Do schools waitlist "overqualified" candidates?

<p>Not that I'm overqualified, but.....</p>

<p>I just go waitlisted by Wash. U. in St. Louis. I applied to other schools like Harvard, Yale, Amherst, & U. Chicago. I got accepted to Macalester, Grinnell, St. Olaf, Creighton honors (?), and safeties honors programs.</p>

<p>I have a 4.0 unweighted, 4.2 (on a 4.5 scale). I got a 34 and a 2200. I'm from Nebraska. (Which might hurt me with Wash. U. as close, but few applicants to east coast.) I have some unique experiences. (living on a farm). I have never gotten a B. </p>

<p>So my question is: What does Wash. U.'s waitlisting me mean? Do I have no chance at the other schools? Or is Wash. U. just a glitch?</p>

<p>WUSTL will waitlist you if they think you have not shown enough interest or you are overqualified. Perhaps in your case it was the former. Did you visit, call a lot, schedule an interview, and all that other stuff?</p>

<p>I did visit them and scheduled an interview while I was there. I went to meetings I had in my area and I dd call my admissions rep. once, but I don't think he would remember me. What do you think? I'm scared I'll have to go to a state school.</p>

<p>I'm pretty sure you'll get into at least one more school (perhaps UChicago). Have more recommendations sent into WUSTL if you want to go and send them perhaps another essay/personal statement addressing the waitlist and indirectly addressing your interests and how it is your first choice.</p>

<p>But, for curiosity's sake, do you think it means I have no chances at any of the other colleges?</p>

<p>No. Means nothing :)</p>

<p>Thanks AcceptedAlready! It made me a little worried when I got the letter today.</p>

<p>University of Rochester and a few others will waitlist you.</p>

<p>Did you mean the Univ. of Chicago, Zuma as I didn't apply to Univ. of Rochester?</p>

<p>you're definitely not overqualified for wustl. i doubt you will get in any of the school on your list, they're all much more competitive than wustl.</p>

<p>Without sounding too harsh to those got waitlisted, WUSTL would offer merit scholarships to attract those "over-qualified" candidates. It wants to have those high achievers!</p>

<p>There are a few other threads elsewhere about WUSTL waitlisting. They waitlist lots of people with good credentials who get in elsewhere. (This topic comes up every year!) My daughter was waitlisted last year, but got into UChicago and Brown, among others. I think the school sensed it wasn't her first choice (or even among the top ones), so the waitlisting didn't surprise us at all.</p>

<p>The admissions board has a thread about Wash U and there is discussion about waitlisting on the specific Wash U board.</p>

<p>cj3051, I think you are right, that happened with us.</p>

<p>vcollege, I meant Rochester, but I see it's not on your list. Chicago seems to be above that sort of thing.</p>

<p>Zuma,</p>

<p>Just an aside, but I'm not sure your information about U Rochester is accurate. The school has a fairly high acceptance rate because of their "undesirable" location in western New York. Relatively few students are waitlisted. My son's stats were 1510/2260, 96.5% gpa, the usual ap's and ec's, bio research, etc. He was accepted by UR and invited to come to campus with about 50 other students to interview for a full tuition scholarship. All the students in attendance that weekend had apps at a variety of top ranked schools, but UR was willing to try and woo them with merit money.</p>

<p>"What does Wash. U.'s waitlisting me mean?"</p>

<p>It means that you weren't accepted, and are not likely to be going there.</p>

<p>Cami215, there are certain markers Rochester looks for in applicants. Those markers come in different forms. Some are in the form of anonymous surveys. Some come fom other inputs. If, for instance, your son, for quite legitimate and unavoidable reasons, fails to show up for the weekend you just mentioned, he might experience consequences that others before him have.</p>

<p>WUSTL is well known for waitlisting kids it thinks are using it as a safety. If the OP mentioned those top schools when the interviewer asked where else he was applying that would have been a BIG red flag. Same if he honestly answered a question about his top choice.</p>

<p>
[quote]
'm scared I'll have to go to a state school.

[/quote]
This is a little confusing, since you also write "I got accepted to Macalester, Grinnell, St. Olaf, Creighton honors (?), and safeties honors programs."</p>

<p>Zuma,</p>

<p>I agree. If son had not shown for the weekend, he would have been eliminated from the list. We were aware that they expected a show of interest. However, they don't waitlist people wholesale. And since their yield is already low, they are more willing to take a gamble with some higher stat kids than is sometimes true of Wash U. (Higher stat, of course, is a relative thing. Higher stat at Wash U could easily mean being 2350 and above compared with Rochester, 2250+).</p>

<p>Wash U is notorious for this. They manage their yield this way, because they are limited in terms of the merit aid they can give. They seduce the 2400s with full rides and waitlist the 2200s waiting to see if they are interested. My best friends little bro was waitlisted at WashU and got into Princeton, Penn, and Williams. Don't be shocked. Tufts, Emory, rice, and a few others play the same game.</p>