<p>Over the last three years, 125 kids applied to WUSTL from my daughter’s school and 40 were accepted. 60 were waitlisted… So they do seem to waitlist a huge percentage of their applicants.</p>
<p>32% is great, they must like your D’s school and give it some weight. I’ve read that many schools were hurt by over accepting last year. One way to fix or prevent this would be to be more conservative on your admits and put greater numbers on waitlist. Most students (the ones I know) consider being waitlisted a rejection and move on … so I suppose that in order to maintain a viable list it must a first be large …</p>
<p>[Yield</a> protection - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yield_protection]Yield”>Yield protection - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>From what I’ve read on CC and other sources, WashU’s known to have a bad case of the Tufts Syndrome. They initially admit few and wait-list a ton of applicants. Then they can go to the wait-list and admit applicants who they think are likely to matriculate. This practice keeps the acceptance rate low while increasing the yield rate, which can help WashU in the USNWR ranking, something they seem to be obsessed with. Call me a WashU hater if you want, but I think WashU’s Tufts Syndrome may explain why so many applicants on CC (who tend to be very qualified for any top school) have been waitlisted.</p>
<p>Hey, I feel VERY fortunate to have been accepted, I just hope the fin aid office and my parents can work something out … this IS my number one choice …</p>
<p>"Call me a WashU hater if you want … "</p>
<p>Why would I do that? haha … </p>
<p>I once had Cornell at the top of my list, … I visited last summer, enjoyed the beautiful campus (what a view!!) and the ice cream shop, … talked to some of the faculty … I then crossed it OFF my list … they seemed to have a problem with my age?!</p>
<p>D2 was accepted. With so many schools to hear from, it’s still unknown where she’ll go. Ahhhhhh, can’t wait until May when all the major decisions have been made…</p>
<p>My D was wait listed. 4.5 W GPA, 2170 SAT, perfect scores on all SAT subject tests. Varsity tennis, community service, job. everything and wait listed. </p>
<p>How does the wait listing affect financial aid? If you are pulled off the wait list, do they give need-based aid?</p>
<p>Or do they only pull people off the wait list who can pay full tuition?</p>
<p>“This practice keeps the acceptance rate low while increasing the yield rate, which can help WashU in the USNWR ranking, something they seem to be obsessed with.”</p>
<p>I’ve never been big on conspiracy theories, but I can see how a low acceptance rate couple with a high yield would help in the rankings. And let’s say that in order to improve the yield WashU indeed waitlists applicants who are perceived as using this school merely as a backup. So what’s wrong with offering their spots, instead, to students for whom WashU is truly a dream school? As long as they, too, are highly qualified–and I don’t think I’ve seen anyone argue that the accepted students were underqualified–I’d venture to say that they will contribute to the school community at least as much as some kids who ended up at WashU only because they were rejected by the Ivies. We’ve all seen posts on this board along the lines of “I’ve been accepted at school A and school B, but waitlisted at WashU. But I don’t care, I wouldn’t have attended WashU anyway.” Is it possible that this lack of interest, even cockiness, may have come across in some of these students’ applications or during their interaction with the admissions staff? Can anyone honestly say that WashU made a mistake in not admitting these students?</p>
<p>That said, I’m sure that there are many among the waitlisted who love WashU and would truly cherish an undergraduate experience there. My heart goes out to them and I wish them the best of luck. As others have said, people do get accepted off of the waiting lists. Make sure you let WashU know about your continued and genuine interest, then hope for the best.</p>
<p>^Couldn’t have said it better myself.</p>
<p>I completely disagree with these “conspiracy theories” that TomisMom mentioned. How on earth would the Wash U adcoms know which schools all their applicants applied to? And I think it’s safe to say that almost every college wants to have the best students. It makes no sense to think that a school would waitlist qualified applicants because they THINK that they might go to an Ivy or other school. How would they even know if a student applied to an Ivy or not? I feel like people just use these “conspiracy theories” for why they were waitlisted/rejected. Perhaps it’s just because there are too many qualified applicants to accept…</p>
<p>@collegehappy:
check out the RD result thread. You’ll find that generally speaking(not to take account of essays), those waitlisted or rejected have better stats than those who are accepted.</p>
<p>How does waitlist affect financial aid?</p>
<p>@dawncoming
The result thread is but a small and possibly imperfect sample of the applicant pool. To begin with, how many of the 22000+ applicants do you think are even CC subscribers? Among those, how many of the rejected or even waitlisted students do you think will feel like posting their decision and stats? Is it possible that a disproportionate segment of the rejected/waitlisted population, especially those who felt that their stats made them a “sure bet”, were vocal and angry enough to take the time to post their stats? Also, S was accepted with 2300+ SAT, 3.9+ UW GPA, 700+ Subject SATs, All-American athletic awards, volunteering, etc. Yet I didn’t post his stats on the results thread, mostly because they are not my stats to post–remember, many of us on this forum are parents.</p>
