4.7% admit rate

Colleges & Universities Stanford University
7

I think they may end up taking more than 25 students from the waitlist.

Dean Shaw has publicly stated a goal of 1,730 for the class of 2020. Here is the article where he is quoted:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2016/04/05/stanford-dean-schools-ultra-low-admit-rate-not-something-to-boast-about/

With 2,063 admits * 0.81 (last year’s yield rate) = 1,671. Let’s say the yield rate increases to 0.82 (perhaps unlikely as last year was an all-time record), that would produce 1,691. Thus, I think that Stanford will probably end up taking at least 40 kids from the waitlist, maybe more. Apparently, the admissions staff is already calling students on the waitlist and offering them admissions.

FWIW, I think every school should go to its waitlist every year. I say so for three reasons:

  1. By going to your waitlist you can fine tune the size of the incoming class. My understanding is that before a kid is offered a place off of the waitlist, he or she is called by a member of the admissions staff. The admissions person my also call the kid's college counselor. My guess is that very few kids offered a place from the waitlist decline. After all, they went to the trouble of accepting a place on the waitlist.
  2. You increase your yield for the reason just stated. For better or worse, admissions deans are judged (in part) on this measure.
  3. You decrease your admit rate for the reason just stated. For better or worse, admissions deans are judged (in part) on this measure.

These reasons help explain why virtually all schools–except Stanford in some years–goes to the waitlist. Here is an older article from the Harvard Crimson where the dean of admissions says they might take over 100 students from the waitlist. Apparently, one year Harvard took 228 kids from the waitlist!

http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2011/3/31/students-waitlist-admissions-college/

In 2012 Stanford really screwed up by admitting too many students. The goal was 1,675 entering students and there were 1,765. This caused significant problems with the dorms. This fall two new dorms are coming online, so there is finally room for a few more kids. The 2012 mistake must rest clearly on the shoulders of the Rick Shaw, the dean of admissions. He really messed up on one of the most important metrics. There is no reason to do this given the waitlist. My guess is that individual admissions staff pushed hard for “their kids” and Shaw couldn’t say no.