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April 27, 2006
Wait, I need to make a decision?
One week until May 1 and thousands of students have yet to decide what college they wish to attend. Some students haven't decided because they can't get themselves to say no to one of their choices. Some haven't decided because they are holding out hope for more aid or to be taken off the dreaded waitlist........
No, Albright does not have a waitlist, but it is my job to keep up to date on what other schools are doing in order to educate families. National trends are that more and more students are being put onto waitlists and there is very little chance of them being taken off. Waitlists provide a security blanket for some schools mainly becuase it is becoming more and more difficult to predict how students will make their decisions.
More and more students are applying to college and those that are apply to more colleges than ever before. Almost 20% of students will apply to more than seven colleges this year. Because of this students have more options and a college's yield (percentage of accepted students that take the offer) will go down. This forces some colleges to offer more waitlist spots but it doesn't necessarily mean that a waitlist student will get the call they desire. Many colleges can't afford to bring in more or less students than their targeted goal. To many may mean housing problems and too few may mean budget cuts. Thus the waitlist provides that safety net for a enrollment director. If a school is short they may pull some students off the list and offer them admission, if they are where they need to be they just inform students that no one is coming off the waitlist.
Some schools put hundreds of students on their waitlist and may only take a handful off. Some schools waitlist students as a type of consolation. Trying to tell them that they certainly don't want to deny them but they just don't have the room. In any situation the outcome is generally unfortunate for the student and causes stress.
I don't like the waitlist because it creates false hope for thousands of students, but it is necessary because of the business side of college admission. As for Albright, we will generally offer an extension of our May 1 deadline for families that aren't able or ready to make a decision by May 1. But eventually you will have to make a decision! And remember, there are no bad decisions in terms of college. The experience and education will be a positive one if you make it so!
Posted by Chris Boehm at April 27, 2006 9:41 AM