Free 20-Minute Consultation

515 East 72nd Street, New York, NY 10021
E-mail: director@theivycoach.com
Tel: (212) 600-0312
Please complete the consultation form prior to calling.
The Ivy Coach is frequently featured in...
Personalized Attention from an Admissions Expert...

Newsletter Sign Up

Ivy League Admission
The Ivy Coach College Admissions Blog

Harvard Z-List

May 21, 2013
Harvard Waitlist, Z-List at Harvard, Harvard University Waitlist

Do you think that the Harvard Z-List is unethical (photo credit: Jacob Rus – 2004).

Ever heard of the Harvard Z-List? You probably haven’t so we’ll fill you in. The Harvard admissions office is encouraging of students who wish to take a year off between high school and college to do something else. Harvard students are typically (a.k.a. always) extremely ambitious and to avoid burn-out, a year of doing something completely different from schooling could be a good thing (though this year should certainly be educational and fulfilling — it shouldn’t consist of sitting on the couch watching television). Anyhow, for about 20 of the 50 students who deferred their admission last year, as “The Harvard Crimson” states, “deferring is not an option, but a requirement.”

That’s right. These students didn’t have a choice but to defer a year. And why’s that? Because these students were pulled off of Harvard’s waitlist on the condition that they defer their admission by a year because Harvard simply doesn’t have enough beds for them. But, more interestingly than this is the fact that these 20 students have something in common besides having been plucked off of Harvard’s waitlist. What’s that, you ask? They are the children of alumni. That’s right — they’re legacies.

According to “The Harvard Crimson” article on the Harvard Z-List, “The Crimson obtained information about the legacy status of 36 of the approximately 80 Z-list students at Harvard in 2001-02. Though McGrath Lewis insists the Z-list is ‘not a legacy list,’ 26—or 72 percent of the 36-student sample—were legacies, compared with 12 to 14 percent of the class as a whole. Even if none of the remaining 44 or so Z-list students were legacies, 33 percent of the 80 students would be legacies—still well above the proportion of legacies in the class as a whole.”

We at The Ivy Coach have known for quite a while about the Harvard Z-List. We haven’t written about it because, well, we surely don’t share the vast majority of our secrets on our college admissions blog since we are a business at the end of the day. But now that it’s getting some more press (it has gotten some press before), we felt the need to let our readers know about this admissions practice. What do you think about the Harvard Z-List? Is it unfair? Should it be done away with? Let us know your thoughts on the subject by posting below!

Categories: College Admissions, Ivy League  Tags: , , , ,
Comments: Leave A Comment

Harvard Yield Statistics

May 20, 2013
Harvard Yield Data, Statistics on Harvard Yield, Harvard Yield

We’ve got information on Harvard yield statistics for you.

We’ve got the Harvard yield statistics for you for the Class of 2017. The yield for some highly selective colleges can be 40% or 50%, sometimes more and sometimes less. But one university’s yield statistics are ridiculously high and this distinction belongs to Harvard University. Students who are admitted to Harvard tend to matriculate. It’s just how it is. And this year, that will be no different. For the Class of 2017, 82% of students admitted to Harvard University will indeed matriculate to the school in Cambridge, Massachusetts. This yield statistic marks the highest yield for Harvard in quite a number of years — since 1973 in fact. That’s a long time and a significant achievement for the Harvard admissions office this year.

Guess the cancellation of Visitas (a program for newly admitted students that showcases what the Harvard University undergraduate experience is all about) wasn’t that significant since Harvard can now boast its highest yield in decades. Isn’t that ironic? If you were wondering, Visitas was canceled this year because of the security lockdown in place after the tragic terrorist attack at the Boston Marathon. Admitted students rightly did not allow this event to impact their decision to attend one of America’s finest institutions.

The fact that Harvard boasts an 82% yield (in spite of the lockdown during the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings) is all the more impressive when you consider that they don’t even have an Early Decision policy in place for Early applicants. They have an Early Action policy — meaning students are free to matriculate to other universities that they’re admitted to. So don’t you think their yield statistic is pretty amazing? Because we do.

Categories: Ivy League  Tags: , , , ,
Comments: 2

The Harvard Waitlist

May 18, 2013
Harvard University Waiting List, Harvard Waiting List, The Harvard Waiting List

Harvard needs to stop putting students who were deferred in Early Action on the waitlist. It’s just plain wrong (photo credit: chensiyuan).

