<p>I had an interesting experience when a 2nd tier Boarding School (Avg SSAT Score 70%) waitlisted my D who was a top student at her prestigious day school. The school was to be truthful a safety for us in case everything else fell apart with her other top choices. However, we never ruled the school out as it is up & coming with strong academics. The Adm Rep asked what schools she was applying to and the list was Hotchkiss, Groton, St Paul's, Exeter and Deerfield. The Admissions Rep was clearly deflated and gave up before the interview was over as indicated by his tone and body language during the rest of the interview. I was shocked how quickly he capitulated and gave up on recruting D.</p>
<p>I understand 2nd tier schools that are trying to reverse the "safety" designation. Waitlisting a top student while accepting others who were good students but with lower scores and grades was clearly a strategy as other parents were shocked when I told them. I could have kept it a secret but I liked the school and helped them out by spreading the 'waitlist" designation my daughter received. The effect was accentuated by the fact she was accepted to all of the above 1st tier schools mentioned. Please share similar experiences and other ways you have seen schools trying to shed the "safety" designation.</p>
<p>But does that strategy really enhance the reputation of a school? Here in NYC, there’s a solidly 3rd tier school (tiers are fairly well-defined and narrow), that routinely does that. IMHO, it only serves to solidify their status in that tier.</p>
<p>In the case of your daughter, how does the behavior of that school enhance their reputation? To me, it screams “inferiority complex”.</p>
<p>I had somewhat similar situation. Lower ranked school, after learning that I got a lot of FA/scholarship from a top school, decided to not give me any FA at all (yes, they explicitly stated that’s the only reason and said “we assume you would choose that school”). Even though they said before that they would give me FA. </p>
<p>I don’t like the “You-won’t-pick-us-anyway” mentality I liked the school and if they were not mean like that, I might have chosen it instead of the top school.</p>
<p>My son experienced a similar event last year when he applied to BS’s. No big deal. Once a certain 2nd tier school learned about the top schools to which my son was applying, it wisely rejected him. It knew that my son would most probably choose a first tier school if accepted (which he did) over a second tier. P’vet, once your 2nd tier school saw the incredibly stiff competition for your talented child, it correctly concluded that it should promptly withdraw from the race. The odds of getting your child were too low. The school was right to chase others kids where the odds were more in its favor. The school, in the end, was being fair to itself and you when it didn’t accept your D. Schools usually know which kids will fit best with which schools. So accept the app system, be very happy that so many great schools accepted your D and then move on.</p>
<p>She ended up going to Deerfield Academy but I am still shocked how quickly they gave up during the interview thereby confirming their own belief in their 2nd tier status. I was honestly open to giving them a good look but they exuded no confidence in their Institution to compete with the other schools. Why ask waht other schools a kid is applying to if you’re going to capitulate once some of the the big boys are mentioned. We went to all their area sessions to promote the school and even traveled to Manhattan only to be given sparse attention by the guy who interviewed us further confirming their lack of confidence, and I might add lack of professionalism to basically totally ignore us because they deemed my D an unlikely matriculation.</p>
<p>They enhanced their status by waitlisting acclaimed and respected D while other prestigious schools offered acceptances. It did raise eyebrows and enhanced the schools reputation by not accepting D. In the end they got a boy from the wealthy town where D’s school is located which never happens at said school.</p>
<p>The “you won’t pick us mentality” is pretty darn sad. To top it off, when we received the thank you note from the tour guide, it was full of spelling errors and D said what the heck is going on at that school. It was a disaster and I would only recommend the school to good students but not super stars. Sad part is they have a pretty good endowment and nice facilities. However, the Avg students 70% SSAT Scores speaks volumes about who they’re accepting. D would have been a star there but would have not been challenged to her full potential. The school is located near a prestigious college but they only had one student matriculating there in 2009. That told me all I need to know as well.</p>
<p>I don’t get the point of this thread, prepveteran. Do you just need a place to promote that your D got into lots of prestigious BSs or is it to moan the fact that she got WLed at what you characterize as an inferior second tier school? in either case, I am not sure what your post serves.</p>
<p>“However, the Avg students 70% SSAT Scores speaks volumes about who they’re accepting. D would have been a star there but would have not been challenged to her full potential. The school is located near a prestigious college but they only had one student matriculating there in 2009. That told me all I need to know”</p>
