I received an email yesterday from the admissions director at the the University of Washington in Seattle saying that the waitlist will be very important this year. That is likely to be the case at many colleges.  Because of the state of the economy, it is much more difficult to predict who will accept an offer of admission.  I think we’ll also see waitlist activity continue later this year, because if families find their financial circumstances deteriorating over the summer, students who sent in a deposit might cancel their enrollment and attend their local community college. The good news is that if you are waitlisted at your favorite college, and can afford it, your chances of being admitted could be much better than in recent years.