Yield protection

{{Short description|Alleged admissions practice}}

Yield protection is a verified admissions practice in which an academic institution rejects or delays the acceptance of highly qualified students on the grounds that such students are likely to be accepted by, and then enroll in, more selective institutions.{{cite web|title=Beware the Tufts Syndrome|url=http://www.collegeconfidential.com/admit/beware-the-tufts-syndrome/|website=College Confidential|access-date=23 March 2015}}{{cite news|title=Glass Floor: Colleges Reject Top Applicants, Accepting Only the Students Likely to Enroll|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB991083160294634500|website=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=25 July 2022}} The purpose of the practice is to increase yield, a statistic that reflects the proportion of students that accept their admissions offer.[http://collegeapps.about.com/od/glossaryofkeyterms/g/yield.htm "What Is 'Yield' in the College Admissions Process?"]

Some critics of the theory hold that it is a myth propagated by anxious college applicants to cope with rejection.{{cite web |last1=Compass Academics |title=Power of the Yield Protection Myth |url=https://compassacademics.com/power-of-the-yield-protection-myth/ |website=Compass Academics |date=3 August 2020 |access-date=7 April 2024}} This view proposes that, rather than yield protection, it is actually negative subjective factors in an application that may contribute to a rejection, despite the applicant's strong qualifications.{{cite web|url=https://www.law.umich.edu/connection/a2z/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?ID=11 |title=Yield Protection: myth or reality? Or a little of both? |work=University of Michigan Law School |publisher=University of Michigan |first=Sarah |last=Zearfoss |date=2010-03-01 |access-date=2016-04-19}}