<p>The “Tufts Syndrome” was a name given to schools who seemed to have wait listed “overly qualified” students in fear of them not going to their school and instead choosing to go to a “better” school. At Tufts, as Dan had just said, this is actually not the case. People, however, seem to think this is the case at WashU as the Wait list an estimated 50% of their applicants. No one can be sure if this philosophy is actually used by any college, and as salpert said above, many times applicants will use this as an excuse.</p>