<p>"So, in other words, as the college gets worse, they will accept more kids because they know more kids are going to reject their acceptance? "</p>
<p>It’s not that. Colleges know, historically, the general number of YES replies and NO replies they will get. They extrapolate and admit accordingly to try to fill each open slot. For the more selective colleges, the use of waitlists creates a ready pool of people just in case the initial yield is lower than forecast.</p>
<p>It’s simple math and simple business.</p>