<p>Does anyone know the answer to this question…
Would submitting a SIR decline earlier to one campus help those who are appealing to that campus?
Most kids apply to 4 to 6 UC campus. If they get accepted by several of the campuses and they are sure 99% sure to decline a few of them, would it help those who are appealing by submitting a SIR decline earlier?
In other words if one declines, would one become a good samaritan?</p>
<p>All colleges factor into the number of acceptances their estimates of how many will not choose to attend. Thus, your decline of the offer was already considered, in the statistical sense. The specific act of an individual declining doesn't make a difference until they total up all after May 1 and see what is the actual count of accepting students. </p>
<p>Some of the UCs hold a few spots for successful appeals, intending that the yield of accepted students will produce a few less than full capacity to give them room for the appealees. Others do not reserve room; if they grant an appeal they are slightly over-filling the campus assuming their yield projection is exactly right. In neither case will they change the appeal decision if they get an early decline. For schools with a waitlist, they will not clear names off the waitlist until they have a good picture of the actual yield - which means post-deadline. </p>
<p>I did decline the SIRs at other UCs when accepting it for Cal, but more as a matter of courtesy and to tidy up details. To be accurate, I declined all except UCSB because I couldn't find any place on the UCSB web site where I could decline the offer.</p>