TO THE MARET ADMISSIONS OFFICE

[Anonymous]

They over-enroll and predict "yield" from past results. It is not an exact science, though, and a new "hot" school can change things, as can the economy (families dropping out over the summer, for example.)

[Anonymous]

PP, here's the thing about the practice of over-accepting based on predicting yield from historical results. Generally speaking, I agree schools do that. Not every kid who turns down an acceptance leads to a school picking a kid from the waitlist. Schools expect a certain number to turn them down.

But, as it relates to Maret and this thread--at several entry points, Maret adds a very very small number of kids. For example, at 1st and some of the middle school grades. For purposes of this example, say they planned to add 8 for 4th grade--4 boys and 4 girls.

So, when the number of kids they are planning to add is so small, do they still over-accept? In my experience it is much less likely that they over-accept in those years, because it is much more difficult to predict yield when dealing with such a small group of kids. So there is a much greater chance of over-enrollment, which they would rather avoid. If I'm right, this would make the waitlist much more relevant for those years.

Anyone know what the practice actually is?

[Anonymous]

The year my dd applied to 9th she was waitlisted and we were told by the admissions office that there was no movement off the waitlist that year. I know at least 2 kids that year who turned down their admit offers. So they had at least that cushion.

[Anonymous]

Overaccepting is acceptable, indeed necessary, a waitlist equal to the entering class is even acceptable because schools don't rank the waitlist, they chose a child who helps round out the class. But waitlisting nearly everyone is really not fair to applicants who aren't in a real waitlist pool. My sense is that Maret's waitlist is huge, my sense is these handwritten comments and notes are for applicants who constitute the real waitlist and Maret will go to them first, my sense is Maret rarely outright rejects people.

As I've posted earlier, I would have much preferred an outright rejection when we applied several years ago. It was my child's first choice and they knew it and waitlisting my child or anyone else who really isn't waitlist material is intellectually dishonest and disrespectful. There is no way to defend this practice. Who needs it? Who wants it? I almost sent an anonymous letter to the head of school, admissions folks and board telling delineating how strongly I felt this practice departed from their core values. I felt like an absolute chump when I realized my child was not on the genuine waitlist, since we had not received any handwritten notes. I learned about it here on DCUM. And I'd long wondered what was up with Maret's waitlist because older children we knew were never rejected, either waitlisted or accepted and that seemed odd. Anyway, click on their website and the word RESPECT comes up on the screen. Ha. This waitlist policy jerks people around.

My child wants to apply to different schools for high school and we are not going near Maret -- I wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole even though I know my child would thrive there and contribute something to the community and sports teams. I'm not going through the fake waitlist charade again. If my child knew, my child would think the practice was outrageous because it gave us all false hope. I'm not telling my child this, there's no need to share. Again, this is NOT about there being no movement off a waitlist. It's about how Maret defines its waitlist, and whether it rejects, like Sidwell and other schools with waitlist integrity, or lamely rejects through its oversized waitlist. (Also, overenrolling is not the goal! It happens when they miscalculate the yield.)

I doubt Maret will respond. I hope it does.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Overaccepting is acceptable, indeed necessary, a waitlist equal to the entering class is even acceptable because schools don't rank the waitlist, they chose a child who helps round out the class. But waitlisting nearly everyone is really not fair to applicants who aren't in a real waitlist pool. My sense is that Maret's waitlist is huge, my sense is these handwritten comments and notes are for applicants who constitute the real waitlist and Maret will go to them first, my sense is Maret rarely outright rejects people.

As I've posted earlier, I would have much preferred an outright rejection when we applied several years ago. It was my child's first choice and they knew it and waitlisting my child or anyone else who really isn't waitlist material is intellectually dishonest and disrespectful. There is no way to defend this practice. Who needs it? Who wants it? I almost sent an anonymous letter to the head of school, admissions folks and board telling delineating how strongly I felt this practice departed from their core values. I felt like an absolute chump when I realized my child was not on the genuine waitlist, since we had not received any handwritten notes. I learned about it here on DCUM. And I'd long wondered what was up with Maret's waitlist because older children we knew were never rejected, either waitlisted or accepted and that seemed odd. Anyway, click on their website and the word RESPECT comes up on the screen. Ha. This waitlist policy jerks people around.

My child wants to apply to different schools for high school and we are not going near Maret -- I wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole even though I know my child would thrive there and contribute something to the community and sports teams. I'm not going through the fake waitlist charade again. If my child knew, my child would think the practice was outrageous because it gave us all false hope. I'm not telling my child this, there's no need to share. Again, this is NOT about there being no movement off a waitlist. It's about how Maret defines its waitlist, and whether it rejects, like Sidwell and other schools with waitlist integrity, or lamely rejects through its oversized waitlist. (Also, overenrolling is not the goal! It happens when they miscalculate the yield.)

I doubt Maret will respond. I hope it does.

goodness gracious. why anyone in their right minds would want to respond to this is beyond me. i would think even if angels from heaven could come down and sing the admission policy from maret to you, you would shoot them through the heart.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I almost sent an anonymous letter to the head of school, admissions folks and board telling delineating how strongly I felt this practice departed from their core values.

Looks like you just did. And hey, I'm not criticizing. In fact, I'm rooting for you! My kid was waitlisted at Maret a few years ago too, and we went through a period where Maret continued to be DC's first choice even though DC got into a top 3. DC never got off the Maret waitlist, in fact I was told that nobody got off the waitlist that year either.

