In a couple of weeks college bound high school seniors will receive one of three verdicts from the colleges they applied to: congratulations you’re in, we regret to inform you, or welcome to limbo.

The limbo letter, which lumps one into the abode of souls excluded from heaven but does not quite say no vacancies, is generally referred to as being wait-listed.

I wish could be more comforting here, but the wait-listed letter is not a promising letter. Please don’t let it get your hopes up. Eight out of ten students who are deferred are subsequently sent a we regret to inform you letter.

Unfortunately more and more colleges are sending wait-listed letters out, and students who get them often think there is a good chance that they will be accepted. On average, 10 percent of the students who apply to institutions that have wait lists are placed on the list.

“Colleges use waiting lists as insurance,” notes the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC). “If enough accepted students enroll for freshman year, the college won’t accept anyone from the wait list.”

So the more select the school the longer the odds of moving from the wait list to the bursar’s office. And to make matters worse, you may not receive a final acceptance or denial until as late as July.

“Because the wait list is so unpredictable, it’s not wise to count on moving from the wait list to acceptance,” the NACAC counsels. So what to do then if you’re told to hang?

Your first task is to pick a new first choice. Look at the colleges that accepted you, compare your options and pick a new first choice. This reminds me of the clear-sighted advice that Margit Dahl, director of undergraduate admissions at Yale, shares with students: Find three first choices, find three schools you’d love to attend equally, then being wait listed by one won’t sting a bit.

If you want to get a sense of what your chances are of moving off the wait list to the welcome list, call the school’s admission office and ask if they have a ranked list, and where you are on the list.

Ask how many students were accepted last year and the year before from the wait list. It’s unlikely that those numbers are going to change, but ask about that as well.

You might also ask if the college knows yet if it will need to go to the list this year. If they do, ask your high school college counselor to give you a sense of the strength of your candidacy in comparison to students who were previously accepted to that school.

Something else you might consider doing besides praying, crossing your fingers, and whatever else you do to bring good things to you is to tell admissions that the school is your first choice and if accepted you will go there. Schools like to know that the students they finally choose will accept their offers.

If your grades have improved, if you won an award, if you were recognized by the community or the state for a significant achievement, advise admissions of your exploits in writing and include documentation.

While some students send additional recommendations they do not tend to count as much as improved grades or the prize-winning ribbon at the spring techno fair. One phone call, one email and one letter sufficiently demonstrate interest – more than that spells nuisance.

Finally, if you know anyone on the inside at that institution who has clout and is willing to go to bat for you, give that person a call and share how you will make that school a better school.

If you haven’t heard from the college that wait listed you by the May 1 deposit deadline, send a deposit to your second choice to insure a place in the freshmen class.

I know this has been an awfully cold dispatch but keep in mind that every kid who’s ever gone to his first choice has had more than 10 things to complain about by the end of the first week.