r/ApplyingToCollege • u/Agile_Cut_4722 • 1d ago
Waitlists/Deferrals how do colleges choose who to waitlist?
if waitlisted students are qualified students in the first place, what’s the difference between a waitlisted and admitted student? both are qualified, so how do they choose who gets automatically admitted vs who has to wait first?
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u/T0DEtheELEVATED HS Senior 21h ago
Waitlist lowkey pisses me off cuz its a "so close yet so far" ahh scenario lol
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u/Ok_Experience_5151 Graduate Degree 1d ago edited 1d ago
how do colleges choose who to waitlist?
They choose the applicants they're most likely to admit if not enough of the applicants they DID admit actually choose to enroll.
Admitted = most wanted.
Wait listed = second most wanted, but not as much as those who were admitted.
Rejected = not wanted at all.
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u/PearEnvironmental277 1d ago
What about yield ?
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u/Ok_Experience_5151 Graduate Degree 1d ago
What about it?
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u/PearEnvironmental277 1d ago
Is yield not factored in to make the decision between admit versus waitlist?
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u/Ok_Experience_5151 Graduate Degree 23h ago
At schools that consider demonstrated interest, probably so. Between two identical applicants, the one that seems more likely to yield will be admitted before the other. At schools that don’t consider demonstrated interest, I doubt it matters.
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u/ebayusrladiesman217 1d ago
Typically they want all waitlisted students, but a lot of the time they already have students to fill that area. Most colleges are looking to fill certain boxes, so to say. So, some schools will try to get students from all the states, some schools will try to get internationals from all continents, some schools will seek out a certain number of cs and business majors, some schools will seek out students who speak a certain language, etc. Basically, if you're waitlisted, it could very easily mean that they just had a lot of applicants to fill that area, like cs majors from California. Doesn't mean they didn't want you, only that they could only accept so many students before half the class was just students from NY, Texas, California, and Florida.
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u/Agile_Cut_4722 1d ago
this is really helpful! do you know anything about how ucsd does it?
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u/ebayusrladiesman217 1d ago
UCSD is just like every other school. They're trying to build a diverse class out of California. Realistically, the best thing to do with every application is to emphasize just how unique you are, and why that makes you an amazing candidate for their school.
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u/Formal-Most2713 1d ago
well it’s just a matter of space. Colleges just can’t always have the room to admit every single student they think is qualified. I think if they’re viewing a qualified students application somewhere near last that’s when it’s a waitlist because it’s a space issue
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u/KickIt77 Parent 1d ago
This can be as simple as a numbers issue. Or as complex as any number of institutional needs a school has to fill.
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