<p>Does this ever happen? I was accepted to Cornell ILR (and Wellesley, Smith, Bryn Mawr so far) and today I opened my American University letter.I only applied there for merit money for National Merit, and I soon decided I didn't want to go there and thus didn't do any financial aid.</p>
<p>But when I opened the letter, it said I was wait-listed! What a surprise! I'm not upset; I'm more amused than anything. </p>
<p>Has this every happened to anyone else?</p>
<p>its hard to say how many others have been decisioned the same way as you at the exact combination of schools you listed. but what is common is for applicants to gain acceptance to more selective schools and waitlisted/denied at less selective ones. it happens often for various reasons known and unknown. congrats on cornell!</p>
<p>They probably wanted to preserve their yield.</p>
<p>This kind of thing is very common. Maybe the American reviewer was having a bad day when s/he reviewed your applicaton. could be anything.</p>
<p>Congrats on ILR</p>
<p>I was also waitlisted to American when I certainly should have gotten in. I have a feeling that admissions offices have communication with one another.</p>
<p>A friend of mine last year was accepted to Fordham, Boston College, and similarly ranked schools but waitlisted at Syracuse. I’d imagine yield definitely has something to do with it, as well as interest in the school. And yeah, it’s more amusing than anything else.</p>
<p>I don’t find it amusing for me, who has only a ~reasonable chance when it comes to going to an excellent school. Therefore, if I don’t get into a top school, I’ll be at a mediocre state university next year.</p>
<p>Tuft’s Syndrome</p>
<p>Exactly what chaosdog said. Most colleges are worried about their yield so they tend not to accept people who they don’t think will attend. They’d rather waitlist you and see if you’re actually interested … stupid rules …</p>
<p>Yeah, I was waitlisted at Lehigh and got a likely letter from Cornell. I figure that I was waitlisted because I didn’t show enough interest- I’ve seen the campus before, but I’ve never officially gone on a tour or attended an information session.</p>
<p>Lehigh is very upfront about the fact that showing interest is very important to them.</p>
<p>Yes, I’ve learned that! I didn’t mind being placed on the waitlist- I should have shown more interest, and I’m sure someone who is more interested in Lehigh got in instead. One less school to decide between in any case!</p>
<p>Yup. Sounds like you were Tufted. GW seems to do this. My son’s wait list letter said that if he really wants in, to call on one of three days in late April and to fill out their form. It then says he’ll know by mid-to-late May, but of course, by then he’s already committed to somewhere else and made the deposit, right? A friend of mine with some insider knowledge of GW said that if he really wants in, he’ll get in. I think with a lot of the independent universities it’s all about the relationship. Cornell, however, is my son’s dream school and you can be sure if he gets in, GW won’t get another thought.</p>
<p>Wish I could be in your position, I was accepted to American and waitlisted from ILR 
I was hoping so much for Cornell to come through.</p>
<p>My friend told me about his old neighbor who got rejected from Cal Poly SLO, UC Davis, and UCSB but was accepted at Stanford. Pretty funny if you ask me :)</p>
<p>One of my friends got rejected/waitlisted from most colleges he applied to, including schools he had a legacy at, and accepted to Harvard. How many people can say Harvard saved them? 
I’m of course thrilled for him, but it is an amusing situation.</p>
<p>Yup, this is a case of the “Tufts Syndrome”. Although this year, Tufts was just brutal in general. </p>
<p>Be happy you got Cornell!!</p>
<p>lol I don’t get the point of people asking these questions. Do you people on collegeconfidential actually believe that if you get in a school ranked at Xth position on USNews, you are automatically entitled to be admitted to every school ranked under it? It just doesn’t work that way. It’s all random - sometimes your app clicks with the admissions committee, sometimes it doesn’t. I was admitted to Vanderbilt, Cornell, Lehigh, Northwestern, UChicago when I applied to schools, but was rejected from NC State University and Wake Forest. It’s just random.</p>
I think a lot of times, if a school sees you have such high grades / scores (to get you into an Ivy) that they are your safety school and they pass on you knowing you most likely will not be accepting admission.
Probably yield protection