Duke reopened WL today

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As the parent of a kid that really really wanted Duke and didn’t get in, this thread is enraging.

i think 'enraging' is a bit strong but I kind of get the sentiment. In a typical year waitlists and rejections are both rejections. This year, not so much. And yet the kids we know who were waitlisted and those who were rejected were pretty much the same kids, qualification wise.

My own kid applied to about 10 top20 schools with top grades, stats, extracurriculars, yada yada. Was admitted outright to 2, waitlisted at 3 and rejected at 5. He's since been admitted to all the waitlisted schools (insane year) but his top choice was one of the rejections. There is no way he wasn't qualified to go to the rejected school but for whatever reason, he wasn't chosen and as such, his story at that school ended there. But kids from his school with identical or lesser stats who were waitlisted there have since all come off. So there is definitely a sense this year that falling on the right side of the waitlist/rejection divide (which in any other year are both rejections) meant everything.

I get it that this is all a first world problem and life will go on. Just sharing the psychology of it all to a teenager.

kids have been getting off waitlists since forever.

Yep. I went to HLS 30 years ago. I can think of at least 2 people who got in off the wait-list a month before school started and changed all their plans to attend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As the parent of a kid that really really wanted Duke and didn’t get in, this thread is enraging.

i think 'enraging' is a bit strong but I kind of get the sentiment. In a typical year waitlists and rejections are both rejections. This year, not so much. And yet the kids we know who were waitlisted and those who were rejected were pretty much the same kids, qualification wise.

My own kid applied to about 10 top20 schools with top grades, stats, extracurriculars, yada yada. Was admitted outright to 2, waitlisted at 3 and rejected at 5. He's since been admitted to all the waitlisted schools (insane year) but his top choice was one of the rejections. There is no way he wasn't qualified to go to the rejected school but for whatever reason, he wasn't chosen and as such, his story at that school ended there. But kids from his school with identical or lesser stats who were waitlisted there have since all come off. So there is definitely a sense this year that falling on the right side of the waitlist/rejection divide (which in any other year are both rejections) meant everything.

I get it that this is all a first world problem and life will go on. Just sharing the psychology of it all to a teenager.

My kid applied to Duke ED and got rejected. No deferrals or waitlists were available for ED - you're either in or out with no recourse. Wonder how many of those students would have ended up on the WL if they applied RD.

100% Duke did not waitlist ANY ED kids. So if you applied ED you either got in or were rejected. I bet it will turn out to be much easier year to have applied RD.

Wait - you're saying Duke made no deferrals from the ED round this year into RD pool? Either accepted or rejected? I thought they commonly deferred ED applicants to RD round.

This is news to me also. Did they not defer anyone? It seems like deferring some people would be in their best interests, so I don't understand why they would do this.

I think the issue is that deferral from ED is never WL at Duke. Yes, many were deferred. But then they are given an answer in March.This is a big topic in the IEC community right now. Duke's policy isn't unusual and is truthfully the preferred upstanding thing to do (e.g., not drag a student along all summer when they applied on Nov 1).

However - and a big however......a cautionary ED vs. RD tale with Northwestern. Northwestern also doesn't WL a deferred ED either (they give you a straight-up answer in March after a deferral - in or out). Given the vast # of Northwestern WL admits this year (let's see if they disclose on the CDS - but running tally is 215+ in the online IEC communities, which is 4-5x the normal #), the conventional wisdom to ED to Northwestern for the best shot may no longer be accurate in this new environment. We are seeing kids admitted from the Northwestern WL, with much lower stats than the ED pool's deferred rejections, but who were WL following RD. Yes, full pay, and yes, a lot of private school kids.

Just another data point. Ask your school's college counseling office to reach out to Northwestern's admission office. The published material they send out to counselors and the IEC community this year mentioned that waitlist activity was heavier than usual this year (and that was in June).
We will have to wait and see how this shakes out. It's the most unusual admissions cycle since 2020.

Yes, this is the MUCH more humane thing to do as opposed to Dartmouth who deferred my ED kid on December 10th and didn't tell him no until July 15th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is called: lack of foreigners….

Wow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As the parent of a kid that really really wanted Duke and didn’t get in, this thread is enraging.

i think 'enraging' is a bit strong but I kind of get the sentiment. In a typical year waitlists and rejections are both rejections. This year, not so much. And yet the kids we know who were waitlisted and those who were rejected were pretty much the same kids, qualification wise.

