2025 Waitlists- expect movement (read why) and list them here

Applying to College
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Several schools have reportedly already started to go to their waitlists (have heard that Marist, Tulane, Occidental, Chicago and UVA have reportedly started to, to name a few) as schools work to build/fill their classes. Lets please use this thread (wasn’t sure where to put it, so will try it here first, and maybe move it if there is a better place for it) to list/add when you have heard any schools starting to go to their WLs.

While how deep schools go to their WLs can vary greatly from year to year (sometimes a lot, sometimes not at all), many things can affect student enrollment. IMO this year, given the current financial/economic climate, more families may be unable to afford the tuition, room& board and fees this coming year. Add to that the likelihood that visa challenges/uncertainty may affect the international student enrollment. This is in addition to the other factors that affect “summer melt”, when some students decide to take a gap year or get off a waitlist and into another desired school. So I think many schools may go deep into their waitlists this year to fill their classes. Sometimes there can be apparent “times” (e.g when a parent cannot pay the first set of fees by the due date), though the movement across schools too can make this process fluid.

So, for those holding spots on WLs, please don’t feel that a WL spot is a “rejection” or is some gimmick, or that the school is somehow playing games in some way. That is simply not accurate. Yes, schools are businesses and have to meet their business goals and models, but if the school is able to find spots, or needs to fill spots to fill their class, admissions offers will be made!

As is known, colleges use enrollment management tools to make budgetary plans each year and reach enrollment goals. These are helpful/necessary to gauge acceptances, fill classes, complete budgets, facilities management and space planning for classrooms, dorm space, etc. These resources are helpful for schools to do their best calculation to reach their yield goals. Waitlists are used by the schools to reach these goals for the incoming class.

So for all on WL’s - stay positive but realistic, and lets share positive news when we hear of movement, and certainly if any of you have cleared the WL with an admission (even if unaffordable). Good luck everyone!

So starting with word that the following have gone to their WLs already: (post ONLY schools that have for sure gone to their WL, please)

American (4/30)
Babson (5/3)
Barnard 4/29
Boston College 4/30, 5/6
Brandeis (5/14)
Brown 4/15, 4/16, 5/22
BU 4/16
Bucknell (4/29)
Cal Poly (5/1)
Caltech (waitlist closed 5/20)
Chicago 4/15
Clemson 5/2
CMC 4/25
Colby 4/25
Colorado College (wait-list offer circa 5/25)
Columbia (5/13)
CWRU 4/16
Cornell (5/5)
Davidson 4/24
Emerson 4/3
Emory 5/8
Fairfield (waitlist closed 5/8)
Georgia Tech 4/16 (FYSA program)
Georgetown (5/2)
Hamilton (reported 5/27 but started last week)
Harvard (5/16)
Haverford (waitlist closed 5/21)
Holy Cross (5/2)
Ithaca (4/29)
JMU (Liberal arts and business, in-state) 3/31
Johns Hopkins University 5/8
Kenyon 4/3
Lafayette 4/23
Loyola Marymount 4/24
Marist 4/15
MIT (waitlist closed 5/20)
Middlebury (5/7)
Morehouse (5/23 all decisions released)
North Carolina State University (5/19) business
Northeastern NUin 4/23, Manhattan 4/25
Northwestern (5/2)
Notre Dame (5/6)
NYU 4/16
Oregon State (4/30)
Oakland 4/25
Occidental 4/15
Pitzer 4/14
Pitt 4/23
Pomona 4/28
Providence 4/28
Purdue 4/21 (OOS CS, OOS Engineering, Business Marketing)
Reed (5/1)
Rollins 4/17
RPI (5/8)
Rutgers A&S and business (5/3)
Rutgers Main campus 4/22
Santa Clara 4/29 engineering
Scripps 5/12
Skidmore 6/16
SMU 4/30 (Cox)
Stanford (around 5/19)
StonyBrook (5/5, eng OOS)
SUNY Binghamton 4/15
Syracuse (maxwell) 5/5, Whitman 5/12, Newhouse 5/15, VPA 5/20
Tulane 4/15
tOSU (Ohio State) 4/24
UBC (5/4)
U Tampa 4/15
U Washington 4/17
UC Davis 4/18 OOS; 5/6 IS
UCI 5/2
UCLA 4/22,4/23 OOS; 5/7 instate, 6/10 (OOS)
UCSB 4/17 (and instate 4/23)
UCSD 4/16, 4/17 OOS; 5/9 IS
Univ of San Diego (Not UCSD or SDSU)
U Florida (OOS) 5/13 (waitlist closed 7/3)
UGA 4/23
U Miami (4/24 Comp Eng)
U Michigan (4/17 approx, 5/12 Ross in-state)
UNC- Chapel Hill 4/15
UNCSA (4/30)
U Oregon (4/30)
U Richmond 4/28 (Business)
U Rochester (posted by a cc’er 4/28)
U South Carolina (5/3)
UT Austin 4/15
UVA Official Waitlist 5/2; “reconsideration” offers 4/15 (see posts #120-123)
UVM (4/28)
UW Madison OOS 4/23
Vanderbilt 5/6
Virginia Tech 3/28, 3/28 OOS
Wake Forest (5/7)
Washington & Lee (waitlist closed 5/8)
WashU 4/25 (business)
Wesleyan 5/4
William & Mary 5/5
Yale 5/11 (waitlist closed 5/20)

