this school has me upset

<p>hrmmmm. after i found out that i was waitlisted, i called wustl and was told that they could not tell me the count. maybe it is different for counselors?</p>

<p>"If all of you are so smart why didn't you see this coming."</p>

<p>the same reason people speed on the highway, we know we could get a speeding ticket, but we dont expect it. we knew we could get waitlisted, but we didnt expect it.</p>

<p>bailey why are you so mean? no ones talking to you, stop being so harsh. you're just a bully.</p>

<p>I just think it is rude you are bashing WashU like this and taking away from those of us that are happy we are going there. I am not mean.</p>

<p>I really wanted to go there and I got waitlisted:(
I'm quite upset.</p>

<p>We are not bashing Washington University's academics and extracurricular opportunities. Obviously, we applied because we liked what it had to offer. Unfortunately, our expectations of a transparent admissions office and what we expect a well-intentioned admissions policy at one of the nation's top colleges was not met. Of course it is trying to admit the best possible students that they believe will be a match to the institution. However, that golden rule (a rule with which all admissions office obviously abide by) has been tainted with these covert admissions policies.</p>

<p>the thing that really upset me was how they strung me along with all of their mailings and then waitlisted me</p>

<p>^ That is the point. This school is awesome; its admissions policies are not.</p>

<p>That's true. But I think it was fair because their app was really easy to fill out, compared to other selective schools. No extra essays to write.</p>

<p>What should I do now? I got waitlisted too.
1410 SAT
790/730/630/610/610 SAT IIs
Rank 2/450
4.68 weighted GPA , 3.89 uw
Wash U is a top choice. I applied to Princeton, Yale, Dartmouth, Cornell, Johns Hopkins, Duke too, all RD. I think if I applied ED i'd have been in, but I would need to compare any finaid, since my family can't afford 4,000-plus tuitions a year. I expect rejects from P and Y now. I'm not confident of getting accepted to any of the other schools.
It's drizzling with rain, very gloomy weather outside, same as my emotions. I almost cried as I dropped my wait list reply card in the mailbox.
Shoot , now I think about it, it card may get wet with the rain. I'm gonna reply online to stay on waitlist too. Hope replying twice is not too redundant. What can I do to boost my chances at Wash U. I really want to go there if everything works out.</p>

<p>Very true about the ease of application. Definitely made it easy, as well as the later admissions deadline. They basically make it so it would seem as if it wanted to be a backup and are mad if you take it that way.</p>

<p>Bailey, if you feel that we're stealing your thunder in any way, ignore us. No one's trying to trash the school's academics, like we've pointed out. We KNOW it's strong academically. Our beef is with what we perceive to be iffy admissions policies. That's it.</p>

<p>I understand journogirl and wish you the best. I am sure you are going to be very happy in a few weeks when you get your admission letters. It is just hard reading all this when I have worked so hard and have the same stats as most of you. Good Luck!</p>

<p>I didn't apply to WashU, but practically everyone else at my school did and it turned out to be much worse than people had predicted. We had a sixteen hundred, fifteen sevety, and a student body prez. waitlisted and these people had many, many awards, honors, ecs, etc. between them. WashU definitely seems to be upping the ante in its selectivity lately and looking for people with demonstrated interest.</p>

<p>That's my perception, too, vig. More power to them, I guess. And like it's been said, you can't really blame them for wanting to ensure that they net their admits.</p>

<p>i really wanted to apply wustl ED, but decided not to for financial reasons. it was a stupid decision, since if they did not offer me enough money, i could just say sorry, and not got there. oh well. i applied RD and got waitlisted, but they arent number one on my list anymore. hehe.</p>

<p>i got accepted (!!) and another one of my friends who had considerably better stats than me got waitlisted- like so many others. the key is definately showing interest. despite being an international student i repeatedly called up admissions officers and sent them tons of emails. my friend on the other hand was so comfortable with his 1550 SATs (i had 1480) that he just assumed he would walk in. He didnt even bother to call them once. i think WUSTL is completely justified in taking in kids who WANT to go there and SHOW it.
dont blame WUSTL for accepting proactive candidates.</p>

<p>Wash U is aiming for 2 things...low % admitted and high % yield. So, they spend a fortune sending great mailings to all the kids who are possible candidates for admission, they have a straight forward application...and lots of kids apply- now they have achieved their first aim.</p>

<p>As for the 2nd, of course they (and other schools with a similar student profile, Emory for example) really want kids who want them...not just kids who applied because Wash U sent them all those nice mailings and easy application-- so they try to "profile" who those students might be...and they take them. BUT they keep a big wait list..because if you choose to stay on the wait list and are accepted off the wait list you probably will attend, which also increases their yield.</p>

<p>I have friends whose kids love Wash U and I am sure it is a fine school. But, admissions is a business and they are trying to do a better job at their business, that is all there is to it.</p>

<p>I also got waitlisted. But, yea, I really had NO intention of going there.. so I guess it worked out in the end.</p>

<p>One thing that I find annoying is the size of this waitlist. If youre waitlisted at most schools, to me that means you have some kind of a chance to get eventually accepted.</p>

<p>I looked in usnews from last year and Wash U doesn't give the # it waitlisted, but it does say (only) 29 got off the list and went there. 29 out of thousands just doesn't seem right. Are they trying to soften the blow (and their public image) by WLing instead of rejecting? I think it's kinder to reject if you have no hope than to string you along if you have less than 1% chance.</p>

<p>Once again this has nothing to do with the academics etc of the school.</p>

<p>I suppose if you show interest after being waitlisted, you will eventually get in.</p>