[Anonymous]

16:04: 15:54 here. Shooting someone through the heart works both ways since that's Cupid's M.O.! Perhaps you misread my post. I'd be highly satisfied if Maret rejected more applicants like Sidwell -- because it would spare children and parents false hope. Perhaps you applaud the notion of rejection by waitlist? Not matter. I do not. YMMV.

[Anonymous]

My 99+ kid was waitlisted at Maret.

It was her top choice by far - she LOVED it. (We loved it too.)

We told her that they didn't have a lot of room because they let little brothers and sisters in first, but that the school liked her very very much.

She got it.

[Anonymous]

You're ducking the issue. Everyone, parents and children, get being waitlist. They also get being rejected. Which is why Maret should stop playing this silly game with the handwritten somments and reject more of its applicants. Your child sounds young. When she's older, say Sixth Grade, she will likely appreciate the distinctions between a true waitlist and a soft-rejection waitlist.

[Anonymous]

Has anyone gleaned how many new families Maret accepted in K this year? Our DD was accepted to a school we like very much for PK but not as much as Maret...considering keeping her at her nursery school so that we can apply to Maret (and others) next year. Is this just a waste of time? We figure there must be a few open spots!

[Anonymous]

17:28 here
Disagree. I like the message "you're good enough, we just don't have enough room" better than "you don't make the cut."
I assume the Maret folks have read these boards and have made a considered choice about their approach.

[Anonymous]

NP here. I'm with the OP, Maret is toying with people and it's unnecessarily sleazy. What it says to me, who only applied for the first time this year MS (boy, 99 SSAT) is many rational, professional parents are all a little bit embarassed. I innocently mentioned to a friend that we were "waitlisted" with Maret, and that they even wrote a note. The laughter that followed and tip that this is an old ruse made me think that the practice is just not right. Also, through the tours, etc... both GDS and WIS were clear it is highly competitive and that the more you can do to boost a kid's portfolio the better so they may advocate for your applicant more effectively. At Maret we were lead around by a 16-year old girl in, I might add, an inappropriately short skirt (and I'm no prude) who wasn't even sure if they offered wrestling. She did go on about how her after school sport of riding horses at a private stable is able to count for p.e. End of the day, Maret needs to check itself. Of course they will always have plenty of students to choose from, but if this stuff keeps up it will be one obnoxious wanna be after another, with inflated sense of self-worth and how unpleasant will this gang of families be filling up space all the time? After reading through everything I'm not sure it's the type of atmosphere I'd like my child to experience day in and day out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Overaccepting is acceptable, indeed necessary, a waitlist equal to the entering class is even acceptable because schools don't rank the waitlist, they chose a child who helps round out the class. But waitlisting nearly everyone is really not fair to applicants who aren't in a real waitlist pool. My sense is that Maret's waitlist is huge, my sense is these handwritten comments and notes are for applicants who constitute the real waitlist and Maret will go to them first, my sense is Maret rarely outright rejects people.

As I've posted earlier, I would have much preferred an outright rejection when we applied several years ago. It was my child's first choice and they knew it and waitlisting my child or anyone else who really isn't waitlist material is intellectually dishonest and disrespectful. There is no way to defend this practice. Who needs it? Who wants it? I almost sent an anonymous letter to the head of school, admissions folks and board telling delineating how strongly I felt this practice departed from their core values. I felt like an absolute chump when I realized my child was not on the genuine waitlist, since we had not received any handwritten notes. I learned about it here on DCUM. And I'd long wondered what was up with Maret's waitlist because older children we knew were never rejected, either waitlisted or accepted and that seemed odd. Anyway, click on their website and the word RESPECT comes up on the screen. Ha. This waitlist policy jerks people around.

My child wants to apply to different schools for high school and we are not going near Maret -- I wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole even though I know my child would thrive there and contribute something to the community and sports teams. I'm not going through the fake waitlist charade again. If my child knew, my child would think the practice was outrageous because it gave us all false hope. I'm not telling my child this, there's no need to share. Again, this is NOT about there being no movement off a waitlist. It's about how Maret defines its waitlist, and whether it rejects, like Sidwell and other schools with waitlist integrity, or lamely rejects through its oversized waitlist. (Also, overenrolling is not the goal! It happens when they miscalculate the yield.)

I doubt Maret will respond. I hope it does.

I've posted this elsewhere but my DC was outright rejected this year. stronger candidate based on grades, activities, scores than other kids we know who were admitted so it's not that it was out of the question. No FA. So maybe they've changed their approach.

[Anonymous]

18:02 Then why the handwritten notes on some. If it weren't for the handwritten notes, we'd never know and I could buy the blanket, We like you etc. That's the spirit of a waitlist. I tell you, I never would have wasted my time writing two letters to the AD about my child, thinking DC was on a genuine waitlist, if I'd known about this handwritten secret code. Also, before we even considered applying, I was surprised that everyone we knew who didn't get it was waitlisted, even some students who didn't seem like strong candidates. It was a clue, but I didn't realize it. Anyway, we know lots of great people there, parents, students and staff, and it's a great school with a funky waitlist policy. Believe me my opinion is not extreme. There's been a huge debate about this and colleges.

[Anonymous]

19:19 Thanks. If so, that's great for Maret, it's what Sidwell does, but sorry about DC I hope your child finds a good match.