Deferred rejection

Re “College hopefuls living in limbo,” May 10

The Times writes that “counselors decry the nerve-racking effect” of being wait-listed at competitive colleges.

It’s a little hard to understand why students would get amped up, given the nearly impossible odds of getting selected from the wait list. As you report, Princeton did not select a single student from its wait list the last two years, but it nevertheless placed 792 people on the list this year.

That’s not a wait list; it’s deferred rejection. What counselors should tell students wait-listed at a school like Princeton is the truth: The school sent you its consolation prize.

PATRICK MATTIMORE

San Francisco