Waitlist Acceptance Rates
What Are Your Real Odds?
Being waitlisted is not a rejection — but the path to admission is narrow and uncertain. We pulled actual numbers from each school's Common Data Set so you can plan with real information, not guesswork.
How Waitlists Work
You're Offered a Spot
After decisions are released, schools offer waitlist spots to applicants they'd admit if space opens up. Accepting your spot keeps you in consideration — it costs nothing.
Schools Fill Gaps in May–June
After May 1 (National Decision Day), schools see how many enrolled students they actually got. If yield is lower than expected, they pull from the waitlist — sometimes as late as August.
Admission Is Never Guaranteed
Some schools admit hundreds from the waitlist. Others admit zero. The acceptance rate in the table below tells you what happened last year — not a promise for this year.
Waitlist Data by School
| School | Offered Spot | Accepted Spot | Admitted | Admit Rate | Funnel |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio State University | 2,596 | 701 | 556 | 79.3% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| Michigan State University | 1,500 | 1,000 | 970 | 64.7% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| University of Kentucky | 727 | 727 | 418 | 57.5% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| University of Washington | 7,915 | 4,122 | 2,985 | 37.7% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| University of Pittsburgh | 8,248 | 3,811 | 768 | 20.2% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| Tufts University | 2,565 | 1,324 | 200 | 15.1% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| UC San Diego | 29,087 | 19,373 | 2,616 | 13.5% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| UCLA | 18,329 | 11,725 | 1,400 | 11.9% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| Harvey Mudd College | 604 | 406 | 57 | 9.4% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| Purdue University | 14,184 | 5,252 | 466 | 8.9% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| Washington University in St. Louis | — | 2,713 | 200 | 7.4% | Accepted Spot Admitted |
| Lehigh University | 4,456 | 2,098 | 144 | 6.9% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| Cornell University | 8,282 | 6,166 | 362 | 5.9% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| Princeton University | 1,302 | 1,032 | 52 | 5.0% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| University of Arkansas | 343 | 197 | 15 | 4.4% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| Emory University | 5,875 | 3,372 | 123 | 3.6% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| University of Miami | 21,869 | 7,758 | 215 | 2.8% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| Georgia Institute of Technology | 5,809 | 4,016 | 60 | 1.5% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| Boston University | 15,033 | 8,907 | 34 | 0.4% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 619 | 558 | 32 | NaN% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| Stony Brook | 3,647 | 1,793 | 1,577 | 43.2% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| UC Davis | 19,446 | 10,898 | 4,387 | 40.3% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| Marquette University | 200 | 200 | 70 | 35.0% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| University of Connecticut | 2,253 | 979 | 550 | 24.4% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| Villanova University | 3,788 | 1,808 | 873 | 23.1% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| Rochester Institute of Technology | 1,583 | 453 | 363 | 22.9% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| Buffalo | 4,267 | 1,785 | 706 | 16.6% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| Umass Amherst | 11,588 | 6,628 | 1,701 | 14.7% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| Brandeis | 2,340 | 896 | 339 | 14.5% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| Uc Riverside | 8,074 | 3,891 | 1,145 | 14.2% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| Worcester Polytechnic Institute | 2,580 | 1,130 | 285 | 11.1% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| Macalester | 653 | 354 | 60 | 9.2% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| Texas Christian University | 3,183 | 974 | 273 | 8.6% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| Binghamton | 8,455 | 3,163 | 594 | 7.0% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| University of Virginia | 8,899 | 5,114 | 320 | 6.3% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| Temple | 782 | 276 | 43 | 5.5% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| Union College | 441 | 206 | 22 | 5.0% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| Colgate University | 2,905 | 1,446 | 71 | 4.9% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| Loyola Marymount University | 8,398 | — | 404 | 4.8% | Offered Admitted |
