<p>S was waitlisted at 3 Ivies, (and was deferred from SCEA to RD for a 4th). However, he ultimately was admitted to none of those schools. At the time, we were aware the wait lists were longer than needed in terms of total number of students, but didn’t realize how MUCH longer. Furthermore, we figured his odds were decent because he was on 3 lists. We also thought the list worked as a replacement system. If a prospective English major, editor of the high school newspaper went elsewhere, then they’d go to the list to find someone similar. So under that scenario, we felt S had an equal chance of getting off the list as someone else. I am not sure that is actually true, as I’ve heard the lists are ranked. </p>
<p>The point is, we really did not understand the system well, nor did we realize that the schools sometimes waitlist kids (like legacies) they have no intention of ever accepting, merely to lessen the blow. False hope is bad, and a no-rejection system would increase the confusion and expand the number of students with false hope.</p>