<p>Here's some good info on why wait-listing seems to be so prevalent this year, and a rare peek into the thinking behind admissions decisions.</p>
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<p>Sure feels that way at our house also.</p>
<p>The article mentions that most waitlisted students won’t get financial aid if admitted. And D’s waitlist letter from Skidmore was explicit on this. I’ve been trying to understand why this is the case, and all I can guess is that a large percentage of the accepted students who decide not to enroll are students who got little or no financial aid–in fact, that’s why they don’t enroll–so they have to be replaced with others in the same category. Does that make sense? Apart from that, I can’t understand why waitlisted students would be at a disadvantage for financial aid.</p>
<p>This year the colleges have enough trouble just trying to meet the ever increasing needs of existing students. In talking to a Dir. of Aid yesterday, she said an enormous number of families are appealing aid awards. It’s a mess. This on top of already existing budget problems do to hurting endowments.</p>
<p>It’s nice that Skidmore was at least honest. I think lots of kids are on waitlists without understanding the situation</p>