<p>really…there is no chance this is “binding”</p>
<p>My son was placed on the “priority wait list” as well for MCS. There is nothing in the letter that calls out “binding”; certainly not like an Early Decision application which requires the student, a parent, and the guidance counselor each to agree, and if accepted the student must notify all other schools that he/she is withdrawing their applications.</p>
<p>The response is due back to CMU by April 13th and does not require an $800 check at that time. Most applicants will know about every other school they’ve applied to by then. Further, the $800 check is due on May 8th if CMU pulls a student off the wait list. They are doing this to be competitive with other schools who might also have the same student wait listed.</p>
<p>We intend to mark the block Yes for priority wait list, and then if he receives other offers of admission from equal or better science programs than CMU/MCS, we simply will not mail the check to them. This is no more unethical than the hedge game that CMU and other universities are playing by not accepting a qualified candidate, then trying to push the date sooner. Higher Ed has created this competitive game and now they have to get tactical, otherwise, there will be empty dorm rooms. not a good situation for an already fiscally irresponsible industry. This is why elite students apply to 10-15 schools…simply to hedge their bets.</p>
<p>I plan to call CMU tomorrow to clarify, and I will post an update, but if you don’t believe that its an old game…read an excerpt below from the WSJ from 2007:</p>
<p>excerpted…</p>
<p>Efforts by colleges to measure commitment can be frustrating for students who are uncertain where they want to go. Alex Graber-Tilton, a senior at Wall High School in Wall, N.J., received a letter from Carnegie Mellon University offering him a spot on its priority waiting list – which the school says is meant for students who definitely know Carnegie Mellon is their first choice. When making waitlist offers, the school promises to go to the priority list first, before its regular waitlist. But to nail down students’ commitment, the school asks those accepted to make a decision quickly.</p>
<p>If you get an acceptance, you are expected to send a $600 deposit by May 8 to secure the slot. Since waitlist offers typically roll in throughout the month of May, that could mean committing weeks before the student hears about offers from other schools.</p>
<p>“It’s like you’ve been pushed aside for someone else, but they still want to know if you want to go there,” says Mr. Graber-Tilton, who plans to turn down the priority-list slot. He wants to study engineering and was also waitlisted at Rice University, as well as Harvey Mudd College where he hopes to ultimately go. Otherwise he plans on going to Case Western Reserve University, where he was accepted.</p>
<p>The priority waiting list “allows students who really, really want the place to come forward,” says Michael Steidel, director of admission at Carnegie Mellon, which had a record 22,422 applicants this year.</p>