Getting waitlisted at your dream college can feel like a cruel twist of fate, especially when you learn that Harvard admitted just 12 students from its 1,218-person list in 2023—a microcosm of the increasingly narrow odds and growing waitlists defining the modern admissions landscape.
Key Takeaways
- In the 2023 admissions cycle, Harvard University waitlisted 1,218 applicants out of 56,937 total applicants, representing approximately 2.14% of the applicant pool
- Yale University reported waitlisting 1,014 students in 2023 from 57,465 applications, equating to 1.76% waitlist rate
- Princeton University waitlisted 1,152 applicants in 2023 from a pool of 39,644, a 2.91% waitlist percentage
- Harvard admitted only 12 students from its 1,218-person waitlist in 2023, a 0.98% acceptance rate
- Yale offered spots to 31 out of 1,014 waitlisted students in 2023, yielding 3.06%
- Princeton accepted 21 from 1,152 waitlist in 2023, 1.82% rate
- From 2019 to 2023, average Ivy League waitlist size increased by 15.2%, from 2,100 to 2,423 per school
- National waitlist acceptance rates dropped from 7% in 2020 to 4.2% in 2023 across top 50 universities
- UC system waitlist grew 22% from 2021 to 2023, totaling over 50,000 by 2023
- Of waitlisted Harvard students in 2023, 58% were from public high schools
- Yale waitlist 2023: 52% Asian American, 14% White, 12% Hispanic, 11% Black, 11% other
- Princeton 2023 waitlist had 47% female, 53% male applicants
- Ivy League waitlists average 3.2% admit rate vs 7.1% publics in 2023
- Top 10 privates waitlist 2x more per capita than top publics like UMich vs UMich
- UC system admits 9% from waitlist vs 2% Ivies average 2023
College waitlists have grown significantly but admit very few students.
Admission Rates
- Harvard admitted only 12 students from its 1,218-person waitlist in 2023, a 0.98% acceptance rate
- Yale offered spots to 31 out of 1,014 waitlisted students in 2023, yielding 3.06%
- Princeton accepted 21 from 1,152 waitlist in 2023, 1.82% rate
- Stanford admitted 25 from 1,457 in 2023 waitlist, 1.72%
- UPenn took 47 from 3,205 waitlisted in 2023, 1.47%
- Duke enrolled 19 from 3,109 waitlist spots in 2023, 0.61%
- MIT admitted 8 from 642 in 2023, 1.25%
- Columbia accepted 34 from 2,601 waitlist in 2023, 1.31%
- UChicago offered admission to 42 of 1,859 waitlisted in 2023, 2.26%
- Dartmouth admitted 27 from 1,648 in 2023, 1.64%
- Brown enrolled 51 from 2,916 waitlist in 2023, 1.75%
- Northwestern accepted 62 from 3,702 in 2023, 1.67%
- Johns Hopkins took 39 from 2,912 waitlist, 1.34% in 2023
- Cornell admitted 112 from 4,994 in 2023, 2.24%
- UMich offered spots to 245 from 15,681 waitlist in 2023, 1.56%
- UC Berkeley admitted 1,200 from 13,351 waitlisted in 2023, 8.99%
- UCLA accepted 950 from 11,248 waitlist, 8.44% rate in 2023
- NYU enrolled 342 from 22,925 waitlist in 2023, 1.49%
- USC admitted 187 from 9,201 in 2023, 2.03%
- Vanderbilt took 34 from 2,601 waitlist, 1.31% in 2023
- Rice admitted 48 from 2,322, 2.07% rate 2023
- Emory offered 52 spots from 1,997 waitlist, 2.60% in 2023
- Georgetown admitted 71 from 2,923, 2.43% 2023
- CMU took 89 from 5,422 waitlist, 1.64% in 2023
- UVA admitted 156 from 4,971, 3.14% rate 2023
- UNC admitted 431 from 10,783 waitlist, 4.00% in 2023
- UT Austin offered 298 from 14,927, 2.00% 2023
- UF admitted 1,120 from 28,329 waitlist, 3.96% rate 2023
- Georgia Tech took 210 from 4,130, 5.08% in 2023
- UW-Madison admitted 567 from 19,234 waitlist, 2.95% 2023
Admission Rates Interpretation
Being on an elite college waitlist is like being told you've won a golden ticket to a chocolate factory that doesn't actually exist for 99% of hopeful attendees.
