There is one move left. The Letter of Continued Interest. Most students write it wrong: too generic, too emotional, or not at all. This sprint is how you write it right, while there is still time to matter.
"They didn't need me to explain why their school was good. They needed to know what they didn't know about me yet. I was admitted off the waitlist in late May. I cried in a Target parking lot and I'm not embarrassed about it."
Nadia W. · Admitted to University of Virginia, off the waitlist
I have watched families in deferral and waitlist situations do three things: write a letter that says nothing specific, write a letter that tries too hard, or write nothing at all. None of those is the right move. The letter that works is short, specific, and honest. It tells the reader something they didn't know. That's it. The sprint exists because writing that letter is harder than it sounds, and because the families who respond well to a deferral or waitlist are the ones who stay specific, stay honest, and stay in control of their anxiety rather than letting it show up in the letter.
Two Situations, One Sprint
The sprint covers both situations because the LOCI is the right response to both. But the framing is different, the tone is different, and the family should understand what they are actually dealing with before they start writing.
A deferral is not a denial. It means the school saw something worth reconsidering, or that the fall pool was too strong to make a definitive call. The LOCI for a deferral is genuinely optimistic in its context: the student is still under active consideration, and a well-written update letter, delivered within two weeks of the notification, arrives while RD applications are still being read. The timing is real. Families in this situation should feel encouraged and move quickly.
The waitlist exists because enrollment is an inexact science and schools need a reserve pool. A spot on the waitlist is not a near-miss. Some schools move dozens of students off their waitlists; some move none. Robert knows which schools are forthcoming about waitlist size and movement and which give families almost nothing to work with. The sprint does not oversell the odds. It helps your teen make the strongest possible case for the spot that does exist, while the family simultaneously commits to another good option before May 1st.
Beyond college admissions: The On Deck Sprint applies to any formal deferral or waitlist: boarding school applicants, selective summer program finalists, and any admissions process with a structured waitlist. The LOCI framework and strategy are the same across all of these contexts.
Why Most LOCIs Don't Work
Most families in a deferral or waitlist situation have never written a Letter of Continued Interest and don't know what the genre requires. The result is almost always one of three predictable problems.
The letter says "I am still very interested in your school" and adds nothing specific. The admissions reader already knew the student was still interested, or they would have declined the waitlist. A letter that contains only reaffirmation without new information gives the reader no reason to move this student ahead of another.
The letter tries too hard. It describes how much the student has loved this school since age twelve, or how devastated they were to be deferred. These letters make the reader uncomfortable. They read as pressure rather than information, and they shift the student's profile from "promising candidate" to "anxious applicant."
The family gives up or doesn't know a LOCI is appropriate. A student who was genuinely interested, had a meaningful update, and said nothing left the only move on the table unused. In deferral situations especially, where the door is still open, the absence of a response is a missed opportunity that can't be recovered.
The Deliverable
A LOCI is a short letter, typically 200 to 300 words, with a specific job. It is not a second personal statement, not an apology for not being admitted, and not a list of reasons why the school should reconsider. It accomplishes three specific things, in a specific order, and then it stops. Robert has written this framework into his public blog advice on waitlists for years. The sprint is how he does that work personally with one student's specific letter.
The Most Important Sentence
Yield is a real factor in waitlist decisions. Schools track their enrollment numbers carefully. A student who is admitted off the waitlist and doesn't commit creates the same problem the school was trying to solve. Schools move waitlisted students they believe will actually show up in the fall.
A clear, direct statement of intent at the end of a LOCI gives the admissions reader actionable information. It changes the calculus. A student who says clearly and honestly "if you admit me, I will attend" is a different admission decision from a student whose interest level is uncertain.
Robert writes this instruction publicly in his blog advice on waitlists. The sprint is how he makes sure a specific student's specific letter actually says it, says it well, and says it only when it is true.
After the LOCI
In the weeks after sending the LOCI, the student may have genuine updates worth communicating: a significant honor, a strong semester finish, a meaningful new development. These updates, when relevant and delivered correctly, keep the student present in the reader's mind without creating the impression of desperation. Not every update is worth sending. The sprint includes written strategy notes that tell the family what counts and what doesn't.
How the Sprint Works
The sprint is built for speed. A family that contacts Robert the day after receiving a deferral can have a polished LOCI ready to send within a week. The questionnaire captures everything Robert needs to arrive at the session ready to work rather than starting from scratch.
The student and family complete a detailed intake covering the school and notification type, when the notification arrived, what new developments have occurred since the original application was submitted, what the student knows about their specific connection to this school, and whether there are other schools on the waitlist or deferral list that need to be prioritized. Robert reviews this before the session.
Robert reviews the situation with the family in a 45-to-60-minute session. For deferral situations, he covers what the deferral likely signals at this specific school, which updates are worth including, and how to frame continued interest genuinely and specifically. For waitlist situations, he also covers prioritization: if the student is on multiple waitlists, which ones are worth actively pursuing. Robert and the student draft the LOCI together during the session. Robert does a final edit after the session to sharpen the structure, specificity, and voice, ensuring the letter sounds like the student, not like a consultant.
