WPI RD 2022 decisions

@anon137
What are your other school options for majors? Can you study ME?

@itsanadventure
Are you looking for robotics? What are your other options as an engineering major?

@retiredfarmer thank you. She is actually physics and has several really strong offers at this point, so she is ok. We had just both been really enamored with the idea of the project based curriculum. And, mistakenly, we had thought she would probably get in there and she was planning to go up and take a strong look at their program.

I feel like the process has just made no sense…

@itsanadventure is an appropriate title for the lucky parent of a physics major! I loved physic in college, but remember how curiously curious the physics faculty were. There were three WWII German refugees who seemed more into their subject than most of the faculty in other fields. They did not mind talking about it all day!

Congratulations!! You have some strong opportunities. This interest is a gift!

I just became a member because I wanted to make a comment.

My daughter was waitlisted, too.
She was deferred from EA1 to RD, and then waitlisted. WPI is her TOP choice.
She had her interview in March, 2017, three campus tours, over-night experience for girls, Fall Open house.

Major ME Robotics
Female, mixed races, Massachusetts

SAT 1400, SAT 2 Math 740
HiSet (GED) receiver (after finishing sophomore at HS, then went to “early college”)

Passed Hiset with nearly perfect scores
Super High IQ eligible to be a member of Mensa with Test anxiety issue (WPI knows this.)

WPI’s Project based curriculum is perfect for her.

She has been admitted by 5 other colleges with merit scholarships.
Still, WPI is her TOP choice. We do not ask for any FA from WPI. Just give her a chance to show her abilities at WPI!

Accepted RD
3.7 GPA
1260 SAT
29 ACT
Varsity Football/Hockey Captain

@C/O-218Grad
Great! I heard WPI was looking for someone to replace defensive coordinator Matt Patricia (RPI graduate) as defensive coordinator for the Patriots.

Who says Division III football can’t go big time! Someone has to do the math!

@retiredfarmer Thank you for your congratulations and detailed response! That is interesting to read about the history of college decision making. I can definitely see that still manifesting itself in admissions decisions today.

WPI is a great school with a strong engineering program, and congratulations to everyone who was accepted! I am so excited for all of us moving on to study the subjects we are passionate about

WPI does not want top students

GPA 4.6
SAT 1510 780 SATII biology
AP Calc, Phys, Bio and more all straight As
NHS
Model UN
Student Council
Accomplished Pianist
plenty more sports activities …

And the applicant was …

WAIT LISTED

Did have financial “need”

Take a look at the WPI admissions staff profiles …

The people making the decisions are from such august institutions as Keene State (famous for drunken riots) and folks who “attended college” in NH (code for "I flunked out of Keene State) and other profiles with comments like “worked in the corporate world for four years” — yeah, answering the phone and getting coffee.

As an alumnus and dad of the candidate who was rejected I am angry that the school is diminishing my degree by chopping the tails of the distribution so they can increase their pathetic yield. Soon WPI will be an “also ran” rather than a school of scholars.

Thankfully, the applicant not good enough for WPI was awarded a grant at a “most selective” school. He would have attended WPI if they presented a modest award — but unless you can check a box you’re better off with B+ grades and sub 1500 SATs.

@anon137 As an alumnus '86 I’m disgusted that WPI weeds out top performers

@fuggettaboutit It is a possibility that “Yield Protection” is being used to sort between students with significant demonstrated interest and those who may not have shown as much in their application. I would recommend that students looking to attend WPI that got waitlisted contact admissions through phone/e-mail to try to show that interest, even after their application has been reviewed.

It also does seem to be common at other schools. Of course, I’m not justifying the practice but I am offering a possible explanation to the surprising amount of waitlists that have popped up on CC thus far.

If WPI was your top choice why didn’t you apply EA? Students in general (yes, even high stats students) had much better results in EA.

GPA 4.7
ACT 36; SAT Math 2 790; SAT biology 760
12 APs, MVC
FIRST robotics
great internships
male
Accepted EA with scholarship $.
Just another data point.

WPI just e-mailed offering me a spot off of the waitlist for the class of 2022!

Congrats @smerb13!