My own kid applied to about 10 top20 schools with top grades, stats, extracurriculars, yada yada. Was admitted outright to 2, waitlisted at 3 and rejected at 5. He's since been admitted to all the waitlisted schools (insane year) but his top choice was one of the rejections. There is no way he wasn't qualified to go to the rejected school but for whatever reason, he wasn't chosen and as such, his story at that school ended there. But kids from his school with identical or lesser stats who were waitlisted there have since all come off. So there is definitely a sense this year that falling on the right side of the waitlist/rejection divide (which in any other year are both rejections) meant everything.

I get it that this is all a first world problem and life will go on. Just sharing the psychology of it all to a teenager.

My kid applied to Duke ED and got rejected. No deferrals or waitlists were available for ED - you're either in or out with no recourse. Wonder how many of those students would have ended up on the WL if they applied RD.

100% Duke did not waitlist ANY ED kids. So if you applied ED you either got in or were rejected. I bet it will turn out to be much easier year to have applied RD.

this is a stretch imo. I can only go by our private schools naviance, but ED it a major boost at duke. Not quite like Chicago, but not far behind. Kids getting in off WL from RD would have been layups in ED, imo. If you didnt get in during ED, a WL acceptance is something I would not assume at all

I heard an independent college counselor comment on this. Basically, some people feel that if a kid is deferred in ED, they deserve to get a final answer in RD and that it's not fair to keep the kid waiting on a hope indefinitely. I can kind of see that argument. So, this is not Duke specific - some people just feel that kids who are deferred should not, as a practice, be waitlisted.

Curious if opinions about this will shift if this year’s waitlist insanity becomes the new norm.

I am also curious. I also wonder if Duke will take more in ED next year to avoid this WL shuffle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is called: lack of foreigners….

Wow.

I don’t get this. Aren’t you happy that more American kids are getting into our top universities?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As the parent of a kid that really really wanted Duke and didn’t get in, this thread is enraging.

i think 'enraging' is a bit strong but I kind of get the sentiment. In a typical year waitlists and rejections are both rejections. This year, not so much. And yet the kids we know who were waitlisted and those who were rejected were pretty much the same kids, qualification wise.

My own kid applied to about 10 top20 schools with top grades, stats, extracurriculars, yada yada. Was admitted outright to 2, waitlisted at 3 and rejected at 5. He's since been admitted to all the waitlisted schools (insane year) but his top choice was one of the rejections. There is no way he wasn't qualified to go to the rejected school but for whatever reason, he wasn't chosen and as such, his story at that school ended there. But kids from his school with identical or lesser stats who were waitlisted there have since all come off. So there is definitely a sense this year that falling on the right side of the waitlist/rejection divide (which in any other year are both rejections) meant everything.

I get it that this is all a first world problem and life will go on. Just sharing the psychology of it all to a teenager.

My kid applied to Duke ED and got rejected. No deferrals or waitlists were available for ED - you're either in or out with no recourse. Wonder how many of those students would have ended up on the WL if they applied RD.

100% Duke did not waitlist ANY ED kids. So if you applied ED you either got in or were rejected. I bet it will turn out to be much easier year to have applied RD.

this is a stretch imo. I can only go by our private schools naviance, but ED it a major boost at duke. Not quite like Chicago, but not far behind. Kids getting in off WL from RD would have been layups in ED, imo. If you didnt get in during ED, a WL acceptance is something I would not assume at all

I heard an independent college counselor comment on this. Basically, some people feel that if a kid is deferred in ED, they deserve to get a final answer in RD and that it's not fair to keep the kid waiting on a hope indefinitely. I can kind of see that argument. So, this is not Duke specific - some people just feel that kids who are deferred should not, as a practice, be waitlisted.

Not Duke specific, but it’s very common for deferred kids to be waitlisted.

[Anonymous]

I don’t think next year will be similar, colleges going into admissions knowing what the Trump environment will be like.

Prior to 2023, Vandy didn’t defer any ED applicants. But they did heavily draw from their waitlist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As the parent of a kid that really really wanted Duke and didn’t get in, this thread is enraging.

i think 'enraging' is a bit strong but I kind of get the sentiment. In a typical year waitlists and rejections are both rejections. This year, not so much. And yet the kids we know who were waitlisted and those who were rejected were pretty much the same kids, qualification wise.

