You would think so, but sadly no. Hence the WaitList. Lots of well qualified ORM or non-URM kids are let down “easy” by WL admission status when a college decides that a URM checks the box of what they need with much less qualifications in the way of standardized test score and GPA.
so yes, I am hearing many cases of students who are denied admission when a lesser qualified student is admitted based of URM status. More qualified kids are put on WL as the college knows that they are picking less qualified students based on race alone. The way they get around this (accepting a less qualified student) and turning down a well qualified ORM student, is by accepting the ORM to a waitlist, with no intention of taking the student off the WL.
Interesting @Zinhead . You’d think a 20 would be disqualifying at that level. There can’t be too many with the middle 50% at 32-35.
My gut says there was some reason that (those) student(s) were especially desired and it wasn’t because s/he was URM, athletes can get that kind of consideration, I guess.
Really? How do you hear that? Do you work in admissions at a college where that has happened? Or are you just repeating rumors you’ve heard, or know a URM who got in and an ORM who didn’t and just assume that was why? It’s not news to anyone that selective colleges give URM a tip. But you claimed a 23 was getting in over a 32 and because of URM status and I just don’t see any evidence for that.
An outlier that big probably means something big like development or highly desired athlete (though Chicago seems to have less emphasis on athletics than many other schools). Or perhaps someone took and submitted both ACT and SAT but was admitted on a much better SAT score.
UChicago also has a special scholarship for the sons and daughters of Chicago Police and Firemen. Only a handful of kids earn the scholarship each year, and this could have been one of them. It would not have been an athlete.
It shows that Brown accepted 21 kids with an ACT score of less than a 26 (19 enrolled), and 87 kids with ACT scores between 26 and 28. They also turned down 332 kids with 36 ACT scores in the same year.
@preppedparent URM WL being admitted at a much higher rate probably is a strong indication that all of those top schools have a pretty firm range of racial makeup in mind. They have to replace URM no shows with URM WL admits. Unlike the other hooks–recruited athletes, FA dependent 1st Gen/Low In kids, donors/alum/faculty children that are locked in with the school, the URM kids with a typical profile of ACT 32+ and FI of $125k+ usually have multiple offers from tippy-top schools. They are generally sought after by many top schools. CC’s results threads seem to show such pattern. If they have to turn down many of those schools its only natural URM WL must begin with a higher number to offset anticipated no shows and have a much higher acceptance rate.
I’m suggesting one use of the WL is letting down ORMs easy by putting them on a WL with no intention of admitting them. I don’t know or want to speculate on how one URM is replaced by another on the WL.
Well of course. The WL is for letting all the applicants they like but can’t admit down easy. I don’t see it having anything to do with ORM.
My S was waitlisted at a college that was a big reach for him but a family friend is in admissions there. We can all get together without embarrassment - he wasn’t rejected! Then again, he also got two acceptances off waitlists, that happens too.
True we never know for sure if those outlier scores are athletes or URM, but most often, to be honest, when we see a "“Wow, I can’t believe I got in with a 27 ACT- don’t give up!” we tend to scroll down and find out …URM…