GMTplus7

@magged, you are competing with other students on the WL, and based on last year's results, the WL pool can be quite large at some schools

helloel

Is there any way to be taken of the wait list before April 10th?

EnemyOfTheSun

Also, just because one admitted student decides not to enroll, doesn't mean someone will be accepted off the wait-list. If you wish, you could do some research on yield rates, and see how they correlate with acceptance rates and waitlists.

GMTplus7

cut-n-paste from earlier post in this thread:

Some numbers from the 2011 admissions round:

PA 3186 applicants, 14% admitted, 79% yield rate
PEA 2600 applicants, 19% admitted, 69% yield rate
DA 2355 applicants, 13% admitted, 65% yield rate
SPS 1402 applicants, 16% admitted, 68% yield rate
Ch 1987 applicants, 21% admitted, 64% yield rate

Yield rate refers to the percentage of admitted kids who actually end up enrolling, e.g., PA had a yield rate of 79% last year, which means 21% of the accepted kids decided to go elsewhere.

To get off the WL, the school will have to have over-estimated their yield rate.

magged

So if someone applies for rolling admission would they have a better chance than someone on a wait list?

honeybee63

I wonder if there's any actual value to the what the individual schools say about being on their WL. e.g., Groton is pretty sober, saying something like: sorry to disappoint you, this is bad news, we had 1100 applications for 90 spots, not a good chance that you will get in off the WL, etc. VS another more upbeat school (Hotchkiss, Choate, SPS etc) who might say: you are exactly the kind of student we want, just hang in for a few weeks, we will admit some students - just not sure how many, etc. SO, are these schools putting a different spin on the same reality, or is there an actual difference in likelihood or is it all too unpredictable to even guess at? Also, how much difference does the FA piece make in terms of WL? My guess is a lot (in fact Choate was pretty explicit about this, explaining that an admitted student with FA would have to choose not to enroll in order to "return" that FA money to the school budget before they could admit a WL student who needed FA...) so, do WL families ever change their FA status - that is to say, get desperate and withdraw the FA request in hopes of getting into a school off a WL (and decide to ransack the college fund or sell the family home and move parents into a yurt to pay BS tuition. Not really kidding ! I'm asking this for kids who may not have an alternative except local private day schools. Of course it makes total sense to go with an acceptance (if it exists) rather than betting on a WL spot opening up...

muffett

I agree that a student should go to the school they were accepted vs the waitlisted school.

Does any one know how many students a school puts on a waitlist? Is it 10...30... or a hundred? I am really curious exactly how many. I have seen the yield rate explained but have not seen anyone post a number for waitlists. Thanks.

GMTplus7

@magged,

my guess is that late applications get added to the WL pool. If space becomes available, and that late applicant has some compelling hook that the school wants (athlete, famous name, family wealth) then, yes, the late applicant can get admitted before the other applicants already on the WL.



@muffet,

From what I see on the *Official List of 2012 Acceptances* thread, for the popular schools, the WL pool can be quite large. Suggest you have a look and do a count

DAndrew

A minor correction to the stats in one of GMTplus7's earlier posts. 2600 was actually Exeter's number of completed application while 3186 was Andover's number of preliminary applications. The same year, Andover had 3103 completed applications. Yes, more than Exeter's but not by that much. And, based on the number of 3186, I thought Andover's application was down this year but it's actually up by a small number as according to Andover site this year there are 3130 completed applications.

GMTplus7

thx, DAndrew. Comforting to see I am not the only one nervously scanning the stats to glean a speck of insight. :-)

Marlobay

I was wait listed at Exeter, SPS and Choate. How frustrating.
No acceptances yet.
Can any one off guidance/advice???
Thanks

ExieMITAlum

Not much advice to give. The numbers are sobering and these last two or three admissions cycles have been particularly brutal to families here on the boards. The majority of students at boarding schools are full pays. If you examine the stats of students on waitlist you'll see all are strong candidates but only a few are getting multiple slots - especially those needing FA. So the chances of a FA slot opening are not impossible, but growing less and less likely as we tell students to stop hoping for a better date to the dance and love the one that loved them first (or gave them a scholarship).

Wish the news could be better - and a few schools do go to the waiting list - but I've seen schools once considered safeties suddenly getting tighter yields and not going to their waiting lists as many qualified students are being shut out of the most coveted schools and enrolling in their back-up choices.

Really -those who seem to be having the most luck are those who cast a broad net and also applied to schools on the hidden gems list and to schools not on the CC radar.

intrinsically

The waitlist isn't likely, but it definitely is a possibility, especially in light of new accomplishments/growth. Don't think about it too much, but don't lose hope.

aaralyn

Contrary to mountainhiker's inspirational story, my reapplying process did not go so well. Last year I was waitlisted at Milton, Deerfield, Hotchkiss, Concord, & Exeter, and rejected at Andover. This year I reapplied to Milton, Deerfield, and Hotchkiss, while adding 4 new schools to my list. Milton I still have not heard from (hoping that's a good sign, since last year the waitlist email came yesterday midnight, and acceptances get packages D, Deerfield I was straight out rejected from, and Hotchkiss I was waitlisted at.

I really don't hope to discourage applicants from reapplying, because a lot of the time that goes well for you, but just sharing my story.

Also - wanted to add that my application was definitely much stronger this year. Last year I had no EC's except for piano and violin - this year I have community service, varsity MUN, and symphony orchestra. And my essays were also stronger because I have grown as a writer.

Marlobay

I was declined by my number one choice. I was waitlisted at the other 4! Do you think their is a chance that with the 4 waitlists I will be accepted at one of the 4? Thanks!