<p>@Nirvana, i’m sure a lot of people on the waitlist who had this as a backup school (such as myself…) will not accept a spot on the waitlist, or if they were accepted, will decline. I’d keep your head up, especially if this is your first choice, take a spot on the list, and hope for the best!</p>
<p>Ugh, I have 1510/2270 SAT, 800 Math II, 800 Bio, 800 Chem and I can’t imagine having better ECs… plus I literally messaged my counselor (Z) every other week. But then again, I’m Asian. Kinda disappointed as I have a twin who has almost identical stats that got in. Anyone know what’s the chance you’re accepted if you are waitlisted?</p>
<p>When it comes to selective schools, each one is rather unique with their own (mostly secret) reasons for choosing between excellent candidates. No, don’t try to extrapolate from one school to the next. My daughter, excellent student with enviable record, applied to four “very selective” schools, got into two, was waitlisted at one, and denied at another. Each school is about the same in terms of prestige and selectivity. Go figure.</p>
<p>@Nirvana sorry that you were wlisted but glad you weren’t rejected. do you know the wl stats for wusl? i would recommend you call your local admissions rep and tell them how much you would love to attend. i would also suggest an additional supplemental lor sent in. anything to keep the pot boiling is a good idea in my opinion. i would bet many people tell a school it is first choice, but not that many contact them after decision time. you could also email the admissions office and ask if there is anything you might do to improve your chances of de-waitlisting</p>
<p>It’s just kinda insulting if you were rejected. Half the rejects on the thread had higher stats than I did, and half lower. I just don’t know what to make of that…</p>
<p>i posted this in a different thread, but seems applicable:</p>
<p>do people really think that wash u can magically waitlist every “overqualified” student and still maintain such high average SAT scores and such high quality of students? No one seems to be considering that. The waitlisted whiners use the stats of about 20 other complaining students who were waitlisted instead of looking at the University’s actual numbers, which represent the ENTIRE population, not just the CC population. 2011: CR range is 690-760. Math is 710-780. ACT English and Math are both 32-35. These numbers are nearly equivalent to those of Duke, Stanford, and Penn, to name a few. It seems like it would be nearly impossible for Wash U to have such good numbers if it did not accept most of its best applicants.</p>
<p>Also, can anyone really say how qualified another applicant is based on a single post on the website? The application process is holistic. An applicant is more than a number. </p>
<p>Wash U is an elite school, and like all elite schools, there are more qualified candidates than there are spots in the freshmen class. It’s as simple as that. As keithbelton said, the way each elite school choose one qualified candidate over another is a mystery, but inevitably, someone with the right stats will not get in.</p>
<p>So to all you whiners, stop being so bitter. If you think you are so “overqualified” you should have no trouble getting into “better” schools and being successful. Why would you even want to go to a school that only accepts your inferiors!?!</p>
<p>P.S. I was accepted to Wash U, and based on your criteria for “overqualified” I should have been a shoe-in for the waitlist</p>
<p>Calm down, disco! They obviously accept plenty of great kids. They CLEARLY don’t waitlist every “overqualified” student</p>
<p>That said, there ARE a great deal of students with stats and achievements that would make them very competitive applicants, arguably better than many admitted students, who are waitlisted. This is the “tufts syndrome”. </p>
<p>Personally, I wasn’t planning on going to WashU anyway, so my waitlisted status doesn’t really phase me. Other’s have posted that it is a “blow to their ego”, and I can especially see where they are coming from if this is their first decision, but to those students, other great schools will almost positively accept them. I had already been accepted to MIT and Caltech EA, so this isn’t really a blow to my ego, but to each his/her own. These feelings could make them irritable, which seems to be what you are overreacting against. Just chill out and enjoy being accepted, let them cope.</p>
<p>pro22x, you’re right I am overreacting a little, it’s just very frustrating to see waitlisted people make excuses about not being accepted and belittle those of us who were accepted. I’m simply pointing out that it seems unlikely that Wash U can have “Tufts Syndrome” and maintain such high average statistics. Congrats on your acceptances, and good luck to everyone else</p>
<p>Three points…</p>
<p>1) I don’t buy the “Tufts Syndrome” thing. Too easy.</p>
<p>2) I also don’t buy the “demonstrated interest” bit. Too many got in with no interest and too many got waitlisted or rejected who showed a lot of interest (and had strong stats).</p>
<p>3) Not criticizing anyone individually but having kids still in the pool with acceptances and/or likelys from schools they are going to choose over a Wash U regardless is not helpful. I would call this some kind of reverse Tufts Syndrome or need to brag about the 10 elite schools you bagged instead of just 4 or 5. Saying “oh, don’t worry I won’t stay on the waitlist so that will give you a better chance” is way too late.</p>
