move date.

[greenie]

I'm going to start looking for places at School A (I already live here but don't like my apartment complex) but not commit to anything until probably early August.  If I get the call after that, I'll still go to school B.

I feel like this would be easier for me if School A was in my current area, and School B were far away.

Well, come to think about it, that's why this is such a problem in the first place

[TheMrac]

I have a similar problem.  School A for me is in the city where I live and 2 out of 4 of my schools B are really far away.

I'm really scared that I sign a lease and the next day I get off a far school B waitlist.  I'm even more scared that after I sign a lease I feel pressured into taking myself off of 2 of the school B waitlists.

What makes this all the more difficult is that I live in the NYC area.  I live on Long Island, so the commute would be unreasonably long for a 1L (about an hour 15 to an hour and a half, depending upon the time of day).