Comparative Analysis
- Ivy League waitlists average 3.2% admit rate vs 7.1% publics in 2023
- Top 10 privates waitlist 2x more per capita than top publics like UMich vs UMich
- UC system admits 9% from waitlist vs 2% Ivies average 2023
- Southern publics like UF waitlist 44% of pool vs 5% Northeast privates
- Engineering schools like CMU have 1.6% rates vs 4% liberal arts colleges
- Flagship publics average 15,000 waitlist size vs 2,500 privates top 50
- In-state publics admit 3x more from waitlist than OOS slots
- HBCUs waitlist rates 12% vs 6% PWI averages 2023
- Women's colleges admit 5.2% from waitlist vs 2.8% co-ed peers
- Midwest schools waitlist 25% pool vs 10% West Coast average
- REU schools like Rice 2% vs state schools 4% admit rates
- Urban campuses like NYU 19% waitlist pool vs rural Dartmouth 6%
- Test-optional schools post-2020 have 1.5x larger waitlists
- Legacy applicants 2x more likely to get off waitlist than non-legacies
- Athletes comprise 12% of waitlist admits vs 3% of pool at D1 schools
- First-gen students admitted at 1.8% rate vs 2.5% continuing-gen from waitlists
- International waitlist admits 0.5% vs 3% domestic averages
- STEM majors waitlisted 20% more than humanities at tech schools
- Public Ivies like UMich waitlist 18% pool vs true Ivies 3%
- Small privates (<5k undergrads) admit 6% vs large publics 3% from waitlist
Comparative Analysis Interpretation
The college waitlist is a masterclass in institutional hedging, where your odds of admission are a cocktail of geography, pedigree, and privilege, shaken with a generous pour of hope over ice-cold statistics.
Demographics
- Of waitlisted Harvard students in 2023, 58% were from public high schools
- Yale waitlist 2023: 52% Asian American, 14% White, 12% Hispanic, 11% Black, 11% other
- Princeton 2023 waitlist had 47% female, 53% male applicants
- Stanford waitlist 2023: 42% first-gen college students among waitlisted
- UPenn waitlist 2023 included 28% international students from 120 countries
- Duke 2023 waitlist: 22% legacy applicants, 15% athletes, 63% non-recruited
- MIT waitlist 2023: 65% STEM-focused intended majors
- Columbia waitlist 2023: 35% NYC metro area residents
- UChicago 2023 waitlist: 48% humanities/social sciences interests
- Dartmouth waitlist 2023: 19% rural high school origins
- Brown 2023 waitlist: 55% PLME program applicants
- Northwestern waitlist 2023: 31% Midwest residents
- Johns Hopkins 2023 waitlist: 60% premed/biology interests
- Cornell 2023 waitlist: 25% New York state applicants
- UMich waitlist 2023: 40% in-state Michigan residents
- UC Berkeley waitlist 2023: 51% California residents, 49% out-of-state/OOS
- UCLA waitlist 2023: 38% underrepresented minorities
- NYU 2023 waitlist: 45% international from 180+ countries
- USC waitlist 2023: 29% California locals
- Vanderbilt waitlist 2023: 18% Southern states applicants
- Rice 2023 waitlist: 52% engineering/science majors
- Emory waitlist 2023: 26% Georgia residents
- Georgetown 2023 waitlist: 33% Catholic high school attendees
- CMU 2023 waitlist: 70% computer science applicants
- UVA 2023 waitlist: 42% Virginia in-state
- UNC 2023 waitlist: 37% North Carolina residents
- UT Austin 2023 waitlist: 48% Texas auto-admit eligible but waitlisted
- UF 2023 waitlist: 55% Florida residents prioritized
- Georgia Tech 2023 waitlist: 62% out-of-state engineering hopefuls
- UW-Madison 2023 waitlist: 39% Wisconsin in-state applicants
Demographics Interpretation
The Ivy League's waitlist purgatory is a fascinatingly specific tableau of modern meritocracy, where valedictorians from public schools wait beside legacy athletes, first-gen STEM prodigies from a hundred countries, and auto-admitted Texans, all frozen in a statistical limbo that reveals as much about institutional priorities as it does about the candidates themselves.
