The SpreadsheetDear Eleven and/or Ten,
We know that deposit deadlines for many schools are quickly approaching. In the interest of time, we wanted to provide you with your decision by e-mail.
Thank you again for your continued patience throughout the admissions process. Although your application was among the most impressive, because of the small size of our first-year class, we are not able to offer you admission at this time. We would be pleased if you would be willing to have your application kept in active waiting, to be considered for admission if space should become available. Please let us know whether or not you would like to be considered on this basis. You can notify us by returning the attached form by mail, e-mail, or fax.
When we create a waitlist we do not know whether we will ultimately make an offer to anyone on the list. Waitlist offers are made with the size and shape of the specific class in mind. We do not, therefore, entertain requests for deferral from people offered admission from the waitlist. Whether or not we will take anyone from the waitlist depends on developments in the admitted class. We monitor the size of the class throughout the summer and may make offers at any point. We will continue to keep some people in active waiting until Registration Day, August 27, 2014. We do not rank the waitlist, but rather consider all eligible files. In the recent past we have admitted an average of ten people from the waitlist each year, with the actual number of offers ranging from zero to twenty from a pool of less than 100 files.
If there is additional information that you would like to add to your application (such as additional letters of recommendation, spring term grades, etc.), please feel free to submit it directly to our office. This additional information, along with your original application materials, will be reviewed in the event a seat becomes available.
The odds of admission for any individual increase as the summer progresses and the size of the pool diminishes. It is of help to us for you to consider in advance how long you are realistically able to wait. When you no longer wish to be considered please let us know so that others who are waiting for decisions from us will not have their offers delayed unnecessarily.
It is not possible to predict whether any particular person on the waitlist will be offered admission; it is wise, therefore, to protect your admission elsewhere. As outlined in the Law School Admission Council's Statement of Good Admission and Financial Aid Practices, most law schools should allow you to remain on waitlists even though you have made an enrollment commitment to their school. Should you choose to accept an offer at another institution, please keep in mind that your strong record indicates that you may be a promising candidate for future admission. You may wish to consider applying as a transfer candidate. Each year we accept a number of students who have performed well in their first year of law school. We often find that these transfer students are some of our strongest students. To make the application process as easy as possible, we offer an abbreviated "fast-track" transfer application to individuals who were offered a place on our waitlist. We would be happy to speak with you next spring if you are interested in exploring this option. If you would like for us to contact you, please send an e-mail with your contact information for the next academic year to josephine.elliot@yale.edu. Please include "transfer discussion" in the subject line.
Best wishes to you in your future pursuits. We look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Craig Janecek
Director of Admissions
Blog Post (In the Waiting Room)
Waitlist Stalker
Waitlist c/o 2016
Waitlist c/o 2015
Waitlist c/o 2014
Waitlist c/o 2013
Main Yale Thread
Main Yale Spreadsheet -- Please Update!
Note: Please make sure you put something ("anon." works) in the "name" category. Also, use real numbers please!
