<p>"If the HS would give some guidance whether a school is a match or a reach the number of applications will go down"</p>
<p>Not so sure about that.....</p>
<p>1) In our particular NJ public, admissions this year have been infinitely more successful than last year at all the top schools....Go figure.....GPA's higher, SAT's higher, but who would have predicted that.....( and the hs rank went down in the New Jersey Mag ranking.....)</p>
<p>2) In terms of match/reach business.....Every school my daughter is a match for based on stats has seen double-digit increase in apps.....they have all become reaches...GC could not have possibly predicted that for those particular schools.....</p>
<p>3) this whole "enrollment management" business is over the heads of even the best college counselors</p>
<p>Good advice re. the wait list. Move on -- who wants to switch gears in May or June, especially when there are so many fine colleges, public and private?</p>
<p>This very sane waitlist article, entered yesterday by Dory Streett, the official Colby admissions blogger, should be widely read IMO.
Actually, I will make a big plug for this blog, which always manages to put things into perspective. For those not familiar with it:</p>
<p>This very sane waitlist article, entered yesterday by Dory Streett, the official Colby admissions blogger, should be widely read IMO.
Actually, I will make a big plug for this blog, which always manages to put things into perspective. For those not familiar with it:</p>
<p>see the problem is that safety schools might deny/waitlist students because of Tufts Syndrome, but match and reach schools might deny/waitlist the same applicant because either they aren't qualified enough because of the large number of applicants, or there isn't enough space.
in this case, the applicant is screwed.</p>
<p>this would also happen if the applicant is using a lower-tier school as a financial safety. If the college rejects/waitlists because of Tufts Syndrome, the reach schools deny/waitlist because of usual competitive admissions, and the match schools don't provide good financial aid, the applicant is also screwed.</p>
<p>thus, applicants feel they must apply to a lot of schools to make sure that they aren't stuck with one of these situations and will have a place to go next fall</p>
<p>"Stanford University announced Thursday that less than one in 10 applicants have been offered admission beginning in the fall for the class of 2012."</p>
<p>"thus, applicants feel they must apply to a lot of schools to make sure that they aren't stuck with one of these situations and will have a place to go next fall"</p>
<p>alamode - i'm a junior and that's EXACTLY the way I feel right now. I'm planning to apply EA however to my safeties, thus showing interest and likely avoiding that evil waitlist.</p>
<p>I have gotten waitlisted at all of the colleges I applied to (except for my safeties) and have one left that I am waiting to come in the mail (which will probably be a waitlist). This is ridiculous, and i'm really upset. blah.</p>
<p>Infinite, that's a good idea, I may consider doing that for a safety school I really like, if I can find one. I'm currently liking UMich
anyways, I wasn't really planning on applying early to my dream college because it is Brown, and unfortunately they only have ED, which I wouldn't do for financial reasons</p>
<p>Have only been waitlisted to Wash U in st. louis got into my safeties and am still waiting to hear from Carnegie Mellon, Notre Dame, NYU, and Vanderbilt. I am expecting to get waitlisted or denied to practically all of those.</p>
<p>I think i'm winning right now... waitlisted from five schools, one of them being a safety (but i didn't show interest)</p>
<p>i did get into two very good schools, though. my plan is to pay my deposit to one of the schools i have already been accepted to (either macalester or BC- not bad choices at all) and get excited about going there. i'll go on the wait-list for four of my choices (grinnell, wesleyan, carleton, and CMC). maybe i'll get off the wait list, maybe not, but i'm not getting my hopes up. </p>
<p>i would recommend to anyone who was wait-listed to get excited about the school you pay your deposit to... you'll be fine wherever you end up!!</p>
<p>i'm still waiting to hear from skidmore and my number 1 pomona (deferred ED), but i'm not counting on those either. i'm lucky enough to have the opportunity to go to a great college, and that's all that matters</p>
<p>My brother's guidance counselor is baffled too. So many kids waitlisted at BC and Richmond. And my bro is upset because he didn't get into BC after being deferred ED. So it's between Elon, Clemson, Tulane and Babson. If anyone has an opinion on these schools let me know.</p>
<p>elevenqueen10, that's a wide variety of schools your brother has to choose from. Babson is an excellent business school with a strong reputation among employers, especially in the Northeast. Clemson is a school with a rapidly rising academic reputation; also happens to be a really fun place to spend four years (especially if you like sports), my cousin's son is there. Employers in SC love Clemson. I also hear great things about Elon; my other cousin's daughter went there and loved it. Don't know anything about Tulane, sorry.</p>
<p>I got waitlisted at Lafayette as well...that's two now.</p>
<p>Folks, for anyone "blaming" people like us for causing this mess, the same thing happened last year on a somewhat smaller scale. I saw good friends get waitlisted from reaches and good matches, ending up at their super safeties (and now they are trying to transfer). When you see and hear of situations like that, applying to 10+ schools doesn't seem crazy.</p>
<p>If you're waitlisted at a college, then they offer you admission, do you automatically have to accept that schools offer? Even if you've already decided on another school?</p>
<p>From the blog that was recommended by Momofdd in Post # 39 - an excellent blog on wait lists by Colby Admissions - which includes this quote from a Colby Parent.:</p>
<p>".... the whole (admissions) process is very difficult and the verdict of college admission committees is hardly prescient--as they would admit.... I wish all of you who are waiting for decisions well and urge you to know that a student's true worth and potential cannot be evaluated with any level of certainty by any admissions committee. There are many great colleges (and no perfect ones) and when all the admissions committees have had their say, there will be a place where every young person can thrive."</p>
<p>Coopjust & Peanutbutter3, if it makes you feel any better, my son is a frosh at Lafayette and one of his good friends there came in via the waitlist. </p>
<p>I just wish there was a way to stop what seems to be snowballing insanity - kids and parents who reasonably believe that they need to apply to a dozen schools to ensure acceptance SOMEWHERE, and colleges that need massive waitlists because they can't predict their yields in such a fast-changing environment.</p>
<p>Actually, in the case of public schools, I believe it is illegal for them to stop giving you transcripts after x number of schools. Correct me if I'm wrong.</p>
<p>You can give so many transcripts for free and than a per transcript nominal fee (ex $3 per) but at least in the US I believe it is illegal.</p>
<p>And with public and private institutions in the USA I sincerely doubt legislation will come around to limit it in the near future.</p>