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Unsolicited Fee Waiver Implications
Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 12:43 am
by boosk
so I've received about 9 unsolicited fee waivers from the T14... clearly I understand that this does not guarantee admission to any of these schools, but im just wondering if there is an implied "better chance" of acceptance by receiving these. If so, how much? and is there a difference between schools in the T14 in this regard?
thanks in advance for any real advice

in advance for anything else
Re: Unsolicited Fee Waiver Implications
Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 12:45 am
by Curious1
All it means is that you're within the range of people who might conceivably apply. They want to offer waivers to people who are:
A) Much better than the people they usually get, to try to entice an application
B) Worse than the people they usually get, so they can reject you and boost selectivity.
Don't read too much into it.
Re: Unsolicited Fee Waiver Implications
Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 2:15 am
by theadvancededit
boosk wrote:
in advance for anything else
That face made me lol.
In any event, don't dig too deeply into this. Schools-- t14 included-- cast a wide, wide net of maybe applicants. And, by "maybe applicants", I mean those who may apply... not necessarily those who may get in.
But don't get discouraged-- a fee waiver may be included somewhere, perhaps.
Re: Unsolicited Fee Waiver Implications
Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 2:43 pm
by erikjc
Curious1 wrote:All it means is that you're within the range of people who might conceivably apply. They want to offer waivers to people who are:
A) Much better than the people they usually get, to try to entice an application
B) Worse than the people they usually get, so they can reject you and boost selectivity.
Don't read too much into it.
So you're saying a fee waiver might be a bad sign? I know I don't fall into the "A" category for many of the top schools that have given me a fee waiver, so am I to assume I am in "B"? Is there any support for this dichotomy?
Re: Unsolicited Fee Waiver Implications
Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 2:56 pm
by Curious1
erikjc wrote:Curious1 wrote:All it means is that you're within the range of people who might conceivably apply. They want to offer waivers to people who are:
A) Much better than the people they usually get, to try to entice an application
B) Worse than the people they usually get, so they can reject you and boost selectivity.
Don't read too much into it.
So you're saying a fee waiver might be a bad sign? I know I don't fall into the "A" category for many of the top schools that have given me a fee waiver, so am I to assume I am in "B"? Is there any support for this dichotomy?
No there's no good or bad sign. They cast an enormous net that catches students both above their median and below...only you can know where you stand. Compare your numbers to the school's numbers from the last year.
So it's not a dichotomy--there's really a C too:
C) You're exactly within the range of the people they usually admit.