My own kid applied to about 10 top20 schools with top grades, stats, extracurriculars, yada yada. Was admitted outright to 2, waitlisted at 3 and rejected at 5. He's since been admitted to all the waitlisted schools (insane year) but his top choice was one of the rejections. There is no way he wasn't qualified to go to the rejected school but for whatever reason, he wasn't chosen and as such, his story at that school ended there. But kids from his school with identical or lesser stats who were waitlisted there have since all come off. So there is definitely a sense this year that falling on the right side of the waitlist/rejection divide (which in any other year are both rejections) meant everything.

I get it that this is all a first world problem and life will go on. Just sharing the psychology of it all to a teenager.

My kid applied to Duke ED and got rejected. No deferrals or waitlists were available for ED - you're either in or out with no recourse. Wonder how many of those students would have ended up on the WL if they applied RD.

100% Duke did not waitlist ANY ED kids. So if you applied ED you either got in or were rejected. I bet it will turn out to be much easier year to have applied RD.

Wait - you're saying Duke made no deferrals from the ED round this year into RD pool? Either accepted or rejected? I thought they commonly deferred ED applicants to RD round.

This is news to me also. Did they not defer anyone? It seems like deferring some people would be in their best interests, so I don't understand why they would do this.

I think the issue is that deferral from ED is never WL at Duke. Yes, many were deferred. But then they are given an answer in March.This is a big topic in the IEC community right now. Duke's policy isn't unusual and is truthfully the preferred upstanding thing to do (e.g., not drag a student along all summer when they applied on Nov 1).

However - and a big however......a cautionary ED vs. RD tale with Northwestern. Northwestern also doesn't WL a deferred ED either (they give you a straight-up answer in March after a deferral - in or out). Given the vast # of Northwestern WL admits this year (let's see if they disclose on the CDS - but running tally is 215+ in the online IEC communities, which is 4-5x the normal #), the conventional wisdom to ED to Northwestern for the best shot may no longer be accurate in this new environment. We are seeing kids admitted from the Northwestern WL, with much lower stats than the ED pool's deferred rejections, but who were WL following RD. Yes, full pay, and yes, a lot of private school kids.

Just another data point. Ask your school's college counseling office to reach out to Northwestern's admission office. The published material they send out to counselors and the IEC community this year mentioned that waitlist activity was heavier than usual this year (and that was in June).
We will have to wait and see how this shakes out. It's the most unusual admissions cycle since 2020.

Yes, this is the MUCH more humane thing to do as opposed to Dartmouth who deferred my ED kid on December 10th and didn't tell him no until July 15th.

But what if they told him yes like Duke is doing now for some of their WL students? Would he turn them down? Or would ge/you be thrilled to accept and change plans to go to Dartmouth?

Some ED kids wouldnt want to deal with the WL nonsense into June/July. But others would more than happy to keep that door open if it means even a tiny chance of getting in over the summer. For some, their ED school is worth all the uncertainty that comes with waiting (and waiting), as well as the high risk of letdown at the end of 8-9 months if it never happens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think next year will be similar, colleges going into admissions knowing what the Trump environment will be like.

Prior to 2023, Vandy didn’t defer any ED applicants. But they did heavily draw from their waitlist.

Nope. They’ll go in knowing what this PAST year was like. Next year may be similar, or it may be completely different. Nobody knows. Not even Trump.

The level of unpredictability is insane. Thank goodness we all raised resilient kids who know how to go with the flow! 😜

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As the parent of a kid that really really wanted Duke and didn’t get in, this thread is enraging.

i think 'enraging' is a bit strong but I kind of get the sentiment. In a typical year waitlists and rejections are both rejections. This year, not so much. And yet the kids we know who were waitlisted and those who were rejected were pretty much the same kids, qualification wise.

My own kid applied to about 10 top20 schools with top grades, stats, extracurriculars, yada yada. Was admitted outright to 2, waitlisted at 3 and rejected at 5. He's since been admitted to all the waitlisted schools (insane year) but his top choice was one of the rejections. There is no way he wasn't qualified to go to the rejected school but for whatever reason, he wasn't chosen and as such, his story at that school ended there. But kids from his school with identical or lesser stats who were waitlisted there have since all come off. So there is definitely a sense this year that falling on the right side of the waitlist/rejection divide (which in any other year are both rejections) meant everything.