Together, the polished LOCI and the written strategy notes make up Your Deferral and Waitlist Response Package. The LOCI is delivered in final, polished, ready-to-send form. With it comes a written update letter strategy: what to send in the weeks after the LOCI, how often, what kinds of updates are worth flagging, and when the right answer is to stop sending correspondence and simply wait. The sprint also covers which waitlists are worth actively pursuing if the student has more than one, and how to communicate different levels of interest honestly.
When to Act
The sprint has two peak windows and two response timelines. Both are tight. For deferrals especially, speed matters: the LOCI is most useful while RD applications are still being actively read, which is the window immediately after the deferral notification arrives.
EA and ED notifications arrive in mid-December. RD applications are read from January through March. A LOCI sent in late December or early January arrives while the admissions reader is actively in the pool and is most likely to be read in context. A LOCI sent in February, when the pool is nearly closed, has significantly less effect. The sprint can be completed in three to five days when needed.
EA/ED notification: mid-Dec Target LOCI timing: within 2 weeksRD notifications arrive mid-March through early April. Waitlist movement typically begins after May 1st, once committed students have placed their deposits and the school knows its yield. A LOCI sent promptly in March, followed by occasional updates through April and May, keeps the student present and active without creating the impression of desperation. The sprint covers the full strategy for this window.
RD notification: mid-Mar to Apr Waitlist movement: May and JuneSome schools don't move their waitlists until May or June. Students who are still waiting after the May 1st commit deadline are navigating a different kind of uncertainty: other admitted students have committed elsewhere and spots may open. The update strategy guidance from the sprint is directly relevant in this window, and the sprint can be completed quickly for students who haven't done it yet.
What Robert Brings
Robert has guided students and families through deferrals and waitlists across more than a decade of practice. He knows which schools are forthcoming about waitlist size and movement and which give families almost nothing to work with. He knows what a deferral from a specific type of school typically signals about the student's odds in the RD pool. And he knows the difference between a meaningful update and one that will read as padding, because he has seen both outcomes and knows which one lands.
The students and families who respond well to a deferral or waitlist are the ones who stay specific, stay honest, and stay in control of their anxiety rather than letting it show up in the letter. That is what Robert helps with. The sprint is not about false hope. It is about doing the one thing that remains available, as well as it can be done, and then making peace with having done everything that could be done.
For families who worked with Robert on the college application itself, the sprint starts from a foundation of knowledge: he already knows the student, the schools, and how the original application was framed. The LOCI work begins from that context rather than from scratch, which makes it faster and more specific. If your family is in this situation, mention it when you enroll.
From the Luminaries
"I got waitlisted at UVA in March and assumed I was done. I called Robert in April more out of something to do than any real expectation. The first thing he asked was what had happened since I submitted my application in November. I mentioned a community project I'd started in January. I had organized a Little Free Library network across three underserved neighborhoods near my house, worked with a local nonprofit, and installed twelve boxes by spring. I hadn't thought to mention it because I assumed the application window was closed. Robert said that was exactly the problem. UVA hadn't seen that version of me at all. He helped me draft the update. He told me it has three things in it. What is new. How it connects to who they already know from your original application. Why this school is still your first choice. He also made me cut a full paragraph about why I loved UVA. He said they didn't need me to explain why their school was good. They needed to know what they didn't know about me yet. I was admitted off the waitlist in late May. I cried in a Target parking lot and I'm not embarrassed about it."
"I was deferred from Boston University in December. I'd done the campus visit and really wanted to go there. Finding out I was deferred was genuinely deflating. Robert looked at what had happened in my senior year since I submitted in November. I was taking community college classes that semester and doing well. I'd also been writing about politics and sharing the pieces with people, though I hadn't thought of that as something to mention. Robert told me the conversations I was having around that writing mattered more to include than the writing itself, because the letter needed genuinely new information, not things the application had already covered. He was specific about what the update should contain and what to leave out. He also coached me on how to stay in touch with admissions in a way that showed real interest without becoming a nuisance. A few months later, I was admitted to BU. I don't think I would have written the right letter without meeting with Robert. He kept me focused on what the letter actually needed to do instead of what my nerves wanted it to do."
The Sprint
Questions about which tier fits? Email Robert before enrolling and he will tell you what makes sense for your situation.
Connected Sprints
A student who is actively pursuing a waitlist in April should simultaneously be making a committed decision about another school before May 1st. The Clear Eyes Sprint handles the financial reality of the enrollment decision: translating award letters, evaluating merit appeal opportunities, and helping the family choose with full information. If a waitlist offer arrives in May with a financial aid package on a compressed timeline, the Clear Eyes Sprint is the right companion. The two sprints can run in parallel.
Common Questions
Enroll
Questions before enrolling? Email Robert and he will tell you whether the sprint applies to your teen's situation.
