<p>When I read through recent threads of how many accepts, rejects, and waitlists ya'll received, it strikes me that most of you have applied to so many schools!. I think this is probably the reason for the frequent waitlist problem. It's not uncommon to see some of you applying to 7 to 10 (or more) schools. Then you complain about being waitlisted. Of course there are going to be more waitlisted when everyone is applying to so many schools. Then some of you get accepted to several, you get one waitlist, then you complain. How many "accepts" do you need to be content? :):) I don't have any statistical proof of this but I think students apply to a lot more schools than they did even a few years ago. You are all competing with each other over and over and over at the same schools.</p>
<p>What we're doing is reactionary. The same thing happened last year, on a smaller scale.</p>
<p>When people saw the Class of 2011 hit roadblocks, we were worried. When we saw that, we applied to more schools. </p>
<p>The class of 2012 is also bigger. The baby boomers had their kids...and the largest numbers of these kids are all competing this college application year and next college application year.</p>
<p>Because we're applying to more schools because we're not sure what the result will be, the more college admissions officers are unsure about thier yield. Quite a few colleges over enrolled last year, so they're making extensive use of the wait list so they can be sure to enroll properly.</p>
<p>Really, the 7+ college apps is an effect of kids getting wacky admits/denies last year. Combined with the larger # of applicants this year and that they have applied to more colleges, this year is a tough one.</p>
<p>I've read a few newspaper stories. With more applicants applying to more places, either this year or next year will peak college admissions difficulty for a while, or so I've read. The class sizes should get smaller from there. Less kids applying = less difficulty = less need to apply to more schools.</p>
<p>Also, College Confidential is not a fair representation of the majority of high school students...</p>
<p>Your message is right on target.
I don't understand why students are applying to more than 2 safeties, and why they are applying to as many as 10 reach schools. </p>
<p>I've read research indicating that students applying to more than 8 schools actually get fewer acceptances than do students applying to 8 or fewer schools. Makes sense to me. With academics, ECs, and basics like sleeping, no one can give finely honed applications to 10-20 colleges. By "finely honed" I mean applications that reflect that the applicant is knowledgeable about the college.</p>
<p>In addition, virtually no one has the stamina or time to show interest to 10-20 colleges including visiting them and being alert and interested during interviews.</p>
<p>I've interviewed students for Harvard, my alma mater. Some students seemed bored and over prepped -- like they had had to answer the same questions again and again. That's very likely if, for instance, a student has applied to all of the Ivies in a desperate hunt for prestige. Such interview behavior isn't going to result in a glowing recommendation.</p>
<p>I even had one student who -- a half hour into the interview - stood up and ended the interview. Apparently, she'd had a lot of interviews that ended at a half hour, so she assumed that"s what I was going to do. She also had answered all questions in as brief a way as possible -- as if she was tired of being questioned.</p>
<p>She was stellar on paper, but didn't get in.</p>
<p>Too many students and parents are using the applications to trophy hunt. You see this all of the time when students post on CC complaining about not getting into 6 good-excellent schools when if you check there other threads, you'll see that they got into an equal number of schools that also were good-excellent. They only can attend one college!</p>
<p>From a Boston Globe story about waitlists this year:
"Colleges have typically been able to estimate the percentage of accepted students who will enroll in the fall with a fair degree of confidence. This year, several factors have conspired to thwart their projections: a shaky economy, record numbers of applications, and sweeping financial aid expansions that make it harder to predict what colleges middle-class families will choose.</p>
<p>Faced with so many variables, colleges are wait-listing more students to fine-tune the numbers and makeup of their incoming freshman class. Lengthening the waiting list creates a crucial buffer of students in a year of deep uncertainty about how many will eventually show up, college officials say.</p>
<p>"Students are applying to more colleges because they are worried about not getting in, and colleges are wait-listing more because they are worried about how many will come," said Brad MacGowan, a longtime college counselor at Newton North High School. "They feed off each other...."</p>
<p>Further muddying the admissions cycle is the continuing rise in the number of applications that students submit to highly selective schools, to boost their chances for an acceptance. This risk-hedging strategy makes it harder for colleges to predict where students will wind up, which in turn prompts the schools to protect their interests by wait-listing more students."
Student</a> agony grows along with top colleges' wait lists - The Boston Globe</p>
<p>
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I don't understand why students are applying to more than 2 safeties, and why they are applying to as many as 10 reach schools.
[/quote]
Northstarmom- You've said this before and I really wish I had taken your advice. I got into all 10 schools I applied to, but had I cut out 3 of my safeties (and 1 'match') I wouldn't have had the stress I had over getting my Johns Hopkins application done since I was forced to leave it to the last minute.</p>
<p>I think improved financial aid at many elite colleges might be one of the reasons for more waitlisting this year. Students who may have chosen their state U a few years ago, might choose "elite U" this year if the costs will be the same. Colleges don't want to be overenrolled, so they're erring on the side of caution.</p>