With kids applying to 15+ schools, yield has to be getting more difficult to project so I can see having more wait list candidates but some of the numbers are staggering.
@Dreamlessnewmember that strategy you would like to see already exists…it’s called ED!!
According to my math and a quick skim of articles, class of 2021 ended up with 63 more students enrolled than was the target, and now for class of 2022, 107 fewer students were accepted than for class of 2021, for the same enrollment target. Perhaps there will be a little more waitlist movement this year than last.
@collegemomjam Sure! But we are talking about why waitlist in colleges like Cornell could outnumber the admitted students. Apparently more colleges realized they have nothing to lose if they hold a big pool of waitlist while lowering down acceptance rate by reducing the admitted students.
^Just to be clear, the actual waitlist (not offers to be on the waitlist) is not greater than the number of admitted students - it is greater than the enrolled class.
Class of 2021 (2017-18 CDS), Cornell made 5962 admission offers, of which 3349 enrolled. There were 3723 on the waitlist out of the 5714 that received offers to be on the waitlist.
Cornell admitted over 300 fewer students for 2021 than for 2020, and this year, admitted nearly 700 fewer students for 2022 than for 2021 and made more offers to be on the waitlist. Looking at the difference over two years, Cornell accepted >1000 fewer students for 2022 than for 2020. I haven’t seen what their target class size is.
My impression is that selective colleges continue to really struggle with yield prediction in the face of ever-increasing app numbers.
Called Tufts, as of right now they will not be going to the waitlist.
I see already colleges moving their waitlists. My D’s friends got calls today.
@am9799 which college?
@Dreamlessnewmember
Skidmore
2 students just posted that they got offers from the WL at Cornell for engineering! Last year, engineering didn’t go to their WL.
Carnegie Mellon asked students on the “priority wait list” to write an essay about why they belong at CMU. Students were given about 1.5 days to do this, due today at midnight. They say tomorrow the decisions come out. If CMU has “buckets” of students they aren’t even considering, it’s pretty cruel; first they ask the students to say CMU is their favorite (read: more than any school you actually could go to) and then they ask the kids to spend two days to write about it, building up their hopes for a school they have not been accepted into. I wonder how many kids (among kids who accept a spot on the priority wait-list) actually write the essay requested after deposits were made elsewhere.
Sounds like CMU has come up with a pretty good way to gauge interest and ability and weed out (some) kids who use professional essay services. If they put someone on a waitlist in the first place then they thought the kid was interesting and could potentially prosper at their school.
Getting a surprise essay due in a day and a half is kind of what college life is like, sometimes.
You feel a bit bad for the kids who don’t check their email every day, but then again if you’re hoping to get off of a waitlist this time of year you should be checking your email every day.
@SymGol - I agree; that’s a terrible request from CMU. Get kids to pour their hearts and souls into a new essay with the potential of still not making the cut? Ugh. They should prioritize their potential WL admits and go through them methodically until their class is full like everybody else.
If I were a parent of one of those kids, I’d write a letter to the editor and send it to al the Pittsburgh papers, Insider Higher Education, the Chronicle of Higher Ed, etc. to shame them. Seriously.
The question is how many kids select being on the wait list just to see if they could get into said school with really no desire to attend that school? Personally, I would think a lot. Being told you made a wait list and sending in a letter or clicking on a button for acceptance to a wait list is just automatic for these kids now. Almost like Pavlov theory. So on one hand I understand what cmu is doing but on the other hand I find it like emotional Abuse.
As far as long wait list all of the sudden… My resident expert told me yesterday it has everything to do with the amount of kids applying that were not applying prior to colleges. There is a very large influx of families applying that never would even 3 years ago plus internationals that are applying at a greater amount. She said the avg kid 10 years ago applied to 4.2 colleges and now it’s 4.8. This is globally and had not really changed but the amount of kids applying to US colleges has dramatically increased, regardless of us all seeing kids applying to like 10-20 colleges.
She said this all makes her job much harder. Kids that were slam dunks per se for NYU are now on multiple wait list with no where to go. She also said many kids are getting into their 4 or 5th choices on their list which is a dramatic change over the last 3 years.