<p>i know that this isn’t what you’re trying to do, but this first sentence is just oozing with pretentiousness. i think this school did the right thing, even if they accepted your D, it’s not like she would have attended. i mean no harm, but… seriously, get over it, your D will be happy at deerfield or whatever, and someone else who’s actually in the 70th percentile SSAT range will be happy there, where they rightfully belong! it’s win-win.</p>
<p>I think it is interesting to see how an up & coming Boarding School strategizes to change their “safety” designation. My D at this point is not the focus as she has done very well and is happy as can be. She is thrilled with her Deerfield acceptance and the waitlist in and of itself is unimportant, it’s the strategy we’re talking about. That’s the point of the thread as I sympathize with schools that are tired of being looked upon as “safeties”. The school did the right thing by waitlisting her for sure. What they did do wrong was basically “give up” during the interview which I thought was weak and guaranteed we would never attend.</p>
<p>It’s all about fit and every school has a role to play so there are no inferior schools unless the school themselves feel that way. When a student is rejected that also does not make them inferior as they will be better served somewhere else. Why would a Boarding School give up just because of the “level” of competition they’re facing after asking the question “what other schools are you applying to”, which is what happened.</p>
<p>It is common for highly qualified applicants applying to the most competitive schools to also have one or two less competitive schools on the list. It is also common for applicants to be asked which other schools they are applying to. Because your daughter’s scenario is common, I doubt that the level of competition was the deciding factor, although it could have been a contributing factor. </p>
<p>My impression is that during interviews, interviewers are assessing fit and interest. It could be that your daughter was not that interested in the school and it showed. It could also be that in the case of your daughter, it was obvious to the interviewer that she would go elsewhere, and wasn’t a great fit for this school. Perhaps it wasn’t so obvious to your daughter at that point in time, but a seasoned interviewer can spot it.</p>
<p>Some colleges will wait-list an applicant that they believe with high probability will go to a higher-ranked college. If that applicant writes to the regional Adcom to let them know that they are his/her top choice and they will attend if accepted, the applicant often gets off the wait-list early. I’ve heard of a few boarding schools following this practice for some (not all) applicants with a profile like your daughter’s. Had your daughter written such a letter, she probably would have gotten off the wait-list. This is one of the ways that yield is managed.</p>
<p>If you can step back from this, you will see that it was a good business decision by the school, although it makes it difficult to put together a good list when you cannot depend on your likely schools.</p>
<p>Congratulations to your daughter for getting into so many hyper competitive schools!</p>
<p>Why would schools with 30%+ admit rate care about yield? Is it even get disclosed anywhere? Any “real” benefits other than “sounds better” from a high yield for the not so competitive schools? - genuinely curious here.</p>
<p>I agree with Burb parent - I don’t think it was a measure to protect yield. All schools are ultimately trying to build a class. Perhaps the OP’s daughter was not a good fit for the second tier school and they could see that.</p>
<p>I have a theory that the Peddie School is being talked about here…it has the same 70% SSAT scores, large endowment, nice facilities, and good academics. It is also located near Princeton, but is not a major feeder.
I actually do not think that Prepveteran is entirely correct. How would she know about the Adcom’s “deflated” attitude? She was not the one being interviewed, and I think that a nervous, just-interviewed 13-year-old’s perception of body language would not be very accurate.
If you are indeed speaking about the Peddie School (I will not make any hasty assumptions here), I will be quick to defend it, as I am heading there next year. Truthfully, and without any attempts to boast, I myself have great credentials (grades, SSAT scores, extracurricular activities, strong essays) and although I also applied to top-tier schools like Exeter, Peddie did not immediately “give up” and waitlist me; rather, they sent me an acceptance with open arms. This I credit them for.
Thus, I conclude by disagreeing with your statement describing Peddie as a place for good students, but not “super-stars,” IF you are talking about Peddie. I was accepted to Exeter, which I think is worthy of a “super-star” status, and yet, I fell it love with Peddie as soon as I saw the campus.
(I also agree with erlanger’s statement, Post #10.)</p>
<p>i actually thought OP was talking about loomis… except that loomis’s average SSAT score is 80. anyway, last year loomis’s yield was an astonishingly low 33% (that’s right) and i’ve heard about a LOT of people getting wait-listed there, while getting accepted into a school like andover… hmm .</p>
<p>How does a person actually convey to an admissions officer that they are genuinely interested in the lower tiered school when they are also applying to a top tiered school?</p>
I liked the school and if they were not mean like that, I might have chosen it instead of the top school.</p>