<p>What is going on this year? It seems like so many outstanding candidates are being waitlisted. </p>
<p>I've often wondered how the current trend in more and more applications would effect the colleges?</p>
<p>Maybe we won't know until later in the year whether there really are more waitlisted decisions and or a change in the ratio of offers/enrolled.</p>
<p>Are the schools fighting back against the massive numbers of applications by wait listing?</p>
<p>yes they are fighting back. so many people, myself included, are applying to more and more schools in order to increase the chances that we will be accepted. Some of us are merely looking to increase the chances for merit aid because we unfortunately do not qualify for financial aid. Schools are trying to protect their best interests, and it hurts qualified students. Some schools miss out on great students who really did consider X school their number one choice. It's a never-ending process that hurts everyone.</p>
<p>It's not that they're "fighting back". There's no "revenge" motive here. Colleges simply have no way of determining their yield (how many students that they accept will accept them). Their historic data hasn't worked; many of the top schools, or ones near the top, have found themselves over-enrolled in the past two years or so. So each year, they accept a smaller number of applicants, making the percentage accepted even lower when they get an increase in the number of applicants. Then they waitlist more students in case their yield this year goes back to historic numbers, in which case they haven't accepted enough students. Then they go to their waitlists, but again, no knowing how many kids would accept from the waitlist, they make them longer.</p>
<p>It's an imprecise process.</p>