<p>I got my letter from Carleton today. It told me I was waitlisted. I am in complete shock. Carleton had always been somewhat of a safety for me; my stats:</p>
<p>34 ACT
3.995 GPA unweighted
rank 3/140</p>
<p>State champion one-act play, 2nd place state knowledge bowl, other good ecs
Good essay that Harvard people said was memorable.</p>
<p>Is it possible that Carleton waitlisted me because they anticipate my acceptance by another school and don't want their yield to go down. I only say this because I mentioned on my app that I applied to Harvard, Yale, Swarthmore and Chicago too. I hope so, because the letter is REALLY discouraging.</p>
<p>Something tells me I'm going to advise my junior friends to avoid listing the other schools to which they are applying since it is optional .. oh man, if that's why they rejected you, that's quite obnoxious. Did you not plan on attending if you got in? Were you using Carleton as a safety? </p>
<p>It would suck if this school started suffering from Tufts Syndrome</p>
<p>They didn't at the common app, at least. Also, I would have no problem leaving that section blank on an application that asked for it (and I have in the past) -- it's just an inappropriate question IMHO.</p>
<p>I think they are thinking yield. If not, either you have a really bad rec that you don't know about or Carleton is nuts not to take you.</p>
<p>If it is just yield games, then you should get in off the waiting list, even if they don't take too many off it, if you tell them you would definitely come (and don't get into any of the others). I don't know why applying to Chicago would turn them off. Except for Illinois and Minnesota HS students, it must be just about as hard to get into either school.</p>
<p>Did you visit and show interest? It appears that this matters a lot more than it did 20 years ago.</p>
<p>I got waitlisted too, and even if my numbers aren't as great as yours, I know how it feels.</p>
<p>To me, being waitlisted is different than being rejected. Yeah, there's a tiny chance that I'd be admitted off the waitlist. But the fact that I got on the waitlist at all means that there was at least one admissions officer interested in my application. I guess I think that's pretty cool.</p>
<p>Good luck with the rest of your applications!</p>
<p>I got waitlisted too! Good luck to everyone who got on the waitlist bandwagon, and congrats to everyone who got in!</p>
<p>The one thing that does kind of bother me though, is that if I got waitlisted at Carleton..... it pretty much means that I am rejected at Williams, Middlebury, Wellesley, and Johns Hopkins -- my four top choices next to Carleton.
So that kind of sucks...</p>
<p>Um, Carleton is not necessarily inferior to those schools. Maybe it's that kind of attitude that got ya waitlisted? Maybe you shouldn't listen to me, though. I'll probably get rejected.</p>
<p>The_elop, it is a possibility that Carleton waitlisted you because of the schools that you mentioned on its application. I read in US News and World Report that if a college asks you on an application which other schools you are applying to, it may be trying to see how likely you will attend the school if accepted.</p>
<p>The_elop, it is a possibility that Carleton waitlisted you because of the schools that you mentioned on its application. I read in US News and World Report that if a college asks you on an application which other schools you are applying to, it may be trying to see how likely you will attend the school if accepted. US News recommends that applicants avoid the question all together.</p>
<p>When I got in last year, I was open with Carleton about the other schools I applied to (Harvey Mudd, Macalester, MIT, Stanford, UWash, and Whitman), I had a 1560/800/800/800, 4.0 GPA, hardest courseload, state awards, yadda yadda. Carleton might be engaging in more yield games than they did before, granted, but I think someone who comes off as interesting and indicates serious interest in the school (I imagine they do get throwaway apps because of the free online thing and use of the common app, so they do have to sift through a lot of BS) is going to do fine whether they have great stats or are applying to rival schools or otherwise. People who were waitlisted--I wouldn't overanalyze the situation too much. Yes, Carleton does look beyond stats, and yes, Carleton is interested in people who seem like a good match personality-wise for the school. If they weren't sure about you, you probably got waitlisted or rejected. If you think they were wrong in questioning your interest or good fit for the school, then stay on the waitlist, and prove them wrong.</p>
<p>I have actually decided to stop living and allow USN+WR to make all of my decisions for me. Its similar to a PVS, which means that self-righteous conservatives will try to keep my feeding tube in. But thats just the USN talking. </p>
<p>In all seriousness, these are the same people who keep John Leo on payroll, so how much can they really know? Dont lsiten to USNWR.</p>
<p>Actually that was another joke. In all seriousness (seriously this time) why are people shocked when they get rejected from a school like Carleton? ONLY A THIRD OF THE APPLICANTS GET IN! THAT MEANS THE ODDS ARE AGAINST YOU! IT WOULD ACTUALLY BE SURPRISING IF YOU DID GET ACCEPTED! And I love how people are so shattered when they get denied that they have to legitimize their existence by shoving ther stupid stats in everyone's faces. Look! I made a 150000000 on my SAT! I swear I'm a real boy, Gepetto!</p>