Is this a new trend?

[D_yer_Maker]

<p>In terms of trends and the reliance on the waitlist – which, as ops aptly points out, is a device that schools employ for their benefit – consider these anecdotes from the college admission realm:</p>

<p>

@Elizabeth Houston (Oberlin Admission Officer)

This year we’re deliberately trying to under-enroll with our initial offers of admission, and to use the waitlist to fill the class the rest of the way.

</p>

<p>(She posted that a couple hours ago, as Oberlin is putting its decisions in the mail.)</p>

<p>Source: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/12279196-post81.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/12279196-post81.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>And then, along those same lines, there’s this from Bowdoin:</p>

<p>

@Bowdoin Orient

Last year’s applicant yield was slightly higher than projected, resulting in the large size of the Class of 2014. Admissions has since been working to refine its yield algorithm to better predict how many applicants will accept offers.</p>

<p>“We’ve been working a lot with the Institutional Research office to add more detail to the yield model that we have had, making it slightly more complex,” said Meiklejohn [the Dean of Admissions].</p>

<p>“This year, the plan is to use the waitlist,” he added. “My expectation is that we will not have a class of 485 on May 1, that we’ll be somewhere under that number.”

</p>

<p>Source: [230</a> places taken in Class of 2015 after College accepts 45 in ED II - The Bowdoin Orient](<a href=“http://orient.bowdoin.edu/orient/article.php?date=2011-02-25&section=1&id=5]230”>http://orient.bowdoin.edu/orient/article.php?date=2011-02-25&section=1&id=5)</p>