@realityhitshard It was a tough decision for me too. I hope I don’t regret the higher cost as I got a full scholarship to Notre Dame. UVA is excellent btw…
@phsstudent17 I think I may be on the same page. Spending 4 years in Manhattan would be a dream come true.
@realityhitshard I feel that. I never expected to be able to pay for Columbia, but my package was surprisingly incredibly generous. The financial aid process seems to be just as random as the admissions process at times. Regardless, UVA is a fantastic school!
Just going to put this out there…it is quite frustrating to see others who were accepted into Ivy League schools fighting for a spot at Harvard. I was only accepted into one other school (a state school that isn’t very highly ranked), so Harvard is my only shot to attend an Ivy League. I mean, are Harvard, Dartmouth, and Columbia really any different? I would be happy going to either of those schools. Waitlisters who were accepted to other Ivies, just think about what you’re doing. There are people (like me) that only have one last chance to get into the Ivy League-and it is getting on the Harvard waitlist!
@ILoveStanford For some people, Harvard is their dream school. I don’t think you should lecture them for trying to get off the waitlist.
Yes, they are. For example, Columbia University prides itself on their Core Curriculum which every student has taken since 1928. All freshman and sophomores at Columbia must take Literature Humanities, Contemporary Civilization, University Writing, Art Humanities, Music Humanities, and Frontiers of Science. Every student, no matter their major, must take those specific courses – the idea is that it gives all Columbia graduates a commonality. Some students love Columba because it’s very much like high school, with a prescribed set of courses during your first two years with little room for electives. Other students dislike the Core for the same reasons student’s love it. See: https://www.college.columbia.edu/core/core
By contrast, Harvard has general education requirements where students can select from hundreds of courses covering eight basic areas: https://college.harvard.edu/academics/planning-your-degree/general-education
Dartmouth is a combination of Columbia and Harvard, with specific prescribed courses (including a physical education requirement that Harvard doesn’t have). In addition, Dartmouth is on the trimester system, which requires every sophomore to attend school over the summer: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~regarchive/catalog/regulations04/undergrad/degree-req.html
The only thing every ivy league school has in common is that they all play in the same athletic league!
@ILoveStanford I don’t mean to be insensitive to your situation, but there are probably people similar to you on Columbia’s waitlist who would love for a committed student to get off the waitlist at Harvard.
Yes, I agree: Harvard, Dartmouth, and Columbia definitely have their differences. Harvard is beyond amazing, but Columbia and Dartmouth are wonderful schools, too.
I agree, even people who have gotten into Stanford/MIT/Yale/Princeton have their own legitimate reasons to stay on the waitlist.
@ILoveStanford Lol, I get where you are coming from but everyone has their own right to the pursuit of happiness. . 
I committed to a state school too but you can’t ask other people to consider how their decision might impact others. That never works in society much less in college admissions.
@Manohar123 I know, sadly, it doesn’t. Glad to know we’re in similar situations!!
The Harvard Facebook Group has 1629 members, and I know for a fact that there are a few that have matriculated somewhere else. So maybe we will luck out this year as far as yield??
@ILoveStanford That actually kind of discourages me because I’m sure a lot of Harvard students don’t have a facebook. Last year,1667 students matriculated. So assuming that’s their targeted class size, the FB group having 1629 members would mean that there are 38 spots. However, I think it’s safe to assume that more than just 38 of the Class of 2021 don’t have facebooks.
The Harvard Facebook Group likely also has people who
- Are picking another school
- Aren't Class of 2021
Don’t try to make predictions. I’m sure we will get more information soon
Also, the class of 2020 Facebook group has 1,767 people, and the yield was 79%. Going purely based off these two numbers (1629 and 1767), the “estimated” spots on the waitlist would actually be around 225 people (138 + 75 + 12 since 12 people got rescinded). Remember also that the Facebook group is for admitted students, and a lot may have chosen elsewhere but stayed in the Facebook group for some reason. So I’d say 1629 people is looking really good, projecting a yield under 79%. But then again, these numbers are pure speculation, and maybe this year, a lot of people admitted simply don’t have Facebook.
Last year, 1669 matriculated and 75 were admitted from the wait list, so in total, the class size was 1744 students.
@garyasho I agree. I am very hopeful.
@garyasho I see quite a few people in that group who have matriculated elsewhere.
Honestly, I think the fact that we haven’t heard anything about the Harvard yield means that it might have gone down and they don’t want to advertise it. Pure speculation of course but just my hopeful opinion.
@Batwing99 Have other Ivies published their yields yet?
I would put no stock in the FB numbers. As mentioned above, the group is for admitted students. Not all admitted students join the group, and not all students who elect another college leave the group. Regardless, that target class size is 1660. So without knowing how far under the 1660 number they are, any guess on the number of applicants taken off the WL is just that - a guess.