<p>This was buried in the Crimson's Thurs. article about how no transfer students will be taken this year and next year. The reason for fewer freshmen, no transfers, is overcrowding.</p>
<p>"Dean of Admissions William R. Fitzsimmons 67 said in an interview last month that the College would be accepting fewer students this yearand wait-listing morein order to ensure that the Class of 2012 does not exceed the capacity of the freshman dorms." The</a> Harvard Crimson :: News :: As Freshmen Move In, Transfers Crowded Out</p>
<p>
[quote]
I wonder how many kids actually matriculate when they are waitlisted and then offered a position?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Most of them, at Harvard. I know one member of high school class of 2006 who preferred Notre Dame to Harvard after being admitted to both, and a few other students in the same class who preferred MIT to Harvard. But I think this year Harvard's yield of admitted students will be higher than ever, and if Harvard resorts to its wait list (which is by no means for sure), then most of the waitlisted students will be happy to matriculate.</p>
<p>Just on an extended note, why would a student wait so long for a chance to be admitted? Not to sound cynical but what is the point in dragging out and hoping that a spot will be open while declining a good alternative to Harvard that will be just as beneficial? Rather be the walking through the door and into a college than getting in on all fours. :)</p>
<p>It obviously tells you that you're near the bottom of their acceptance list, but no, it's not insulting. If I were waitlisted and got in I'd consider it a blessing and a pragmatic move on Harvard's part, given uncertain yields and not wanting to overcrowd.</p>
<p>Well, by the time you get off the waitlist won't you already have accepted another college's offer? Honestly, I don't think I would be willing to renege on my first college decision even I was pulled off Harvard's waitlist.</p>
<p>It's OK to accept another college's offer due to coming off a waitlist. This isn't considered violating an agreement like backing out of ED is. When you apply ED, you sign an agreement promising to come, and promising to withdraw your other applications. That's not what you do when you accept an RD offer.</p>
<p>With virtually all colleges, when you accept an RD offer, you also pay a deposit, which is forfited if you back out. Harvard -- probably due to its high yield and being most applicants' first choice -- doesn't require a deposit upon accepting admission.</p>
<p>Colleges know some students will back out after accepting admission -- particularly due to students' getting off waitlists, and colleges plan accordingly. There's even a term for this: "summer melt."</p>
<p>What you can't do, however, is simultaneously accept 2 RD offers. If the colleges learn you've done that, both colleges will revoke your admission.</p>
<p>How long does it take for those on the waitlists to be notified: are you notified in April or May; People would be making deposits for another school.</p>
<p>Let's say, hypothetically, that Jane Doe is offered a spot on Harvard's waitlist, but assuming she doesn't get in (likely, no?) she wants to go to her plan B school, University of XYZ. Does she tell XYZ that she's on Harvard's waitlist? They'll want a deposit by May 1, and Harvard could keep her waiting on the final word until June. </p>
<p>Could someone explain to me exactly how this works out?</p>
<p>The deposit is usually a few hundred dollars. What you do is, you put your deposit in at school XYZ (there's no obligation to tell them that you're on Harvard's wait-list, and it would be sort of awkward) and then if you get in off Harvard's wait-list (which could be as late as August) you go to Harvard instead and write-off the deposit you made at school XYZ. With a few exceptions, tuition is not due at most schools until enrollment.</p>
<p>She would accept XYZ's offer and tell them she is matriculating., while telling Harvard that she is pursuing their wait list. She will pay XYZ's deposit by May 1st, and I don't believe she has to say anything about pursuing another college's waitlist. </p>
<p>If she gets off Harvard's wait list, she simply tells XYZ she is not going -- but she loses her deposit. If she does not get off Harvard's waitlist, she matriculates at XYZ and loses no money.</p>
<p>Some colleges are still taking people off the wait list over the summer. From what I've seen, Harvard typically lets wait list people know whether they're in or not by the end of June.</p>
<p>There's no need to tell a college that you're accepting admission to that you're also on the wait list elsewhere. You may never get off the wait list. If you do, you simply inform the original college that you're not going there, and you lose your deposit. They may then turn to their wait list to fill your seat (though recently many colleges haven't had to do this because more students accept their admission offers than they had expected. Many colleges, not just Harvard, have been dealing with an overenrollment problem).</p>
<p>Because of the domino effect of waitlist admissions, a student here or there can be taken off a waitlist very late. There was someone in my entryway my first year of college who had been at another college's orientation when he got offered a place at mine. But 90% of the action probably happens during May.</p>
<p>I don't know about Harvard, but at most colleges most of the people offered waitlist spots don't accept them, for pretty much the reason AY8888 says above: get on with my life, go where I'm wanted, never wanted to go there anyway, etc. Kids probably have more of a tendency to stay on the list at Harvard, especially this year when there's a sense that initial admissions is likely to have been super-conservative.</p>
<p>Does everyone agree that the "musical chairs" affect is really going to be insane this year? Is there any top 20 school not pledging to use the waitlist for so-called "enrollment management"?.....</p>
<p>
[quote]
Just on an extended note, why would a student wait so long for a chance to be admitted?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I know of one case from last year's applicant pool of a young person who got into a couple of really great colleges, but simply wanted more to be at the college that waitlisted him. Last year, at that college, he was lucky enough to eventually get off the waitlist. Other replies have explained how waitlists work with the process of replying to some college by May 1st to say you want to enroll. </p>
<p>Good luck to everyone applying this year. This is a tough year, with lots of unknowns.</p>
<p>I think that a lot of people will find themselves on waitlists. But I believe (or maybe hope?) that most top schools will not resort to "musical chairs" game. They all can have 10 more or 10 less students in the class. If they did not hit the right number with acceptances, the second round in mid-May is likely to fix the error, and the third round should do it. Just doing the math: the higher the yield, the less attempts one will need to get X% close to the desired number without taking Y risk of going over.</p>
<p>Great news. Here's hoping for a waitlist. (I'm not being sarcastic, as I said before, I think I have a great shot at being accepted from any waitlist I'm put on)</p>
<p>"Even without the decrease in admissions, the Class of 2012 was set to be the most selective in Harvard history. Applications for regular admission to the College ballooned over 18 percent this year, meaning that even if the normal number of applicants were accepted, the admission rate could have dipped as low as 7.7 percent, down from 9.1 percent last year."</p>
<p>the "top 20" should all get together and have a massive bidding on a bunch of students; allowing only 5 schools to select each student. Harvard would be given the most initial "points" with which to bid, followed, in order of selectiveness, by the other schools in the group. the student could then determine which of the 5 to attend...yeah.</p>
<p>that was a very vague thought, formed poorly under the influence of extreme sleep deprivation. i'm sure there are dozens of holes in it. feel free to point them out.</p>