hypothalamus wrote:
sharktankdean wrote:
yepyepyep wrote:
sharktankdean wrote:
When is says "Harvard accepts about 800 applicants for a class of 500 or so.." that 800 includes those admitted of the WL, right? Just wondering.
I always assumed so, since the WL people are technically accepted.
thanks!
So lets say the class size is 550...does Harvard initially admit 550 people to fill the class and then admit from the WL. Essentially I'm asking does one withdrawal mean that they will have to to pull from the WL to fill that spot. Or do they admit more than the class size (pre-WL)?
They have an estimate of what percentage of people will accept their offer of admission - let's say 70% - so they will admit a number of people so that their class will be filled with 70% of those people. They're probably more conservative and admit fewer people than their estimate tells them, so they don't over-enroll. If more people decline than expected (and/or their estimate was conservative), they have to admit some people from the waitlist. Waitlist acceptances are also likely to be more targeted in terms of applicant profile if they see that they don't have enough of a certain diversity category in the class as it is.
I agree. I'm guessing since their matriculation rate is 67%, they admit on the first wave with the assumption that about 65% will accept (since the percentage will go up when accepting WL people that automatically come). So in that case, I guess they've sent out about 700-750 acceptances, 65% will accept to give a class of around 490. Then they'll accept another 50ish on the WL, giving them a percentage matriculation where they want it (high 60s to 70s). But if their matriculation on the first go around is high, then they dont need to accept more people based on their estimate. So I think they do accept more people than spots the first go around.