What's the deal with Cornell's yield rate?

Hey guys, I'm in the process of researching colleges and I've come across various yield rates. During this process, I saw something about Cornell University's yield rate. It apparently has a significant impact on admission decisions but I'm not exactly sure how or why? Could someone explain this to me? Thanks in advance!

Certainly, let's dive into college yield rates and specifically look at Cornell in this case. Yield rate refers to the percentage of admitted students who end up attending a particular college or university. It's essentially a measure of a school's attractiveness to students; the higher the yield rate, the more students admitted to a school choose to attend. Now, it's quite interesting to note that while yield rates are considered during the admission process, they don't impact individual applications directly.

Universities, including Cornell, care about their yield rates because a high yield rate can indicate a school's desirability to prospective students and can boost rankings in some publications. On the contrary, a low yield can negatively affect a school's standing.

Cornell's yield rate generally hovers around 60%. Now, what does this mean for your application? Not much directly, as the admission team will evaluate your academic and extracurricular merits, your fit for the school, and how your unique experiences and perspectives can contribute to the Cornell community. What it may influence, however, is how admissions choices are made overall, with a focus on attracting students who are likely to accept an offer from Cornell over other highly competitive schools.

So, while Cornell's yield rate doesn't affect your individual admission decision, demonstrating genuine interest in the university and its programs in your application can be beneficial as it can show you're more likely to attend if accepted. This could be conveyed through your supplemental essays where you discuss why you're drawn to Cornell's unique offerings.

Hence, the most impactful way to use this information is to make sure you thoroughly research Cornell and convey a true understanding of what makes it appealing to you as an individual, thus increasing your chances of demonstrating that you would attend if offered admission.In conclusion, while yield rates like Cornell's can influence the fashioning of an incoming class, they don't have a direct bearing on your individual application.