College admissions is a game of strategy, on both sides (from early admissions to waitlists)

 More colleges are admitting more students from early admissions/early decision applications, and fewer students from their waitlists.

The  WSJ has those stories.

Starting from the end, waitlists:

 The Only Thing Harder Than Getting Into College Is Getting Off the Wait List.   College wait lists have ballooned to give schools options; ‘Why continue stringing me on?’ By Roshan Fernandez

 "The University of California, Berkeley had almost 6,500 students on its wait list last year. It ended up admitting none of them.

"The only thing harder than getting into college, it seems, is getting off the wait list. At some schools, the wait list is far more selective than the college’s overall acceptance rate. 

...

"For colleges, it’s harder than ever to predict who will enroll because students are applying to more schools. Colleges have always used wait lists to manage enrollment, but the lists have ballooned in recent years. It’s part of many colleges’ elaborate cat-and-mouse game to manage yield, or the share of admitted students who enroll. And wait lists have turned increasingly unruly, with fewer standard protocols than traditional admissions.

 

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And before the waitlists come the early applications: 

The College-Admissions Chess Game Is More Complicated Than Ever
Students have to submit final decisions Friday after a byzantine cycle
By   Roshan Fernandez
 

"Many schools are leaning in to early application windows, filling more of their classes through early rounds. At Tulane University in New Orleans, about two-thirds of admissions offers to the Class of 2030 were extended via nonbinding early action, a spokesperson said. The school has also offered early decision since 2016.

"At some schools, early-round acceptance rates are three to four times higher than the regular round, which is why many admissions consultants suggest applying early. Colleges say this reflects a higher-quality applicant pool. 

...

"The moves come on top of a long-practiced yield-protection tactic: rejecting or wait listing applicants who seem overqualified and therefore unlikely to enroll."