I get it that this is all a first world problem and life will go on. Just sharing the psychology of it all to a teenager.

My kid applied to Duke ED and got rejected. No deferrals or waitlists were available for ED - you're either in or out with no recourse. Wonder how many of those students would have ended up on the WL if they applied RD.

Last year DD’s friend was deferred ED and accepted RD. Is this a new policy? Just your kid?

[Anonymous]

I know of a student who just announced will be attending Duke in the fall.
HS Graduation party was all about Maize and Blue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What does this actually mean? They previously sent an email "our class complete, we're not going to the waitlist anymore" and now they sent emails taking kids off?
If this was so, was everyone actually sent the first email or had they retained some kids on an extended waitlist?

Pp again. This is exactly what happened. DS was WL in April, opted to stay on the WL and wrote a LOCI, though didn’t express that Duke was his top choice. In early June he was notified that the WL was closed and the class was full. 6pm last night he received a text and email from Duke, and I got an email as well. We were stunned to say the least.

Wow, how did he respond? Where did he commit?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The big difference between a month ago and now for getting off the waitlist is that a month ago, people had paid a deposit ($500ish maybe) that they would lose. But now many people have paid the first semester tuition, room and board which is substantially more to lose.

I got off the wait list for a better law school right at the end of the summer. In fact, it was the day before I was about to move to another law school. I don't remember the details of how the finances worked out, but they did. I certainly didn't pay for both. I could never have afforded that. Maybe it was because it was all loans so I was able to transfer them over.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As the parent of a kid that really really wanted Duke and didn’t get in, this thread is enraging.

i think 'enraging' is a bit strong but I kind of get the sentiment. In a typical year waitlists and rejections are both rejections. This year, not so much. And yet the kids we know who were waitlisted and those who were rejected were pretty much the same kids, qualification wise.

My own kid applied to about 10 top20 schools with top grades, stats, extracurriculars, yada yada. Was admitted outright to 2, waitlisted at 3 and rejected at 5. He's since been admitted to all the waitlisted schools (insane year) but his top choice was one of the rejections. There is no way he wasn't qualified to go to the rejected school but for whatever reason, he wasn't chosen and as such, his story at that school ended there. But kids from his school with identical or lesser stats who were waitlisted there have since all come off. So there is definitely a sense this year that falling on the right side of the waitlist/rejection divide (which in any other year are both rejections) meant everything.

I get it that this is all a first world problem and life will go on. Just sharing the psychology of it all to a teenager.

kids have been getting off waitlists since forever.

Yep. I went to HLS 30 years ago. I can think of at least 2 people who got in off the wait-list a month before school started and changed all their plans to attend.

LOL. How often IRL do you drop that you went to HLS? I'm betting a lot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As the parent of a kid that really really wanted Duke and didn’t get in, this thread is enraging.

i think 'enraging' is a bit strong but I kind of get the sentiment. In a typical year waitlists and rejections are both rejections. This year, not so much. And yet the kids we know who were waitlisted and those who were rejected were pretty much the same kids, qualification wise.

My own kid applied to about 10 top20 schools with top grades, stats, extracurriculars, yada yada. Was admitted outright to 2, waitlisted at 3 and rejected at 5. He's since been admitted to all the waitlisted schools (insane year) but his top choice was one of the rejections. There is no way he wasn't qualified to go to the rejected school but for whatever reason, he wasn't chosen and as such, his story at that school ended there. But kids from his school with identical or lesser stats who were waitlisted there have since all come off. So there is definitely a sense this year that falling on the right side of the waitlist/rejection divide (which in any other year are both rejections) meant everything.

I get it that this is all a first world problem and life will go on. Just sharing the psychology of it all to a teenager.

My kid applied to Duke ED and got rejected. No deferrals or waitlists were available for ED - you're either in or out with no recourse. Wonder how many of those students would have ended up on the WL if they applied RD.

100% Duke did not waitlist ANY ED kids. So if you applied ED you either got in or were rejected. I bet it will turn out to be much easier year to have applied RD.

Wait - you're saying Duke made no deferrals from the ED round this year into RD pool? Either accepted or rejected? I thought they commonly deferred ED applicants to RD round.

This is news to me also. Did they not defer anyone? It seems like deferring some people would be in their best interests, so I don't understand why they would do this.

UVA did that last year - if you applied early, you were either admitted, denied or WL. No deferrals. A lot of kids we know were WL'ed.