Tufts Syndrome at Lafayette?

Colleges & Universities Lafayette College
1

<p>Up until this point, Lafayette has been my first choice. I clearly showed this by attending an open house and in my essays. But, I was waitlisted. Looking at the stats for the Class of 2013, this simply doesn’t make sense. Here is my profile in a nutshell:</p>

<p>SAT I: 1980 (640 CR, 690 M, 650 W)
SAT II: 720 Math II, 750 Biology E
ACT: 30
Unweighted GPA: 97.27
Class Rank: 6/457
Major: Electrical Engineering </p>

<p>EC: Varsity Bowling all four years, Vice President of Students for Improving Healthcare, NHS member, member of a small Youth Ministry at my church that plans church events, 6th grade catechist at my church, playing music with mentally retarted adults at New Visions of Albany</p>

<p>Awards: Clarkson Achievement Award, Board of Education award all three years (95+ average)</p>

<p>Hobbies: I play bass in a alternative rockband, we have played at several school events and we play regularly at coffee shops around town.</p>

<p>Job: I work during the summer and during school vacations at New Visions of Albany, where I work in a workshop alongside mentally ■■■■■■■■ adults.</p>

<p>Recommendations: I know they will be great, the main one is from my honors precalc teacher and I did very well in that class and knew him well, and the other one is from my band teacher who knows me very well. Also, the recommendation from my guidance counselor was great.</p>

<p>Essays: Great, edited by my AP Lit teacher, Lafayette essay about combining my love of music and math/science by modifying my bass guitars and building speaker cabinets, effects pedals, etc.</p>

<p>The bottom line is that I am sixth in my class at a large competitive public high school, I have taken the most rigorous schedule possible, and I have maintained not only a 4.0, but an average consistently above 97. I clearly showed that I am unique and that I have a passion for music and electrical engineering. What gives?</p>

2

<p>Man, I was surprised too when you said you were wait listed in another thread… but I wouldn’t exactly say it is “Tufts Syndrome”.</p>

<p>I have a feeling that the applicant pool was just extremely competitive this year (I’m pretty sure I would have been wait listed too if I hadn’t changed my decision to ED)</p>

<p>You should call or e-mail the admissions at Lafayette to show them that their school is you top choice and you would absolutely attend if you were accepted. Also send them updates if something significant happens in your life that could affect an application decision (grades, awards, etc.)</p>

<p>I’m pulling for you AqueousView11! If you remember I said months ago that maybe we would be in classes together next year and I’m still hoping for the same! :)</p>

3

<p>Our daughter was waitlisted also, with 1410/2090 SAT. She visited the campus twice. Lafayette was one of several schools she had great interest in. We had a strange feeling about this one. Like you, she fits the mold for a well qualified Lafayette student. She received numerous emails asking her to consider changing her app to early decision (I’m sure all the RD people received them). She didn’t, as she definitely needed the financial aid package to be close to what our FAFSA numbers were. Our daughter believes (and we agree) that they were pushing the early decision hard this year and that her decision not to go early decision cost her the admitted letter. That, coupled with needing financial aid and a question on their app, made her concerned. Of the ten schools she applied to, Lafayette was the only school that had a question on their app asking for the names of the other schools she applied to. Did they feel she was using Lafayette as a safety or that Lafayette was a “what the heck” application?<br>
We all loved (sarcasm) the second sentence of their waitlist letter … “Your credentials do meet the basic requirements for admission.” Our daughter was waitlisted at Wesleyan and she felt their letter was very kind and made her not feel like she barely squeeked into their “basic requirements” category.<br>
The funny thing about all this is that our daughter’s guidance counselor suggested she apply to Lafayette, because “she is the type of student they are looking for” and he had been asked by a Lafayette admissions officer why their high school doesn’t have more student applying there.
If we’re asked by her guidance counselor about this waitlist, we’ll be sure to tell him our thoughts. Does this sound bitter? Maybe just a little.</p>

4

<p>The previous post I wrote didn’t come off as I wanted. It sounds like sour grapes and that wasn’t my intention. I’m sure that Lafayette, like all schools, gets too many qualified applicants, and they just can’t admit them all. I should just let it go at that.</p>

5

<p>Maybe, Lafayette didn’t like your put-down of Tufts? Maybe?</p>

6

<p>Aqueous & Macnell, the only insight I can offer is something that Lafayette’s president, Daniel Weiss, told an alumni gathering I attended a year or two ago. He said that Admissions Officers aren’t actually in the business of admitting individual students - they are in the business of assembling a class. He gave the example of when he had formerly been a dean at Johns Hopkins, and said they could have admitted an entire class made up of brilliant, well-rounded, high-achieving kids who all wanted to major in Bio - but that wouldn’t have made for a good experience for the students or allowed the college to function. </p>

<p>From an applicant’s prospective, admissions may seem to be random. But to the college, their decision make sense - because they’re looking at it from the other side, and they’re not just looking for the students with the highest stats or the most EC’s, or even the most unusual EC’s. They’re looking for a variety of students who can be put together to make an interesting and high-achieving CLASS. From the outside, we don’t see all the pieces that they are trying to fit together. It’s frustrating, I know. It’s not that you or your child weren’t “good enough” (if they weren’t, they wouldn’t have been waitlisted). Its that for whatever reason the college had other students who seemed to fit what they needed, whatever that need is - field hockey players, newspaper writers, Spanish majors… who knows?</p>

<p>Aqueous, perhaps there was an extremely high number of prospective EE’s this year. I don’t know. Your stats certainly sound like a student Lafayette who would fit in well at Lafayette.<br>
It’s really hard to say from the outside why this decision was made, and since you were waitlisted I’d say it’s not that the college didn’t want you or think you could do the work (if they thought that, you’d have been rejected). The only thing I can suggest is that you let the college know that they were your #1 choice all along and that they still are (if that is indeed the case). I know they have pulled from the waitlist in the past, and if you let them know you still want to attend that should help your chances. One of my son’s good friends came in to Lafayette off the waitlist.</p>

<p>In any case, good luck at whatever college ends up being lucky enough to have a strong student such as you.</p>

7

<p>Aqueous,
Sorry for the waitlist news. I am curious though, if LC was your first choice why you elected not to apply ED.

</p>

<p>If it is still your first choice, as Lafalum84 recommended, I would encourage you to let the Admissions office know. I suspect with your record, you are not too far down on the list.</p>