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
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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 [email protected].)
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