Waiting out the college wait lists

0 Comments | Philadelphia Inquirer, The, May, 2008 | by Kathy Boccella Inquirer Staff Writer

So they may not have gotten into their dream schools, but most high school seniors have already decided where they will go to college next fall.

But wait, what's that sound? It could be Harvard knocking.

There is still hope for a few hundred in the class of 2008 who got turned down by elite colleges, some of which are turning to their wait lists this year to fill out their incoming classes.

"Around May 1 many of us found we had fewer students in class than we like to have," said Eric J. Kaplan, interim dean of admissions at the University of Pennsylvania.

As a result, a few hundred lucky students may get a second chance at their dream schools. Penn plans to offer admission to 90 students from its wait list of 1,352, and Swarthmore College said it would...