We’d like to raise a concern that we at The Ivy Coach have with the Harvard waitlist. There is absolutely nothing wrong with placing students on waitlists. Sure, it can be unsatisfying to students who have been waiting throughout much of their high school senior years to find out that they have to wait even longer to know their fates. But, hey, you’re applying to one of the finest universities in the land — deal with it. There are only so many beds, only so many seats in classrooms. Harvard needs to know their yield data, they need to know the number of students who will be deferring their admission, etc. before they go to their waitlist. In this way, Harvard is just like most other highly selective colleges (with exception to the fact that Harvard has a ridiculously high yield as the vast majority of students accepted to Harvard choose to matriculate).

But we do take issue with Harvard placing students who applied Early Action to the university only to be deferred to Regular Admission…and then find out that they’re on the waitlist. Seriously? These students applied months and months ago. Harvard really needs more time to decide their fate? That’s just plain not right. These students were mature enough to get their applications in to Harvard for the Early round. They waited. And then they heard that they were deferred. Disappointing of course. But it happens. However, these students should not have to wait longer after the Regular Decision round. Harvard should not need more time. It’s absolutely absurd.

The act of Harvard University putting deferred Early Action applicants on the waitlist must end. It’s wrong. It shows a lack of empathy to stressed out high school students. To the Harvard University office of admission, we await your response. We hope this response will be an end to this practice.

Categories: College Admissions, Ivy League  Tags: , , , ,
Comments: Leave A Comment

2017 Ivy League Admissions Statistics

May 16, 2013
Ivy League Admissions Stats, 2017 Ivy League Admissions Stats, 2017 Ivy League Statistics

We’ve got the most comprehensive analysis of the 2017 Ivy League Admissions Statistics on the web.

Looking for the most comprehensive 2017 Ivy League Admissions Statistics on the web replete with analysis for each of the eight institutions? We’ve got this for you. Curious which of the eight universities had the highest number of Early applications? That would be Harvard University with 4,856 Early Action applications, edging out the University of Pennsylvania which had 4,812 Early Decision applications. Curious which of the Ancient Eight universities received the highest number of total applications? That distinction does not belong to Harvard University but rather to Cornell University. Cornell had 40,006 applications this year for the Class of 2017. Harvard had 35,023, placing second in this particular category.

And which university among the Ivies received the highest number of Regular Decision applications? The winner is…Cornell University again with 35,813 applications. Finishing second to Cornell in this category is Columbia University, with 30,405 applications received. Columbia edged out Harvard, which received 30,167 Regular Decision applications. Curious which university had the largest chunk of their admitted class filled in the Early round? That would be (of course)…the University of Pennsylvania. If you want to go to Penn, it’s always best to apply Early Decision. They want to be loved. Penn filled 49.4% of its class through Early Decision. Columbia filled 43.2% of its class through Early Decision. And Dartmouth College filled 41.4% of its class through Early Decision.

Have a question for us on the 2017 Ivy League Admissions Statistics? Want to know more about the breakdown of the admitted Ivy League classes? Check out our Ivy League Statistics pages or send us your questions by writing a comment below. We look forward to hearing from you.

Categories: Ivy League  Tags: , , , ,
Comments: Leave A Comment

Asian American Parents and Ivy League

May 15, 2013
Asians and Ivy League, Asian Parents and College Admission, Asian American Parents and College Admissions

Asian American parents are, quite often, obsessed with the Ivy League colleges, Stanford, MIT, and a couple of other universities (photo credit: Jawed Karim).

Asian and Asian American parents have a special affinity for the Ivy League. If you’re a regular reader of our college admissions blog, you know that we’re often very critical of statements and articles about the highly selective college admissions process in the press. We’re critical because there is an enormity of inaccurate information out there about this process and we aim to correct this. Today, we came across an article by lawyer and author Allison Singh (who also notes that she was a rejected college applicant in spite of the fact that she ended up attending one of the finest — if not the finest — university in the nation) that is not in the least inaccurate. While this may come as a surprise to many, we have only praise for this May 14th piece on “The Huffington Post” entitled “College Admissions and the Asian-American Parent.”

In the piece, Ms. Singh discusses how Asian American parents are all basically culprits of using “The List.” “The List” consists of “The Ivies, MIT, Stanford, Caltech, Berkeley. Maybe Duke, if all else fails…maybe.” We would add a couple of other schools (have you ever walked around UCLA?) but Ms. Singh is spot on. Chinese American parents — and even more so parents in China whose children will be attending university in the United States, rarely stray from “The List.” They are obsessed with brand recognition and they consider the “US News & World Report” rankings “The Bible.” It’s all about status, as Ms. Singh writes.

