Yale Obsession

[JackBauer]

Sorry, allow me to clarify:
I didn't apply to Yale, so I don't have a personal stake in this beyond interest in the process. And I did not mean to indicate that I myself thought that Yale's approach to apps was "holier than thou," I was simply referring to what anyone--even someone in the yale admissions office--would have to agree is a popular impression of yale's admit process.  I wholeheartedly accept that Y's normal delay is the unavoidable product of their more thorough process, and I am sure that any additional delay is likely the product of equally unavoidable circumstances.  Cleary, it serves no benefit to the school to intentionally delay the admit process.  I'm simply pointing out that people do get a little miffed when they apply in September, and haven't heard anything resembling a personal response for over 6 months (Form-letters and emails don't count, and initial caveats that most don't hear until february and march don't help either when some do, in fact, hear before the new year).  As a result, the popular impression of a school changes when people (even those who have been accepted) here it being bad-mouthed by their friends whose apps are still pending. 
Likewise, I'm sure the other schools bad-mouthing YLS, has had an effect, but that's their prerogative (plus, that sort of thing tends to come back and bite them in the a** later on). I do think, though, that if Yale has this admissions process that takes signifcantly longer than other schools, it has to acknowledge the additional strife it puts its applicants through.  Whatever the cause, it's still unpleasant on this end. (and for the vast majority that don't get it, it's no comfort that the process results in a more favorable class.) 

2)  In re: LSN's popularity, I don't know if that has an effect, since the pool of acceptees we're talking about is the same now as it was last year.  And while none of last year's 40+ self-identified acceptees withdrew, this year, of the same number of S-I acceptees (40+), 6 claim to have withdrawn so far.  As for the fakes on LSN, who knows? It's equally possible that there were the fakes last year. 
Alternatively, the answer to my initial question may just be "no." 

[A.]

I don't feel like going back and looking, but is this 40+ you mention for last year all of the acceptees for 2005? And are there currently 40+ for 2006?  If so, there will be more for 2006, since the Admissions Office has, literally, hundreds of apps left to read.

[JackBauer]

Right, I don't mean that they're done, I just mean that of a random sampling of 40-50 acceptees, here's what happened last year and this year. (And can we please just skip the obvious discussion over the fact that it is not actually a random sampling because only a select population uses LSN?  It just seemed like an interesting phenomenon to me.)

[The Dread Pirate Roberts]

I don't think the current withdrawls are a product of the delay for the reasons Mooooobell mentioned, but it does seem like the long wait may at least somewhat impact yield;, because it's just coming down to the time when we all want to have a decision and get on with our lives.

I know I for one would have to seriously consider the question at this point if I got in, when a month ago it would have been a no-brainer.  Luckily for them they weren't going to admit me anyway.    I just wish they'd get around to letting me know.

[vrm083]

Waitlist for me...which I won't be waiting on.    I'm quite content with my Harvard v. Columbia decision.  Yale would have just complicated my life, since it wasn't an obvious choice for me. 

[The Dread Pirate Roberts]

Waitlist for me...which I won't be waiting on.    I'm quite content with my Harvard v. Columbia decision.  Yale would have just complicated my life, since it wasn't an obvious choice for me. 

Well, sorry to hear that, but congrats with being done with the wait.   

[Yale College Inferno]

Waitlist for me...which I won't be waiting on.    I'm quite content with my Harvard v. Columbia decision.  Yale would have just complicated my life, since it wasn't an obvious choice for me. 

'

What about Stanford?

[anon123]

Does anyone know why Yale is being slower than usual this year? What are these mysterious "unavoidable circumstances"?

Also, does the waitlist letter indicate when to expect a final decision?

[vrm083]

YC: Stanford a) will not accept me and b) will not influence my decision.  I'd withdraw, but my mom won't let me.  (I'm too exhausted with all of this to be anything other than perfectly honest.)

Anon: August 31.  I'm not kidding.  You can chill on the waitlist all the way up til orientation.

[vrm083]

Oh, and thanks, Su!