@AlmostThere2018 I can’t say I disagree with your idea about writing a letter to the editor. I guess CMU has every right to do what they are doing, but for some reason that doesn’t sit right with me. Does seem a little cruel. It might be a good way to see who truly wants it and/or, as someone else suggested, see who really wrote their own essays. But after these kids pour their heart and souls into their applications, it just seems a little excessive. They should just privately prioritize the kids that accepted their spots on the WL, and just start calling to see who wants it. If they really want it, they will say yes!!! It’s probably more cost effective, too, just to go down the list and start making offers. Enough already with the essays and stress on the kids. Let them study for the AP exams which start Monday!!!
College Admissions has become such a moving target. I can understand why, in some ways, we are seeing the game playing we are seeing being students are applying to the 10-20 schools that they are applying to, as @Knowsstuff says. But at the same time, since being admitted to schools that a few years back were considered safer choices have now become less of a sure thing, I cannot blame the students for casting a wide net. It’s almost like, what came first, the Chicken or the Egg??
My son is a hs sophomore. I almost feel compelled to help him find an ED school just so he can get in in December and be done, and make sure he gets a spot at a school on his list. But that definitely takes a lot of the fun out of it!
Why in the world would CMU read another 500 “why” CMU essays. Most adcoms are exhausted at this point. And if it’s about using the wl to fill in specific majors, candidate backgrounds and profiles this seems counter intuitive. Unless they are only reading the essays from the like candidates but can’t say that out loud. Then for the others with no shot because they don’t fit the box it would seem like the height of audacity.
Hahaha, this is no longer fun! It’s about being prepared and calculating, persistent, and attentive to details. All the while, we are trying to raise heathy kids who are smart and empathetic and who are flexible and kind. But will I not advise my next kid, “You should really think of participating in an academic extra-curricular to complement your band.” Or, “maybe you shouldn’t take band class so that you are able to take that extra Honors or AP class that will improve your gpa.”? It’ll take self-control on my part to allow my younger kids to thrive and truly be who they are while challenging themselves in a healthy way that is right for them.
This cycle for my second kid has not been easy street. She is fine, truly, but many surprises. Especially since she is high achieving and well prepared. I think this admissions cycle brought in the “New Normal” which is totally abnormal in how students will have to strategize in some way.
I don’t think cmu will read more essays. I truly think it is a weed out. If only 20%respond then you know your chances are greater to admit someone that truly wants to be there. Of course this is speculation.
I think both schools and parents have to do a better job going forward of setting realistic expectations for the kids. Our school with extreme high Stat kids all honor and AP and number 1 on our state does a great job of trying to pair kids with schools that will give great scholarships and education. They say you can apply anywhere you want to but you better be happy with your 5th choice as much as your 1st choice.
Since my last one is at Michigan but was on Georgia Techs wait list last year (he claims he never got a denial so who knows he could still be on it ;))…
We had him apply to some good schools but evidently slam dunks for him Just to get some acceptances and to feel good about that. Because when the second wave of top schools come in… Let’s just say… It’s not always so nice.
I agree with the previous post to some degree about a careful selection process. It does presuppose that most students are not thinking this through. I am not sure that’s the case. But with the work load with these kids have on their shoulders, just sending in apps so they can get a few wins just seems like a waste of time. My d is regularly up doing work past midnight. If individualed essays are required it will only be for schools my next would attend. And these kids should have time to be kids. How much is somewhat the pressure we put on them to realize their dreams. Or is it to realize our dreams for them. Or just our dreams. To be honest it was hard but some of the lessons leaned here are more valuable and level setting for life than the fantastic education they will receive. At some point the juice isn’t worth the squeeze in my book. CMU wouldn’t be getting another darn thing from her.
@privatebanker… Great post. Yes, we are guilty of my kids applying to some schools for us. But at the end of the day they came up with their own lists that made sense. But I made both kids apply to top tier, middle and lower tier. Lots of middle to lower for us had great programs.
The saying around our house to keep them grounded was… If you don’t get accepted anywhere your going to community college for a year. If you get accepted into
just one college then congratulations. If you get accepted to more then one after review and if we can afford it… Then you have a choice!