Indiana had nearly 31,000 applications, an 8-percent rise over 2007, and expects to admit very few students from its waiting list. Virginia Tech received 7 percent more deposits than last year, so it had no slots to offer any of its wait-listed applicants. As of this week, neither did the University of Virginia, which saw only a slight drop in yield despite ending its early-decision program.
Other public universities, however, were able to free many applicants from admissions limbo. The University of Wisconsin at Madison plans to admit nearly 800 students from its waiting list, one year after taking only a handful.
After overenrolling by 400 students last year, Madison needed to admit more conservatively this spring, says Robert Seltzer, director of admissions. And he perceived that more students were applying to multiple colleges. “Just because you’re up in applications,” Mr. Seltzer says, “doesn’t mean you’re going to be up in bodies.”