Show I The wait for admissions I W II J c Los Angeles Times photo by Genaro Cenaro Molina Bennett Duval has been accepted at the University of California Santa Barbara Larry Gordon Los Angeles Times For most students the thc out drawn-out drama of college admissions decisions was finished last month Choices were made deposits mailed in successes savored and wounds licked Time to think about roommates and classes But not for everyone According to admissions experts some popular colleges colleges' have compiled longer wait lists than in previous years dangling the possibility however small that slots might open up if enough previously accepted applicants dont don't enroll As a result more students will remain in limbo possibly through June Its It's rather like the pains and joys of teen romance They're happy to have found a match in this case a college but hope a dreamier one comes along at the last minute My impression is it seems to be something of a trend an interesting phenomenon said Barmak associate executive director of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers Compiling a wait list can be a softer way to reject otherwise well-qualified well students during the current demographic bulge of high school seniors But mainly the lists function said as insurance for schools to hit their enrollment goals Its It's becoming harder for colleges to predict how many possible freshmen will accept offers because the Internet makes it easy for ambitious students to apply to six or 10 or more colleges quantities that were much rarer a generation ago Whether more students will be accepted this year from wait lists remains to be seen especially at competitive elite schools Meanwhile waiting is tough Bennett Duval a senior at Loyola High School in Los Angeles was accepted at five of the 10 colleges he applied to and chose the University of California Santa Sarit Barbara his hid fathers father's alma mater UC Santa Barbara Barbar seems to be the best fit for me said Duval who is an excellent student and captain of Loyola's volleyball team Its the right distance from home not too far not too close But Duval who wants to study economics was placed last month on th the wait list at Boston College He likes its East Coast location Jesuit tradition and more intimate scale So he has kept his name on the list with about others 1500 despite the uncertainty and the deposit he sent to UC Santa Barbara Its especially hard since you look around and your friends are sure where the theare they are going to college he said Youve waited and you still have to wait some more Definitive statistics on wait lists are hard to come comeby comeby comeby by although a survey by bythe bythe bythe the National Association for College Admission and Counseling found that about two-thirds two of highly selective colleges maintain wait lists and about one- one third of all colleges and universities do About half of those schools in recent years reported increasing the size of their lists But successfully gaining admission off a wait list is difficult Schools considered selective those that take fewer than half of all applicants admitted percent of wait-listed wait students in f fall ll 2006 the latest admission association figures At the most highly sought- sought after schools things can be grim Princeton University which reports wait-list wait entries this year admitted no one from its list in the past two years With those low odds many high school counselors decry the racking nerve-racking effect on young people who should be enjoying their last weeks with classmates Its terrible It seems this process never ends said Hector Martinez director of college guidance at the Webb Schools in Claremont He said he has seen more qualified students put on wait lists over the past few years That seems to involve more girls as colleges seek to enrollments that tipped to female majorities |