[Assam] [assam] For international students, Early 2012 College admissions Yields and Wait-List Data

[bhuban.baruah]

New York Times (May 21, 2012)

For International Students, Early 2012 College Admissions Yields and 
Wait-List Data
By TANYA CALDWELL
Higher Education
The Choice on India Ink
Guidance on American college applications for readers in India from The 
Times’s admissions blog.

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Every year, as one cohort of college students is accepted and another 
crop starts filling out applications, colleges across the country 
calculate one final measurement of their admission season success: the 
admission yield.

The yield percentage represents the accepted students who have placed 
deposits, a sign that they are actually planning to show up. With that 
data in hand, colleges also use this time of year to report how many, 
if any, of their wait-list applicants will be offered admission.

We’ve recently reached out to several dozen colleges to determine how 
many of their accepted applicants have placed deposits, and how much 
those colleges intend to use their wait lists. This week’s installment 
of The Choice on India Ink includes data for international students.

Here are some of the preliminary figures:

Ivy League schools, some of which were more selective this year, are 
reporting yields much greater than what other colleges have reported so 
far.

Harvard’s total yield has increased, again, to nearly 81 percent. 
International students will make up 11.3 percent of the class. The news 
of Harvard’s high yield parallels with its increased selectivity: 
Harvard accepted only 5.9 percent of its more than 34,000 applicants 
this year, making it slightly more selective than the 6.2 percent of 
applicants who were offered admission into the Class of 2015. With such 
a high yield, Harvard anticipates that it will admit only 25 students 
from its waiting list.


William R. Fitzsimmons, the dean of admissions and financial aid at 
Harvard, attributed this year’s high yield to “the return of Early 
Action, the importance of our generous financial aid program in 
uncertain financial times, and a series of changes enacted over the 
past decade that greatly enrich the undergraduate experience.”

Brown, which admitted 9.6 percent of its more than 28,700 applicants 
(making it a bit less selective than last year, when it had an 8.7 
percent acceptance rate), is reporting a 57 percent total yield. This 
is similar to the international student yield: Of the 348 international 
students who were accepted, 191 of them — or 55 percent — plan to 
enroll. In all, Brown expects 1,575 students to constitute the Class of 
2016, and it has no plans to admit students from its wait list.

Dartmouth is reporting a 49.5 percent yield this year. Of the 2,180 who 
were offered admission to the Class of 2016, 1,080 have accepted, 
according to The Dartmouth. Roughly 10 percent of the admits are 
international students, the newspaper reported. The college may also 
use its wait list this year.

To be sure, there are ways that colleges can make their yields, and 
themselves, look good. Just as schools can make themselves look more 
desirable by broadcasting low acceptance rates, they can also predict 
who will probably enroll elsewhere and put those students on wait 
lists. By not accepting those students, the college is able to appear 
more selective and, ultimately, have a higher yield. (This practice was 
reported by The Wall Street Journal in 2001.)

Here are some interesting statistics from other colleges and 
universities that have reported so far:

Case Western Reserve (Ohio): Total yield of 18.2 percent, up from 13 
percent last year. It is reporting that 109 international students have 
decided to enroll. Case Western Reserve plans to admit 39 students from 
its wait list including 26 international students.
Lafayette (Pa.): Total yield of 28.2 percent, up slightly from 27.7 
percent last year. It is reporting an international yield of 27 
percent, meaning that 33 international students intend to enroll, out 
of the 123 international students accepted. Lafayette plans to admit 
students from its wait list, but has not determined how many.
New Mexico Tech: Total yield of 35.7 percent, an increase of one 
percentage point. New Mexico Tech admitted only three international 
students, and none of them have decided to enroll. It may still admit 
two international students from its wait list, and about 48 others.
Pitzer (Calif.): Total yield of 38.6 percent, up from 30.1 percent last 
year. The school accepted 26 international students, and 9 of them plan 
to enroll. Pitzer plans to admit five students from its wait list.
Rensselaer Polytechnic (N.Y.): Total yield of 20.5 percent, up slightly 
 from 20 percent last year. More than 450 international students were 
admitted, and 77 of them intend to enroll, thus creating an 
international yield of 17 percent. The school has no plans to admit 
students from its wait list.
The University of Iowa: Total yield of 29.3 percent, a small decrease 
 from 30.2 percent last year. Of the 1,830 international students who 
were accepted to Iowa this year, 470 of them (26 percent) intend to 
enroll. Iowa does not plan to admit any students from its wait list.
University of Richmond: Total yield of 26 percent, an increase of one 
percentage point. Its international yield is higher this year: 33 
percent, compared to last year’s 25 percent. Richmond plans to accept 
students from the wait list, but did not estimate how many.
University of Rochester: Total yield of 23.9 percent, down slightly 
 from 24.1 last year. The university has a higher international yield at 
33 percent, which represents the 200 international students who plan to 
enroll, out of the 604 who were admitted. Rochester expects to admit 
fewer than five students from its wait list, including two 
international students.
These preliminary figures are subject to change; they don’t account for 
the so-called summer melt in which students, for various reasons, 
change their minds and decide to enroll elsewhere. Please check back 
for updates. (Colleges and universities are encouraged to send their 
yield figures to us at thechoicenyt at gmail.com.)


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