I was just curious if being full pay is considered a “hook” for individuals on wait lists. I’m on a wait list at 5 schools that I like and was wondering how the ability to pay affects my chances of getting offers. I know that on my wait list visit to Carmegie Mellon they said there wait list admissions were NOT need-blind.
Not a hook but at some schools may raise your number on the list.
It’s nice that CMU says they’re need-blind for possibly choosing WL people. For those that aren’t, I’d imagine it’s noted in your file rather prominently.
The odds of getting off of any waitlist aren’t great even when being full pay is a consideration so while I wish you the best of luck with your waitlist schools, I would move forward assuming you will go to a school that has already accepted you.
I found full pay did not matter with my kid’s friends. People who were high needs got off wait lists at WUSTL (with VERY generous aid despite what you hear), Cornell and some others that I forget. Meanwhile full pay people did not get off WLs at NU, Vandy and Wesleyan. Anecdotal of course, in some cases the same people (one of my friends did the NPC before her kid applied, if the kid was not getting at least a certain amount of aid, they did not bother asking for FA but applied anyway, a little bit of a warped stradegy she realizes now but it worked for her kid.)