Admissions 2020-21: Year of the Waitlist (Part 1)
As letters arrive to students from the Regular Decision round, one thing is clear: the number of waitlisted students is way up this cycle. Early reports indicate that this is for a variety of reasons, which we will dissect over the coming days. For starters: the concern over yield.
What is ‘yield’ in the world of college admissions?
Essentially, this is the percentage of students who are accepted to a university and matriculate. Every college knows that some of the students accepted in the Regular Decision round will turn down the offer and decide to attend somewhere else. Yield rates had been somewhat consistent with each cycle, and then 2020 happened…
Yale’s yield dropped to 55%, down from 69% in 2019
Stanford’s yield dropped to 68%, down from 82% in 2019
Georgetown’s yield fell below 45% in 2020
Similar drops in yield were seen across the board, particularly at highly competitive colleges which typically enjoy very high yields.
How does yield impact waitlists?
Waitlists serve as the buffer against students who defer their enrollment or turn down their acceptances (both of which decrease yield). When a student turns down an acceptance, the college dips into the waitlist. One of the problems with this admissions cycle is that, fearing another year of low yield, colleges have padded their waitlists with more students than ever before.
What does this mean for your waitlisted student?
She might not get a final decision until well into April or even late into the summer. If your student is on several waitlists (along with hundreds of thousands of other students), she may have to juggle deadlines to accept an offer from one school while holding out for another.
What can my student do to increase her acceptance chances?
Reevaluate if you still want to attend. Is the school still your top choice? You may have gotten accepted into other schools that you have discovered to be a better fit, or offer advantages that the university that waitlisted you doesn’t. However, if you are positive the school is your top choice, make sure that you respond to the waitlist invitation promptly.
Send a Statement of Persuasion. If you are an early applicant, writing a Statement of Persuasion will help show admissions officers that you have something unique to bring to the university.
Stay in touch, but not too much. Typically, schools recommend you visit the campus, but Covid-19 has obviously changed this. Still, you can do virtual visits and try to schedule a virtual chat with your admission representative to make a good impression. However, don’t overwhelm admission officers with endless emails or phone calls.
Stay informed. Research the percentage of waitlisted applicants the school ends up accepting to gauge your chance of being admitted.
Maintain your grades. Don’t let the anxiety of getting waitlisted get the best of you, and don’t fall victim to senioritis during your last semester of high school. Sign up for tutoring if necessary.
If you or your student would like additional guidance in navigating waitlist decisions, schedule a consultation with an Ivy Link Advisor.
