Tuesday was a day of drama for high school students who applied to the nation's most exclusive private colleges.
At 2 p.m. they logged on to Ivy League and other college Web sites and learned: Yes, no or maybe.
For scads of eager students, it was the final round in a process that's been playing out over the last couple of weeks, as colleges have sent out admission offers, rejections and spots on their waiting lists.
This year, many schools are putting more students on waiting lists, dragging out the college admission season into a game of wait and see.
"I'm not going to get my hopes too high," said Joey Samuels, who landed on three waiting lists: Cornell, Georgetown and Washington University.
He has plenty of good options to choose from: UC Berkeley, UCLA, University of Southern California and New York University all accepted him. But those three waiting lists mean prolonged uncertainty for Samuels and his family.
With the economy in turmoil, it's an uncertain year for colleges, too.
Admissions officers at private colleges don't know if students whose parents have lost jobs or have been hammered by the stock market will be interested in schools with $40,000-a-year price tags.
To ensure they have enough students come fall, private colleges have been hedging their bets.
They're putting more students on waiting lists and working harder to woo the students they have accepted.
Rob Alexander, the associate provost of enrollment at University of the Pacific in Stockton, Calif., was in Seattle this week to meet with students his school accepted from that area.
He's attending receptions up and down the West Coast as part of a new effort to reach out to students after they've been admitted.
"We've tried to have more contact with them," Alexander said.
Outreach in many forms is common this year, said Barmak Nassirian, associate executive director of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers.
Families should take advantage of the phone calls, open houses and traveling receptions, he said.
It's a perfect opportunity to tell a college about anything that's changed since the student applied -- if a parent lost a job, for example, and if the family's financial needs have deepened.
"They should forthrightly discuss what their issues are and gain additional information," Nassirian said. "If circumstances have changed ... bring those issues up."
The waiting list, on the other hand, provides more of a safety valve for schools than for students.
It allows admission officers "to play it safe," Nassirian said. "(They) can take a second bite at the apple."
Reach Laurel Rosenhall at lrosenhall(at)sacbee.com. For more stories visit scrippsnews.com
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