As much as I’d like to hope, I’m not sure if there will be all that much movement at the super selective schools as everyone hopes there will be (Ivies etc)
With the graduating HS class of 2025 having the highest number of high school graduates (3.9 million) in US history (since data have been available. Then the numbers of graduates will steadily decline through the end of the projections in 2041, when there will be 3.4 million graduates, or a 13% decline.)
and the Common App also reporting a 7% increase in total applications to college as of January 1, 2025 (6,716,246) over last year at the same time (6,293,275) - this does not necessarily translate into higher chance of getting off a waitlist at a competitive school.
There are many more kids competing for approx the same # of spots. They’re applying to more schools which may account for “movement” but those super selective schools may not necessarily have underenrolled kids or need to go to their waitlists.
How many apply will affect the acceptance rate (%accepted) but how many they accept is not influenced by how many apply. How many are put on a WL is up to each school, and yes, since yield rates are commonly high at the top schools, the number offered a spot from the WL will likely be low. What may be different this year are factors like the number of parents suddenly unemployed due to sweeping layoffs in some sectors, the variability of the stock market (though that may be settling down) and concerns about Visas for internationals that could lead to some greater number of spots opening up if accepted students are not able to deposit or internationals are concerned about visas.
Wake Forest admissions blog yesterday evening posted an update: “We have contacted a select number of students to begin the conversation about joining the Wake Forest University Class of 2029. While we can’t anticipate how many more students might be invited in the days ahead, we will continue to monitor enrollment and offer admission as seats become available.”
I’m feeling kind of crushed for my daughter. Her process has been absolutely brutal, and it feels like hope is running out… boo.
It’s really early to lose hope. Someone posted on Reddit that Wake offered spots last year the week before classes started. That would be a really tough time to pivot, but it could happen.
All said, I hope that your daughter is getting excited about where she enrolled and if a WL offer falls in her lap, that would be a wonderful surprise.
That is the norm for job offers generally. The colleges’ motivation to do that is that they want to know quickly whether to move on to the next wait-list student, similar to employers who want to know quickly whether to move on to the next best applicant.
Another wait-list question: do any colleges with more competitive majors or divisions admit some students to the school in less competitive majors or divisions but also put them on the wait-list for the more competitive majors or divisions?
Yes of course. But some schools, past and present, have given a little longer for the student to decide, and for the parents to confirm they can afford it.
Yes, the whole process has been absolutely brutal for my son and our family. He didn’t get into any of his top choices and is now waiting in agony to see if he can get off the Harvey Mudd waitlist. He is valedictorian and is heartbroken and the waiting is excruciating. HMC is tiny but we are hoping there will be some melt given the active waitlist movement including at top schools. Surely some will melt off…I welcome any insight or experiences with HMC.
I have no insights to the HMC enrollment picture for class of 2029 or waitlist. IMO it is telling they haven’t gone to their waitlist yet, as far as I know. With that said, I encourage you to help your S get excited about the school where he deposited for the fall. CC is a good place to share your stress about the process so that your S doesn’t see it at home. Good luck to all.
Question about sending final second semester grades to waitlist schools: how commonly is this done, and does the student typically ask the counselor to send them directly, or does the student upload or email an unofficial transcript or other grade report?
Typically, the college neither wants nor needs second semester grades from WL students and there are no brownie points awarded for sending them unsolicited.
