I read an article (click here for full article) the other day that essentially claims the following: Now that selective colleges have sent out acceptance letters, it’s their turn to sweat it out as they wait to see how many students actually decide to accept their offers of admission.
While some may find pleasure in imagining admission officers sweating with anxiety, the reality is that they’re not sweating at all.
If fewer students than anticipated accept, admission officers simply go to their wait lists. On the other hand, if more students than anticipated accept, they (i) offer accepted students a sweet deal, if they agree to defer for a year, and/or (ii) they call upon on-campus housing departments to solve the problem for them. Neither scenario involves sweat.
April 9th, 2008 at 10:58 pm
Hi Karl!
I agree that admission officers aren’t sweating but they will. Even those who can manage their enrollment outcomes with great precision are having to face daily inquisitions from others on their campuses about how their numbers look and “what will happen if?” For most institutions, the admission cycle is at least 18 months long. A lot of time is invested in personnel and programming with the objective of acquiring a great class. It all boils down to the four weeks of April during which students have an opportunity to make their final choices among the colleges that admitted them. Not surprisingly, about 75% of the enrollment checks are sent to colleges between April 25 and May 1! The last few days of April, then, are some of the longest of the year for admission officers until they can finally count each member of the newly enrolled class. I say this having been dean of admission at a highly selective college for more than 10 years!
April 10th, 2008 at 7:48 am
I stand corrected. Thanks, Peter. It is nice to get input from a real insider.
April 10th, 2008 at 5:32 pm
Things are no different for independent secondary schools.