As of 5/23 (please update if you edit the Wiki)

PLEASE, when adding to this list, LIST THE SCHOOL THAT HAS GONE TO ITS WL, WHEN THAT HAPPENED, and please post your SN next to your update. And please continue to post info in the thread as well! Thanks!

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Reports on CC and Reddit of movement from Binghamton today.

A CC post they came off the UT Austin waitlist: UT Austin Class of 2029 Official Thread - #2063 by flareon66

U Tampa: University of Tampa Class of 2029 Official Thread - #329 by eliza0722

UVA
Tulane
Chicago
Marist
Occidental
SUNY Binghamton
University of Tampa
UT Austin

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Adding Virginia Tech

UVA
Tulane
Chicago
Marist
Occidental
SUNY Binghamton
University of Tampa
UT Austin
Virginia Tech

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adding georgia tech

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You’ve heard first hand of students getting off the UVA waitlist?

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Someone reported on Reddit getting off Brown’s waitlist yesterday.

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Before the response date? I find that hard to believe.

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From Reddit, yesterday Brown and today BU and NYU.

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Yes, several counselors reporting UVA waitlist movement.

A counselor also reported UNC movement today.

I am seeing reports on reddit (students) and tiktok. Tiktok is from a counselor I don’t know though.

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Yes. I was surprised, too.

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That’s interesting. Historically, movement off the UVA waitlist is very low. I don’t see anything about waitlist movement on their admissions blog but maybe I missed it.

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For colleges that admit by division or major, it may be helpful to indicate what division or major the wait-list admission was in, if known. Other potentially relevant information, if known, could be domestic versus international and (for state universities) whether one is an in-state resident.

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Could be that the trend of matriculation versus decline has been far enough below predicted that they feel that they need to admit wait-list applicants sooner rather than later. Earlier wait-list admits are also likely to have higher yield.

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But Brown isn’t U Michigan (or another mega university). Like other colleges of similar size, it needs to use its waitlist after assessing the class. Still need a tuba player? Lots of ballet dancers but no sculptors?

I’d love to see a source more authoritative than Reddit here. And I’ve put the word out among my alumni network (including some very involved in admissions) and so far, no confirmation. Admissions and Financial Aid are still busy with appeals and reassessing financial aid packages so the claim that they’ve already gone to the waitlist strikes me as quite a stretch. And since there is still a “visit Brown” day on the calendar for admits (not waitlist admits, but regular admits) on the 24th or thereabouts, how do they even know their yield yet? And the first admitted students day was just a few days ago.

Calling this one out as urban legend unless there’s an actual data point.

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UCSD movement reported on CC: UC San Diego Class of 2029 Waitlist and Appeal Discussion - #66 by RC1616

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There’s the tiktok admissions consultant mentioned above.

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if it helps, i can confirm brown wl movement is true because i got off the waitlist yesterday. did not send in loci.

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Congrats @starry12.

Also, confirming a counselor I know reporting Brown waitlist movement.

Colleges don’t know their final yield of course, but every morning the admissions leaders receive an update as to how many enrollment deposits they received the day before as well as the running total. And that is compared to historical yield of that day/time frame from years prior.

They also receive a forecast for where yield is likely to be May 1. If enrollment is lagging where they want it to be, they will go to the waitlist. Why wait until after May 1 when it becomes harder to get a student to accept the waitlist offer? These schools are competing for students and early bird gets the worm (maybe not always, but relatively more often.)

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Here’s where things stand. Would like more confirmation of BU and NYU (haven’t yet heard that from counselors)

UVA
Tulane
Chicago
Marist
Occidental
SUNY Binghamton
University of Tampa
UT Austin
Virginia Tech
Ga Tech
Brown
BU
NYU
UNC
UCSD

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yes

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