2021 Admission Results and Wait Lists: Will They Move?
Congratulations to the Class of 2021! In this unprecedented year in admissions, we saw students accepted to dozens of excellent schools, from Stanford to Cal Poly, from UVA to U Vermont, from Princeton to Penn State. We also had some disappointments along the way, and I want to reiterate what I have said to so many of you already: you are more than where you were admitted.
Will wait lists move this year?
That said, I believe wait lists will move a great deal this cycle. We saw that last year for different reasons (travel restrictions for international students, deferrals, market uncertainty), and this year we know what the Common App is reporting: although overall applications were up 10%, unique users only increased by 1%. The bottom line? A group of mostly the same students applied to a greater number of schools. An applicant can ultimately attend only one school, ergo more people will be turning down more offers. So if you are on a wait list for a school in which you are interested, reserve your spot and keep up the pushing. I’ve already seen kids move off wait lists at tippy top schools, and we are only in April. That’s a good sign!
Where are CTK students going in the fall of 2021?
I can’t wait to hear from all my students as they head out into the great wide world next year. I’m rooting for you! Please keep me posted if your position on the wait list moves.
An Open Letter to Seniors in the Aftermath of Ivy Day and the Bloodbath of the 2021 Admissions Season:
Last week was “Ivy Day,” when a group of what many consider the most elite undergraduate schools in the country release their acceptances. Some of my students were admitted to these fine institutions-- I celebrate with them! These students are extremely accomplished and have worked incredibly hard for this honor.
For every qualified student who gained admission to one of these schools or another highly selective institution, however, there were dozens denied a spot. My students ask me despairingly, “What’s wrong with me?” “What more should I have done?” “What is it about me that isn’t good enough?” My heart breaks when I hear these pleas because they are misplaced. There is nothing wrong with these students. I know their numbers and experiences-- they have essays just as compelling, SAT scores just as high, letters of recommendation just as glowing, transcripts just as impressive. The reality is that this is a numbers game, and the numbers are not what they used to be.
When I was sixteen years old, I had my heart set on Princeton. It was the closest Ivy to my home, I still had a high school boyfriend I wanted to be near, and even though I had a rather awful campus visit from an adult perspective, I didn’t have much to compare it to. I was convinced that it was everything I needed and wanted. And then I was waitlisted. To add insult to injury, I was rejected from Yale and Harvard too. I can still summon the sting of opening those three ominously thin envelopes on that chilly April afternoon. I had to settle for-- wait for it-- Stanford. I tried to hide my disappointment, but I felt like an utter failure. What was wrong with me? What more should I have done?
As it turns out, I had an incredible four years in college. I was challenged, motivated, surrounded by brilliant and engaging humans, and made some of the best friends of my life. What’s the moral of the story? There are many, but one is that what you think is best isn’t always. Princeton is an excellent school, but in retrospect, Stanford was a much better fit for my personality and interests. Another is that other people’s perception of what really matters shouldn’t matter to you. If you can believe it, back in 1995 many people on the east coast weren’t as familiar with Stanford, and I was often asked if I was going to a local college in Stamford, Connecticut. Sigh.
But let me make another point. My students often are impressed by my fancy degrees from Stanford and Columbia Law School. Yes, I am proud of the work I put into earning those degrees. It was a great privilege to have those opportunities, and I have devoted my professional life to helping students do what they can to open doors to educational success so they too can learn and grow in the ways that I have found so enriching. But let’s not compare apples and oranges. Do you know what the acceptance rate to Stanford was that year? 15,390 students applied to Stanford in the fall of 1994, and Stanford admitted 2,900 of them the following spring. That’s a selective acceptance rate of 18.8%, but it pales in comparison to this year’s numbers at top schools for overall admissions (a combination of early and regular decision rates): Harvard 3.4% , Princeton 3.98%, Yale 4.62%. And as for Stanford? Regular decision acceptances won’t be out until April 9th, but its rate has been hovering around 4% even before this unprecedentedly selective year.
There are all kinds of good reasons to seek admission to a selective college. The one that I found most meaningful in my life was the chance to study with engaging professors and motivated students, or to quote Ron Lieber’s new book, to have my “mind grown and my mind blown.” Those kids aren’t just clustered at the top ten schools anymore (and that’s for so many reasons, not just low acceptance rates, but also skyrocketing college costs and an increasing societal emphasis on access to higher education for all). You are going to find those peers and professors all over the place. So, continue to seek those challenges, but stop defining yourself by whether a school has deemed you “worthy.” You already are worthy of greatness, so carry on and find your way. I’m cheering you on.