<p>I know some schools do this, but I don’t know which ones and if it means anything besides “Hey, you rock!” Anyone know?</p>
<p>Which schools do this and why do you think they do? I have never heard of this before.</p>
<p>Why don’t you tell us more about this – are you saying that your letter had a handwritten note saying you were one of the top ten applicant’s?</p>
<p>Not a handwritten note. I got a letter in the mail saying I was. I was shocked, I assumed schools didn’t rank their acceptances.</p>
<p>Which school you get mail from?</p>
<p>Was it a general type thing from a coach or your interviewer “You are one of my top ten.” I know my son was told by both the soccer and baseball coaches “You are our top recruit.” and his interviewer said “We have a big gold star next to your name.” I didn’t think that meant the school ranked you.
If so, congratulations to you!</p>
<p>It sounds to me like something that is given to the top students the school wants – letters like that, phone calls, personal notes, etc are all intended to increase the yield rate. I doubt they rank the kids from #1 to #10, but it is probably pretty clear to admissions which are the top kids (there might be 14 “top ten” kids, or even more). The student might be “top ten” for multiple reasons: sports, music/art, academics or even just being a perfect fit.</p>
<p>It is definitely a good thing – and I sincerely doubt that it is something the school gives out to just anyone. A school that considers you a “top ten” candidate has probably determined that you would not only do well at the school, but would most likely end up being one of their top students. This can be important – some kids do better being top dog at a smaller/less well known school than just one more excellent student at a larger/more well known school.</p>
<p>If you’re right, hsmomstef, it’s cruel. And probably deceptive. And bordering on criminal if it induces students to give up other options based on the implication here – and, there’s really no other implication or point in sending this letter – that the applicant has a reasonable chance of being admitted off the wait list and should think twice before foreclosing that possibility.</p>
<p>To any admission officer who sent this “top 10” letter out: “Just make an offer to the kids in your ‘top 10’ if you think they stand out and you’re going to be that close to not filling your class!”</p>
<p>I respect the fact that the schools want to keep their options open and have the best of the best matriculate, but this is nothing but “gamesmanship” on the part of an admission director to mitigate a potential screw-up (in the form of his misjudgment or a miscalculated yield for this year). It’s the admission office’s insurance policy for a job poorly done. </p>
<p>If an admission officer wants the best of the best to matriculate, s/he needs to extend an offer of admission or keep the top applicants interested on merit, not through a clever ploy that’s intentionally rife with ambiguity that a wait-listed applicant is expected to act on…in the school’s best interests…without any real promises or commitments being delivered to the applicant. It’s just hope in an envelope with no commitment from the school to do anything at all.</p>
<p>As you say, there could be 14 “top ten” wait-listed students. And there’s no promise of what order they will be taken off the list. Or where, among the top 10 (14) the applicant stands, let alone a promise that people who aren’t “top 10” students won’t jump ahead of the “top 10.” If the school said, “You are #7 on the wait-list and we will take applicants off the wait-list in that order,” that would be a little better as there’s a commitment from the school and some information an applicant can act on. This, however, is just a huge tease intended to help the school, not the applicant. If such a letter was sent out by one or more schools, I wouldn’t be inclined to think too highly of the ethical code in place there.</p>
<p>I didn’t read this as the top-10 on the waitlist, but rather the top 10 overall ACCEPTED applicants.</p>
<p>I think we are talking about two different things – I was assuming that the OP was saying that the top ten letter was given by a school that admitted them, not one where they were waitlisted. The OP mentions “I assumed schools didn’t rank their acceptances” which was why I assumed they had been admitted.</p>
<p>I agree with you regarding the use of a “top ten” for the waitlist, but for students already admitted (where now the school wants you, rather than you wanting the school) it is just a way to manage yield rates for students they really want.</p>
<p>OIC…</p>
<p>If that’s the case, then I’m getting in touch with my inner-Emily Littella.</p>
<p>I suppose I could delete my rant, but a) it would make the the follow-ups seem odd; b) I sort of enjoyed riding that high horse; and c) as wait-list anxiety increases here, veterans of this board know that these sorts of false hope offerings do get extended by schools to wait-listed students.</p>
<p>I got a note from one of my schools that I was one of their “top ten” strongest applicants of the year based on a variety of factors and that they hoped I would enroll at their school.</p>
<p>Annebelle – did it make a difference? Are you thinking of accepting that offer of admission? Just curious.</p>
<p>Yes, but when I interviewed there, they also seemed to be the most enthusiastic about my going there of all the schools I interviewed at and applied to. Some of the other schools have an agreement not to pressure students into committing to them, so I’m not sure if I should let the top 10 thing influence me. Also, one of the other schools stated in my acceptance letter to my parents that the decision to admit me was unanimous by the admissions committee. I don’t know how to interpret that, are kids admitted based on a majority vote of the committee or does it have to be unanimous?</p>
<p>
Interesting and a good question. I would be interested as well in hearing any insight into this.</p>