<p>I have a friend whose son was rejected from one of his two safeties (he got into several match schools), and the letter somehow indicated that the rejection was because the school did not relish being applied to by a student who clearly had no intention of attending. Honestly, I can't remember for sure which school it was, (I think it might have been Lehigh or Lafayette). Its true that the student did have strong qualifications (ended up going to Colgate). Has anyone heard of this kind of thing before, and if so, what does that mean for those trying to select their safety schools?</p>
<p>Donemom: It's called the Tufts syndrome. Actually, Carolyn Hoxby documented it for Princeton as well in her study of revealed preferences. Princeton supposedly has stopped the practice, according to which students whose stats are at the 91-94% had a better chance of admission than students at the 15-98%. The Tufts syndrome is the obverse of "showing interest."</p>
<p>It's nicknamed "Tufts Syndrome", and it does happen to students who do not indicate that they really have some interest in attending. Often such students are placed on the waiting list to see if they are really serious.</p>
<p>I've heard of the so-called "Tufts syndrome", but a school like Tufts is not really a safety school for anyone. Is it common for somewhat less selective schools do this as well? How can strong students feel "safe", if a school they feel is a sure bet might reject them for that very reason?</p>
<p>That's why it helps to establish points of contact- visiting, on-campus interview, overnight stays etc. Many schools track how much interest you show. It's all a yield game...</p>
<p>I guess the only way to combat this is to make sure strong interest in your safety is clearly demonstrated.</p>
<p>For a long time, Tufts was seen as a fallback for students who really wanted to get into Harvard. So Tufts sought to protect its yield by rejecting students it suspected would go to Harvard if admitted there. I was told by the new Tufts president that nowadays, Tufts is the number one choice of the majority of its applicants.</p>
<p>While Tufts might not be most people's idea of a safety school these days, it was more of one 20 years ago. At that time it was used as a safety for Harvard and other New England Schools.
I recently had an off-the-record meeting with the head of admissions for a top New England LAC. I described a wait list standing that my son received at a school where he was substantially above the average applicant this spring. The first thing he said was that they looked at past results for applicants of his standing and decided that he was not likely to attend.
What I've learned from the posters on this board is that he should have treated the school as if it had been his first choice.
Oh, and in addition, this school's application requested a list of the other school to which my s was applying.</p>
<p>"I was told by the new Tufts president that nowadays, Tufts is the number one choice of the majority of its applicants."</p>
<p>Tufts' yield is only 32%, so they must be concentrating on accepting those students who won't attend, and rejecting those for whom it is first choice. ;)</p>
<p>haha mini-- I guess after 20 years it's paid off.</p>
<p>Mini:</p>
<p>Ah, well, he was doing a bit of propaganda: that's his job, after all. But he brought up the topic of Tufts syndrome, not I.</p>
<p>Tufts yield is 32%, but, on the average, a Tufts admittee has been accepted to four other schools. There is also the financial aid issue - given its small endowment, it cannot afford enough financial aid to get students to attend. </p>
<p>I've heard of BU engaging in the practice (high school counselor called up and enquired as to the reason for the rejection) - and heard as well that if the student has no where to go, then the school would actually accept her. </p>
<p>Anyone who thinks that a school like Tufts, that gets 16,000 applications for 1,200 slots and accepts roughly 3-40% of its class early decision, isn't incredibly selective is on something - and after a year of law school, I want to know what that something is, because it's gotta be good stuff.</p>
<p>While the whole syndrome thing can happen...I think the key is not so much if someone is overqualified but more as to how they treated the school and application in terms of interest. I mean I knew about this syndrome thing but thought, gee, isn't a kid SUPPOSED to have safeties and if their safeties won't take them cause they are too good, what then should they do? Would not seem quite fair, ya know. This is especially true for top range students because their reach or even match schools can be crapshoots of sorts (at least the reach ones are) and cannot be counted on and so they NEED these safeties. </p>
<p>But I do not think schools flat out reject the overly qualified kids. For instance, the OP mentioned that the school in question MAY have been Lehigh. Lehigh was one of my D's two safety schools and the easier of the two, so the most safe. Yes, she was beyond qualified. However, she treated every single school on her list THE SAME. She did the same things on each visit to investigate each school and wrote the Why X College statement very specific to that school. She met with an adcom when he was interviewing in our state. She met with the dept. head in her area of interest and so forth. This was not gamemanship as she truly wanted to learn as much as possible about each of her schools cause she might be going there, who knows. While her safety was not her favorite school on her list, it was one she liked and would attend. She did all the follow up notes and what not, like at any school on her list. As it turned out, she got her only "likely" letter (seemed like one by its nature) by an adcom (not one she ever met) saying about her essay and about she was just the kind of student they were looking for (Jan. of that year). Subsequently, we had no idea they even gave merit aid (did not realize any school on her list had that) but she got a very large scholarship from them, plus another honor type selection thing. So, they don't flat out reject kids who seem overly qualified who they think may not come. They even tried to make it attractive to her. They never got a sense (from her) that she was not interested. To the contrary, everything she wrote showed genuine interest. </p>
