Waitlist

Returning Scholars were provided sign-up access two weeks in advance of first-time attendees, with several email and text messages reminders to sign-up. Similarly, Legacy Scholars (first-time attendees who have a sibling that has attended DECATS Houston before) were provided one week of early access to sign-up ahead of other first-time attendees, with several email reminders. We may, at our discretion, give priority to a waitlisted returning or legacy Scholar for the next available space, regardless of waitlist position.

When this rare circumstance occurs, we may, at our discretion, give priority to a waitlisted sibling for the next available space, regardless of waitlist position.

You can track your place in line in your myStatus Portal. We will contact you via email immediately if and when a space is available for you, and your portal will show you have been admitted. You will have 72 hours to submit your sign-up deposit to claim the space. After then, the space will be made available to the next person on the waitlist, and to be considered again, you will need to contact us to be re-added to the end of the list. Due to limited time and resources, as well as the self-service nature of the portal, [...]

This depends on the circumstances for spaces becoming available, described above. Circumstances change each year, and as the program nears, it becomes less likely that those in the program will have reason to withdraw.

We typically see the most movement on the waitlist at the end of March and the end of April, when important deadlines pass and those who are enrolled who have not completed necessary steps are withdrawn. Our ability to move on the waitlist is different each year, and what happened in previous years is not good indication of what may happen this year. Therefore, we cannot speculate, as we do not want this to be misinterpreted as a promise or guarantee that circumstances from previous years will happen again this year. The meaning of waitlist numbers also changes over time. [...]

If you definitely want to participate at DECATS Houston this summer, our recommendation is to sign-up at a campus that has guaranteed spaces available versus subscribing to the waitlist.

No, you may only be in a position for a space at one site. If it so happens that another campus clears its waitlist, we will contact the next person on the waitlists at our other campuses (by order of sign-up date) to offer the available space. If that person passes on the offer, we will continue down the list to offer the available space. We understand you are waiting in line at your preferred campus, so you are under no obligation to switch to an available space at another campus.

Yes, you may notify us via email with your request to change your campus choice. If you switch between two waitlists, you are placed at the end of the waitlist of the campus to which you switched. In other words, you cannot switch between waitlists and keep the same place number – you leave one line to walk to the end of the other.

Because the waitlist is first-come, first-served, it operates like standing in line for checkout at a store. You must naturally reach the front of the line. We trust you joined the waitlist because of a strong desire to participate. We value that trust and pledge to diligently work toward your admission. We appreciate your interest and kindly request you not send emails of continued interest, inquiries of current status, letters of recommendation, etc, as we cannot take any action on those.

You are welcome to stay on our waitlist as long as you prefer, and you may notify us if you wish to be removed from the waitlist at any time. We will continue to offer available spaces through late May / early June – as late as reasonably possible. There is no financial cost to be on the waitlist. If it becomes clear that no spaces will become available or the program is too near, we may release the waitlist and conclude any further admissions for the summer.