S22 accepted and received 25k scholarship, test optional. He did the Why Denison essay, alumni interview and visited the campus.
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My daugher got waitlisted too. I’m an alum and was sort of shocked as this was a ‘safety’ school for her. Rigorous HS, 3.78 UW, 5 APs, great ECs, great reccomendations. Did not take the SAT, so obviously couldn’t submit scores 
She did not show much “interest” as she figured she knew everything there is to know about Denison as she’s heard about it her entire life from me. LOL
waitlisted with $24k per year scholarship on top of grants — 3.51 UW gpa with extenuating circumstances, 3 APs school offers 4 rest are DE & honors, no test scores, barely any demonstrated interest, many EC’s. hoping this works out because this is the best aid offer i’ve gotten so far
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Accepted
30K Alumni Award
International Student from India
Submitted the supplement essay
Did a Current student interview
Got the ED2 Email
33 on ACT
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Accepted
30K Alumni Award
3.8 GPA
31 ACT
Submitted the supplemental essay
Did not interview - Did not visit
I was surprised there was no Denison Grant as they claim to meet 100% of demonstrated need. Did anyone receive a Denison Grant in their financial aid package?
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D22 waitlisted with 25K a year scholarship and FA that meets our EFC before loans. It would be her second most generous FA offer.
ACT 32, 3.9UW, lots of AP, submitted supplemental essay but no visit and no interview.
Yeah, Denison is obviously waitlisting all of the standout students they think will attend other schools. Son waitlisted. 4.0 unweighted, 1590 SAT, 13 APS (5s on every AP test he has taken), many major national awards… I kinda think Denison should be called out for gaming the system but I guess if the rating system stinks it invites gaming. Seems dishonest and icky. But whatever.
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I know your offspring being waitlisted doesn’t feel great. I don’t agree that the university is necessarily gaming the system. The university has been clear that they are not just about admitting the highest stat kids. They want people that want to be there. My daughter had extremely high stats and was admitted because she showed lots of interest because Denison was a top school for her even above other more highly rated universities. She did an overnight junior year, on-site interview & tour senior year and completed the why Denison essay. I’m sure your child will have lots of amazing options to pursue.
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Yes, this is the one area in which my waitlisted son (who has been accepted elsewhere with $29-$30,000 merit scholarships) was very weak with Denison. No visit; no interview; no real demonstrated interest. I respect their methods and imagine that they build a class of students that are really happy. Makes their school more desirable in my mind.
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Would agree with NJDad22. Biggest issue for Denison is that the interest in the school has increased dramatically over the last 8-10 years. Would not be surprised if acceptance rate moves close to 20% for this class, way more qualified students than spots. No easy answers unfortunately when this starts to happen with a school’s profile. It’s a great school, but kids who get in and or are waitlisted also likely will have a number of options. One additional comment, their endowment relative to their size is quite large, so aid they provide is quite attractive, which is another reason its profile has increased so dramatically. Like I said, no easy answers.
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Son was admitted with $20K scholarship. Toured and did “why denison” essay but did not do the “interview”. He did email assigned admissions counselor with a question. 4.4 WGPA, 33 ACT, AP scores 4-5, sports/extracurriculars. Happy he is in. Merit money is surprising less than what two other LACs offered.
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Just NEED to say I absolutely love your Packers/Cards logo since they are the GOAT and my ride or die teams. 
You see this every year - parents of kids don’t get in to a school they viewed as a “safety” or “target” and they accuse the school of being nefarious or trying to protect their yield. When what’s more likely is that there are way more qualified students than spots. This is our second time through this process and we’ve told our kids (and ourselves!) that there will be surprises - schools that say yes that we didn’t expect and schools that say no that we didn’t expect. Some schools will make mistakes - and they are the first to admit that. But to suggest that their process is underhanded or sketchy is a bit disrespectful to the kids who got in. …my apologies as I step off of my soapbox.
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High five! (and thank God baseball is back!)
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I think demonstrated interest is HUGE for Denison. We weren’t able to visit campus but his Why Denison essay was very specific in naming aspects that made the college a fit for him. He also interviewed with a super nice football player who represented the university well. My son has high stats too, so not ALL high stats kids got waitlisted. Let’s face it- high stats kids get NO all the time. We applied ED to Rice and got a hard NO. High stats do not necessarily equate to a golden ticket.
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Yes - $36k per year grant with $24k per year merit scholarship
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Son Accepted, IB Student, ECs, high gpa! Super Excited!!
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If one accepts the waitlist spot, is it binding in case they accept you off the waitlist?
@CrazyCatMama - if your son is taken off the waitlist would he have to attend Denison or could he still accept another offer?
@Collegebound041 , no. If you are offered admission, you will probably need to make a decision relatively quickly ( in 3 days?), but you are allowed to decide no!
Ime, Denison is one of the few to tell WL students what their merit will be if admitted. I love this transparency as it allows them to figure out whether this is interesting or not at this price point. Some students may have offers that financially make much better sense for them. Schools known for good merit attract a lot of applicants for this reason, so this works well.
If you would seriously like to attend with the package you were offered, accept your WL spot.
As you can see from last year’s numbers, many students who were offered a WL spot felt they had a better option for them. For the others, it’s just a matter of luck. But last year, a third of the folks who accepted WL spots were admitted.
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