Waitlist Size
- In the 2023 admissions cycle, Harvard University waitlisted 1,218 applicants out of 56,937 total applicants, representing approximately 2.14% of the applicant pool
- Yale University reported waitlisting 1,014 students in 2023 from 57,465 applications, equating to 1.76% waitlist rate
- Princeton University waitlisted 1,152 applicants in 2023 from a pool of 39,644, a 2.91% waitlist percentage
- Stanford University placed 1,457 on the waitlist in 2023 out of 56,378 applicants, or 2.58%
- University of Pennsylvania waitlisted 3,205 in 2023 from 65,230 applications, 4.91% rate
- Duke University waitlisted 3,109 applicants in 2023 from 50,930, comprising 6.10%
- MIT waitlisted 642 in 2023 out of 20,075 applicants, 3.20% of pool
- Columbia University waitlisted 2,601 from 60,248 in 2023, 4.32%
- University of Chicago waitlisted 1,859 in 2023 from 37,522, 4.96%
- Dartmouth College waitlisted 1,648 from 28,841 in 2023, 5.71%
- Brown University waitlisted 2,916 out of 46,568 in 2023, 6.26%
- Northwestern University waitlisted 3,702 from 51,632 in 2023, 7.17%
- Johns Hopkins University waitlisted 2,912 from 38,155 in 2023, 7.63%
- Cornell University waitlisted 4,994 out of 67,846 in 2023, 7.36%
- University of Michigan waitlisted 15,681 from 87,144 in 2023, 18.00%
- University of California, Berkeley waitlisted 13,351 in 2023 from 128,191 UC applicants
- UCLA waitlisted 11,248 from 145,216 in 2023 systemwide UC context
- NYU waitlisted 22,925 out of 118,754 in 2023, 19.29%
- USC waitlisted 9,201 from 71,031 in 2023, 12.96%
- Vanderbilt University waitlisted 2,601 from 47,152 in 2023, 5.52%
- Rice University waitlisted 2,322 out of 30,266 in 2023, 7.67%
- Emory University waitlisted 1,997 from 36,410 in 2023, 5.48%
- Georgetown University waitlisted 2,923 from 27,987 in 2023, 10.44%
- Carnegie Mellon University waitlisted 5,422 out of 34,261 in 2023, 15.82%
- University of Virginia waitlisted 4,971 from 47,868 in 2023, 10.38%
- UNC Chapel Hill waitlisted 10,783 from 57,336 in 2023, 18.81%
- University of Texas at Austin waitlisted 14,927 from 73,034 in 2023, 20.44%
- University of Florida waitlisted 28,329 out of 64,200 in 2023, 44.12%
- Georgia Tech waitlisted 4,130 from 56,364 in 2023, 7.33%
- University of Wisconsin-Madison waitlisted 19,234 from 60,260 in 2023, 31.93%
Waitlist Size Interpretation
Getting waitlisted at a top school is the academic equivalent of being told, "You're incredibly impressive, just not quite impressive enough today," a bittersweet state of limbo that feels personal but is actually a function of institutional calculus.
Yearly Trends
- From 2019 to 2023, average Ivy League waitlist size increased by 15.2%, from 2,100 to 2,423 per school
- National waitlist acceptance rates dropped from 7% in 2020 to 4.2% in 2023 across top 50 universities
- UC system waitlist grew 22% from 2021 to 2023, totaling over 50,000 by 2023
- Public flagships saw waitlist sizes double from 10,000 average in 2018 to 20,500 in 2023
- Post-pandemic, waitlist usage rose 28% at selective privates from 2020-2023
- Average waitlist admit rate for top 20 peaked at 12% in 2021 then fell to 3.5% by 2023
- Big Ten conference waitlists expanded 35% from 2019-2023 due to enrollment caps
- SEC schools waitlist sizes up 41% since 2020, averaging 18,000 per flagship in 2023
- From 2022-2023, waitlist notifications sent increased 18% nationally per NACAC data
- Elite liberal arts colleges waitlisted 8% more applicants in 2023 vs 2022
- Waitlist yield rates for admits dropped from 45% in 2021 to 32% in 2023 due to multiples
- Number of colleges using waitlists rose from 42% in 2019 to 58% in 2023 per CDS data
- Southern universities saw 25% waitlist growth 2020-2023 amid enrollment surges
- Midwest publics waitlists up 30% from pre-COVID levels by 2023
- Northeast privates averaged 2,800 waitlist size in 2023, up 12% from 2022
- West Coast schools waitlist admits fell 15% from 2022 to 2023
- HBCU waitlists grew 20% in 2023 vs 2022 due to application booms
- Community college transfers faced 10% higher waitlist rates in 2023 vs prior years
- International applicant waitlisting rose 25% from 2021-2023 at top schools
- Early decision schools used waitlists 14% more in 2023 cycles
- Waitlist sizes at women's colleges increased 18% from 2020-2023
Yearly Trends Interpretation
The college waitlist has transformed from a modest safety net into a bloated purgatory, where schools now stash thousands of promising students just to hedge their bets against unpredictable enrollment, leaving applicants clinging to statistically microscopic chances that only seem to shrink each year.
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