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How much $$ can you expect coming off the wait list? It seems that money offered in the first round will become available. In a fair world, it would then be offered to the next best candidates. However, if those candidates have already put down a deposit, why bother? So then it would be offered to whoever hasn't hit their deposit deadline, which after the RD deadline would be WL. So is it possible to get more $$$ with middling numbers coming off of the wait list than somewhat higher number and accepted outright? In other words, could marginal numbers for a particular school become a financial boon?

xanderdellus wrote:How much $$ can you expect coming off the wait list? It seems that money offered in the first round will become available. In a fair world, it would then be offered to the next best candidates. However, if those candidates have already put down a deposit, why bother? So then it would be offered to whoever hasn't hit their deposit deadline, which after the RD deadline would be WL. So is it possible to get more $$$ with middling numbers coming off of the wait list than somewhat higher number and accepted outright? In other words, could marginal numbers for a particular school become a financial boon?

Schools understand that scholarship money they offer will be turned down, so they over offer.

So when I withdrew from Minnesota, 48000 dollars wasn't freed from their scholarship budget.

In fact some schools might see more people than they assumed accept scholarships, and might go over budget.

Plus, candidates who are easily admitted to a school rarely put down a deposit early because they're probably waiting on higher schools or trying to leverage other offers into scholarship money. I think the merit aid mostly goes to the top applicants who matriculate.

Also, I don't think they even accept seat deposits until fairly late in the cycle. I doubt there's much money left by the time they go to the waitlist.

So is there $$ available off the WL?

xanderdellus wrote:So is there $$ available off the WL?

Sometimes but don't count on it. You are on the WL because you are a marginal applicant, they probably aren't going to offer you money, when they'll be able to find someone else.

Unless you are YP WL'd at UVa or Penn, then you might get money.

xanderdellus wrote:So is there $$ available off the WL?

There can be but like someone else said don't count on it.

That said, lets say school X went for broke and tried to raise both medians substantially and didn't admit some lower numbers that would likely matriculate thinking the higher numbers would attend. Those high numbers then go somewhere else and school X has to scramble to try to admit the lower numbers that were WL'ed or rejected right off the bat. Suddenly, a 164/3.5 can look pretty attractive when your other alternative is to admit a 162/3.3.

I say this because I have a couple of friends that were offered some $$$ off the WL last year from a T20 school w/ below median LSATs (and GPA close to median, if not slightly over). And not chump change, either...

xanderdellus wrote:
Dean Pless:

Is there any chance of scholarship money coming off the wait list or should we make our decision with sticker price in mind?

Thanks for your involvement on the forum this cycle.

Pless replied:

Last year we were able to offer scholarships to people admitted off of the wait list.

You might get $ off the WL if they really want your numbers to pull up a median, but this is highly unlikely and you should plan on paying sticker.

xanderdellus wrote:xanderdellus wrote:
Dean Pless:

Is there any chance of scholarship money coming off the wait list or should we make our decision with sticker price in mind?

Thanks for your involvement on the forum this cycle.

Pless replied:

Last year we were able to offer scholarships to people admitted off of the wait list.

Ya, but how many? I'm guessing that very few people get money off the waitlist.

JazzOne wrote:

xanderdellus wrote:xanderdellus wrote:
Dean Pless:

Is there any chance of scholarship money coming off the wait list or should we make our decision with sticker price in mind?

Thanks for your involvement on the forum this cycle.

Pless replied:

Last year we were able to offer scholarships to people admitted off of the wait list.

Ya, but how many? I'm guessing that very few people get money off the waitlist.

3 out of 4 UIUC WL->In got 10K a year. But they seem quite rare in that regard.

Desert Fox wrote:

JazzOne wrote:

xanderdellus wrote:xanderdellus wrote:
Dean Pless:

Is there any chance of scholarship money coming off the wait list or should we make our decision with sticker price in mind?

Thanks for your involvement on the forum this cycle.

Pless replied:

Last year we were able to offer scholarships to people admitted off of the wait list.

Ya, but how many? I'm guessing that very few people get money off the waitlist.

3 out of 4 UIUC WL->In got 10K a year. But they seem quite rare in that regard.

Hmmm, interesting. That's more than I thought. I stand corrected.