Anonymous wrote:Even Sidwell etc. have to admit twice as many kids as they have spaces, because they all know that top applicants will apply to multiple schools and have multiple choices. Schools like Sidwell may admit 2 kids for every seat they want to fill. Less selective schools may admit 3 or 4 or five kids for every seat they want to fill.
Self-selection also matters. Some schools have very high yield rates because they occupy more specialized niches, so they may not get a ton of applications, but a high percentage of applicants are committed to attending.
That said it is late January so all we can do no is sit back and cross fingers!
Schools closely track their historical yield, including by division. Sidwell admits more than it expects, because it does not get 100% yield, but their yield percentage is well above 50% from what I understand.
Your overall point is an important one, however, because inevitably on this thread somebody asks people to post what schools they are declining to give hope to those on a waiting list. Unless the number of declined offers exceeds the historical norm, any declined offer is just the built-in cushion and you can't assume the waiting list "goes live."