Waitlist Statistics

Being waitlisted isn’t as crushing a result as being rejected, but it can feel like you’ve been exiled to admissions purgatory.

It’s important to know if your waitlisted status means you still have a serious shot at being admitted to your first-choice university or if it’s the equivalent of a Powerball ticket. For example, at Amherst, Tufts, and Yale somewhere between zero and 20 students are likely to be plucked from the waitlist. On the other hand, Stanford, Colby College, and Northwestern all took more than 60 students off of their waitlists. The following table indicates waitlist statistics at some of America’s most selective colleges and universities for the 2021-22 academic year.

*Data collected from Common Data Set (CDS) forms and institutional websites.

Table updated December 2022

InstitutionApplicants placed on waitlistApplicants accepting spot on waitlistStudent accepted from waitlist
Gustavus Adolphus College000
Illinois Wesleyan University000
Kalamazoo College000
Saint Mary's College of California000
Spelman College51900
The University of Texas at Austin000
University of Arkansas000
University of Maine000
Washington State University000
Georgia College & State University220
University of Puget Sound2440
St. John's College550
Whitman College3970
Franklin W Olin College of Engineering49380
Colorado College7391740
Ohio State University-Main Campus8542070
California Institute of Technology2682130
Pitzer College8143570
Harvey Mudd College6484330
Macalester College12185350
Pepperdine University9755630
Emerson College14907390
Amherst College12857880
Stevens Institute of Technology18859480
Worcester Polytechnic Institute24139780
Tufts University257912640
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign245515170
Hamilton College296417820
Colgate University309918200
Tulane University of Louisiana507218710
Dartmouth College266921200
Washington University in St Louis39810
University of California-San Diego2541988350
New College of Florida321
Lawrence University3231
St. John's College41411
Eckerd College389761
Scripps College7013201
Rhodes College13806871
Williams College23719291
Kenyon College182710271
Babson College301512101
Boston University1499189441
Wheaton College (IL)91862
Lewis & Clark College3861322
Mount Holyoke College5302762
Bates College247312452
Middlebury College174217162
Rice University301621182
Johns Hopkins University372426112
Allegheny College173353
St Lawrence University153643
Hobart William Smith Colleges1761553
Baylor University9682533
United States Naval Academy1871434
Dickinson College6031994
Yale University10307744
Lake Forest College23235
College of the Holy Cross17957315
Bryant University188376
Bennington College60416
Wheaton College (MA)92896
Haverford College15939556
Ursinus College27247
Creighton University86347
Fordham University829026487
Claremont McKenna College8975899
University of Richmond38918869
United States Coast Guard Academy139
University of Mary Washington1101010
Soka University of America934810
Wesleyan University3585203110
The University of the South53714411
Carleton College136758011
Connecticut College196691411
Trinity College1827110311
Washington and Lee University2207115011
Clemson University9865496411
Muhlenberg College56820412
Purdue University-Main Campus6048344213
University of Miami13095464313
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology1194314
University of Rhode Island224870814
University of Wisconsin-Madison8128433514
Virginia Commonwealth University151515
Union College54121815
Denison University156828516
University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus2434111616
Centre College1151717
Bryn Mawr College102664017
SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry1302919
University of North Carolina at Asheville2604119
Earlham College514819
The University of Tennessee-Knoxville1285319
Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art13613219
Colorado School of Mines153854320
The College of Wooster64610921
Emory University6539388321
Cornell University7746580024
Southwestern University1182725
Willamette University1595625
Massachusetts Institute of Technology63250125
North Carolina State University at Raleigh7289234025
Butler University4098726
University at Buffalo19487427
Pomona College84057027
Grinnell College2759128628
Brown University28
Furman University62328
Georgetown University3277245329
St. Mary's College of Maryland2226330
Trinity University134151931
Brandeis University166576831
Lafayette College183676332
University of Central Florida4986341133
Sarah Lawrence College122752634
University of Denver58416435
Carnegie Mellon University8792531935
Rollins College112316937
College of William and Mary4720241738
Fairfield University4323125639
University of Dayton1264040
The College of New Jersey166665544
High Point University31631647
Stonehill College113326451
Ithaca College30116852
Wellesley College225292652
Skidmore College2145104452
University of Portland132856654
Villanova University4337208356
Loyola University Maryland48423159
Stanford University65253561
Colby College4554195461
University of Iowa25225262
Bucknell University3743173664
Elon University223059466
Seattle University1506767
Smith College115568467
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor178051306368
Occidental College156974769
Northwestern University69
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute2302134272
Texas Christian University174573378
University of Delaware186121281
American University3589108281
University of Virginia-Main Campus8690492486
College of Charleston130645787
University of Rochester2475148993
Duquesne University21114696
Vassar College152663496
Hofstra University13910598
Oberlin College14911368100
Barnard College26121904104
University of Notre Dame31001939107
Marquette University567567108
University of Pennsylvania39332753121
CUNY Hunter College4939123
St Olaf College927415125
University of San Francisco17411062126
Clark University1334478131
United States Merchant Marine Academy204204132
James Madison University983595132
Santa Clara University48492951138
Princeton University12651000150
California State Polytechnic University-Pomona39961851152
SUNY at Albany865442161
George Washington University61872798163
University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus20402040165
Bentley University1587454166
Loyola Marymount University5114172
DePaul University43481547176
Vanderbilt University181
University of California-Irvine87651288189
Marist College3523930198
University of Vermont61903030198
University of Connecticut28081117203
University of North Carolina Wilmington765343211
Rochester Institute of Technology930758211
University of California-Los Angeles152429897214
George Mason University855337230
Ramapo College of New Jersey1084484235
Southern Methodist University1787821236
University of South Carolina-Columbia8023399243
University of Georgia18931025277
Binghamton University78352875277
Gonzaga University859384287
Stetson University323306292
University of Oregon868348305
Quinnipiac University1240335321
San Diego State University69173206326
University of California-Berkeley117256871359
Case Western Reserve University114944992364
University of San Diego37111467378
Duke University381
Syracuse University88983331450
Chapman University2154836499
Temple University6377636558
Providence College2700867577
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill89576564647
Appalachian State University1749781737
CUNY Brooklyn College768750750
University of Washington-Seattle Campus102394565775
University of Maryland-Baltimore County11141114809
Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus62144235853
St John's University-New York1413921
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo9829978
University of Massachusetts-Amherst405623611055
Stony Brook University574129001166
Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus248115191451
Lehigh University436118751684
Seton Hall University61231841
University of California-Santa Barbara1407697622093
University of Colorado Boulder753127892608
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University1495291763292
University of California-Davis1309249603919
University of California-Riverside1216259974786
University of California-Santa Cruz19170125416633

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