Does anybody have experience with "Tufts Syndrome"?

Applying to College
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<p>One student with very high stats and national awards applied EA to MIT & Caltech and got both admissions, but was waitlisted at WUSTL in RD. She really wanted to go to Wash U if it gave her a scholarship for she was a full-pay student at Caltech & MIT. However, Wash U waitlisted her and gave a scholarship to another student with lower stats from her high school. In this case the student was not using Wash U as a safety. She did not apply any ED for she wanted to compare the costs of the schools she applied with a hope of a good scholarship from the schools that do offer.</p>

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<p>While your friend is toying around with admissions, some local football hero with a 3.3 gpa 1800 sat just got admitted ED. IMHO</p>

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<p>@Bamboolong:</p>

<p>WashU actually gives few of their big scholarships. And essays do matter. In her case, it probably would have helped to somehow let WashU know that they were her first choice if they gave her a scholarship. They might still have waitlisted her, though (though WashU does like high stats, I believe).</p>

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<p>@ribbonroad224‌ because my school is super competitive and im average at my school (according to my counselor, middle of the pack- although my school doesn’t rank). William and Mary accepts almost everyone from my school. This year, there are 56 kids going i believe.</p>

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<p>@PurpleTitan:</p>

<p>Yes, Wash U is highly selective and the scholarships are super competitive. When a student who won multiple national and international science/math awards, with perfect GPA from a selective high school, and, of course a NMSF with high SAT scores, was waitlisted at Wash U, which constantly (almost every year in the past) gave full or half tuition scholarships to top students in her high school with lower stats than hers, most people in the high school, including the counselors, just told her that she was “overqualified”. I agree that the counselor should have conveyed the student’s interest more actively and the essay might be a factor for she was also waitlisted at U Chicago.</p>

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<p>@guineagirl96:</p>

<p>I heard that Case Western is not that hard in EA but can be more selective in RD.</p>

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<p>Thanks for all of the responses! Hmm, interesting.</p>

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<p>We all dislike uncertainty (aka randomness), so it’s natural to want to ascribe some rational explanation to the seemingly irrational admissions process. While I think “Tufts syndrome” does happen, I think it gets the credit more often than it deserves. </p>

<p>Someone who is a super applicant may have a 20% shot at MIT (better than average), and gets the lucky nod. That person may have a much higher, say 50% or more, chance at WUSTL, but for whatever reason gets dinged. So while it’s less likely that a person gets accepted to MIT and not WUSTL, the odds say it absolutely can happen. In this example, the odds look like this:</p>

<p>MIT Yes, WUSTL Yes: 10%
MIT No, WUSTL No: 40%
MIT No, WUSTL Yes: 40%
MIT Yes, WUSTL No: 10%</p>

<p>So one wouldn’t predict that last outcome, but it is absolutely possible just based on probability. I know this is a made-up example but certainly reasonable.</p>

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<p>Case has had a steady increase in applications each year, thus a decrease in acceptances, both early and regular. This year there was a lot of complaining from high stat kids who were waitlisted, yet said it was actually their first choice. This year, Case will have ED1 and ED2 in place- binding early decisions- so these high stat kids can actually apply with a high probability of acceptance. I wonder how this will play out…how many will actually apply ED and how this will affect acceptances in EA and RD rounds… </p>

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<p>Did she express a sufficient amount of interest (see <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1626043-ways-to-show-a-high-level-of-applicant-s-interest-p1.html”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1626043-ways-to-show-a-high-level-of-applicant-s-interest-p1.html&lt;/a&gt; )? <a href=“http://www.collegedata.com/cs/data/college/college_pg02_tmpl.jhtml?schoolId=1720”>http://www.collegedata.com/cs/data/college/college_pg02_tmpl.jhtml?schoolId=1720&lt;/a&gt; says that WUStL lists “level of applicant’s interest” as “considered”.</p>