Are there Asian and Asian American students at highly selective liberal arts colleges like Williams College, Amherst College, and Wesleyan University? Sure. But these universities aren’t on the same playing field for this group of parents, unfortunately. Amherst College — in spite of offering one of the greatest educations in the world — just doesn’t make “The List.” It’s not Harvard. It’s not MIT. The fact is that brand recognition matters. Universities invest millions to build their brands. They employ folks just to bolster their brands. The day that Asian and Asian American parents stray from “The List” is a day we don’t foresee happening anytime soon, though our Asian and Asian American clients always stray a little (though they quite often also apply to “The List” schools too).

Categories: College Admissions, Ivy League, Parents  Tags: , , , ,
Comments: 1

Ivy League ROI

April 28, 2013
Ivy League ROI, ROI of Ivy League, Ivy ROI, Ivies ROI

Harvard, Dartmouth, and Princeton top the Ivies in return on investment (photo credit: chensiyuan).

Many folks ask us about the Ivy League ROI. There was a post yesterday on “The Huffington Post” entitled “Best Ivy League Schools: Payscale’s Return on Investment Ranking.” So which Ivy League school offers graduates the best return on investment? It’s not Yale University. The average 30-year net ROI of a Yale degree is $954,300. That places Yale last in the Ivy League. Their annualized net ROI stands at 5.8%. Cornell University’s average 30-year net ROI is $1,117,000, a bit better than Yale’s. And Cornell’s annualized net ROI is 6.4%. Brown University has an average  30-year net ROI of $1,118,000 with a 6.3% annualized net ROI.

Columbia University has an average 30-year net ROI of $1,175,000. And the university has an annualized net ROI of 6.4%. The University of Pennsylvania’s figures stand at $1,220,300 and 6.6%. Princeton University? $1,234,000 and 6.7%. Dartmouth College has an average 30-year net ROI of $1,262,000 and an annualized net ROI of 6.7%. Lastly, Harvard’s figures stand at $1,334,000 and 6.9%. So third place goes to Princeton, second place goes to Dartmouth, and first place goes to Harvard in terms of the earnings for the investment of the education.

Do these figures at all surprise you? Does it surprise you that Harvard, Dartmouth, and Princeton top the Ivy League in return on investment? Did you think that Yale would have a better return on investment? Let us know your thoughts on the matter by posting below. And don’t think these figures mean anything? Let us know that too!

Categories: Ivy League  Tags: , , , ,
Comments: Leave A Comment

Princeton Waitlist

April 27, 2013
Princeton Waiting List, Waitlist at Princeton, Waiting List at Princeton University

No students earned admission off the Princeton waitlist last year.

For students on the Princeton waitlist, you should first of all know that Princeton didn’t admit any students off of its waitlist last year. It’s always good to know that data point so that you can adjust your expectations accordingly. Having reasonable expectations is the name of the game in highly selective college admissions. The Dean of Admissions at Princeton University, Janet Rapelye, did a little video with “Philly.com” about what waitlisted students should do to try to get off the Princeton waitlist. In the video, Rapelye also discusses the Tina Fey movie “Admission” since the story is supposed to be loosely based on the Princeton admissions office and takes place on the iconic campus.

In the video on waitlisted students, Rapelye discusses how for students on the waitlist, their final transcript and all of their senior year grades will indeed matter. She states that “this is the time to be stepping up your efforts.” She tells waitlisted students not to come to campus (there is no point in doing that after being waitlisted) as the university has “everything” they need with respect to your candidacy. She mentions how students should send updates on “late breaking news” like awards, appointments, and honors earned since their applications were submitted months ago. Additionally, as we’ve long talked about, students should craft a letter to the admissions office stating why they still want to attend Princeton, what they’ve been working on senior year, and why they’d be a great addition to the Princeton incoming class. This letter, of course, should be in the student’s own unique voice and it should be heartfelt. These letters really can help, affirms Rapelye.

The Princeton Dean of Admissions also urges students not to send cookies, like in the movie. Sure, they’ll eat the cookies. Why not. But it won’t impact your admissions decision. Not even if they’re really good chocolate chip cookies that are still warm upon their arrival. Did anyone really think that this would do the trick? Amazing!

Categories: College Admissions, Ivy League  Tags: , , , ,
Comments: Leave A Comment

Yale Admission Stats

April 14, 2013
Yale Admissions Stats, Yale Statistics, Yale Admissions, Admission to Yale, Yale and Admissions Statistics

The Yale admission stats are out and Yale boasts its lowest admission rate in its history.

The Yale admission stats are in for 2013 and with an acceptance rate of 6.72%, Yale had its lowest admission rate in its history. Of the 29,610 students who applied to Yale this year, only 1,991 gained admission. This compares to 28,975 applicants to Yale last year and 1,973 admitted students. And how about that waitlist? The Yale waitlist this year stands at 1,001 students. Whether or not — and how deep — they go into that waitlist will depend on Yale’s yield for the year. They hope to enroll about 1,350 students in their freshman class. If last year’s numbers are any indication, Yale admitted 70 students off of its waitlist.

