<p>Curtis is a special case. They have a total of something like 40 openings per year for the whole school and have the luxury of a very high yield rate. When they decide which of the applicants they want for a particular opening, they speak to that applicant either in person (I have heard stories of a small number of acceptances offered on audition day) or by telephone. In many cases, the deal is done at that point and everyone else gets a rejection letter. If the accepted student wants more time to decide, they probably send out rejection letters to almost everyone else and keep the next one or two top candidates on hold until a decision is made. Most students in that position do not complain. I do not believe that Curtis is in the habit of having more acceptances outstanding than they have spaces to fill. </p>
<p>Sometimes something unexpected happens and a student who was accepted and had agreed to attend cannot do so. They handle that on a case-by-case basis because it is a rare event.</p>
<p>When you are dealing with several hundred acceptances, or a yield rate of well under 50% (i.e. most other music schools), these methods will not work beyond the top few students who are getting the big-ticket scholarship offers.</p>