<ol>
<li><p>If someone applies to a University/College as a High School senior, and is then waitlisted/rejected, is that person at any disadvantage when applying as a transfer student, or when applying for graduate school, at the institution that waitlisted/rejected them?</p></li>
<li><p>If someone applies to a University/College as an undergraduate student looking to transfer, and is then waitlisted/rejected, is that person at any disadvantage when re-applying again as a transfer student, or when applying for graduate school, at the institution that waitlisted/rejected them?</p></li>
<li><p>If someone applies to a Graduate program as an undergraduate student, and is then waitlisted/rejected, is that person at at any disadvantage when re-applying to the institution that waitlisted/rejected them? (either for the same program, or another one)</p></li>
</ol>
<p>In other words, do admissions committees ever refer to past decisions regarding the applicant? (either for transferring, or for graduate programs)</p>
<p>I ask this with some focus on the top 25 schools, if it makes any difference.</p>
<p>1) Disadvantage as a transfer student? Sure – but it’s just not the denial at the target university. Usually successful transfer students would have been accepted at peer schools, etc. The fact that one was already rejected says that chances are all that more diminished. Grad school has no correlation to undergrad rejects/accepts.
2) see above
3) Different departments/programs admit to their own standards: depends.</p>
<p>Dunno. But given that graduate program applicants are evaluated under an entire different criteria than undergrad, why would the grad admissions offices bother to waste time like that? For instance Yale Med school – is there a darn good chance that applicants were rejected at Yale College? Sure. But why would they care one iota about that fact? 27000 top students are rejected annually from Yale College. Why should that color how Med admissions looks at the candidate before them, many years later, much more mature and under a completely different set of circumstances?</p>
<p>Graduate programs are separate entities – don’t be paranoid: thinking somehow you don’t want a “reject” from a college you honestly wish to attend for some far away strategy for an eventual grad/professional program.</p>
<p>If you reapply with no other type of education I would say your more likely at a disadvantage. Applying as a transfer and doing great I doubt you will be at a diadvantage as many universities advertise transfer opportunities to the rejected. I personally would never apply to a school again that I was rejected, would personally have no interest to attend there as a transfer or graduate school.
Oh yeah to answer your graduate school question: no you would not be harmed by senior year application as it wouldn’t relate.</p>