<p>Byerly ~ So the inference from your post is that for each 1% drop in yield (from say 52% to 51% for example) Princeton would likely look for 12 people from the waitlist? That's what I thought you were trying to convey. Did I miss it?</p>
<p>That assumes that Princeton did not plan to use the waitlist initially, but planned instead to simply fill the 626 spots left after the ED round from the RD applicant pool. If Princeton planned to call, say, 10 people from the waitlist (which gives them some fine-tuning ability, and helps prevent over-enrollment if yield fluctuates upward by one point), then a drop of 1% in yield would lead to 22 (12 + 10) ultimately being taken from the waitlist, in this example.</p>
<p>My son painfully turned down Princeton for Harvard. He also turned down Yale and Williams.</p>
<p>You may be right that this question should be on another thread, blueriver, but I suspect the Princeton rejecters will suffer anxious doubt about the wisdom of their decision and will be drawn to this thread for consolation and company. And we'll have no mercy on them, ha ha.</p>
<p>my friend turned down Princeton for Stanford if that helps lol.</p>
<p>The number of initial RD admits projected a full class targetted at 1,220. And if that target was to be hit precisely relying on the initial RD admits, this would mean an RD yield of 52% and an overall yield of 68%. </p>
<p>So yes, if matriculants fall below the number projected, then, to the extent additional bodies are needed to hit the 1,220 target, they will be taken from the waitlist.</p>
<p>On the other hand, if the RD yield exceeds 52%, there will, very likely, be no one taken from the waitlist.</p>
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<p>Generally speaking, schools would prefer to admit conservatively - estimating a higher yield rate than they anticipate - because it is easier to fill a few vacancies from the waitlist than it is to find extra beds when you've guessed the wrong way and more people than you can handle matriculate.</p>