According to an article in “The Yale Daily News” on the Yale admission stats, “With the decisions made and the official acceptance letters sent out, the admissions process for most aspiring members of the class of 2017 is finally over. Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Jeffrey Brenzel said in an email to the News Thursday afternoon that the Admissions Office has seen ‘another extraordinary applicant pool’ and faced ‘another challenging selection process’ this year. ‘Of the students we could offer admission, we know that the ones choosing Yale will bring us astonishing talents and aspirations,’ Brenzel said, adding that he believes that virtually all of the students rejected this year will be ‘successful students at other great colleges and universities.’”

Were you placed on Yale’s waitlist? If so, there’s a right and a wrong strategy to try and get off of it. Fill out our form for a free 20-minute consultation and we’ll give you some tips on getting off that dreaded waitlist. And, while you’re here, check out our compiled Ivy League Statistics.

Categories: Ivy League  Tags: , , , ,
Comments: Leave A Comment

2013 Cornell Admissions Statistics

April 8, 2013
Cornell Admissions, Admission to Cornell, 2013 Cornell Statistics, Cornell Admissions Stats for 2013

Cornell received the most applications of the Ivies this year.

The 2013 Cornell admissions statistics are in and, as it turns out, the university received the most applications of all of its Ivy League peers. With 40,006 applicants, Cornell’s applicant pool was its largest to date. This figure actually marked a 5.8% increase over the total number of applications sent into Cornell last year (when 37,812 students applied for admission). And Cornell’s admission rate is dropping as well. This year, the university had a 15.2% admission rate (the highest in the Ivy League with Harvard’s being the lowest). Last year, Cornell had a 16.2% admission rate. And the year before? It was 18% then.

Does that mean that it was more difficult to get into Cornell this year as compared to two years ago? Yes, and no. Because the admission rate is not necessarily indicative of the quality of the applicant pool – and it’s the quality of the applicant pool that we don’t know about. But you should know that students applying with ‘B’ and ‘C’ averages does not make an applicant pool more competitive. And this is not only happening at Cornell. All those who say Ivy League admission is getting tougher every year because admission rates get lower and lower don’t fully understand important lessons about statistics. We say this repeatedly.

According to an article in “The Cornell Chronicle” on Cornell’s admission stats, “The number of admitted students from underrepresented minority populations increased to 1,512, or 24.9 percent, from 1,469, or 24.0 percent, in 2012. Women were 51.6 percent of all admitted students, compared with 52.0 percent in 2012. In newly included data this year, first-generation applicants — students whose parents did not graduate from college — represent 11 percent of the admit pool at Cornell. Admitted students reside in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and Guam; and in 82 countries worldwide, a significant jump from 68 countries represented in last year’s admissions.”

While you’re here, check out our compiled Ivy League Admissions Statistics.

Categories: Ivy League  Tags: , , , ,
Comments: Leave A Comment

Ivy League Admission Data

April 6, 2013
Ivy League Data, Ivy League Admissions Data, Data on Ivy League Admissions, Data on Ivy League Admission

Stanford had a lower acceptance rate than all eight Ivy League universities in 2013.

So we know that Harvard University had, shockingly, the lowest admission rate in the Ivy League this year. But did Harvard have the lowest admission rate among all highly selective colleges in the United States. That answer would be…no. This distinction belongs not to Harvard but rather to Stanford University, which admitted only 5.69% of its applicant pool. At Stanford, 38,828 students applied for admission to The Farm (slightly more than the number of applicants to Harvard University), and 2,210 got spots. At Harvard, as we’ve previously reported, 35,023 students applied for admission. And of these students, 2,029 earned spots (a 5.79% admission rate).

Which other non-Ivy League schools (in addition to Stanford) cracked the top ten list of universities with the lowest 2013 admission rate, you ask? The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) sure did, with an admission rate of 7.29%. Of the 18,989 students who applied for admission to MIT, 1,548 earned admission. The University of Chicago also cracked the list. The University of Chicago had an 8.8% admission rate for 2013. Of the 30,069 students who applied for admission to the University of Chicago, 2,676 got in.

Stanford, MIT, and the University of Chicago are the only non-Ivy League schools on the top ten list of universities with the lowest admission rate for 2013. The rest of the list is occupied by Ivy League schools including Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Princeton, Brown, Dartmouth, and Penn. The only Ivy not on this list, in fact, is Cornell University. Does that come as a surprise to you? Let us know your thoughts on this Ivy League admission data (and this non-Ivy League admission data too).

Categories: Ivy League  Tags: , , , ,
Comments: Leave A Comment