<p>But everything aside, how can anyone pass judgement when all they’re seeing is a handful of numbers? How about essays, ECs, family background, letters of recommendation (which not even the applicants themselves know the content of.) Also, any selective school has the luxury to let its own considerations and biases shape the incoming class. Etc., etc., etc.</p>
<p>As a side comment, S has also applied to USC. Based on his stats alone he should have more than qualified for one of USC’s big merit scholarships. Yet he didn’t, while other students with seemingly lower stats did. But we didn’t, for one second, even attempt to second guess USC. They must have seen something in these other applicants that they didn’t see in my son. It is just the imprecise and at times imperfect nature of the admission process…</p>
<p>@dawncoming, There is SO much more to an applicant than SAT scores, GPA, etc. Take Harvard as an example. A 2400 at Harvard only gives you a 1 in 3 shot at being accepted…which means that MOST of the Harvard acceptees do NOT have a 2400. And although the stats may seem “better” there is honestly minimal difference between a 2250and a 2300 SAT or a 3.95 and 3.98 GPA.</p>
<p>Anyone who doesnt think Washu rejects top applicants who have all around stellar stats, ecs, and awards out of the fear that they will attend an Ivy is one of two things. You must be either extremely ignorant of the process at Washu or blindly optimistic and look at your acceptance at Washu as a sign of good things at other schools.</p>
<p>-A waitlisted applicant in at Dartmouth, Vandy (Full ride), Emory (with scholarships…though not a TON of $$ there), and who still hopes for HYPS</p>
<p>To all Waitlisted students, I think it would help if you read the following thread:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/washington-university-st-louis/865140-washus-not-hahvud-but-its-hotter-than-some-ivy-leagues.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/washington-university-st-louis/865140-washus-not-hahvud-but-its-hotter-than-some-ivy-leagues.html</a></p>
<p>face it: you were one of 22000+ applicants. You are not the only smart involved kid who applies to wash u. You are just like everyone else from a numerical point of view. A waitlist is the same as a reject only you still at least have dome chance.</p>
<p>For those people saying “over qualified” that is complete and utter BS. Wash u has higher gpas and test scores than most of similar colleges (yes even than your precious ivy league) and yet you still don’t get that wash u is NOT your small adorable Midwestern school that is a safety. It’s not. Get over it and move on. </p>
<p>While I have no information or real opinion on the vast Waitlist that wash u seems to have— I don’t get it would you have rather been rejected and stand NO chance of being accepted?or are you all upset because you are entitled, think you are somehow special, aren’t used to being said “no” to and actuall expect being accepted? </p>
<p>For every person with a top 5%rank and a 1550 SAT that was waitlisted I’ll give you another ten who were accepted. </p>
<p>Admissions aren’t formulaic. There’s 20000 other applying with your same stats and they can’t take everyone.</p>
<p>Yet no one cries or is furious because they weren’t accepted at an ivy league because they must be inherently selective and always make the right decisions.</p>
<p>Wash u’s yield is like 35%. It’s so low because they’re obviously accepting the same kids that the ivies are but the kids choose the ivies instead. All these arguments about wash u having a"complex" is utterly ignorant and makes no sense at all.</p>
<p>Remember admissions is one small part of your teenage life. Whatever admissions decision you get does not negate why you liked the school enough in the first place to apply and thought about going there</p>
<p>^ Yup, perfectly said</p>
<p>If you dont get into WashU, then it wasnt ment to be.</p>
<p>But really, WashU is one of THE schools, so dont bring it down with the “Ivy” talk. It’s annoying.</p>
<p>There’s obviously some serious undercoverage in the results thread on CC. Most who responded probably got in, or felt strongly that they should have gotten in. As the post about Wash U not being Harvard says, yield is not such an influential stat in the rankings. Wash U. Has also stayed in around the same place for the last ten years. It’s a waste of energy to question admissions decisions, especially when they relate to “conspiracies”, Wash U is credited with evaluating each applicant Holistically, and I personally feel that it would be impossible for them to rise in the ratings unless they truly deserved it. Regardless, this does not affect the quality of school that Wash U. is. We also need to remember that those rankings are from one magazine, and have often been criticized for not entirely evaluating different facets of each college appropriately.</p>
<p>how can we show our interest? Been Waitlisted! but have took on internships and a new community project over spring. big increase in grades. how should I convey the message to them?</p>
<p>On a completely unrelated note, how do I quote other’s posts for me to reply to them in my post? Thanks!</p>