<p>? about CMU priority waitlist, how shall we raise the rank in the list. Any idea what is the acceptance rate from this list.</p>
<p>Wait list info from the Carnegie Mellon Common Data Sets
[Carnegie</a> Mellon - Institutional Research & Analysis](<a href=“http://www.cmu.edu/ira/cds.htm]Carnegie”>http://www.cmu.edu/ira/cds.htm)</p>
<p>2007
Number of qualified Applicants Placed on Wait List…2989
Number Accepting a Place on the Wait List…290
Number of wait-listed Students Admitted…82
Total Class Size…1416
5.8% of Class came from the wait list</p>
<p>2006
Number of qualified Applicants Placed on Wait List…3180
Number Accepting a Place on the Wait List…Not Available
Number of wait-listed Students Admitted…56
Total Class Size…1428
3.9% of Class came from the wait list</p>
<p>2005
Number of qualified Applicants Placed on Wait List…2704
Number Accepting a Place on the Wait List…Not Available
Number of wait-listed Students Admitted…120
Total Class Size…1409
8.5% of Class came from the wait list</p>
<p>2004
Number of qualified Applicants Placed on Wait List…2709
Number Accepting a Place on the Wait List…Not Available
Number of wait-listed Students Admitted…120
Total Class Size… …1367
8.8% of Class came from the wait list</p>
<p>2003
Number of qualified Applicants Placed on Wait List…2941
Number Accepting a Place on the Wait List…294
Number of wait-listed Students Admitted…180
Total Class Size… …1341
13.4% of Class came from the wait list</p>
<p>I’m not sure if it would help if the schools were more transparent about what they’re looking for in applicants. For one thing, they don’t know what next year’s crop will bring - they can guess, based on what they’ve received in the past, but there are always quirky things that throw admissions off (a huge gift to an Ivy music school, the matriculation of a Hollywood star, a scandal, etc.) </p>
<p>The other thing is that we often don’t hear/believe things even if it’s explicit. I was just at an information session at a small rural LAC, in a roomful of fellow Caucasians. One parent asked about racial/ethnic diversity at the school, and nodded her head in agreement when the admissions official outlined the school’s efforts to increase diversity. We want diversity, and assume that, of course, OUR child will be the ‘mainstream’ candidate admitted and benefiting from the diversity efforts. My point is NOT about diversity on campus, but about our perceptions (and hopes - we are parents, after all) for our own kids. If you go back and read what colleges say they want, many parents would say that describes their child. There simply isn’t room for them all, so at some point in admissions decisions of exclusion are made and it’s often hurtful. Things will change when the population of 18 year olds decreases.</p>
<p>lefthandofdog - they don’t have to give away their trade secrets but they could be more honest about what “holistic” admissions means to them. They could be more honest about weighting they give to different high schools or different socioeconomic levels. They could certainly be more honest about the “level of interest shown” category that clearly played a role this year (and is not necessarily available to everyone). They should not be marketing to groups of students with certain SATs via collegeboard data if they are really looking for something else, or purchasing enrollment management products, for example, to maximize their likely admits. If they do use enrollment management programs or algorithms to filter through the applicants they should reveal them. Why not? They won’t because if they revealed them, then they would not receive so many applications, and they would not appear to be so selective. It’s just not honest. Also, does every college have to meet high diversity standards? No slam on diversity because you are correct that most of us want our kids in a more diverse environment, but at what cost to the other equally or more qualified applicants is diversity a goal? And, is it an important goal for every single institution? I am just thinking about my own working class parents, my very poor school system and environment, being the first person in MY family to go to college, and how I was not offered a spot in college because we were poor. I think everyone deserves a level playing field, that is not what I mean, but I am not sure that admissions today is really about leveling the playing field. I am truly tired of hearing admissions departments list out the numerous diverse and international students they have acquired - as though the more diverse, the more accomplished the admissions office is. I am not sure, is that the only goal today? Also, when our government is saying that there aren’t enough U.S. trained engineers and our colleges are still accepting high numbers of international students for engineering - when do we ask our colleges to be somewhat more accountable or transparent? Please take this the way it was intended, just thinking outloud. I am not against diversity orinternational admissions - I came from immigrants, from working class parents and I know how hard it is to rise above a poor school system, a struggling family, a poor or disadvantaged environment. I just want to feel better that by both my husband and I working 35 years plus non-stop, giving up a lot of family time for my kids to have a better opportunity, it hasn’t been a bit of a joke on me. I would like to see more transparency and more accountability - it’s a huge cost to most families. I think we deserve better.</p>
<p>I’m not sure the goal is to level the playing field either. I think a large part of the goal is to pay the salaries of the admissions office and that’s done by keeping the applications rolling in. I do think there are trends, or fads in admissions, and the latest one is economic diversity. THe next one will be international students. The enrollment managers know enough to look ahead at population trends and realize that applications from domestic students will drop as the population drops. They’ll try to boost numbers by encouraging more international applications. </p>
<p>I do hear what you’re saying, Rileydog. My story sounds just like yours. We live in the time we live in, for both good and bad. I don’t think your working is a joke on you. I think it’s a lesson that your children internalize. What would you have done instead? The older I get, the less I listen to things like “we’re not producing enough scientists in this country.” If encouraging science and math education were truly a goal, we’d see action. I just visited a top rated small university where intro classes have 300 students and I wonder why anyone would pay $45,000 for THAT. But people do. The school has a name that fits nicely on a car decal. I can read the rules and watch the game, and it’s up to me whether I choose to play or not. I play to an extent, but feel like it’s my choice and I can change my mind at any time. Admissions is whimsical and I’m not sure I’d believe it if I was told exactly how it works.</p>