<p>Bonus question: I do wonder if there is any correlation between applying for the scholarships and acceptance rates.</p>
<p>Last point and then moving on to greener pastures…</p>
<p>Wash U encourages what we are seeing here (like some other schools very image and rankings conscious) with massive marketing and an easy app process that makes it easy for so many top students to just toss another one into the mixer to see what happens. And hence my question about the scholarship essays. Maybe that is the hidden app, although I think I saw examples of kids not getting in who has applied for scholarships, and visited/interviewed, etc.</p>
<p>i think that some of what is stated here is the human element. didn’t george on seinfeld start a fake charity called the human fund ??..</p>
<p>i digress. different members of the ad coms may have a certain amount of lattitude and power. they may see things differently. one reviewer may dismiss interest, another may not (personally if i were king i would rate interest in school) I like the schools that boost kids’ chances at the ED point. I think it creates an optimism and a bond from the start between the student and the school. a personal consideration. </p>
<p>and…exit…</p>
<p>I don’t think it is “Tufts” syndrome, I think it’s “WashU isn’t the safety you thought it is-sorry” syndrome. A lot of applicants applied, and like many selective schools, there are far more perfectly qualified applicants than there are students. This is why people apply to a broad range of schools, not just one or two-- because the college admissions process is finicky. Yes, students with fantastic stats did not get in-- but students with fantastic stats also /did/ get in.</p>
<p>Just a question? How is it possible to already be accepted to two of three Ivies?</p>
<p>That was meant for ccuser95.</p>
<p>I’m just echoing what many others are saying here.</p>
<p>It’s simple and it’s complicated at the same time.</p>
<p>“Simple” truths
1.) They have many more qualified applicants than spots.
2.) It’s not a safety for anyone. Wash U is highly selective
3.) You can have a wonderful college experience at any number of fine schools.</p>
<p>“Complicated” truths
1.) There was nothing else you could have done! You have worked hard and done all the right things, but you still cannot control the outcome. You can control giving yourself a chance at admission, but you cannot guarantee anything. You passed the bar to get into the lottery, maybe even exceeded it, but it’s still is a lottery.
2.) Other people with lower stats also passed the bar, but they won the lottery. Congratulate them and move on.
3.) When people say it’s not fair, I think it is more accurate to say “It’s not deterministic.” Yes, you got waitlisted but JaneDoe with “lower” stats got accepted only because you got Reader 1 at the end of the day and Jane got Reader 2 at the beginning of the day. You were both above the bar.</p>
<p>People don’t like to accept random chance, but at these numbers that is what you have.</p>
<p>bigman - likely letters.
If that is Tufts Syndrome, Harvard is the biggest offender.</p>
<p>@Unicameral I assume he forgot to state that “but you are rejected, and less qualified applicants got in”</p>
<p>Obviously, “less qualified” is a very very relative, subjective idea, but still can be used in this case. While it is a matter of opinion, there are definitely cases where you can confidently say one applicant is more qualified than another. And unfortunately, there are cases with WashU where the lesser qualified applicant gets admitted over the more qualified one. That’s the idea of tufts syndrome, and that’s what has been observed with WashU</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>At any school, you are going to find that many people think that some lesser qualified applicants get admitted over more qualified ones. That happens all the time at the Ivies – look at all the CC threads complaining about who is and is not admitted to Harvard.</p>
<p>I believe that Tufts Syndrome only refers to the situation where more qualified applicants are intentionally rejected to keep up the yield rate. </p>
<p>Tufts Syndrome is an urban legend that just is a way for students to tell themselves that “The reason Sally was accepted and I was not is that I am smarter than Sally!”</p>
<p>just a semantic issue to mention, but i think that ‘overqualified’ is inherently a contradictory term. a person may be technically qualified for a position but have some other quality that makes them less/un qualified. or the institution may decide to decline a qualified person for their own reasons, which would not make the individual ‘overqualified’.</p>
<p>I think the point of Tufts Syndrome is not being “overqualified”. I think it is that you are highly qualified and you get rejected because adcoms think that it is very unlikely that you would go there.</p>
<p>Not sure how they would make that determination, except perhaps see that you did summer medical research at Yale, that your supplemental recommendation was from a Yale professor, that you are from CT, that you want to go into medical school (IDK if WashU has a strong medical school), that you are a Yale legacy, etc. etc. Of course that is an extreme example.</p>