<p>Overanxious, there probably was no good reason for your son not to be accepted. Just too many kids in that same category, that's all. We don't call them "lottery tickets" for no reason, you know. If there are a stack of apps all pretty much the same in quality, and only so many can be picked, there is a lottery going on there. I suspect (and I have no concrete proof of this--my opinion only) that the first batch of apps the adcoms read have a better chance of getting in simply because there is no reason to turn down some of these outstanding kids. As the accept stack grows, each new app is compared to those already accepted with a growing awareness that most of the apps are going to have to be culled or the class is going to be filled in very short order. I call it the "empty room" theory. If you want to fill a room for a speaker or show, you may let everyone and anyone in at first since you don't want any empty seats. As the room fills, and you realize that you need to reserve certain seats , you become more picky about who comes in. The last ones at the door have to have "ins" to gain entry. And adcoms are only human; one might be attracted to the distance runner essay though not so well written and actually intensely dislike and disagree with a great essay. All these can slightly color the process, and when you are talking 10% admissions, it doesn't take more than a nuance to get eliminated. There may be no reason, other than the job of the adcom is to deny, in order to get the apps to a manageable level. When you count the number of apps, and readers in an admissions office, and the number of hours they have to do the job, you realize that an app may get a 10 minute lookover, on average.</p>
<p>It seems to me, that your son was not accepted for very mealy mouthed reasons.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Adcoms were told to look for Irish step dancing. huh?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>So I heard from a generally reliable source .....</p>
<p>Overanxious, there probably was no good reason for your son not to be accepted. Just too many kids in that same category, that's all. We don't call them "lottery tickets" for no reason, you know. If there are a stack of apps all pretty much the same in quality, and only so many can be picked, there is a lottery going on there. I suspect (and I have no concrete proof of this--my opinion only) that the first batch of apps the adcoms read have a better chance of getting in simply because there is no reason to turn down some of these outstanding kids. As the accept stack grows, each new app is compared to those already accepted with a growing awareness that most of the apps are going to have to be culled or the class is going to be filled in very short order. I call it the "empty room" theory. If you want to fill a room for a speaker or show, you may let everyone and anyone in at first since you don't want any empty seats. As the room fills, and you realize that you need to reserve certain seats , you become more picky about who comes in. The last ones at the door have to have "ins" to gain entry. And adcoms are only human; one might be attracted to the distance runner essay though not so well written and actually intensely dislike and disagree with a great essay. All these can slightly color the process, and when you are talking 10% admissions, it doesn't take more than a nuance to get eliminated. There may be no reason, other than the job of the adcom is to deny, in order to get the apps to a manageable level. When you count the number of apps, and readers in an admissions office, and the number of hours they have to do the job, you realize that an app may get a 10 minute lookover, on average.</p>
<p>It seems to me, that your son was not accepted for very mealy mouthed reasons. Many kids applying to those types of schools fall in that category.</p>