<p>“there are “fit” factors that the ad coms sometimes see.”</p>
<p>calmom - Could you clarify? What’s an “ad com”? Admission Committee?
Also, hee, my mother’s reaction was something like: “Okay, whatever, waitlisted, I got it. So, what’s this Vassar thing? Am I to understand that your father and I should start figuring out how to get there?” Lol, she reminded me of those cartoon characters with dollar bills in their eyes… seriously, Vassar Rulz.</p>
<p>madalaine - Do you think you’ll attend Barnard even if they cut off on the aid? They do that, don’t they? Offer less aid to waitlisted kids?</p>
<p>However, maybe it’s silly, but I feel like putting myself on a waitlist out of spite. Like, I paid for the application fee; the least you could do is properly reject me. I’ve always had that quirk…</p>
<p>I don’t know what Barnard’s policies are in general, but most colleges are not need blind when it comes to their waitlist. Barnard has a very small endowment and the tough economic times mean that their financial aid budget is going to be taxed. So I wouldn’t hold out a lot of hope for generous financial aid for waitlisted students – it is unlikely to be an improvement over the offers you may have received from other colleges.</p>
<p>I think Barnard will make FA offers to students taken off the wait list and I do think their wait list is need blind. You could call and ask. Admissions will be open and forthcoming about their policies.</p>
<p>This pertains to a different school - Tufts – but it is a good illustration why it is unlikely that any college, including Barnard, will follow a need-blind approach to their waitlist this year, no matter what past practices have been:
</p>
<p>Keep in mind that being need-aware after a certain point does not mean that the college will only accept full-pay students - it just means that they will factor in the amount of need that a student has. The problem is that when they admit a student they have to look at the 4-year impact on their financial aid budget. </p>
<p>But the results on May 1 can also impact things – if students who have been offered financial aid turn down their spots, then that frees up the financial aid budget somewhat. So I think realistically, the waitlist practices will be impacted by the report the admissions department receives from the financial aid department in the first week of May. </p>
<p>(I think its naive to think otherwise, no matter how fond you are of a school and its policies. If the financial aid department reports that it is over-extended beyond its first year budget by $300K, for example, the last thing a college can do is make the situation worse by offering available spots to students who need more. The money just isn’t there.)</p>
<p>On the other hand, the stock market has been going up for the last week or so… and Tufts did lose $20 million investing with Bernie Madoff, a mistake that apparently was not made by the Barnard trustees… so Barnard’s finances might not be in as bad shape as some others. You never know. </p>
<p>So I guess the best advice to waitlisted students who need aid is: go ahead and leave your name on the list and see what happens. But don’t hold your breath. ;)</p>
<p>Perhaps I’m naive. I took Barnard’s letter about the financial crisis seriously. The school said that Barnard had always survived on a shoe string and now would be no different, that they didn’t foresee any change in the operations of the school.</p>
<p>This was much different than the letter we received from much richer Williams that detailed the things that would change, although being need-blind and meeting 100% of a student’s need wasn’t mentioned. Those things will stay intact.</p>
<p>I just want to clarify: my comments about waitlists and financial aid are not specific to Barnard – it really applies to all but the most well-funded colleges.</p>
<p>It also is not new. I was told years ago by an “insider” (someone who had worked in college admissions for many years) that there is no such thing as a 100% need-blind colleges – and the wait list is one place where there is some room for maneuvering. Even during regular admissions, all colleges take “development” students (including Barnard) - so the term “need-blind” only applies to the applicant pool at large. Barnard - like many other colleges - does not claim to be need-blind as to international students either.</p>
<p>I really don’t know the actual policy. What I can say is that during my own daughter’s admission process, I told her in advance that we would have to treat any waitlist as a rejection - our financial limitations meant she had to choose from the offers in hand in April. It turned out, for her, that she was only waitlisted at a couple of schools that she had considered backups, so the issue really didn’t come up. </p>
<p>There’s no harm in any student leaving their name on a list and hoping for the best. </p>
<p>But when I see kids like the many talented young women like Lily on this thread who have received generous offers from other colleges like Vassar and still holding out hope for Barnard – I just think that’s silly. Yes - we moms have daughters who have done well at Barnard. But if you’ve got a competing offer in hand from Vassar or Bryn Mawr or Smith or Wellesley or Tufts – then by all means you should move on. These are all peer schools – they ALL offer excellent academics and an enriching environment. Any one of our daughters could probably pick one at random and have a great experience – <i>different</i> – but still wonderful. </p>
<p>The problem with college admissions is simply that all of these colleges are inundated with applications from more smart, talented, wonderful students than they have room for – so their admissions committees do the best they can of weeding through the applications and making a selection. </p>
<p>So of course it is disappointing at the end of the process when you get a waitlist offer rather than acceptance – but so many of you seem to have some wonderful alternatives. I think you should enjoy the process making your choice now, going to admitted student events, meeting others in your prospective colleges, wearing t-shirts with your new college emblems, making plans and getting excited about your college life. </p>
<p>The strength of Barnard is in the young women who attend – not some special magic the school has. Yes it is a great school – but each of you students has the same potential whether you attend Barnard or somewhere else, and if you truly are a “Barnard woman” then have the power within you do accomplish great things at any college where you end up.</p>
<p>I second everything Calmom has just said. I am sure Vassar, Bryn Mawr, Tufts, Smith, Wellesley, Mount Holyoke will all provide a comparable education and their own pleasures and benefits.</p>
<p>My S refused all wait list offers. Ironically he got off one anyway, but had already put down his money and committed his heart.</p>
<p>I agree with calmom as well. Although it’s disappointning to be waitlisted from your first choices, especially since it’s not a flat-out rejection (which is a different kind of heartbreak) but an indication that you have a chance, but probably not. However, a “first-choice” is not a marriage, especially when it comes to a decision between schools that are all excellent and especially when those other school offer good financial aid that makes it affordable to attend.</p>
<p>So, it’ll probably be Vassar or Smith for me. My family and I are quickly warming up to it. Now it’s a struggle between me and my mother over an all-girl school or a mixed one…</p>
<p>simply lily: With that choice you really can’t go wrong, but I’d sit in a class of each to make an informed choice unless one is already a strong frontrunner.</p>
<p>I wish I could visit both (and Notre Dame), but I live in Israel. Unfortunately, I have to make the choice mostly based on information I get online…</p>
<p>lily, my daughter is a first year at Smith. If you or your mother have questions about Smith, PM me and I will happily reply. Also, there is a wonderful, active Smith thread on CC where both current students and parents regularly post. </p>
<p>When you begin to delve more deeply into your research, you will see that Smith and Notre Dame typically attract very different types of students. (Sorry, I don’t know much about Vassar except that it, too, is an excellent academic institution.) Smith is a women’s college, as you know, quite progressive and predominantly liberal. Notre Dame is Catholic and more conservative. My daughter has thrived at Smith but I can see it would not be optimal for everyone, just as Notre Dame would have been a poor fit for my daughter yet two of her very good friends love it there.</p>
<p>BTW, I look upon waiting lists as acceptances if colleges had unlimited space. In that light, you obtained even more excellent results :)</p>
<p>In any case, you are left with wonderful choices. Congratulations and the very best of luck.</p>