| University of Oklahoma | 2,074 | 1,436 | 94 | 4.5% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| Carleton | 782 | 356 | 35 | 4.5% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| William & Mary | 3,833 | 1,918 | 136 | 3.5% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| Hamilton College | 2,258 | 1,249 | 41 | 3.3% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| NC State University | 8,636 | 3,260 | 267 | 3.1% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| Lafayette | 2,137 | 870 | 63 | 2.9% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| Colorado College | 684 | 144 | 20 | 2.9% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| Penn State University | 4,903 | 3,114 | 84 | 2.7% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| Ucf | 2,369 | 1,271 | 46 | 1.9% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | 3,073 | 1,881 | 56 | 1.8% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| Boston College | 8,671 | 5,232 | 116 | 1.3% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| Middlebury College | 2,778 | 2,734 | 36 | 1.3% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| U Richmond | 4,098 | 2,178 | 36 | 0.9% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 6,154 | 4,633 | 36 | 0.8% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| Mines | 765 | 224 | 6 | 0.8% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| Georgetown University | 5,689 | 2,320 | 14 | 0.6% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| Gettysburg | 2,213 | 1,126 | 5 | 0.2% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| Grinnell | 2,220 | 1,188 | 3 | 0.1% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| Bucknell | 2,714 | 1,233 | 1 | 0.0% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| Howard | 2,931 | 2,931 | 0 | 0.0% | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| University of Michigan | 26,898 | 68 | — | N/A | Offered Accepted Spot |
| Brown University | — | — | 73 | N/A | Admitted |
| Yale University | 1,145 | 899 | — | N/A | Offered Accepted Spot |
| Dartmouth College | 2,352 | 1,606 | — | N/A | Offered Accepted Spot |
| California Institute of Technology | 213 | 199 | — | N/A | Offered Accepted Spot |
| Duke University | 2,266 | — | — | N/A | Offered |
| Northwestern University | — | — | 55 | N/A | Admitted |
| Vanderbilt University | — | — | 140 | N/A | Admitted |
| Rice University | 3,935 | 2,802 | — | N/A | Offered Accepted Spot |
| University of Southern California | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | |
| University of Florida | — | 15 | 15 | N/A | Accepted Spot Admitted |
| Virginia Tech | 12,348 | 7,148 | — | N/A | Offered Accepted Spot |
| Swarthmore College | — | — | 23 | N/A | Admitted |
| University of South Carolina | 15 | 15 | 15 | N/A | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| University of Tennessee | 15 | 15 | 15 | N/A | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| University of Iowa | 15 | 15 | 15 | N/A | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| University of Nebraska-Lincoln | — | 15 | 15 | N/A | Accepted Spot Admitted |
| University of Maryland | 290 | 0 | 0 | N/A | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| University of Delaware | 819 | 819 | 819 | N/A | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| University of Vermont | 15 | 15 | 15 | N/A | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| Denison | — | — | 1,705 | N/A | Admitted |
| Gwu | 15 | 15 | 15 | N/A | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| Oberlin | 0 | 0 | — | N/A | |
| Oregon State | — | — | 15 | N/A | Admitted |
| U Nevada Las Vegas | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | |
| Uri | 15 | 15 | 15 | N/A | Offered Accepted Spot Admitted |
| Washington Lee | 1,268 | 669 | — | N/A | Offered Accepted Spot |
| Whitman | 749 | — | — | N/A | Offered |
What To Do While You Wait
Being proactive — without being annoying — can meaningfully move the needle.
Write a Letter of Continued Interest
Send a concise, specific letter to the admissions office reaffirming that this school is your top choice. Mention new accomplishments since you applied. Keep it to one page.
Submit Updated Grades or Test Scores
If your senior grades have improved or you retook the SAT/ACT since applying, send updated results. New evidence of achievement gives admissions a reason to reconsider.
Explain Why This School Is Your #1
Specificity matters. Don't just say you love the school — name a professor whose research excites you, a program that aligns with your goals, or a campus community you'd contribute to.
Put a Deposit Elsewhere — Seriously
The May 1 deadline is real. Commit to a school you're genuinely excited about. You won't lose your waitlist spot, and you'll have zero anxiety about being left without options.
Explore Your Other Options
The best insurance is a school you're genuinely excited to attend. Compare merit aid, admission rates, and programs to find your best fit.