Auto waitlist and offer in Avela

Overview

Auto waitlist and offer is a rule you can configure on forms. It automatically processes student applications when they reach a status you've defined.

Depending on your configuration, it can:

• Waitlist applications only, OR
• Waitlist applications and extend offers when seats are available

Auto waitlist and offer is useful in the post-lottery period, when new applications are submitted intermittently and need to be processed without delay.

This article walks you through how to set up the rule and manage it over time.

Set up the rule

The rule is configured on a form and can apply to one or many schools.

1. Open the form you want to configure.
2. Go to the Rules tab.
3. Click Add Rule, then select Waitlist and optionally make offers.
4. Give the rule a name and description.
5. Choose one or more source statuses. These are the statuses that trigger the rule:
   • Submitted
   • Verified
   • Lottery Ready
   • Admissions (with no sub-status)
6. Select the school(s) this rule applies to. If no schools are selected, it applies to all schools on the enrollment period.
7. [Optional] Check the Make offers checkbox to automatically extend offers up to capacity, in waitlist order. Leave it off to waitlist applications only.
8. Click Save. New rules are saved as inactive. Toggle the rule to Active when you're ready for it to run.

How it works

Once the rule is active, you don't need to do anything. Avela handles the rest.

Auto waitlist only (Make offers off): When an application reaches a source status, Avela adds it to the waitlist and recalculates waitlist order using your dynamic waitlist rule.

Auto waitlist and offer (Make offers on): When an application reaches a source status, Avela checks the school's capacity. If a seat is available, the application receives an offer. If not, the application is added to the waitlist. Avela re-runs this check whenever a seat opens up, for example when an offer is declined or revoked. The next family on the waitlist will automatically receive an offer. 

• Note: If a family receives an offer immediately after submitting their form, and Automatic messages for Waitlisted and Offered are both on, they’ll only receive an automatic message for Offered.

When a school is added mid-process: If a new school is added to a form that's already in a source status, that school is processed immediately.

Admissions sub-status: The rule only acts on Admissions applications with no sub-status. Applications already in a sub-status like Offered, Declined, or Removed are not affected.

Form history: Automatic status updates are logged in the form's history as "Avela admin API."

Manage the rule

Pause a rule

You don't have to delete a rule to stop it from running. You can mark it inactive so it stays saved, but won't execute until you turn it back on. This is useful for parts of the year when you want to pause automation without losing your configuration.

1. Go to the Rules tab.
2. Find your rule.
3. Toggle the rule to Inactive.

To resume it, toggle it back to Active.

Clearing a waitlist: If you need to clear a waitlist, pause the rule first. Otherwise, applications may be re-added right after being removed.

Edit or delete a rule

From the Rules tab, click into any rule to edit its name, description, schools, or settings. To remove it entirely, select Delete. Editing or deleting a rule won’t change existing waitlist or offer states.