Admission Yield & Waitlist Update for Class of 2013
Tuesday, May 19th, 2009Penn expects to enroll 63% of students who were accepted to the class of 2013, according to Dean of Admissions Eric Furda. Penn’s 2009 yield (percentage of admitted students who actually enroll) remained the same as in 2008 and was 66% in 2007. Penn reported an average SAT score of 2175, for the Class of 2013, a 15-point increase over the class of 2012. Penn is expected to accept 50 to 70 some students off of the waitlist, which will slightly impact enrollment yield.
According to the Daily Pennsylvanian and other sources, yield changes (from 2008) were minimal at other Ivy League institutions and at many other highly competitive schools. Harvard University’s yield remained at 76%. Yale University reported a 68% yield and the yield at Dartmouth decreased by two percent from last year to 49%.
According to published sources, all of the Ivy League schools, except Yale, expressed plans to accept students from their waitlists. It was reported that Princeton University is expected to admit 31 waitlisted students and Harvard University is expected to admit least 85 students off the waitlist. Published reports state that Yale University’s Class of 2013 is oversubscribed. MIT admitted 63 students (including some international students) off the waitlist to the Class of 2013.
Yield is an important issue for college admissions officers. Estimated yield is a key factor in deciding how many students to accept. If the estimate is wrong, the incoming class can be too big (crowded classes and housing) or too small. Historical yield varies significantly from school to school and year to year. The most prestigious colleges and universities may have yields in excess of 60% while less competitive and “safety” schools may be in the 15-30% range. The general bias in admissions offices is to estimate yield slightly higher than anticipated and admit students from the waitlist to fill the class.
