I guess I’m wondering how wait lists factor into %accepted numbers. Can a school hold down the % of applicants it accepts and then draw from the wait list if it doesn’t get an acceptable yield from its accepted RD kids? It seem to me this could be a way for small schools to play with their numbers.
<p>Colleges can waitlist a lot of people, and in April report a low acceptance rate. People who accept the waitlist and continue to keep in contact are very likely to go to the school if accepted. After the summer, the official numbers come in, and there is a slightly higher acceptance rate, but the yield improves. Yield is very important to rankings.</p>
<p>No, wait lists are not used to manipulate admission statistics.</p>
<p>Mercury is correct in that it may allow the college to control yield, but this is not significant to rankings. US News no longer uses yield as a factor in ranking.</p>
<p>...but many other ranking-systems do. Don't believe the hype: Yield is still VERY important to colleges!</p>
<p>To answer you question, yes, the waitlist can and IS certainly used to manipulate yield. Case in point: see Washington University in St. Louis.</p>