Record Wait List Led by Amherst, Yale, MIT Brings High Anxiety

April 16 (Bloomberg) -- Anxiety for U.S. high school seniors, always high this time of year, is growing after elite colleges put record numbers of applicants on waiting lists.

Yale and Princeton universities, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Amherst College are among top-ranked U.S. schools that increased, by as much as 50 to 90 percent, the number of students told this month they may be accepted only if those already admitted decline to attend.

The expanded waiting lists -- Yale put 1,052 students on hold, up 22 percent from last year; Princeton placed 1,526 on hold, up 93 percent -- are the result of new acceptance and financial-aid policies and record applications, college officials say. While the new numbers game doesn't mean more openings, it has left wait-listed students, including Nancy Wang, holding out hope for their dream schools.

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"The fact that there are many more kids on waiting lists this year means that there are many more kids who will remain restless through the end of May,'' said Lawrence Momo, director of college counseling at the private Trinity School in New York, and the former head of undergraduate admissions at Columbia.

Bloomberg