<p>I felt kind of bad after seeing everyone insult WashU. Thank you OP. I am an international applicant (no need for Finaid) and showed no interest at all but still got accepted.</p>
<p>"If WashU is trying to improve their ranking, they'd waitlist this person because they realize that he/she is unlikely to accept their offer (figuring they'd get into an Ivy, which they did - Yale early), thus decreasing their yield. So, some of the complaints on this forum are entirely valid. "</p>
<p>You should know that yield doesnt count towards USNEWS ranking calculation. So people have to stop using that kinda excuse to make themselves feel better abt the Waitlisting. Many ppl think that they got waitlisted because they're over qualified...well, I think that's just some kinda defense mechanism that they use to overcome the disappointment. If those people are mature enough, they should be able to realise that admission to top 20 school is always a crapshot.</p>
<p>Well said, Mr. Bear!</p>
<p>Who doesn't try to improve their yield? WashU just does it in a... ahem, unique way,</p>
<p>When people can not determine a personal reason for an action, they often attempt to rationalize by finding an outside source that they have no control over. It may be considered to be a valid temporary psychological defense mechanism. That is all fine and good and other people should be tolerant of that and then allow them to move on. The best solution is to take a positive approach. This means; either move on to other desirable alternatives or take a proactive approach to the WL. Either is a valid personal choice.</p>
<p>In regard to initial selection; understand that WashU DID choose the people it felt were the best fir for WashU and also the applicant. This does not mean that people on the WL were not qualified - possibly not just as good of a fit. Possibly there was something in the original application that did not present itself in the best light. This is an opportunity to change that. People will be taken off the WL this year. In fact I would look for initial WL activity as soon as the end of April. But then again, this is such a strange year that, who knows. Good luck to everyone and remember that only you, not others, know what the best course of action is for you.</p>
<p>The reason there's been all this anti-WUSTL hubbub on this forum in recent days is because people thought that they were a shoe-in at WUSTL. Their egos were rather bruised by being waitlisted when WUSTL was just a safety for them. Just stop worrying about what they're saying.</p>
<p>Thanks, Helicio! Great post. Congrats on your Wash U admission! Good luck with the rest of the process. I hope you end up at Wash U! It's always refreshing to hear someone make reasonable statements on this site...you articulated the craziness on these boards very well! Wash U admissions made a good choice in admitting you.</p>
<p>Thanks Scwymer! WasU looks better all the time now! Do you go there?</p>
<p>Yeah, I go there. Good luck, and if you ever have any questions, let me know!</p>
<p>Yeah, I'm not convinced that interest helps that much. It probably helps a little, but I visited campus two times and attended an information session at my high school, and I was waitlisted.</p>
<p>I was accepted with only putting my name on the mailing list. But I live in FL, so you can't expect me to visit unless it's obviously my #1, and even then...</p>
<p>i was waitlisted, but i'm not bitter! lol I was actually expecting a rejection, so I'm kind of shocked.</p>
<p>I'm going to have to agree with a lot of you. Most of those who were waitlisted fail to see that there are thousands of people in this application process that are better fits than them. Sure, some of them might have slightly better applications than others that were accepted, but you never know what may appeal to an admissions officer and what may not. There's really no point in getting all wound up over something you can't change.</p>
<p>eaad- It's too bad you weren't accepted. Your calm and unbitter attitude IMO is a better barometer of what kind of a person you are than, say, test scores.</p>
<p>I agree Krock!</p>
<p>FYI, there was a good article in the March 8 New York Times (front page) about how bizarre this year is for admissions officers, because of the economy and other factors, but mostly the economy. It is making them throw out all their previous statistical models and make decisions in different ways than before. It specifically mentioned reading essays more carefully, trying to discern how likely that person would be to accept their offer, etc. Look it up, might be insightful for all.</p>
<p>BTW, my D was accepted at WUSTL and loved it there when she visited, but with no merit aid and no chance we will qualify for need based, it makes no sense. She got the DHS (full tuition for four years) at Tulane and while Wash U is obviously the better school, it isn't $150,000 better, at least not to her since she will go on for a PhD most likely anyway.</p>
<p>I agree with most of your points; however, the accepted students have to understand that many students (not just a rare amount) deserved an acceptance at Wash U. Unfortunately, most top schools are faced with more qualified students than there is room for. Those who got in, congratulations, you deserved an acceptance one way or another.</p>