<p>So, while maybe this syndrome DOES exist (rejecting kids who seem overly qualified who may be using the school as a fall back), I think it has more to do with really observing the student truly using it as a fallback and not really showing any interest. I'd like to think that because I think strong students deserve to get into safety schools because they cannot rely on the reach schools that have admit rates close to the single digits. </p>
<p>I also agree that anyone who calls Tufts a safety school TODAY is not realistic. For a top student, it would be a match. My daughter applied there and we considered it a "high" match.....or lower reach. When a school accepts around 23% of applicants, it cannot be a safety no matter how qualified, in my view.</p>
<p>By the way, she did get into the other safety as well. </p>
<p>Susan</p>
<p>The yield game is kind of funny. Theoretically, until you get to HYP or Cooper Union or Berea or the military academies, lower yield might mean you are turning down students for whom the school is a "reach" (and a first choice) and accepting those who have the stats to go elsewhere. In other words, low yield can be interpreted as a good thing, not a bad one.</p>
<p>To my way of thinking, low rates of acceptance/low yield are usually a bad thing. It means rejecting students for whom the school would be a "dream", who would be devoted alumni, and who would love to be there, for those who are there less than happily. In other words, I think that, on the whole, Tuft's Syndrome is a good thing - except that it makes the process unpredictable. And with some schools increasingly discounting SAT scores (and I think for good reason), the whole game of who is "best" qualified and who is not changes.</p>
<p>That's why folks don't just need a safety. They need to LOVE their safety, and show it.</p>
<p>Susan - I always think of your D when people start on the whole overqualified kids thing! Her way of doing things was perfect - any of the schools on her list knew that she would be a happy camper there and had good reasons for choosing it. </p>
<p>I've heard of a student being rejected from Columbia because he apparently didn't care about his application. When do we call this Tufts Syndrome, and when do we realize that it's only rational for schools (which could accept their class size five times over in uber-smart kids) to take those that care about the application and about going there?</p>
<p>Agree with all that it's the Tufts syndrome and lack of demonstrating interest in the school, in a case like this. What jumps out at me is the lack of knowledge on the part of applicant of what can easily be found out. Lehigh, where my S applied (accepted but not going) was described in one of the popular guidebooks as sensitive to being treated as a safety. S visited, attended info session by adcom at his hs, etc.</p>
<p>People seem to be operating on out-of-date information as to how selective a school is, what their hot buttons are (Yield, yield and yield for these next tier schools), what needs to be done to be accepted (besides just sending in the paperwork and the check).</p>
<p>I didn't discover cc until after the whole app process. CC is the best source, bar none, imho. But the information is out there and applicants have to KNOW THE SCHOOl to which they are applying. Every school. Read their materials, read all the guidebooks you can find, ask GCs, etc. etc. etc.</p>
<p>In years past, Emory posted a very strongly worded statement that interest in the school was important and would be documented.</p>
<p>Many students in my older D's class who had stats at the 75% or better were outright rejected by Emory. None of those students had visited the campus and since Emory is a close "neighbor" the students were summarily rejected. (IMO)</p>
<p>After he declined their offer, one of my son's safeties sent him a very nice letter saying that it things went awry in the next year or two they would accept him with the merit scholarship they offered. IMO, very classy and very smart of the college. My son visited, returned their merit aid estimation form, and applied early in the admissions cycle.</p>
<p>Columbia gives a list of possible ways for you to demonstrate your interest in the school and asks you to check them off:</p>
<p>How has your interest in Columbia developed? Please check all that apply:
1. Campus visit
2. College fair
3. Columbia visit to your school
4. Conference or summer program on campus
5. Conversation with alumnus/a or a current student
6. Information session on campus
7. Letter from Office of Undergraduate Admissions
8. Open House Program
9. Overnight stay on campus
10. Reception in your area
11. Tour
12. Video
13. Viewbook or other publications
14. Web site
15. Other</p>
<p>Columbia admits 50% of its ED candidates, and only 10% of its RD candidates. They really want people who absolutely love Columbia.</p>
<p>Oh, and I've had people at my school get into Ivies but get rejected from Rutgers (the safety school for literally everybody in my school). Either that or they get free ride offers.</p>