<p>I called today (<em>sigh</em> no self control...) and the lady told me that deposits were due only yesterday (which I didn't realize...I figured they were due 5/2 like most other colleges). So I made a little joke about how anxious I was and apologized for calling so soon; she was very nice though, and she told me that they should know within the week whether they'll need the waitlist and to call back in a few days.</p>
<p>Phantom:</p>
<p>Have you called again or have you already been called by Harvard? The person I got on the phone when I called said that she isn't allowed to announce anything about the waitlist. Perhaps you had more luck in calling??</p>
<p>I don't know if I plan to call again (I don't think it accomplishes anything)...I think instead I'll e-mail my regional rep with some last minute awards and ask him what the status of the waitlist is this year. </p>
<p>Anyway, according to last year's boards, a person got off the waitlist on 5/11 and people started receiving rejection notices around 5/20. However, some people were kept on the waitlist until late June (presumably for a "second round" if necessary). One person claimed to have gotten off on 6/30.</p>
<p>I'm guessing that by now, Harvard knows how many people they need to take off the list (if any) and will be deliberating for the next two or three days on waitlistees and will start notifying people by the end of the week for the first round. Good luck all! And good luck on the remainder of your AP's (for me, four down, three to go!)!</p>
<p>I higly doubt that someone got off on May 3rd.. or would get off on May 3rd this year... (or the week proceeding may 3rd) May 3rd is the day that all the cards for admitted students are supposed to be post marked... considering that Harvard admit weekend was the weekend before May 3rd... and TONS of students would have sent in their cards on May 3rd. Good luck to all the waitlisted. And.. stop saying deposits.... you're scaring me.</p>
<p>If history is any guide, the Admissions Office should be announcing by the end of this week what the initial yield rate was, giving some evidence as to how many will be taken off the waitlist. It is possible that the traditional announcement will be delayed another week because of the extra few days given for people to respond to admit offers.</p>
<p>You will not get exact numbers, but some story saying "Yield rate near 80%" blah, blah, blah.</p>
<p>what do they mean by when the "Currently the yield is slightly under 79 percent, and it may rise by the time the Admissions Committee has made its final selections in June." </p>
<p>Do they mean taking people off the waitlist?</p>
<p>I think this year, a bit more will be taken off the waitlist then in previous years. However, I definitely don't think anyone would be taken off the list till late next week at the ealiest.</p>
<p>It is an inartful phrase that was inserted in this generic article several years ago that has never been excised despite my calling it to their attention.</p>
<p>There is no basis upon which the yield rate will RISE due to subsequent developments; if it changes at all, the yield rate will DROP.</p>
<p>I think the original writer just got confused - as can happen easily. If people are subsequently admitted from the waitlist, then the ADMIT RATE will indeed rise accordingly, but the YIELD RATE will drop.</p>
<p>princeton - i dunno. Harvard has been on demand for the past several years..... everyone wants harvard and wants it bad. A new round of prestige whoring.. or maybe the realization that an education can do amazing things.</p>
<p>i just thought that since they had such a huge inc in applicant number this year, prob not everyone wants harvard as bad as the smaller groups before, so they will either have to admit a bit more, or take more off the waitlist... the more applicants, the less likely they will be as dedicated as the previous smaller applicant pool.</p>
<p>I'm not sure that logic necessarily follows. The rise and fall in Ivy yield rates does not seem to track the rise and fall in the size of the applicant pool.</p>
<p>It may depend upon the factors motivating a particular rise in apps.</p>
<p>It is possible that a rise in apps fueled by a move to the common app may not help the yield rate, since the "common wisdom" is that the marginal applicants in these cases are not as "motivated." </p>
<p>We'll be able to test this theory by comparing yield rate changes at Cornell and Princeton - since both switched to the common app this year and enjoyed the expected bump in the number of apps submitted.</p>
<p>I am convinced that it is not worth any more spending time on the discussion of Harvard's waitlist. I have made up my mind and came to the conclusion that it is so unlikely that one of us will be admitted from the wait list that we shouldn't bother to debate about it any longer.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Harvard's yield will certainly be about 79-80% again this year, as it was in previous years. Therefore, about 30 students should be admitted from the waitlist- and this is an optimistic calculation!#</p></li>
<li><p>From the applicants on the list, those candidates will most probably be preferred whose parents are loyal alumni or other "VIPs". I would estimate the number of these "special cases" to be about 20-30.</p></li>
<li><p>I don't think there will be any more free spots if the VIP kids are admitted. But let's think about it: Even if about 5-10 spots were still to be filled, the statistical probability that one of us would be admitted is just about 1-2% (assuming a waitlist of, say, 500). It is therefore highly unlikely that anyone present in this forum will be admitted.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>We should focus on the colleges that admitted us and should look forward to attending them in September.</p>
<p>Weren't 81 admitted last year, though dietberd?</p>
<p>I heard that there are 5000 people on Harvard's waitlist.</p>
<p>5000? that's impossible where did you get that from? i'd say 1000 is top. though if i were to guess, it would be around 500.</p>
<p>nah, def not 5000...I've heard around 200-500 (when I called, the lady said "several hundred"), and I heard 200 somewhere else on CC. </p>
<p>However, the chances ARE still very slim (there's still a chance harvard won't even go to waitlist this year, tho, since we haven't heard anything yet, they probably did not over-enroll). I wish I could follow dietberd's advice (after all, que sera, sera). However, I can't help myself and I am still trying to keep myself updated and do whatever I can (w/o annoying them). If, at last, I am rejected, I shall be perfectly happy that I tried everything I could and will spend the entire summer looking forward to my college. I think I derive some sort of weird entertainment from following waitlist news...and at any rate, im someone who likes to stay informed...</p>
<p>pw - were 81 really accepted last year? i dont remember hearing that, but im not a "numbers/stats" recall person</p>
<p>on another note, i cant wait til AP week's over -- 4 down, 3 to go! if i can make it til thursday, ill be fine!</p>
<p>Phantom- I agree with you completely. Byerly told me 81 were taken off. What college did you matriculate at?</p>
<p>Phantom:</p>
<p>I know I have suggested to end this discussion, but I just wanted you to note an important fact that supports my evaluation of our chances: I have sent an Email today to my area representative and got an Auto-Replay-Mail which informed that my rep is on holiday until the end (!!) of may. As far as my opinion is concerned, this is a bad sign since if there was really a lot of work still to do with the waitlist (and they should already know if this is true) then he would certainly not be on holiday. So either they don't need the waitlist at all or there are just a handful of spots to be filled with VIP cases.</p>
<p>But I know: Whatever I will tell you, you won't give up hope :></p>
<p>Does that necessarily mean that few spots will be open? It seems equally likely that either your representative will be busy with waitlist reviewing, or has already made his recommendations to the admissions officers. I have no clue though. When do you think we'll find out the decisions?</p>
<p>perfectionist -- I plan to matriculate at NYU.</p>
<p>dietberd -- according to applesatyr's phone call (see other thread), they will not even know about the waitlist until Wednesday, at earliest.</p>