<p>Response combining 65 and 66</p>
<p>If your child is applying to school where the numbers don’t work, then maybe not applying is the better alternative. You may be wasting your time, a few dollars, and some possible emotional scars. If the school requires better academic numbers than your child holds, it is obvious that the lottery term is appropriate – e.g. why apply to Harvard when the valedictorians of many schools are not accepted? </p>
<p>The harder to gauge is financial. But, you may know the answer of the lack of likelihood of offering your child money because of : (1) their financial constraints; or (2) your child’s lack of unique talents compared to the campus as a whole. </p>
<p>Alternatively, you may apply to numerous schools with good chances of admittance, but not receiving the packages you hope for – that is not the formulaic problem. In fact, the increased application to such schools is sound economic strategy, and will lessen the scores to those your child does not attend, after admittance. Your child’s acceptance will make the acceptance percentages increase; and, the failure to give aid to your child will require to refuse the acceptance. This will affect the “yield” number, the yield will decrease – something which USNWR uses for its rankings. In the perspective of USNWR, high yield increases your rank and low yield does the opposite.</p>
<p>And, as the university bubble is about to burst, the state and other less expensive schools may see this phenomenon – their yield number decrease making their USNWR numbers drop. In short, this is one more reason not to trust everything in those rankings.</p>