How deep will colleges go into their waiting list this year ?

Applying to College
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I’m just wondering about my chances of getting off Harvard’s waiting list with the current situation. Also, anybody knows how colleges go about their waitlist? I’m assuming that if I was waitlisted then that means they think I have enough to thrive in Harvard but they liked someone else better. So I’m wondering if the waitlist selection process is based more on personality etc than in test scores (mine (SAT)are decent but not “good” a bit below Harvard’s lower 25% ). I have better Ap’s thou 4 & 5. Anyways are scores coming into play again? The thing that worries me the most is that I heard that colleges try to make a waiting list that mimics their class. so if someone that plays the violin declines the offer then they go to the waiting list to find another person that plays the violin. Does that mean that if nobody “like” me declines their offer I have no chance of getting in?

I accepted my offer to Brandeis ( they gave me a crazy good financial aid package) but will still go to Harvard if accepted (they will probably give me good fin aid to given what my parent make [not much])

Below I attached an expert from the Harvard Crimson that talks about COVID-19 and waiting list

https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2020/4/3/2024-ivy-admissions-less-competitive-ivy/

Brian Taylor — managing director of private college consulting service Ivy Coach — said secondary factors, such as admitted student weekend cancellations due to the coronavirus pandemic — will change how colleges draw from their waiting lists this year.

“Schools which are notoriously insecure about their yield will admit more kids. And they’ll also offer longer waitlists,” Taylor said. “This year, I anticipate that schools will go deeper into their waitlist than in prior years.”

Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid William R. Fitzsimmons ’67 said he was uncertain about how current events could impact how many students are admitted from the waiting list.

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thanks in advance to those of you who respond to this post

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Just my 2 cents but of all the universities I would think Harvard would not go as deep into their waitlist as other colleges and may have taken this into account when choosing their regular decision pool (anticipated a slightly lower yield). In addition, since they took a hit to their finances under this pandemic they might take more kids off the waitlist who are full pay vs students who need lots of financial aid. I know, they claim to be need blind, but at the end of they day they are big business and need lots of revenue to meet this operating budgets, special projects, and new facilities.

The bottom line is that the odds of you getting off the waitlist is small. I would embrace Brandeis and not spend too much more time worrying about getting off Harvard’s waitlist. If it happens great but have the mind set that you will be at Brandeis this fall.

Good luck to you.

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Schools go to their waitlist to fill whatever “holes” are left after they have their firm answers. If they want gender balance and they have all the girls they need but are short boys, it doesn’t matter how awesome a girl you are, the WL offers go to boys. I seriously doubt that everyone has a doppelganger, but it can feel like that as they try to make sure the class has everything in it they were aiming for.