<p>…agree and I am sure many of us would not be thrilled.</p>
<p>Yeah, I am just dealing with the deadline issue for school selection with lots of concern and the reality of the end of the college process that has consumed a lot of our emotional energy over the past two years, if not a good bit of our expenses and time. So, call it sour grapes a bit as it turns out there were more compelling candidates, the admissions info from last year was not highly applicable for this year as a guide, and there were less obvious admissions criteria playing in the background that led to more than a few surprisees in outcome. </p>
<p>What would I have done? I would have worked less and been more present in our family life. I haven’t stopped working since I was 14 except 6 weeks off for each maternity leave. We believed that it was worth it to try to live in a community where education was valued, where more opportunity might exist, etc so that our kids could have a better shot at life. It has been challenging for all of us - my kids had to find their own rides to practices, etc, have done their own laundry, cooked their own dinners, come home daily to an empty house. Clearly, not real adversity but the lives of kids with two full-time working parents, whose income might suggest comfort and ease, is not always easy - it has been a pretty stressful 7 years of high school/college actually trying to balance professional demands and actually be involved in school, monitor homework stuff, attend events, and have dinner. For us, because of our occupations, work drives the lifestyle probably more than some. My S has already told me that his wife will not work after he has kids (smile, hope that’s an option for them) so I suspect he has internalized more negative than positive things about my working. I should mention we live in a community where most Moms do not work or are working very part-time - a poor choice for a community, most likely. Anyway, rambling here. We have all benefited in other ways from both of us working so not sure I wouldn’t work - I just might have worked less and chosen a different community to live in. You are correct we live in our times for good or for bad.</p>
<p>My son has been waitlisted at 3 schools, and is playing the waiting game. He applied to 8 carefully selected and mostly visited schools, and was accepted at one. The results on 1 April showed us it has been a crapshoot all along. Even for highly qualified legacy!</p>
<p>The ball has always been in their court. And now you have to show interest in them? Why? And really, how? These kids can’t get truely excited about one school because they have to hedge their bets, for their own protection. And yet they are supposed to have found, implemented, and can reflect articulately on “THEIR PASSION” by the time they are 18? Let’s be real. There is no reality check on this entire game, and it needs one badly. </p>
<p>As we watched the NFL draft yesterday, we wondered if that wouldn’t be a different option. The existing process requires new rules and regulations. Fewer applications per applicant would help on our part. More transparency on the part of colleges would be a big step in our direction for them. For the mean time, waitlists seem to be the consolation prize of a process in need of innovative thinking. Can we expect this of institutions that pride themselves on holding the keys to creative thinking?</p>
<p>Great thread and well argued opinions. Truly, what u all say reflect the application process one way or the other…</p>
<p>You are right that this anomaly will all go away in future years when the population goes down. It is always about supply and demand. My daughter was waitlisted at a highly competitive schol and said “no” to going on the list since she wanted a school that wanted her. She had expressed sincere interest where she was waitlisted.</p>
<p>This year, Harvard admitted 7.1% of its applicants and just ten years ago, they were accepting 16% of their applicants. A similar trend is reflected at Bowdoin, my alma mater, that took 18% of its applicants this year and about 24% when I applied in 1982. Most people I know who went to Bowdoin in the 80s would not have a prayer of getting in today. Same is true at Harvard, Yale and other “prestigious colleges.” </p>
<p>Are students smarter today? No. I understand the SAT was recalibrated and as I view this site I see students with 700s and 800s. Kids today are overwhelmed, overscheduled and over-rated and that is why there is so much waitlist activity. I say this in hindsight. My daughter who is a senior looked for fit and I looked for prestige. In the end, she had the right approach. Students can be successful at schools other than Ivy League schools and I can tell you they may be happier too. I worked as a manager at a particular Ivy for 13 years in financial administration, and I was surrounded by a number of grads who opted to stay on at the Ivy in support positions. Nothing wrong with that at all, and many were very happy. My point is that the Ivy degree is not a guarantee for all dreams coming true particularly if you think it will get your child the job of a lifetime after graduating. Some will. Others will not.</p>
<p>Whatever happened to education for education’s sake? I went into education 20 years ago because I believed in so much and think discovery - academic and self - are the reasons to go to college. In fact, discovery is the reason any of us should do anything. </p>
<p>I am now the principal of an elementary school about a mile away from Harvard and MIT. I have had parents tell me their 4 year old is on a math team at Harvard. What? The pressure on children today is unrealistic as are parents who think that they will be validated and their children will be given a golden key to success if only they market themselves in an exhaustive manner to prove their interest. </p>
<p>I can tell you that if a college wants the student enough it will let the student know. The student’s interest in the college is really not a big factor at all. </p>
<p>Good luck to all the applicants in finding the right fit.</p>
<p>Excellent post, lucky. I completely agree.</p>