Trouble in the waters

1. Email adcom
2. Call adcom

They WILL respond favorably!

remember to be waitlisted means that you qualify for their program, and there is something/s in your app which they are uncertain about. It might be that they have not heard from you in person! Call, write, show enthusiasm, let them experience what kind of student you will be. Do something wild like drive/fly out to the school and let them know how disappointed you are in not receiving admission, and that you are beginning your research for next year. Let them know that you will continue to apply to the school for as many years they will reject you.

This tactic worked for me when I was waitlisted for a fulbright. Even though officially i was not to contact the board, i wrote a letter, called to ask other semi-related questions. I received great advice from the board member I spoke with, and I am certain that this pro-active approach is what got me off of it.

Grad school is different, but humans are not. If they feel sincere drive and passion, smartness in your tactical approach...who knows, you could get off the waitlist with scholarship!! Read the threads here, it has happened.

most important, do not fear rejection, in essence that has already happened. Only fear acceptance!

BTW: spelling mistake might show lack of drive and desire...it is no biggie on the technical front. The adcom might see it as a laziness and lack of attention to detail at most. It certainly is not a reason to reject an applicant (perhaps sufficient to wait list him)
Good luck

nice tip defenestrate

This is a pretty old post however it may still apply to some people. I met with a person who used to do application reviews at a top business school and he stated any major spelling or grammatical mistakes would immediately get the application tossed. He said they were reviewing way too many good candidates to let someone who didn't take the time to confirm their app was ready before submitting.

If it was an honest mistake and you catch it just after submitting, I highly doubt they wouldn't let you resubmit a corrected version.