<p>But many waitlisted students have a right to complain! Do they have a right to complain about your acceptances? Of course not. Do they have the right to complain about their own decision? Depending on their stats, they do! Top schools, like Wash U, have become more and more like a crapshoot. Your acceptance is determined by so many uncontrollable factors: the amount of people who applied for your same major, amount of people of your race, amount of people who have similar extra-curriculars, ............) It basically end up being a game of luck among qualified applicants. If you are not one of the missing pieces for their puzzle, expect a denial regardless of how deserving/qualified you are. </p>
<p>Acceptees, for this reason, please be sympathetic and understanding toward those who feel they deserved an acceptance because they certainly might have deserved an acceptance!</p>
<p>Just how exactly are you insulted by the comments on the threads? Did they specifically say that you did not deserve a spot? Yes or No? Did anyone say that average SAT/GPA applicants did not deserve a spot? (I mentioned average because some of you who are complaining admitted having average statistics for accepted students). Please give me a quote of a direct complaint of YOUR acceptance! Otherwise, let them complain about their own decisions! I am sure many of you aceptees would complain if you were waitlisted!</p>
<p>Please reevaluate yourselves before you judge others! </p>
<p>I certainly agree that complainers need to move on, and that some have an obnoxious superiority complex! If you were fortunate enough to get into an ivy league school early, why are you complaining about a waitlist to your 9th choice?! Other waitlisters, like myself, actually want to attend the school! But even those waitlisters should understand that life is not always fair and needs to move on. Most complainers, like myself, have stopped posting on those "complain" threads anyways.</p>
<p>As for myself, I was very bitter about my waitlist (It is just a natural tendency of almost any applicant who got waitlisted). I apologize for any stupid complaints I made regarding Wash U admissions. I guess I would fall into the category (described by someone above) of "the waitlister who is so sure they should have been admitted but really lacks the qualifications and will be shocked when their admissions for other schools come out" </p>
<p>Now, I realize my waitlist decision was just after considering my low SAT scores (1410/1600 old) and some other aspects of my app. I chose a spot on the waitlist, and hope to join you guys some day in the near future. Congrats everyone who was accepted! Good Luck on all your other college admissions! </p>
<p>For those who were waitlisted/rejected at Wash U or anywhere else, remember that you will find the place right for you (as Helicio noted).</p>
<p>No one has the "right" to complain. A "right" to complain implies an entitlement to admission. There is no such entitlement. Waitin184 correctly says, as have many others, that admission to highly competiitive schools is a crapshoot. That observation undermines the notion that there is a right to complain -- can the gambler reasonably complain when the dice don't roll his/her way.</p>
<p>Further, some (not all) all of the complainers do implicity insult those who had the good fortune to be admitted. Everyone who suggests that s/he was waitlisted because s/he is "overqualified" is, in effect, sayang that they are better than the poor slobs who were admitted because WashU figured they weren't good enough to have "better" options.</p>
<p>
[quote]
. A "right" to complain implies an entitlement to admission. There is no such entitlement.
[/quote]
Agreed.
IMO, no one "deserves" to be admitted, even those who were accepted.</p>
<p>Actually, I believe there are so many applicants who should be granted admissions. But because we do not live in a perfect world, only 1,400 of those applicants get a spot. Thus everyone who has extraordinary statistics can question why they were not one of the 1400. That was my point.</p>
<p>Let me use this analogy: Do you believe people have a right/entitlement to life in the US? I assume you will say yes. Then don't you think those people have an entitlement to complain to society/ the governement if they are living in poverty/hunger? There will always be poverty/hunger, no matter how well our economy does. Of course, there is no one to blame for the existence of poverty/ hunger in the world (politicians can decrease/increase the poverty, but they cannot rid poverty completely)</p>
<p>I feel like a jerk by comparing poverty/hunger to admissions at one of the world's best colleges, but that is the only analogy I could think of at the top of my head which shows how people can be entitled to complain even when no one is accountable for the dilemma they are complaining about.</p>
<p>I actually felt that the complainers respected those who were admitted. For example, someone, non-hooked, posted a very low SAT score (in respect to Wash U), and no one complained about that specific acceptance.</p>